When the Saint comes, she does not collect food

Chapter 1001 You Have No Other Choice
No sooner had Horn finished speaking than Anthony Sack leaped up from his chair in a flash.

"Let me make this clear beforehand, I have absolutely no connection with this Jose!"

"Hehehe, didn't you just say that this José is your student?" The councilors from Mosca Township immediately kicked him while he was down.

“I don’t remember, I don’t hold grudges,” Antonisek retorted. “Don’t slander me, I’m warning you, Your Majesty, he’s slandering me, he’s slandering me!”

Although Horn has not said anything yet, in the eyes of many members of parliament, José and Oludo are already considered politically doomed.

Today, Black Snake Bay is basically dependent on Horn for its livelihood, especially the spice company and the sugar workshop.

Spices, without the former for transport, wouldn't be worth a single dinar.

Brown sugar that isn't processed in Longsandshire sugar mills won't fetch a good price.

Not to mention that more than 60% of the grain in Black Snake Bay has to be transported in from the Thousand River Valley in the north.

Horn has seized control of Black Snake Bay's economic lifeline and has firmly grasped control of the military through the military police, tax police, and warbands.

Despite the Holy Alliance's initial promise not to interfere in Black Snake Bay's internal affairs, in reality, Saint Sun wielded immense influence in Black Snake Bay.

Whether it's the sugar workshops, the spice companies, or the gendarmes and tax police, none of them care about making a good impression on the Pope by targeting one or two members of parliament.

Not only these two, but also other Black Snake Bay Secret Party members.

As long as Horn doesn't view the Black Snake Bay councilors as a whole, dealing with two or three of them would be quite simple.

Upon hearing Antonisek speak, Jose and Oludo felt their vision go black.

The two couldn't help but turn their angry gazes to Ksuk, who stood to the side as if nothing had happened.

That bastard! That troublemaking military police captain!
"Alright, it's not that serious." Horn tapped the table with his knuckles to quiet the two groups arguing.

“I’m not blaming you, I’m just stating the facts! Mr. Antonisek, please sit down.” Horn cleared his throat. “I’m also concerned about the issue you’ve raised. These beastmen and the Forest Secrets are indeed a persistent problem and need to be expelled.”

Antonisek's eyes lit up beneath his snow-white eyebrows: "You mean, you're preparing to send in the army to wipe out these beastmen?"

"Quite the opposite," Horn shook his head. "In order to protect the eastern county's access to the sea, I may have to transfer a large portion of the tax police and the Divine Punishment Army."

"what?!"

Now all the councilors in the room were in a panic.

Although they usually curse these tax police and the Divine Punishment Army as black dogs, to be honest, they really can't do without these people.

Because the number of members in a secret wizarding family is limited, and later, due to the division of wizards, many lower-ranking members went to towns.

As for the family's plantations, they were scattered in various places.

They do indeed need tax police officers who have been promoted from battle mages to help patrol and suppress the barbarians, monsters, and beasts in the forest.

So what is Horn trying to do by transferring the security forces now?
"Your Majesty, you mustn't!"

"Your Majesty, you've transferred the tax police away. What are we supposed to do? We're weak and helpless!"

Seeing the sensation of the congressmen, Horn spread his hands and said, "I have no choice. The French have imposed an embargo on the royal court, so spice exports will definitely decrease this year, and the spice company will go bankrupt."

That's why I spent a lot of money to open up the Musk River waterway so I could help you sell spices.

"If we don't relocate these tax police and warbands, how can we suppress the barbarians in the eastern counties? How can we allow the spice fleet to sail?"

The councilors pondered for a moment, but helplessly realized that Horn was right; there was indeed no other way.

If they don't transfer, it means there's a problem with sales; if they do transfer, it means there's a problem with production.

Now the stubbornness has become blocked at both ends.

Antonisek leaned closer to the table and asked in a low voice, "Your Majesty, you must have a way to solve this by calling us here, right?"

"I'm here to ask for your opinion: can you defend against those beastmen yourselves? Don't your manor have arrow towers and guards?"

I remember these beastmen weren't that strong, so why were they able to succeed so many times? The many councilors present looked at each other, their brows furrowed in thought.

“Your Majesty, it is because the plantation is the property of the wizards that slaves are naturally not capable of reminding or protecting the plantation; instead, they will try to escape to save their lives.”

“That doesn’t make sense,” a member of parliament sitting in the back row frowned. “Even if they are hired workers, the plantation is not their own property, so they can still run away.”

Horn laughed: "Let me give you a hint. During the Great Expansion of the Empire, which also used serfdom, why were they able to resist the barbarians back then?"

Instead, in his despair, José suddenly remembered something and immediately realized that this was an opportunity: "I understand, because back then the serfs were organized and knew how to unite, unlike now where they are a disorganized mess."

“Yes.” Horn cast an admiring glance at Jose. “It is precisely because they have an organization and a sense of identity that they fight against the barbarians under the leadership of their leader.”

"How do you do that?" Oludo asked at just the right moment, as if on cue.

Horn held up two fingers: "First, no matter what, they must have their own property, even if it's just in name only."

Secondly, you need to organize them and take responsibility for their mental and physical needs.

That way, they can solve the problem themselves without bothering you.

After hearing Horn's plan, Antonisoke and the others were at a loss for words.

It must be said that Horn's entire reasoning process is very logical, and the conclusions he draws are also very reasonable.

The first request was one thing, just a way to fool the slaves, but the second request...

“Your Majesty, the first request is easy to agree to, but the second request is problematic. Our private soldiers have either entered the city or become tax police soldiers…” Antonisek said with a wry smile.

The Secret Service is capable of controlling villages and towns, but the problem is that they've expanded their operations too much.

Some core plantations are alright, but the new and peripheral plantations are simply impossible to manage.

"Then you might as well think about how the nobles solved this problem a thousand years ago."

How did the nobles solve this problem a thousand years ago? The members of Congress were initially puzzled, and then their expressions changed one after another.

Antonisek asked in a trembling voice, "You mean, the church?"

“It’s the Father Worshippers.” At this moment, Ksukku finally spoke up. “The Father Worshippers are best at maintaining stability at the grassroots level.”

"Didn't you promise not to interfere in Black Snake Bay's internal affairs and religion?"

“But do you have any other choice?” Ksukku retorted. “Let me just say this: almost all of these slaves are followers of the Messiah Church, so the Worship of the Fathers can be seamlessly integrated into the society.”

As for your superstitious family beliefs, it would probably take one or two generations to assimilate these slaves.

If you want to expand your plantations and make more money, you will have to face the problem of ever-increasing costs of governance.

Now that the Pope has stepped in, he has given you an option: for a small amount of money, you can send monks to maintain stability at the grassroots level.

So you either choose the church, or you choose to worship the Fathers, or you don't need to make money at all.

The room fell silent. Horn looked at their hesitant expressions and chuckled, "Don't rush to make a decision. This is a fundamental issue, and it may only be implemented in the Northern County first."

You have plenty of time to consider this carefully. After all, even if it is to be passed, the basic law of Black Snake Bay must be respected, and the vote must be passed.

Now, let's move on to the next topic—the issue of addressing the symptoms, shall we?

Burying his concerns and doubts in his heart, Anthony Sack asked with a forced smile, "Let's put aside the fundamental solution for now and tell me about the method to treat the symptoms."

"It's very simple. I'll bring in the Imperial Guard to give the beastman tribe a good beating in one go, which should be enough to keep them safe for more than a year."

"That's wonderful!" The councilors were overjoyed.

“However, even the Holy Mechanized Court isn’t exactly well-off.” Horn crossed his arms and rested his chin on them. “What do you all think?”

　P.S. There will be two more chapters later.
　　
　
(End of this chapter)