章 267: Suppression
Translator: Cinder Translations
...
After a quiet night, the next morning, Paul, with his bloodshot eyes, announced his follow-up measures to everyone: if the rioters refused the final ultimatum, he authorized the martial law troops to use all available means to quell the rebellion, including firearms and artillery. Since the rioters had already lost their sanity, it seemed unlikely to pacify them without harming lives.
Once a feudal lord, one must have the awareness of a feudal lord. Even if failure is inevitable, one must not, like that locksmith king, be humiliated and die due to constant compromise and retreat—Paul encouraged himself this way.
The Council and the military praised the lord's "wise decision," and the arrival of salt merchants like Gedwyn further solidified his resolve.
"Lord Earl, you must stand up for us!"
Gedwyn and others were on the ground, wailing and crying. Their clothes were in tatters, indicating they had rushed to Alden Town overnight.
"The rioters have destroyed our salt fields by the sea! They even killed several workers. Please, you must send the army to capture and execute them all!"
In the merchants' tearful complaints, Paul realized the situation had become even more severe.
"Your naval commander insisted on waiting for your orders before deploying troops. Reluctantly, we came here to seek your assistance."
Gedwyn's tone revealed strong dissatisfaction with Austin. If he had been more flexible, the rebellion would have been suppressed quickly, and they would not have suffered such significant losses.
...
"Report! Alden Town has authorized us to use all feasible means to quell this rebellion."
Captain Quik, who personally led the sailors to block the roads, received the written orders from the messenger.
Last night, they had received orders from Alden Town via a fish hawk—isolating the riot area and waiting for further instructions.
The navy acted urgently. They divided into units by ship, each with over a hundred people, and blocked various roadways.
"All personnel, assemble!"
With Quik's command, the sailors on the Southern arrived quickly in formation.
"Our next target is Fabe Village. According to the orders, we need to restore order there as soon as possible!"
Quik waved his hand. "Set off!"
...
Kevin stood on the tower of the landlord Biden's house, gazing out at the road leading outside the village.
While his companions in the yard were cheerfully preparing food for the new day by slaughtering pigs and sheep, Kevin's heart was anything but happy. The developments had far exceeded his expectations.
He couldn't help but recall again...
After the villagers drove away the first batch of tax collectors, landlord Biden quickly sent a second batch, even fiercer and armed with knives, guns, and clubs. They threatened the villagers, warning that if they did not pay the War Tax, they would face severe consequences.
The tension between both sides escalated, and it was unclear who started it, but it eventually led to physical conflict.
Once the physical conflict began, it could not be controlled. The villagers' long-accumulated grievances exploded in an instant. The usually docile villagers suddenly showed a violent side.
Although Biden's tax collectors had come with great force, they were outnumbered by the villagers and soon, half of them fell, and the remaining ones fled, injured.
After a brief cheer, everyone was unsure what to do next.
Kevin, stirred by the recent events, jumped onto a high platform and shouted, "Everyone! We have completely torn our relationship with Biden. He will definitely send more people to coerce us, so I propose that instead of passively waiting for him to come, we should actively go to him and demand an explanation for this 'war tax.' If he cannot produce an official decree from the lord's office and is setting new taxes privately, even if the lord's office sends people to investigate, we will be in the right."
Someone asked, "Kevin, are you sure Biden is setting this new tax privately?"
Everyone grew tense at this question. They had been listening to Kevin's assertive claims without considering whether Biden was indeed violating the lord's orders.
Kevin replied firmly, "Rest assured, I have traveled to Alden Town many times and never heard of any war tax elsewhere. Biden must be deceiving us."
"But Biden is a powerful landlord! His family is very influential."
After driving away the tax collectors, some of the villagers' initial fervor had waned, and their fear of the landlord returned.
"Villagers!"
Kevin, frustrated with their hesitation, shouted.
"Do you think Biden will just let this go? No, he will certainly seek revenge and frame us with false charges. He will gather more thugs to deal with us. We must seize this opportunity while he has not yet reacted, confront him, and negotiate to lower the taxes to a level we can afford."
Someone asked, "Why don't we just go to Alden Town and report him?"
Kevin explained, "The tax impostor is Biden. If the lord's office changes the tax collector, we will lose our bargaining position. The new tax collector will likely exploit us just as much. It's better to keep Biden and use not exposing him, along with a little profit, as a condition to get the taxes lowered."
"Good idea!"
"I think this plan will work!"
More and more people began to support Kevin, and gradually, everyone sided with him.
With no other options, everyone preferred not to offend the powerful landlord, but with the worsening living conditions and the imposition of a non-existent war tax, survival had become increasingly difficult.
Better to fight for a chance than to starve.
Seeing his proposal gaining support, Kevin arranged for the unconscious thugs from Biden's house to be taken away for treatment. Although he despised these thugs, they were crucial witnesses and could not be allowed to die.
Someone suggested, "Biden's family is powerful, with many thugs. Our village alone is a bit weak. But other villages have also suffered from his oppression. Why not persuade them to join us in confronting Biden?"
This suggestion was well-received and quickly gained unanimous approval.
"We will demand an explanation!"
"Expose that liar and get a clear answer!"
Voices like these rose from the crowd.
Thus, a team of young men set out, with more villages joining them along the way.
(End of the Chapter)
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