Episode 76
The number of midwives in Hebron has surpassed 30. Since the four baronies were combined, there were 11 midwives who had previously been active. 19 more were added to this number.
Although the migration of the people was not free due to tax and labor outflow issues, the old midwives were not subject to sanctions.
Rather, the surrounding lords were pleased with the movement of the elderly who did little work but only accumulated food.
The lords thought that the baby would come out on its own without a midwife. Even I, who had medical knowledge, thought of midwives only as assistants in childbirth.
The role of midwives in childbirth was very important. They did not simply help with childbirth, but saved the lives of mothers and babies.
“If too many people come, it’s a big problem.”
The absence of maternal families led to a decline in birth rates, meaning that mothers and children in other domains could die.
“Should I tell them to stop?”
“They’re coming, so why should I stop them? If you really need a midwife, tell them to ask for one through the Canaan Mercenaries. I can lend them to you for a short while if you pay them a reasonable fee.”
Traditionally, midwives were paid in ‘food’, which was a small amount of food to be distributed to the surplus labor force that had become old and unable to work. So midwives lost their lives during the period when children were not born.
It was a world where even blacksmiths were not treated well. Even congressmen were not treated favorably, although they were considered to be people with a little bit of knowledge.
“Midwives are old. It must be difficult for them to go long distances in a hurry.”
“So you have a method in mind?”
“Ryoma has a method he suggested.”
Amy brought a proposal. Ryoma, who had just graduated from the Royal Academy, was full of passion. He meticulously filled out the documents to utilize the knowledge he had learned at the Academy, and he found and did things that were not even asked of him.
“Bring Ryoma.”
Amy’s expression changed slightly.
She left the office, trying not to show it.
Until then, I had been dealing exclusively with Amy. I expected her to distribute tasks to her subordinates and organize Hebron. She tried hard, but she fell short of my expectations. In the end, I had no choice but to step forward myself.
First, I decided to meet with everyone below me. I, too, was not used to managing the estate. I was particularly awkward with human relationships. I lived two lives, but one was locked up for half of his life, and the other was nothing more than the eldest son of a poor baron.
‘There’s nothing I can do.’
I had a role model. The image of a man who wielded absolute power and ran his territory stably was engraved in my mind.
Duke of Breyo.
Unfortunately, he was the only ruler I could refer to who was as close to perfect as I could get.
Ryoma looked at me with a very surprised expression.
It was obvious that he was trying to seize the opportunity for success.
“I saw the proposal you wrote. Are you talking about a guild or a union as it is written here?”
The representative guilds were the wizard guild and the spirit guild. The wizard guild grew and became the current magic tower, and the spirit guild established itself as a kind of social group.
The purpose of the founding of both associations was the exchange of knowledge and mutual growth.
“Similarly, however, a union is more of a gathering for socializing. A guild is more goal-oriented. It prioritizes the pursuit of common interests.”
“Tell me about the blacksmith guild you mentioned.”
“Three years ago, a blacksmith guild was created in the capital. Even the most skilled blacksmiths were barely able to make ends meet, so the blacksmiths who couldn’t stand it anymore banded together. A guild was created with blacksmiths as the main focus.”
Mollyne was a blacksmith I also know. He was a disciple of Charion, who was considered the best blacksmith. I heard that he was good at his skills, but his personality was so bad that no one would work with him.
‘You probably aren’t the type of person to work under someone. That’s why you created a guild and became its leader.’
“Call Baryan.”
Baryan was a blacksmith who worked in the capital. He was a man with outstanding skills that even the Duke of Braio was interested in, so he must have known a lot about the blacksmith guild.
“Did you call, my lord?”
“Do you know about the Blacksmith Guild?”
“Yes, I was once offered to join a guild.”
“Why didn’t you sign up?”
“At that time, I was not a major target for the guild because I was known for my living tools and prosthetic limbs, not my weapons. Even when I was offered a job later, I refused to join the guild because they offered an outrageous fee.”
Baryan told the story he had seen and heard. The blacksmith guild was centered around the weapon makers and tended to take excessive fees. Instead, they could live comfortably by dealing only with the guild, not with the royal family or the nobles.
They formed a force to resist the exploitation of the nobles.
“Rumor has it that the Duke of Braiot is behind the Blacksmith Guild. The vice-leader is a man named Jack, and he has a habit of talking like a magpie whenever he gets drunk. Since it came out of his mouth, it can’t be a lie.”
“Huh?”
It was only natural that a guild was created in the capital of the Kingdom of Zenon. If they had formed a force carelessly, they would have fallen out of favor with the king and been slaughtered.
As I paid attention, Baryan scratched his head and added:
“It’s just a rumor, I don’t know the full details.”
“If we were to organize a blacksmith’s guild in Hebron, would it be beneficial?”
“To be honest, I don’t really feel the need for it. I can make a lot of money just by completing the requests of the blacksmiths. The guild is on the backs of the nobles… … I’m, sorry. I heard that it’s a gathering of blacksmiths who have a hard time making a living.”
For the powerless commoners, a guild was a pretty good idea. However, it was still premature. In a situation where the power of the king and the nobles was absolute, if the commoners joined forces, it would only be a thorn in their side.
‘But the Duke of Braiot made the blacksmiths join forces? Are they trying to gather the blacksmiths of the capital and take them to the Duke of Braiot? No, that’s too dangerous. What if they were taken to various territories? … Or maybe they’re just test subjects. You can just provoke them to form a force, then roll them around until they disintegrate in midair. Or maybe they’re preparing for a situation where they need to prepare a lot of weapons above a certain level… … Is that an absurd idea?’
The strange experiments of the Duke of Braio were carried out all over the kingdom of Zenon. It was not a direct order from the Duke of Braio. When they threw money around, the subordinates moved on their own. It was because of the few pages of reports that the Duke of Braio would have in his hands.
‘Even without a report, the result is obvious. Whether you hire a bunch of blacksmiths or outsource the work to blacksmiths scattered around, the only difference will be the process, but the result will be similar. From the noble’s perspective, there is a possibility that they will spend excessive amounts of money.’
After hearing the circumstances of the capital, I was able to map out the path forward for Hebron.
“Accept the midwives as members of the Hebron House. Recognize them as Hebron’s talents and provide them with 5 silver per month. And if they successfully deliver a child, pay them more for their efforts. However, there is no retirement until death. If a midwives become old and unable to move, they will be given the job of training younger midwives. The same compensation as before will be provided.”
“Then the expenses will be too much.”
“how much?”
“If we plug in Hebron’s birth rate and the number of midwives… … it would cost about 1 gold per person per year. Considering the support for them, the annual budget would be around 400 gold. As the number of midwives increases, the cost will also increase.”
It was too much money to spend on a single midwife.
Although Hebron was wealthy, its funds were not unlimited.
“What if midwives doubled the birth rate? And what if infant mortality was cut in half from what it is now?”
“But it’s the same. We have to wait 15 years for those kids to grow up and do their job.”
“I am about to start a farm that will take 15 years. I am asking the Prime Minister of Hebron how much the crops that will be harvested from then will be worth.”
“Okay, just give me a moment. Ryoma, come over here and help me pay the bill.”
“Yes, Prime Minister!”
While the two men were calculating, I asked Baryan about the progress of the Rainbow Bridge. It seemed that the Rainbow Bridge would be completed sooner than expected, provided there were no problems.
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Amy and Ryoma approached me with their faces as if their souls had been taken away. The paper they handed me had numbers marked with ‘±’. It wasn’t certain, but it said that they would make a certain amount of profit.
And as time went by, the profits seemed to increase exponentially.
“Go ahead. Put an ad in the newsletter to recruit midwives. The focus of this job is on generous pay, stable jobs, and training. Only those who complete the training can become ‘official midwives of Hebron.’”
“Yes, my lord.”
“I wish you would give them suitable names. Think of suitable names that will help them recognize that they are part of Hebron.”
“Yes, my lord.”
– It is important to recognize the value of humble things first. Only when we are together, not alone, will we be recognized for our value. … … Omitted … … People, gather together. And unite as one.
Why is that?
At this very moment, I was reminded of a passage from
No matter how you look at it, there was no room for ‘republicanism’ to interfere in this situation. It was hard to imagine that such a test of subversive ideas was taking place in the middle of the capital. That would be like putting a knife to the king’s neck.
‘It’s none of my business. No, I shouldn’t. I shouldn’t even pretend to notice. No, no, nothing is happening in the capital. The idea that Brayo and the Republicans are connected is too dangerous and unfounded. I’m just going my own way.’
Hebron was not a duke.
Even if he was a duke, he would only follow Sardia.
“Now that it’s come to this, we need to involve people from other fields as well.”
“If it’s another field… … are you talking about blacksmithing?”
He shook his head.
There was no reason to push forward with something that was rejected by the Baryans who were active in the field.
The blacksmiths of Hebron were well paid and treated well. They did not have to pay excessive taxes, so they could become rich just by accepting work from the lord and completing it.
“No, he’s a congressman.”
“There aren’t many members of the National Assembly. The Lord said that most of the members active in other territories are frauds.”
There were five members of the Hebron council. Of course, that was the number of people I recognized, and there were about 20 people who had inherited the folk remedy that had been passed down for a long time. Although it was announced that those who were caught practicing folk remedy indiscriminately would be severely punished, there were still those who were secretly active.
“Amy, you’re right. Midwives and doctors practice medicine as they please. That’s why they’re not recognized. That’s why we’re trying to unify them.”
“Are you saying that you will train not only midwives but also doctors?”
I have published two books.
It was a copy of a book I had written some time ago.
