Chapter 13: Territory Building

Although this continent has gods, magic, aliens and monsters, and even wizards can travel between dimensions, the kingdoms are still based on a small peasant economy.

The peasants in the territory grow their own food, raise their own vegetables, raise their own livestock, spin their own cloth and make their own clothes. Only salt, ironware, pottery, leather goods, etc. need to be purchased.

Craftsmen such as blacksmiths, carpenters and leatherworkers earn money by selling their goods and then buying necessities such as food.

Commercial distribution is also basically confined to the area, and the main form is similar to today's rural bazaars. They are held in Longzhao Town on the 15th and 30th of each month. If the grocery stores in the village do not have the daily necessities, they have to rely on itinerant traders.

If someone has a minor illness or injury, they will go to the herbalist for treatment because the fees are cheap. Only if someone has a serious illness will they go to the temple and hire a priest, if they can afford it. Of course, the temple also supports payment by instalments.

This economic model seems very backward to Christine, who is a time traveller, but she can also understand that God needs faith, and people who live in poverty and ignorance will put their hope in faith.

Of course, she did not dare to take any big steps, because if she was discovered, the gods would punish her and she would be dead. Even if it wasn't that extreme, the Church of the True God would still send the Knights of the Temple to kill her.

In this world of gods, the common people simply could not shake the rule of the nobles. Knowledge, martial arts, divine arts and magic were all in the hands of the ruling class.

A fifth-rank knight with a few hundred soldiers could massacre a village; a tenth-rank knight could defeat 500 common soldiers single-handedly; and a fifteenth-rank master knight could easily kill 1,000 soldiers alone.

However, small improvements can be made.

Food, salt and ironware are all strategic materials on the continent, and are naturally controlled by the lords.

As for food, the nobles ate white bread, while the common people could only eat black bread made from rye, which was rich and easy to grow. The taste was not worth mentioning, but it was good enough to fill their stomachs.

In addition to the tithe, which was a tenth of the harvest that had to be paid to the church, the free people who owned their own land also had to pay two tenths to the lord, while the tenant farmers who did not own any land had to pay four tenths to the lord.

Of course, this lord's tax rate was only the basic tax rate for the nobles, and it was also the tax rate for the Stewart barony. If a greedy lord took 50% or 60% from the tenant, that was normal.

In addition, the subjects had to pay a fixed annual corvée and there were many other miscellaneous taxes and dues. For example, the mills in the village all belonged to the lord, and the common people had to pay to use them. The forests and lakes also belonged to the lord, and taxes had to be paid for hunting and fishing.

Christine's improvement was to abolish the harsh taxes and dues. Most of the lords still collected what she had collected, such as mill dues and fishing and hunting taxes, so as not to appear too special. Those that could not be collected were all exempted, such as the marriage tax and the poultry tax.

She also took out 10,000 gold coins to buy oxen and horses to cultivate more land. It was impossible to give them away for free. Only soldiers, servants and landlords in the lord's service could rent it.

Why is the Barony of Stewart so rich if its agricultural taxes are so low?

Brittany is a peninsula surrounded by the sea on three sides, with only the east connected to the mainland. Both the fleets of the Iberian kingdom heading north in the south and the Flemish and Dutch fleets heading south in the north must stop at Brittany's ports for supplies.

The Barony of Stewart has an excellent port, the Port of Salzo.

The Rance flows from north to south into the Bay of Biscay. As it nears the sea, the terrain forms a large lake, where the port of Salzo is located.

The mouth of the river is only about 500 metres long and 1,000 metres wide, giving the port a natural breakwater. This means that no matter how violent the storm, the ships in the harbour will not be affected.

Although other coastal noble territories also have ports, the number of ships that can dock in a good port is not comparable to an ordinary port. Besides, Christine's mother is an elf noble, and the Elf Island and the Kingdom of France trade in this port, which brings in a lot of extra income.

Christine has borrowed another 10,000 gold coins to renovate Salzo Harbour, building more piers, widening the harbour square, paving flat roads and constructing spacious warehouses in preparation for turning the harbour village into a port city.

This is one of the reasons why the area needs so many standing soldiers. As the port expands, more ships can dock, and the sailors are all aggressive and combative. Many captains also work part-time as pirates, and there are not enough soldiers to suppress them.

Because of its coastal location, the price of salt in Brittany is not high. Of course, this profitable business must also be monopolised by the noble lords.

Iron forging is an even greater strength of the Barony of Stewart. Not only does the area have high-quality mines, but because Dragonclaw Town is located on the Brittany River, water smithing is much more energy-efficient than blacksmiths swinging hammers.

Finally, dragon wizards have a long life expectancy and are legal professionals. They have both knowledge and longevity, so they naturally have different insights. Therefore, the ancestors who originally received the title would not have made a bad choice in choosing the fiefdom. It can be said that the Baron Stewart's territory has a number of topographical advantages and natural resources that can be found in the entire Kingdom of France.

So Christine has just spent 5,000 gold coins to upgrade the blacksmith's shop to a workshop, preparing to produce a large number of cheap iron weapons to conquer the entire Brittany County market for weapons and agricultural tools.

Christine doesn't care about the small profit she makes by exploiting the peasants. Developing trade and crafts is the way to make a profit.

A ploughshare, a spearhead or a helmet may not seem like much, but if you sell enough of them, you can make a good profit. As long as the price is lower than what the nobles' own smiths charge, there will be no shortage of buyers.

The lifespan of metal products is linked to their cost. Christian's ancestral sword, for example, is still as sharp as new after hundreds of years. Ordinary ironware, on the other hand, rusts easily, so this business is a long-term source of profit.

Of course, Christine did not reduce the harsh taxes on her subjects out of the kindness of her heart, but rather to ensure that they had enough food to raise more children to increase the population. Population is an important resource. After all, horses and oxen can help cultivate the land, but they cannot replace people in the workshops.

In other words, she was able to do this because she had made huge gains at negligible cost in the war with the Baron of Lorient. This kind of success, which is the result of many random factors coming together, is impossible to replicate.

Therefore, other nobles who wish to do the same are unable to do so, because nobles have to spend a lot of money every year to maintain their dignity. In addition, many noble families have large populations, which makes the expense even greater. Those lords, barons and even viscounts with barren territories can barely break even at the end of the year.