Chapter 9 : Completing Unification, Coveting Bones

Chapter 9: Completing Unification, Coveting Bones

A major issue that had weighed heavily on her mind was finally resolved, and only then did Mitia find the chance to turn back and deal with the territories that had fallen into temporary chaos due to the riots.

Her solution was very simple: since the riots had succeeded with her secret intervention, the now ownerless small fiefs were placed under a one-size-fits-all policy of “the law does not punish the masses, the past will not be blamed.”

In such extraordinary times, she did not dare to recklessly order her troops to search the commoners’ homes for the wealth they had plundered from the little nobles’ castles.

Otherwise, if her subordinates took advantage of their authority to completely strip the commoners bare, those people would surely rise in revolt against her.

However, aside from what had already been consumed, the remaining grain still had to be reclaimed.

It was to be bought back from the free folk at the standard grain price.

On this matter, she was not afraid of extending the impact too far—most families could barely sustain even one meal a day, so there was no possibility of them hoarding grain.

After the royal army intervened and stationed troops, most of her forces were pulled back, which was already enough to flip the table.

Therefore, she issued an ultimatum to those minor nobles whose castles had not been breached by the rioters—

they were to be stripped of their fiefs, granted during the Ackerman era, on the charge of gross dereliction of duty in governing the common people.

Only their noble titles would remain.

The lands had to be reclaimed, wealth could be taken away, but the grain must be left behind.

This matter was not up for negotiation.

The young army stationed in the frontline stronghold of Uruk was recalled in full, tasked specifically with carrying out this decision.

The so-called noble alliance of before had long since become empty words under the watchful eyes of the rioters.

If they dared to send their men away, these rioters would dare to plunder their homes in turn.

Although implementing this would utterly ruin Mitia’s reputation within noble circles—

she did not care.

She had never intended to have much interaction with this group of “autumn locusts.”

Judging by her plan’s pace, these nobles should be glad they could still leave with their lives if they left now with their wealth and grain.

If they continued to stir up trouble, soon even their lives would be forfeit.

The reclaimed fiefs were all handed over to the territorial army, placed under wartime military administration, responsible only for basic stability and population statistics.

Bandits who could be pacified were pacified.

Those who could not were swiftly crushed by Graf’s cavalry regiment.

Under this policy, the grain reserves of all territories were inspected one by one by the army and reported, then consolidated into her hands for unified allocation.

Finally, grain would be rationed according to each territory’s actual population count.

If one place had surplus, it would be transferred nearby based on the principle of proximity.

In this way, the food reserves were sufficient to last until the next harvest.

Meanwhile, she could also purchase at reasonable prices from other channels, ensuring a stable passage through this difficult half-year.

To simplify management, Mitia renamed all these small fiefs under her to “townships,” preparing in advance for future township reforms.

As for slaves, Mitia set a threshold for gaining freedom.

As long as the quota of grain handed over was met, they could leave the slave registry and become ordinary free folk.

And she had already planned the channels through which they could obtain extra grain—these people were her best source of workers.

Time flew swiftly, and Mitia’s orders were being executed in an orderly manner, loudly proclaimed by soldiers in the centers of each fief.

The surrounding commoners erupted in cheers of “Long live Milady the Lord!” The scene nearly spun out of control.

They understood nothing else, only that Mitia was going to distribute grain to them.

Nothing else mattered—this alone was enough.

The minor nobles, forced by Mitia’s policies, complained bitterly.

Yet with the army at their gates and commoners watching hungrily, they had no choice but to grit their teeth and leave, bleeding.

And when they packed up to depart, Mitia cut another slice from them—she did not guarantee their personal safety.

If they wanted to leave with their money and private soldiers, whether they were robbed on the road was none of her concern.

In fact, she was very likely to orchestrate a round of “robbing the rich to aid the poor.”

Of course, she could also assign escorts—but manpower was scarce, so they would have to “show proper sincerity” in return.

With the unification of the territories basically completed, her foundational industrial plan could finally begin.

Under standardized divisions of labor for machining and processing, her people hand-crafted steam engines.

In less than a week, the first batch had already rolled off the line.

Thanks to her Watt steam engine blueprints being the final version, with flywheels, levers, and valves already designed in advance, even the dwarf craftsmen could understand the benefits of steam engines, even innovating by combining them with magical tools.

For dwarves, a race naturally enamored with molten iron, the enduring and surging power of steam engines made them the most direct beneficiaries.

If she wanted to bring a different path to this new world, it could never be without steam engines.

Their greatest significance lay not in the technology itself, but in the comprehensive industrial amplification they served as a foundation for.

Industries that once consumed immense manpower and time could now reduce both labor intensity and demand, while also massively increasing output.

As for the use of this batch of steam engines, Mitia already had the perfect place in mind—the Astal territory was, in a sense, ideal.

To its left lay the sea.

Its front border with Paria was a plain.

Surrounded by mountains, it held abundant reserves of various ores and stone.

Iron ore reserves were especially plentiful, though surface iron veins had been scarce and previously unmineable—until now.

With such rich stone resources, a highly “profitable” industry naturally sprang to Mitia’s mind.

For porcelain, the most basic raw materials posed no problem for her.

Clay, quartz, flux—

Astal had large deposits of illite, the main ingredient for clay.

She had seen crystals in her mother’s jewelry, and crystals were simply well-crystallized quartz.

As for feldspar, the flux, the mountains were full of it.

The biggest issue in firing ceramics was actually temperature.

At 800–1100 degrees, one could only fire pottery.

Only at 1150 degrees and above—around 1200–1400—could porcelain be fired.

But now, this was no longer a problem.

The Kingdom of Paria, Ovinia’s mortal enemy, was a semi-nomadic nation.

Their massive cavalry was the nightmare of all neighboring countries.

But Mitia’s eyes were not on this force—she coveted their bones.

Bone meal was the key material in producing high-grade porcelain—bone china.

And in a country like Paria, cattle and sheep bones, even the bones of magical beasts, must exist in great abundance.

In the past, bones could only be discarded.

Surely, if she offered money, the nearby Parian lords would be delighted to sell.

Then she could turn those bones into porcelain, resell it back to them at high prices, and profit both ways.

Watching the hundreds of dwarves working fervently in the open air, Mitia’s face lit up with a smile.

Blast furnaces, porcelain, mines—these three would form the short-term core plan for the Astal territory this year.