Chapter 1399: The Brutal Plan

Chapter 1399 -753: The Brutal Plan

War is just a means; defeating the wealthy and redistributing the land is the goal.

Lance finally reveals the true purpose: to consume those nobles and prominent families so that Hamlet can alleviate internal conflicts and safely endure this toughest winter.

A winter’s time is enough for him to sort out and solve problems, so the coming spring will bring a healthy and vibrant Hamlet.

“To distribute those lands to them? Wouldn’t that be unfair to some people? And should the wilderness be developed or not?”

Grendel understood what Lance was saying, but also pointed out some issues.

Initially, Lance had agreed with those refugees that after working for Hamlet for one to three years, they would gain Hamlet citizenship and land, but now directly distributing land, isn’t…

And once those people have land, will they still develop the wilderness?

If money is spent to hire people to develop land, won’t that still drag down the economy?

Honestly, Lance was a bit speechless, because he hadn’t expected to defeat the old ancestors in just one year—he originally planned to endure hardship for a few years, but now the situation was as it was, and he could only bite the bullet and carry on.

“It’s said to be distributing land, but it doesn’t specify which land; letting them have the first batch is enough, moving those people over can strengthen our control over the local area.”

A long time ago, Lance had written an edict directly claiming ownership of the city land, and back when the Mercenary Guild came knocking, it was precisely for this matter.

The fields surrounding Hamlet can’t be parceled out to ordinary people, because Lance already had development plans, and distributing it now would delay the urbanization process.

Similarly, several already-developed farms nearby are meant to ensure the city’s supply of materials.

The future is a place for experimental farms and animal husbandry research, which can’t be released but should continue adopting the collective farming system.

All sorts of policies are complex and cumbersome, needing to consider every aspect and even feeling more challenging than battling enemies.

But difficult or not, they must be done; once started, the rest will naturally follow…

“Moreover, if you disband the troops and send them back to farm, will they be willing?”

Loyalty and people’s hearts are one thing; these people might obey the Lord’s orders to lay down muskets, but they may not be genuinely willing.

“What a joke, the soldiers I’ve painstakingly trained aren’t to be used like this; their literacy rate is actually higher than schools, they’ve endured the trials of war, and they are valuable wherever placed.

What we need to do is transition some soldiers to serve locally as militia instructors, training the militia in their spare time, which costs less while also providing reserve forces.

Of course, if they choose to retire themselves, I don’t mind either; some people are indeed tired and no longer wish to be involved in these matters.”

Surely, you don’t really believe those ordinary people are all good people?

Lance has been interacting with those refugees from the start: ignorant, superstitious, stubborn, maybe some among them are good, but the majority are confused and numb like those soldiers in ruins.

The environment certainly limits their malice; otherwise, their evil could be referenced by these sudden invaders who quickly degenerate thereafter.

Managing them isn’t just about parachuting one or two mayors or village chiefs skilled in affairs; there needs to be a force strong enough to convince them.

Ultimately, suddenly elevating them from the slave era to capitalist sprouting, this process neither awakens nor confronts them—there’s no concept of it.

Educating them is a long and arduous process, but Lance won’t be polite to them; a few more or less on road construction won’t matter to him.

“I intend to use this land distribution opportunity to consolidate villages; many small settlements evade taxes or unrest by hiding in deep mountains and forests, which have no necessity for preservation.

Relocating those villages with fewer than a hundred members to nearby towns or merging several villages, sorting through the people while preparing simple educational enlightenment.”

Lance unveiled a very ruthless decision, completely disregarding those people’s feelings, because he aims to strengthen management, which in turn makes it easier to implement policies and matters like education and healthcare.

Another important reason is to connect them with road construction; if too chaotic, roads can’t be properly built.

Lance plans on having training classes responsible for affairs, retired troops responsible for armament, and police accountable for security, forming three-party cooperation, entrusting professional matters to professionals.

Simultaneously, it’s also for checks and balances; surely three parties can’t all be corrupted at once, enhancing central control over localities, allowing intervention to prevent escalation during incidents.

Indeed, managing such a tiny place like Hamlet this painstakingly, Lance’s system obviously fills the power void left by losing the nobles, Church, and landlords.

From this, one can see Lance is entirely a centralization monster, not caring about the people’s democracy, freedom, or human rights, but rather enforcing powerful control, requiring the people to live according to his rules or else go build roads.

After Lance’s detailed explanation, Grendel also gradually understood his concerns, Hamlet’s internal crisis, and the necessity of this war.

But she couldn’t help feeling a bit emotional.

“You are too exhausted… When can you really rest…”

Lance wanted to laugh at these words, but no laughter came.

Hamlet has suffered too much, even attacked several times, and these people arrived at Hamlet after living in turmoil, surely with a desire to settle down.