Arthur once again scanned the crowd, his youthful face sharp as an eagle, sweeping over every enlightened face:
"No matter if the land given to you is by the river or by the mountain, whether it is fertile or barren, you must first measure it with this standard!"
"After measuring, whether it's more or less, then we can talk about military achievements, then we can talk about merits!"
"Who dares to quarrel endlessly over this matter again!"
He paused, his voice turning bone-chillingly cold, "Question this standard! Question my officers!"
These last words were like a basin of ice water, extinguishing the last bit of hope and dissatisfaction everyone had towards Lucien and Hakon.
Arthur ended his declaration with the four words, "This is the custom!" Each word was like a hammer, driving the new system and regulations deep into the bones of this land.
"Lucien! Hakon!" Arthur turned to Hakon and Lucien, who were already dumbfounded, and gave his order.
"Here! Lord Arthur!" Hakon and Lucien both jolted and quickly responded.
Arthur looked at the two enlightened men, pointed to the square on the ground, and began to arrange:
"Your task is to use this rope as a standard to create more identical long ropes."
"Then, you will each lead a team, divided into several groups, and take these 'Arthur Ropes' to distribute land, to measure every inch of land under my rule!"
"I want to know how many 'suleiman acress' I truly possess!"
"Compile detailed figures, distribute land, register it, the sooner the better, and put the results on my desk!"
"Yes! Lord Arthur!" The two no longer dared to be negligent in the slightest and immediately took the order loudly.
Although the order was given, Arthur was still worried that the statistical work for such a large amount of data would exceed their cultural level, as it involved extensive numerical calculations. However, at present, this was the only way; he couldn't possibly go and count himself. But for land division, the two of them should have no problem.
"Damn it! Without educated people, it's impossible to move an inch!" Arthur cursed under his breath.
Without further words, Arthur cast a final glance at the soldiers, who were now as docile as sheep, then turned his horse and, with his Rider Guard, rode away in a cloud of dust.
On the plain, only Lucien and Hakon remained, directing the crowd to begin the tense and orderly land measurement. The sound of hammering stakes completely replaced the previous clamor and disputes.
Since Arthur established the rule of the "suleiman acres" and rode away with his Rider Guard in a cloud of dust.
Lucien and Hakon felt that since Arthur's arrival, this work had truly become much easier.
The soldiers, and those who had previously been red-faced from arguing over land size, now became unusually compliant.
They had witnessed Lord Arthur's methods, and more importantly, they had seen a clear, simple, and undeniable standard.
The essence of humanity is not to worry about scarcity but about inequality. It is understandable that military merits lead to unequal distribution, but previously, soldiers had watched the land distributors measure land by paces, and their dissatisfaction grew with each passing moment.
Lucien and Hakon watched in shock as those who had previously been glaring at each other now bowed their heads before the "Arthur Ruler."
When standard "suleiman acress" were marked out one by one, a long-lost smile appeared on everyone's face.
"Hey, Rob, look, this piece of land is mine! Not too much, not too little, five Lord suleiman acress!" A beaming old soldier, with his wife and child in each arm, gestured towards the newly measured land, grinning and constantly muttering to his companion beside him, "My family's private land! My family! Family!"
"Exactly! Before, how much was distributed was entirely up to Lord Lucien and Lord Hakon's two legs!" Rob's tone still held some resentment towards Lucien and Hakon, "It still has to be Lord Arthur! Lord Arthur is fair!"
"Exactly! Exactly! Lord Arthur is fair!" The surrounding soldiers echoed, "Lord Arthur! He's truly as just as the Heavenly Father!"
"Yes! Just as just as the Heavenly Father!!!"
Lucien and Hakon listened to these discussions, their hearts filled with mixed emotions, their faces flushed with shame. They lowered their heads and worked in silence, secretly vowing to learn culture. They had been driven frantic by the constant disputes and unfairness of these people before.
While directing the measurements, they also collected feedback from the soldiers. The more they listened, the more they admired Lord Arthur. He was clearly a young man, yet so capable, more mature than them.
As dusk approached and the sun began to set, when the preliminary measurement and division of the first batch of land came to an end, Lucien and Hakon dared not delay and immediately went to Arthur's temporary castle to report.
Arthur was at a simple wooden table outside the castle, looking at the small castle in front of him, seemingly drawing something.
"Lord Arthur!" The two walked up to him and respectfully bowed.
Arthur looked up, his gaze still fixed on the castle before him: "How did things go?"
Hakon stepped forward, saying with a touch of excitement: "Reporting to Lord Arthur! The method of the suleiman acres is truly effective! Today, a large area of land near the river has been basically measured and divided, and all previous disputes have been settled!"
"Half a day's time accomplished what several days before could not!"
Lucien also stepped forward and interjected: "Yes! Lord Arthur! The soldiers and common people are all convinced by this standard! Everyone is praising you, Lord!"
"They say! Lord, you are as fair and just as the Heavenly Father!"
"Everyone says! With the suleiman acres! There will be no more tricks in land distribution in the future! Who is right and who is wrong will be clear at a glance!"
"Very good!" Arthur evaluated briefly, then turned his head and asked with a smile, "So! What are the numbers?"
The two raised their hands to scratch their heads, then lowered their heads in silence.
Lucien steeled himself, looked up, and spoke, his voice a bit dry: "Lord Arthur... Lord, how many Mus exactly, how many Mus in total... this... this will still take time... to carefully... carefully tally and count."
Seeing Arthur stop and remain expressionless, he became even more anxious and quickly added: "And, Lord, as you know, we... we... we can't do calculations, so counting these numbers is indeed... indeed a bit slow."
Hakon also looked up, a little embarrassed.
Arthur was somewhat shocked by their lack of mental agility, but he could also understand.
Arthur's right hand caressed his cheek, unable to bear to look directly. "Tell me how many soldiers had their land measured today."
This question, for Lucien and Hakon, was clearly much easier than calculating the total number of Mus.
He now finally understood the saying that one relies on martial men to conquer the world, but once the world is conquered, the martial men are dismissed and the literati are relied upon to govern. By multiplying the number of soldiers by five, he would know the amount of land distributed today.
Although they were not adept at summing large amounts of land data, as the direct implementers, they had a general idea of how many people received land today.
Lucien and Hakon exchanged glances and began to recall in their minds.
"Lord Arthur..." Hakon spoke first, stammering, "Today... today by the river, the soldiers who received land, roughly... roughly fifty... no... about sixty, right?"
After speaking, he looked at Lucien, not very confident.
Lucien frowned and thought: "Hmm, maybe... it should be close to seventy soldiers..."
Arthur: "..."
Arthur was both astonished and pale, looking up at the sky:
"Cultural education! It cannot wait!"
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