147 – Duchy of Architel Absorption Operation (5)

The day when the meeting with the bailiffs is scheduled.

I dressed up and headed to the conference room inside Agincourt Castle.

When we arrived at the conference room, more than 400 bailiffs were sitting in their seats and chatting with each other.

“It should look good to His Excellency, Count Kreutel… Do you know anything?”

“… . I don’t know. I heard you just have to work hard and get results. From what I’ve heard, His Excellency doesn’t reveal women as much as the other counts do, and what about money… Bribes from the likes of us won’t even send a message… ”

“Then, how about bribing His Excellency’s officials? You’ve done that before. ”

“Don’t say anything stupid… The officials under His Excellency are paid ridiculously high salaries. Seriously, I won’t complain even though the knights didn’t take any prisoners in the last war. It’s possible because His Excellency gives so much on a regular basis. But what about bribes? You will be accused of paying bribes.”

“… . I will have to give up buying. Still, aren’t we also under His Excellency’s command anyway? So, there will be a lot of soybeans.”

An old saying goes that the guy who gives rice cakes drinks kimchi soup without even thinking about it, and those guys are already sitting like that even though they didn’t even give me an order to acknowledge my management position.

Also, I know that many of the guys here either condoned or actively supported the Duke’s letter…

It’s funny how even those guys have conversations like that, swear allegiance to me, and struggle to become subjects.

Read at noblemtl.com

Just like an idiot, if you tell me that I’m going to lose my count and join His Highness, I can just purify him right away…

As soon as I sat down on the prepared chair, the knights around me shouted, whether they knew what I was thinking or not.

“Your Excellency Count Ciel von Kreuttel! All kneel down and pay your respects!”

At that, they all knelt down and bowed their heads.

“Sit with your head up.”

At my words, the Bayleafs all stood up and sat down.

“First of all, thank you for receiving my call from far away and coming all the way here. There are great bailiffs like you, so I feel at ease.”

Then, I spoke in a sighing voice.

“However, the Akitel region has not yet been able to wash away all the wounds of the war. That’s why, I’d like to get the wisdom of those of you familiar with the area. Also, if there are any crises or problems currently facing each region, I would like them to report them as well.”

After that, one of the bailiffs bravely stepped forward and asked.

“But there are 400 of us. But how are you going to accept all of our opinions and talk about them?”

“That’s a good question. First of all, all crises, problems, or proposals for policies that help develop the territory are received as written documents. Submitted documents will then be reviewed by administrators under my command. And among them, what I think will be a really effective remedy will come up to me. Among them, I am going to decide by direct vote what is worth discussing with you.”

The Bayleaves nodded their heads as if they all understood that.

“You didn’t mean to discuss all the policies… ”

“Still, didn’t you give us a chance to voice our opinions on policy? Also, don’t you know? In Count Creutel’s territory, a serf can become a noble as long as his ability is recognized.”

“ah… Are you referring to the story of Knight Frost and Handmaid Mark, sung by bards in the past? Well, to think that it was created after looking at a real person… Maybe we can go up too.”

“You are such a good monarch… ”

They say that on the outside, but as of right now I can’t believe everything they say.

Because among them there are still those who are loyal to Duke Architel.

Then, I raised my hand and said to let you know that this meeting was over.

“This meeting ends here. All bailiffs do not return to their estates, but remain here to submit the local situation and the policies they would like to propose by midnight tomorrow. And I will check all of that and see you in five days.”

**

As I was about to return to my bedroom after a meeting and work, as I almost notified the Bayleafs, I heard the voice of the Alps from behind me.

“Your Excellency, please wait a moment.”

“What is it, Alps?”

“A list has just been completed that categorizes those who did not sympathize with the bailiffs and village chiefs who sympathized with Duke Architel. I hurriedly brought it because I felt I needed to check it urgently.”

After saying that, Alps handed me the list she was holding.

I read and said the list for quite some time.

“After receiving the letter, the rate of reporting to the guys belonging to the intelligence unit was 30%, the guys who didn’t report it were 60%, and the guys who showed suspicious movements were 10%… . More guys than I thought are following the duke.”

Alps replied in a serious voice to those words.

“It is said that when dukes ruled, they either tolerated them so that they could get back money, or turned a blind eye to a little bit of corruption. Also, during the last campaign, didn’t Duke Akitel give them commander positions that knights and free citizens take? It’s probably because they think that if the duke comes back, they’ll be able to succeed too.”

On the other hand, in this county I rule, although nobles are acknowledged to be above citizens and serfs, abuse of noble status is punished as severely as possible.

In particular, the most common of the depravity they commit is that bailiffs and village chiefs forcibly make an orphan girl into a concubine in the name of protecting an orphan and then abandon it…

Because of Ella’s precedent here, even attempting to do such a thing is punishable by a minimum prison term up to hanging.

The fact that the status privileges are restricted in this way is probably because they feel that their rights will be infringed upon by the vested interests, such as the baileiffs and the village chiefs.

“Also, from their point of view, they have become poor because they have already been ripped off by taxes due to the war, and they will be sick because they can’t do the corrupt things they used to do.”

“No matter how noble you are, it makes me angry to see people living on the tax of serfs in their estates sitting like that.”

“I think so too. By the way, Your Excellency… Then why did you give the baileefs another chance? Even though he didn’t tell the person who received the letter from Duke Architel to confess, to report it in case there’s something wrong… It will sound as if Your Excellency knows their secret.”

To that, I replied in a calm voice.

“There are three reasons for giving them one last chance to confess.”

“Are there three?”

“First of all, if you kill all the bailef guys, there will be a huge gap in the manpower to manage the administration of this territory. As you know, our estates have grown so rapidly that we do not have enough bailiffs and inspectors. However, if too many baileiffs who surrendered are expelled here, an administrative vacuum will be created in the meantime even if manpower is urgently recruited. And I don’t know what Duke Architel will do with that administrative vacuum.”

“If the operation is meticulous enough to incite a civil rebellion… It’s not strange to do anything with the administrative vacancy.”

“The second is to make Duke Architel’s spy infiltrate this place believe that all the remaining bailefs have abandoned him. If we believe that Duke Architel has been abandoned by his lower managers, then the range of future operations is reduced. Because there are no collaborators.”

The Inspector General of the Alps listened to me, nodded, and asked.

“Then what is the third reason?”

“It is to maintain neutrality or to obtain a justification for punishing those who participated in Duke Architel. No matter how much I communicated with the enemy duke, I need a cause to punish those who didn’t rebel. Especially to convince those who have followed them for a long time as administrators.”

After that, as for the level of punishment…

Those who actively participated in the rebellion were to be beheaded or hanged, but…

For the people of our territory, shooting would be more effective than beheading now…

‘Cause I’ve got a terrible gun trauma

Also, those who did not confess to what I asked them to do on their own will be demoted to serfs under the pretext of disobeying the lord’s orders, and then their families will be exiled.

At first glance, it seems that they were lenient towards those who remained neutral…

Stigmatized as an outcast, the Bayleaf family will live a miserable life as urban poor, unable to do anything right wherever they go.

**

a week later

I gave the order in front of the bailiffs gathered in the conference room.

“Among them, there are those who plotted a rebellion. Arrest them all.”

After those words, heavily armed soldiers began pouring into the parade ground.