I Became the illegitimate son of a duke

27 – Foundation for Reformation (5)

“…So? Nobles?”

In a back alley late at night where the only light is the torches around the castle and the stars and moon in the sky, Chloe is listening to someone wearing a hood.

Not just one person.

The person wearing the hood continues to appear and talk, and Chloe naturally listens to their stories and synthesizes information.

“Thanks, keep an eye on me in the future.”

“Thank you, we are returning the favor.”

“If it wasn’t for the lady, we would have starved to death in the orphanage—”

“Stop it, how many times?”

Chloe gets tired of the words repeated over and over and at the same time bites them off with a hand, but the corners of her mouth draw a gentle curve.

“You can’t thank me? Who should be thankful?”

“”Claude.””

“Yes.”

…………

“…What are these guys doing?”

I was going to distribute the private farming method nationwide, but some of the nobles refused my invitation, saying, ‘Will the duke take responsibility for damage caused by using an unproven farming method?’

Yeah, the unverified farming method is correct, so I can understand their position… But what kind of refusal to say? Do you want to fall behind

“What should I do?”

“Leave it alone.”

If you don’t do it, people will lose money, so what?

If all the places that adopted the four-row cropping method doubled their output, then those guys would know what they were up to.

I’ll cry and cry at that time… No, I’d rather nail it now.

“In the Duchy of Burgon, all farmland that intends to use other farming methods must obtain permission from the Duke of Burgon or his representative. If the farming method is risky, it is necessary to coordinate it in advance.”

“Yes, I will pass the new statute to everyone.”

“Yes.”

The vassals are granted unlimited powers within their domains, but only those related to taxes and rebellion circumvent this power. And farming is a matter directly related to taxes.

Since the justification is perfect, no one wants to fight against this law.

You guys try to convince me while the guys next door double their crops. Of course, the skewers will be smoked to the fullest.

“Chloe, what happened to the beets?”

“It is said that they succeeded in rooting successfully. However, since it is the first crop to grow in the field, they expressed difficulty, saying that there are too many things that they do not know when they will grow or what to watch out for.”

“That’s of course, it’s okay. Tell them I won’t be held responsible if the beets wilt by mistake.”

“Yes, sir.”

I’m blowing a few by mistake in cultivation.

Then the beet is done… Let’s recap what I’m doing now.

‘Lucca is revamping the administration, so I don’t need to touch him as an outsider, and farming has only finished farming, but everything else remains the same… Should I start with self-employed farmers?’

Most of the farmers currently in the Duchy of Burgon are peasants subordinate to noble manors or large landlords.

This is extremely effective in maintaining a stable system, but the result is that the middle class is completely destroyed or the upper class is unnecessarily powering the upper class.

And most of my political enemies are upper class.

As the number of self-employed farmers increases, the middle class increases, which leads to the emergence of a new class called the bourgeoisie.

The bourgeoisie will have a different problem than the current aristocratic class, so they will suffer from headaches again… But there is no choice but to be a bourgeoisie anyway. History on Earth proves it.

…Okay, now the middle class—- no, let’s hear Leclerc’s opinion before we do anything.

“Leclerc, how do you view the farming system in Burgon? So… About the peasants.”

“Peasant farming… It’s a very problematic system. But you can’t touch it.”

“Yes.”

If tenant farmers disappear and self-employed farmers take their place, the government’s revenue increases tremendously because there is no tax cut in the middle. The tax burden on farmers is also reduced.

The only problem is that nobles and landlords can’t see it.

About 70% of the land occupied by nobles and landowners in the Duchy of Burgon, 15% by the Church, and the remaining 15% are shared by the Duke of Burgon and the people.

This means that if I want to abolish the peasant system, I have to fight that 85%.

It is not for nothing that other countries leave the peasantry system alone. Because they do not have the strength to withstand the all-out offensive of domestic interest groups.

With the advent of guns and cannons and a developed military system, the state monopolizes all violence produced domestically before the tenancy system can be abolished—

Wait a minute.

‘A gun?’

Guns and cannons, gunpowder weapons.

The biggest driving force that enabled the Middle Ages to move into modern times.

It wiped out all the privileged class of knights, brought about the development of all kinds of studies by requiring all kinds of studies such as mathematics, physics, and chemistry, and it was an opportunity for countries to achieve radical centralization.

“Leclerc, do you know anything about guns? Or gunpowder?”

“I’ve never heard of a gun… But I know about gunpowder. In the East, they say gunpowder is essential to use a weapon called a cannon.”

“Huh?”

What was the cannon?

But why have I never seen one?

“Gunpowder and cannons are difficult to obtain abroad because the Eastern Empire strictly prohibits the outflow, and even in the Eastern Empire, the use of cannons is limited to a small number of central armies, so gunpowder is rare even for nobles there. Belong.”

Reading my puzzled expression, Leclerc tells me what I’m curious about as if using an interest method.

At first it gave me goosebumps, but now I want to draw it.

“Really?”

Then… I’m sure gunpowder isn’t widely available.

If a lot of gunpowder was made, it should have leaked or there should have been more troops using cannons, but they didn’t. That means that the other side is able to control the gunpowder, or is producing only a small amount due to lack of capacity.

‘Okay. I need to produce gunpowder.’

Gunpowder, black gunpowder, which can be made in this era, can be made by mixing nitrate and charcoal with sulfur or iron oxide in a ratio of 75:15:10.

Even if a small amount of sulfur or iron oxide is added, the explosive power is slightly reduced, but there is no problem with exploding, so the most important thing is cornerstone.

If there is no saltpeter, is it nitrate, ammonium nitrate, and sodium nitrate? These can be substituted.

In case of replacement, I remember using a different ratio… Uhm, my memory is ambiguous. If you try a lot, you’ll get a roughly good ratio.

Anyway, I never thought I would come back like this because I worked abroad a lot in my previous life. Even back then, I was swearing, but seeing this, you’re calling it a blessing, right?

‘And how to get the cornerstone, i.E. Potassium nitrate…’

Hyundai is just made in a factory, and in the past, guano, which is bird droppings, was mined or mined in saltpeter mines.

“Leclerc, is there a cornerstone mine in Korea?”

“Cornerstone… It’s an item that alchemists often use, but I don’t remember such a mine being found.”

And in areas where there were neither mountains nor mines of bird droppings… Bitter.

Just imagining it makes me gag. It’s such a horrible sight, and I should be glad I didn’t have to see it myself.

“…Leclerc.”

“Yes, Your Highness.”

“What would people say if I… Told them to make a field out of urine and feces, ashes and straw?”

“…”

You can tell immediately by looking at that expression. Ines, who is sitting over there, has the same expression.

Of course, everyone would think I was crazy.

“It’s just… Externally, it’s a way to create a new fertilizer.”

“If it’s external, the truth is—”

“That’s the way to make gunpowder.”

“Gunpowder… You mean?”

“Yes.”

Why is Leclerc’s reaction so heartbreaking?

You seem to believe my words that you can make gunpowder, but you don’t know why you have to make gunpowder.

Anyone who has never seen gunpowder must have reacted like that. I understand.

“I will write the blueprints for the field, so have the technicians build it on my property as it is. This should be the second most important task in progress, next to administrative reform.”

“Yes, I understand.”

Suddenly, while talking about self-employed farming, the words seem to have slipped into a strange place… But what do you think? This will ultimately be a way to create a lot of self-employed farmers.

…………

“Call me if you change your mind.”

“…Yes, please enter carefully.”

A nobleman opens the door of a luxurious room and comes out.

The servants who were cleaning the hallways immediately lowered their heads and averted their gaze as soon as he came around.

It’s normal for a normal modern person to feel bad when he blatantly averts his gaze like this, but this aristocrat doesn’t seem like that at all because he’s used to it.

The aristocrat walks toward the carriage parked outside, content enough to avoid the gaze of his subordinates.

“Tsk…Why are you making such a fuss when everyone is so terrified that you’re not rebelling, you’re just saying your demands.”

“You don’t look well.”

“Yes, the duke won the war with Carolingian, and the rebellion in the north is not yet over, so he said we should be careful about our actions for the time being.”

The nobleman who came out of the mansion and got on the carriage complained to the attendant sitting next to him.

“I tried to inspire the hesitant nobles with courage… But everyone’s heart is too small.”

“…hahahaha, as expected, Your Excellency is generous.”

The attendant is amazed at the actors who move so well even after seeing such a killing machine, but he does not speak his mind out of his mouth. The attendant shouldn’t be interested in such things.

The servant only secretly prays to the duke to be merciful to us when things go wrong.