Chapter 163: Means of Growth
“Those who come up with ill intentions will emerge.”
I answered immediately.
There was no need to think about it.
It was as obvious as the sun rising in the east.
My immediate response seemed to satisfy my father.
“That’s right. The moment power changes hands, turmoil always follows, regardless of the era or the domain.”
“…If I may say so without fear of misunderstanding…”
I paused for a moment, took a breath, and looked straight at my father as I spoke.
“After Your Majesty passes, we can expect one of the largest upheavals in history.”
“That’s why I decided to abdicate early.”
“However, it won’t reach a point of zero.”
“That’s why I made the most of my health issues.”
“…To flush out the disloyal.”
“Exactly.”
My father nodded slightly.
With a serious expression, he looked away from me and gazed out the window.
“I am engaged in the final major task of life’s culmination. If I make even a single mistake, there will be no time for a redo; it is the most difficult work of my life.”
“…I understand.”
I bowed my head slightly.
In life, making mistakes is quite common.
When one is young, they can just try again—there’s usually still time left for that, but by my father’s age, such time is no longer available.
Every misstep is critical during this final stage of life.
“I’m sorry, but…”
“Yes?”
My father turned his gaze back to me.
“Right now, Your Majesty seems almost like an artist, meticulously working on the final touches of a masterpiece—this is how it feels to me.”
“That’s a clever analogy… it’s exactly right.”
My father smiled at my analogy.
Even my father, in such a situation, must have his nerves constantly on edge.
I hoped to ease that tension, even if just a little.
“…That’s why you continue to live here.”
“…Oh?”
“You have entrusted the throne to me. You have transferred both power and responsibility. Yet, the only thing you haven’t handed over is this palace—it’s only now that I truly understand its significance.”
“…Impressive, Noah.”
My father looked a bit surprised, then quickly brought forth a gentle smile.
“If you jump out of the second-floor window, you may break a bone, however, if you take the stairs one step at a time, it’s not an issue at all.”
“Gradually unveiling the turmoil—”
I said this and knelt down.
Kneeling, I bowed my head.
It was a natural expression of feeling, a movement that arose spontaneously.
“To even consider your own life and death as a part of your strategy… I am left speechless.”
“That is—”
“Huh?”
I raised my face.
My father seemed to have started to say something but swallowed his words.
Instead, he opened his mouth with a sense of substitution.
“I have been blessed with children.”
“Your Majesty…”
“Do you remember Albert?”
“…Yes.”
I answered briefly.
I offered no unnecessary words.
Albert, my father’s second son and my brother, was once the crown prince.
He, however, attempted to incite a coup the moment he learned of his disinheritance, and as a result, lost his life.
“What Albert did cannot be forgiven, but it also showed his capability. The intelligence and decisiveness to take action the moment I made up my mind to disinherit him. Only a truly capable person could act so decisively.”
“…Yes.”
“Setting aside Albert, there are Henry, Oscar, and somewhat distantly, Dustin. I have been excessively blessed with children.”
I remained silent.
This was a sensitive topic, one where even nodding along seemed inappropriate.
As the Emperor, while having capable children is a blessing, being overly fortunate can lead to family disputes, making it difficult to express joy unreservedly.
My father was troubled precisely because of this, and as the party involved, I found it hard to respond.
“If all of them were like Dustin, there would be no issue.”
“As a person, he might be the most intelligent among the siblings.”
“That’s true.”
My father nodded, his expression becoming slightly more serious.
“Let’s return to the topic; I staged a critical condition and allowed myself to observe for a while.”
“Yes.”
It was about Oscar.
I realized that instinctively.
“Noah, from now on, you should behave a bit more arrogantly.”
“Arrogantly?”
“You could also say more like the Emperor.”
“More like the Emperor…”
“The stronger the Emperor is, the less they can be defied. To go against them would mean outright denying one’s own pride.”
“…Yes.”
I thought it was a blind spot.
My father was speaking indirectly without using specific names, but it was completely about Oscar.
I had been pouring my heart and soul into winning Oscar over.
Most of it had been through “conciliation.”
That was also the reason he had made Oscar the regent during this campaign.
In that sense, I had become a “weak Emperor” when it came to Oscar.
However, my father said that it wasn’t like that.
Oscar respects “the authority of the Emperor.”
That means that for a “strong Emperor,” he would deny even his own way of living, making it impossible to go against him.
It was a complete eye-opener.
“Of course, there are cases where one can throw everything away, but given your personality, I doubt you can go that far.”
“I understand. I will do so.”
“Good.”
His Majesty nodded with a satisfied expression.
In this regard, I felt I could trust him unconditionally.
To prevent Oscar from rebelling, or at worst to “stop it before it happens” like with Albert, was the most important matter for my father, who was in the process of “end-of-life planning.”
So, I thought I could trust him and decided to follow his advice.
“Let’s change the subject. Let’s talk about it after I’m gone.”
“Yes.”
“What do you plan to do as Emperor moving forward? What kind of vision do you have in mind?”
“…I’m considering breaking the stagnation in population.”
“Hmm.”
My father nodded clearly.
Population is, without a doubt, the very foundation of national power.
For the past several decades, the Empire’s population has been nearly flat, entering a period of stagnation.
If we aim for further prosperity, increasing the population is of utmost importance—no, it is at the level of a “prerequisite.”
“What do you think can be done to increase the population?”
“The upper limit of the population is linked to the technology level of the time, as well as the food and wealth acquired through that technology—overall, it’s related to the ‘resource limit.'”
“Indeed.”
“You expanded the territory to cover that. If territory expands, it’s only natural that the resource limit acquired with the same technology also increases.”
“That’s true.”
“As a result of expanding the territory, while the territory itself grew, so did the pensions paid to war widows. The wealth gathered among those war widows didn’t get distributed, leading to a ‘resource stagnation.'”
“Impressive, Noah. You understand it to that extent?”
“I learned from history.”
I answered immediately.
“It was the Iponiya Empire, wasn’t it?”
“Yes. It was that country where medical technology developed exceptionally, and the average lifespan of the citizens extended into their 80s. Those who had resources aged but did not die, and because they were old, they lacked the vitality to use those resources, holding onto them instead. As a result, the young people couldn’t access those resources, leading to a ‘dark age’ of stagnation for about 30 to 40 years across a single generation.”
“What will you do considering that?”
“There are many war widows who also have grandchildren. At that age, many find joy only in doting on their grandchildren.”
“Are you going to use the grandchildren as bait?”
“Yes, while I will refine the specific method going forward, I want it to be in a form where ‘the more you spend money on your grandchildren, the more you benefit.'”
“For example?”
“For example… if they spend 1 Reen on their grandchild, the treasury would provide a matching subsidy of 1 Reen. The numbers are just an example, but if they can dote on their grandchildren and gain from it, they would likely loosen their wallets and spend their wealth.”
“Impressive, Noah, you’re cleverly utilizing the feelings of the elderly who love their grandchildren.”
My father said joyfully.
The deciding factor for my father to hand over the imperial throne to me was the presence of Sem, the “good grandchild.”
I expected he would understand the talks about doting on grandchildren.
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