Foreign Land Reclamation By a Vegetable-growing Skeleton

“The Master Plane has always been tormented by famine, with minor outbreaks every year and major ones every five years. Epidemics flare up occasionally,” said Anthony with a grimace. “Some noble landlords levy harsh taxes, leading to occasional small-scale rebellions.”

This wasn’t as common under Anthony’s rule, but it was frequent in the Western District, which could explain their stagnant population growth.

Anthony’s rule also experienced famine, but he would allocate, transfer, redeem, tax cut, lend, install payments, or even renege to redirect the accumulated wealth from the noble landlords to the victims or bankrupt farmers in ways that would not upset the overall balance.

If they can’t pay back next year, they can take installments. If they still can’t pay it back, they can reduce some taxes. If repayment is still impossible, policies could be adjusted. As long as people are alive, there is always a way to survive.

However, all these compromises were based on one prerequisite: there must be food.

“The landlords are out of surplus now. Even if I seize their properties, I won’t get much grain. Moreover…” Anthony said bitterly.

A more troublesome issue was restraining him from using some brutal means such as plundering…

The Eastern Diocese had declared independence. They now referred to themselves as the Holy Church, and he was the Acting Pope.

To convince the noble landlords to side with him, Anthony had made many compromises and concessions behind the scenes. Otherwise, despite his centuries-long secret plotting, few would take risks with him.

Essentially, Anthony’s actions were a rebellion. If he failed, it was highly likely he would be beheaded. Without significant benefit, who would follow him?

However, most of what he conceded were religious benefits. But at the same time, he couldn’t resort to crude measures; otherwise, the whole Eastern Diocese would be in chaos.

“If I dare seize one family’s property, others would definitely rebel. Everyone would think: Is Anthony going back on his word after he’s secured his own needs?”

“Not only can I not seize property, but I also have to turn a blind eye to those hoarding resources. It’s truly infuriating, isn’t it?”

Negris agreed, “Indeed, it is. Especially since you’ve spoken at length and the main person involved isn’t even listening.” he pointed at Ange who, after pulling them into the Consciousness Space, was now distracted by farming.

Anthony sighed, “I’m used to it. Lord Ange respects your opinions, just as he does with you, Lord of Knowledge.”

This flattery was perfectly executed, making Negris’ mood lift. However, after this lift, she began to scratch her head: “But you are asking for too much, a hundred thousand tons, two hundred million pounds! If we eat sparingly, that’s enough to feed millions.”

“Yes, but that is the size of the food shortage. This year started with a drought, then a hurricane, followed by a locust plague. The crops of the Black Mountain Kingdom were ruined and their refugees have flooded into the Eastern Diocese. The good harvests in the past few years led to an increase in childbirth. The population in the Eastern Diocese has been surging for years now, and the burden becomes heftier and heftier.” Anthony said distressed.

In eras of poor transportation and low productivity, the population is not always a wealth, but a burden.

Take for example a populace of five thousand facing disaster. Transporting relief supplies to them is easy, even through wild lands. But if the disaster area increases to fifty thousand people, the difficulty of aid increases not tenfold, but perhaps fifty or a hundred-fold.

The wilderness can’t sustain such mass transportation. Roads need to be built, and those transporting goods need food and shelter. Most goods would be consumed on the journey; having 10% to 20% of them arrive would be considered a success.

So, the management difficulty of a nation with a population of millions, compared to tens of millions, doesn’t increase tenfold, but several dozen or a hundred times.

In an era of low productivity, an excess of population often signals the start of an empire’s downfall. It is not until the industrial age that the advantage of population could be transformed into productivity through education.

Anthony was tasting the bitterness of overpopulation. Now he was begging Ange for help, needing a hundred thousand tons. When he rescued the Black Mountain Kingdom previously, he only needed a thousand tons.

However, this was a basic requirement. In his estimation, one hundred thousand tons was the minimum to get through this year’s famine. If managed well, it might depress grain prices and force some of the hoarding nobles and crooked merchants to release some of their stock.

But he held out little hope, Anthony had a rough idea of Ange’s resources since he was part of the innermost circle, so Ange didn’t feel the need to hide anything from him.

The Resting Camp’s farm, the two underground cities in the Resting Abyss, plus the two World Tree Protection Grove Farms along with the Hope Oasis and Fallen Dragon Lake.

Of these, the grain yield of Fallen Dragon Lake should be the highest. But at the same time, it also had the highest population, so how much grain could actually be spared was uncertain.