A Treacherous Courtier Manages the Empire Well

8 – Exodus

Everything else was important, but above all, the most important thing was building roads. I mobilized the elite mages of the Blood Legion.

“We need to pave the way on the golden plains of the western continent. Cleanse the path to the trading city, Dagamba!! We also need to pave the road from the Elond Territory to the commercial city, Porto!! Hurry as much as possible!!”

The trade route from the Lacock Mountains connecting the western and eastern continents to the trading cities on both sides began to smoothly connect. With generous rewards, many people volunteered, and thanks to them, the roads were quickly built.

I spent ample time, resources, and money to order sturdy and long-lasting luxury roads. As a result, a road that was just as sturdy and long-lasting as the Emperor’s road in the capital was being built. Meanwhile, Sultan Saladin and Carl Hanson were also fulfilling their roles.

“Don’t spare the money!! Build the best buildings!!”

The Merchant Guild commissioned the Construction Guild and spared no expense to build a large number of lodgings and shops outside the commercial city of Porto. The Merchant Guild’s vast assets flowed into Porto through the expansion of sewers and the reorganization of water supply facilities.

People couldn’t understand why the Merchant Guild was spending so much money on this. Some even said that Carl Hanson, the guildmaster of the Merchant Guild, was wasting money in unnecessary places. But that was just gossip and the murmurs of people who were in the dark about rumors and information.

“Let them talk as much as they want!! Pour money generously!! We must make it the best commercial district!!”

Carl Hanson laughed heartily every day and continued to expand and expand.

And the completion of the redevelopment of the commercial cities, Dagamba in the Western Continent, and Porto in the Eastern Continent, preparing for full-fledged trade, coincided almost simultaneously with the completion of the road connecting the two cities.

As I requested, a superb road, sufficient for ten carriages to pass, traversed the golden plains of the Western Continent and the harsh frozen regions of the Eastern Continent, connecting each commercial city.

It was the moment when, for the first time, a massive and long road linking both continents was completed.

It was a triumphant event, occurring precisely a month after piercing through the trade route of the Rako Mountain Range.

And with that, I concluded all preparations.

The exclusive business rights granted by the Emperor were firmly in my hands, and the well-versed Merchant Guild in the distribution industry was under my control.

Carl Hanson had already ordered and completed the production of several hundred more carriages for trade, which were stockpiled in the commercial city of Porto.

The Western and Eastern Continents were ready to exchange goods, and I had no intention of obstructing that flow.

“All goods from the East and the West! Buy and sell them at the midpoint, the Elond Territory!”

I notified the merchants of the Karamba Empire and the Aylam Empire, and with that notification, I opened the trade route.

The passage that the elemental sorcerers of the Crimson Legion had labored for three months to create was robust and solid enough to withstand crowds and carriages numbering in the hundreds and thousands.

And finally, the first exchange through the historic overland trade route between the two continents took place in the Elond Territory.

“What did you say!?”

The Duke of Fellings slammed the table in his office, making a loud sound. It was an impulsive act, but the sturdy wooden table was undoubtedly tougher than his bones, and he shook his pain-stricken hand, glaring at the butler who had come to deliver the news.

“The trade route has been opened. Massive supplies from the Western Continent are entering through the overland trade route between the Western and Eastern Continents. Elond Territory is leading the trade.”

For a while, the Duke of Fellings listened to the words in a daze, then suddenly, he became enraged, once again slamming the desk. This time, with more pain, he angrily swept the documents on the desk to the floor.

“Why are you reporting this now!?”

“I apologize, Your Grace.”

The butler bowed his head apologetically, but he secretly felt unjust.

Hadn’t the Duke himself instructed not to monitor or interfere with what Rando was doing as the Lord of Elond? Wasn’t it for him to simply report funeral news?

The spies sent to Elond Territory in accordance with that order had not exerted any effort to pry into it, which was why the information was only discovered belatedly. And now, at this moment, he was placing all the blame on himself.

But what could be done? The Duke of Fellings was originally such a petty person.

“Damn it! What kind of imports are coming in?”

“A vast quantity of spices, silk, perfumes… Most of the goods from the Western Continent that couldn’t be transported through the sea are coming in. Especially, pepper is exploding in popularity.”

Pepper, due to the need for elaborate and meticulous packaging to avoid the moisture of the sea, had limitations on the total quantity that could be transported. As a result, it had been a luxury item only affordable by the well-off noble households, but with a large influx, the price had dropped enough for commoners to afford it.

And, naturally, the taste difference between dishes with and without pepper was of a completely different magnitude.

Demand was overflowing nationwide, and thanks to that, the Randor Merchant Guild, holding the exclusive trade rights with the West, was raking in a considerable fortune through pepper trade.

“Damn it. To think it would succeed. No, how could he know so quickly which part of the labyrinthine Rako Mountain Range to pierce through?”

The Duke of Fellings did not doubt that Rando would fail. It was inevitable. The maze-like dense mountains, surfaces covered with ice repeatedly frozen and thawed for thousands of years—these surfaces were dangerously slippery and filled with ice harder than steel.

Below them was a mountain made of the hardest rock in the entire continent, known as Lacor Range.

To penetrate such areas, they needed explorers who could identify and select only the soft soil portions or the parts with movable rocks. It required unimaginable amounts of money, time, and countless deaths.

No one had the means to do it, which was why everyone had given up on the Lacor Range tunnel project.

“But how the hell did they succeed in less than six months!! That son of a b*tch!!!”

Lord Fellings shouted in frustration.

The Golden Adran, who firmly held the empire’s key departments with unwavering justice and exceptional administrative skills.

The Silver Sera, who possessed excellent beauty, observation skills, and intelligence that surpassed even that. She firmly held the empire’s technological and magical fields.

It was already a difficult task to restrain these two forces, but the invincible Carya and Randor were becoming more influential than even the combined forces of the two. For Fellings, who had planned to overthrow the incompetent emperor and take the throne himself, it was an infuriating situation that could not be avoided.

“Gather the members of the Vineyard Party. We need to hold a meeting.”

In the end, he had no choice but to summon his faction members.

The seven nobles who ruled the western singing region, the most prominent area of the Ailm Empire.

They were called the members of the Vineyard Party when combined with Lord Fellings, and they were planning to drive out the incompetent and foolish emperor and his children, and take control of the empire.

To discuss how to counteract the growing power of Princess Carya and Lord Randor, they needed the wisdom of all party members. Lord Fellings hurriedly instructed the steward to send a summons letter to all party members.

“Lord Fellings! Something terrible has happened!!”

However, he realized that he didn’t need to send a letter to one of the Vineyard Party members, Marquis Haloran. He had figured it out because Marquis Haloran had hastily rushed into his office.

“Marquis. I was just about to ask you to meet, what happened?…”

“The peasants! The peasants and nobles are heading towards Lord Elond’s territory!!!”

“What are you talking about? Why all of a sudden?”

The unexpected answer came back.

“They’re looking for jobs!! And they want to visit a place called the amusement park!!!!”

Until just a few months ago, Lord Elond’s territory was a ruin. It was a desolate city where only the crumbling pillars remained, with the sound of screams echoing in the chilling wind blowing from the Lacor Range.

But now.

Lord Elond’s territory had grown into a prosperous city to the point where Lord Elond would be sobbing over what he had given to Marquis Haloran.

The well-built accommodation facilities were filled with merchants from the east and west who had flocked there, to the point where Lord Elond’s territory, which had been mocked by all the nobles, could accommodate tens of thousands of people.

Thanks to the trading of large quantities of spices, perfumes, and silk in Elond.

The pre-built enormous market was bursting at the seams with merchants from both countries, to the point where people were trading on the streets, and because of that, I had to expand the market by at least three more sizes.

Naturally, people flocked to where the money was.

“We won’t go back. Can we become Lord Elond’s subjects?”

The 20,000 peasants, who had initially planned to escape from the oppressive lords and help with construction or other work as part-time jobs, now wanted to settle here. No one wanted to return to their territory. In principle, I had to respond that I couldn’t fulfill their demands.

Young Jimin was clearly the lord’s asset, and it was illegal for other lords to take them without permission.

However, I had the strongest ace that could ignore all laws.

“Heoah!! What a pathetic situation!! Of course, you need the ball if you want to have one! Those 20,000 people. I will recognize them as your people.”

I ran to the emperor and in just one day, those 20,000 people transformed into my people. I didn’t miss this opportunity, swiftly completing all the paperwork within a week and submitting it to the imperial court. And just like that, in just a week, the 20,000 people who had come to work for a short while became my people.

“This, this can’t be!! Your Majesty!! Suddenly moving our people to the Elond Viscounty!! Who do you expect to work on our territory?!”

Naturally, the nobles who had been fooled into becoming marines for the lords, mainly the nobles of the Baynard Party, protested to the emperor. But of course, the emperor didn’t pay any attention.

“Are you questioning my authority over this matter?! The jurisdiction of the people is strictly under the emperor’s authority!! Moreover, those 20,000 peasants. I heard they went all the way to the distant and cold Elond Territory because they couldn’t endure the plundering and exploitation for money! Are you enforcing taxes according to the law? Would you like to undergo a tax investigation?”

The emperor hit all the sore spots of the nobles at once. When the foolish and ignorant emperor strangely supported me, I became sharp and bright-eyed. If it were in normal times, the emperor wouldn’t have done anything beneficial to the empire by supporting me, but this time it was different.

“T-That…”

“Don’t say anything more about this matter!! Are you telling me that our people have run away to me?! Eiing jjeutjjeut! It’s clear how you managed the people of the territory!! Did you come here to brag about being an incompetent lord?”

The nobles of the Baynard Party had no choice but to accept the loss of their human resources and go back the way they came.

And the story that they betrayed the people was a very good topic for the commoners. The peasants told the story without hesitation that the lords who had been looting them with high taxes had betrayed them, and along with that, a strange rumor started to spread.

“If you run away to the Elond Territory, the original lords can’t catch you, right?”

As the rumors spread from mouth to mouth and a few more rumors were added, a complete story was formed. However, for the peasants of the empire who had been suffering from looting, it was good news that opened their eyes.

And two more pieces of news were added.

“The Elond Territory is overflowing with job opportunities!!”

“And there’s even a theme park there?”

“A theme park? What’s that?”

“I heard it’s a place with fun things… They said it’s incredibly enjoyable! You can ride on skis and skates!”

Landor, a true lord who doesn’t loot.

A territory with high-paying job opportunities.

And a specially made place that only offers entertainment, a rarity in this medieval era.

Elond Viscounty quickly became known to the empire’s peasants as a land of dreams and opportunities.

And when the rumor that the original lords couldn’t catch you if you fled to Elond Territory spread, it led to one result.

A procession of a tremendous number of peasants, who had been groaning under looting, began to escape.