137 Construction of a state
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Pov of Wilhelm Von Hohenzollern twelve moon 285 AC
Bringing civilization to the Westerosi has been a project of pharaonic proportions. Enormous investments of coins have been required in this project, completely altering the trade routes of the Seven Kingdoms. Just as the Romans did with Gaul, we will do with the Westerosi, transforming these lands characterized by small villages and castles into a civilized place. Now, slowly, they are becoming a landscape unrecognizable to their former owners.
The people of The Reach, once scattered throughout the fertile territory, have now gathered in a hundred cities built to accommodate up to fifty thousand inhabitants each, totaling almost six million souls. In the future, more cities are planned to concentrate the entire population on the artery that connects The Reach and the Mander, where much of the logistics and trade within the territory take place. However, the work has only just begun, as there are still too many serfs to be liberated from the chains of semi-slavery.
The city of Ashford has become the industrial heart of the entire territory. In its forges, the governors have created a system where workers labor all day, either melting metals or repairing and preparing machines for the next shift. Every day, tons of steel, copper, tin, and other metals are processed, crushing any competition in the market due to its industrial scale. This is because Prussian steel does not have much demand, as without the technical knowledge of blast furnaces, melting steel to make swords is impossible.
Tumbleton, the model city housing two hundred thousand inhabitants, experiences no crimes. The last recorded crime was the month following the establishment of a Finnish governor. Fear has overcome hope, and the inhabitants live securely but terrified of their rulers, who maintain control of the city and its surroundings with an iron fist. Its coal mines are the most feared, becoming the tombs of many criminals who have committed severe offenses such as murder, parricide, rape, and treason.
The complex of military colonies in Hornhill, due to the obvious physical differences of the inhabitants, such as being taller and having better physical fitness, has relocated a large number of soldiers to that area to settle and start families. I still hope that the governance of Hornhill remains the largest training ground in the Seven Kingdoms in the future.
Wilhelmshaven, the fortress port city, has become Prussia's jewel. Nearly twenty percent of the state's income comes from the gigantic port city, which is still under construction and expansion due to the toll of hundreds of ships passing through its waters to trade within The Reach.
The Reach practically lacks natural borders. In recent months, fortifications have been built in the south to protect against any attempt by the Dornish to reclaim the lands that once belonged to them. Now, their harvests belong to the people of Prussia.
The north lacks defense against the lands of the West. There is only plain field until the Mander, and any horseback attack could burn everything in a matter of days if not addressed immediately. A complex of walls and fortresses has begun to rise from the sea to the north, taking almost forty percent of the walls and fortresses needed to fully protect the immense border.
Each of these achievements puts us one step closer to our ultimate goal: conquering the Seven Kingdoms. If I play my cards right, this time the proposal to the Westerosi tough ones will not be a dream. If we manage to recruit three percent of the population of The Reach, we would have the ability to take everything by force. Although diplomacy could avoid many enemies, we must be attentive to everything.
"I don't understand why you spent almost half a million golden dragons hiring so many people to bring you only these papers," Janna said, pulling me out of my thoughts, while she reviewed the informative documents from the latest census that had been conducted.
'Ah, my dear fiancée, who in this last moment has changed so much due to Roon. Although I don't mind that she had a few extra kilos, for Roon, that was unacceptable. He used much of the authority I gave him to control internal affairs and manage what Janna ate. He put her on a diet with exercises since the tournament ended, and it was beginning to show. The double chin had disappeared, her waist had narrowed, and her hips had widened, in addition to gaining quite a bit of muscle'.
"The kingdom's spymaster would kill all the nobles in the kingdom just to have half the information you have in your hands, Janna. This census is the perfect tool to direct and implement specific public policies for the problems we've had. Now we have an accurate number of how many serfs remain in The Reach, whom we must liberate, and we know how many more cities we must build to accommodate the rest.
"Such as, if you look at page fifty-three regarding differentiation by culture, we can know the other cultural groups inhabiting The Reach and must take them into consideration. The Reachlanders are divided into three major groups: north, south, and east, which borders Dorne.
"The northern group is more focused on agriculture, so they are more closed to other cultural groups and somewhat distrustful of technological advances. Those in the south, on the other hand, are much more focused on trade and are more tolerant of other cultures. They tend to be more open to technological advances since they are the first to receive new technologies when transported.
"Finally, the eastern culture is militaristic and distrustful of foreigners, especially the Dornish, due to frequent attacks in recent years. Now, with this information, I have almost four hundred thousand Dornish under my control that we took from Dorne when we won the war. I consider that if they all unite, they could be dangerous in a mass uprising. I need to disperse them throughout all my territories so that they are not a majority in any of them. Where would you do it, Janna?" I finished my question.
"With the Reachlanders of the south?" said Janna as she moved a strand of hair behind her ear.
"Yes, with the Reachlanders from the south and the north. That way, we avoid what our king wants, aunt, because the Reachlanders from the north are not against foreigners. We get them used to living with foreigners," said Willas, who was also examining the papers with great interest.
"Exactly, Willas. That would be the best approach, as it would be ideal for each Dornish family to live in a Reachlander village. This would force them to integrate into their way of life and prevent the formation of ghettos of their own culture. We would have been remiss if you hadn't investigated beforehand," I said, smiling as I continued to look at some numbers.
"Look, aunt! Here it says the percentage of poor people in each governance. This is very important for you when you have to organize charitable organizations, as you can make them more effective," said Willas, smiling as he showed some sheets to Janna.
"Correct, this census, although extremely limited, allows us to have knowledge of many aspects of life in The Reach and what we should do. Ultimately, infrastructure construction is just a general public policy seeking to increase the quality of life. Specific public policies could only be achieved with this knowledge. For example, almost fifty percent of The Reach has converted, a good number, but there are areas where the percentage is higher or lower."
"To the south, conversions have been very slow, around twenty percent; to the north, converts reach sixty percent, and to the east, conversions go up to ninety percent. That is one of the most important statistics, as recruitment for the army will begin soon, and later, we will establish the cantonal system in the cities."
"And that's where standardization comes into play. We have standardized everything because all Prussian cities are the same. When the time comes to establish the cantons, we will know specifically how to distribute the burden among the parts of the city regarding how many men they should deliver to serve. This will make things easier, as the ultimate goal is to get the civilian population to learn to live with soldiers, not in fear, but with respect. This is how militarization of society is achieved," I said, closing my ledger and looking at the Tyrell duo.
"Darling, I wanted to ask if there was any possibility you could give my cousin Paxter a position in the navy. It's a real shame that someone so skilled, who has fought with the Ironborn and participated in the civil war, has his abilities constantly wasted. He would make a good admiral for you," said Janna with a playful smile.
"Ha, ha, ha, I suppose your mother is still trying to get favors from me... I can't, Janna," I said with a smile.
"Why? You're the king... Besides, you did it with the Tarlys," said Janna, putting on a sad face.
"Randyl Tarly von Bock, to be precise, my dear Janna. The son of Herzog Helmuth, a Protestant whom I baptized myself, fluent in German and sharing many similar tastes to Prussian nobility. It wasn't a special favor... Well, yes, but I would have done it anyway; Helmuth just paid me not to think about it and accept immediately. He has the confidence of one of the most influential men in the kingdom. Giving him the governance of Hornhill is nothing out of the ordinary, as he meets all the requirements," I responded as I walked towards one of the castle windows.
"What will happen to Willas? If he doesn't find someone to adopt him, will we have to wait the twenty years required of everyone?" Janna said more seriously.
"Of course, people usually don't appreciate what is given; people appreciate what is earned with the sweat of their brow. But obviously, Willas has a bright future, and I will make sure of that. As soon as he turns sixteen, I will find him a family willing to adopt him and give him a minor administrative position. By the time he's thirty, he can try to secure an important position," I said, looking at Willas, who just nodded.
"Mother won't accept that," said Janna, looking concerned.
"Are you sure about that? Your mother is a politician; she will be grateful for that," I said, smiling.
Janna seemed like she was about to ask something else when we heard the sound of metal approaching our room. The doors opened abruptly, and a Teutonic knight arrived with a letter in hand.
"My king, an emergency is happening on the border!" the knight stopped upon seeing the Tyrell duo.
"Inform, don't worry," I told the knight.
"A massive number of serfs who escaped their lands has reached our territory. The numbers are in the thousands, and they are hungry, almost naked, and sick. The brother captain requests instructions and reports that one of his plantations was almost destroyed by the hungry serfs, but he authorized it and will take the punishment for the offense," the knight reported.
"Damn... This is bad, very bad," I said as I began to think.
"Why is it bad? They are just more workers for us, and at the same time, we weaken our enemies," said Willas, intrigued.
"Normally that would be the case. We would just say we know nothing, but such a large wave of serfs is very obvious. This will cause problems because my political enemies won't miss the opportunity to try to stab me in the back. Soon, I'll have letters of complaint from the lords of the Riverlands or from Hoster Tully, and in the worst case, a letter from Lord Arryn asking me to explain the situation if it escalates much," I said, scratching my head.
"What do we know about the Riverlands?" I asked the Finn standing behind me.
"Just that the lords have placed excessive and abusive taxes on their serfs to try to profit from the caravans of the Northern Company, but they only managed to destroy the livelihoods of the serfs. It was expected, but I didn't think it would be in such large numbers," said the Finn with a serious tone.
"Well, we have the problem now. So do your best to ensure the serfs live. I suppose they are drowning in the river. I'll have to go offer gold to those greedy lords to see if I can avoid their complaints. This massive migration is going to ruin my census and render it obsolete," I said, grabbing my hair.
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If you want there to be a chapter tomorrow, the condition is simple, twenty comments on what you would like to see or what you liked or disliked about the story (each person has one valid comment, multiple comments will only be counted as one).or reach the 700 power stones
Within eight hours after the chapter is uploaded to allow time for editing and translation of the next chapter
