"My… my lord, Viscount Aslan is a tax inspector dispatched by His Highness the
He couldn't understand why this young lord, Count
Regardless, what worried Old Hugo most was that this young lord's handling of Viscount Aslan would draw the Second Prince's wrath. When the city gate catches fire, the fish in the moat suffer — Galentea didn't have that particular proverb, but they had similar warnings. As the mayor of Whitebird Town, Old Hugo feared that once Count Norton stirred up trouble and slithered away, it would be the residents of Whitebird Town who paid the price.
"Hehe, Old Hugo, don't worry. I have my reasons for dealing with Viscount Aslan this way,"
A tax inspector is supposed to handle taxation for the royal family's directly administered territories, and crack down on smuggling and tax evasion. As for territorial nobles, his only duty is to investigate the economic conditions of a territory and verify the tithe tax we pay to the royal family. He has no authority to raise taxes — he must first obtain permission from me, the lord. To dare brazenly increase tax categories in Whitebird Town — does he take my family's territory for a royal domain? He has already violated the dignity of our Norton Family, breached the established rules between superior and inferior lords. Even if I hanged him, the royal family would have nothing to say.
In a few days, I will bring this Viscount Aslan before the Second Prince and ask him whether this Viscount Aslan's actions were authorized. I will have the Second Prince personally order the hanging of this so-called viscount, unless he dares to defy the will of the world and oppose every territorial lord in order to shield this Viscount Aslan. Either way, this viscount is dead.
Old Hugo, you've been in the military for so long that you probably don't understand these nobles' ways. The more you tolerate them, the more they overstep their bounds. Take today for instance — this Viscount Aslan actually dared to bring armed soldiers into Whitebird Town without my permission. That was practically a declaration of war against our Norton Family. So I won't let him off. Put your mind at ease — if the sky falls, my Norton Family will hold it up.
Now, call over all your administrative officials and let me meet them. This is Shrade, the chief knight of our Norton Family. All administrative affairs concerning Hilovas Island's territory will be temporarily managed by him."
"Very well, my lord. I'll go get them right away." Since Lorist had spoken with such confidence, Old Hugo had no choice but to go fetch them, still weighed down with worry.
Soon enough, Old Hugo led in five people.
"My lord, this is Old Mike, our accountant. He served as a bookkeeper at the Keri Commerce Guild in the imperial capital for twenty years. He only returned to Whitebird Town after the guild went under."
Old Mike was half-bald with a fringe of white hair. He looked old but was only fifty-four — most likely, the constant mental arithmetic of accounting work had thinned his hair that quickly.
Next was a tall, thin man in his forties who stepped forward to introduce himself: "My lord, I am Creston, the constable of Whitebird Town."
Old Hugo added from the side: "My lord, Creston was formerly a secret agent with the Imperial Police Bureau, responsible for handling all manner of criminal cases. His wife is from Whitebird Town, so after the empire's breakup he returned here to settle down."
Lorist nodded and committed this Creston to memory. Although the family territory had established patrol squads in every town, they could currently only deal with petty matters like drunks brawling. An expert capable of investigating criminal cases was sorely lacking. As the family's territory grew ever more prosperous and the population continued to increase, getting everything on a proper footing would require many talented people working together.
The third to step forward was a ruddy-faced old man. Hugo introduced him: "My lord, this is Old Hart. He has been Whitebird Town's tax collector for nearly forty years and knows practically everyone on Hilovas Island."
The fourth, naturally, was the limping Garrison Captain Victor, who came forward and reported: "My lord, the soldiers have all been settled in. I've posted a small squad of garrison troops to stand guard over them."
The last was a fair-skinned young man, apparently five or six years older than Lorist. He approached and greeted Lorist with refined courtesy: "My lord, I am Hickote, the clerk of Whitebird Town. If I may add — my lord, your handling of Viscount Aslan was truly satisfying to see. But are you not worried about retaliation from the Aslan family?"
"Retaliation from the Aslan family?" Lorist chuckled. "Tell me — what do you know?"
"…the tone. After all, the family has had no word from them for ages. I was worried that if old Hugo resisted, he could very well lose his life. Without the family's recognition, a mayor elected temporarily by the residents alone could have any number of charges pinned on him without difficulty…"
Hickote paused for a moment. "My lord, I don't know too much about the strength of the Norton Family. But I have heard that five years ago, the Norton Family's northbound caravan did the Second Prince a tremendous favor. However, the Norton Family's old territory is far too distant from here, and the Second Prince now wields great power and high office. Over these five years, he has been training troops and building his arsenal, assembling six legions of nearly three hundred thousand men, all waiting for the right moment to reunify the former empire. At a time like this, if my lord believes he can dispose of the Second Prince's people freely based on old ties, I fear it will only earn the Second Prince's displeasure. Personally, I believe it would be wise to exercise greater caution in dealing with Viscount Aslan."
Fatty Shrade chuckled from the side. "Hickote, there's one thing I hope you understand. What the Norton Family relies on isn't old ties — it's strength. His lordship had his own reasons for dealing with Viscount Aslan as he did. But I'm quite interested in what you said about the Second Prince assembling six legions of nearly three hundred thousand men. Could you go into more detail about that?"
"And you are?" Hickote looked at Lorist with surprise. The knight beside him bore only a silver emblem — not even a gold-grade knight — so how could he so casually interject with questions?
"This is Shrade, the chief knight of the Norton Family. He will be handling all administrative affairs on Shilovas Island," Lorist introduced him again, brief and to the point.
"Oh…" Hickote suppressed his curiosity and nodded respectfully toward Fatty. "Sir Knight, what I know isn't much either, but over the past two years I've been in charge of dealing with the merchants who purchase our catches, and I've heard quite a few rumors about the Second Prince. Five years ago, after the Second Prince signed a truce with the Kingdom of Redelis and the Duchy of Madras, he reorganized the Royal Guard Corps. He disbanded the Gale Legion and expanded the Royal Guard Corps into three legions of fifty-six thousand men each. He then established three reserve legions of forty-two thousand men each, and additionally created a Kingdom Knights' Order of nearly five thousand.
From what I understand, the taxes that all territorial lords of the kingdom pay to the royal family have indeed been raised to thirty percent, and the tax rate on the royal family's own directly held lands has reached seventy percent. All the wealth extracted has been used by the Second Prince to sustain these six legions. The Second Prince issued a proclamation saying he hopes the people of the Andinak Kingdom — nobles and commoners alike — will endure a few more years of hardship, and once the empire is reunified, he will compensate everyone…"
Lorist couldn't help but burst into hearty laughter, slapping Shrade's shoulder beside him. "Shrade, did you hear that? This is the pinnacle of all-in-one-go thinking. The Second Prince wants to replicate the founding feat of the Krisen Empire's first emperor, Krisen I, planning to use these three hundred thousand men to reunify the empire. Unfortunately, he's forgotten that the times have changed. This is a desperate gamble — once he fails, he'll have no strength left to fight back, and the Andinak Kingdom will be finished."
"My lord, you don't think the Second Prince's military buildup plan has any prospects either?" Hickote asked.
"It's not that I don't think it has prospects — it's that the Second Prince's plan to reunify the empire this time has absolutely no chance of success. Put everything else aside — back when Krisen I founded the empire, the land was fragmented into warring states where even a single barony constituted its own kingdom. The three hundred thousand troops Krisen I assembled swept aside all his enemies like a tidal wave; even dozens of kingdoms banding together couldn't withstand his military might. You have to understand, the elite fighting force of a kingdom back then was barely a hundred men — how could they possibly stand against a human wave assault?
"But now? Even you lot, who only hear things through merchants, know the Second Prince's every move. Which of the hostile nations along the border isn't being extra careful? They've built fortresses and dug trenches — they're long since prepared for a determined defense. Even if the Second Prince manages to capture a few border cities, the losses would be devastating. And if he runs into a clear-headed opponent who lures him deep into enemy territory, adopts a scorched-earth strategy, and fights a drawn-out war of attrition — how long can the impoverished Andinak Kingdom hold out? If half of those three hundred thousand troops are lost, I suspect the entire kingdom would collapse…"
Shward looked thoughtful. Fatty asked, "What I find puzzling is that the five-year truce the Second Prince signed with the Ridleyas Kingdom and the Madras Duchy expired long ago. If he's already assembled three hundred thousand men, why has the Second Prince been so slow to launch his reunification war? Isn't he squandering a golden opportunity? The longer things drag on, the more prepared the defenses of the Ridleyas Kingdom and the Madras Duchy will become…"
Hickote said, "I might know the reason. A while back, I heard from merchants that the Third Prince is critically ill and doesn't have many days left. The Second Prince is very likely waiting for his father to pass away before launching the reunification war. I suspect that if he succeeds in reunifying the empire after that, the Second Prince would become a restorer of the dynasty — a name recorded in the annals of history. But if the Third Prince doesn't die, that crown of glory can never be placed on the Second Prince's head…"
"Haha, blinded by greed," Lorist offered briefly.
Al and
"Good." Lorist nodded. "Old Hugo, how many people are at that Sea-Watching Manor you mentioned?"
"We're not entirely sure about that, but the guards watching the manor should number over a hundred," Old Hugo said after a moment's thought.
"Josk, Farear, the two of you take Al and these guards and sailors on a trip over there. Bring everyone back. Kill anyone who resists — actually, forget that, try to capture as many alive as you can. I suddenly realize there are quite a lot of things here that need manual labor," Lorist said with vexation.
"Will it be fine here?" Farear asked with some concern.
"It's fine. It's not as if you don't know what I'm capable of. Having Knight Shrade and Shward here is more than enough. Oh, and Victor — take a hundred garrison soldiers along with them," Lorist ordered.
"My Lord, our Whitebird Town garrison doesn't even have leather armor. Our weapons are crude—we're just carrying spears. How are we supposed to attack those fully armed manor guards? We're simply incapable." Victor refused Lorist's order.
"I'm not asking you to throw your lives away. The assault work doesn't need to be done by your garrison—that's what my family soldiers are for. I only need you to come along because you know the terrain and can prevent anyone from the manor from escaping. On top of that, your garrison men just need to bring extra rope for tying up prisoners. If the assault doesn't go well, I'll allow the garrison to withdraw first." Lorist stared hard into Garrison Captain Victor's eyes.
Victor relented. "Very well, my Lord. I'll go assemble the garrison men right away. I hope we won't be making a wasted trip."
"My Lord," Farear stepped forward and pointed at the map of Shilowas Island spread across the table. "After we take Wanghai Manor, should we also seize that village called Falama while we're at it?"
Lorist shook his head. "No need. It's getting late. Take Wanghai Manor and bring those noble scum inside back to me. Tonight we'll deal with those blind fools first. As for the village called Falama, I'll take you there tomorrow. No one gets to provoke us on Norton Family territory without facing consequences. Five years without paying taxes, heh, wonderful."
"Alright, my Lord. We'll head out then." Farear led everyone in saluting Lorist before filing out of the room.
"My Lord, this move won't just offend the Yaslan Family. You should know that after the Second Prince left Shilowas Island, the ones who occupied Wanghai Manor were the children of several of his trusted nobles. Even if things escalated before, the Second Prince would have dismissed it as the young ones fooling around. But if you press the matter, they'll think you're refusing to give the Second Prince face—and you'll also have offended those trusted nobles and ministers around him…" Hickde tried to dissuade him with some urgency.
"Heh, this one's interesting." Lorist said to Shrade with a smile. "He doesn't understand that we give the Second Prince face only because he's our superior lord. We've never once feared the Second Prince's power or strength. If others don't offend us, we won't bully them either. But since someone has provoked us, the only reply we offer is blood and fire. Shrade, this fellow has talent. Have him stop serving as a scribe—keep him by your side and temper him for a while first."
"Yes, my Lord. I understand perfectly," Shrade replied.
"Good then, I'll leave things here to you. Look into the specific conditions of Whitebird Town and the villages on Shilowas Island, and figure out how we should develop this new territory. Once the family forces arrive in a few days, we'll be heading for the imperial capital. Get busy. Shward, let's go take a walk."
"Alright, my Lord." Shward said happily.
…(To be continued.)