In the Name of Grain, the Power of Noble Lords

Every ruler, from the esteemed His Majesty the Emperor to the humble knight of a manor.

None of them would be willing to admit or describe themselves as a cruel, ruthless ruler.

Regardless of the truth, what the nobles presented to those outside their territory was undoubtedly a collection of beautiful words.

These nobles would never accept the consequences of Ryan's actions.

It was cruel to watch those slaves starve to death, or it was the benevolent lords who helped them through their ordeal.

To be honest, the nobles would not choose either of these two answers.

So after Ryan finished speaking, there was still silence.

In the distance, Shaya looked at Ryan and couldn't help but sneer. Did Ryan not know what nobles were like? How could he come up with such a method to make nobles help slaves survive?

The fact that nobles allowed slaves to live was considered a great favor to those slaves.

Ryan was certainly aware of the exploitation the nobles inflicted on their subjects. Take his neighbor, Baron Hatton, for example. This Baron was considered merciful among the nobles, but several people would still freeze to death in his Baron during the winter. Even on ordinary days, the slaves and commoners were barely clothed and looked emaciated.

The fact that there are many more noble lords who are even worse than him makes Baron Hatton seem quite decent.

The nobles wouldn't admit to being cruel, because they still had dignity, honor, and face to save. They wouldn't choose the second option either. Even if Ryan forced them to give an answer now, they would never distribute the meat stored in the Frozen Earth Territory to the slaves after returning to their own territories.

Noble lords had absolute autonomy over their territories. Imperial Capital could not reprimand a noble for the behavior of the people within his territory, let alone other nobles.

He already knew the outcome the moment Ryan was about to say those words.

Neither Count Winter Count Soron, the two great nobles, arrived, nor even the Frozen Earth Territory, because they did not need Ryan to intervene in order to solve the winter food crisis.

They probably wouldn't be facing such a meager food crisis, because they suffered heavy casualties in the previous war against the Orcs, and the dead population saved a large amount of food.

This also resulted in none of the nobles being able to verbally confront Ryan after Ryan finished speaking at this informal meeting.

So Ryan continued after a period of silence.

"I think the nobles will not be the first kind of nobles. We have inherited the noble blood of our ancestors, and the glory we bear does not allow us to ignore the death of our people."

"But you are all unwilling to watch your people freeze and starve to death, and you are also helpless about it."

"You have no more food. The South Chamber of Commerce failed to send enough food for the winter this year."

Instead of bringing up the topic of the nobles having food but not wanting to share it, as they had discussed in private, Ryan directly stated that the nobles had no food and shifted the blame to the South lands.

This was naturally to unite people's hearts and minds, so that everyone was on the same page and could criticize the South chambers of commerce for not sending them food.

"However, His Majesty the Emperor needs a victory in this war. We have no right to rebuke Your Majesty. In fact, we should thank His Your Majesty for not having the idea of diverting grain from the Northwind Province."

"In the war between the Empire and the Church, as nobles of the Empire, we cannot afford to lose. We can be believers in the light, but we must never be servants of the Dawn."

"Therefore, we must overcome the hunger and cold in the Northwind Province this year on our own."

After Ryan finished speaking, he waited for the nobles to process what he had said, and finally said:

"The food problem is not difficult to solve. There is enough food in my territory to help you get through this difficult time."

Here it comes...

The nobles' eyes lit up, and Shaya became excited as well.

That's right, this food crisis was secretly orchestrated by her. To be precise, it shouldn't be said that she orchestrated it, but rather that after the previous bumper harvest in the Swamp, Shaya passed a message to Meyers, and in the end, it was the solution provided by Chrysus Meyers, the future Grand Duke.

Since Baron Ryan is showing off his grain, let him suffer more trouble.

Thus, when the snowstorm arrived, the food problem already facing the Northwind Province was directed to the nobles to seek a solution from Baron Ryan.

The problem itself existed; it was just that Meyers deepened the connection between the problem and Baron Ryan.

Moreover, it's hard to say whether the fact that those merchant guilds didn't send a single grain of food to the Northwind Province during winter was due to Meyers ' influence.

After all, two or three months had passed since Ryan's bountiful harvest in the Swamp and the distribution of grain to all the nobles, but the news that the merchant guild had not sent any grain had only recently come.

Ryan didn't know, but Shaya did, and she needed to see how Ryan solved the problem.

Ryan's territory is the Frozen Earth Territory, and everyone knows that the Frozen Earth Territory can't grow much food no matter what, while Ryan's population is already terrifyingly high.

What Shaya understands better than Ryan is that this year will be the same, next year will be the same, and the year after that, and for many years to come, it will be the same as this winter.

There is no food coming to the Northwind Province.

This is a campaign by Meyers to suppress the power center in the Northwind Province, a move fueled by his discontent.

How much surplus food could Ryan possibly have? He certainly wouldn't have much.

How things are handled this year must be handled even better next year. If things aren't done well next year, Ryan's prestige will suffer an even more severe blow than it did this year.

Meyers will regain control of this land.

This is exactly what they want to see.

However, what happened next was something that Shaya, a political novice, had not anticipated.

"I can sell you grain to get you through this winter, but what about next year? And what about the years to come?"

"The food supply in the Frozen Earth Territory is insufficient to support the entire population of the Northwind Province."

"The conflict between the Empire and the Church began more than a hundred years ago, and hundreds of wars have broken out over that period."

"This conflict has lasted for over a century, and no one can be sure whether it will continue for another century."

"Our Your Majesty has been crowned a believer of light. He is the esteemed Grand Pope of Light, so whether for the sake of the Empire or for the Faith of Light, he cannot stop his Church of Dawn."

The topic suddenly became elevated to the level of Deities belief.

"He will inevitably maintain the war, so the South lands will not be at peace."

"This winter could be every winter from now on."

"Can the food from the Frozen Earth Territory help you for one or two years, or even for one hundred or two hundred years?"

If Ryan simply says it's possible this year but not next year, it would undoubtedly weaken his authority and reveal the emptiness of the Frozen Earth Territory's lack of foundation. However, if he says it's possible in one or two hundred years, then the inability to achieve it becomes a matter of course.

"Because the Northern Territory Merchant Guild has brought us more wealth, there's already a conflict between our coffers and the South Merchant Guild. No one can guarantee that if there's no grain entering the Northwind Province this year, there won't be next year, right?"

No one knows how long the war will last; either the empire will collapse, but that's not the outcome the nobles want—they are the Imperial Noble.

Either the Empire would defeat the Church of Dawn and the Light would replace the Dawn, but this was an even more absurd and unthinkable possibility for the nobles. How many years had the Church of Dawn ruled the Norris Continent? It would probably have to be recorded from the beginning of human civilization.

Therefore, the war will most likely be a long one.

War requires a lot of resources, which is something the nobles are aware of, as they themselves have experienced wars that last for several years against different enemies.

What happened this year could be the same thing that happens every year from now on.

Ryan never doubted this outcome, because when the emperor ordered the empire to transport grain to the South, he did not even request the Northwind Province.

Was it because the emperor was benevolent and knew that there was not much food in the Northwind Province?

No, absolutely not. He will treat everyone equally and require the nobles of the Northwind Province to also contribute to the war in the South.

If the Northwind Province doesn't have enough food to provide support, then we can use more expensive Iron Ore instead. There's plenty of Iron Ore here, isn't there?

But he didn't.

This made Ryan even more suspicious of Meyers' purpose in this land.

There could only be one reason why the emperor did not request the Northwind Province: the influence of Grand Duke Mayers, one of the pillars of the empire and a top noble.

The emperor has gradually made his stance clear: he wants to separate power from the Northwind Province.

Of course, this will still be imperial land, because it belongs to that emperor's achievements. During his reign, the Florian Empire expanded its territory, and he would not forget his accomplishments.

But besides that? That's really all there is to it.

Despite this obvious situation, Ryan still couldn't find out Meyers ' purpose and interests in this land, and he was eager to force Meyers to reveal more.

Then Ryan revealed his true intentions at the meeting.

"We cannot guarantee that every year will be different from this year."

"Therefore, we need our own food."

"The Northwind Province has a lot of the Wilds land. Our ancestors opened up noble territories on this land. What they could do, we can do too."

Ryan looked at each nobleman with unwavering determination in his eyes.

"We must make our land produce enough food to feed the population of the Northwind Province."

Previously, few nobles would have paid attention to Ryan's words.

but...

"I've done it."

Ryan smiled and said that he had been waiting for this killer move for a year, and of course he was going to use it today.

"You've already received the gift from the Swamp, haven't you? You've seen the frozen the Swamp that you had to pass through on your way to the Frozen Earth Territory."

"I can make that the Swamp grow into a golden harvest of joy, so that my territory no longer suffers from hunger, no longer has to worry about food like in those years, even during the war."

Ryan spoke frankly about the past of his territory, not as a disgrace, but as the path he had taken.

"I can sell enough grain to every nobleman, but I have only one request: that this time next year, I hope we meet again not to argue about grain, but to celebrate the joy of a bountiful harvest. How can noble nobles be powerless over such a trivial matter?"

"Perhaps you are worried that your stewards will not be able to carry out your orders to clear the wasteland. No matter, as a friend of the Northwind, I, Ryan Clayton, will spare no effort to help you acquire more wealth."

"This is our war against the South, our war against humanity and the land, and as with every war before us, I, Ryan, will never accept defeat."

Does Ryan have any personal charm? Aside from being handsome, he doesn't think he has any innate charm.

All personal charisma comes from one's actions and is cultivated and formed through hard work.

For example, when it comes to war, no nobleman would doubt Ryan's abilities.

When something involves war, Ryan becomes the nobles' top choice.

Even though this war might sound unfamiliar, they still had Baron Ryan's promise.

If we sell grain to those in the Frozen Earth Territory, the price will likely not be high.

"Food can grow in the Swamp, and even more food will grow in your territory."

It was all because of the Swamp. Ryan sent gifts to all the nobles, reminding them of the Swamp's bountiful harvest, and not a single noble would complain about having more food.

Food is the most important thing for people, especially in this era that is still stuck in the era of slavery.

The Divine Grace Festival ended, and Shaya, who couldn't understand it, returned to Thundercloud Mountain. To her surprise, when the outcome of the matter was told to Chrysus, the Grand Duke's heir reacted more erratically than ever before.

Shaya didn't understand, but Chrysus didn't tell her in the letter. Instead, he went directly to his father, the noble Grand Duke of the Empire.

"Father..."

Chrysus fell silent; he had no idea how to deal with the Baron from the Northlands.

The only thing that could be told was what had happened in the Northwind to the grandfather.

Even Grand Duke Mayers remained silent for a long time after reading it.

After a long while, the Grand Duke finally raised his head. He had never met Baron Ryan before, because he hadn't paid much attention to him. Count Clayton was more worthy of his attention than Count Clayton's offspring.

He looked at Chrysus and asked:

"Those nobles just agreed like that?"

"Yes, they seem to trust Baron Ryan a lot, believing he can make the land grow food."

"That the Swamp... did indeed produce food, but it didn't have much of an impact, nor did it possess any Divine Essence."

The nobles were confident in their judgment of the truth.

The Duke and his son fell silent. It wasn't important that Ryan could resolve the matter; they didn't even care how he did it.

But what truly moved them this time?

It is absolute sovereignty.

Imperial Capital of Flor could not influence or change a nobleman's full power over his own territory.

Simply put, within a territory, there is only one lord who can act arbitrarily.

But now, in the Northwind Province, Ryan has done it. While holding the title of lord in one territory, he has begun to influence and control the lands belonging to those nobles as an outsider.

Although the results may not seem immediately apparent, that's essentially the case: Ryan's power has extended into the territories of those nobles.

Don't those nobles realize this? The nobles of the Northwind Province are so foolish.

Shaya saw Ryan resolve the political struggle stemming from the food problem, but the Grand Duke and his son saw Ryan gradually becoming the true master of that land.

He will control all the nobles' territories.

If he really succeeds, then no matter what Ryan does in the future, the nobles will lose the confidence to fight against Ryan, because he has provided them with food.

That's the lifeline for survival.

In ancient legends, humans could only receive food by worshipping Deities, and Ryan did.

"That's territory you conquered."

Chrysus was somewhat angry and resentful. The Northwind Province, which had been conquered by Grand Duke Mayers Nightmare Knights, was now going to break away from them and become the property of Ryan.

If Ryan succeeds, Ryan will be able to face any nobleman in the empire's political arena without fear.

Because he will have a provincial reserve behind him, giving him the power to declare war with all the nobles in the province.

In the event of an event affecting the entire empire, Ryan's presence will be indispensable.

"Those nobles would never agree to Ryan doing this."

Chrysus said that even his father had difficulty doing it, so how could the Northern Baron possibly accomplish it?

The Grand Duke responded in a low, somber tone:

"Unless he really was just bringing food to those nobles, wasn't he?"

"You wouldn't believe that the Baron would solve the food problem in the Northwind Province in this way, so you also wouldn't believe his real purpose in doing so."

"Those nobles certainly wouldn't allow him to interfere in their territory, unless Ryan truly brings them only pure benefits."

Why did he do that?

Neither of them truly considered that Ryan could wield absolute power over a nobleman's territory. That was a surname, a bloodline that was the most intolerable bottom line. But... what was Ryan's purpose?

Just as Ryan couldn't understand what Meyers wanted to do in Northwind Province, Meyers now couldn't understand Ryan's purpose in Northwind Province either.

(End of this chapter)