Speaking of which, Roland also had a rough plan for the territory's security system in the future.
The town currently has a population of around 20,000. In addition to the local natives, there are surrendered people from Changge Fortress, as well as refugees from the Eastern Territory. When the messenger group sent by Barov returns, they might even bring a group of people from the southern and northern parts of the kingdom. The composition of the population will become more complex, and the quality will be uneven. Conflicts like today will only increase.
Therefore, he also needs to establish a public security system to replace the current patrols by the First Army—separating internal violence from external violence is inevitable. He had considered this issue before, but it was shelved due to a shortage of manpower. Now, the First Army needs to focus on fighting evil beasts, and the population is growing rapidly, so the plan needs to be implemented.
He would formulate the laws, interpret the laws, and judge major criminal acts, with the first instance being the final instance. The public security would arrest criminals according to the law and also handle civil disputes. The Security Bureau would be responsible for maintaining the purity of each system, which could effectively avoid power corruption. At the same time, it could also use public security personnel to implement cleaning operations, saving manpower resources—this was the outline of Roland's envisioned security system.
Ideally, this security system could be piloted in Border Town first, and then推广it to the entire Western Territory when the city is built next year.
At that time, whether it is a noble's autonomous territory or not, they would have to implement the same set of laws and accept the management of a unified department. The only one who could override the law would be him alone.
Roland knew that he was the largest noble in the Western Territory, so he could neither say that everyone is equal before the law nor abolish the nobility system. But he could at least ensure that there are no traditional feudal nobles in his city. To receive the protection of the Western Territory, they must hand over their autonomous power.
As for the head of the public security department, Roland had already considered it.
Carter Lannis, the Chief Knight, who is righteous and not pedantic in his actions, is a good choice.
*******************
When Wade staggered back to his temporary residence, the old man Kukasim immediately greeted him.
"You...are you alright?"
"I'm fine," he grinned. "I was just sentenced by His Highness to ten lashes."
"Let me see quickly," Kukasim said anxiously.
"Let's talk inside," Wade walked into the room. The warm air immediately dispelled the coldness around him. Closing the door, the inside and outside seemed like two different worlds. Compared to the previous leaky wooden shed, this slightly low and narrow mud house felt more comfortable.
By the way, the locals seem to call this kind of house a cave dwelling?
The old man had him lie on the heated brick bed, opened the clothes on his back, and couldn't help but gasp.
"Your back is covered in blood. I'll get some dian ash to sprinkle on it."
"No, please don't. This is just the blood left from the punishment. The bleeding has already stopped." He quickly stopped him. "The knight said that it's best to leave it open like this. The wound will heal in just two or three days."
"Two or three days?" Kukasim shook his head worriedly. "No, child, you may develop a high fever and your back will swell up. Even if you are strong, it will take at least a week to recover. You should know better than me what it's like when a serious illness breaks out."
"You might not believe it," he licked his dry lips. "I don't feel much pain from the wound on my back. On the contrary, there is a cool and slightly itchy feeling, which is a sign of healing—after the whipping, they poured a bucket of water on my back..."
"Salt water?" The old man frowned.
"I thought so at first, but the expected burning pain didn't come," Wade chuckled twice. "The knight who administered the punishment said that this water can eliminate all pathogenic microorganisms. If you want the wound to heal quickly, don't do anything extra and just let it air dry."
"Pathogenic micro...what?"
"Microorganisms," he curled his lips. "God knows what that is. It's probably something to do with witches again."
The old man lowered his head and said in a deep voice after a long time:
"You shouldn't have stood up for me. If I had just endured it..."
"If you endure it, you'll be treated even worse. I know what that guy is like, or rather, most nobles are the same," Wade spat. "I heard that it snows here for several months. The money we two have combined won't last that long." He paused. "And...I deliberately chose that time to beat him up."
"De-deliberately?" Kukasim was stunned.
"Because at this time every day, Prince Roland will appear on the west district city wall. Since he promised to distribute food for free, he must hate this kind of behavior that damages his reputation, which is also the most effective method. If it was just a simple fight, it might not even reach His Highness's ears. After all, Koja. Harves may have been instructed by someone. The officials of the City Hall want to suppress this news, and it's useless for us to say anything."
"But he might also be instructed by the lord..."
"The possibility is extremely low. If His Highness wanted to save this dian money, he would just reduce the three meals to two meals. And I had inquired beforehand that both the local residents and the serfs praised His Highness's benevolence and wisdom." He smiled triumphantly. "You see, I didn't bet wrong, did I?"
"I see...so that's how it is," the old man breathed a sigh of relief. "You really see things clearly."
But there were also things he didn't guess correctly, Wade thought, and that was the sentence.
As a patrolman who had worked in Gold穗City for more than ten years, he had a deep understanding of the ugliness beneath the city's glamorous exterior. He had seen no less than a dozen nobles who used their power to extort and exploit, and it even happened within the patrol team itself. Therefore, it was not difficult for him to rectify these aloof nobles.
Prince Roland's reaction was basically what he expected, but the sentence was beyond Wade's expectations.
In this situation, most lords who liked fame would acquit the oppressed, but he punished everyone—compared to fame, His Highness seemed to care more about the system.
For a lord who is used to doing whatever he wants, this is indeed a rare quality.
"What are you planning to do next?" the old man asked after a moment of silence.
"Rest for two days—specially approved by the knight, and then continue to do some odd jobs for those guys carrying strange weapons, just like before."
"You could have lived in the inner city and lived a decent life with the craftsmen."
"But you can't get in, Kukasim, don't say that anymore," he shook his head. "I won't leave you outside."
This old man was neither his family member nor his elder. Half a year ago, he was still a prisoner in jail. Everyone knew that the old man was just pushed out by the black street rats to take the fall, but the patrol team was too lazy to care about this kind of thing. Later, Gold穗City was looted by a large group of pirates. He was originally going to die in this dongluan, but in a critical moment, the old man hid him in the prison cell and covered his body with a smelly bed sheet, and finally escaped by luck.
Wade didn't expect that he would be saved by a prisoner who he usually wouldn't even glance at, and he suddenly understood that he was not fundamentally different from those annoying nobles.
The other two people in the room knew Kukasim's identity. It was fine when he was watching, but once he was gone, they would definitely cause trouble for the old man.
"Don't worry, everything will be fine." Wade patted the other person's shoulder.
Two days later, he heard news from the inner city that Prince Roland was recruiting public security members. (。)