The Path to Lordship Begins in the North

"As for the third point."

Linde looked at the serfs who were so emaciated that they were almost unrecognizable and said, "The tents and fences that you are to set up today are the first tasks I have assigned. Although there is no supervisor now, I have had you divided into groups and assigned each group a specific area of ​​work. Only when you meet my requirements will the work be considered complete."

Facing the dazed crowd below, Linde continued, "The first five groups to finish their work will get to eat meat tonight."

The serfs, who had been somewhat confused, suddenly had a glint in their eyes.

How long has it been since I've had meat?

Even outside of wartime, it's not easy for ordinary people to get a meal of meat, let alone in the chaotic North. In the eyes of these serfs, only true noble lords can afford to eat meat.

Most importantly, what Lind said wasn't just empty talk; it was something you could eat tonight, right tonight!

Many people unconsciously licked their lips, and the crowd even stirred, wanting to know which group they were in and what their work area was.

Seeing the hope gradually igniting in the eyes of the people, Lin De breathed a sigh of relief. He now needed something similar to Shang Yang's act of setting up a wooden pole to establish his authority, and it seemed that he had already succeeded more than halfway.

Amid the growing restlessness of the crowd and the increasing volume of discussion, Linde continued, "Starting today, those who participate in heavy work each day will be given an extra meal in the morning. At the breakfast distribution point, border soldiers will inform you of your group and today's work area. Remember, looting the daily rations is strictly prohibited. Anyone who loots will be punished along with their entire group and will be barred from working the next day. Those who repeatedly violate this rule will have their entire group disqualified from working."

"As an example, everyone will have an extra breakfast today. Soldiers will guide you to the breakfast distribution area shortly."

After speaking, Linde casually walked down the platform with his hands behind his back. After a moment of silence, the serfs and commoners below the platform shouted and followed the soldiers to the place where breakfast was being distributed.

Laurie and her border troops had already cooked wheat porridge and were maintaining order at the scene. Meanwhile, many border soldiers who had been selected as group leaders were holding booklets and shouting the names of their group members.

Because of what Lind said at the end, no one dared to rush forward and grab it; what they would lose was not just their job, but also their future.

Even the most timid serfs, though starving, dared not speak aloud, but simply followed closely behind their group leader, waiting for the porridge to be distributed, fearing that they would be disqualified from their work if they violated the rules.

Lila felt a little uneasy watching these orderly serfs. Although she already knew what Linde was going to do beforehand, and some of the things she had arranged herself, she still felt an incredible power when she saw the serfs, who used to only try to slack off under the whip, spontaneously starting to obey the rules.

Will these people slack off again? Lila didn't know, but at least no one would deny Lind's authority anymore.

"Take the meat out and stew it into a soup when it's close to dinner time in the evening."

Lind emphasized, "Make sure to stew the broth in a place where everyone can see it, and make sure there's enough meat for five groups of people."

"Do we really need to prepare enough for so many people, my lord?"

Although she had a feeling that Lind was serious, Lila still found it hard to believe that he had given her the order personally.

"Of course, as I said, now all orders in the territory are subject to my authority."

"No, I am not questioning your authority."

Lila explained, “What I mean is, even if it’s enough for five groups of people, you only need to prepare a little meat about the same amount as wild fruit, and those serfs will be grateful. Even if they don’t appreciate it, you can just say that I made it.”

Lila, who was chosen by Grand Duke Lars to assist Lena, knew very well that nobles usually couldn't openly discuss such matters and needed someone to take the blame.

The noble lord cannot be wrong; the fault lies with the subordinates. If these serfs really cause a riot, Linde can feign ignorance and say: "It was all the subordinates who made a mistake in carrying out the order. My initial request was for the flesh of five groups of people."

Lila is now actively taking the blame.

“Head maid, please remember this: from now on, do not try to guess what the emperor wants, and do not interpret things on your own. I say how much meat, and that is how much! Or is it that the supplies Grand Duke Lars brought are not even enough meat for five groups of people?”

In that instant, Lila felt unprecedented pressure. The De who used to like being on equal footing with her seemed to have disappeared. This was the pressure from absolute power, and it had nothing to do with Lind himself, but rather the power holder was emphasizing his absolute control over power.

But this feeling quickly disappeared. After Lira, with beads of sweat the size of soybeans, fell to the ground and nodded in agreement, Lind seemed to have reverted to being the gentle lord he always was.

Watching Lila go to arrange the meat, Linde shook his head helplessly. It seemed that it was too difficult to change these people's mindsets in a short time. Many policies were bad because of the need to interpret the orders from above. Even the higher-ups themselves liked to play the role of riddles. Although this style of governance was very suitable for controlling people, it was obviously very detrimental to the early development of the territory.

In short—riddlers get out of the gray-collar world.

Linde flipped through the population list and the topographical map of the territory. He knew that road construction and land reclamation still needed to be planned, but the territory's population was clearly not keeping up.

The supplies that Grand Duke Lars brought were more than Lind had imagined, but most of them were for Lena to maintain a respectable noble life. Lind planned to discuss with Lena later whether Grand Duke Lars could bring more practical tools, and preferably find a few experienced craftsmen to come to the territory.

The border troops that Laurie brought were far from enough, and there were still too few literate people in the territory. However, Linde did not want to use the noble knights around Lena, and it was not a solution to keep using the maids that Lena brought.

"Hey."

Lind had originally thought that with the help of the Lars family and his experience from his previous life, managing the territory would be a breeze. But even with abundant resources and things progressing smoothly, Lind still felt exhausted.

The work-point system was merely a reference to the previous life, hastily put together in one night, and it was a system that combined work points and wages, making it a kind of alternative work-for-relief program.

The territory is currently producing nothing and is only surviving thanks to Grand Duke Lars. Linde has no practical experience in road construction and building, and the problems they will encounter in the future will only increase.

Just as Linde was pondering, Lena came to Linde's side with excited steps and said excitedly, "This is really amazing. I have never seen serfs so disciplined and willing to work."

Linde looked in the direction Lena was pointing and saw several groups of serfs waiting in line for porridge. He urged the group leaders to go and do their work first, and then come back for porridge. It was a clear example of their initiative.

"How did you manage to do that? You managed to command them without using a whip at all."

Watching the chattering Reina, Lind pulled out a booklet and said, "This thing is much better than a whip."

This booklet records the household registration of everyone on the territory, their respective groups, and their work points.

Lena flipped through two pages but still couldn't understand it, so she simply praised her, "Although I don't understand it at all, it seems really impressive. You should definitely be in charge of managing the territory."

After saying that, Lena proudly puffed out her chest, as if she were also proud of herself.

But Linde poured cold water on her enthusiasm, holding up the territory's planning map to Lena and saying, "How dare you say that? When you were building the territory, you didn't even dig drainage ditches? Even now, it's just tents, but you didn't even build a drainage system for a place where hundreds of people live?"

"Drainage system? What is a drainage system?"

Looking at the innocent-looking Reina, Lind realized that he was talking to a brick wall.

"Okay, it's fine, go play by yourself."

Seemingly sensing a hint of disappointment in Lind's tone, Lena patted Lind's shoulder casually and said:

"Hey, isn't this brother here? I trust you to do things. Just focus on building up the territory, and remember to come to me if you encounter any difficulties."

Otherwise, why would Lind describe Lena as having a kind of clear-eyed stupidity? Lena is exactly the same as in the game, completely oblivious to the power she holds.

If this were a certain legend, Lena probably wouldn't survive more than two episodes before she'd be helping others count their money.

How could such a guy possibly rebel in the future?

Linde stared at Lena's face, which was full of heroic spirit but also somewhat silly, and fell into deep thought.