The study in Stronghold was much more spacious than the office in Border Town. Tall bookcases occupied the left and right walls, and the edges of the bookcases were inlaid with gilded metal, which was stuffed with all kinds of books. Along the way, Roland saw everything from epics to historical travelogues. To facilitate access to the books on the top floor, there was a wooden staircase beside the bookcase.
Probably for safety reasons, the only window in the study was only half a person's height, and an iron railing was installed outside. When light shone into the room from the outside, a narrow beam of light could be seen clearly on the old plush carpet, giving the room a sense of isolation.
"If it were Anna, she would definitely like this place," Roland could not help thinking. But for him, the Border Town office with floor-to-ceiling windows and always bright rooms was more to his liking. Even though it was narrow, it was full of comfort.
As for Nightingale, she often leaned against the fireplace and dozed off, which showed how much she disliked this place.
At this time, there was a knock on the door.
"Come in." Roland put "The Secret History of the Western Region" back into the bookcase.
"Your Highness." Pérot Hull walked into the study and put a stack of white paper on the table. "I've finished the statistics you asked me to do."
Roland returned to the desk and carefully looked through the list of nobles. "Are these all the remaining nobles in the Western Region?"
"Yes," Pérot explained briefly. "I divided them into two categories, guilty and innocent, and then sorted them by their family names. There are a total of 64 guilty nobles, and 137 people refused to participate in the rebellion or knew nothing about it. Most of the latter are Free Knight, Sir, and minor nobles. "
Roland opened the first page of the list. The first one was the Maple Leaf Earl, Roman Candy. According to Iron Axe's report, this great noble had hidden himself in a wine barrel in the basement after his mansion had been breached. When the First Army found him, he was so scared that even his pants were wet. He was also the rebel with the highest rank captured in this unification war.
The next page was filled with the nobles of the Maple Leaf family, such as the two sons, other relatives, and the enfeoffed Knight.
Roland quickly flipped to the last page and folded the table with satisfaction. "Good job."
All in all, the six big families of the Western Region had become history. Lion Ryan, Maple Leaf, Wolf, and Wild Rose would never have a chance to rise again. Although the Honeysuckle Family and the Elk Family survived, they were no longer the feudal nobles in the past. All the power of the Western Region would be in his hands.
"Your Highness..." Pérot hesitated for a moment before saying, "The guilty and innocent verdicts on the list were provided to me by Mr. Iron Axe. Is it possible... that there might be a miscarriage of justice?"
Roland couldn't help but chuckle. "He's very good at interrogating people, and he didn't torture them, so I think the final verdict can be trusted."
In fact, this was just a cover. After all the captured nobles were locked up in the dungeon, Nightingale was responsible for identifying them. She only needed to ask a few simple questions to find out whether they had participated in the rebellion. This was also the reason why Roland dared to wipe out the nobles. With the help of Nightingale, he could really not let go of a bad guy, nor wrongly accuse a good guy. He didn't implicate the nobles, nor did he pretend to be open-minded and let the rioters go.
"Then... what are you going to do with these guilty nobles?"
"What's wrong?" Roland raised his head and glanced at Pérot. "Are there any of your friends among them?"
"No, Your Highness." The latter shook his head. "I just think that if you execute them all, it may be detrimental to your rule in the future."
"A week ago, you asked for an eye for an eye." The prince raised his eyebrows with interest. "Now you want to let them go?"
"I do want them all to go to hell, but even if I strangle them one by one, it won't change anything... Instead, it may arouse the resentment of the other nobles towards the Honeysuckle Family. And if the news of wantonly executing the nobles spreads, other cities may also set off a wave of opposition against your rule. "
Hearing this, Roland was quite surprised. This was indeed the way of thinking of a mature politician. Putting aside personal emotions, it was more about weighing interests... It seemed that this incident did not make him more disgusted with fighting, but made him mature.
"It's okay to tell you in advance." He stood up and walked to the small window. "I'll announce the ins and outs of this matter to everyone, and then publicly sentence all the rioters in the square, including the nobles, guards, squires, and mercenaries... The main culprits, the direct initiators of the rebellion, and the villains with the people's blood on their hands, will be hanged, and the accomplices will be stripped of their titles and sent to the North Slope Mine for labor reform."
"According to this method, only five or six nobles will be hanged. The Earl of the Elk Family and the Viscount of the Wolf Family have already died on the battlefield, and the rest of them will be equivalent to using their titles to save their lives. After the news spreads, I don't think anyone will think that this sentence is too harsh. After all, betraying the royal family is a felony. "
Pérot was a little relieved. "Your Highness is merciful."
When the eldest son of the Honeysuckle Family left, Roland felt an unprecedented sense of fulfillment.
This action had completely cleared the obstacles to the integration of the Western Region for him. In the future, whether it was making laws or issuing policies, he would be unimpeded in this vast land.
More importantly, he had gained the support of a large number of people and nobles. After the opposition was eliminated, the remaining people were naturally potential supporters.
Especially after the nobles lost their feudal power and legal rights, if they wanted to live a comfortable life, they had to follow his policies and spare no effort to promote them. Because the nobles had far more resources than the commoners, as long as they used their brains a little, it was not difficult to gain benefits from it.
Once they tasted the sweetness, they would never want to go back to the bitter days they used to have. After all, these small nobles had not enjoyed the benefits of the territory, and if they did not manage it well, they would have to pay for it. Soon they would realize that as long as they played chess according to the rules, they could easily live a life they had never imagined before.
There was no doubt that the plan to build the city had taken a big step forward.
Roland wiped the condensed water vapor off the window and looked through the blurry window at the city shrouded in white snow. Since he had to stay here for a while, and he would often come to Longsong Stronghold to deal with government affairs, he might as well transform this study into a prince's office according to his preferences.
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