Chapter 40

The duke was dead, and the unrest was over.

The peace the estate owners and commoners had long awaited had finally returned, but there was still much more to deal with afterward.

The Gadayat Kingdom no longer existed, and Kaies was no longer the royal capital.

—In its place stood the vast Desinia Territory, with Visas as its administrative center.

The Desinia Territory belonged to no nation and existed independently. The Lord of Desinia was no longer anyone's vassal.

Shazoi Desinia held absolute ruling authority within the territory.

The fifteen cities, including Visas, would have only one lord, and the system of dividing land again to enfeoff vassal lords was abolished.

Other than Visas, the remaining fourteen cities would implement an administrative rank system, establishing graded offices and positions.

The highest official in the other cities would be the mayor, an official who served the lord and managed affairs on his behalf.

Mayors were not the lord's vassals, but his subordinates. They would no longer possess privileges in the cities under their administration, nor could they privately establish taxes, courts, checkpoints, or recruit soldiers.

Only the lord possessed the right to recruit soldiers.

At the same time.

Each of the fifteen cities in the Desinia Territory would station soldiers, and a clear rank system would be established among them.

However, command over all soldiers belonged to the Desinia Cavalry Corps.

Cities that had lost their lords because of the duke's rebellion would select suitable candidates anew in Visas.

They would serve as mayors of their respective cities and handle all affairs on the lord's behalf.

Moreover, officials would be appointed in tiers beneath the mayors, and every official, including the mayors, would have to pass an assessment before taking office.

The new regulations issued by the Lord of Desinia were rapidly spread throughout the fifteen cities through official notices and publicity distributed by the Thorn Merchant Guild.

Many people were shaken by this.

Shazoi Desinia was still a lord, not a king.

He had abolished the system of enfeoffing vassal lords within his territory... such a measure was unprecedented on the Western Continent.

This led some old-fashioned nobles to strongly disapprove, and they even began opposing Xia Zuoyi's decisions.

They demanded that Xia Zuoyi resume enfeoffing vassal lords, appoint nobles to serve as lords in the other cities, and restore the lords' supreme authority within their own territories...

Everything was to remain as it had been. Nothing could change.

Most of these old-fashioned nobles lived in the royal capital and had never been granted territories.

Previously, they had supported Bass Riches's ascension to the throne only because they had been threatened, coerced, or controlled by him...

Now, because Kaies was no longer the royal capital and the enfeoffment system had been abolished, their fundamental interests had been affected, and they joined together to oppose Xia Zuoyi.

[To be honest, I've recently been using this reading app to follow updates. It supports switching sources and has many narration voices, available on both Android and Apple.]

They even claimed that there were other collateral branches of the royal family. Since Xia Zuoyi would not inherit the throne, someone else could be chosen.

Anyone who heard those words found them laughable.

The other collateral branches of the royal family had been incapable of standing against Bass Riches.

Yet after Xia Zuoyi had successfully resolved the unrest, they suddenly put forward such unreasonable demands.

Xia Zuoyi's response was to send soldiers to invite them to Visas one by one for a "detailed discussion."

If they no longer objected to his policies, they would naturally be sent back to Kaies and allowed to continue their original lives.

But if they still had objections, they could remain in Visas. They could return whenever the matter had been properly discussed.

Anyone with the time to jump around causing trouble was probably too idle.

Since that was the case, Xia Zuoyi did not mind keeping a few more idlers in the city.

In the course of this matter, he made an unexpected discovery.

Marco Case's son, Nat Case, was exceptionally talented with words and remarkably sharp-tongued.

He verbally battled the nobles and left every one of them speechless and unable to refute him.

Xia Zuoyi was rather puzzled. Since Nat was so eloquent, why had Xia Zuoyi managed to trick Ferdinand away from him in Kaies with a single gold coin?

He asked him outright.

Nat blushed and stammered, "Well, well... it was the first time anyone had called me big brother so sweetly."

And he had been cute, too.

Embarrassed, Nat scratched his ear. "Besides, he was only a slave. I didn't care whether I had one more or one less... B-but who could have imagined that he would later become the commander of the lord's Black Cavalry..."

Nat muttered quietly, "If I'd known, I wouldn't have sold him."

Xia Zuoyi said, "If you hadn't sold Ferdinand to me, how could he have become the commander he is today?"

Nat grumbled, "Then I guess I sold him right."

After arriving here, Nat often ran into Ferdinand in Visas, and each time he felt uncomfortable and awkward all over.

After all, he had beaten Ferdinand terribly in Kaies back then...

Xia Zuoyi said, "I plan to appoint Marquis Marco Case as the mayor of Kaies."

"After all, he once held an important ministerial post in the royal capital. He'll surely be familiar with handling the city's affairs again... Before long, you can return to Kaies with your father."

Nat pursed his lips and nodded vaguely, seemingly lost in thought.

Not long afterward, he took the initiative to find Ferdinand and awkwardly apologized for what had happened. "...I hope you, Commander, won't hold it against me."

Ferdinand said, "I don't hold it against you. It wasn't your fault. At the time, I thought I had already taken my revenge and had nothing left to care about. I deliberately provoked you because I wanted to die."

Nat sighed in relief.

He patted Ferdinand on the shoulder and said, "Actually, I don't think I did anything wrong either."

"After all, I was a noble, and you were a slave back then. You offended me, so wasn't it perfectly normal for me to beat you... Ahem, of course, I now deeply understand my mistake. I was young and ignorant, and far too arrogant..."

Under Ferdinand's silent gaze, Nat finally surrendered dryly. The hand he had placed on Ferdinand's shoulder shakily withdrew, and he gave an awkward laugh.

Ferdinand said, "Why did you come to apologize to me?"

Nat hesitated. "I want to work by the lord's side. I don't want to return to Kaies with my father..."

"You serve by the lord's side too. If the two of us developed a rift because of what happened before, it would definitely make things difficult for the young lord. I just wanted to settle it first."

Ferdinand said, "Aren't you thinking a little too far ahead?"

Nat immediately caught on. "...You're making fun of me!"

He pouted again. "But you're right. I never learned anything before, and now I really feel like I can't do anything... I don't even know what I can do for the young lord..."

Nat scratched his head, looking both troubled and dejected.

Ferdinand said, "The lord has already decided to arrange assessments throughout the territory to select mayors and officials for every position. If you're interested in these matters, study them properly and prepare before the assessment."

Nat looked hesitant upon hearing that, clearly lacking confidence.

Ferdinand said, "If you fail the assessment, go back to Kaies and help Marquis Case."

After saying that, he turned and left.

Nat gritted his teeth behind him and shouted, "I'll definitely make it!"

For the young lord's sake, he had to persevere.

Now that Xia Zuoyi's territory had expanded to fifteen cities.

The current number of soldiers in the cavalry corps was no longer sufficient to station them comprehensively throughout every city.

In short, there were not enough men.

Xia Zuoyi ordered the Thorn Merchant Guild to widely spread the news through its branches and subsidiary outposts in every city.

—Because this year was exceptional, an exception would be made to conduct another round of recruitment.

Recruitment stations would be established in every city. Anyone who met the requirements could participate, including but not limited to commoners and slaves...

If slaves wished to participate in recruitment, their estate owners had to allow them to go. Once a slave passed the preliminary screening and left, the estate owner could collect compensation from a Thorn Merchant Guild branch.

At present, there were too many matters to handle and too few available candidates.

Xia Zuoyi was so busy that his feet barely touched the ground, overwhelmed by one task after another.

The first matter to resolve was arranging a mayor in every city as quickly as possible.

Kaies was already under Marquis Marco Case's charge, but the other thirteen cities, including Komoy Fort, still lacked administrators.

Xia Zuoyi exchanged a great many relevant books with reputation points.

For example, materials concerning the contents of administrative aptitude tests.

Judith entered the study carrying lemonade and saw the young lord lying over the desk, writing and drawing. He was so absorbed that he did not even notice ink had accidentally smeared one side of his cheek.

Judith gently set down the lemonade, walked to Xia Zuoyi's side, and wiped him clean.

Xia Zuoyi obediently tilted his head up, then remembered something and asked, "Judith, have the priests from Kaies arrived in Visas?"

Although Kaies's church and temple had been destroyed, and the bishop and acting bishop had been dealt with.

There were still many priests, deacons, and others beneath them.

These people had acted under orders, so their crimes were not serious enough to warrant execution.

Furthermore, anyone who could become a priest or deacon was educated without exception. At the very least, they could read.

People like that were talents wherever they went.

It would be too much of a waste to overlook them.

Moreover, the Holy See had a designated Theology Day, when clergy members in churches specifically spread and taught theological knowledge.

Some clergy members were even highly accomplished in music, mathematics, and other fields.

Otherwise, clergy members would not be so respected.

Xia Zuoyi: If I don't bring back ready-made teachers to exploit, I'd be letting myself down :)

Judith said, "They are expected to arrive in Visas in another two days. What do you want them to do?"

Xia Zuoyi said, "Write questions and prepare exam papers."

He wanted them to produce a set of Comprehensive Administrative Aptitude Test papers.

The assessment would test verbal comprehension and expression, judgment and reasoning, data analysis, logical problems, and more...

Those participating in the mayoral assessment within the territory would also have to meet strict requirements, such as falling within the proper age range and possessing basic arithmetic and logical analysis skills.

Xia Zuoyi would release news of the assessment and its requirements through the Thorn Merchant Guild. Anyone interested would have to travel to Visas within two months to take the exam.