Steel, Guns, and the Industrial Party in Another World

Chapter 272:

Eileen had some reservations about suppressing the riot. Had she been informed to attend the meeting that night, she would have definitely advised Paul to first try persuasion and negotiation. On this point, Hansel and Cecil’s concerns were justified.

What really upset her was the attitude of the men towards her. As a high-ranking official in the Administration Council, she was once again excluded from the decision-making process, unaware of the entire situation. Only after the riot was quelled, and the Chief of Staff Schroeder read the military’s report at the meeting, did Eileen learn about the incident, remaining silently resentful throughout the meeting.

Eileen felt like she was just a decorative vase in the Administration Council, admired by the men when convenient, but cast aside when serious matters arose.

Paul explained helplessly, “Oh… my dear Director of Education, you know the power of tradition is strong. Even as a lord, I can’t change things immediately.”

He appeared innocent, though he hadn’t thought of inviting Betty to the meeting that night either.

Eileen understood Paul’s position to some extent. It was already progressive of him, as a lord, to allow a woman to manage the education sector, especially since no one other than the lord himself took education seriously.

When her father, the king, had allowed her sister to share the responsibilities of governance, the resistance from the courtiers was enormous.

“Hmph! I’ll make Abbott and his group shut up sooner or later,” Eileen declared.

Paul encouraged her, “I wish you all the best!”

“Oh, this is no small matter. There are too many people involved. It’s obviously inappropriate for me to decide everything alone as in the past. Therefore, I’ve decided to select five outstanding sheriffs from Alda and Baylding to serve as ‘judges’. They will form the Lord’s Court to jointly review this matter. Cecil and Russ Hayden will be responsible for investigating each person’s actions during the riot and then submit their findings to the judges, who will then determine the appropriate punishment based on the severity of the crimes.”

This was somewhat reassuring to Eileen, who had feared Paul might sentence all the riot participants to death. Among lords holding military and political power, such instances were all too common.

“I also plan to make the ‘Lord’s Court’ a permanent institution to adjudicate all major and minor cases within the territory.”

“Are the local sheriffs not up to the task?” she queried.

“Concentrating law enforcement and judicial powers on one person is too unreasonable. In the future, sheriffs—or rather, police—can only arrest people but not convict them. They must submit cases to the court, and only after the judges formally convict can further punishment be carried out. I believe this will help prevent the abuse of power to some extent.”

After hearing Paul’s explanation, Eileen nodded, “That seems like a good improvement.”

Although the idea was appealing, Paul was troubled by how to centralize these powers under the lord’s manor. Similar to tax farming, in remote rural areas, the phenomenon of private courts and punishments by local landlords and gentry was common. When locals had disputes, their first thought was not to seek the lord, but to turn to locally respected individuals for resolution.

But without a powerful organization to immediately take control of the countryside, he could only gradually enact change.

…

The riot, which Paul named the “4·15 Incident,” had a significant impact on him. Not only was he planning to build a “telegraph” system, but he also intensified the development of the internal guard and the Department of Public Safety.

As early as last year, a “Department of Public Safety” was established within the Administration Council, led by Russ Hayden from the internal guards. However, due to financial constraints and other factors, Russ had been acting as a figurehead. Now, the Administration Council planned to make this department truly functional.

Lakeheart Town aimed to establish a 2,000-strong police force over the next five years. They would replace the old sheriff system to maintain order in various towns and extend their power to rural areas when appropriate.

The internal guard, originally established to protect office spaces and high-ranking officials, was small in scale. Now, Paul intended to develop them into a force similar to the paramilitary police of his previous world, making them a crucial component of public safety. Expanding their size was a necessary step.

Another urgent issue was the livelihood of the salt workers along the coast.

Unlike the emerging industries of porcelain, canned goods, and papermaking, the advent of salt fields had a tremendous impact on the traditional salt industry. Without intervention, this could easily become the root of another uprising.

The Administration Council proposed two solutions:

First, to redirect the young and able-bodied labor force among the salt workers into emerging industries.

Second, to establish government-operated salt fields, absorbing the salt workers as laborers.

However, due to recent wars and a series of new measures, the Administration Council lacked the funds to start such salt fields. Following Paul’s suggestion, the Council only provided technical guidance, allowing the salt workers to build the salt fields themselves. These were named “Collective Salt Fields,” with each family holding shares. To ensure fairness, these fields were managed by officials appointed by the Administration Council, and the profits were distributed among the salt workers according to their shares.

…

The interrogation of the rioters was conducted intensely yet orderly. Considering that many were the primary breadwinners of their families and had acted irrationally only due to coercion by Baden, most were reprimanded and sent home, albeit saddled with fines they might never be able to fully pay.

The Lord’s Court ultimately identified 50 individuals who couldn’t be treated leniently. Either they had committed robbery or murder, or they had been ringleaders in the riot.

“Lord, this is our preliminary judgment. Of these 50 people, all but one named Biso have been apprehended,” reported Thomas, the appointed Chief Judge of the Lord’s Court, as he presented the verdict to Paul.

“Someone escaped?”

“Yes, this Biso is highly suspicious. According to the salt workers, he was idle and unproductive on normal days, yet incited them to resist the lord’s army to the end during the riot, only to disappear after the battle began. We suspect there’s something problematic about him.”

“Alright, let Cecil investigate this. Some of these people are quite young, not even 16. Isn’t it too harsh to hang them or sentence them to decades of hard labor?”

“You are the lord; you can decide their fate,” said Thomas.

Paul pondered, “Let me think more about these individuals.”