WARNING: for those who do not understand what a GER is, it is a man who has a physique capable of supporting a pregnancy, but can only have a child if he eats a mystical fruit. Not just any man can do that.
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In the Izary Kingdom men could marry more than one wife, as long as they could pay the heavy taxes for each new concubine, for each child of the concubines there would be an increase in taxes.
The new king ascended the throne just 5 years ago, which is very recent, and he was still struggling with the old ministers who had great family and economic power, who could not be dismissed at will.
With empty coffers and a country full of social confusion, because men had many women, other men did not have wives, the generation of children was affected, and a war had broken out 3 years before the king came to power, ending recently.
Not to mention the dozens of teenagers and young adults who were treated almost as spare servants of these large families of wealthy merchants and nobles with power. What a waste of the labor force that could supply the place for the lives lost in the war.
Anyway, the new king instituted this law and there were many problems and fights within the government, but it had social support because the many single men and the parents of these single men were very excited.
They will be able to have wives and children!
The children of the concubines were entitled to have their own businesses and part of the father's inheritance, which must be one third of the value that the children of the main wife will inherit from the father. If the mother (concubine) has a dowry, it would belong to her daughter, if she does not have a daughter, the dowry would belong to her son.
It was in the law of the kingdom, if they were broken the parents would be arrested and the goods sold and given to the children and the wives who lost the dowry. This was done to inhibit polygamous marriage among the common people, as the current government and king were unable to impose a new rule without causing further social chaos.
It took five years to balance the king's power and calm the nobles, even so the situation was tense, but the king was smiling with the money in the coffers and fomenting a strong army, which guaranteed some stability for the country.
Children who were previously illegitimate had to be recognized by their father and would have the right to a good marriage, work and build their own wealth and family, of course, this would generate more taxes per family and more wealth for the country.
There were not a few families who wanted to kill the concubines and their children, but there was the family register, that although the children of the concubines were not recognized as human beings by the family, they were in the family register, which was a way for these rich men to boast that they are good in bed and healthy.
Family records were in the hands of the government, there was no way they could lie and kill them sons and concubines, they were sure the king would kill them with the excuse of punishing bandits.
The king was someone too smart, and he was the nephew of the current military general, so he had support from the military.
Even if they wanted to kill, the nobles didn't dare and the merchants even less, since the latter were still frowned upon by society.
Hence, rich merchants wanted concubines who were smart but knew their place and didn't try to overthrow the main wife, as well as seeing these young women as an investment.
Many wealthy merchants preferred to marry into small clans around the kingdom, as the girls there could read, write and do basic math, which could help him in business, and he could take them along on business trips, which he could not affect the main wife who stayed in the reigning mansion. When they returned to the mansion, the concubine did not live in the mansion, but in a small house near the merchant's shop or enterprise.