FERH 43

Chapter 43

More precisely—

“There are far too many city dwellers who used to be farmers.”

Things had turned out that way because the late Empress had developed fertilizer and spread new farming methods.

Genuinely pitying the starving farmers, the late Empress enacted laws so that landlords could not mistreat tenant farmers, and she set an upper limit on rents to prevent excessive exploitation.

‘But that was the problem.’

As technology advanced and it became possible to manage large tracts of land efficiently with fewer workers and reap abundant harvests, landlords stopped leasing out land to tenants.

They calculated that hiring a few servants to farm was more efficient than bothering with tenant farmers and all the associated issues.

And so, the tenant farmers who lost their livelihoods drifted into the cities one by one.

The late Empress pursued a policy of teaching them literacy and skills and integrating them as city residents, but when she died, all support measures were cut off.

As a result, the farmers who had come to the cities fell into poverty or were pushed out beyond the city walls to become slash-and-burn farmers.

‘And it wasn’t as if owner-farmers were doing well, either.’

They were certainly better off than tenant farmers. At least they could keep food in their bellies.

The problem was that while the price of wheat had collapsed due to excessively abundant harvests, the prices of other daily necessities stayed the same or even rose.

In other words, the value of labor had fallen.

In the end, only the great landowners and wealthy merchants, who had been rich to begin with, grew even richer.

As things turned out this way, everyone began to resent the Empress.

[What exactly got better?]

[You said we’d be fed, but it was all lies!]

[It’s divine punishment! She defied the will of the gods and was punished!]

The Empire had clearly grown more prosperous, and fewer people were starving to death, yet people complained even more loudly.

They said they had become miserable because of the late Empress.

But—

“Is it really such a bad situation?”

Rianel was the only one officially helping the Imperial Princess, but people from the other taxed territories were also hovering nearby, pretending not to listen.

It was because they had benefited from her before.

“I’m not sure I understand what you’re getting at,” Mel replied.

He, too, had benefited from the late Empress’s policies, so he didn’t view her negatively.

He did, however, know that when she died and her policies were left in limbo, there were people who ended up neither here nor there.

The Imperial Princess said with sparkling eyes,

“Anyway, the food shortage has been solved… and having a surplus of food is an advantage, isn’t it?”

“That is certainly true.”

Food was a resource, after all.

“So I was thinking—what if we develop an industry that uses wheat?”

The reason wheat prices had fallen was that supply far exceeded demand.

‘But if we make goods that use wheat, we can solve that.’

Buying up the surplus wheat would help stabilize its price.

And if industry developed, jobs would be created, which would also help alleviate the city’s severe unemployment.

‘She’s certainly sharp for her age.’

Even a princess with no real power was still royalty, perhaps.

Mel was impressed—but only to that extent.

“Then do you have a specific plan in mind?”

In the end, anything made from wheat would be some form of ‘food.’ But food spoiled easily.

At best, making alcohol would be an option, but wheat beer spoiled more easily than barley beer and had questionable market value.

Besides, many taverns already sold it.

‘Knowing the problem doesn’t mean you can solve it.’

“This is what I had in mind.”

The Imperial Princess held out something she had been holding.

“What is this?”

Mel narrowed his eyes at the unfamiliar object.

It was a thin, long strip, and he couldn’t tell what it was used for.

Rianel said,

“That’s noodles.”

“That’s right.”

Mel’s expression turned strange.

“You’re saying that’s noodles?”

“More precisely, dried noodles. I understand that in some regions in the south there is food of a similar form.”

Rianel explained briefly.

There were indeed ‘noodle dishes’ in the capital, but those were fresh noodles—thinly sliced strips of wheat dough—so their texture and shape were different from this.

“This has gone through a drying process so the noodles can be stored for a long time.”

The reason the noodles were made thin and slender was so they could dry quickly.

In other words, this shape could be called the perfected form of efficient dried noodles.

“Noodle dishes are also easy to cook. You just boil them.”

Mel sensed a possibility there.

“Certainly, for someone like me who hates cooking, that could be revolutionary.”

And in the capital, there were many single-person households like Rianel.

At that moment, Wilbrin raised his hand.

“May I ask a question this time?”

“Of course.”

“If you store whole wheat as it is, you can keep it for two or three years. Why make it into noodles, which have a shorter shelf life than that?”

Dried noodles were even more inefficient, since they required drying time as well.

“That’s because wheat can’t be eaten as it is, and it’s bulky.”

If you want to eat wheat anyway, it has to be milled into flour.

Mix that with water and knead it, and you get dough; bake it and it becomes bread, slice it thin and it becomes noodles.

“One more thing. The Empire’s food culture is already well-established, and bread dominates because it’s cheap. Do you really think noodle dishes can compete?”

“Uh…”

The Imperial Princess fell silent for a moment.

As she stared at the ceiling, thinking—

“Limiting the market to the domestic one is an irrational way of thinking.”

This time Rianel stepped in.

“Dried noodles are easy to transport as goods, so why not export them to other countries where food shortages are urgent?”

Oh?

‘Now that you mention it.’

The Empire had vast plains and was well suited to wheat farming, but many other countries were not.

There were quite a few nations suffering from chronic famine.

“Our country can produce cheap dried noodles from surplus wheat and export them, while other countries can solve their food shortages. It’s a mutually beneficial trade.”

“And on top of that, the Empire’s influence will expand.”

The Imperial Princess clapped her hands in admiration.

“If trade expands, we can make those countries into dependent states. If our country cuts off noodle exports, mass starvation will occur, so even if there are political frictions, they’ll have no choice but to follow our will.”

That was the fate of a country that lost food self-sufficiency.

“In other words, we can gain vassal states without shedding a single drop of blood.”

“Whoa… damn, that’s creepy.”

Listening in, Til rubbed his arms, and Mel made a sickened face as well.

It was all the scarier because Rianel said it in such a dry tone.

‘And it even sounds pretty plausible….’

Didn’t it sound realistic?

“It could also be used as a war supply.”

If it was easy to store and simple to prepare, there would be endless ways to use it in the field.

“Ah….”

The Imperial Princess’s eyes shone.

What she had only vaguely thought of as ‘nice’ was being seriously considered by Rianel and presented in directions she herself had not thought of.

‘As expected, I like this person.’

He didn’t blindly agree and say it was a good idea, but he didn’t dismiss it as a childish whim either.

He listened seriously, person to person.

Rianel took out some scrap paper from a drawer and sat properly.

“The details will need careful examination.”

“Y-yes. I have plenty of time anyway…!”

Their discussion continued through the night.

Rianel loved testing hypotheses and debating them.

Of course, predicting didn’t mean you could know everything.

The world was full of variables, and unexpected things always happened.

Still, the act of talking things through and drawing a shared picture of the future was enjoyable in itself.

In the process, they could exchange knowledge and glimpse each other’s ways of thinking.

“You intend to hire farmers as factory workers?”

“I’ll give them priority. I can’t force them.”

“Have you decided on the location of the factory?”

“That… I haven’t thought about it yet.”

“In that case, it would be best to consider areas near waterways as the top priority.”

The Imperial Princess slapped her knee.

“I know this! Water wheels! You’re planning to do the milling there too, right?”

“No. We’ll outsource milling to existing mills. Since this factory will be established with exports in mind from the start, I recommend building it near waterways for transport efficiency. That way we can save on shipping costs.”

“Ah….”

The Imperial Princess was not only smart but also diligent.

Rianel looked on with satisfaction as she carefully wrote down everything she had just learned.

“How will you secure the budget? If you plan to request funds from the Ministry of Finance—”

“I… I want to handle it myself for now.”

The Imperial Princess spoke with shy but firm resolve.

“They say they’re seizing the palace funds that the head maid and the ministers embezzled. I think that alone will amount to a large sum.”

And besides—

“I want to become independent through this… If the factory is established with Ministry of Finance money, it becomes a state-run industry, after all.”

“You are truly admirable.”

Rianel let out a heartfelt exclamation.

After all, one couldn’t work hard just to fatten that Emperor’s private coffers.

“R-really?”

The Imperial Princess’s eyes widened.

“I-I mean….”

For a moment, Rianel wondered if he had crossed a line and grew cautious.

They had once been in-laws, but now they met only on official business. He shouldn’t mix in personal feelings.

But—

“Th-then, could you… pat my head?”

Her expectant eyes were right in front of him, impossible to ignore.

‘It’s been a really long time, after all….’

“……”

Swish, swish. Once forward, once back. Two strokes.

It wasn’t a particularly heartfelt touch, but shy dimples bloomed on the Imperial Princess’s cheeks.

“I’m so happy.”

And then—

“That’s unfair.”

Somehow having sensed it, Asil came barging in and made a scene.

“I thought I was the only one you treated specially, but to think you’d give Her Highness your touch as well.”

Rianel stared at him with dull eyes.

It was an absolute circus