Domenico and the Governor were engaged in a rare, heated argument.
Inside the Governor’s Mansion, everyone had the sense to stay far away from the inner hall.
Even the butler only dared to wait a few meters from the door.
“Your Excellency, you truly cannot resign at this time. Once the Kingdom’s grain ban takes effect, we need you here to stabilize Landinset!”
“Domenico, you all found a suitable candidate long ago. Marino Faliero — let him take the position of Acting Governor.”
Domenico slammed his hand heavily against the table.
“Your Excellency, I have never had any selfish motives regarding the position of Governor. If you can simply persist until the end of your term, it will be impossible for Marino to take power early. We must protect the budget proposal until the final audit is complete!”
Governor Carlos sat in his chair, his expression vacant.
His mouth was dry from arguing with Domenico for so long, and he no longer knew what to say.
“Domenico. Calm down first.”
“I am not resigning because I wish to escape. It is because I truly can no longer discern where the correct course lies.”
“You are right; the Republic was perhaps on the verge of collapse even before the Grotius reforms, yet it miraculously survived for more than ten years. If you compare the two, you must admit that this reform is clearly different from the last one.”
“Grain prices are still rising. The deficit hasn’t decreased; we have simply earned a bit more money, but throwing that money into the pit doesn’t even make a splash.”
“Most importantly, you, Domenico. You want to maintain the baseline of cooperation with the elves, but there are plenty of people who have no interest in maintaining any baseline. They would love nothing more than to wake up tomorrow as a protectorate of Elindria, a tributary state, or simply some autonomous republic territory. Can you truly compete with them?”
Domenico immediately retorted, just as he had throughout their argument.
“Your Excellency, the nature of reform is that the path ahead is uncertain. But we must take things one step at a time, such as quickly signing grain purchase contracts with the elves or the dwarves. We must stabilize the situation in the meantime and endure until next year.”
“No matter what, we absolutely cannot allow a ‘Great Interregnum’ to occur!”
The Great Interregnum — what a familiar term.
This phrase had not originally belonged to the Republic.
It was a specialty of the elven nation.
Ever since the Valenria Family fell, their successors were often overthrown within a few decades.
A strange state of affairs frequently occurred where there was no actual Queen for many years, leading to widespread mockery.
That was until the Republic experienced the same situation.
The number of members in the Parliament was consistently less than half, and no matter how they bickered, they could not reach a compromise on a new Governor.
Because the previous Governor had passed away, the Council of Ten followed the rules and disbanded on the spot without leaving anything behind, making it impossible to even elect an Acting Governor.
The position of Governor remained vacant for a full two years.
That period was also known as the “Dark Peace.”
The Governor certainly understood Domenico’s concerns.
“So, you have chosen Marino Faliero, haven’t you?”
Domenico countered immediately.
“Yes, we have a backup plan. But Your Excellency, let us speak openly — how long can he hold out? If he becomes overwhelmed and resigns as well, who else is left to step up?”
The Governor immediately listed several names: Vittorio, who was in charge of Landinset’s defense; Emilia of the Navy; and Cosimo, who had close ties with the mercenaries.
They were all members of the Council of Ten.
Of course, at the end, the Governor also mentioned Luca, the Governor of the Estuary.
If necessary, he could also serve as the Acting Governor.
Domenico shook his head.
“No, that would turn our Governor’s Mansion into a laughingstock. Your Excellency, can you really not wait just a little longer?”
The Governor spread his hands on the table and shook his head helplessly.
“Domenico, I am sorry. My private physician told me that my severe febrile humor illness means I likely will not survive past next autumn. I have been passing blood in my stool lately, and I cannot keep food down; I often vomit it back up.”
“I want to die in the courtyard of my hometown. I do not want to drop dead in the Governor’s Mansion, only for you all to hide the news of my death until the term ends.”
Domenico fell silent.
He knew that using any more rhetoric to persuade Governor Carlos would be unseemly.
He could actually see that the Governor’s physical condition was not what it used to be, but he had always felt that it wasn’t strange for an old man to be this way.
After all, he was only 50 years old, yet he was riddled with ailments.
He began to accept the fact that the Governor was resigning immediately and started discussing the next phase with him.
“Your Excellency, if the Frostwave Kingdom’s grain ban truly comes, what should we do?”
The Governor pondered for a moment.
“Importing grain from the elven nation and the dwarves is not enough. If possible, you also need to reach out to the countries to the west, including the Kingdom of Camellot and the Kingdom of Saint Remy. The territories and nations in the interior must also be contacted.”
Domenico reflected for a moment before speaking.
“But if we do that, the price of this grain will become extremely expensive. Even if we import it, ordinary people will not be able to afford it.”
The Governor knew what he meant.
This was fundamentally a violation of economic laws.
“The residents always have some savings. They will bring them out regardless, just to prevent themselves from starving tonight. But after that, they will still be unable to afford food. Therefore, Domenico, you might have to resort to the ancient methods. That is to say, the relief policy.”
Domenico swallowed hard; he really did not think this was a good idea.
The policy involved having adult male residents trade their status as freemen for free, low-quality bread or rice.
At this stage, the status of the people who accepted this deal was still much higher than that of slaves.
At the very least, they could not be driven away at will and still enjoyed the right to private property.
However, when the Republic required them to exert effort to dig ditches, waterways, or canals, or to act as trackers, they could not refuse.
Those who refused would face the penalty of hanging.
Of course, sometimes they might be required to serve as sailors or be assigned to mercenary groups for military service.
The wages they earned would be used to repay the grain loans and interest until the debt was cleared.
The Republic had not done this on a large scale for many years because there was no shortage of people willing to perform military or labor service.
Seeing Domenico’s disapproval, the Governor continued.
“Furthermore, we must evacuate the bankrupt poor from the city to various rural towns. Let them become tenant farmers for local town officials or large ranch owners. This, at least, will prevent the situation from deteriorating further. The rural towns can support more people than we imagine; it is only because they are currently greedy for money and have planted much less wheat and rice in favor of grapes, mulberries, and figs.”
Domenico was familiar with this plan; it ultimately meant that bankrupt civilians would lose their status as citizens of Landinset.
He also began to speak, adding the final part of the strategy.
“If all else fails, we will send the civilians who are willing to accept a relocation fee to the Southern Islands. There is still much uncultivated land there. People have gone there every year in the past, but the numbers were small. Lorenzo has already taken up the post of Supervisor of the Southern Islands. I will ask him how many more people each of those islands needs; we can send a large number all at once.”
The Governor nodded, closed his eyes, and stopped speaking.