Chapter 42: The Silent Return

***POV: MC

Riding across the sea, we approached a city in the distance. Once near the city, it evoked a small emotion in me as just a few months ago this place was a ruin and had no significance in the world as a whole. Looking at this large city now... The first city I built Abydos, evokes some emotions that are akin to pride and accomplishment.

Looking over my former capital, soon we reached its mighty ports filled with abundance and trade, but the most noticeable thing would be the number of ships resting in its harbor. I only came to this city to drop off the majority of my army as they cannot follow me into the capital, they will enter the capital after our victories and receive the triumph they deserve.

After dropping them I moved towards the capital Thessalonica once more. Sometime later my ship arrived at my personal port in the city connected directly to my palace. Moving in through the giant doors I entered a new bureaucratic holy land, the many buildings in my palace that were formerly when first built unused and empty it is now filled with many men, woman, and papers.

Walking down the now lively corridors many people noticed me in full gold-encrusted armor and walking with guards in similar gear said their humble greetings before returning to work as we moved about the palace area. It took a few minutes to reach my actual residence within the palace grounds.

Once I reached my residence, I was greeted by four women I know well and many servants. Saying our greetings and getting a small earful from my mother I moved into my palace where I planned to relax in the company of my woman for the remainder of the night.

Waking up in a great mood, feeling my back return to its former comfortable position where it was previously disgruntled with all the horseback riding. I then set out for the bureaucratic heartland of the Sultanate.

Nearing the tallest building within the palace complex, I intently stared at the building we now call the throne house before walking in through the giant doors. Walking straight up the stairway in the front and through another set of grand doors encrusted with many artworks. I then finally arrived in the main room of the building the large throne room.

Once inside the room, I was greeted by my newly enlarged council of viziers and sanjak beys, and governors. Though I must admit there are only three governors now and they will soon set out for their newly appointed positions in Anatolia soon. But here is another group of people larger than the small groups of viziers and their servants.

This new group is a new reform of the council I wanted to have. This group is made up of locally appointed people who know the problems and are well versed in the makeup in their local region or city etc... Leading to this group being rather large as there are many cities and rural areas in my sultanate. Some of these men are local aristocrats some are merchants some are even poor farmers or hunters.

I do not need to be biased against such people, though I truly cannot say the same for my well-educated and raised noblesse viziers inherited from my father's court. The new viziers I appointed were recruited from the system so they will agree with me if what I do is logical for the survival and expansion of the Sultanate, but the other viziers have many different interests they wish to steer me towards.

The man who I consider the glue, my father's former and my current grand vizier stood up to speak once I sat on the throne. He said, "My lord, I know you returned to lead us to fight against the infidel, but there are many issues that we need to discuss as well, not all of our resources are used for war, so we need to figure out where to use these extra resources."

I was a little surprised to hear we had a surplus of resources still, I believed my campaign would've wiped us clean and with the next war on the horizon, I believed we would have to scrape together supplies to make things work. Leaning against my armrest I looked over the crowd of men within my throne room.

Then I decided to speak looking over everyone from my high throne, I said "I want to hear what the new people's faction has to say... Did you guys appoint a representative to speak for your causes just yet?"

An elderly man with a long white beard and long white hair hidden underneath his woolen headwear stepped forwards. He then spoke with his clear and healthy voice "My sultan, I am named Himmet I believe this is our first meeting though I have seen you once before during the feasts in Bursa.

-I became the speaker of the people's faction just recently and I must say I in my many years have never seen a ruler who wishes to serve his people so much that he may seek out their opinions. My lord, we have been discussing the issues the people have faced in their local areas and we have to mention before asking for anything that we are thankful for your roads, trade, and peace you have brought to the land.

-But after discussing amongst ourselves the main problem is actually from the young men. The young in our rural areas wish to leave their local farmlands and seek out fortunes elsewhere. Some young men even flee the countryside in favor of a city.

-My lord the problem is the young do not like the fact that they are "serfs" and are forced to live in one small area for the remainder of their lives, they wish to see the world or build a business like the ones that have been cropping up all over your magnificent capital. Many young men even say they wish to get a land loan and make a living farming with their families elsewhere from the oppression they face as a serf.

I have no solutions for such a problem, but we ask you sultan what can be done to fix the young men before they begin to escape on mass or God forbid rebel against their aristocratic landlords." finishing his request he then slowly bowed his old body then sat back down on his cushion amongst his peers.

But after I heard this, I was astonished that for one these people were brave enough to basically ask to abolish the form of serfdom we have established here. And the fact that the young men have had enough sense to want to seek out their fortunes anywhere but under the yoke of the local lord.

This is something I wanted to address at some point, as I cannot expand my economy if the majority of the people are stuck in one area for the remainder of their lives, and I cannot convince the local aristocrats to build schools to teach their "serfs" either. This is a problem hampering my plans as well, so I must indeed deal with the issue and soon.

The answer to this problem is rather simple, though the way to fix the problem is simple it is rather hard to implement and will take some time and the beheading of more than a few local aristocrats who are used to ruling over these serfs. This problem is truly not one I wanted to face today, as it gives me a problem within my lands that can bloom into a rebellion.

Whilst I am facing an external enemy it is much harder to deal with internal enemies. But to build a better state you must indeed have better people who have hopes to succeed. I will implement this rule while also moving my troops throughout these regions enforcing the law by way of the sword.

I stood up from my throne to announce the implementation of a new law that will change the future of my sultanate and maybe the world. I said after standing "Today I Sultan Alaeddin Osmanli, announce the implementation of a new law into our law code. The law shall now say ALL MEN within my lands will have the opportunity to succeed. NO MAN shall be shackled to land against their will, ALL MEN can now pursue whatever career they wish to pursue in whatever region of MY LANDS they wish to.

-This law shall be enforced throughout all my lands and shall be enforced by the sword if so needed." After I finished speaking the faces of some of the noblesse went pale as if they heard the craziest thing in the world. But truly the act of serfdom ruins empires it doesn't improve them, the small advantages of serfdom outweigh the disadvantages.

Think about it this way, the advantage of serfdom is a forced workforce to produce food for your people and you can sometimes force these people into building things for you. But really if you were to let these people choose their field of work many would still be farmers probably about 90% but the way they farm will end up producing more food than before when they were serfs.

Because now they grow food for their wages or maybe they got a land loan and farm their land to make money to pay their loans and feed their families. This will lead to farmers using many of the new technologies I introduced to the market to produce more food to make more money to improve their family's standings.

So, in turn, I lose some tax income and workforce from the aristocratic farms but in turn, a year later I will probably see improved tax returns in rural and city areas because more people will be pursuing their profits. And hiring others to help them pursue more profits efficiently will hire capable men, so to get hired men must be more skilled leading to more highly educated and trained people in my lands as well.

This is just the advancement of society. The advancement of the economy. The advancement of the human race on a small scale. But when I expand out further and further even more people will begin to adjust to our new economic system. This is another reason I begin to implement this here today while my sultanate is still rather small compared to how I want it to be when I die.

After this, I also sent messengers out throughout the provinces and to my army in Abydos to move out and suppress any rebels against the law. I also sent messages to the local courts and police and garrison offices to alert them to the changes in the law and that they should be ready to suppress any dissidents.

Though I want the law to truly start a week or two from now to give my national banks time to figure out how to give out the lands, as no one in the sultanate can own land. I decided to create a system in which we can lease out the lands for a life time for a large fee something like a mortgage it will take about 10-30 years to pay off. This being a good source of income as we can tax them and get a mortgage payment as well.

But we must make sure these payments are low enough to allow farmers to profit some coins, so as to expand our economy, and not just our government coffers. This new land lease will be implemented for all real estate, houses and businesses will have to lease the land from the state in time periods. I must mention that this lease payment will only be expensive during the first lifetime it will be cheaper for your son to lease the lands and even cheaper for his son.

This will be our new system of "Land owning farmers and business men" Instead of "serfdom". I am sure my system will build a strong economy, vs the serfdom system. But after finishing this Dramatic law-passing scene many kept their thoughts to themselves as I switched over to the main topic of defense against the infidels.

-Sorry if this feels like filler as well but this chapter also needed to happen as our economy was truly too chaotic to really have an idea of how much income the state was receiving.