Translator: Tsukii

Editor: PalenMisha

Read at Watashi wa Sugoi Desu!

Chapter 51 – Army Expansion desuwa

Since there was no restriction on the drinking age in this world, even I, who was still 14 years old, could drink liquor and get drunk. People were considered an adult when they reached 15 in many regions, so my 14-year-old self was still considered a child, but I had grown taller and my appearance was already that of an adult. Unfortunately, nobody tried to make a move on me even when I drank liquor and stripped myself bare… If I was still a man, I would have a hard time restraining my impulse if I saw a girl like me that was naked, but it seemed nobody got an erection with that, so it was a pity.

Liquor production was thriving, and since there were tons of surplus rice, I turned all of it into liquor. It seemed one could build alcohol tolerance in this world such that I wouldn’t get dead drunk even if I drank heavily, but the feeling of getting drunk was wonderful.　

If I led my life drinking liquor daily, there was no doubt my reputation would drop and a rebellion would occur. Just as I thought of that, a rebellion occurred in the Hein Kingdom by the people who didn’t want to pay their taxes. The Hein Kingdom also raised their tax to the same rate as the Narorosa Empire, which was from 50% to 60%, but their citizens weren’t convinced and a rebellion occurred. Why did none of these things happen when I did it…?

Well, the people of neighboring nations had a hard time sustaining themselves for the present, so if it continued into the winter, then group starvation was guaranteed. I could understand why a rebellion occurred, but interesting situations such as farmers ransacking merchants’ warehouses occurred there. Sure enough, it was Maria who instigated them. That self-proclaimed saint that was filled with dark intentions specified the next target through the newspaper her company released.

Releasing a newspaper headline that stated “Walmar merchant group, hoarding rice to raise its price! …Or is it?” in such a situation was totally a devilish action. By the way, the textbook for the Linlin religion was created, so the literacy rate was forcibly increased… Despite everything, a high literacy rate was important for governance after all.　

Even within the Narorosa Empire, almost every single citizen, even the peasants, could now write their own name, and the language in this world was easy to learn because it had been unified and simplified in the past. And as long as people could write their own name, that meant they could at least read and write a certain amount of letters.　

“…There’s no rebellion occurring today?”　

“Dismantling of the Herson Kingdom was completed without delay, and there were no major problems for the day either.”

“That means there are trivial problems, right? Make sure to report everything desuwa.”

I did push all my duties to be done onto Crecia and Joshua, but since a ridiculous word game happened, it seemed I needed to teach them how to write a report properly.　

Expert: ”The design of the embankment that is under construction is dangerous, so it might not be able to last if heavy rain falls.”　

Baron: “Apparently, the design of the embankment is dangerous.”

Count: “There’s something worrying regarding the embankment.”

Duke: “There is a thing that causes worry.”

Joshua: “There is no major problem occurring.”

It seemed there was trouble regarding the construction of a fairly large embankment, but it was built using the budget of the empire, that was to say, my wallet, yet the fact the report didn’t reach me was proof of how ridiculous the word game was desuwa. Well, it was certainly not something I needed to do personally, so the count of the region would fix it anyway.　

…But this was the problem with the embankment under construction in Akbar’s territory that I visited last time. I remembered reading the pre-construction document, so everyone involved ended up in that state. Well, I personally wished for big trouble, so I responded, “Mei already read it, so it’s all good!”　

Ah, Akbar had become a count, so he would deal with it. Also, even if this embankment broke, the amount of damage wouldn’t be a big deal, so it really wasn’t a major problem… Even though I wished for a major problem, why did all of them get resolved in no time…? 　

Moreover, because of this situation, the strict standard for the report to be passed to me was made, and the fact my servants made all the detailed rules was too scary. They were way too capable for being just maids and butlers. I certainly YEETed them by order of incompetence, so the leader of such a group had to be more competent than anyone else.

And sure enough, there was neither anyone in the army nor any vassals committing corruption, and there wasn’t even data omission occurring. Why didn’t they commit corruption…? I couldn’t YEET people this way, you know…?　

Since there was nothing to do about it, I proceeded to recruit new military personnel, hire them once, set the training period, then YEET the one with the lowest performance. Both the knight brigade and the heavy infantry unit were also expanded to 1,000 people, but I also built a 3,000-soldier unit to serve as a standing army. Since my money sprung up endlessly even though I kept spending it, I could waste as much as I wanted on the military.　

Soldiers affiliated with this unit could serve as archers, shield soldiers, spearmen, or cavalry depending on the situation, so I could impose various tests. Once the framework for 3,000 people was established, I would temporarily employ 300 of them. After the training, 50 new people would be selected to replace the 50 lowest-performing soldiers within the 3,000.

The total standing army of 5,000 was small for an empire, but having such weak military power would give a great chance for vassals to revolt, so the army formation could be left as it was for a while.　

Tsukii Note:

• Not overlooking trivial problems and making sure to report properly. To prevent inconsistency in reports, she personally taught the transmission method.
• Constructing embankments to prevent possible disasters. She personally paid the expense. She also personally inspected the construction site. It was something that could concern the lives of people. Corruption or slack is unacceptable.
• Raise the literacy rate of her people. Knowledge is power.
• Corruption and laziness are unacceptable even to the army and vassals. They had to do the obligation worthy of the privilege they earned. Apparently, there was no such person this year.
• Money poured into the standing army. Things that sought out soldiers expanded, the competition to weed out the weak continued, thus maintaining its overall quality. However, there’s no need for excess expansion. It’s quality over quantity.

Yep, totally a wise ruler right there.

Our lady is already an emperor by 14 years old.

Normally, enemies would wait until the capable ruler of an absolute monarchy grew weak by age, but in Lydia’s case, she likely united the world under Narorosa’s flag before that happened, all without her acting much personally.

Want early access to Cannon Fodder, Melancholy of the Demon Army Officer, and I Was a Man Before Reincarnating, So I Refuse a Reverse Harem? Support the translator on Patreon!