Baron Kriston had come to present his report on the proposed formation of the Internal Affairs Department to
"Baron Kriston, how did you come up with the idea of using the Patrol Guard to weave a surveillance network covering the family's territory?" Lorist asked with genuine admiration.
Baron Kriston answered respectfully, "Your Grace, during the pre-empire era, Krisen the Third, dissatisfied with the rashness and incompetence of the city garrison, personally established a security force tasked with patrolling the city and maintaining peace in the nobles' residential quarters. That is the origin of the Patrol Guard. By the time of Krisen the Fourth, the Patrol Guard was further entrusted with the duties of solving criminal cases, combating urban crime, and dismantling underground criminal organizations.
After Krisen the Sixth ascended the throne, the Patrol Guard was given additional responsibilities, including city management, tax collection assistance, and the maintenance of market order. At the same time, it received a secret mandate—to monitor any individual or organization that opposed the Krisen imperial household. In a sense, the Krisen Empire's Patrol Guard and the Internal Affairs Department Your Grace plans to establish differ little in terms of function. That is why I thought to use the family territory's already well-established Patrol Guard to form the Internal Affairs Department. It is the fastest and only way to create a surveillance network covering the entirety of our family's lands."
Lorist shook his head with a smile. "Baron Kriston, have you perhaps forgotten the Patrol Guard Cage Incident that took place in the imperial capital during the final years of Krisen the Sixth's reign? It was precisely because the capital's Patrol Guard bore too many responsibilities and wielded too much power that, once freed of effective oversight, it grew into a greedy beast. At that time, every citizen in the capital blanched at the mere mention of the Patrol Guard, terrified that they would come knocking and bring ruin upon their families.
After the Cage Incident came to light, the entire populace of the capital took to the streets in protest. The nobles of the capital banded together and petitioned Krisen the Sixth to disband the Patrol Guard as an official organization. Krisen the Sixth, who had been kept completely in the dark, flew into a towering rage upon learning of the atrocities the Patrol Guard had committed. He issued an imperial decree for a thorough investigation and rigorous interrogation, and ultimately the Patrol Guard was dissolved. Over three thousand people involved were all beheaded as a public example. It was not until ten years later, when Krisen the Seventh ascended the throne and found the lack of city management inconvenient, that the Patrol Guard was re-established.
Your idea is excellent, but I cannot agree to placing the Patrol Guard under the jurisdiction of the Internal Affairs Department. Baron Kriston, the primary purposes of the Internal Affairs Department are threefold. First, to guard against foreign spies prying into our family's territory. Second, to thwart conspiracies by rebel elements targeting our family's lands. Third, to monitor the family's internal management system and punish officials guilty of corruption and dereliction of duty.
In simple terms, if our
The Patrol Guard Cage Incident was one of the most famous episodes of public protest in the history of the Krisen Empire. The root cause was that the capital's Patrol Guard had accumulated so much power that it had become the de facto king of the imperial capital. Just like the tyrannical and overbearing secret police organizations recorded in the history books of Lorist's previous life—wielding sky-high authority—any citizen who showed the slightest disrespect would be slapped with the label of imperial traitor, leading not only to the ruin of their family but often to beatings, forced confessions, and fabricated charges that implicated their relatives.
When such a colossal beast turned its greedy gaze upon the innocent populace to extort money, the cruelty that followed was predictable. Countless wealthy residents and merchants in the imperial capital would vanish overnight — their entire families disappeared, their properties seized. Announcements appeared on the streets every now and then proclaiming how the Patrol Guard had triumphantly uncovered yet another anti-imperial conspiracy. Hordes of so-called criminals ended up hanging from the gallows. The citizens of the imperial capital lived in constant dread; they didn't even dare greet one another on the street. The entire capital was shrouded in an atmosphere of bloodshed and terror.
Several noble youths studying in the capital heard from their servants that ghostly wailing echoed through the sewers at midnight. Their curiosity piqued, they organized an expedition to hunt the ghosts underground. Following the wretched cries, they arrived at a vast subterranean chamber filled with iron cages from wall to wall. Inside those cages were countless people on the verge of death. It turned out these were the families and relatives of those who had been branded as fugitive traitors by the Patrol Guard...
The truth was soon laid bare before the citizens of the capital. The Patrol Guard had the authority to arrest and interrogate, but they held no power to detain prisoners — after interrogation, suspects were required to be transferred to the prison department. Having arrested so many innocent civilians and merchants for the purpose of extortion, the Patrol Guard certainly could not hand these wrongly accused people over to the prisons. Instead, they labeled them as fugitives who had "fled without a trace," using that pretext to seize their properties.
To that end, the Patrol Guard secretly excavated an underground chamber beneath their headquarters to serve as their own prison. They had custom-forged cages built to hold the captives. Those who still had exploitative value were allowed to linger for a time; those deemed useless were simply left to starve to death. Everyone who witnessed that underground cage chamber was enraged that such a living hell existed beneath the capital. Once the scandal was exposed, the Patrol Guard's doom was sealed. Over a hundred thousand residents of the capital took to the streets in protest, the city garrison assumed control of the capital's defenses, and the nobles banded together to submit petitions demanding the Patrol Guard be punished.
The following years did not bring greater safety — quite the opposite. The next decade or more became the most chaotic period on record. Gangs ran rampant, crimes surged, and street brawls were a constant occurrence. Finding a corpse on the road was an everyday sight, and citizens had to arm themselves and bring companions just to buy a loaf of bread.
It was not until Krisen VII ascended to the throne ten years later that the Patrol Guard was re-established to address the severe public security crisis. However, most of the Patrol Guard's responsibilities were curtailed. Beyond patrolling to maintain urban order, their sole remaining duties were investigating and interrogating criminal cases. It was precisely because the Patrol Guard had lost its mandate to monitor anti-imperial conspirators that the Three-Princes War — a devastating civil war for succession — erupted the moment Krisen VII died.
Baron Kriston felt somewhat disheartened that his proposal to establish the Internal Affairs Department had been rejected by Lorist, but he still wished to make his case: "Your Highness, you are absolutely right. The Patrol Guard Cage Incident of the old imperial era is indeed something we must guard against. However, as long as we strengthen oversight, we can prevent the same tragedy from happening again. In fact, if the Patrol Guard were placed under the jurisdiction of the Internal Affairs Department, the Internal Affairs Department's surveillance network across the family's territories could be deployed in the shortest possible time..."
Lorist rose to his feet, walked over to Baron Kriston, and patted him on the shoulder. "Baron Kriston, I am not saying your thinking behind the Internal Affairs Department is wrong — you simply misunderstood what I meant. While I oppose placing the Patrol Guard under the Internal Affairs Department's jurisdiction, you can absolutely select personnel from the Patrol Guard and, through collaboration or part-time arrangements, weave together this surveillance network over the family's territories.
I have other plans for the Patrol Guard. Currently, the entire Northland's population has reached over three point two million, and public security will be the family's next priority for reform. The Patrol Guard will also be separated from the family's administrative apparatus to form an independent security system. Imagine it this way: the Patrol Guard will also be a network, but one that operates out in the open. The Internal Affairs Department, on the other hand, is another net — hidden in the shadows. All criminals who slip through the Patrol Guard's overt net will be unable to escape the grasp of the Internal Affairs Department's covert one. Do you understand what I mean?"
Baron Kriston's eyes lit up with sudden comprehension. "Your Highness, I understand now. You're saying that in the future, the Patrol Guard will be the shield in plain sight, while our Internal Affairs Department will be the sword hidden in the dark. We can cooperate with the Patrol Guard to monitor the entire family's territories, and only those suspects who are beyond the Patrol Guard's reach in the open become the true targets of our Internal Affairs Department's surveillance... I'll go back immediately and draft a new proposal for establishing the Internal Affairs Department..."
"Wait a moment, Baron Kriston. I have another task for you here." Lorist hesitated for a moment, then returned to his desk, opened a drawer, and took out a black folder.
"This matter troubles me greatly, but I don't know how to resolve it. Take a look, but do not reveal it to anyone. If you have a good solution, you may seek assistance from Reddy of the Guard. If not, then simply return this folder to me..."
Baron Kriston took the black folder and opened it. The sight made him shudder visibly. Nevertheless, he secured the folder and bowed to Lorist, whose back was turned. "Your Highness, I will go back and think of a solution."
Lorist did not speak. He merely waved his hand, dismissing Baron Kriston. It was only when he was alone in the study that Lorist let out a long, soft sigh and sat down in his chair, his expression shifting uncertainly.
Three days later, a message arrived via eagle post from Maplewood Manor: Lady Eleanor, confined there, had died suddenly from a severe illness...
As Lorist had to preside over the family's military reform conference and could not get away, he had no choice but to entrust his cousin, Lady Chrisia, to travel to Maplewood Manor. She would oversee Lady Eleanor's funeral arrangements and bring back their second son, Wilward, to Bear City.
The military reform conference lasted a total of five days. The name for the new department was also decided: the Armed Forces Department. While it was a rather plain name, from that day forward, mobilizing ten or more soldiers of the Norton Family without Lorist's direct order and an official dispatch stamped by the Armed Forces Department would be considered an act of rebellion. Even the family's highest-ranking administrators, led by
Except for the main military corps of two hundred and twenty thousand, which Lorist had confirmed and which retained its generous benefits, all other units were reorganized into local garrison corps with halved benefits and a strength of twenty-four thousand each. Two garrison corps were assigned to the Northland, one each to Winston Province, Dramek Province, and the Prairie Province, one garrison regiment to Hilowas Island, and one to the Haniabada Archipelago. Unlike before, all town and village security squads were incorporated into the local garrison corps' structure. This single measure alone cut the family's total armed manpower by nearly half.
Lorist's massive demobilization order filled Steward Spero with delight. In the future, the family's military expenditure would consume less than a third of the budget. However, protests from Fatty Shi, Baron Kamora, and others quickly sobered Spero, and he joined the ranks opposing the demobilization order.
The protest from the administrative system's civil officials mainly targeted the reduction of the Security Battalion's strength. Although the Security Battalion had been involved in the internal family uprising launched by Steward Hansack, it had to be admitted that, despite having only five battalions, it was an indispensable military force within the family. This was because it was responsible for guarding the family's treasuries, the secret mines and workshops, as well as prisons and the oversight of prisoner labor, and for escorting logistical supplies and reinforcements.
Lorist had rarely thought about the five security battalions within the family's armed forces when deploying troops in the past. At most, he would conscript a few town garrison squads to form a temporary security battalion responsible for transporting logistical supplies, then immediately disband them after the war. If Steward Hansack hadn't used the retired veterans of those five security battalions to launch the internal family uprising, Lorist would have long since forgotten they even existed.
"Disbanding the security battalions from the family's armed forces is necessary. I'm not abandoning something useful just because of one bad experience," Lorist said, slapping the table to silence the bickering civil officials. "Military and civil administration must be kept separate. If the security battalions aren't disbanded, they must fall under the command of the Military Affairs Department. That would mean the administrative system would need to obtain permission from the Military Affairs Department every time supplies were loaded, unloaded, or moved in or out of storage. This would only create countless headaches and conflicts for us, and might even drive up administrative costs and expenditures due to the long distances involved."
"With the security battalions disbanded, their former duties will be taken over by the armed patrol police. Once the military and civil administration are separated, the garrison squads in every town and village will no longer take orders from the civil officials of the administrative system. Their sole responsibility will be to maintain the safety of towns and villages. Apart from suppressing riots, these town garrison squads will no longer handle local law enforcement — unless they receive orders from the Military Affairs Department."
"As for local law enforcement and maintaining public order, that will all fall to the patrol police. I plan to establish a Security Bureau at the family level, Security Offices in the cities, Security Stations in the towns, and Security Posts in the villages, responsible for patrol policing and law enforcement across the entire family territory. This will be the only armed unit within the family's administrative system. As for the armed patrol police, their duties will be the same as those five disbanding security battalions."
With that explanation, Lorist finally managed to stop the civil officials from arguing. However, he stressed that the Security Bureau's expenses would be accounted for separately under the family's administrative budget going forward, rather than being classified as military expenditure. As such, the scale of the security system and the armed patrol police would need to be determined through detailed calculation. For the time being, Lorist handpicked
After five days of military reform meetings, the Norton Family's armed forces immediately began reorganization and downsizing, with the hope of completing most of the work before the New Year arrived. Lorist was run ragged, and it wasn't until mid-November that he finally found a bit of free time.
When he returned to Ironbear City, Chrisya had already come back from Maplewood Manor. She reported to Lorist that Lady Elina had most likely died of a sudden heart attack. The execution of Leskert had dealt a tremendous blow to Lady Elina. Confined to the building in Maplewood Manor, she had wept and wailed day and night without cease, frequently screaming herself hoarse as she cursed Lorist and called out Leskert's name. The guards watching her had privately concluded that Lady Elina had gone completely mad.
Lady Elina died at around eight o'clock in the evening. She had begun her usual torrent of curses against Lorist, while simultaneously calling out for Young Master Leskert. After roughly half an hour of wailing, Lady Elina's voice suddenly went silent. At first, the guards on duty weren't used to the abrupt quiet and felt that the early cessation that evening was rather odd. But since Lady Elina sometimes fell asleep from sheer exhaustion, nobody thought much of it.
At around ten o'clock, the guard on her regular patrol came to the door and noticed he could hear no breathing from inside. He hurried in, only to discover her face had turned cyanotic — she had already stopped breathing and died. The apothecary's examination determined that extreme emotional agitation had triggered a fatal acute heart attack. Chrisya had gone to check as well and confirmed that the body was well preserved, Lady Elina bore no injuries anywhere, and the cause of death was indeed a heart attack...
However, Chrisya made a request of Lorist — she wanted to adopt Lorist and Lady Elina's second son, Welvad. Due to all the upheaval during this period, Welvad had been terrified. He was barely thirteen years old, and Chrisya wished to take the poor child under her care. Lorist considered the matter at length before finally agreeing to Chrisya's request.
...