Rose Empire

Volume 138: Chapter 125 Chapter Another Victory

At first, almost everyone thought that the dismissal of Jonathan Hackman and the appointment of John Rice, who had always been known as a moderate, as the county governor of Umbratu County meant that the political storm hanging over Umbratu County would soon subside. This of course included John Rice himself.

However, it was only after he actually took over the government affairs of Ambratu that John Rice fully understood how much harm Jonathan Hackman had caused to the former citizens of Ambratu.

That demon not only killed more than a thousand respected citizens, he also tried every means to slander and defame the former citizens of the Ambratu city-state, deprived them of their property, moved their families out of the city center, forced their families to do the most menial jobs, and forced the widows of citizen soldiers to marry free people...

This series of measures almost drove the former Ambratu citizens into the dust. If the citizen class had not ruled Ambratu for hundreds of years, their accumulated power would not have been eliminated overnight. John Rice had no doubt that the former Ambratu citizens might now be the lowest group of people in the city.

"That's my family's shop! My family's shop! I can eat it however I want! I can smash it however I want!"

A young man in coarse cloth shouted in a hoarse voice.

"This is the shop I bought at a huge price. The tickets are all here. How can you say it's yours!" Another middle-aged man in a silk robe was waving a stack of parchment in his hand, also furious with a red face.

The man in the coarse cloth was a former citizen of Ambratu named Ronnie Kane, who had just returned from hard labor on the canal.

The Kane family was originally a large family in the city-state of Ambratu. There were two Kane family elders in the city-state council. Harry Kane and Nuno Kane have both died in the purge launched by Jonathan Hackman. Ronnie Kane is one of the few surviving heirs of the Kane family. He survived because he was too young, only 18 years old this year. Jonathan Hackman felt that he had no influence and could not become a political totem for the remaining citizens of Ambratu.

The man in the silk robe is a wealthy civilian from Ambratu County, his name is Medavoy. In the city-state period, Medavoy was a freeman living in the outer city of Ambratu. He accumulated some wealth through sea trade and wanted to be promoted to a citizen of the city-state, but he spent nearly half of his wealth but failed to realize his long-cherished wish. Just when Medavoy was about to lose hope, the city-state was gone.

Viscount Lanwan changed the city-state of Ambratu into the County of Ambratu, and the executioner Jonathan Hackman took office. While wielding the butcher knife against the former citizens of Ambratu, he also auctioned off their property.

Since he could no longer be a superior citizen, it would be nice to satisfy his life as a citizen. So Medavoy exchanged all his remaining assets for the houses and shops of former citizens. One of the taverns once belonged to the Kane family.

Although Jonathan did not kill all the members of the Kane family, the Kane family was once one of the most powerful families in Umbratu, so naturally they would suffer the most severe blow from Jonathan.

Ronnie Kane returned to Ambratu alive, but found that all that was left of his home was a thatched hut and a few rocky "fields", and the family was poorly clothed and hungry.

Although Ronnie had to work all day on the river, Viscount Lanwan still guaranteed three meals of wheat rice a day in order to ensure that the slaves could get the minimum calories required for heavy physical work. However, after returning home, Ronnie found that he couldn't even eat enough.

Filled with hunger and grief, Ronnie ran to his former tavern and ate and drank to his heart's content, then tried to leave without paying. The tavern waiter stopped him, so he picked up a stool and smashed it on the waiter's head. He then started doing odd jobs in the tavern until he was captured by onlookers and taken to the county magistrate's mansion.

When Medavoy heard that something had happened in his shop, he hurried over. Before he came, he knew that the new county magistrate John Rice was the former elder of the Ambratu city-state, so he was particularly careful and brought the ticket he used to buy the tavern from the county magistrate's mansion.

In addition to Medavoy and Ronnie, there were many people watching the trial. These people were clearly divided into two camps. On one side were the former Ambratu freemen who supported Medavoy. After Charlotte occupied Ambratu, they almost achieved class advancement and gained a lot of benefits. On the other side were the former Ambratu citizens who supported Ronnie. Like Ronnie, they had suffered heavy losses in wealth and status, and they all felt the same hardship and distress as Ronnie.

While Madavoy and Ronnie were arguing with each other, their supporters were also using foul language, shouting and cursing.

John Rice, who was caught between the two sides, felt as if the devil's sound was filling his ears and his temples were aching slightly.

"Quiet! Quiet! Quiet!"

John Rice yelled many times in a row, and the courtroom finally became quiet.

After weighing the pros and cons for a long time, John Rice had to sigh and said, "I already know the whole story. Ronnie Kane ate at the tavern without paying, and also injured the tavern waiter, damaging the tavern's finances. He must pay compensation. However, considering that Ronnie Kane cannot afford the compensation, the money will be paid by the County Magistrate's Office."

In his heart, John Rice wanted to favor Ronnie. He also thought it was unreasonable for the Kane family's property to be sold so casually, but it was really difficult for him to do so at the moment. It was clear from the court scene that the number of people supporting Medavoy was more than twice that of those supporting Ronnie. If John Rice dared to judge Ronnie not guilty, the mainstream public opinion in Ambratu would explode immediately. He had the title of county governor but could not suppress so many people.

However, John Rice also helped Ronnie as much as possible and used the money from the County Governor's Office to pay Ronnie compensation privately. This kind of nonsense could only be done while the civilians of Ambulatu County had not yet figured out the difference between the County Governor and the City Lord.

However, before Medavoy raised any objections, another voice rang out from Ronnie's side: "Wait a minute, Mr. County Magistrate, I don't agree with this verdict."

As he spoke, a man in his twenties or thirties with dark skin walked out from the crowd behind Ronnie. Seeing this man, John Rice felt even more headache.

This man was the author of the petition that Charlotte had shown John Rice, Bill Capilano—Capilano was the last name Bill gave himself to commemorate the days when his family had been slaves on the Capilano family estate, and also to demonstrate his loyalty to the two deceased Capilano elders.

Because Bill "defeated" the evil Jonathan Hackman with a heartfelt petition, former citizens of Ambrato generally believed that he was worthy of the Capino surname, and John Rice was moved by the young man's loyalty and kindness when he first met Bill.

However, John Rice never expected that the greatest resistance he would face after taking office in Umbratu County would come from Bill, the "last hero of the city-state."

"Medavoy's tavern was forcibly taken away from the Kane family by the devil Jonathan. There is no reason to use it at all. Therefore, the purchase receipt in Medavoy's hand is also invalid. Sir John should take back the tavern and return it to the Kane family!"

Bill spoke loudly, just like a citizen representative in the city-state era who spoke endlessly and at length at the citizen assembly.

After Bill finished speaking, the former citizens of Ambratu raised their right hands and shouted in agreement - this was also the gesture of expressing approval at the citizens' assembly.

John Rice couldn't help but close his eyes.

This has happened more than once.

When he first took office as county magistrate, John Rice's plan was to first settle the former citizens who returned to Ambrato, and then gradually restore their livelihoods and improve their social status.

However, Bill, under the guise of former citizens, kept urging John Rice to take back everything that originally belonged to them, as if he didn't want to wait any longer.

The result of this is...

"fart!"

"You shameless fellows, do you still think this is a city-state?"

"The Viscount should have killed you all!"

"Go to hell, you bunch of shit left over from the city-state!"

"..."

Medavoy's supporters were immediately furious. They shouted insults, picked up everything at hand and threw them at the other side, and even rolled up their sleeves to fight.

These people were the beneficiaries of the destruction of the city-state. They enjoyed everything that Medavoy enjoyed, and most of the things lost by the citizens of the city-state went into their pockets. The former citizens wanted to take back Medavoy's wealth, which would undoubtedly touch their sensitive nerves.

The former citizens of Ambulatu, who were already very angry, did not flinch. They rushed forward and fought with the free people whom they had always looked down upon.

"Stop! Stop it! Stop!"

John Rice shouted loudly, but it was of no use. There were only a few cats and dogs in his county magistrate's mansion, and they could not stop the fight among hundreds of people.

At this time, a servant happened to rush into the Sheriff's Mansion. John Rice grabbed the servant and asked anxiously: "I asked you to invite Knight Jarrod Garcia. Did you invite him? When will he arrive?"

The servant replied with a sad face: "Knight Garcia said that he is only responsible for resisting foreign enemies. Even if there is trouble in the county governor's mansion, it has nothing to do with him."

"what?"

John Rice was furious, but now was not the time to hold Jarrod Garcia accountable because the fight in the County Magistrate's Mansion had already resulted in casualties.

Just when John Rice was at a loss, a rough and powerful voice rang out: "What are you doing! What are you doing!"

A team of fully armed soldiers entered the county governor's mansion, led by a white-haired knight, Ed Adkins. Behind him followed his daughter, Celine Adkins, who had recently become famous in the Viscount Lanwan.

The people who were fighting stopped immediately, and Medavoy and his supporters immediately knelt down and kowtowed to the knights.

The former citizens of Ambratu were reluctant, but when Ed Adkins pressed the hilt of his sword and glanced at them with a sharp gaze, they had to kneel down.

"General..." John Rice did not know Ed Adkins. "Excuse me, I am the governor of Ambratu County appointed by Viscount Lanwan. What is your name, John Rice?"

A county magistrate who couldn't even manage his own office, Ed Adkins looked at John Rice with a bit of contempt: "Just call me Knight Ed Adkins. The Viscount has ordered me to lead the army to occupy Dorucocha. Mr. County Magistrate, I need you to prepare food and fodder for 3,000 people."

John Rice was shocked when he captured Dorucocha, but he immediately replied, "Yes, sir."

"Prepare a barracks for us outside the South City Gate. We need to be stationed here temporarily." Ed Adkins said again.

"Yes." John Rice answered again.

After leaving the county governor's mansion, Xilin asked in confusion: "Father, why did you tell us our battle plan in front of so many people? Moreover, speed is of the essence in war. We should march overnight. Why would we waste time in Ambratu?"

"I just leaked it to some people on purpose," said Ed Adkins. "The Viscount asked us to capture Dorukocha, but he didn't ask us to actually fight with the Dorukocha people."

"Huh?" Celine was even more confused.

What does it mean to take down Dorukocha without actually fighting with the Dorukocha people?

Will the Dorukocha people voluntarily offer their city-state?

Ed Adkins smiled and didn't explain much to his daughter. Celine soon understood it herself anyway.

In the following days, Ed Adkins led two thousand soldiers and a squad of griffin knights, advancing slowly towards Dorucocha at a snail's pace. They marched five kilometers a day, stopped to rest after ten kilometers, and even set up camp on the spot. A war that was about to start was manipulated by Ed Adkins like a spring outing.

After witnessing Charlotte's thunderous raid, some soldiers and even the people in the city of Ambrato couldn't help but complain when they saw Ed Adkins's slow progress. They thought that Ed Adkins was really old, slow in movement, and afraid to move forward.

Just as Ed Adkins and Celine expected, the news that Charlotte was going to occupy Dorukocha was quickly passed on to the Dorukocha Elders' Council - this was a matter of course, there were thousands of people in the city of Ambrato who were dissatisfied with Charlotte, and they were happy to create trouble for Charlotte's operations.

However, after receiving the intelligence, the only two remaining elders of the Dorukocha Elders' Council, Balotelli and Samuel, got together to discuss and made the final decision - to surrender to Viscount Lanwan.

PS: Thank you for your monthly tickets, blade recommendation tickets, and rewards. I will compile and publish the specific data after I wake up tomorrow! I am a little sleepy now~~~

PS2: Thank you for your corrections. The previous errors have been corrected.

Volume 139: Chapter 126 Chapter Return of Lilith (Two in One)

Although the "enthusiastic people" of Ambrato who passed the information to them tried their best to encourage Dorucocha and Viscount Lanwan to fight to the end, what else could Balotelli and Samuel do except surrender?

The city-state's public treasury was looted and the city walls were destroyed. The citizen class, which was the cornerstone of the city-state, had no will to fight. When they heard that the enemy was coming, they began to look for places to avoid the war and ignored the mobilization order.

Elder Dorukocha and the citizen militia he led, who were supposed to have returned from the front line of the Aiye Alliance, have not returned yet.

The two major allies behind him, Badan and Carmela, have already signed peace treaties with Viscount Lanwan.

In a nutshell, Dorukocha has reached the edge of the cliff.

Even if Balotelli and Samuel were willing to take up their swords and fight to the death to defend the city-state, it would be difficult to save the situation.

Moreover, not everyone has the courage to sacrifice their lives for the city. Even if they did, the remaining courage of Balotelli and Samuel was worn out by Ed Adkins' slow but steady advance.

So they chose to surrender.

The envoy of Dorukocha's surrender came to Ed Adkins' army. Ed Adkins immediately sped up his march and arrived at the city of Dorukocha in the evening.

Watching the Lanwan Knights and their attendants line up neatly and enter Dorukocha without bloodshed, Ed Adkins couldn't help but sigh to his daughter: "Celine, sometimes war is not just about the swords on the battlefield, but also the hearts of people outside the battlefield."

Celine curled her lips, a little disapproving. In her opinion, if her father had let her attack, she would have taken down Dorukocha long ago.

Celine was not the only one who had similar thoughts. The knights and squires under Ed Adkins were actually looking forward to another battle with the Dorukocha people. After the last battle of Dorukocha, the generous honors and material rewards given by Charlotte greatly inspired the fighting enthusiasm of the Lanwan soldiers. They were eager to fight and to make meritorious deeds again.

In particular, the main force brought by Ed Adkins were the knights whose service period was about to expire. These knights would return to the Green Plains soon, and they would not be treated as well as Charlotte when they returned, so they wanted to make some more money before returning home.

Unfortunately, Charlotte didn't give them this opportunity.

Ed Adkins was executing Charlotte's battle plan exactly.

The cost of fighting a war for Viscount Lanwan is too high. The city-state of Dorukocha has been squeezed dry. Charlotte does not want to pay too high a price for it. The best outcome is to let Dorukocha surrender voluntarily.

The news of Dorukocha's surrender was quickly sent back to Viscount Lanwan's Castle by raven.

"Congratulations, Your Excellency the Viscount, for once again saving a city from the evil and despicable city-state bugs."

Jonathan Hackman, who had just returned from the Sokya Peninsula, congratulated Charlotte.

After visiting Dorucocha, Bataan and Camera, Jonathan Hackman went to the city-states of Sudaman and Coloro.

The eldest and second brothers had already surrendered, so the two small city-states naturally did not dare to kick Jonathan Hackman out like Dorucocha did. However, they were weak and poor and could not afford to pay Charlotte's claim of two million fusos, so Jonathan Hackman forced the two city-states to sign two "Labor Dispatch Agreements" and "Economic Cooperation Agreements".

The former requires that the two city-states of Sudaman and Kororo must send a certain number of laborers to the territory of Viscount Lanwan every six months to serve Viscount Lanwan. In return, Viscount Lanwan will provide food and tools needed for labor to the laborers.

The latter demanded that Sudaman and Kororo allow merchants from the Viscount Lanwan's territory to enter and exit the city-state freely and trade freely, allow Lanwan people to purchase land, open mines, cut down trees and other activities in their city-states, and exempt them from all taxes.

Except for a slight setback in Dorucocha, Jonathan Hackman brought back a profit of nearly 4 million francs for Charlotte, which was a fruitful trip.

Now, Dorucocha, who had tried to barely maintain his dignity, also surrendered - Cecilia finally understood what Charlotte meant when she said "the real spoils have not yet arrived."

Charlotte put away the letter Cecilia sent and said to Jonathan with a smile, "This is also thanks to Mr. Hackman's running around for me. You have worked hard."

"I dare not. It is my honor to serve you."

Jonathan Hackman bows once again to Charlotte.

"Does Mr. Hackman need a vacation to recuperate for a while?" Charlotte asked again.

Jonathan was stunned at first, but soon understood what he meant. He straightened his back and responded with full energy, "Thank you for your concern, Your Excellency. I am in very good health and do not need to rest."

After running through five city-states and getting beaten, even a young man should have felt exhausted. However, Jonathan Hackman, with his white hair and beard, was full of energy, as if he had regained his youth. It seemed that he really meant it when he called the citizens of the city-states bugs, and he felt very happy to be able to step on the bugs into the mud with his own feet.

"That's good," Charlotte said with a smile, "I plan to change the city-state of Dorukocha into Dorukocha County, and you will be the first county governor."

"Yes!" Jonathan replied immediately.

"The situation in Dorukocha is different from that in Ambratu. There are still many extraordinary mercenaries on the loose in Dorukocha, and even the Dorukocha Council of Elders cannot control them. If these people are not handled properly, they will seriously endanger public security, disrupt the city order, and even threaten your own life. You need to take a softer approach to cleanse Dorukocha and restore the city order as soon as possible. However..."

Charlotte paused and continued.

"If you have no other choice, don't be soft-hearted. You can cooperate with Ed Adkins and let him lead the knights to help you."

Charlotte's last words were tinged with blood, but Jonathan did not show any surprise. He bowed again and said, "Yes, sir."

Jonathan Hackman took the order and left, while Charlotte received a long-lost guest - a 1.3-meter-tall adventurer.

When Jonathan visited Korolo, he happened to meet Lilith. The two had met several times before and knew each other quite well. Lilith was planning to return to the Viscount Lanwan's territory, so she returned with the envoy team led by Jonathan.

"Tsk, it's been such a short time since we last met, and your men have already captured Corolo." Lilith enjoyed the cake brought by Linda while marveling at Charlotte's achievement.

"I haven't taken Corolo down yet," Charlotte corrected.

Lilith pointed at the Labor Dispatch Agreement in Charlotte's hand and said, "What's the difference between this and having already taken them over? There are only a hundred or so extraordinary people in the entire city-state of Cororo. Do they dare to resist you?"

Charlotte shook her head and said, "These things are not that simple. You should first tell me what you have gained from this trip."