The players' expeditionary army had been gone for over a week, and during that time, Votradnoi had been anything but peaceful.
The documents delivered to Chris every day covered an entire oak desk, their parchment pages densely packed with records of conflicts throughout the city.
Food allocation, resettlement, and an endless stream of disputes descended on Chris's desk like snowflakes.
There were complaints about unequal food distribution, with some people grumbling that their rations contained too much barnyard grass seed and grit. Residents also came to blows over makeshift shelters, requiring judgments and punishments.
Then there were neighborhood sewers clogged with rubbish, spilling wastewater everywhere, and petitions from residents demanding repairs.
For every matter he dealt with, more documents arrived on its heels.
Letters requesting aid came from surrounding villages and towns, asking for food and military supplies. Merchant caravans whose goods had been plundered on unsafe roads demanded that the Prince send troops to restore order. Refugees fleeing famine hoped to settle inside the city, requiring Chris to approve resettlement sites and provide basic necessities.
Every one of these documents concerned people's livelihoods and the city's stability. Chris dared not neglect any of them and had to review each carefully and issue instructions.
All those matters could afford some delay, but there was one issue Chris took extremely seriously and dared not put off.
During the unrest that had persisted for several days, the newly appointed civil servants, including neighborhood bao heads, Squad Chiefs, and other grassroots officials, had already suffered over twenty casualties.
The newly established militia had suffered over a hundred casualties.
Chris looked into it and learned that the casualties among the bao heads and Squad Chiefs were almost all connected to the city's thugs and hooligans.
And what did that mean?
It meant these people