I was a lord farming, how did I become an emperor?

Chapter 4 He slandered me!
The golden afterglow of the setting sun spread over the mountaintop, turning the wooden houses scattered on the hillside into an amber color.

Mayor Matt of Frostleaf had no interest in appreciating the twilight scene; his rough fingers were rubbing together vigorously, his knuckles turning bluish-white from the excessive force.

He stood on the hillside, his eyes fixed on the approaching procession in the distance, his heart sinking to the bottom.

It's time to come.

A month and a half ago, Matt received news that Frostleaf Town and even the entire Blackpine Ridge had been allocated to the Tulip Family, Rod Tulip.

This means that the residents of Frostleaf Town will have to start paying taxes.

You should know that Frostleaf Town has not paid taxes for ten years since the previous tax collector was killed by bandits.

Now that such a lord has appeared, everyone is filled with unease.

Some hunters had even fled, but wealthy farmers like Matt, who had a lot of arable land, couldn't bear to leave their land and had no choice but to stay.

But Matt didn't want to give his wealth away to the lord for nothing, so he resorted to some underhanded methods.

Clearly, we have failed.

"Useless is useless! So many people can't even handle this small matter!"

Matt cursed inwardly.

All I could do was curse in my heart.

Faced with the massive convoy and more than twenty cavalrymen armed with sharp weapons, Matt dared not charge forward to fight them head-on.

Matt, accompanied by several wealthy farmers, jogged to the front of the caravan to greet the new lord.

Without needing any portrait, Matt immediately noticed the boy among the guards and ran forward to bow in respect.

Golden curly hair, a tall and strong figure, and a fair and handsome face.

Such a young man could not have been raised without the fine diet of the nobility.

"Welcome to Frostleaf Town, Your Excellency,"

Matt had a forced smile on his face, but wrinkles crinkled at the corners of his eyes as he nervously wrung his hands.
“I am the mayor elected by everyone, Matt Minewood. Please feel free to ask me anything.”

The other wealthy farmers also hurriedly bowed and greeted him with phrases like "Welcome, Your Excellency Baron."

It's a mess; it's obvious they haven't rehearsed it.

Rod smiled, not taking it to heart, and nodded slightly in response.

My gaze swept across these weathered faces, finally settling on Matt.
"Traveling is tiring, please make room for my people to rest as soon as possible."

"Also, find a larger place to imprison the sixty-three bandit prisoners behind us."

"Prepare food for another forty people. Don't worry about the prisoners; let them go hungry for one night."

Rhodes, still on horseback, immediately began giving Matt orders without any politeness.

"Everything is ready, please follow me."

Matt showed no sign of resentment and quickly stepped aside to invite Rod into town.

Frostleaf Town sits on a hillside, flanked by steep valleys, and is surrounded by a two-meter-high spiked fence as a defensive structure.

The location is good, but the place is not big. Rhodes estimated that even if it is filled with wooden houses, it can only accommodate six or seven hundred people at most.

It's called a town, but it's actually a large village.

The northern region is cold and has long winters, so few people are willing to come here, making it incomparable to the southern provinces.

And this is especially true of the wasteland.

However, the wasteland is vast, and with suitable farming methods, even if only one crop can be grown per year, it is not a problem to feed tens of thousands of people.

Frostleaf Town will inevitably expand in the future, and this hillside should be transformed into its own castle.

Of course, this is currently just a beautiful dream in Rhodes' mind.

Rhodes's appearance attracted the attention of everyone in town.

They were both curious and afraid of Rhodes, and dared not look directly at him on horseback. They could only steal glances at him out of the corner of their eyes while working with their heads down.

"This is our new lord, please pay your respects!"

After Matt loudly reminded them, the residents hurriedly stood up and bowed to greet Rod.

Upon hearing this, the residents in the distance immediately dropped what they were doing and moved aside.

Seeing this, Matt hurriedly explained, "Frostleaf Town has never had a nobleman like you before. They are all ignorant fools who don't know etiquette. Please don't take offense."

Rhodes had learned about the inhabitants of the wasteland; most of them were illiterate and knew nothing of etiquette, so he wasn't angry.

but--

"As the town mayor, didn't you teach them before I arrived?"

Rod asked calmly.

"Why should I teach them...?"

Matt was about to retort when he saw Rod's gaze and immediately swallowed his words.
"I am very sorry, Your Excellency, it was my oversight."

"Just keep walking."

Rod didn't delve into it, but he realized that the mayor's true feelings towards him weren't as respectful as they appeared.

"Ok."

Matt nodded and quickened his pace to lead Rod to a courtyard.

There are three wooden houses in the yard, which are kept very clean.

But it's just clean.

This courtyard was not only mixed in with ordinary wooden houses, but it also looked very dilapidated, as if no one had lived there for a long time.

Rod had no idea that after settling in the border town for more than a month, the accommodation prepared for him would be such a place.

It seems this place hasn't been governed by nobles for a long time; even the mayor treats the lord perfunctorily.

well.

Rhodes turned around and demanded, "Is this my residence?"

"This wasteland is not comparable to your family castle, please understand."

Matt bowed and said with a smile, "Please stay here for now. Tomorrow you can choose a location you like to build your manor."

"Stay wherever you want."

Matt had a smile on his face, but he couldn't help but sigh inwardly.

Noble children are indeed pampered; they complain even though the place is so clean.

They're so hard to please; the future looks bleak.

I should have put in more effort and killed this guy.

Sigh, it seems I need to sell all the land quickly and find a chance to leave this place.

"No need for tomorrow, whose are those wooden houses on the mountaintop?"

Before Matt could answer, Rod looked at the courtyard ahead and then said:

"That place is nice, I'll live there from now on."

The place Rod was referring to was a flat, spacious area, quite a distance from the other cabins.

Not only is it situated at the highest point in the town, but it is also surrounded by other wooden houses, making it seem like a king overlooking the entire territory.

"That won't do!"

Matt's expression changed drastically, his tone rose, and he instinctively refused, "That's my house, Your Excellency."

"No? You're saying no in my territory?"

Rod frowned, not expecting Matt to actually say "no".

They really don't respect themselves at all.

How dare they so blatantly trample on the lord's power and dignity!

The robber was right; Matt really wanted to die.

Rhodes suddenly drew his steel greatsword and pointed it directly at Matt!

"Who gave you permission to build a house on my land? Did you pay your taxes?!"

Zheng!
Durant and his guards drew their swords, and Matt was so frightened that he immediately knelt on the ground!

"This this……"

Matt suddenly realized that the nobles were the owners of the land!

"I'm sorry, my lord, I... I'll make room for you right away!"

"late!"

Rhodes said sternly, "Disrespecting the lord, stealing the lord's property, and evading taxes—how should this be dealt with according to imperial law?"

"Take back the land, confiscate the property, and reduce them to serfs!"

Durant responded loudly.

Matt was stunned when he heard this and begged for mercy loudly.

"No, my lord, I can pay the fine!"

The people around him whispered among themselves, looking at Matt with a mixture of fear and curiosity.

Just then, Rod coldly added,
"What if someone tries to murder the lord?"

"Execute by hanging!"

"Oh!"

Durant's words instantly caused Matt to collapse to the ground, shouting loudly.

"Spare me! My lord!"

"I didn't! I've been framed!"

"Don't kill me!"

……

Without saying a word, Rod waved his hand, signaling Durant to gag Matt.

Then Rhodes turned his gaze to the other wealthy farmers.
"Rest assured, I am a very enlightened lord, and Matt's crimes have nothing to do with you."

Rod's voice returned to calm, "As long as you pay your taxes properly, I won't hold the past against you."

"We'll pay taxes! We'll definitely pay taxes!"

The other rich peasants were already trembling with fear. Although they didn't know what was going on, they quickly nodded in agreement, afraid that they would be the next to be hanged.

Listen to both sides of what you hear.

Rhodes had no intention of believing the robber's one-sided story.

But Matt's performance was too obvious, and Rod didn't want to wait any longer.

Moreover, the people of Frostleaf Town are so undisciplined and show him no respect whatsoever as their lord.

Since that's the case, Rhodes will no longer hold back.

"Lawrence, can you even do basic math?"

Lawrence, who was engrossed in watching the play, was caught off guard by Rhodes' question and didn't react in time.

It wasn't until his guard nudged him that he snapped out of his daze and replied:
“This is what I do best, Your Excellency.”

"Then you will be responsible for collecting taxes from these rich farmers' homes, calculated based on 60% of their property."

"Want to serve you!"

Lawrence responded happily.

Lawrence was very upset after the Golden Sands caravan was confiscated by Rhodes, but seeing the wealthy farmers having their property confiscated now made him feel a little better.

It's so good to have someone who's just as miserable as you.

Therefore, although the journey was tiring, Lawrence was very happy to do it.

"Durant, Gunner, you two take two people from your respective teams to go with Lawrence to collect taxes."

"Yes, my lord!" "No problem!"

The two responded in unison and quickly assigned four people to form a tax collection team with Lawrence.

Actually, Rhodes wasn't in a hurry to collect taxes, since he couldn't spend the gold coins here anyway.

Rhodes was afraid that these wealthy farmers, seeing Matt's fate, would verbally agree but then flee overnight, so he wanted to act swiftly. Once they paid the money, these farmers would most likely not run away.

Rhodes left the wagons and the captured bandits in the courtyard, and arranged for a mercenary team, caravan guards, and two guards to stay and watch over them.

He then led Durant and Gunther straight to the two rows of wooden cabins on the hilltop.

Before Matt's family could react, the guards rushed into the courtyard to try and subdue them.

But Matt's three sons were very tough and directly attacked the guards.

However, he lacked any exceptional swordsmanship skills and was killed by the guards in just two or three rounds.

Only Matt's wife and three slaves were captured by the guards.

The women of the wasteland are quite fierce. Matt's wife tried to ambush Gunle with a kitchen knife, but Gunle instinctively killed her.

Rhodes then moved directly into the main house, and the guards started cooking in the kitchen in the courtyard, and lit a bonfire in the courtyard with firewood.

Night fell, and a cold wind howled.

The townspeople, who should have been sitting by the fireplace or lying in their warm beds, were now gathered in the open space outside the mayor's yard, awaiting Matt's trial.

Meanwhile, Rhodes, who was in charge of everything, was sitting at a wooden table in front of the campfire, enjoying his dinner.

Seven wealthy peasants stood on either side, heads bowed, not daring to speak.

The scene was eerily quiet; no one dared to breathe loudly, and only the campfire crackled and burned in the howling wind.

Rod didn't like to waste food, so he carefully ate every scrap of meat off his plate.

Rod finished the ale in one gulp, wiped his mouth, and waved his hand.

The guards dragged out the robbers and threw them in front of Matt.

"Did he betray me to you and plot against me?"

"I asked in a calm tone," Luo De asked.

"Yes, yes." The robber nodded repeatedly.

"defamation!"

Matt's eyes widened as he pointed at the robbers and shouted to the crowd.
"He's slandering me!"

A commotion broke out in the crowd; no one dared to speak up for Matt, and they could only whisper among themselves.

Upon seeing this, Matt scrambled and crawled to his knees in front of Rhodes.

"My lord!"

"Wise and benevolent lord, the words of bandits cannot be trusted!"

Matt pointed at the robbers and argued vehemently, "They're all beasts, their mouths are full of filth and lies!"

"Oh?"

Rhodes looked puzzled. "Really?"

As soon as he finished speaking, Rhodes took out a parchment map from his pocket and placed it on the table.

Immediately afterwards, Durant placed another parchment map next to him.

"The one on the left was provided by the robbers, and the one on the right was found in your house."

"The route markings are all the same."

Rod took out another notebook.
"The handwriting is the same as your ledger entries, how do you explain that?"

"me,"

Matt's eyes were filled with panic, his pupils darting back and forth as if searching for a reason.

"Forget it, don't bother explaining anymore. I won't believe you anyway."

Rod waved to Durant, signaling for the execution.

"Yes, Lord Baron!"

Durant looked at the crowd and read aloud:

"Matt has stolen the lord's land, resisted taxes and orders, insulted the lord, and is plotting to kill him!"

"In accordance with imperial law and the decrees of the Lord of Blackpine Ridge, he shall be hanged!"

As Durant finished speaking, Rod's gaze swept over him.

"Does anyone have any objections?"

The townspeople couldn't help but lower their heads.

No one was willing to speak well of Matt under such a sharp blade.

The key issue is murdering the lord!

Who dares to help?

The town's militiamen did have swords, but the wealthy farmers who usually had close ties with Matt didn't speak up, so who would be willing to step forward?

This left Rod, who wanted to rescue Matt's confidant, empty-handed.

It seems this town mayor isn't very popular.

That's understandable. How could he be popular if he could offend even a lord with such a good temper?
Rod smiled.

"Very good, carry out the execution."

At Rod's command, the guards immediately dragged the man to the front of the shelf.

At this moment, Matt, who had been stunned, came to his senses and shouted loudly.
"Spare me! My lord!"

"I can pay taxes! All my assets are yours!"

"Don't kill me!"

"I was wrong! I can be your slave!"

……

No one paid any attention to Matt's pleas for mercy. The guards hung him on a rope and pulled him up sharply!
"Uh...uh..."

Matt's legs kicked haphazardly in the air, struggling desperately but to no avail, and he eventually slumped down, lifeless.

"Collect the body properly; consider it part of the Imperial poll tax."

"Yes, Your Excellency."

Durant responded in a low voice.

"The traitor has been executed; now let's get down to business."

Rhodes stood up and loudly proclaimed:

“I am Rhodes Tulip, Baron Lord of Blackpine Ridge, your ruler!”

"From this day forward, this land beneath your feet and the sky above your heads belong to me!"

"The plants on the ground, the wild animals in the mountains, the fish and shrimp in the river, and the birds in the sky are all mine!"

Rhodes' words were not an exaggeration at all.

This is the rule of this world—the nobility owns everything.

Even free civilians do not own land; they can only obtain the right to use it through leasing, not ownership.

"Your unauthorized farming, fishing, and hunting have violated the lord's laws, and you should be hanged like Matt!"

"However, considering your ignorance, I will not pursue your past mistakes; I will only punish Mayor Matt, who condoned your wrongdoings."

Rod's booming voice echoed through the night sky like thunder, making everyone's ears ring.

“I am merciful; you can still live in your own houses.”

"But you must pay 60% of your property and grain as taxes to make up for your previous mistakes!"

The scene fell silent once again, the sound of the flames burning particularly jarring.

"But if we do that... we'll starve to death..."

"We have no food left, sir!"

"Why should we take away our property?"

"Sixty percent? That's more than half!"

……

Once the first person spoke, the others chimed in.

The scene erupted into a cacophony of cries, like a flock of crows, all complaining and resisting Rhodes's orders, with some even shouting out the outrageous idea of ​​driving the lord away.

Only the wealthy farmers who had already paid their taxes kept their heads down and remained silent.

Rhodes anticipated this scene and waved his hand calmly.

These guys haven't paid taxes all these years, so they've accumulated some wealth.

Zheng!
All of Rhodes' soldiers drew their swords at the same time, the piercing metallic sound precisely cutting off all the noise.

Gunle picked up his giant axe and leaped forward decisively.
"Anyone who dares to interrupt the master will have their neck chopped off!"

Clearly, a sharp blade and a majestic figure are more convincing than a noble title.

The scene fell silent instantly; some townspeople didn't even dare to breathe loudly, fearing that the sharp blade would come into close contact with their necks.

"I won't detain you. If you can't accept it, then leave."

After a moment of complete silence, Rod spoke again: "But you are not allowed to take any items with you, including the clothes you are wearing, which are my property!"

"Otherwise, you will be executed for stealing noble property, just like Mayor Matt!"

"Furthermore, I would like to remind you that the entire Northern Wasteland has been divided among various nobles. No other lord is more merciful than me. The only place you can escape to is the Icefield Mountains."

Rhodes's reminder plunged the townspeople into despair, and those who had originally intended to escape were now filled with despair.

The Icefield Mountains are located at the northernmost edge of the North, covered with glaciers and snow that never melt, making it impossible for humans to live there.

Having said all that needed to be said, Rhodes paid no attention to the townspeople's reactions.
"That's all for tonight. The militiamen in town, stay here. Everyone else, you can leave."

The townspeople had not yet recovered from the upheaval and were driven away by the guards in a daze, leaving only a dozen or so strong men outside the courtyard.

“You have always protected my land and my property, unlike others.”

Rod smiled and spoke softly.
"You only need to hand over 30% of your property; if you don't have enough grain, you don't have to hand it over."

These words instantly brightened the eyes of the men who were feeling down!
No one expected such a good thing, and they immediately knelt down to pay their respects.

"You are the wisest lord! Thank you for your generosity!"

People are most afraid of comparison, yet they also love it the most.

Although it is heartbreaking to have 30% of one's property confiscated, compared to the 60% taken from other townspeople, it is already a great thing.

"Get up."

Rhodes waved his hand and instructed, "My guards will be with you tonight to watch out for bandits and wild beasts outside the town, as well as to prevent the people in the town from fleeing with their property."

"Rest assured, my lord, we will capture anyone who tries to escape and hand them over to you for disposal!"

Having just received the benefits, the militiaman readily assured him.

"Okay, I'm leaving it to you. Don't let me down."

Rod nodded, then turned and left to rest in the cabin.

As for the rest, Durant will handle it.

After he finished arranging everything and the guards on night watch left with the militia, Gunle approached him.

"Is this gentleman, who is so intelligent, really just an illegitimate child?"

"Don't discuss the lord in private," Durant said, refusing Gunther's question.

Gunle wasn't angry. He just pursed his lips, picked up his axe, and whistled as he went back to the side room.

Durant was left standing alone in front of the campfire, gazing at the flames and lost in thought.

Is Rhodes really just an illegitimate child?
First, they killed the town mayor to intimidate the peasants, then they subdued the rich farmers, and after suppressing the common people, they turned around and bought off the militia who had armed forces.

Decisive, ruthless, cautious, and thoughtful.

In just one night, Frostleaf Town was transformed.

Even well-educated aristocratic children are nothing special, right?

(End of this chapter)