Chapter 103 (1/2)
Chapter 103
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Grand Duchess Roygar tilted her head.
“Thanks to Cedric?”
“Because making wine requires a lot of labor. But last year, the labor cost was too high. Oh, the vintage was great, but it was hard to find people, so the production was small. Our winery only got half of the previous year.”
The productivity of the East is enormous.
It was not comparable to the metropolitan area. However, except for the capital, the eastern part has developed all kinds of industries with the highest population density.
In particular, the eastern part was holding an industry that needed a suitable climate and rich soil, such as agriculture.
While the West sowed wheat and grazed sheep on the vast plains, the East grew commodity crops and developed a processing industry.
From tea, wine, silk, tobacco, medicinal materials, and fruit processing, industries that require all of the technology, labor and infrastructure are mainly in the East.
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Many of the expensive luxury goods consumed in the capital were produced in the East, and because of this, large landowners and companies grew.
Industrial development in the East was more stable than anything else.
In the West, where monster waves occur regularly, it was not easy to even build an orchard that had to be cultivated for many years, let alone investing in infrastructure.
In addition, the monster wave maximized the profits of the eastern landlords and giant traders.
When the monster wave occurs, refugees soon follow.
While this catastrophe was akin to natural disaster, it did not affect the entire empire at the same time like a flood or drought. It unilaterally brought down only the West.
Westerners whose living base had collapsed, became migrants and flowed into the metropolitan area and the eastern part. And they become a cheap labor force.
After a few years, some return to their hometown. However, many of them stayed as they were.
It played a role in regularly bringing the population into the eastern part and the metropolitan area.
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Eastern farmers are also unable to respond to the exploitation. The immigrant labor force that needed to be placed is overflowing. There is a monster wave in the west, so you can’t even leave the place.
However, Cedric stopping the Monster Wave last time changed the situation.
The primary part is that the occurrence of migrants is minimized due to the small amount of land swept away by the monster wave. What had a greater influence than that was the perception of people.
Until now, the Empire has not always been helpless to the Monster Wave.
There were times when the Western Army was more organized. Sometimes an excellent commander even emerged and stopped it. Even if the Western Army collapsed, the central army would be deployed to resolve it.
But no one had ever given hope. Even if any great generals stopped the monster wave without damage, they won’t be there next time.
If they had both ability and ambition, they can join the central army with their raised men or become the Emperor’s bodyguard.
If they had the ability but were not ambitious, they were often framed by someone who envied their achievements and expelled or purged by the Emperor’s hatred.
Regardless of whether they were transferred or demoted, they would leave anyway. And the next monster wave takes place again.
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The westerners were in a state of resignation.
But Cedric is different.
He was the shield of the north, and the hero of the west. He will not leave because of transfer or demotion.
He had a system and rebuilt the Western Army, and instead of dedicating it to the Emperor, he left it for western defense.
And he was a member of the imperial family.
Its symbolism wasn’t small. The westerners gained the belief that the imperial family did not throw them away.
The Monster Wave, which will come back a few years later, will be stopped by Grand Duke Evron.
Then there is no need to leave.
The reality that Cedric is actually under pressure from the Emperor is not involved in that belief.
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Although few people knew him well, it wasn’t enough to influence the general trend of relief.
The refugees turned away and returned to the desolate land. Helping each other with neighbors, they refurbished their home. The Western Army helped with that.
It was a subtle thing for Grand Duke Roygar.
It doesn’t matter if the west is solid. However, an increase in labor costs in the East was not what he wanted.
His personal fortune is concentrated in the East.
Even if he became emperor, there wasn’t much difference.
Grand Duke Roygar’s supporters are the coalition of the great nobles and the great lords. If one becomes the emperor by one’s own power, that power becomes not only of one’s own, but the power that rests on one’s supporters.
After all, it is no different from the one who was elected out of several nobles.
Someday he would take them all out and regain the imperial authority. To do this, his personal wealth was more important than the development of the entire empire.
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This is because it was one of the means in which he can gain an upper hand against his subjects in the future.
[“It is greed that moves Grand Duke Roygar. Remember that.”]
Artizea taught Hayley about the main figures in the capital and said so.
[“People cannot easily escape from their own experiences. If nature and experience coincide, it is even more so.”]
Artizea said.
[“Grand Duke Roygar was only 10 years old when the predecessor Emperor was ousted. The predecessor’s Grand Duchess obtained the minimal protection by becoming Evron’s Grand Duchess, but Grand Duke Roygar was still in the hands of the Empress Dowager. After some time, he even lost his mother.”]
And when he was 13 years old, his brother-in-law and sister-in-law were driven to death.
The memory of that time could not be easily erased by Grand Duke Roygar.
[“At the time, Lord Cedric was a small child, but Evron’s protection was still there. In the first place, the reason Lord Cedric was kept alive was to keep Evron, so his life wasn’t in danger for a while.”]
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[“In addition, because Evron Grand Duchy has independence and military power, it can become a shield. It is also the last resort to fighting the mainland.”]
[“Yes, but in the first place, it’s possible because it’s Evron.”]
[“Yes. I understand what you mean.”]
[“However, because Grand Duke Roygar had only inherited wealth. He didn’t have a vassal who could act as a guardian, unlike Evron, the whole estate didn’t throw themselves to protect him.”]
He had to survive on his own, and he ceased to believe in the trust itself without reason.