After I died, my personal maid rebelled.

The drawback, or rather the characteristic, of the Northern Territory regime was that it lacked a complete civil service system.

The highest-ranking civil official in the Duke's mansion is named Elena, who is currently at home preparing for pregnancy. Of course, she is a ruthless leader who is always worried about the conservatism of the radical faction.

So when armies entered the villages, some respected elders were surprised to find that the northern leaders had no intention of giving them a chance to debate.

In Kate's words, since you feel that the Northern Territory is oppressing you, you'd better understand what real oppression is.

If it weren't for the Duke wanting to give them another chance to choose, Kate would have arrested them all and thrown them into the bottomless mine.

The busy villagers carried bags of grain into the watchtower, almost filling the entire cellar. The soldiers raised their halberds, and the clanging of steel as they walked forced the villagers out of the door step by step.

As the gate slowly closed, the villagers watched silently as the grain was swallowed by darkness, reluctant to leave for a long time.

The young man who tried to resist has been arrested and his fate is unknown. The very next day, a group of strange people arrived. They did not look like soldiers, but they were also equipped with powerful weapons.

"Investigate! Find out who's behind them!"

Members of the Special Operations Unit were convinced that behind these farmers was a large and covert organization fighting against the northern regime.

This is heresy that they absolutely cannot tolerate.

As the interrogation began, another elite force from the Northern Territory arrived in the village.

After the tax officials took a small portion of the grain, they handed the order to the soldiers.

"The saint asked me to tell you to destroy their churches. The Northern Territory only has a Catholic Church that worships saints, not a goddess religion that worships evil gods!"

The well-armed soldiers saluted in unison, "Yes, sir, as the Holy Maiden commands."

Several days passed in the blink of an eye. The young farmer, who had suffered severe physical and mental trauma, was released, and the village church was brutally demolished, leaving only a dilapidated ruin.

"Pay close attention to those strange nuns lately, and forbid them from contacting the villagers. Contact us immediately if there are any unusual circumstances."

The members of the special forces were all burning with rage. They were the Duke's most loyal veterans, yet those rats actually slandered the Duke as a false emperor.

They even said the Duke was an immortal demon?

Good, very good! You bunch of stinking rats, the henchmen of the evil god, you better not let me catch you, or you'll be in big trouble!

After a period of chaos, the village finally returned to its former tranquility, and the villagers gradually adapted to this new life.

Isn't it just receiving food every day, and only being able to eat until you're six or seven tenths full? In reality, what's the difference from before?

There's no difference.

But suffering is always relative; in one village, there exist two completely different lifestyles.

The families who came with the soldiers naturally had no worries about food and drink. They had their own food reserves and could exchange surplus food for money. Other departments that passed by would also take the initiative to provide them with assistance.

For example, General Ereon, who had captured a few leopard cubs and incidentally wiped out a herd of wild boars, made a special detour to deliver two large wild boars to them on his way back to the capital from the deep mountains.

The pungent aroma of meat wafted for miles, and the local villagers queuing for noodles swallowed hard, their bodies instinctively trying to recall what the meat tasted like.

People from the northern part of the Central District come here to sell alcohol. Their area is very suitable for growing barley, and the villagers lead a life that is completely different from that in the south.

Merchants from the northern territories also come here, and they even come from the western pastoral areas. The old herders say that their children who are away from home miss the mutton from their hometown, so they bring their flocks on the merchant ships to look for the light cavalry and also visit them along the way.

The soldiers of the Third Division, stationed in the Eastern Territory, which is the furthest away, come the most frequently.

They always had an endless supply of goods to deliver, and they also sold their Eastern Territory's specialties in the royal city.

Sometimes, when there were too many goods to sell, the soldiers of the Third Division would come to these villages and give away goods such as smoked fish and sea salt to the military families.

The local villagers, of course, did not enjoy this treatment. This was also a difference between the northern regime and the aristocratic regime. After all, the nobles were lords, and the commoners were merely their private property.

The inhabitants of the Northern Territory are an inseparable whole. Strictly speaking, they are not responsible to any one individual, but rather bear the responsibility for the entire regime and enjoy the corresponding rights and benefits.

In the past, villages would never have seen so many officials and soldiers. The "upper class" that farmers could see in their entire lives were just several generations of patriarchs from one family.

As the weather gradually turned cooler, two groups of officials from the governing department, responsible for agriculture and animal husbandry, arrived in the village at the same time. Led by the soldiers, they toured and inspected the land and climate.

"The soil and water are quite good, so we can plant some fruit trees. If we establish a cultivation base here, we can continue to promote it to the south in the future."

With rough hands vigorously kneading the soil, the agricultural governor was an old man with gray hair and beard. If it weren't for his decent clothes, he would look no different from an old farmer.

The head of the livestock industry was a young man wearing glasses. He pushed up his glasses, scribbled in his notebook, and spoke in a calm tone.

"Build a chicken farm, with the number of chickens controlled at around two thousand. Next spring, I will arrange for someone to connect with you and first clear the pastures in the west. In addition, Governor Jacob has ordered a significant increase in the number of cattle. If you are interested, you can apply for calves and subsidies."

After seeing the officials off, and facing the villagers' puzzled and suspicious gazes, the squad leader turned away without offering any explanation to the curious villagers.

He had seen too many people who debase themselves. Even during the great purge of nobles in the Northern Territory, many people voluntarily went to lick the boots and became “promising” private soldiers in the hands of nobles, only to die on the battlefield.

He is the Duke's sharpest weapon, a warrior who will create a better tomorrow. If he could, he would use his blood to crush all obstacles in his path.

"I don't understand, Commander Kate, what's the point of us doing this?"

"Soldier, obey the Duke's orders, take care of your families, and don't worry about anything else."

Kate patted the squad leader heavily on the shoulder, then ordered the wagons to be unloaded.

As the weather grew colder, the outside world was naturally not as comfortable as the Northern Territory, which had various welfare facilities. As the highest commander stationed in the Central District, Kate naturally had to take good care of the soldiers who were guarding the Duke's territory.

"Smokeless coal, strong firepower, burns cleanly. I'll give you twenty tons for now. If that's not enough, I'll have the cavalry send me a message."

Kate did not answer the soldier's question. He was a soldier, not a politician. To Kate, the fact that the Duke neither punished these civilians nor allowed them to freely enter and leave the village was already a great favor.

Of course the villagers can run away. Yes, no one is stopping them. Kate would love for them to run far away, preferably overseas.

But these villagers chose to stay and continue their non-violent, non-cooperative approach, which infuriated Kate so much that she wanted to kill a few more chickens to properly intimidate these unruly villagers.

"The Special Forces are making some big moves recently. Be sure to increase patrols. The light cavalry regiment will be stationed on the main road. Keep the soldiers on high alert."

"Yes, Commander Kate."

After seeing off Division Commander Kate, who was still conducting an inspection, the squad leader returned to the bunker to continue today's training.

However, soon, a furtive figure at the edge of the village caught his eye.