Chapter 221

A Meeting in theTerritory

As I returned some words to the inspector that was standing in front of my desk with a bitter smile, Moneda came in with a knocking sound .

His complexion was really bad, that's something unusual on him .

. . . But I think that mine shoud be similar right now .

To be honest, I didn't want to see Moneda . . . because I should have to face the discussion of the agenda with him .

When I was young, as a student, sometimes I had those thoughts "I do not want to go to school" on examination days .

. . . . . . However, those times when it was permissible to "postpone it because I don't want to think right now", have passed long ago .

Now, we see each other eye to eye with deep wrinkles between our eyebrows .

" . . . Should I have a seat?"

At his question I pointed to the chair in front of the desk .

Anyway, I thought that he wanted me to attend the discussion meetings of the finance department, but it seems that it's more than that .

"Long time no see, my lady"

"Well, yeah . "

Haha . . . both of us are really busy not?, a subtle smile floats in his face .

"At the royal palace, the first prince had the victory, which I am glad because the harassment against our territory finally ends . "

"Well, yeah, about that matter, it was a great help the information you provided Moneda, although I'm late in giving you my thanks . . . Thank you so much, Moneda"

"No, I don't mind it . So about today's matter, the commercial guild needs . . . "

" . . . . . . Moneda"

I block his words and call his name .

He shook his body slightly at my call .

"You do not seem to be a guy who talks about matters of little relevance, like concerns of a commercial guild . . . time is money, is not it?"

As soon as I said that, his eyes changed color .

He became alert .

It's like someone trying to walk ahead with a heavy burden laying on his shoulders . Every step can be a mine .

"I would like to discuss . . . about the future . . . "

"I guessed it was that . . . Just right on the mark it seems . "

In the middle of our conversation, various members who came from the civil department had come into the room .

"We will start a meeting in the next room . "

When each seat in different positions previously arranged, and an officer first handed out the data for the meeting .

Everyone watches with deep attention the distributed papers .

"This is the current stockpiles present in the territory and the production output predicted for this harvesting period"

Regarding stockpiling, the present quantity is really low .

Still, I think this all is probably regarding the topic of accepting immigrants and providing food assistance to them .

It should have been worth having a budget and purchasing food from another country .

. . . . . . If everything goes as predicted, the original quantity should be recovered at the next harvest .

Yes, but that's if nothing happens .

Oh my head hurts .

" . . . We can expect a huge amount of harvest in the next harvest period"

As far as the report says, it is expected an increment in production by around a 20% more compared to the previous year .

"The result of the research at the school has been successful, as a result, we started a new method of cultivation, to use the agricultural land more effectively and optimize the cultivation of the crops . As long as disasters do not hit the farmland before harvest, we regard this predicted numbers as firm . "

"We will report any events from the engineering department, and we're awaiting the completion of the constructions for flood control measures . We have already completed the important part and after that it'll be maintenance only . . . . As long as we have a hundreds of years of no storms, the damage caused by the disaster on the lands will be completely forgotten "

At the words of the engineering department . . . I exhale in relief .

"It is earlier than planned, even though the construction was planned from my grandfather's time, I attempted a lot of changes to it this time . "

"Yes, but there has been aggressive cooperation from the residents recently, and that was a major factor determining the progress of it . "

"so…"

It seems that my care for them has rooted deep inside and they are fully supporting me .

"Why is it necessary and why do you need that to be constructed right now? There are other projects that should have more priority . . . "

After all, if you do not know the impact, you won't understand the significance of it .

"What about waterways and reservoirs that are going on in parallel?"

"It is in the middle of the process, although the reservoir is already in operation, the waterway is not yet working, but if the construction of flood is stopped it is possible to send the personnel there, so it will be finished early? "

"I see…"

"Listening to the progress made by the engineering department, it seems that the risk of disasters has been suppressed considerably . So it seems that there is no problem even if we continue food support . . . What do you think? "

They don't answer immediately, seems like they're thinking .

The current situation is okay, but they must be thinking about the future .

" . . . Regarding what you people mentioned earlier, I'll ask again for confirmation . 80% of the immigrants that wish to move permanently to this territotory have already been placed in a job that matches their skills . The remaining 20% is receiving food support . No doubts right? "

At my question, the officers of the immigration and agricultural department each nodded .

"Then, food support will be discontinued . "

My words surprised the officers at this place, they had rounded their eyes for a moment while looking at me perplexed .

Though, considering the current distribution volume and the future harvest volume, it is possible to continue the food support .

Yes, in fact there's nothing wrong if we continue it .

Did you realize my true intention or not yet? . . . . Gradually they start waiting for the continuation of my words with an expectating look .

"Although it has not been officially announced yet, war begins,"

At my words, all the officers but not Moneda breathed in .

Moneda informed us that war was approaching before heading to the capital, I kept calm because I knew already since I was collecting various information through Tanya, that's why our complexions were not good .

Well, I understand your feelings .

" . . . . . . Is it Twil's country?"

As a representative of everyone's concerns, one person voice the question .

But it was not a question, it was already determined among them, it was a just an intent to confirm their guess .

If I nod to affirm, everyone will open their mouths to said something . . .

Surely there are storms of abusive phrases in their heads .

From the expression, anger is around ninety percent and relief is ten percent?

It may be that they're indignant at the fact that even though the incidents are finally concluded, the crown brings in trouble again . . . Resentment towards the royaltly seems to swirl again .

The only salvation is that the Twil's country and the territory are separated .

"Based on that . . . let's talk about preparations?"

Everyone corrects their posture and looks at me with expressions of worry .

A moment of silence book covered the room .

" . . . Moneda . What about the movements of the commercial guild?"

"It seems that we have not grasped this information yet, but the movement of the market is calm . "

"Fine, let's continue to keep an eye on them, as to refrain them from monopolising food and chemicals resources"

" . . . . Actions of big unauthorized purchases are continuing?"

A question is raised from the law department .

"Market control code violation" is a punishment for buying and selling for the purpose of profiteering .

Once in Japan there was something that was enacted when a rice crisis happened . . .

I just studied lightly its story, so I do not know the details of what it was, but I do know how it was applied . . . the purpose is the same as what I constructed in the Duke of Almería .

Due to the occurrence of the disaster, the demand was in excess of supply .

In the meantime, if you buy or sell those items, you can boost the market price that was already going up .

Unfortunately, those who try to devote huge profits using it are unfortunate .

Because this time there's a war .

For the soldiers who fight in the battlefield, the country has to secure food and if the farming places are involved in the battle, the quantity of food decreases drastically .

If we have not balanced supply and demand in this territory, someone will think that the balance of the whole country can be broken by us .

. . . . . . it's not okay to raise goods in cheapest areas and sell it in the place where price is rising, when there're critical situations as this one, when shortage is catastrophic .

As aiming for a freely open market, I think there is no point in enabling them those procedures . . . . And, I am the one who keeps this place .

It is necessary to avoid the fact that food flows out from this place rapidly .

Originally, it was not understood why people run to buy when listening to the news of the war .

"Yes, that's a matter of course . And also, we should maintain the same tariffs on the current special conditions"

Concerned about the outflow of food and supplies to other territories, currently the Duke of Almería has set high tariffs on exports of some items . As for imports, tariffs have been eliminated as much as before .

"As for items to which tariffs are applied, is it the same as before?"

"Yeah . . . . . . In general, it is related to food and medicine . Later confirm with the Ministry of Finance and Agriculture Department, make a list, so as to confirm necessary procedures . . . . Moneda . What is the price trend in the market? "

"Prices are beginning to rise slightly, but it is still about the trend of consumption, and the value of the item itself is rising as well"

"The amount of food distribution should have been secured by adjusting percentages . . . after all, is there any preceding concern about it?"

"In order to lower the price of the indispensable items, it's best to increment the quantity of those items in the market . . . or less likely but also could work . . . we could raise the value of money by reducing the amount of money circulating . . . "

"I will say this from the standpoint of the Ministry of Finance, but I would like to receive some budget again for food procurement from other countries and also please give me some time for those items to reach the internal market . If a large outflow of funds is removed from circulation, it will be impossible to turn those funds to other necessary places . And right now, our territory needs available money to support the immigration and make preparations for the war . "

The complaint of the Ministry of Finance got aggravated by the opinion of Moneda .

"It is also difficult to make a plan in the finances field . . . I remember . . . There was that example of the country that borrowed money . . . How about trying to recreate it? . If you purchase those indispensable items with that money, the goods in stock increase in the market and by collecting funds from them, the supply of funds will decrease . That way there will be abundant quantity on the market . "

It's a good alternative, but for some reason I can't give an okay to the words from the farm department .

"Ah . . . About that plan, you can't easily agree . First of all, in the current system, there is a limit to the volume of money that can be emitted"

The current system here is a note for gold convertion . . . That means, exchange with gold coins is a prerequisite to emit money .

In the first place, the issue of currency is bound by the the amount of available gold coins .

In other words, we can't print money notes endlessly because of insufficient funds .

Well . . . Whether it is a gold system or a currency-based system, is there any difference in the fact that financing is a dark thing as it creates a foolish bond and expands the debt?

"Secondly, it is unclear whether we can support to accept those bonds . When inflation tends to rise, the interest rate will rise too and any suppression to the inflation will be in vain . . . Third, to protect an efficient financial system, in the end, we're obliged to repay those bonds in a near future . . . And as long as income isn't enough to do that or there's a bad harvest or any event, the debt will be increased again and there'll be no turn back . . . Because of that, we can't agree to borrow money easily . "

"I think that it is necessary to talk about it in the view of the current situation . . . How do the other departments think?"

"There's no assurance that this place will not be exposed to warfare, I think it is a necessary risk to take to secure funds for the time of emergency . "

"The adjustment should be in the duties of the Ministry of Finance? I think we should eliminate any other plans and priorities for the near future and devote ourselves to prepare for the war rather than expecting new funds?"

"I am also worried about the trends of the people, anxiety propagates and causes unexpected behavior, even more possibilities for food monopoly will appear . "

"Is it more reasonable to respond to these things in the legal department?"

There must be a lot of impact we every little decision I take here, that's why . . . it's better to hold discussions . When opinions are gathered from the viewpoint of each job, discussions will be held, and the results of those discussion, it's less likely we'll take the wrong path .

I shouldn't make any decision in these difficult times by myself .

From that day on, every day night talks were held, repeated discussions of what everybody was gonna do, and like that we decided the future policy for the territory .