บท 182: The days of the changes
In case anyone is interested, I decided to write a story to distract me from the research I do for some chapters of this fanfic, it's called Industrial Baron in Caesar's Legion, it's more violent because there is no need to keep up appearances.I will upload a chapter later
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-Pov of Friedrich von roon eighth moon 288 AC
"Here you go, Friedrich. Do whatever is necessary now. We can no longer trust them. They are either with us or against us," said the king in his infinite wisdom.
I bowed before him, took the decrees he had just signed, and hurried off to enforce them.
The day of change had arrived. The crown's betrayal against our interests had completely altered the political and religious stability within the Prussian court. Once again, the debate over whether we should engage in total war with the Westerosi to eliminate their religion had resurfaced with great force, especially among the oldest members of the nobility. Even the moderates had taken a radical stance, calling for the return of the Inquisition to persecute all non-Protestants in the territory and to force conversions.
Even those content with peaceful coexistence wanted many Prussian elements to start being enforced rather than optional. All this finally led the king to issue new decrees.
The Common Tongue was banned, effective in two years. Anyone caught speaking it, except for state visits or diplomats, would be punished with lashes. No contracts not written in the only civilized language, German, would be accepted. Therefore, all agreements, sales, or employment contracts not drafted in German were now void.
The Faith of the Seven was outlawed. All septons were ordered to leave Prussian territory within a month or face charges of treason, as they were deemed responsible for the uprisings in the North. All their places of worship were to be demolished immediately, with the only exception being the Starry Sept in Oldtown, which was to be converted into a Protestant church as a way to humiliate the Faith of the Seven. Their holy site would now be used for Protestant services every Sunday by the local priest.
We must also dismantle the center of knowledge for the Westerosi. As long as the Maesters controlled the education of Westerosi nobles, they would continue to lie about us. Therefore, their Citadel had to be emptied of all its contents. All Maesters spreading their lies were to be expelled elsewhere to beg other lords for support. Oldtown would no longer fund them, and all their knowledge must be expropriated and studied by our scholars.
Finally, an extension of the protection of civil posts within the government was enacted, preventing anyone with relatives or family members up to the second degree of kinship who were followers of the Faith of the Seven from securing employment unless they publicly renounced their kin.
These decrees would finally complete the civilization of the Westerosi barbarians, turning them into full-fledged Prussian subjects. Over time, they would become citizens in their own right.
I glanced at the last document in my hands, a new law.
The king wished to establish a regional council where all citizens, regardless of their noble or commoner status, could directly inform the king of their grievances and propose reforms and laws directly to his office. Those elected would be generously compensated to travel their region and learn about their constituents' problems. Although it would be purely consultative, it still meant a great deal of power for the elected members if the king was compelled to review a proposed law, far more than what the nobility could achieve with their recommendations.
I would probably send some acquaintances the recommendation to become these new regional councilors, as no active military members could participate in this council; otherwise, it would have been a nice title to add to my long list.
But the time for change had come.
"Why are you doing this… why? We have been loyal… only here—" said a septon, whom I struck hard with my gauntlet, knocking him to the ground.
"I already told you, priest, either speak German or next time I'll have you whipped until you can't walk again," I said while my men emptied the sept and began setting it on fire.
A large crowd had gathered, watching as the sept outside the city burned. This was just the beginning.
This northern city had to be punished severely. These barbarians had abused the goodwill of my king for too long. These starving dogs came to our lands seeking better conditions, demanding food and a place to call home. Our king, in his infinite kindness, granted these ungrateful wretches a city to call their own.
But they repaid that kindness with treachery. It was the inhabitants of the Riverlands who rose up en masse against us, massacring the garrison and killing all the Protestants within the walls, summoning any Westerosi lord to take the city as their own.
Before traveling south to put every Ironborn to the sword for their audacity in attacking us, these traitors must be judged.
What was happening in all the northern cities of the king's territories had to be a lesson.
For hours, I listened to the foolish reasoning of the Westerosi trying to justify their rebellion, but all their excuses were baseless: that they had never sworn loyalty to their lord, that they served the Tullys, that their faith came before their king— all lies, all traitors.
As these dogs continued to beg for their lives, I began to think of a fitting punishment.
Sending them to work in the mines for life might be interesting… but I doubt the mines could accommodate thirty thousand people at once.
I could crucify them and line the entire road from Tumbleton to Koningstraat with crosses bearing all the city's inhabitants… but that would be an unnecessary waste of wood for so many men, women, and children.
Beheading would be a good option, quick and low-cost, but finding enough executioners to carry out such a task without it taking months would be challenging.
Loading them onto ships and sinking them in the middle of the ocean… we're at war, and wasting ships would be foolish.
Then, as I heard a man begging for his life, an idea struck me, a truly terrible punishment for these treacherous dogs.
They came seeking prosperity. Let's send them to the worst place in the world to find it… the Wall. Surely the Black Brothers would be eager to have thousands of new recruits and thousands of women and children to work the cold, barren land, freezing to death.
I relaxed in my seat and looked at the crowd kneeling before me.
"ENOUGH… I have reached my verdict… all of you are guilty of treason, and there will be no mercy for anyone… not even the children… but I feel magnanimous and will allow you to live, though that does not mean you will go unpunished…" I said, watching the constant shifts of emotion among the population, ranging from fear to fleeting happiness, and then back to fear.
I let the suspense reign for a while.
"You will all be sent to the Wall… there you may rebuild your lives in the freezing North, where you'll be free to worship your gods… if you don't die first from the cold… hunger… disease… wild animals… and perhaps in your barbaric minds, you'll think of all we gave you and regret your decision," I said, observing the terror in the eyes of the Westerosi dogs.
The pleas began again, but I simply stood up and ignored them.
"I want an armed patrol of about eight thousand men to transport them north, and if any judge sent to other cities decides on the same punishment as I did, they are permitted to increase the size of the escort and send a messenger to the Wall, informing them that recruits will soon be arriving in droves," I instructed one of the Teutons guarding me, who then went off to carry out my orders.
Hundreds of soldiers began loading the chained citizens onto wagons for their journey north. "Spread the word that there's housing and work available in the area for devout Protestants who want to live in a less populated region since this town is now vacant," I told one of my soldiers as I mounted my horse to head south.
On my way south, I made sure to burn every sept I encountered and expelled all the septons from the king's territories, crucifying anyone who refused to obey the king's command. Our tolerance for them had ended, and now they would understand what true religious persecution was.
My arrival in Wilhelmshaven was swift, and my stay was brief. I only focused on organizing the forces we had the capacity to transport. Since Johann could not yet guarantee naval superiority, my task was simply to ensure that the soldiers had everything they needed while they waited. Once everything was in order, I traveled to Oldtown to oversee the conversion of the Starry Sept into a church and to witness the expulsion of the Maesters from the buildings that had housed them for so long.
Oldtown had changed quite a bit since the last time I was here. Without the dark humor and the constant screams, the city could almost be considered beautiful, thanks to the several examples of Germanic architecture throughout, owing to the good governance of Herzog Helmuth.
Helmuth had already chained up all the septons as soon as he was ordered to close the Starry Sept, so we simply let them watch as my men entered the sept with sledgehammers, demolishing the statues of their gods and throwing them into the streets.
The looks of horror and pain on the faces of the septons and their Silent Sisters were a fitting retribution for all that had happened.
For an hour, the statues of the gods, the windows adorned in honor of their deities, and anything that gave even a mere recognition of the sept were destroyed. We even removed the bodies of former High Septons from the crypts, those that had not been moved to the Sept of Baelor.
When it was all over, I made sure to send the septons and their followers to the North.
Soon after, many artisans and nobles arrived, ready to begin work on renovating the sept, decorating it according to our customs, and painting the dome of this new church.
Finally, I headed toward the Citadel and found the Herzog watching what was happening.
"Herzog, it's an honor to assist you on this great day," I said with a slight smile.
"Kriegsminister von Roon, is the Starry Sept cleansed?" asked Helmuth, who occasionally smiled as he watched the Maesters being dragged out of their Citadel.
"It is, Herzog. Every trace of what was once a center of worship for the Faith of the Seven has been eradicated. How goes the process with the chain men?" I asked, glancing at the Citadel.
"Well, they don't have the means to resist, but at last, I'm ridding this city of this thorn… I never liked the Citadel, always demanding more and more gold to train their Maesters and complaining that Oldtown no longer provided as it did before our conquest. Now, we'll see if they have any worthwhile knowledge or if they are as ignorant as they've shown themselves to be," replied the Herzog.
"It's only a matter of time before we eliminate all foreign elements from our state," I said, keeping my gaze fixed on the events unfolding at the Citadel.
"Regrettably, there were moments when it seemed like true harmony could exist, but it all ended badly… proving Lothar right… from day one, we should have conquered and converted them by force… it's a shame how everything has evolved," said the Herzog, sadness in his voice.
The Herzog's open-mindedness was well-known, so his sentiment didn't surprise me, but these changes were here to stay, and our state would be stronger from now on.
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