Hidden Dangers of the Kingdom

Victor said worriedly, "Count Edmund, but I found that the kingdom's freemen-to-serf ratio seemed far too high. In the Paulette County we passed through, the territory had a total population of 300,000, with more than 250,000 serfs. A freemen-to-serf ratio of one to five is a little too outrageous!

Even in the Vela Region, which had just gone through war, the freemen-to-serf ratio in most territories did not exceed one to three. In some old territories, it could even approach one to one.

With such a small proportion of freemen, if something happened—say, a serf uprising—the few troops in the territory would have a hard time suppressing it!"

Edmund wiped the sweat from his forehead and smiled bitterly. "There's nothing to be done about it. The kingdom's border provinces are better off. Their national defense pressure is great, whether it is the northern frontier provinces facing the barbarians or the western provinces facing the Fas Kingdom. Their freemen-to-serf ratio is much higher than that of the interior, after all, because they need large numbers of freemen to provide soldiers.

But the territories in the heartland provinces are different. They had enjoyed peace for a long time, with no defensive pressure and no dangers to face. Even if bandits appeared, a small number of standing troops and militia could handle them.

And the nobles of the interior all liked to use serfs for farming and production, allowing them to maximize the output of their territories. That was why the nobles in the kingdom's heartland were so wealthy. The bustling scene you saw along this Grand Canal was made possible by such conditions."

Victor stroked his chin after hearing this. In his understanding, this mode of production carried considerable hidden dangers. Leaving aside the most basic issue of serfs lacking motivation to