Besides the firelight from the fireplace, a mahogany lamp stand was placed on Barov's desk. The top of the stand was divided into four branches, with the middle branch being the tallest, and the other three branches surrounding it in a triangular shape. Each branch held a burning candle, the quietly blooming light points resembling a brilliant mountain.
The room was filled with the scent of pine resin, like a sweet and damp smell of decaying wood, which made one feel drowsy. But in Border Town, he couldn't ask for more. Refinement and elegance had nothing to do with this poor place. Having a house that could shield from the wind and rain was already good enough, not to mention he now possessed a large group of houses.
His office was in a large courtyard not far from the castle, which was also the location of the town hall built by the former lord. Of course, the lord took away all his staff when he left, and this place had now completely become the territory of the Minister Assistant.
The rustling sound of writing inside the room and the howling cold wind outside the window constituted two different worlds. At a wooden table piled with books and old scrolls, Barov was writing furiously. On each side of him were low, crude wooden long tables, usually unused, only for placing manuscripts. When needed, he would summon his disciples to lean over the low tables to sort out information or write initial drafts of documents for him.
The candles on the lamp stand had been changed three times. Except for getting up to replace them, Barov had not stopped the flying pen in his hand for a moment. Time was extremely precious to him. There was still a stack of documents waiting for him to process, and the financial expenditures proposed by His Highness also needed to be carefully reviewed.
Now Barov worked an average of five shichen a day, but he didn't feel tired at all. On the contrary, here, he could let go and display his talents, with inexhaustible energy in his body. This was the taste of power, he thought. He no longer had to follow his mentor timidly, all the apprentices were at his command, and no one dared to drag their feet or trip him up. As long as he completed Prince Roland's orders, he could grasp the specific implementation process himself.
It would be perfect if the prince's orders were more normal, Barov clicked his tongue with slight regret. For example, the document in front of him, stamped with Roland's personal seal, stated that he was required to send people to Willow Town to recruit management personnel and purchase a two-masted sailing ship. The second item was specifically noted: Considering the price, a captain, helmsman, and sailors may not be necessary.
He didn't know whether to laugh or cry after reading it. Without these people, who would sail the ship back for you? Let them walk back after buying it? Moreover, what was the point of buying the ship? This was the most critical point. The trade between Border Town and Willow Town was very stable. Even if the ore trade was to be expanded after winter, all that was needed was to notify them to increase the number of ships. Buying a ship yourself was not cost-effective at all, not to mention that the town's wharf could only be used for berthing. Without a shipyard for maintenance or sailors to take care of it, it would be abandoned before long. Perhaps it was another of His Highness's whimsical ideas?
As for the first item, he could understand it.
Currently, the town hall was without any free hands from top to bottom. The dozen or so people Barov brought were responsible for supervising commerce, making statistical reports, and settling income and expenditure. He himself was in charge of administrative and legal work—which was obviously unreasonable. His Highness wanted to separate these departments, so he had to expand the town hall's staffing scale. A very normal reason, but the Minister Assistant didn't want to let go so quickly. The sense of satisfaction of entrusting all power to one person was too fulfilling. He thought that even his teacher, the Kingdom's Minister of Finance, was only responsible for the treasury of Graycastle, while he was the Hand of the King.
Cough cough, well, only valid in Border Town, he added in his heart. Although Prince Roland had promised this, there was still a long way to go to ascend the throne. Barov found that he had unknowingly included the Fourth Prince back into the ranks of the contenders for the king. In the past, he would never have thought that this纨绔子弟 with a bad character and no learning could be crowned king.
Since coming to Border Town, his surprises had never stopped. So far, Border Town was still standing in the Western Region under the guard of the militia, and it looked like it could last for a long time. This alone was worthy of great praise. In addition to the strange things he fiddled with, even his grasp of people's hearts was completely unlike the Fourth Prince in Graycastle, but more like a devil who saw through everything.
At this moment, there was a knock on the door outside. Barov reluctantly stopped his work and raised his voice, "Come in."
The one who pushed the door in was one of his proud disciples, "Quill" Yaro.
"Teacher, another «rat» has been caught."
"Oh? Did you find out anything?"
"He said he was sent by the Second Prince. We found wrapped cement powder on him, as well as some coins and a letter." Yaro stepped forward and handed Barov a leather-wrapped envelope. "Other information is still being interrogated. Teacher, what about his disposal..."
"Same as before, after the interrogation, all the information will be compiled into a book. Then pronounce him guilty and hang him," Barov said casually.
"Yes," Yaro bowed and saluted, "Then this disciple will take his leave."
The door was closed again. Barov did not immediately continue working, but returned to the table, used a letter opener to slit the envelope, and took out the letter paper.
The fourth one... he thought.
Before the Months of Demons arrived, Roland Wimbledon had summoned him to discuss this issue.
The Prince believed that when cement, new snow powder, and witches were revealed one by one, the eyes and ears buried by his brothers would definitely not be able to restrain themselves and would emerge from hiding. This was the best time to eliminate the rats. Barov agreed with the first half of the Prince's statement, but did not agree with the second half. In his opinion, with more than two thousand people in Border Town, it was impossible to keep an eye on everyone. They didn't have the manpower or the time to guard against these petty thieves.
As a result, the Prince didn't care and said, "How could there be no one? Every citizen in Border Town is our eyes."
At that time, Barov only felt that the other party was completely whimsical, letting these ignorant and foolish civilians monitor the possible rats? This was impossible!
But the fact was that he was wrong.
During the first population census after winter, Roland specifically instructed that all natives who had stayed here for more than five years should be clearly explained: the conspiracy to burn food at Longsong Stronghold had failed, but they were still not giving up and had sent enemies to lurk around everyone. Most of them were disguised as relatives of the townspeople or merchants who didn't have time to evacuate, and they were looking for opportunities to harm everyone at any time. If anyone saw any suspicious people, they should immediately report to the town hall. Once verified, they would receive a reward of twenty-five silver wolves.
As a result, this trick was surprisingly effective.
Although some false reports were received at the beginning, it didn't take long for the first rat to be caught.
At that time, Barov still remembered Roland saying a very awkward sentence proudly.
What was it? He thought for a while, that's right... «Let the enemy sink into the vast ocean of people's war.»
What strange wording and syntax, the Minister Assistant shook his head and unfolded the letter in his hand.
The guy called "Groundhog" repeatedly emphasized in the letter that various phenomena showed that the Fourth Prince Roland Wimbledon had been replaced by a devil, and Barov could even feel his fear between the lines. Recalling the Prince's use of people's hearts, the Minister Assistant couldn't help but feel a sense of recognition. He took a deep breath, moved the letter paper to the candle flame, and soon the paper was engulfed by the flame and turned into ashes.
Even so, that was a devil who was not afraid of the God's Stone of Retaliation and could give him power, wasn't it?
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