NOVEL WEB
Chapter 264: Suppression
Throughout the night, there were no disturbances. The following morning, Paul, with bloodshot and reddened eyes, announced his subsequent measures to everyone: If the rioters refused the final ultimatum, he authorized the martial law troops to use all available means to quell the unrest, including the use of muskets and cannons. Since those involved in the riot had lost their reason, it was unlikely that they could be pacified without harm.
Sitting on the throne of a feudal lord required the resolve of one. Even if failure was inevitable, Paul motivated himself, determined not to end like the locksmith king who died humiliated by his subjects due to his constant compromises and retreats.
Members of the Administration Council and the military praised the lord’s ‘wise decision’. The arrival of Gedwin and other salt field owners further strengthened his resolve.
“Lord Count, please stand up for us!”
Gedwin and the others threw themselves on the ground, sobbing loudly. Their disheveled appearance indicated they had come to Lakeheart Town overnight.
“The rioters destroyed our salt fields by the sea! They also killed many workers. Please, send the troops to capture and hang them all!”
Through the tearful pleas of the salt field owners, Paul realized the gravity of the situation had worsened.
“We had to come to you because your naval commander insisted on waiting for your orders before deploying his forces.”
Gedwin’s tone revealed his strong dissatisfaction with Austin. If Austin had been more flexible, the riot would have been nipped in the bud, and he wouldn’t have suffered such losses.
…
“Report! Lakeheart Town has authorized us to use all feasible means to suppress the riot.”
Captain Quik, who personally led the sailors to block the roads, received the written order from the messenger.
Last night, they received orders from Lakeheart Town via a falcon – to isolate the riot area and then wait for further instructions.
The navy sprang into action. Divided into units based on their ships, with more than a hundred men per ship, they blocked all the roads.
“All personnel, assemble!”
Following Quik’s command, the sailors on the Southern number quickly formed ranks.
“Our next target is Faber Village. According to the orders, we must quickly restore order there!”
Quik waved his hand, “Move out!”
…
Kevin stood on the tower of the landlord Baden’s house, looking down the road outside the village.
His companions were joyfully preparing the day’s food in the yard, slaughtering pigs and sheep, but he couldn’t feel happy. The development of events had completely exceeded his expectations.
He began to reminisce again… After the villagers drove away the first group of tax collectors, Baden quickly sent a second, more menacing group armed with knives and clubs. They threatened the villagers, warning that if they resisted paying taxes again, they would ‘show them some color’.
The tension escalated, and it was unclear who started it, but it soon turned into a physical conflict.
Once the physical conflict started, it couldn’t be stopped. The villagers’ long-held grievances exploded in an instant, showing a violent side contrary to their usual docility.
Although Baden’s tax collection team had arrived with great fanfare, they were vastly outnumbered by the villagers and were quickly overwhelmed, with more than half of them downed. The rest, injured, fled in disarray.
After a brief cheer, the villagers were at a loss about what to do next.
Fired up by the recent events, Kevin climbed onto the platform and shouted, “Everyone! We have completely torn our faces with Baden. He will surely send more people to threaten us. So, I propose, instead of passively waiting for them to come, we should take the initiative to confront him. We must make him explain this so-called ‘war tax’. If he can’t produce an official decree from the lord’s mansion and is setting new taxes behind the lord’s back, even if the lord’s mansion sends someone to investigate, we will have a valid argument.”
Someone asked, “Kevin, are you sure Baden is setting new taxes without the lord’s knowledge?”
The crowd grew tense with this question, having only heard Kevin assert confidently that Baden was illicitly collecting taxes without considering its truth.
Kevin confidently said, “Don’t worry. I’ve been to Lakeheart Town so many times and have never heard of a ‘war tax’ being collected elsewhere. Baden must be deceiving us.”
“But that’s Lord Baden! The biggest landlord of this generation. His family is very powerful.”
After the tax collectors were driven away, many people’s fervor had dissipated, and the fear and anxiety of the landlord once again dominated their minds.
“Citizens!”
Kevin shouted indignantly, “Do you think Baden will let this go? No, absolutely not. He will surely seek revenge and meticulously fabricate charges against us, gathering more henchmen to deal with us. We must take the initiative while he’s still unprepared and confront him. We should negotiate and force him to agree to a deal under his disadvantageous position, reducing the tax to a level we can afford.”
Someone asked, “But isn’t the tax set by the lord?”
Kevin explained, “I’ve told you before, Baden is just a tax farmer. He’s contracted the tax collection for our region. The lord’s mansion only collects a fixed tax from him, but the actual tax he collects from us is far more than what he pays to the lord’s mansion. The difference naturally goes into his own pocket.”
Seeing the people still hesitant, Kevin urgently persuaded them, “We’ve already beaten his men. What are you hesitating for? We’ve caught Baden in a wrongdoing. We must seize this opportunity to force him to reduce taxes, or else we’ll go to Lakeheart Town and report him.”
Another person asked, “Then why don’t we directly go to Lakeheart Town to report him?”
Kevin explained, “Baden is the one who set the private tax. If the lord’s mansion changes the tax farmer, we will have no bargaining chips with the new one. All tax farmers are the same; the new one will also want to make a big profit from us. It’s better to keep Baden, exchange not exposing him, and let him earn a bit in return for reducing our taxes.”
“That’s a good idea!”
“I think this method will work!”
More and more people began to support Kevin, and gradually everyone sided with him.
They had no choice; everyone wanted to avoid offending the powerful landlord, but life was getting harder. The imposition of a non-existent ‘war tax’ made survival even more difficult.
Better to fight than to starve to death.
Seeing his proposal gain support, Kevin arranged for people to carry away and treat the unconscious henchmen of Baden’s family lying on the ground. Although he despised these lackeys, they were important living evidence and couldn’t just be left to die.
Someone suggested, “Baden’s family is large and has many henchmen. Our single village is too weak. But other villages are also oppressed by him. Why not persuade them to join us in confronting Baden?”
This idea was quickly unanimously agreed upon.
“Let’s go and get an explanation!”
“Expose the fraudster!”
Voices like these continually emerged from the crowd.
Thus, a team of young and strong villagers set out, swelling in numbers as they passed through other villages, with more people joining them.