Our Family Has Fallen

“Killing them is indeed too lenient; you used to work for them, now they work for you. They must atone for their crimes and be made aware of the evil of their actions.”

The populace didn’t know much about this, but upon hearing the words, they found it reasonable; it felt great to have the mayor work for them.

Several others, including the mayor’s family, were also sentenced to forced labor, but the term was not mentioned, as it was of no real reference value.

Because Lance would not let them go, he’d certainly use them until they’re exhausted; currently, Hamlet has many areas needing development, and spending money is absolutely out of the question. Lance came out this time specifically to capture free labor.

However, there were special circumstances; those three who had resisted with weapons and were crippled by Boudica were dragged forward.

Their crime was defiance; while the mayor was sentenced to forced labor, they were directly hanged.

To Lance, it was very straightforward, as it was impossible to waste resources on treating a few useless people, so they could only be utilized as waste.

This coincided with a previous statement, “Kill the rebels! Death to the insurgents!”

Let them know the consequences of opposing the Lord of Hamlet…

“Have you remembered? The trial must be public and the punishment must fit the crime; reveal what they did for all to see, record everything to prevent anyone from later summoning their spirits.

Capture those notorious local thugs and put them underfoot; fully eliminate the people’s fear of these bullies and establish the value system dominated by Hamlet.

But also be vigilant; the information we obtain must be accurate. For these instances, many have their own versions, and it is difficult to verify each other, so we must be careful…”

Lance did not intervene this time, leaving most matters to subordinates, but teaching remained necessary.

Why should there be a public trial?

Because Lance sought to reestablish Hamlet’s authority using these miscreants, while also rescuing his people from suffering and despair.

Lance was kind-hearted and couldn’t bear to witness such matters.

A small town of two to three hundred people, half of whom were the mayor’s serfs, with at least seventy percent of the surrounding land belonging to their family.

It could completely be said that this was the mayor’s territory; he was the lord here, with influence in this small tract far more effective than that of an Earl like him.

If the typical lord were to reclaim territory, the mayor would likely have surrendered and opened the doors earlier, perhaps even adding an appointment procedure for the mayor.

This is because, for those major lords, there was not much profit from this place, and it was inherently unmanageable. They only cared about one thing, which was tax collection; as long as the money was collected, they couldn’t care less about internal affairs.

This is the Empire, and it is even the prevalent phenomenon across much of this world; no one cares about the feelings of ordinary people.

If Lance, in the beginning, disregarded the ancestral matters, did everything possible to reclaim territory, then perhaps even controlling a small town, the mayor might just pay taxes, and they would hastily withdraw troops and rush to the next place.

Executing such so-called reclamation would merely be another form of feudalizing aristocracy.

But even using pig brains could anticipate that those serfs originally had no money, and the little resources produced by labor had already been exploited to the point of depletion.

All wealth was concentrated in that small segment, while they needed to pay relatively little tax, with the remainder going into the pockets of those fellows.

What is this concept?

My territory, my people, a middleman taking sixty percent, and I get thirty percent; should I thank them?

That is my money!

Therefore, capturing without controlling or managing is no better than not doing it; the last one with remarkable intelligence implementing the tax farming system was the Toilet Emperor.

If Lance acts, he must achieve control; it’s better to eliminate those creatures leeching off Hamlet.

Representatives were also sent from the army to participate; upon return, they would spread what they’d heard, letting soldiers understand that they were engaging in a righteous cause, rescuing people from the clutches of an evil person.

Reclaiming territory and saving the people, these declarations significantly impact morale, representing their mission as a righteous one.

Simultaneously, it gives them a reference for future actions; try to avoid killing, control the situation until he brings people to organize it. Killing and destruction bear no favor for territorial development.

“Sir, the time is almost up.”

Barton stepped forward to remind him, and Lance understood and nodded in agreement.

“I’ll give you fifty administrative officers, leave fifty infantry behind, and proceed according to plan.”

“Yes!”

From breaking the gate to now, it actually took just over half an hour, and the reorganized army quickly set off for the next destination to do similar things.

Yet Lance remained behind with part of the group because things had only just begun.

“Start disseminating policy, quickly organize manpower to build houses. Every year there is a situation where heavy snow collapses houses; now organize those labor convicts to start working. We don’t advocate violence, but if they don’t work, they’ll go hungry for a few days…”

The public trial was just the beginning; what follows is the focus, promoting Hamlet’s policies, setting new rules.

The administrative officer in charge of policy dissemination remained the same one who had just led the trial, for he was essentially the local governor and needed these affairs to show his face, enhancing prestige among the people.

Overthrowing the mayor was basically replacing one person, but now when the lord mentioned dividing the mayor’s land to them, everyone got excited, their previous dazed and numb expressions vanished, with strong vitality bursting from their lean bodies.

They began to actively cooperate with the administrative officer’s commands, uncovering even more people, mostly children.

Earlier they had only roughly cleared out the ones associated with the mayor without thorough search; it’s normal for people to be hidden in cellars, as Lance was aware.

The administrative officer was also ruthless, especially picking those with deep hatred towards the mayor to supervise his work, demanding that they don’t kill or affect work; within those boundaries anything excessive was overlooked.

Everyone started bustling about; some began pointing out other henchmen’s houses and ransacking them, while others, led by locals, went out to measure land acreage.

Lance did not interfere much in such matters; he had relatively important matters to handle.

“There are three villages nearby, totaling over a hundred people, the land…”

From this conversation, it was evident that Lance was aware of the situation here, having long before consciously gathered and inventoried information on towns and villages.

Using merchant caravans to move among them, he was able to lock onto the mayor upon arrival and then directly ransack, as punishment for these local bullies had already been deliberated upon, hence the prior mention that the public trial was for ordinary people to see.

And now Lance presides over another key policy—village consolidation.

It’s no joke; Lance’s selection of this place from the start was with a purpose, to prepare for relocating three sparsely populated villages nearby.

Having them build houses and repair old ones was for the purpose of distributing houses and land, ensuring their relocation was secured, otherwise, when the heavy snow fell, were they relocated to meet their demise?

Even Barbarian Tribes understand autumn hunts, and if not, they invade to plunder, all to survive the winter.

In those scattered small villages, the ability to face natural disaster risk is weak; Lance knows houses and land are not crucial, but the grain the mayor hid away is significant.

He arranged people to inventory grain, and Lance took fifty soldiers along with some carts to find those villages.

There was essentially no room for resistance; fifty soldiers simply standing there was enough to make them feel despair.

Fortunately, Lance brought hope; numerous administrative officers went out to promote policies — moving over, distributing houses and land, praising the lord greatly!

The soldiers even put down their muskets, helped move things onto carts, and who dared say no?

Lance did not concern himself with these matters; he arrived at the village’s fields.

Though not good farmland, it was opened up, and letting it go to waste would be a pity.

This was also why Lance brought Grendel, just grow medicinal herbs; next spring, what will sprout will be high-value-added materials.