Vientiane Throne of Civilization

Chapter 1879 Drawing a pie

After these goblin prisoners of war were settled, Zhou Xu didn't need to worry about anything else.

From the perspective of their Great Zhou Dynasty, the resettlement and handling of these prisoners of war was a trivial matter.

If Zhou Xu has to worry about even something like this, how busy must he be?
Inspectors from relevant departments would come every month to conduct random checks on the loyalty of several goblin prisoners of war.

Despite the fact that these goblin prisoners of war have been honest and hardworking all this time, their loyalty has remained virtually unchanged.

The vast majority are stuck at 60 points; the highest score so far is only 63 points.

The reason is simple: they are honest, hardworking, and conscientious. To put it bluntly, they know that if they are not conscientious, their lives will not be so easy.

Ultimately, it's all for their own sake.

In response to this situation, the relevant departments did write a report and briefed Zhou Xu.

Zhou Xu didn't seem to care about this.

To outsiders, Zhou Xu, as the supreme ruler of the Great Zhou, might seem to value loyalty highly, but in reality, it depends on the circumstances.

From Zhou Xu's perspective, different positions require different levels of loyalty.

Some positions require absolute loyalty for him to feel at ease, such as his personal guards, or the Inspectorate.

For some positions, all that's needed is to be a loyal subject; this requirement applies to almost all positions.

At the same time, for some positions, as long as you are capable and work hard, all I need is your labor and ability to provide value for me; loyalty is irrelevant.

Working diligently and avoiding breaking the law are not actually that closely related to the level of loyalty.

These two events truly impacted their own lives and circumstances in Da Zhou.

If you don't work hard, you'll either have your salary deducted or be fired and lose your job.

If you break the law, you'll be arrested and turned into a laborer.

Ultimately, it only affects your own life. Anyone with a brain wouldn't do such a stupid thing.

The most typical example right now is this group of goblin prisoners of war. They are working hard now, not out of loyalty, but for themselves.

Considering the nature of goblins, if the next step is to annex the goblin kingdom, the goblins subsequently brought in will most likely be in the same situation.

Even if it's just for their own sake, they will abide by the law and work hard, so Zhou Xu doesn't care.

However, it is difficult to guarantee that this situation will continue indefinitely.

Unlike the tribespeople or slaves, the goblins had relatively normal lives before. It's unrealistic to expect them to be satisfied with just steamed buns and pickled vegetables and be able to eat their fill, and to expect them to obediently work as laborers for the rest of their lives.

If this goes on for too long, and he can't figure things out one day, or can't take it anymore, he'll definitely cause trouble. After all, he's already serving a life sentence, what's there to be afraid of?

This wasn't the first time the Great Zhou had received prisoners of war like these, so they already had a set of methods to deal with them.

Simply put, it's about giving them something to look forward to; to put it bluntly, it's about making empty promises!

In theory, the Great Zhou Dynasty did not have the death penalty; the only option was to work until death.

Prisoners of war like these are basically considered war criminals, and are usually sentenced to life imprisonment. Normally, they would be forced to do hard labor until they die.

However, if they perform well at work, or make outstanding contributions during their imprisonment, their life sentence can be commuted to a fixed term. And these goblin prisoners of war, before being thrown here to do hard labor, were all very cooperative with their intelligence gathering work.

In consideration of this contribution, these goblin prisoners of war have now been given fixed-term imprisonment.

Under this premise, outstanding work performance may lead to a further reduction in sentence.

This is their only hope!

However, even if a goblin performs exceptionally well every month, it's unrealistic to expect him to be released from prison within a few years.

Or rather, it's impossible to release them from prison so quickly.

On the one hand, these days it's not easy to find cheap labor. It's a good thing that can reduce financial pressure and increase the labor force, so why let it go so easily?
On the other hand, and most importantly, the goblin kingdom still exists.

While the goblin kingdom still exists, making these goblin prisoners of war official citizens of their Great Zhou is undoubtedly not a wise decision.

Even under normal circumstances, these goblins could become a destabilizing factor within their Great Zhou, not to mention the high probability that they will fight the goblin kingdom in the future.

Of course, they know this themselves.

Under this premise, during their imprisonment, in order to prevent them from having suicidal thoughts, they also need to be given some benefits that can be obtained immediately.

For example, if they do well this week, we'll improve their meals a little; if they do well this month, we'll give them a day off.

After all, even cheap labor needs to balance work and rest.

People are not eating well and are not paid. Under such circumstances, they are still being exploited. What if they do something reckless?
Even in prisons, the hope is that inmates will work honestly and, ideally, for a long time.

Therefore, improved meals every week and rest days every month have become the things the goblin prisoners of war look forward to the most.

They especially look forward to the improved meals every week, perhaps even more than their days off.

The diet of the people in the Goblin Kingdom mainly consists of bread, potatoes, sausages, and smoked meat. They usually also have a vegetable soup, and those who are better off will have meat stew.

However, the combinations and methods are very monotonous.

Steamed buns and pickled vegetables were certainly not enough to make them wholeheartedly devoted to them.

But if it's not limited to steamed buns and pickled vegetables, the variety of dishes in the Great Zhou Dynasty is incredibly rich.

Even in factory canteens, there are a dozen or twenty dishes every day, and the dishes are often changed.

The goblin prisoners of war were given a better meal, which basically meant adding one meat dish and one vegetable dish. And they only had this one meal a week. Even if they were on rotation for several months, the dishes would never be the same.

After the reward system was unlocked, within a month, the relevant departments quickly discovered that many goblin prisoners of war had even increased their loyalty by one or two points.

Although it's still in the sixties and there hasn't been much change in essence, it's still a good omen.

This at least proves that these goblins, to some extent, are not so tenacious.

Meanwhile, on the border of the Goblin Kingdom, the movement of the large force quickly attracted the attention of the Undead sentries, who relayed the news back to their rear as fast as possible.

After confirming the message, Wei Qing's gaze sharpened, and he quickly contacted Shi Lei and Li Ce, who were further back.

"Latest news from the front: the Goblin Kingdom has dispatched a large army, estimated to be over ten thousand strong. However, we will need to send scouts to confirm the exact number."

(End of this chapter)