Published: January 4, 2026
The evening of the day I returned from the inspection, inside the government office.
I called Zoe and told her about what I had heard in the rice fields.
“Amazing, master,” Zoe said quietly at first.
“It’s naturally heading that way now, but we can’t afford to miss this chance. I want to use policy to push this trend even further,” I said.
“How do you plan to do that?”
“If people’s income is expected to increase, they might be able to marry. So, I’ll support that politically.”
“Yes.”
I stated my intention clearly.
If the goal isn’t clear, plans can waver or go off track, so I made sure to be straightforward from the start.
“You know the empire still has many widows, right?”
“Yes.”
Zoe nodded firmly.
Then, like a student answering a question, she began speaking seriously and fluently.
“The empire is a land of warriors, always fighting external enemies. Men die in battle, and as a result, widows are born.”
“That’s right. For example, as I mentioned earlier, if the eldest son dies, the second son often marries his brother’s widow. This is especially common in rural areas.”
“Yes. For farmers, children are assets, and the widow of an older brother is also considered an asset.”
Zoe came from the farming village of Dosso, so she might have a better grasp of these realities than I do.
“Even so, some widows are left without a partner and abandoned. In those cases, the remarriage rate is low. Why is that?”
I asked another question.
Zoe, who was an excellent student, answered immediately without hesitation.
“If she’s given birth before, she’s considered more valuable because she can definitely bear children. Sometimes, the bride price for such a widow is even higher than for a young woman of marriageable age.”
“That’s right. It’s a paradoxical situation, but sometimes the value is so high that no one wants to ‘buy’ her.”
“Yes.”
Zoe nodded and asked me.
“So, will you lower the bride price?”
“Direct intervention to that extent isn’t desirable. Forcible interference would just result in superficial changes and empty formalities.”
“Then?”
“There’s the head tax. Widows who remarry will be exempt from paying the head tax for ten years. If she’s given birth before, a lifetime exemption might be appropriate.”
“Won’t that reduce tax revenue again?”
“Even if the tax from one widow is lost, if one child is born, it’s a net gain.”
“Not just breaking even...?”
“Consider the remaining adult years and the child’s entire lifetime. I don’t think it’s something to calculate precisely.”
“—!!”
Zoe suddenly understood.
Her expression was as if a scale had fallen from her eyes.
Suppose a widow is twenty years old.
Humans live roughly until fifty, so her remaining years are about thirty, and so is the head tax she would pay.
If she remarries and has one child, and that child lives roughly fifty years, that adds fifty years’ worth of head tax.
Exempting one widow for thirty years but gaining one child for fifty years is a net positive.
“Of course, I don’t think it will be just one child. People will have children as long as they can afford it. And I intend to keep improving their financial situation.”
“Amazing, master. Men will surely be happy if their head tax decreases by one as well.”
“The governor has the authority to grant individual exemptions for the head tax. Leave the document drafting to me and ensure the news spreads throughout the province during the rice harvest season.”
“Yes!”
“I’ll write the letter. It doesn’t need to be urgent; send it slowly by horse to Oscar in the Imperial Capital.”
“Yes!”
Thus, alongside the reconstruction of Enlil Province, I devised another policy to increase the population.
It’s something a governor can do—closer to the field and capable of immediate decisions—rather than the emperor.
I proceeded one feasible step at a time.
☆
One night, I was invited to Cindy’s mansion.
Cindy had established a large residence as a base in Enlil Province and already employed nearly a hundred servants, despite having just set it up.