The messy parchment roll was heavy in Suleiman's hands, making him feel a more real weight than the same volume of gold.
His fingertips ran across the densely packed names on it. Each name represented a living life, a family, and a force that could be mobilized, his core assets.
"You are doing a great job! My secretaries!" Suleiman's voice echoed in Council Chamber, with an uncontrollable excitement.
"Everything is for Lord Suleiman!" The four affairs officers stood up straight, focusing on Suleiman, their hands still shaking.
It was exciting. They were promoted from civilians to noble affairs officers by Suleiman. Now they have completed the tasks assigned by Lord Suleiman and received verbal praise.
"Three-Chief System has implemented it so far! The results have been impressive!" Suleiman put down the messy and heavy parchment roll and turned to look at them. "As of yesterday! My territory! There are registered adult available males! A total of 817 people!"
"The total population of the territory is 2,136 people."
Lushen and Roslyn didn't know what this meant and touched their heads with their hands, but seeing Master Suleiman so happy, they also smiled. But Evelyn knew what this meant. What, Westeros absolutely no lord can control the land in his hands like this. This Three-Chief System degree is like a giant net, catching everyone firmly in the net, and the net holder is Suleiman.
"You did a great job!" Suleiman's eyes swept across the four affairs officers again, and every affairs officer caught in sight raised their heads and puffed up their chests.
Suleiman did not hesitate to praise, which shows that the grassroots system is effective and can be implemented. Although using soldiers as grassroots bureaucrats will definitely lead to rough governance, there is no need for paper airplanes in a medieval society.
"Verbal commendations are meaningless!" Suleiman turned to Lushen and Roslyn, "Go to my warehouse! Get four bags of Gold Dragon! Ten pieces in each bag! Give them to the four affairs officers to take back!"
"Rewards to every Military Fort tax officer! Military officer! Household Head! Neighbor Head! Parents!"
A trace of surprise and joy flashed in the eyes of the four people at the same time. Ten Gold Dragon, even if distributed equally, is still a considerable fortune for them.
"This is just the beginning!" Suleiman looked at them with joy, "As long as you make achievements! What you will get in the future will be far more than this!"
The four people saluted and thanked each other. They knew that Master Suleiman was so generous and had proven countless times before that he would never treat those who served him badly.
Suleiman suppressed his smile, changed the subject, and took another thinner list from Evelyn's hand. "Now, let's talk about business."
That list is exactly the list of bandit families selected from the civilian register.
"To clear out the bandits, there will be casualties, and the gains outweigh the losses." Suleiman pointed his finger at the list. "War is not just about swords. Sometimes, the human heart is more fragile than steel and stronger than a fortress."
Suleiman raised his head and looked around at everyone. "Our priority is to attack the heart."
"You will return to your respective Military Town immediately." Suleiman issued the order in an unquestionable tone, "Gather all the family members on this list, whether it is their children, wives, or their parents."
"What are you calling them for, Lord Suleiman?" a affairs officer couldn't help but ask.
"Ask them to prepare something." Suleiman's lips curved in an unpredictable way, "A token that best represents the relationship between them and their relatives on the mountain."
"It can be an old piece of clothing worn by a child, a ring used as a promise, or a hairpin from the mother."
"Tell them that these things are used to take their families home."
Four Military Town and Council Chamber were performing similar scenes almost at the same time.
Hundreds of men, women, and children with frightened faces were invited here by the soldiers.
Most of them were in shabby clothes, their expressions were numb, and their eyes were full of fear of the unknown.
They are the family members of bandits. This identity is like an invisible brand that makes them unable to hold their heads high in the territory. Once people know that there are mountain bandits in their family, everyone is afraid of being implicated and avoids them when they see them. At the same time, they are always worried about the judgment of the lord.
They know that once this kind of thing is exposed, as relatives, the final result will only be that the whole family will be hanged.
During the previous reign of House Terry, they had seen too much.
The affairs officer of Crevice Fort stood in front of his Military Town Council Chamber, looking at the desperate faces in the audience with mixed feelings in his heart.
Before that, he was just a civilian, just like the following people.
He cleared his throat and tried to make his somewhat turbulent voice sound as steady as possible, "Everyone! Please be quiet!"
The commotion of the crowd gradually subsided, but the atmosphere of fear became more intense, and the crowd trembled silently.
An old woman with gray hair, holding her granddaughter tightly in her arms, her body shaking like a fallen leaf in the wind. Just a few days ago, she personally reported her son. She regretted it and believed in the kindness of Suleiman in the rumors. She didn't know whether that was right or wrong. It didn't matter if she died.
She was afraid that her granddaughter would also be killed.
She has lived in this land all her life, but now she is old and confused. She has never seen the kindness of the nobles.
By calling them here, isn't it just to kill them all? The old woman sobbed softly,
The sobs aroused the sad mood in Council Chamber, causing the clerk to not know how to continue speaking.
Seeing that the affairs officer didn't seem to know how to continue, the military officer stood up and said, and the tense atmosphere finally relaxed a little with his first words. "Everyone is invited here today! It's not for trial! It's not for punishment!"
He saw confusion flashing in some people's eyes, and raised his two hands and waved:
"Lord Suleiman, our lord, let us convey his kindness and promise to you and your family members far away on the High Mountains."
The affairs officer stood up, took a deep breath, and repeated Suleiman's original words verbatim:
"I swear in the name of Suleiman!"
When the name Suleiman was solemnly pronounced, there was a slight ripple in the crowd. This name, on the land beneath his feet, represents absolute power and a will that cannot be defied.
"All your family members in the High Mountains, as long as they are willing to leave Descend the mountains and return to his family, all the crimes they have committed in the past, no matter how big or small, will be forgotten."
This sentence is like a huge stone thrown into stagnant water, causing thousands of waves in an instant.
"What?"
"No further investigation?"
"Is this real? Not a trap?"
"Or do you want to trick them into killing them?"
Council Chamber instantly exploded. People were whispering to each other, with disbelief written on their faces. They all dreamed that their families could come back.
But they are afraid that they will be liquidated when they come back. Since Master Suleiman came to this land, every family has obtained their own public land, and can even reclaim land for temporary use before there are no more people to distribute. As long as there are men in the family who work hard, their harvest will be better and their lives will be better and better.
The three stewards did not stop their discussion. They waited quietly, letting the news slowly ferment in their hearts, turning from suspicion to a faint hope. When the voices subsided slightly, they threw a second, heavier stone into the lake.
"Not just a pardon!" the military officer's voice rose a little higher, drowning out all the noise. "Every male! The lord will grant public land! Enough for them to farm! Enough for them to feed their families! Enough for them to live a stable life!"
A middle-aged woman covered her mouth, and tears instantly burst into her eyes. The man next to her, a man who could not go up the mountain due to a broken leg, grabbed her hand excitedly, his knuckles turned white from the force. The reason why their children fled into the High Mountains was because during the House Terry period, even though there was abandoned land everywhere, they were not allowed to farm.
Land, for these peasants who have nothing and are struggling at the bottom, the weight of these two words is heavier than gold and more practical than life. It represents food, represents roots, and represents a real family. Since the arrival of Mr. Suleiman, every family has been allocated land for cultivation.
The fire of hope was ignited in everyone's eyes, quickly starting a prairie fire. Despair and fear were swept away, replaced by an almost fanatical hope.
"Sir, are you telling the truth?" a bold old man asked loudly.
As the first person to follow Suleiman, the military affairs officer replied solemnly:
"I guarantee it with my life and honor!"
"Suleiman-sama's promise! It never fails!"