BXBX NOVEL Chapter 22 - The Lord Is Watching Everything!
The crowd shifted, and the women, holding their children tightly, came forward with tense expressions.
“Half of you, take your children, grab some sickles, and go cut pig grass. The other half, go pick berries!” Richard ordered. He then waved his hand to signal a few of the knights’ squires to take charge of these people, guiding them and splitting them into two groups.
After handling that, Richard turned back to the remaining people and continued, “Next, when I call your name, step forward! Murtagh Levy! Negi Morton! Draco Meyer…”
One by one, people emerged from the crowd, until eventually, one or two hundred people stood before him. They were visibly nervous, fearing that they had done something wrong and that the lord had found out.
Some were trembling, their faces pale with fear.
In reality, Richard couldn’t possibly remember so many people. He was merely looking at the system panel, selecting the stonemasons and carpenters he needed. According to the system’s selection, these were the people with those specific skills.
Richard walked up to them and said, “I need you to build a blacksmith shop and a militia training camp for me. Soon, I’ll distribute the blueprints, and someone will guide you through the work! Line up over there and await further orders!”
“Yes, my lord!” They collectively breathed a sigh of relief.
As long as they weren’t going to be killed, and they could put their skills to use, it was much better than the menial tasks they had been doing before, like cleaning up waste—even though most of the town had already been cleaned up.
Richard glanced at the system panel, pondering. The previous Baojia system, while effective for quick mobilization, dispersed talents in a way that made management difficult. He needed to select people with administrative abilities. If he recalled correctly, he’d seen information on such individuals in the records before.
With a thought, he searched for those with management skills and soon identified over twenty individuals.
Richard called them out one by one. After the previous incident, they remained relatively calm, though they glanced at each other, puzzled, as they didn’t seem to share any particular skill set. They were at a loss, not daring to believe that the lord would consider them for management roles.
Given their limited perspective, they thought that the existing Baojia system, which included seven Bao leaders and 69 Jia leaders, was already a flawless mechanism. They couldn’t fathom that Richard might be looking for more specialized managerial talent.
Even the scribe, Rhodes, seemed confused about what these people were to be used for.
Richard announced, “From now on, the Baojia system will be used only after work, for mutual supervision. For day-to-day operations, I’m establishing these 25 people as the managers of your work.”
“You’re already aware of the Baojia system’s oversight responsibilities. Let me add that if anyone attempts to flee or acts against the interests of Long Eagle Territory, you can report them and receive extra food as a reward!”
Hearing this, the people’s faces lit up with delight as they began to eye each other, looking for signs of disloyalty.
Meanwhile, they didn’t seem to have much reaction to the appointment of these management personnel, though they were somewhat surprised that the managers were chosen from among their own ranks.
Richard turned to the newly appointed managers, his voice stern as he said, “You have been selected to be my managers. Your appointments are temporary for now. If any issues arise, I will hold you accountable immediately, and you will face punishment proportional to your mistakes.”
These words quickly cooled their initial excitement, and a few even considered backing out. However, being chosen by the lord himself, none dared to speak out against his decision—it would be nothing short of asking for death.
“But if you do well, you will receive proper rewards, and you’ll get more food than the others,” Richard continued, pacing in front of the group.
“Don’t get too comfortable, you lot. In my territory, there’s no such thing as absolute fairness! Those with ability will work more and get more! Do your job well, and food will not be lacking. If your children are smart, they might even have the chance to become my squires in the future! Remember that!”
Richard held these people in contempt, yet he had great confidence in the future development of Long Eagle Territory. He believed that once the territory prospered, those born into a more favorable environment would grow to become genuinely capable individuals.
For now, these people were indeed like swine to him. Even though he had chosen over twenty people as managers, it was merely picking the tallest among dwarfs. Compared to real talents, they weren’t much better than anyone he could find in the castle.
However, he couldn’t spare the castle’s squires, as they had their own roles to play.
He then assigned specific tasks to these managers, appointing them as team leaders responsible for different duties—farming, building houses, gathering berries, and so forth.
With the lord’s control panel at his disposal, Richard wasn’t worried about these appointed leaders abusing their power or oppressing the commoners. The blood on Richard’s sword hadn’t dried yet, and Harvey’s headless body was still fresh—if anyone dared to think otherwise, Richard wouldn’t hesitate to gain more Kill Points.
He wanted these people to know that the eyes of their lord were always watching them. These commoners were, after all, his wealth.