With a single order from Uchiha Yuu, a powerful dose of medicine was administered to the Land of Lightning, which had only just endured a war.
Whether it could stomach that medicine, however, remained a serious question.
The matter alarmed everyone from top to bottom. Even those deep in the mountains received rumors, while newspapers across the country reported on it.
"Are they prodigal sons? Even if they have money, they can't spend it like this."
"If they weren't squandering money, how would we make any? With prices raised fivefold, our worth can at least double!"
"As expected of a wealthy major trading association—they act decisively. They've already begun paying out and boldly declared that they'll buy however much grain is available!"
"And there's dried meat in storage too. As long as we hand it over, we can get five times the money!"
Everyone had been blinded by money. With immense wealth laid out before them, all they had to do was hand over part of their grain to obtain it. Who could resist such temptation?
Under such circumstances, the uproar naturally spread across the entire country.
Yet what the nobles did was far worse than anyone had imagined. Not only could commoners not sell their grain at a good price, but they were required to sell it solely to the local nobles. If anyone dared hide grain and sell it to others, the punishment awaiting them would be unimaginably cruel. Their land might even be confiscated.
Such policies subjected those already living at the bottom of society to another inhumane oppression.
Human lives were cheap as grass in this era. Before technology drove revolution, everything had to be created with one's own hands. Whether sowing or harvesting, it all required vast amounts of time.
The Enlightenment Organization's large-scale grain