The agricultural report was worse than the financial one.
Adrian read it twice.
Then a third time.
He finally put the document down.
“How bad?”
Marcus stood across the desk.
“Bad?”
Adrian tapped the report.
“The western provinces produced less grain this year than they did five years ago.”
“Yes.”
“Yet the population increased.”
“Yes.”
“And taxes increased.”
Marcus nodded.
Adrian leaned back.
“So we’re taking more from farmers while they’re producing less.”
Marcus didn’t answer.
He didn’t need to.
Adrian looked back at the report.
There were several reasons listed.
Poor weather.
Soil exhaustion.
Pest infestations.
Flooding in some regions.
A lack of quality farming equipment.
Adrian frowned.
Those were problems.
But they weren’t the whole problem.
He turned another page.
A significant amount of farmland had been left unused.
That caught his attention.
“Why?”
Marcus glanced at the document.
“Which part?”
“This.”
Adrian pointed.
“Why are farmers leaving good land unused?”
Marcus thought for a moment.
“Taxes, perhaps.”
“Perhaps?”
“I don’t oversee agriculture.”
Adrian sighed.
“Right.”
He picked up a pen.
“Find me someone who does.”
“Who?”
“A farmer.”
Marcus looked surprised.
“A farmer?”
“Yes.”
“Your Majesty, I can arrange for the agricultural minister to—”
“I’ve already spoken to the minister.”
Adrian looked at him.
“I want someone who actually works the land.”
Marcus hesitated.
Then bowed.
“Understood.”
The next morning, Adrian’s request caused a small panic.
Nobody knew how to bring a common farmer before the king.
Eventually, after several arguments between officials, a man named Tomas was brought to the palace.
He was in his fifties.
His clothes were plain.
His hands were rough from years of working the land.
When he entered Adrian’s study, he immediately dropped to one knee.
“Your Majesty.”
Adrian waved.
“Stand.”
Tomas slowly stood.
Adrian gestured toward the chair.
“Sit.”
The farmer hesitated.
“Your Majesty?”
“Sit.”
Tomas obeyed.
Adrian sat opposite him.
He didn’t want an official conversation.
He wanted answers.
“How long have you been farming?”
“Thirty-one years.”
“What do you grow?”
“Wheat, barley, vegetables.
Some cattle.”
“How was last year’s harvest?”
Tomas scratched his beard.
“Bad.”
“Why?”
“The rain came late.”
Adrian nodded.
“What else?”
Tomas looked surprised.
“Sir?”
“What else caused problems?”
The farmer thought about it.
“The soil.”
“How?”
“Same fields every year.”
Adrian leaned forward.
“Don’t you rotate crops?”
Tomas stared at him.
“Rotate?”
Adrian realized his mistake.
He had forgotten.
Of course.
Agricultural practices in this world weren’t identical to those on Earth.
“Never mind,” Adrian said.
“What do you normally plant after wheat?”
“More wheat.”
Adrian frowned.
“Every year?”
“Most years.”
That explained part of the problem.
“What about fertilizer?”
“Manure.”
“Anything else?”
“No.”
Adrian nodded slowly.
“What about irrigation?”
Tomas laughed.
“We use the river when we can.”
“Can?”
“The river is too far from some fields.”
“Why not build channels?”
Tomas gave him a strange look.
“Who would build them?”
That stopped Adrian.
He had already started thinking about irrigation projects.
But Tomas had just pointed out the obvious problem.
Labor.
Money.
Tools.
Land ownership.
Maintenance.
Nothing was simple.
Adrian smiled slightly.
“Fair enough.”
Tomas looked confused.
Adrian continued asking questions.
What tools did farmers use?
How much did seeds cost?
How much grain was taken as tax?
How often did soldiers requisition food?
What happened during bad harvests?
Which roads were difficult to travel?
Which nobles treated farmers fairly?
By the end of the conversation, Adrian had filled several pages.
Some answers confirmed what he’d read.
Others didn’t.
That was exactly why he’d wanted to speak with someone directly.
Finally, Tomas stood.
“May I ask something, Your Majesty?”
“Of course.”
“Why are you asking me all this?”
Adrian thought for a moment.
“Because I don’t know everything.”
Tomas looked surprised.
“You’re the king.”
“I know.”
Adrian smiled.
“That’s why I need people who know things I don’t.”
The farmer didn’t know how to respond.
He bowed.
“Then I hope I was useful.”
“You were.”
Tomas left.
Adrian looked down at his notes.
He had learned more in one hour from a farmer than he had from several official reports.
That was going to be important.
The next few days became a routine.
Adrian read reports.
He questioned ministers.
He studied maps.
He spoke with merchants.
He met soldiers.
And occasionally, he brought ordinary people into the palace to hear their opinions.
The court began noticing.
So did the nobles.
Rumors started spreading.
The new king wasn’t spending his days drinking.
He wasn’t throwing parties.
He wasn’t gambling.
He wasn’t chasing women.
Instead, he was asking questions.
Lots of questions.
One afternoon, Adrian entered the royal workshop.
It was a place he’d only recently learned existed.
Several craftsmen worked there producing weapons, tools, armor, and mechanical devices for the crown.
The moment Adrian entered, everyone stopped.
A blacksmith nearly dropped a hammer.
“Your Majesty!”
Adrian waved.
“Keep working.”
Nobody moved.
Adrian sighed.
“Please.”
That seemed to help.
The workers slowly returned to their tasks.
Adrian walked around.
He inspected swords.
Armor.
Axes.
Tools.
Then he saw something that caught his attention.
A waterwheel.
It was small and crude, but functional.
Adrian crouched beside it.
“Who made this?”
A young man stepped forward.
“I did, Your Majesty.”
Adrian looked at him.
He was perhaps twenty years old.
Thin.
His clothes were covered in grease.
“What does it do?”
“It turns the wheel when water flows through it.”
“I can see that.”
The young man looked nervous.
Adrian smiled.
“I mean, what does it power?”
“Nothing yet.”
“Why build it?”
The young man shrugged.
“I thought it might be useful.”
Adrian stood.
“What is your name?”
“Daniel, Your Majesty.”
Adrian looked at the wheel again.
The design wasn’t perfect.
The paddles were badly shaped.
The axle was uneven.
The structure wasted energy.
But the idea was good.
Very good.
“Can you make a larger one?”
Daniel’s eyes widened.
“Probably.”
“With better materials?”
“Yes.”
“Could it power machinery?”
Daniel hesitated.
“If the machinery isn’t too heavy.”
Adrian smiled.
“Interesting.”
He looked toward the workshop master.
“Give him access to the engineering room.”
The workshop master blinked.
“Your Majesty?”
“And whatever materials he needs.”
Daniel looked stunned.
“Sir, I—”
“Try it.”
Adrian turned away.
He wasn’t sure what the final result would be.
Maybe nothing.
Maybe a better waterwheel.
Maybe something far more useful.
But that was the point.
He didn’t need to invent everything himself.
He only needed to notice people who could.
That evening, Adrian returned to his study.
A pile of reports waited for him.
He looked at them and sighed.
“One problem at a time.”
He opened the agricultural report again.
His eyes moved toward the figures.
Then he noticed something strange.
Grain taxes from the western province were significantly higher than the amount recorded by the local government.
Adrian stared at the numbers.
He checked the report again.
Then he checked the treasury records.
The numbers didn’t match.
Not even close.
He reached for another document.
The difference was there again.
Money was disappearing.
Adrian’s expression hardened.
“Marcus.”
The secretary entered almost immediately.
“Yes, Your Majesty?”
“Who oversees tax collection in the western provinces?”
Marcus gave him a name.
Adrian wrote it down.
“And who supervises him?”
Another name.
Adrian wrote that down too.
“And who owns the largest estates in that region?”
Marcus hesitated.
“Several noble families.”
“Names.”
Marcus gave them.
Adrian stared at the list.
One family appeared repeatedly.
The same family owned several estates.
Held government positions.
Controlled warehouses.
And had officials overseeing tax collection.
Adrian leaned back.
He wasn’t ready to accuse anyone.
He didn’t have enough evidence.
But he had found his first real problem.
Someone was stealing from the kingdom.
And Adrian intended to find out who.
He closed the file.
“Tomorrow,” he said quietly, “we start digging.”
For the first time since becoming king, Adrian felt something other than uncertainty.
He felt purpose.
The kingdom had given him its problems.
Now it was time to start solving them.