Rewards and Punishments

Cumbersome procedures had a degree of lag. That was their drawback.

But cumbersome procedures could handle the vast majority of ordinary situations and respond promptly and accurately.

Otherwise, the astronomical number of affairs across the Great Xia Empire would be enough to work Transcendents to death.

So Derek did not think there was anything wrong with the two reports arriving at the same time.

Officials at the Governor level and high-ranking nobles had direct channels of communication with His Majesty the Emperor. They were themselves a supplement to the system.

The delay this time had been Simon's personal doing.

Procedurally speaking, Simon had definitely made a mistake.

So Derek first had the Attendant Officer record, "Count Simon concealed important information without authorization. Reclaim half of his Fief."

As for making decisions, a Governor had that authority, even if the decisions were destructive.

Of course, if one truly wanted to pursue the matter, concealing information and acting without authorization could be linked together, and the consequences would be far more serious.

It could only be said that Derek did not wish to pursue it, so he calculated them separately and waived most of Simon's responsibility.

Only after issuing the punishment did Derek pick up the detailed intelligence and read through it several times.

Then Simon's second, more detailed report arrived.

After patiently reading it through, Derek instructed those around him, "Prepare the fleet. We're going to the Lunar Spaceport."

Only after the Attendant Officer left to make preparations did he tap on the desk and think for a while.

"Bring me the Moon Development Plan Map."

The attendant found the blueprint, which had been used with remarkable frequency lately. Derek already knew it by heart. Naturally, there were no plans yet for the far side of the moon.

However, the near