A Treatise on Economic fulfillment, the funding of the nobility and the Theme system/The Economy of a Realm

The Economy of a Realm

To begin, I shall list off the basic features that a realm must prioritize to find economic well-being, in order of their importance.

• Food production: Without it, the realm would be starving and meaningless. The nobility would be forced to war with their own people for scraps of food like mongrel dogs. Due to its significance, a realm must be conscience of their current food production, potential stores and the location of their caches. Should a realm find themselves producing less than their population demands, I advise the conquest of new fertile lands to bring internal production up to consumption levels. As such, I warn each and every realm to safeguard their farmlands with the utmost aggression, as all wealth flows inevitably from the earth. As I write this, I remind myself of the unwavering diligence shown by the Grand Panetier, Margravine Ciarghuala Dubhaine. An exemplar in administration, to which I suggest all realms send their prospective bankers to learn under.

• Population: Once ample food production has been achieved, a realm should focus on populating their hinterlands. Without people, who would work the farms, craft wares for the market, or pay taxes? In order to achieve this, I suggest that regions that produce surplus be given double rations and advisory tax rates, to expedite their growth and maintain high productivity levels. Other regions should have their rations halved, in order to balance out this demand. Once populations in the realms hinterlands are full, return them to adequate rationing and begin the lengthy process of increasing urban populations via full rations and advisory tax rates.

• Social Well-Being: Whilst this may seem a foreign concept to many realms, the well-being of the Lurian people is at the forefront of realm management, and I shall explain why. From the happy, productive peasant does gold flow willingly and in great quantities. To achieve this, a realm should aim to have: full rationing in each province, ample militia, stores of surplus food, moderate tax rates, clear borders, widespread state endorsed religion and regular regional management performed by the court. Of course, I shall tackle each point in more detail further on.

• Gold: For many, the lure of wealth would seem the first reason to pick up this book. Indeed, we would be remiss not mentioning it. However, as you can see already, the acquisition of gold is the least important facet of economic management, and should not be focused upon. Why? If a realm has followed the process detailed above, then one should see their regions providing gold far in excess of their previous management. More importantly, this level of income is sustainable, as the commoners will endeavour to provide so long as the detailed conditions are met. From this, all other aspects of this treatise can be accomplished.

For the next section of this work, I shall discuss the importance of food to a realm in more detail.

Food

The foundation of any realm is within the fields. From crops and herd animals the peasantry might feed themselves, barter at market and stimulate a robust, if primitive, economy. A realm must always be aware of this most essential facet to their economy, and make specific adjustments where necessary to always provide enough food to their people.

I shall begin to list the regions of most importance when determining where to prioritize ones efforts in encouraging a healthy surplus of produce.

• Any region that produces more than its consumption by a factor of two. These regions, when given double the rations, are sure to grow quickest and maintain a high level of productivity. These are the 'bread baskets' of any civilized empire. Unfortunately, the infrastructure and space for expanding these areas is usually small, and I suggest the majority of space be designated to the construction of granaries to store surplus. Another important trade to encourage would be the wheelwrights and cart builders, as proper transportation must be in high supply to allow constant movement of resources. Due to granaries being built to store surplus produce anyway, it is unnecessary to consider how much is needed to feed these regions, as often they can provide for themselves during harsher seasons.

• Any region that produces more than its consumption, but not by a factor of two. These regions, when fully rationed, still provide surplus. Although likely a small surplus, these regions should not be neglected as they will still act as part of the realm food chain. I would often refer to these areas as 'subsistence' regions, producing not much more than hand-to-mouth. Thankfully, this means the realm need not worry too much about these places, though I would still strongly advise for a minimum of a single granary to store food. However, enough granaries to store a full years worth of food on full rations is recommended.

• Any region that produces half its consumption or less. These places in the realm require outside sources of nourishment, likely due to their urban nature. Whilst often prosperous centers of commerce, the lack of sustainable agriculture does require the realm to pay special attention to their maintenance. Early in a realms development, I would suggest keeping these regions at half rations, in order to balance out the realms supplies. Several granaries, well stocked, are a necessity in places such as these. Enough food stored for a full year on full rations is recommended at all times.

For any realm, the acquisition and good maintenance of their 'bread basket' provinces is necessary to the health and prosperity of any people. If necessary, war should be waged as an utmost priority in order to attain enough regions of fertile ground. The reason for this is twofold. Firstly, dependence on other realms is a sign of weakness, and strategically opens your own people up to raiding and the salting of fields. This is disastrous enough, but for a realm that is not self sufficient, it is deadly. Secondly, trading should not be relied upon, but considered a welcome addition when it can be conducted. The reason for this is that one cannot rely on trading partners for their food incomes, not on Dwilight, when suspicions of invasion, monsters and xenophobia is rife. Conversely, trade, as I stated, should be conducted when the realm coffers are bursting and the granaries are not yet stocked fully.

Once enough regions have been acquired to produce a surplus of food, special attention need be paid to the stocks present within the realm. Obviously, the winter season makes harvest impossible, but the common folk are resourceful if not educated. Fishing, foraging and other menial methods of gathering are conducted, but know that production rates can fall by as much as three quarters of their summer yields. Spring time sees a bounty in herd animals but crops are still immature, meaning a quarter of production is lost as staples cannot be harvested. Summer sees production in full swing as the peasantry prepare for the harvest, which occurs in Autumn and provides as much as twice the estimated produce of summertime.

The above information can be broken down as such:

• During Summer, stocks should increase as total food produced will exceed consumption, as per the realms policy of acquiring fertile regions in excess of their urban populations.

• During Autumn, huge surplus' will be harvested and stored for the oncoming winter, seeing enough food to sustain more than a seasons consumption on the realms current rationing policy, provided surplus is seen during summer.

• Winter and Spring should be treated as one whole period, as between the two seasons, an estimated summertime's worth of food will be produced by the peasantry, providing only one seasons worth of food.

Overall, this should translate to a total of four seasons worth of food being produced year round, an easy piece of arithmetic for any reading this. However, the important part to note is that following previous guidelines in this treatise, the realm should see surplus made after a year of management. This, properly stored and managed, should be brought up to a value of one years worth of surplus on full rations. The reason for this is that should the realm come under attack, the people will not go hungry for a whole year, or two, should the realm decide that half rations are necessary for an extended conflict. Though I would advise against this, as lowering rations inevitably lowers productivity, hurting any campaigns in the long term with lessened gold income and food income for future years.

Full rationing and surplus food is not only expected by the commoners, but is considered a signature of a civilized realm by the nobility. With it, productivity and general well-being can be seen to increase, as the people do not expect much from life as the humble folk they are. Without it, in the worst cases, widespread revolt and lack of any meaningful economy will surely follow.

Population

Now that the question of food production and supply has been answered, the management of the common people should be solved simply enough.

As explained within the previous chapter, surplus food creates the foundation of an empire. This in turn should partially solve the question of population. Where there is plentiful food, there is people. This in turn leads to work, and work brings with it taxes and supplies for state affairs. This chapter will mimic a lot of the same concerns risen in the previous chapter, as the answers to increasing a realms population quickly and in the areas of most strategic importance often lie with the fields.

• To begin with, a realm should focus its attention on the regions that produce the highest surplus of food. It is not enough that they produce a surplus if there are only one hundred farmers in residence. One thousand produces far more, that much is simple arithmetic. In order to encourage the growth of the commoners, focus on providing double rations to those regions of agricultural surplus. This will have a host of benefits for the local people, chief among them being enough food to comfortably feed many healthy children, who in turn will become the new farmers and soldiery of the realm. If the steps in the first chapter were followed, this should be taking place already, but should new regions be put under a realms dominion, this advice ought to take precedence.

• In addition, the lord should make certain not to increase taxes beyond the advisory levels. I would personally advise cutting taxes to as much as half, rounded down, of the advisory level, as this will encourage and stimulate trade from neighbouring regions, attracting a migrant workforce. With birth rates high and migrants arriving from nearby regions, a land should fill up with people soon enough.

• I should note before continuing on this section, that one assess their realm laws on this activity and moral conduct. What is more, speaking purely on behalf of Greater Luria, the practice of raiding be restricted to peoples other than your own, as the act of bringing fire and sword to your own people be judged as no different than open rebellion from the realm itself. However, should one be fortunate enough to receive title bordering lands ruled by petty lords, democratic communes and other detestable and barbaric states who do not culturally belong to your people, further 'incentives' can be applied to bring more people into the light of civilization. By assembling an armed force and bringing torch and steel to lands neighbouring your own, provided you and your comrades remain under the guise of common bandits and brigandry (as ignoble as it is), one can find an effective method to encourage people to leave their burnt villages and fields to greener pastures. I would suggest focusing on stealing and burning, rather than outright killing the small folk. This is not only morally dubious but it is counter productive to what we aim to achieve in this section. Overall, not only will this assist in bringing workers to ones own territories, but it will no doubt fill ones pockets, and those of their subordinates, with hard earned gold and supplies.

Once regions of high food produce have been filled to the point that more workers would only saturate full fields, the rations should be reduced and taxes raised to reach normal levels. This will become an important factor later on when growing the populations elsewhere in the realm.

• Next should come regions of relative safety, usually the cities surrounded by urban populations, as these will no doubt have the highest potential populations and are unlikely to have their numbers reduced. By examining a realms food production, a lord can make an educated decision whether to set rations to double or no. If possible, double them, and reduce taxes as mentioned previously. Otherwise, reducing taxes alone is incentive enough for the poor to migrate elsewhere. Unlike rural areas, it is unlikely that raiding to increase the flow of migrants can be achieved, as the towns lands surrounding these high population density areas should obviously be owned by the sovereign state. These measures may see your people migrate from the farms to the cities. Fret not, as the minor hit to the comparatively sparsely populated farmlands will not hurt production immensely. Once populations are filled in these dense territories, the same rules should be applied to the urban lands surrounding them. These populations should increase very swiftly, as their initial numbers ought to be higher and their proximity to multiple regions should see massive immigration.

• Next, territories that produce the most wealth. Gold funds armies, temples, guilds and more, so of course it is both necessary and prestigious for a realm to have excess of it. More people means more gold in the long term, so again, reduce taxes and increase rations if possible. Soon enough, migrants from the populated farmlands and towns lands will flock to lands of wealth, expecting the flow of gold to reach their hands. This of course is an illusion, and extensive bureaucratic laws and reforms should be passed to see as little wealth staying in the hands of the common folk once populations reach optimum numbers.

• Finally, lands on the borders of the realm or of relatively little worth can be given incentives to grow. If a realm judges a region must be theirs, even the 'badlands' should not be left wanting for people. Even just a small amount of tax and food can be extracted from these places. However, due to their seemingly little worth, or tentatively dangerous positions, only taxes should be lowered and food kept to normal levels to avoid wasting supplies should these regions come under conflict.

Should these premises be kept, the lands should prosper and be full of working people. However, now a lord must focus on making these people hard working, something that will be discussed in the next section.

Social Well-Being

With food and people in no short supply, a lord must look to making the lands productive and more importantly, stay productive.

This is no small feat, as the peasantry clamour for all sorts of things. Most of which are small and many would brush away as minor inconveniences. A dangerous attitude. The small folk often see minor quandaries as serious problems, whilst their more civilized and educated betters perceive them for what they really are, frivolous. Harvest festivals not being observed, foreign religions being practiced, taxes being slightly too high and courts of law being too lenient. These cause revolt in the long term.

In order to prevent this degradation of society, a lord must observe a number of factors and handle them with a firm but just hand. Thankfully, if a lord has been paying heed to the wisdom within these pages, they will find themselves already making the lives of their commoners more wholesome.

• Firstly, in order to keep the productivity, morale and loyalty of a people a lord ought to establish their authority. This should be done by holding the harshest courts of law. First impressions are lasting ones, and the people need to understand sooner rather than later that a lord can and will act decisively on their behalf when the need arises. Malcontents that fester for too long breed open revolt, which inevitably leads to more death and damage to the lands than a few targeted executions at the beginning of your reign. Were the commoners more aware of what is good for them, this methodology would be unnecessary, but unfortunately, they do not and as such a lord should not feel remorse or pity for these actions. This should be conducted until all remnants of independence are removed, and the people of the realm at large consider the lands core territories to them. My advice, for matters of security, would be to keep a strong contingent of soldiers with you when conducting these courts. There is a time when soldiery are not necessary for this endeavour, and that is when the common people already see the realm as righteous and part of their culture. In situations such as these, even a harsh ruler will still be adored by the peasants as one of their own.

Once thoughts of independence have been quashed, one should move onto more acceptable (at least in the common folks eyes) methods of governance. This is more complex and requires the good judgement of the ruler rather than following a step by step process, as each land is different. Below I shall list the various factors a lord should be aware of in order to assess the well-being of their people, as well as a series of tasks a lord can undertake to properly manage their realm and see it flourish before them,

• The state of production throughout a province. This is dependent mainly on the amount of people living in your lands. Without people, there can be no produce. Luckily this problem has been solved earlier within the text, meaning we need only ascertain how to improve the general state of production throughout the land. This can be achieved in two ways, which I will describe below.

Passively; a well maintained, fed and happy populace will put their idle hands to good work. You should notice productivity increasing at a slow but healthy rate should you maintain good governance. More on how to achieve this later on.

Actively; perhaps a more certain way to get the populace working hard is by keeping a direct eye on them. This can be done in a number of ways, which I shall now describe. For the more martial members at court, civil work can be conducted with their retinues to assist the locals with some of their problems. This is generally inefficient, as the soldiery detest such common labour (likely what they aimed to escape from). Some knights may even refuse to assist in such a manner, due to their codes and upbringing. I would advise employing the skills of one more suited to court, if you do not possess them yourself. They can manage a province two ways; the first and most effective for raising productivity would be to organise the repairs and construction of new infrastructure. Roads, mills, docks... The list of what the peasants claim they need to conduct their day to day lives is seemingly endless. The second and less effective method is to whip up the local bureaucracy into action, as often they slip into slothful and inefficient ways fairly swiftly. By having them organise the peasantry, the locals may also feel that a lord is respecting their local governance and as such improves the general mood of the people. Of course, they are less inclined to get the peasants working as hard as the lords direct presence might, hence the less effective route.

Take note that the most effective way to improve the livelihoods of the people in an active manner requires a lords full attention for the day. Roughly twelve hours, with the usual breaks for meals, hobbies, prayer, and other proper things. Anything less than this and the peasants will drop their tools as soon as your work is concluded, and therefore before the day is up, leaving half finished projects to be ruined by rain, storms and rough winds.

• The state of the commoners well-being. Another factor that is dependent on numerous events transpiring within a province. The main causes of dissatisfaction seem to stem from a lack of food, lack of stored food, feelings of insecurity (lack of militia), feelings of fear from nearby terrors and war, foreign lords practicing foreign beliefs and excessive taxes. Clearly, as one can see, there is a whole host of problems the lord must face to create a prosperous society. Thankfully, many of these problems are already solved easily enough.

Food & Food Storage; assuming that a lord has followed the previous guides within the chapter, there should be no worries about food from the local people. Should rations fall to half or even a quarter, the people will begin to resent their ruler. Full rations keeps them nourished and working. Double rations should see an increase in morale as the people no longer want for much. I would not suggest putting rations to double should a lord wish to increase the well-being of his people, as they should not become reliant on too much food, lest they become lazy. What's more, it is not a forward thinking practice, as food ought to be stored first before being consumed in vast quantities, in case of foul weather or ill fortune.

Defense & War; Dwilight is full of dangers, both from man and beast alike. The commoners know this, and lack of a proper garrison in lands where strife is commonplace leads to discontentment. A cadre of twenty to forty archers is usually more than enough for common brigands and small groups of monsters and undead. Should your lands be fortunate enough to reside in a defensible or far flung position, I shall use Santoo as an example, a garrison is not needed so long as the surrounding lands are kept in good order.

Religion; as superstitious as the people are, the lack of a lord practicing their beliefs is enough to cause all sorts of grumbling. Whilst the effects are often minor, over time the people can feel detached from their governance if the lord refuses to consent to their religion. The easiest (but by no means best) way around this is to convert, if only in name, to their beliefs. A better way of solving this is to employ a priest of your faith to preach to the people and convince them that your religion is, of course, better than theirs. Constructing a small temple should also rank quite highly on a lords list of things to do in order to display and entrench proper service within the local community.

Taxes; it would be farcical not to mention the age old groan of the tax collector causing hassle among the locals. Generally speaking, the peasants at least understand that taxes will be taken from them, one way or another, so usually they are content paying their way just to avoid punishment from their betters. However, if taxes are beyond what is considered the realms average, the peasants will begin to dissent. Apparently the wealth of the cities causes resentment among the rural populations, as a lord attempting to earn a wage comparable to the urban knights will find the peasants in uproar. Generally, my advice would be to keep taxes at realm average, and lowering them to please the people is a short term fix to a long term problem.

Governance; with all prior points considered, a lord can take direct steps to improve the lot of the small folk. Firstly, conducting their lordly duties in court in a merciful or just manner will bring some measure of joy to the people as they will expect far harsher from the lord. Listening to the people complain about neighbours crossing over fences and stealing chickens is a tiresome activity, but one that must be observed if a lord is to win respect from their locals. Otherwise, a courtier may, as we mentioned earlier, oversee the local bureaucrats in order to have them work among the people and improve their sense of being cared for.

• The state of the commoners belief in the realm and its laws. Loyalty to the realm is often considered by the nobility far more important than the happiness of their people, and whilst this much is true, it is often practiced poorly. A happy and content peasant is often loyal and resistant to invaders, for they do not wish to risk the unknown with new masters. However, this is not always the case, as has been mentioned earlier, sometimes the gentle hand breeds dissident thoughts. A lord can use few means to encourage loyal behaviour among their people, as I will elaborate now.

Factors Concerning Loyalty; a lord does not always have complete control over the sense of belonging the people have to a realm, which I will explain here. For expansive empires, with many regions, duchy's and peoples, the lowly farmer can seem detached from the empire at large when they live on the periphery of their own kingdom within a larger state. This can't be helped especially, as the distance to the capital causes slow but steady degradation of the peoples loyalty to the realm. Lands closer to the capital will not suffer from this degradation.

Improving Loyalty; keeping the people loyal is important, and it can be achieved in a number of ways which I shall detail here. Firstly, and most effectively, courts of law can increase the peoples loyalty to the realm. Courts that hold no mercy for the people that espouse independence are the most effective in bringing the people to a point where they consider themselves part of the realm, as I advised earlier. To maintain long lasting loyalty to the realm, I would suggest treating the people as is expected of a lord, in a firm but just manner. The people will feel as if they are being ruled properly, and instill a sense of safety and respect for their overlords. I advise against acting mercifully toward the commoners if loyalty is the issue, as often this just breeds more ideas of independence and mutiny. Finally, those skilled in courtly work may instill the local bureaucrats to conduct themselves among the people, which in turn causes the locals to respect the chain of command that has been established, increasing loyal tendencies.

To conclude this section, should all the above considerations be taken and implemented with a wise and intelligent hand, the realm should prosper accordingly. My main advice to take away, is that if one wishes to see a province begin to thrive, every effort should be taken to spend the fullest of your time to do so. Moonlighting between regions, war and other endeavours will not allow a lord enough time to foster proper change in their lands. Generally a week or two worth of work in the courts, civil duties and administration should be enough for even the most neophyte bureaucrat to bring a populace region up to full efficiency. Also, do not hesitate to ask other members of court; priests, diplomats and courtiers among others, to assist in your work. If funding is necessary to construct proper infrastructure and guilds, any ruler who has taken inspiration from this work will no doubt be positive toward such monetary requests.

Gold

Our final section of the first chapter of this treatise, and perhaps the one most anticipated from the nobility who read this, the management of the treasury. Whilst the burghers and merchants might try and inform you that it is trade and crafts that bring in coin, their answers are false. Whilst it is true that the cities bring in more gold from tax than any rural community, it is from the backs of our peasant farmers that sustains the artisans. Without crops, we would have no merchants to conduct trade. Nevertheless, if the rest of this text has been followed, the situation regarding food should not be in question.

Perhaps in an anti-climactic manner, I must conclude with this section in an almost too brief examination. Should a lord have followed all the advice presented prior to here, they will note that gold is essentially flowing into the treasury. The happy, productive and full provinces that they have nurtured are now being taxed for as much as a lord could hope for. Still, I shall attempt to investigate the nuances of treasury management and how to increase it without detracting from our earlier work.

• Taxes are of course our first examination of the wealth that a noble shall accrue, as they are the main source of income for any proper lord. As has been mentioned multiple times throughout this chapter, the steward of the lords land should be able to recommend an average level of tax based on realm income. Do not disregard the advice of the lower nobility, as whilst not as fortunate as you or I, they have invaluable ties to the common folk and act as mediators between us. As such, this recommended amount is usually a good point of reference for adjusting tax requirements. There are several types of tax that can be gathered, depending on where in the realm hierarchy one sits. I will discuss each one, although the answers may appear to be similar.

A realm medium should be developed across the provinces for tax, to better orchestrate a clear and concise administration. A cultural and administrative norm for tax is useful in that it helps provinces grow in concert. If one lord cuts their taxes or raises them too high, it leads to a disjointed administration where some prosper and others do not. This is vital to cohesion among the aristocracy. Considering this, I will now discuss the various taxes that are levied from the different strata's of the populace.

The Common Tax: The taxes levied from the peasantry, commoners and other small folk. This is the bulk of the taxed income of any lord, directly tied to the size and population of the estates. Whilst I will not go heavily into the management of estates in this chapter, it is advised a lord consider the size and efficiency of their estates in the interest of extracting as much tax as possible from their subjects. What need be said of this tax is thus, a too high common tax will inevitably harm all the factors of governance we have built up, but is often necessary to levy additional resources for the lord. If a lord must demand more in tax than what is considered the norm, they ought to be present in the region, ready to keep a keen eye on the peasantry who will no doubt suffer and begin to dissent from the taxes gathered. I would advise a standard of one tenth of the commoners wealth per tax week as a baseline. Concessions and extra taxes can be done via the bureaucracy, thereby resulting in a higher or lower overall 'common tax', but the peasantry should grow used to the idea that a certain amount of their property will be taken on average per week.

The Guild Tax: The taxes levied from the guilds, merchants and burghers operating under law of the realm. This is a minor and usually insignificant income. Due to the incentives of working within a guild, the common folk only pay one half of the listed tax from their guilds. This comes from the guild treasuries so if no gold is deposited, no gold is taxed. Obviously, gold stored within guild houses can be extracted on a case by case basis of the guild involved, and since this is what most nobility use the guilds for, it must be assumed that the Guild Tax cannot be considered as a staple part of the economy.

The Lords Tax: The taxes levied from the vassals of a regional lord. Depending on the amount of estates present, the lord may wish to demand much or very little of their knights. Legally, consult the realm to see if there are laws put in place against the unlawful raising of taxes upon the knightly classes. My advice for determining this tax is based upon the total income of the estates in the region. Should the knights be earning a respectable income of above one hundred gold pieces per tax week, a tenth of that ought to go to the lord. This allows the lord to pay into construction of military infrastructure for those knights and the development necessary for the realm and its armies, as well as pay for mercenaries to keep the region clear of monsters and undead. If the estates earn less than one hundred gold pieces per tax week, I would advise cutting lord taxes down to a minimum, and encourage the lesser knights to take up land elsewhere where it will be more beneficial to the realm. Controversial indeed, and more of this will be discussed and examined later in the treatise.

The Ducal Tax: The taxes levied from the lords of a duchy. This tax is harder to calculate, and likely it is irrelevant to do so. The Dukes require substantial funding to support the armies of the realm, as well as organise the funding needed to prioritise certain provinces and projects. Unlike the 'Lords Tax', I believe the Ducal Tax should fluctuate somewhat more so due to the Lords receiving more from their knights to supplement their own purses. Generally, a tenth would be considered reasonable in times of peace and war, though slashing the tax to a half during war would be recommended so the lords and knights might supply their retinues with fresh troops and arms. During times of peace, I believe the Ducal Tax could be raised substantially, perhaps up to twice as much during peace times as a means of scutage. Funds ought to be raised and stockpiled by the dukes to be distributed where necessary, instead of sitting in the pockets of lords to accumulate. Funds ought to be given to central authority and requested from the higher echelons to facilitate honesty among the nobility about where funds are being spent.

The Realm Tax: The taxes levied from the various duchy's of the realm. This tax is much like the ducal tax, difficult to fine tune and frankly to general to do so. Considering that the realm at large often does not need the huge funds provided from this tax (due to the broad nature of it), it is unlikely that this tax should raise above the baseline of one tenth. In times of war, this tax should definitely be reduced, and in times of peace, much of the proceeds should be sent to provinces of interest to bolster further growth rather than accumulating in the treasury. Whilst a surplus is indeed useful, the Duchy's should be able to look after their own and provide much their own resources. A stocked treasury only encourages reliance on the top title, which is unbecoming of any lord given the title of Duke.

• The second and possibly only worthwhile pursuit of a noble seeking increased income is the sacking of land. Considering that taxes are the main source of income for all nobility, those taxes need to come from people with coin. Raiding the lands of your enemies can earn substantial coin for substantial risk. Of course, banditry is different to realm sponsored expeditions, and shouldn't be undertaken without the support of the law and liege. However, should one get the opportunity, loss of life should be avoided as dead peasants do not accumulate more money. Of course, this is not a staple method of economy, not for any real empire, and as such should only be viewed as useful additional income.

• The final method of income can only be garnered through hostile activities in foreign realms, notably theft of treasury funds and tribute. Obviously a strong realm should extract tribute from their neighbours to keep them weak and docile, and the added surplus allows for even greater armies and projects, as well as the added benefit of peace between realms. If this cannot be achieved, sending agents into a foreign realm to seize funds from them is an appropriate response if the opposing realm refuses to pay coin to their superiors. This is not a staple of a strong economy, so should only be seen as useful additional income.

With this, we conclude the first chapter of this treatise. I trust that this read has been both thorough and educational toward the enterprising noble, and bears with it many ideas that ought to be implemented to see a realm prosper. This work, sponsored by the Lurian culture and tradition, should be viewed as an extension of Lurian influence. The empire finds itself as the richest and most populace empire to date, and there is good reason for this. Should foreign nobility view this work, they should heed its words with the weight that it holds.

Our next chapter will discuss the importance of a well funded nobility, the managing of estates and the various extra implementations that should be made to properly fund the realms good men and women. It will continue a lot of the ideas presented in this chapter, and as such will assume prior reading for many of the points made.

A Treatise on Economic fulfillment, the funding of the nobility and the Theme system/The Funding of the Nobility