Arthur's gaze fell upon the excitedly cheering crowd.
He lowered the rider's hand and raised his right hand to signal for silence, and the crowd quieted down, looking at him.
With a 'clang', Arthur drew the longsword from his waist and held it high above his head.
The men in the crowd immediately followed suit, drawing their swords.
Arthur spoke calmly: "Since that is the case! We will go and take the land!" There were no superfluous words; if they didn't give it, it would be taken!
For the four hundred soldiers, those men who yearned for land and a place to settle down, the anticipation for the future in their hearts found an outlet at this moment.
They all raised their longswords, battle axes, and spears high, the cold glint of their weapons merging into a continuous white ocean in the morning light.
"Take the land!!!" Someone was the first to shout, and immediately after, a mountain-shaking, tsunami-like roar echoed through the heavens. "Take the land!!!"
Even the women and children, at this moment, forgot their fear; they clenched their fists, their eyes gleaming with excitement, cheering on their men.
The song praising Arthur and the three hundred soldiers began again, even more impassioned.
Arthur looked at the scene before him with satisfaction; people relied on a surge of spirit, and even more so an army. With a single push, what he wanted was this momentum.
The other party had already committed numerous grave offenses: refusing to swear allegiance, occupying the lord's land, explicitly refusing to return it, and shaming the lord's reputation.
Arthur turned to look at the fields. "Now, let me see if he dares to draw his sword against the lord."
He looked at Lucien and Hakon and spoke again, his voice calm: "Hakon, Lucien, take your men and delineate the land for them."
"Additionally, have the riders divide into three teams, carrying my Black Lion banner, and go to all my villages. Tell them that their Lord Arthur has arrived."
"From today onwards, they are to pay taxes and rent to me, not to that rebellious Knight."
"Now is tax season. Have them deliver the taxes and rent to our camp within three days."
"This year, I only require one-tenth of their harvest, whether it be grain, Silver Stags, or anything else, it is acceptable."
The crowd stopped setting up camp and, under his leadership, over a thousand people marched resolutely towards the vast plains and grasslands.
Under the large tree at the entrance of Near River Village, the villagers were gathered by four of Arthur's riders.
The hooves of the riders' horses pounded on the dirt road, making dull thudding sounds, and with each sound, the villagers' fear and worry increased.
The crowd looked at Arthur's four riders with frightened and terrified eyes.
The old village chief was helped out, his back hunched, and the wrinkles on his face like cracks.
Kaff, the captain of the four riders, spurred his horse forward a step and, from a commanding position, announced Arthur's order.
His voice was loud and full of arrogance: "From today onwards, this land belongs to Lord Arthur. All taxes and rent shall be paid to Lord Arthur."
"Lord Arthur only requires one-tenth of your harvest this year, whether it be grain, Silver Stags, or anything else, it is acceptable, and it must be delivered within three days."
"To only require such a minimal tax and rent! You have surely never seen such a benevolent master!"
Upon hearing this, the old village chief's murky eyes rippled. He had been appointed as the village chief and steward by the Terry Family due to his high moral standing in the village.
The old village chief bowed his head deeply and sighed profoundly: "My Lord, we truly cannot pay."
Kaff's eyebrows furrowed, and he reprimanded angrily: "What did you say?"
In his opinion, Lord Arthur only asked for one-tenth of their tax and rent this year, which was so benevolent that he doubted such a thing could be found anywhere in Westeros!
"My Lord." The old village chief's voice was hoarse and low, yet each word was clear: "We need to pay taxes to the Terry Family. If we pay another portion, we will die."
"Did you not understand!" The rider Gail could no longer bear it and roared in anger. He had once been a soldier of Daiding City, and his whip cracked loudly on the ground. "You only need to pay taxes and rent to the sole owner of this land!"
"My Lord, we cannot avoid paying the Terry Family's tax." The old village chief raised his head, his eyes showing a calm resignation akin to despair. "Knight Terry will hang us, burn our houses, and kill our livestock."
"If we had the ability, we truly would want to pay two sets of taxes, even if we starved to death, but this year we truly have nothing extra."
"Even after paying the Terry Family's taxes and rent, many of us will starve to death."
The rider captain Kaff and the other two soldiers fell silent; they had all once been farmers and knew the hardships of a farmer.
Gail's face was flushed; Knight Terry's insults towards Arthur were still ringing in his ears.
"Old man!" Gail roared, "Do you think our Lord Arthur is benevolent! That you don't fear our Lord Arthur! Is that why you dare not pay our Lord Arthur's tax!"
The old village chief fell silent, implicitly acknowledging the statement. He had previously heard that Lord Arthur seemed to be a young man and also a benevolent and kind lord.
"I am giving you one last chance!!! Old man!!! Pay taxes to our Lord Arthur!!!" Gail almost gritted out each word in anger.
But the old man still bowed his head deeply and remained silent.
"Good! Good! Good!" The rage in Gail's heart was completely ignited by this silent acknowledgment. He abruptly dismounted, and his longsword 'clanged' as it left its sheath.
A flash of snowy white sword light, and Gail swung his sword at the old man's neck. The old man didn't even have time to utter a sound before his head flew off, and blood gushed out like a fountain, staining the dust.
The old man's head, with eyes wide open, twitched a few times before falling into a pool of blood.
The entire scene was dead silent; neither the villagers nor even the other three soldiers were in shock.
The women and children among the villagers let out suppressed, terrified sobs.
"Gail!!!" A rider named Hawke realized what had happened. His face was filled with shock and anger. He dismounted and grabbed Gail by the collar. "You bastard!!!"
The two wrestled together, rolling in the blood-stained mud, regardless of how the rider captain Kaff shouted.
In Arthur's tent, he had just been informed of the numerous villages refusing to pay taxes and the brawling incidents.
Arthur could somewhat understand the villagers' thoughts; after all, he was new to the area, and they couldn't be sure if he could truly establish a firm foothold.
In truth, he only needed them to pay one-tenth of their taxes this year, which would be equivalent to acknowledging his rule. As long as they paid him even a cup of water, it would be equivalent to requesting his protection.
Hakon knelt on one knee, his face showing shame and anger, reporting the brawling incident in full detail.
Arthur listened quietly, his face devoid of expression. He was currently using his shortsword to cut the damned steak in front of him; without seasoning, it was like chewing wax.
"My Lord, although Gail was reckless, he was also upholding your authority. That old man was indeed resisting tax payment." Lucien, having understood the entire process, voiced his thoughts.
Arthur stopped his actions and looked up:
"Gail will receive twenty lashes! Tell him his crime is not killing a villager! His crime is acting without an officer's command!!!"
"Hawke will also receive twenty lashes! Tell him his crime is! Attacking a fellow soldier!!!"
"The flogging for both will be carried out by their officer, Kaff! After it is done!"
"Hakon, you will then flog their officer, Kaff, forty times!!!"
"Tell Kaff his crime is lax discipline!!! And ineffective restraint!!!"
"Tell them that I should have confiscated a portion of their military merits and private land, but considering there was no precedent beforehand, from this moment on, it will not happen again!"
"Yes, Lord Arthur!" Hakon took the order and left.
Lucien looked at Arthur excitedly; he had learned something!
Arthur gave up on cutting the damned steak. He suddenly realized that his army still had quite a few problems.
Considering that rewards should be given for merits and punishments for faults, since private land was to be awarded for merits, then private land should be confiscated for faults.
However, this had not been announced beforehand, which felt like punishing without teaching. Therefore, he could only clarify the rules now.
Arthur looked at the damned steak again; it tasted like chewing wax, and he couldn't even cut it with a knife. Finding a cook needed to be put on the schedule!!!
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