I, the prince in distress, send money

Chapter 130 The Hidden Meaning Behind the Fight

"Fight? Refugees fighting!?"

At noon, Chris looked up at the clerk who came to report the situation. He was a little bit unbelievable and had a headache.

"What's going on? This is the nth fight this week. Could it be that they're so full that they're not even tired from chopping wood, let alone having the energy to fight?"

Tell me, what is the reason this time, and how many people are involved?"

Chris knew that as long as no one died in small-scale fights involving less than ten people, Isaac and Connie would basically handle them themselves based on previous cases and handling rules.

Only when the situation is serious will a clerk be sent to report to Chris.

So, Chris is now mentally prepared to accept bad news.

The clerk put down the folder in his hand and began to read the briefing on it carefully.

"A hundred people fought, and twenty-one people were injured. No one was disabled, no one was seriously injured, and no one died. The fight took place in the food square at the foot of Mount Bolas.

The cause of the fight was that the followers of the Goddess of Agriculture were discussing the establishment of a temporary chapel for her. They were overheard by the followers of the Mother Earth who tried to stop them. The two sides had an argument and then started fighting each other.

The fight lasted three minutes before it was broken up by the militia who arrived. Doctors arrived at the scene and began initial treatment.

"Treatment? What the hell!"

Chris got a little angry and started swearing.

"My medical supplies are so precious, how can I give them to these fighting bastards? Lead the way, take me to the scene!"

Chris rushed to the scene under the guidance of the clerk. The place was not far away. With his guards, it only took him five or six minutes on horseback to arrive at the scene.

There were many tents and people at the scene. Excluding some spectators squatting on the side with their bowls in hand, Chris could easily see that a hundred or so people were divided into two groups, squatting on the ground honestly.

The injured among them were standing aside. Their injuries were not serious. At most, they had bruises on their faces and noses. Not many people were bleeding, and most of the blood was concentrated on their faces. It was obvious that they were beaten by fists.

Chris glanced at the pile of logging axes gathered on the side. The two sides were still quite rational when fighting, just using fists, and no one picked up an axe.

As long as an axe appears, the scene will definitely get out of control and deaths are inevitable.

It seems that the "three rules" I set before are still useful.

Whoever kills must pay with his life. Because of this rule, many people have died within half a month. It is obvious that the refugees here have remembered this rule stained with blood.

Although he was relieved, Chris still glared at "Ikkyu" who was standing next to him. This kid was too fast. Before he arrived, the latter had already completed the disinfection of the injured on the scene and was now taking out bandages, preparing to bandage the bleeding injured.

"Ikkyu, save the bandages. They're not worth using on someone who's fighting."

Upon hearing this, Ikkiu, who was wearing a white coat, put the bandage in his hand back into the medical box.

"It's up to you, Your Highness. They're members of the logging team. They sweat a lot while working, and if their wounds are exposed, they'll easily become inflamed. Then..."

When Chris heard this, he felt that it made sense. It would be better not to throw away the watermelon to pick up sesame seeds.

"Oh, forget it, let's use it instead of saving it... Remember to send someone to collect the bandages, wash and disinfect them, and reuse them."

"I'll remember that. The hospital has apprentices who are responsible for this kind of thing."

After saying that, Chris rode his horse forward and came between the two clearly divided groups of people participating in the fight.

"I understand the general origin of the matter. Tell me, who started it first?"

Chris managed these refugees for more than ten days and never stopped providing them with food. Although their living conditions were not very good, no one froze to death.

As for clothing, thanks to Chris's supply of cheap linen, none of the refugees were left naked.

Even the weak labor force, the elderly and the disabled who were regarded as a burden by others, he did not abandon them. Instead, he arranged some work for them that they could do so that they could get enough wages to survive.

Chris's actions were also seen by the refugees. Although there are people who are naturally cruel and don't take things seriously, most people are still grateful for his help.

Therefore, wherever Chris goes, he is praised.

However, amidst such "nice words", there were inevitably some noises that made Chris very unhappy.

For example now.

Hearing Prince Chris' question, the people squatting on the right looked at each other, while the people on the left all raised their hands and pointed at someone in the crowd opposite.

Chris looked in the direction their fingers pointed and saw a middle-aged man wearing a linen gown that he specially supplied to lumberjacks. Then Chris rubbed his eyes involuntarily.

He was a little suspicious that he had misjudged the person.

"Alanka?"

"It's me, Your Highness."

Alanka stood up calmly, dressed like an ordinary lumberjack. He put one hand on his chest and saluted Chris politely.

"what are you doing?"

"I'm working. You set the rule that those who don't work don't eat, so I'm working hard for my survival."

This rule was indeed made by Chris. He also knew that Alanka was mixed in with the lumberjacks and was suspected of trying to spread the belief in the Mother Earth to the lumberjacks while they were working.

It’s just that the Mother Earth Goddess once descended to the heavens in front of Chris, and Alanka just shortened her lifespan and grew old, but she is not dead. Obviously, she still has the ability to descend to the heavens a second time.

Since there is no need to turn against the Earth Mother Cult at the moment, Chris does not want to fight with the latter over a trivial matter.

Whether you can win the fight is one thing, but overturning the "fish pond" because of the fight is a disaster.

Therefore, Chris turned a blind eye to Alanka's private behavior. Apart from thinking about what to do to restrict the latter's religious propagation behavior, he has not taken any action so far.

Alanka must have known that Chris knew about his behavior, so his question was a bit irrelevant... Chris was not asking about the former's logging work, but asking why he hit people.

"You know what I'm going to ask, Alanka... Why did you do it?"

Chris looked at Alanka's face carefully again, and then couldn't help laughing out loud.

"And then I lost the fight and got two black circles under my eyes."

Yes, the polite Alanka now looked very funny. Not only was his dress no longer as luxurious as before, but his face also looked extremely messy, with two dark circles under his eyes.

The man who was fighting with him seemed to be dissatisfied with Aranka's handsome middle-aged face, and he punched the latter in the face repeatedly, leaving bruises and a swollen eyelid.

"Tell me the truth, why did you do it?"

“To preserve the faith.”

"They insulted your God in their words." "No."

Alanka was very honest. He did not lie or exaggerate.

"Simply establishing other temples within the confines of the Temple of Mother Earth is an act of blasphemy in itself."

"kindness?"

Chris frowned. Alanka's words made him realize there were two problems.

First, when did Chris's territory become the place of the Mother Earth?

Second, since Alanka took the initiative and was beaten into a pig's head, could this be his intentional behavior?
Chris didn't quite believe that Alanka, a priest who could make the Mother Earth descend, would be powerless?

At this moment, Chris's mind was working at high speed. He usually didn't bother to pay attention to political matters, but when the time came, he could still see something based on his past experience.

The reason why Alanka took the initiative to fight with the believers of the Goddess of Agriculture was not to test and pressure his attitude towards religion and his bottom line, right?

This is a threat to himself. He has the ability to threaten the economic lifeline and social stability of the camp by inciting loggers to strike or creating larger-scale conflicts.

Then, Chris observed the lumberjacks behind Alanka. They looked at Alanka with complicated expressions, but there was no sneer or contempt.

Oh, I understand. This kid Alanka is still thinking of using his injuries to create the concept of a martyr saint in the eyes of the shallow believers of Mother Earth, and transforming his own scars into a visual symbol of devout faith.

Meanwhile, Aranka chose to fight with his bare hands, causing only minor injuries.

It not only complies with Chris's iron rule of "no killing", but also creates enough chaos to highlight that religious conflicts cannot be resolved by existing governance rules, forcing Chris to introduce clear religious management policies.

The policy-making process is the window for Alanka to maximize its interests.

Damn, I didn’t expect Alanka to be so insidious. If I hadn’t been there, I might not have been able to see what this guy was planning.

Thinking of this, Chris cursed inwardly.

"Alanka, the rules of the Earth Mother Temple you mentioned don't apply here. My territory, my rules are the most important. If you're not convinced, you can ask the Earth Mother to come down and communicate with me."

After saying that, Chris turned around and looked at the crowd on the other side, regardless of Alanka's inability to maintain a calm expression.

"Since you wish to establish a shrine to Demeter, the goddess of agriculture, you must have a host... Who are the priests of the goddess of agriculture? Step forward."

Chris's order caused a commotion among the lumberjacks. They looked at each other and hesitated. Finally, a thin boy stood up.

Chris was a little surprised.

"You are the priestess of the goddess of agriculture."

"I am an apprentice..."

The boy was trembling. He tried his best to hold his head up and remain calm, but his legs were shaking under his skirt, and his noodle-like legs revealed his nervousness and fear.

"Russell Harry, this is my name, you can write it on the tombstone..."

Chris waved his hand, interrupting the frail apprentice of the Agriculture Goddess priest's wandering thoughts.

"Why would I want your life? My rule is that whoever kills must pay with his life. If you didn't kill anyone, you won't die.

I want you to come out just to announce my decision and religious policy on the spot.

First, all those who participated in the fight, including the party that initiated it, must double their work targets for the next week. Those who fail to meet the targets will receive ten lashes as punishment.

Those who fight passively need to complete one-third more work targets. I don’t care why you were beaten, since you were beaten, you have to accept the punishment.

Second, there is religious freedom in my territory. You can believe whatever you want, but you must never persecute others because of your religious beliefs. If such a situation occurs again, I will declare that religion and its believers a cult and prohibit their spread.

Then, to build religious buildings such as temples and houses of worship, you must apply to me and the Religious Affairs Bureau, and only after obtaining permission can you build them. You must also apply for religious status.

If you don't get permission, I will hit you!
In addition, missionary activities of any religion can only be carried out in religious venues. Any missionary activities carried out in public or at work are illegal.

The informant will receive a reward of thirteen silver coins, while the person being reported could face expulsion or even death!"

Chris paused for a moment and glanced at the expressions of Alanka and Russell. The former appeared calm on the surface, but his fists were secretly clenched, while the latter...his eyes were wide open, revealing an incredible look of horror.

"Do you understand? If not, go back and think about it carefully. Alanka, remember to submit your temple application!"

Chris responded to Alanka's probing by warning him in a stern tone.

The meaning is very clear. If you test me, I will punish you. If you make me angry, I can deal with your broken temple and your kid at the same time.

The militiamen and players standing around the square are Chris's support.

Although the former also believed in the Mother Earth, from the order-maintaining behavior at the scene, there was no bias towards Alanka, which showed that the militiamen knew very well who provided them with food and clothing.

As for the players, if Chris asks them to "cut down mountains and destroy temples", as long as the rewards are in place, they will definitely be excited and even rush to do it.

God-slayer, that's a really cool word. If I succeed, won't I get the cool title of God-slayer?
The two men's reactions were a little subtle, but they did not object. Instead, two lumberjacks among the believers of the Earth Mother standing behind Alanka stood up, angrily tore off their clothes, revealing their dark chests.

"The stones bleed! The earth sores!

The plow blade cuts through Gaia's..."

The two believers were still shouting when Bruno, who was standing behind Chris and guarding the prince, rushed over. He violently pushed aside the lumberjacks who were blocking his way, raised his axe gun high and swept at the two men.

"Do not……"

Alanca saw Bruno's charge and realized what he was going to do. He stretched out his hand and shouted loudly, trying to stop Bruno's actions.

"They are not cursing the prince, they are just protesting against the goddess of agriculture..."

It was too late. When Alanka finished speaking, Bruno's axe gun had already swept through the two followers of the Earth Goddess. The two lumberjacks flew high into the air, and blood splattered in all directions as they spun.

Chris watched all this happen with a cold face. From Alanka's behavior, he felt that the actions of the two lumberjacks were suspected to be premeditated.

It is obvious that the conflict here was not entirely unexpected.

"His Royal Highness Prince."

"Don't let it happen again, Alanka... My kindness doesn't mind turning into cruelty. I will never tolerate any provocation or temptation."

Religion is the noise that annoys Chris. His assistance to refugees has been transformed by some believers into gratitude to God.

Chris's patience is limited. He doesn't want to conflict with the Mother Goddess of Earth, but if Alanka is shameless, he doesn't mind... destroying the god.

(End of this chapter)