Everyone exchanged glances, not quite understanding what the Crown Prince was planning. After a moment, Michael Arno asked curiously, "Your Highness, how exactly do you plan to reform the security system?"
"Currently, the militia not only assists in patrolling the city and its suburbs, but also defends the city, handles public order, and arrests criminals. With so many miscellaneous duties mixed together, I believe its efficiency is actually not very high."
"Therefore, I intend to separate a portion of the militia to form a dedicated security force, to be used for apprehending criminals throughout Theodosia and maintaining basic urban order. This force will undergo different training from the military training received by other militiamen; they will receive more policing-oriented training, as their primary work will be within the city, supplemented by limited military training to handle emergencies."
"The policing-oriented training they receive, I intend to call 'Devotion Training,' or simply 'Security Training.' And for the name of this security force, I'd like to emulate an ancient name, calling it the Fasces Security Corps ①. What are your thoughts?"
Everyone pondered for a while. One official, emboldened, raised an objection: "Your Highness, 'Fasces' is too old a name, from a thousand years ago. I believe the name for such a security force should be more common."
Manuel thought for a moment, finding his point valid, and agreed, "You have a point. How about 'Three Purifications Education Team'?"
"Huh?" Everyone looked at him blankly, completely clueless as to what he meant.
Manuel smiled mysteriously and explained, "The 'Three Purifications' are: first, purifying criminals who profane the gods; second, purifying hidden false converts; and third, purifying those destined for hell who intend to disrupt the Principality's order."
Everyone looked at the Crown Prince, who was practically ecstatic as he spoke, unsure of how to respond. In response, some clutched their foreheads, indicating a need to calm down, while others wore bewildered expressions. Barbara, in particular, slapped her right hand to her face, a look of utter speechlessness on her.
Manuel also sensed their true attitudes, but it didn't matter; as long as he wasn't embarrassed, others would be. After a long pause, he lightly cleared his throat and sincerely asked, "Do you all feel this name isn't suitable?"
"Regrettably, Your Highness, I believe it would be better to choose a name that is easier to understand and more appropriate for the current situation of the Principality," Michael Arno ventured his opinion.
"Hmm, you have a point. A name should be easy to clarify," Manuel thought for a bit longer, then cautiously said, "Then, how about the 'Local Gentry Protection Army'?"
He hadn't listened at all! Everyone nearly collapsed on the spot. However, they had more or less figured out the Crown Prince's style: if his expression wasn't too serious, and his words were outrageous, it meant everything was still open for discussion.
Seeing all his proposals rejected, a somewhat deflated Manuel finally put forward a name, "Calling it the 'Watchers' Force' should be both common and reflective of its function, right?"
At this, everyone surprisingly agreed unanimously. It proved that when you propose several outlandish, even insane, names, people will tend to accept the one that looks marginally normal.
Manuel, realizing this, couldn't help but smile bitterly to himself. He should have proposed even more bizarre names earlier, like "ΦΦΦ Corps" or "ΣΟΣ Corps" ②, then they would have accepted his previous suggestions.
After determining the name, the next issue was the scale and number of personnel. According to Manuel's vision, the number was not about quantity but quality, so three hundred people would suffice. However, according to others, the "Watchers" Force would not only operate in the city but also be deployed to the countryside, so it would need a scale of at least 750 to 1000 people.
To this, Manuel stated that they were right, but who would pay for it? If they expanded, Theodosia currently couldn't afford so many people, and drawing more people from the militia would affect the militia's combat effectiveness. It seemed like a dilemma no matter how he looked at it.
Of course, the Crown Prince still affirmed their idea of extending into the countryside, as he also wanted to try to break the medieval tradition of "royal authority not reaching the villages" and restore Rome's traditional control over the grassroots. Ultimately, they decided on a compromise: establishing a 500-person security and defense force.
"And uniforms," Manuel added, thinking of this.
"Oh, uniforms? What does this security force need uniforms for? Won't militia attire suffice? If you need to distinguish them, you could use different colored ribbons, couldn't you?" everyone asked, puzzled. Manuel also realized he shouldn't directly apply concepts from his previous life to the Middle Ages.
Next was the matter of dealing with prisoners. Manuel stated directly, "Send them all to Kerch Isthmus."
"But Your Highness, there are still many who are just petty thieves, whose crimes don't warrant such a severe punishment, and some with social standing."
Manuel was waiting for that line. "Ordinary prisoners can be kept in the old city prison as usual," he said, then took out a map of Theodosia and circled an area west of the city, leaning against the mountains. "Isn't the area west of the city currently abandoned due to the war? I plan to build a prison there, specifically for more troublesome prisoners. As for the name, to commemorate the Battle of Yuzhne from the last war, let's call it Yuzhne."
There was one more thing he didn't say: he also intended to use Yuzhne Prison as an interrogation site for political prisoners he couldn't openly confront but who were unwilling to cooperate honestly with him.
Everyone had no objections to this. After discussing various other specific details, Manuel decided to deploy this special "Watchers" security force to maintain urban order next week. Everyone nodded in agreement.
After seeing off most of the key officials, a tired Manuel decided to take a good rest. As he was about to fall asleep, he suddenly remembered a small matter and murmured to himself:
"By the way, April 10th is my birthday, isn't it? I haven't celebrated my birthday in two years, have I? The year before last, I was on a diplomatic mission abroad, and last year I was fighting a war." But as soon as he thought of the backlog of state affairs, he shook his head, "No, there's still so much to do, so many systems to finalize. A small matter like a birthday can wait for now."
He didn't know that as he murmured, his words were overheard by Barbara, who was standing just outside the door.