When the news that the riot was put down reached Lakeheart Town, Paul was still a little bit unbelievable.
Finished? Is it settled so easily?
Paul had already prepared for the worst: farmers everywhere revolted, overthrowing his "brutal" rule in an instant, and he ran to the neighboring ally's territory to take refuge in despair.
Chief of Staff Schroeder coughed lightly when he saw the look on the count's face.
"Ahem, Lord Earl, please allow me to report to you the specific process."
He doesn't even understand what the lord has been worried about these past two days. Isn't it just a group of rioters?
What Schroeder calls the "specific process" is also very simple: each unit seals the intersection, waits for Lakeheart Town's ultimatum, and immediately moves into the riot area to restore order. In other places, it is just a small fight, nothing more than local gangsters taking advantage of the troubled waters to fish. Only in the Faber Village area did the riots reach scale. The home of the largest landlord in the area was broken into and all his property was looted. Rioters also occupied the yard and planned to resist stubbornly, trying to force Lord's Manor to pardon their crimes and admit their ownership of the looted property through strong means.
The loyal and brave naval officers and soldiers certainly did not accept this trick. After the ultimatum was rejected, the sailors immediately launched an attack and suppressed all Rioters in the yard in just one hour.
"That's it, Your Majesty."
"What are our casualties?"
"Six people were slightly injured by slings, and one person sprained his foot while climbing over the wall."
"No one died?"
"No one was sacrificed."
"Where's the other party?... It's that gang [Rioters]."
"23 people died and 30 were injured."
Paul's whole body relaxed. He lay back on the chair, closed his eyes and exhaled. "To be honest, Schroeder, I didn't expect things to go so smoothly."
"Count, you have to know that there is a huge gap in strength between the enemy and us. The opponent is just a group of unorganized and undisciplined villagers. When the sailors climbed over the courtyard wall, Rioters did not try to organize resistance, but when After Bayonet stabbed a few people at the front, the rest dispersed like headless flies, or lay on the ground with their heads sticking out and shivering. The navy sent a small team to block the back door, so they were all captured by us."
"What should we do next?"
"You are the lord, it all depends on your wishes."
"Let Cecil first figure out the causes and consequences of this riot."
After receiving the order from Paul, Cecil immediately started interrogating the prisoners. After several consecutive days and nights of torture, everyone at Lakeheart Town figured out the cause of the riot.
The reason was that Tax Farmer Baden set up [War Tax] privately, and the salt residents, whose livelihood was becoming increasingly difficult due to the establishment of the salt farm, simply could not afford to pay the new taxes, so they cooperated with There was a conflict between the tax collectors sent by Baden. Due to the resentment accumulated for a long time, the conflict quickly escalated. The salt people, overwhelmed by anger, went directly to Faber Village where Baden was located, and finally turned into a riot.
The fact that Baden secretly established War Tax can be confirmed, because several of the Baden Family's servants who were rescued from the salt people - the people he sent to collect taxes, all confessed to this.
"This damn landlord and old fortune!"
Paul cursed in a language he didn't understand in front of Cecil.
"Sir, what did you just say?"
Cecil asked cautiously. It could be seen that the earl was very angry now.
"Ah, it's okay, just keep talking."
"What's very strange is that Rioterss all confessed to other things, but no one admitted that the attack on the salt farm was related to them, nor did they admit that the riots in other places were related to them."
"Oh?" Paul tapped his fingers lightly on the table, "What do you think?"
Cecil replied, "Lord, there is a high probability that they are not lying. I isolated them and interrogated them one by one. I don't think this ragtag group of people has the ability to unify their voices so quickly."
Paul nodded. "Yes, I think so too."
Cecil continued, "During that time period, several riots of varying degrees occurred. According to the investigation, it seems that someone was specifically spreading Faber Village's affairs and instigating people in other places. Many people took the opportunity to fish in troubled waters."
Paul was very angry. "How could these people do this? Am I not good enough to them as a lord?"
"Sir, don't rush to reflect on yourself. The salt farm was also attacked when we contacted it. It's obvious..."
Paul suddenly interrupted him as if he had discovered New World: "I understand, Cecil!"
Cecil held back what he was going to say next and looked at Paul.
Paul stood up and said anxiously, "Conspiracy! Isn't it clear yet? Cecil, this is a conspiracy!"
Cecil widened his eyes and tried his best to look surprised. "Conspiracy? What do you mean?"
Paul explained, "There must be someone behind the scenes manipulating all this. Considering that we are at war with the tyrant Maltz Kent, it is very likely that he is behind the scenes and deliberately instigating my subjects to cause trouble. And that [Secret Art Society] is not impossible."
Intelligence Director "Suddenly realized" and slapped his thigh. "That's it, Lord Earl, you are still as wise as ever..."
Paul sat down again angrily. "This is so shameless, so despicable, and so obscene! If you can't defeat us on the battlefield, you just do small things behind your back. I despise this kind of people the most."
Cecil said, "Lord Earl, as long as you nod and agree, I can treat others with their own methods."
Paul snorted, "I don't even bother using such despicable means. Schroeder!"
Hearing the lord call his name, Chief of Staff, who was sitting nearby, immediately responded, "Yes, Lord Earl."
"Immediately formulate a new combat plan. I want the frontline troops to resume the offensive immediately, send new troops to support them, and use upright means to defeat the opponent."
The old knight replied calmly, "My lord, I know you are angry at the moment, but I still advise you not to act out of anger. We don't know if similar riots will happen, so we will keep our troops at home in the near future. The two battalions in the newly occupied area have to maintain local order as their top priority. After all, it was the territory of the Kent Family before, and it is much more convenient for them to do anything there than in other areas. And... it is not certain that this matter was done by the Kent family."
"Damn it!"
Paul hammered the table hard and yelled at Intelligence Director, "Call that guy named Baden over here. I want to have a good study with this landlord about what he calls [War Tax]!"