The next morning, three villages still sent people with over a dozen carts, trembling as they arrived at Arthur's camp.
These villages had all been subjected to violence and bloodshed by Arthur's soldiers.
They were led into Arthur's tent, and upon seeing Arthur seated at the head, they began to tremble with fear.
Most of these people were shabbily dressed, with sickly complexions, and each face bore an unconcealed sadness and fear, especially the representative from the Riverside Village, whose face was as pale as death.
Arthur picked up a pen and parchment and looked at them, "Report your village's annual harvest, population, and the taxes demanded by the Terry Family."
The three farmers successively reported with trembling voices, and Arthur diligently took notes, as statistics on population and annual harvest were crucial for future development.
In fact, he didn't want their taxes for the current year; he just needed them to submit tributes, which was equivalent to acknowledging his rule and seeking protection.
His current gold dragons could still support him for some time, and if worse came to worst, he could always get money from Lady Rona.
Just as they were talking, shouts and curses suddenly came from outside.
"What are you crying for! Cry again and I'll cut out your tongue!" The soldier's rough roar mingled with the child's heartbreaking wails.
Arthur frowned, put down his pen and paper, and led everyone out of the tent.
Outside the tent, a soldier was grabbing a young boy, about seven or eight years old, by the collar, lifting him up, with a dagger held to the child's neck, his face fierce and menacing.
The little boy was skin and bones, his face covered in tears and dirt, and he was trembling with fear.
As soon as the soldier saw Arthur approach, he quickly let go, and the child fell to the ground, crying out in pain.
The representative from the Riverside Village, seeing this scene, was terrified and scrambled over, pressing the child's head down, kowtowing to the soldier and to Arthur.
"What's going on?" Arthur calmly asked the soldier who had been cursing the child.
The soldier stood at attention and saluted: "Lord Arthur, this little brat was wailing when we were dragging the carts away for taxes, and he even secretly hid a bag of flour."
Arthur thought that in a medieval-like army, expecting soldiers to respect the old and cherish the young was pure fantasy, and he wasn't going to restrict them with such rules.
"Why are you crying?" Arthur asked the child.
"Have mercy, Lord! The child doesn't know any better! Have mercy, Lord!" Without answering, the middle-aged man from Riverside Village just kept pulling the child to kowtow, muttering incoherent pleas for mercy.
Arthur frowned and did not continue speaking. The soldiers quickly understood and stepped forward to forcibly pull the father away. The middle-aged man struggled desperately, but it was to no avail.
Arthur walked to the little boy and stood before him, his voice already softened: "Tell me, why are you crying?"
The little boy's father was pulled away, and he was terrified, crying even louder, saying intermittently: "Father... Father... gave all the wheat from home... to... to another lord..."
He then pointed to the cart they had brought, "This is... our last food."
"I heard... Mother and Father secretly discussing that she wanted to leave the remaining food for me and Father."
"Mother will starve to death, I don't want Mother to starve to death, no."
"Our village... gave... gave two lords... taxes... we... we will starve to death this year."
The child's cries carried despair, like a bone-chilling wind.
Arthur turned to look at the representatives from the other two villages. Those people all lowered their heads, silent, clearly in a similar situation.
They still paid two sets of taxes.
"How much tax did the traitor make you pay?" Arthur turned back to the child, but his words were directed at them.
A village representative trembled as he replied, "Lord, there was no fixed amount; most of it would be taken by the knight lord."
Arthur took the bag of flour the child had tried to hide from his arms, and surveyed the trembling villagers who had come to pay taxes, as well as his own soldiers who were looking at each other.
He slowly began to speak, his voice clear and resonant: "Take your things back. Each village will leave one bag of flour. This is your tax for this year."
"I collect taxes to make you acknowledge my rule and accept my protection. Go back and tell all the villagers that as long as they are loyal to me, Arthur, I will protect them from anyone's oppression."
"Since you have paid the taxes that the traitor illegally seized, I will simply go and retrieve them for myself, and for you as well."
"Remember, your lord is me."
A dead silence fell. The villagers suddenly looked up, their faces filled with disbelief. They all, as one, knelt deeply before Arthur.
No longer looking at the villagers, Arthur motioned for Lucien and Hakon to assemble the troops.
A moment later, the urgent and rhythmic sound of horns, the horns of assembly, rang out from outside the camp.
Following that were the sounds of soldiers running to assemble, and the metallic clanking of armor and weapons.
The village representatives, who had just been granted tax exemption by Arthur, were still immersed in joy and gratitude.
Hearing this sudden military order, their hearts tightened, and their faces once again showed some tension and unease. They did not know what this new lord intended to do next.
The soldiers quickly assembled, their formation orderly and their killing intent palpable. Arthur turned and smiled slightly at the still somewhat dazed village representatives:
"Do you see? This is my army. How is its might? How does it compare to the Terry Family?"
The villagers' eyes widened, as if waking from a dream, having never seen such an army. They quickly knelt again, this time with even greater reverence.
Arthur burst out laughing, "Go back, all of you. Go back and tell the villagers, tell every village what you have seen here today!"
Arthur walked towards the tent, smiling, and waved to Lucien and Hakon. With a tax of one bag of flour this year, and such a well-disciplined army, a soft touch and a hard hand, the villages would soon know who to support.
Lucien and Hakon followed, both looking somewhat invigorated. The display of power in front of the villagers undoubtedly boosted their pride as commanders.
Arthur walked to the wooden table and spread out the parchment: "Hakon, how's the land for the reclamation team coming along?"
Upon hearing this, the excitement on Hakon's face faded slightly. He instinctively touched the back of his head again, appearing somewhat flustered and troubled:
"Well, Lord Arthur, when the soldiers heard about land distribution, they all eyed the good plots near water sources and with fertile soil."
"Everyone wants it, and no one is willing to give in, so they're constantly bickering."
"So progress has been a bit slow..."
Arthur listened, frowning. He looked up at Hakon's bewildered and foolish expression, wishing he could kick him twice.
"Hakon!" Arthur slammed his fist on the parchment on the table. "I told you to draw the land! That's to force the Terry Family to draw their swords against me! Do you understand?!"
Drawing a sword against a lord in Westeros is the gravest crime. The War of the Usurper began because of a sword drawn in the Red Keep, leading to the Mad King ordering their deaths by fire.
Arthur truly felt exhausted. Sometimes, one really needed capability, not just intelligence.
By extensively enclosing land on the Terry Family's illegally occupied territory, he was forcing the Terry Family to initiate war.
Arthur paused, and seeing Hakon still somewhat bewildered, he grew even more annoyed, his voice involuntarily rising a few octaves:
"Don't worry about them arguing! And don't worry about who wants which plot! Those are matters for the next step!"
"Now! Immediately! Right now! Get those families to reclaim the land!!!"
Arthur couldn't stand it anymore. He walked over and kicked Hakon in the backside:
"And what exactly is so difficult about this!!!"
"Tell them!!"
"Those who fight the bravest and render the greatest service to me will get the best land!!"
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