If looks could kill, Hudson would have already torn that lecherous old bastard before him to pieces. They had been uncle and nephew during the day, yet he had sold him out so quickly.
"Whoever proposes the plan is responsible for carrying it out. If it succeeds, everyone shares the credit; if it fails, the proposer bears the responsibility alone."
He had not expected to fall for such a simple workplace rule even after transmigrating. Hudson felt like crying without tears.
Heaven and earth bore witness—he had already been very careful. He only wanted to make a little money. Did it really have to become this big?
What bullshit plan had he proposed? He had merely dropped a hint. He had never even said the word "robbery."
As for the specific planning process, Hudson had followed the principle that the more one said, the more mistakes one made. From beginning to end, he had merely gone along with them.
He had wanted to be a quiet bystander, but somehow the spectacle had ended up landing on his own head. The moment that old bastard Mechel proposed it, everyone immediately responded in support.
Their flattering words embarrassed even Hudson. As a rookie knight, he had skipped right past being a rising star and been directly elevated to someone "highly respected and virtuous."
Faced with such shameless maneuvering, Hudson could only express his utter admiration.
They piled the hat high on his head. No matter how Hudson tried to decline, he could not stop the nobles from forcefully shoving it onto him.
It truly made Hudson understand the saying: "The tree that stands out in the forest is the first to be toppled by the wind."
The root of it all was that he had performed too well before. Even though Hudson had tried his best to hide his abilities, he still stood out among a bunch of pig-headed teammates.
His act of "pretending to be a tiger to scare pigs" had gone too well, making everyone think that when Hudson commanded troops, the more the better.
Otherwise, they would not have dared entrust such a "heavy responsibility" to him. After all, if something went wrong with the provisions, everyone would share the punishment.
Even if Hudson was willing to take the blame, his small frame could not bear it. Even if someone's head had to be borrowed, it would be Knight Chels who got unlucky. After all, he was the legion commander.
With everyone speaking as one, Hudson could only passively accept the heavy responsibility. He had originally wanted to drag a few unlucky fellows along with him, but ultimately gave up.
If they truly ran into the main force of the Rebel Army raiding the supplies, even the entire Fifth Army combined might not be enough. Keeping a few unlucky knights behind would not help, so he might as well not make enemies.
Taking command of all the serf soldiers put tremendous pressure on Hudson.
Fortunately, the Aslant Continent had a strict hierarchy. The troublesome ones had long since been dealt with by the noble lords, so no one stepped out to cause trouble.
After using voluntary nominations to democratically elect a group of squad leaders, Hudson appointed his own trusted men as centurions and barely managed to establish a command structure.
Looking at the lines below that twisted like earthworms, Hudson took a deep breath and silently reminded himself: These were not his soldiers. He did not need to demand so much of them.
"From now on, the entire army must act in unison. Even eating, sleeping, and taking a shit must be done collectively at designated times.
"Keep your eyes open and watch one another. If someone breaks the rules, no one reports it, and they are later caught—
"Then if one person violates the rules, the entire squad goes hungry; if one squad violates the rules, the entire battalion goes hungry.
"Under my command, you will obey my rules. Do not take this lightly. Anyone who violates military orders will be hanged without exception.
"It does not matter if you cannot be caught. You have families who can answer for your crimes. If you do not want to implicate your wives, children, and elders, then behave yourselves.
"Stay close to the column. If you go missing and no body is found, you will be treated as a deserter. Your entire family, young and old alike, will go to the gallows at the village entrance..."
Hudson berated them in plain, easily understood language. In summary, it came down to three words—Guilt by Association.
He had originally wanted to say that if one person violated military orders, the entire squad would lose their heads. But remembering that this was a rabble, and fearing that he would kill everyone in the end, Hudson could only change it to "go hungry."
For lowly serfs, going hungry was also a severe punishment. Before enlisting, they probably did not get more than a few full meals all year.
Only now, with Count Pierce providing their meals, could they eat their fill. Having finally enjoyed a few full meals, naturally no one wanted to go hungry again.
Frankly speaking, this method of transporting provisions was not very scientific. They were sending everything over in one go; if the war dragged on too long, they would have to make repeated trips later.
Knowing that was one thing, but Hudson did not speak out of turn. As a junior officer, obeying orders was enough.
Besides, this was merely a campaign to suppress a rebellion, not a national war. Talking about the sustainability of the war would easily make him a laughingstock.
In fact, even when kingdoms on the Aslant Continent went to war, the fighting usually did not last very long.
The reason was simple: war consumed far too much money and grain. In a feudal age with backward productivity, no one could endure prolonged warfare.
Under the harsh pressure of Guilt by Association, and after executing several unlucky men who violated military orders, the supply convoy finally stabilized.
Whether they could be relied upon on the battlefield remained uncertain, but at least no one continued getting lost while transporting provisions.
Of course, another important reason was that everyone's food rations had improved. Not only was there enough black bread, they also received a bowl of heavily salted minced-meat soup.
Thanks to that heavily salted bowl of minced-meat soup, Hudson's image among the serf soldiers changed from that of a vicious noble lord into a "generous" noble lord.
Without any surprise, the extra salted minced-meat soup came from the quotas of the Fifth Army's nobles.
Hudson had originally wanted to pocket it himself, but merchants and travelers were nowhere to be seen along the way. There was simply nowhere to sell the stolen goods.
Provisions were bulk goods, with nowhere to hide them even if he wanted to. Hudson was not foolish enough to join the main force while carrying embezzled provisions.
He fiercely despised those short-sighted merchants. They did not even know how to seize such a wonderful opportunity to get rich.
Since he could not sell the stolen goods, there was no way to launder the supplies. Faced with cruel reality, Hudson could only be an upright soldier. He simply spent his allies' money to improve the food of the soldiers under his command.
After some self-reflection, Hudson attributed the failure of his embezzlement to one thing—his network of connections was not broad enough.
Merchants did pursue profit, that was true, but their fists were not strong enough. They were often swindled by unscrupulous nobles until they lost everything.
Even knowing that the Fifth Army was escorting provisions, no one dared come to do business. The biggest reason was that there were too many nobles throughout the Fifth Army, and it was impossible to grease every palm.
If even one link was not settled, they might be robbed outright. With this kind of under-the-table deal, even if they were robbed, they would not dare make it public.
The risks and rewards were not proportional, so naturally no one came. After all, who could have imagined that the Fifth Army's nobles would pull such a brazen stunt—going out together to rob people and leaving Hudson alone to guard the home front?
With his dream of getting rich shattered, Hudson could only skim off some disposable military supplies such as arrows to soothe the pain in his heart.
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