Punishment

Translator: Cinder Translations

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"The new rural management organization—I've decided to call it the Village Management Committee instead of the former agricultural cooperatives. It must manage all aspects of village life, such as household registration, public affairs, disaster preparedness, and even matters related to marriage, funeral arrangements, and neighborhood conflict mediation. These tasks will be the responsibility of the village committee. Of course, this isn't something one person can handle, so a committee must be formed."

Paul discussed his grassroots governance policy.

"It will also represent me, acting as an extension of my mouth, eyes, and ears, capable of quickly, decisively, and effectively conveying the spirit and will of Alden Town while also promptly and accurately relaying various matters from the village back to Alden Town."

I have to say, this is quite an idealistic view, and it could even be seen as somewhat unrealistic. Paul's vision wouldn't be achievable even on Earth in the twenty-first century, let alone in this world that has yet to fully emerge from the Middle Ages—it's a fantasy. However, striving towards this direction isn't wrong; one must take the first step.

As Paul just mentioned, the functions of the village committee cannot be managed by just one or two officials. Old Ford furrowed his brow tightly as he listened. "Lord Grayman, this will significantly increase our administrative costs."

"Then we'll expand our administrative staff."

"Uh… finances."

"If that's not possible, we'll issue bonds!"

Paul shouted, "Our fiscal revenue has been continuously growing! And I believe that after this round of reforms, our economy will become more vibrant and healthier—by unleashing the productivity and consumption capacity of rural areas."

Paul continued to speak confidently: "To be honest, I think our countryside is extremely abnormal. Yes, we haven't had legal slaves for nearly a thousand years, but various unreasonable rules and regulations have allowed a de facto slave system to continue. I think everyone is well aware of this."

"Those powerful families in the villages—most notably the Warren family involved in this rebellion, and that fellow Fergus—they possess vast lands, accumulate wealth through inheritance, and hold the power to tax, impose punishments according to their will, and make decisions on various village matters. Isn't that essentially being a de facto lord in their respective villages? As the true lord, I can only convey my orders and collect taxes through them, while the farmers' wishes can only be relayed to me through them. It seems my commands can only circulate freely in a few cities. This is utterly absurd."

At this point, Paul was filled with resentment.

In the Northwest Bay, the country estate owners exploited various tangible and intangible privileges to turn the vast number of farmers into their de facto slaves. For instance, they would lease their land to poor landless farmers at exorbitant rents, leaving farmers with barely enough food to survive, stripping them of the opportunity to accumulate wealth, forcing them to rely on renting land just to get by. Another example is usury, especially in combination with their previous roles as tax collectors—this method was simply unstoppable. Whenever it was tax time, farmers who couldn't pay their dues would incur debt, which would snowball with interest, leading to families being indebted for generations, unaware of when they might be able to repay it. Estate owners exploited their creditors, demanding anything from the little possessions of the debtors, sometimes even their wives and daughters. Not only did taxes leave farmers in debt, but poor harvests or natural disasters were also times of frequent borrowing, as ordinary farmers had very low risk tolerance.

Want to avoid repaying your debts? Or escape them? Sorry, in the village, the landlord's word is law.

In short, landlords used various means to force farmers to rely on them, binding them firmly to their lands.

Despite Paul's previous efforts to promote agricultural technology, which significantly increased the cultivated area and yield, most of the increased yield still ended up in the pockets of the country estate owners. The only benefit for ordinary farmers seemed to be that there were fewer starving to death.

Paul had sent officials to the countryside, established agricultural cooperatives, set up traveling courts to adjudicate farmers' disputes, and prohibited private executions. The situation had improved somewhat, but no fundamental change had occurred. Although the numerous factories established by Paul provided a second means of livelihood for farmers leaving the countryside, traditional powers remained strong, and many farmers were still bound.

"You see," Paul said angrily, spreading his hands towards some subordinates, "this time, I merely want to reclaim a little of the power they hold—taxation and judicial authority, and they came at me like ferocious guard dogs, baring their sharp teeth and viciously attacking me."

"So I have decided!"

He tightened his fist with great force, his tone leaving no room for doubt.

"Since they are so unappreciative of the times, I will completely strip them of all their privileges! Note that I said all privileges."

"Besides abolishing the tax farming system and reclaiming judicial authority. I intend to escalate this, yes, escalate it!"

"First, I will reduce interest and rent. For the land rents charged to tenants, I will establish a maximum rate. In short, it must not be so high that it leaves farmers with only enough for their sustenance. They should be left with seeds to plant for the next year, and goods they can trade at the market. Farmers must be able to sell for money and use that money to buy other goods they want, so they can truly improve their lives through farming, not just survive. Regarding private loans, I will set reasonable interest rates so that diligent people can repay their debts. For existing old debts, I will send people to review them one by one. Those that are ambiguous or have exorbitant interest will be burned completely. For those who genuinely cannot clear their debts, their descendants can publicly declare their renunciation of inheritance rights, so they won't inherit the debt, and we won't let debts carry on from generation to generation."

"Then, I will establish an Agricultural Bank!"

The term "Agricultural Bank" piqued the interest of everyone present.

"The Agricultural Bank will provide loans to farmers at extremely low interest rates," Paul explained. "If farmers encounter disasters or poor harvests, they can seek loans from the Agricultural Bank instead of from those vampire-like private lenders."

Historically, the situation in the countryside during the Middle Ages was varied and complex, making it difficult to clarify. The rural social structure depicted in the Northwest Bay is a mixture of several typical feudal characteristics, creatively fabricated by the author.

TLN: Come on dude, do a mass execution or something...

(End of the Chapter)

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Translated (4) Series, (1.8K+) Chapters, (2.25M+) Words.