Chapter 271
When the news that the riot had been quelled reached Lake Center Town, Paul was still a little bit unbelievable.
Finished? Was 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 territory of his allies next door 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?
The so-called [specific process] in Schroeder's mouth is also very simple:
Each unit sealed the intersection, waited for the ultimatum from Huxin Town, and immediately moved 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 the riots in the Fabei Village area reached a large scale. The home of the largest landlord in the area was attacked and all the property was looted. The mob also occupied the courtyard and planned to resist stubbornly, trying to force the lord's palace to pardon their crimes and recognize their ownership of the looted property through strong means.
Of course the loyal and brave naval officers and soldiers did not accept this. After the ultimatum was rejected, the sailors immediately launched an attack and suppressed all the mobs in the yard in just one hour.
"That's it, Lord Earl."
"What are our casualties?"
"Six people were slightly injured by slings, and one person sprained his foot while climbing over the wall."< br>
“No one sacrificed?”
“No one sacrificed.”
"Where's the other party?... It's the [mob]."
"23 people died and 30 people were injured."
Paul's whole body relaxed, and he lay back on the chair, He closed his eyes and exhaled: "To be honest, Schroeder, I didn't expect things to go so smoothly."
"Earl, you have to know that the gap in strength between the enemy and us is huge. The opponent was just a group of unorganized and undisciplined villagers. When the sailors climbed over the courtyard wall, the mob tried to organize resistance, but after bayoneting a few people who rushed to the front, the remaining people were killed. People dispersed in a hurry, or scurryed around like headless flies, or lay on the ground with their heads stuck out and their buttocks trembling. 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 figure out the causes and consequences of this riot first."
......
Received After Paul's order, Cecil immediately started interrogating the prisoners. After several days and nights of torture, everyone in Lake Center Town figured out the cause of the riot.
The reason was that Baden, the tax collector, privately set up the [War Tax]. The salt people, whose livelihood was becoming increasingly difficult due to the establishment of the salt field, simply could not afford the new tax, so they went with the war tax sent by Baden. There was a conflict among the tax collectors. Due to the resentment accumulated over a long time, the conflict quickly escalated. The salt people, overwhelmed by anger, went directly to the village of Fabe where Baden was located, and finally turned into a riot.
The fact that Baden secretly set up a war tax is conclusive, because several servants of the Baden family who were rescued from the salt people-the people he sent to collect taxes, all confessed to this.
“This damn landlord!”
Paul cursed in front of Cecil in a language he didn’t understand. "My lord, what did you just say?"
Cecil asked cautiously, and it could be seen that the earl was very angry now.
"Ah, it's okay, you continue talking."
"The strange thing is that the mob confessed everything else, but no one admitted that the attack on the salt farm had anything to do with them, nor did they admit that The riots in other places have something to do with him."
"Oh?" Paul tapped his fingers lightly on the table, "What do you think?"
Cecil replied: " Lord, they are most likely not lying. I isolated them and interrogated them one by one. I don’t think this rabble has the ability to unify their voices so quickly.”
Paul nodded: “Well, I do. 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 the news about Fabe Village and inciting 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 contacted. , obvious..."
Paul suddenly interrupted him as if he had discovered a new world: "I understand, Cecil!"
Cecil suppressed what he was going to say next. , looking at Paul.
Paul stood up and said anxiously: "Conspiracy! Isn't it clear? Cecil, this is a conspiracy!"
Cecil's eyes widened and he "tried" to make a surprised expression: " Conspiracy? What do you mean?"
Paul explained: "There must be someone behind the scenes. Considering that we are at war with the usurper Maltz Kent, it is very likely that he is behind it. It’s not impossible to deliberately provoke my subjects to cause trouble.”
The intelligence director suddenly realized and slapped his thigh: “That’s it, Lord Earl, you are still the same. Earthly wisdom..."
Paul sat down again angrily: "This is so shameless, so despicable, and so obscene! You can't beat us on the battlefield, so you are doing little things behind your back. I'm the worst. I despise this kind of person.”
Cecil said: "Your Majesty, as long as you nod and agree, I can treat others with the same treatment as others."
Paul snorted, "I don't bother to use such dirty tricks. Absolute means. Schroeder!"
Hearing the lord call his name, the chief of staff sitting aside immediately responded: "Yes, Lord Earl"
"Draft a new plan immediately. According to the battle plan, I want the frontline troops to resume the attack immediately, send new troops to support them, and use upright means to defeat the opponent."
The old knight replied calmly: "My lord, I know what you are doing now. You are still angry, but I still advise you not to act out of anger. We don't know if similar riots will happen again, so we will keep our troops at home in the near future. The two battalions in the newly occupied areas must maintain local order. As the first priority, after all, it was the territory of the Kent family, and it is much easier for them to do anything there than in other areas. Moreover...it is not certain that this matter was caused by the Kent family."
"Damn it!"
Paul hammered the table hard and yelled at the intelligence chief: "Call that guy named Baden over. I want to have a good study with this landlord about what he called [ War tax]!”
(End of this chapter)