Baron Kriston had come to submit a report on the internal affairs department to Lollister. Lollister thought that Baron Kriston would start from scratch and ask for money and manpower to form a new department. He did not expect Baron Kriston to give him a big surprise.
"Baron Kriston, how did you come up with the idea of using the patrol team to form a surveillance network?" Lollister asked in admiration.
Baron Kriston replied respectfully, "Your Highness, the previous emperor, Chrison III, despised the city's defense force for its recklessness and incompetence, so he specially formed a security force to patrol the city and maintain the peace of the noble's residential areas. That is how the patrol team came to be. During Chrison IV's reign, the patrol team was given the role of investigating criminal cases and cracking down on the city's crime syndicates and underground organizations.
After Chrison VI ascended to the throne, the patrol team was given the responsibility of managing the city, collecting taxes, and maintaining order in the market. At the same time, they received a secret mission, which was to monitor any organization or individual that opposed the Chrison royal family. In a sense, the Chrison Empire's patrol team and the internal affairs department that Your Highness is planning to form are not too different in terms of their functions. So, I thought of using the patrol team in the family's territory to form the internal affairs department. This is the fastest way to form a surveillance network that covers the entire family's territory. "
Lollister smiled and shook his head, "Baron Kriston, have you forgotten about the patrol team cage incident that happened during the last years of Chrison VI's reign? It was precisely because the capital's patrol team had too many responsibilities and too much power that it grew into a greedy beast after losing effective supervision. At that time, the capital's residents would turn pale at the mention of the patrol team. They were afraid that the patrol team would come to their door and destroy their families.
After the patrol team cage incident was exposed, the capital's residents took to the streets to protest. The nobles in the capital joined forces and petitioned Chrison VI to ban the patrol team as an official organization. Chrison VI, who was kept in the dark, was furious when he found out about the patrol team's atrocities. He ordered a strict investigation, and in the end, the patrol team was banned. More than three thousand people involved were all beheaded in public. Ten years later, when Chrison VII ascended to the throne, the patrol team was reestablished due to the inconvenience of city management.
Your idea is good, but I can't agree to put the patrol team under the jurisdiction of the Internal Affairs Department. Baron Kriston, there are three main purposes for establishing the Internal Affairs Department. The first is to prevent spies from spying on the family territory. The second is to prevent rebels from conspiring against the family territory. The third is to monitor the family's internal management system and punish corrupt and malfeasant officials.
To put it simply, if the Norton Family is a towering tree, then I hope that the Internal Affairs Department will be a woodpecker flying around this tree. They will catch all kinds of pests growing on the tree and ensure its healthy growth. In my vision, the Ministry of Internal Affairs is a pair of eyes for the family to examine itself. It only investigates and detects. As for the plans that need to be carried out, they are left to the Guard Camp. "
In the history of the Crimson Empire, the Patrol Cages Incident was a very famous incident of popular protests. The reason was that the capital's patrol team had become the king of the capital because they held too much power. It was just like the arrogant special agent organizations recorded in the history books of Laurist's previous world. They were extremely powerful, and if the citizens showed even the slightest disrespect, they would be labeled as traitors of the empire. Not only would their families be destroyed, they would often be beaten up to force confessions, and their relatives would be implicated.
When such a giant beast turned its greedy eyes to the innocent people in order to extort money, one could imagine how cruel the consequences would be. Countless wealthy residents and merchants in the imperial city would often have their entire families disappear in one night, and their properties would be seized. From time to time, there would be good news that the patrol team had uncovered some conspiracy against the empire, and a large number of so-called criminals would be hung on the gallows. The people in the capital were in a precarious situation. They didn't even dare to greet the people they met on the streets. The entire capital was shrouded in a reign of terror.
A few nobles in the capital heard from a servant that a ghost would cry in the sewers every night. This piqued their curiosity, and they organized an adventure team to catch the ghost in the sewers. In the end, following the mournful cries, they arrived at a large underground space. This underground space was filled with iron cages, and countless people were imprisoned in the cages. It turned out that these people were the family members and relatives of the so-called rebels who were wanted by the patrol team.
The truth was soon revealed to the people in the capital. The capital's patrol team could arrest people and interrogate them, but they didn't have the power to imprison criminals. So, after the criminals were interrogated, they had to be handed over to the prison department. The patrol team had captured so many civilians and businessmen for extortion. They could not hand over these innocent people who had been wronged to the prison department. Instead, they used the crime of absconding and missing to achieve the purpose of occupying these innocent people's property.
So, the patrol team secretly dug an underground space under the station and made it their own prison. They customized cages to imprison criminals. Those who were still useful could live for a while, and those who were not would starve to death. Everyone who had seen the underground cage space was furious. There was actually such a hell on earth under the Imperial Capital. After the incident was exposed, the end of the patrol team came. More than 100,000 residents of the Imperial Capital protested on the streets. The City Defense Force took over the defense of the Imperial Capital. The nobles jointly submitted a petition to punish the patrol team.
Christen VI was furious. The patrol team that he had always trusted had been deceiving him. So, he ordered for the patrol team to be shut down. More than 3,000 patrol officers were beheaded in public. This was the Christen Empire's patrol team cage incident. But the funniest thing was that after the patrol team was shut down, the capital didn't become safer for the next decade. Instead, it became the most chaotic decade. Gangs ran amok, crimes happened frequently, and street fights were endless. It was very common to see dead bodies on the streets. Even the citizens of the capital had to carry weapons and a companion to ensure their safety when they went to buy bread.
Ten years later, when Christen VII ascended to the throne, he reestablished the patrol team in order to rectify the serious security problems in the capital. However, most of the patrol team's duties were reduced. Other than patrolling and maintaining the city's order, they were only responsible for investigating and interrogating criminal cases. Because the patrol team didn't have the power to monitor the conspirators who rebelled against the empire, the death of Christen VII caused the empire's three kings to fight for the throne.
Baron Christen was a little discouraged because his plan to establish the internal affairs department was rejected by Lollister. But he still wanted to persuade Lollister. "Your Highness, you are right. The patrol team cage incident of the previous empire is something we should be wary of. But as long as we strengthen our supervision, we can prevent the same thing from happening again. In fact, if the patrol team is under the jurisdiction of the internal affairs department, then the internal affairs department's surveillance network in the family territory can be launched in the shortest time possible … "
Lollister stood up and walked to Baron Christen's side. He patted him on the shoulder. "Baron Christen, I don't think that your idea of establishing the internal affairs department is wrong. But you misunderstood what I meant. Although I am against putting the patrol team under the jurisdiction of the internal affairs department, you can choose people from the patrol team and use the method of cooperation or part-time job to weave this surveillance network of the family territory.
I have other arrangements for the patrol team. Currently, the population of the north has reached more than 3.2 million. The security environment will be the next focus of the family's management. The patrol team will also be independent from the family's management, forming another security system. You can imagine that the patrol team will also be a network in the future, but it will be placed in the open. The internal affairs department will be another network, hidden in the dark. All the criminals who are overlooked by the patrol team will not be able to escape the internal affairs department's net. Do you understand what I mean? "
Baron Christen was enlightened. "Your Highness, I understand. You mean that in the future, the patrol team will be the shield in the open, and the internal affairs department will be the sword in the dark. We can cooperate with the patrol team to monitor the entire family territory, but the ones that the patrol team can't do anything about are the real targets of the internal affairs department … I will immediately go back and come up with a new plan to establish the internal affairs department … "
"Wait, Baron Christen. I have another task for you." Lollister hesitated for a while before returning to his desk. He opened the drawer and took out a black folder.
"This matter is troubling me, but I do not know how to solve it. Take a look at it, but do not let anyone know. If you have a good solution, you can look for Redi to help you. If you don't have a good solution, then return this folder to me … … "Brendel's eyes lit up.
Baron Christen took the black folder and opened it. He could not help but tremble. However, he still kept the folder and bowed to Lollister, who had his back to him. "Your Highness, I will go back and think of a solution."
Lollister did not say anything. He waved his hand and signaled for Baron Christen to leave. When he was the only one left in the study, Lollister let out a long sigh and sat on the chair. His expression kept changing.
Three days later, a messenger eagle came from Maple Forest Manor. Elina, who had been imprisoned there, died of a sudden illness …
Since Lollister had to host the military reform meeting, he had no choice but to ask his cousin, Kristya, to go to Maple Forest Manor and take care of Elina's funeral. She also had to bring Wilward, the second son of him and Elina, back to the Furious Bear City.
The military reform conference lasted for a total of five days, and the name of the new department was also decided. It would be called the Armed Forces Department. It was a very old-fashioned name, but from that day onwards, anyone who mobilized more than ten soldiers from the Norton Family without Laurist's orders or the official seal of the Armed Forces Department would be treated as an act of rebellion. Even the few chief executives of the family, led by Fatty Shi, had to get permission from the Armed Forces Department before they could mobilize the armed forces of the family.
Apart from the two hundred and twenty thousand main forces of the family that Lollister had confirmed to be receiving generous treatment, the rest of the troops had all been reduced to twenty-four thousand local garrisons. There were two garrisons in the north, one each in Winston Province, Delemark Province, and Makinohara Province, one garrisons in Sirovas Island, and one garrisons in the Haneabada Islands. What was different from before was that all the garrisons in the towns and villages were incorporated into the local garrisons. This alone reduced the total number of armed forces of the family by almost half.
Spear was elated by Lollister's order to reduce the armed forces. In the future, the family's expenditure on military would be less than one-third. However, the protests of Fatty Shi, Baron Camorra, and the others woke Spear up, and she joined the ranks of those who objected to the order.
The civil officials in the administrative system mainly objected to the reduction of the armed forces of the garrison. Although the garrison was involved in the family's internal strife initiated by Steward Hansk, the garrison, with only five battalions, was still an indispensable armed force in the family. Because it was in charge of the family's warehouse, the security of the confidential mines, the prison, and the labor of prisoners, as well as the transportation of supplies.
Strictly speaking, the garrison was only under the jurisdiction of the civil officials in the family, and was not part of the family's military force that could be mobilized. In the past, Lollister rarely thought of the five garrison battalions in the family's armed forces. At most, he would recruit a few garrisons from towns and villages to form a temporary garrison, responsible for the transportation of supplies and disband immediately after the war. If not for Steward Hansk using the retired veterans of the five garrison battalions to incite the family's internal strife, Lollister would have completely forgotten about the five garrison battalions.
"The reduction of the garrison from the family's armed forces is necessary. I'm not giving up eating for fear of choking." Lollister slammed the table and stopped the civil officials from arguing. "The separation of the military and the government means that if the garrison is not reduced, it must be under the command of the armed forces. This way, the administrative system will have to obtain permission from the armed forces when supplies are supplied and stored. This will only add to our troubles and conflicts, and will even increase the administrative costs and expenses due to the long distance.
After reducing the garrison battalions, their original responsibilities will be handed over to the armed police. After the separation of the military and the government, the garrison of each town and village will no longer be under the control of the civil officials in the administrative system. They will only be responsible for the safety of the town and village, unless it is to suppress riots. In the future, the garrison of these towns will no longer be responsible for local security unless there is an order from the armed forces.
As for the maintenance of local security and order, it will be handed over to the patrol police. I plan to establish a garrison in the family, a garrison bureau in the city, a garrison in the town, and a garrison station in the village. They will be responsible for the security of the entire family's territory. This will be the only armed unit in the family's administrative system. As for the armed police, they will be responsible for the same tasks as the five garrison battalions that have been reduced. "
Lollister's words finally stopped the civil officials in the administrative system from arguing. However, Lollister emphasized that the expenditure of the garrison would be included in the family's administrative expenses and would no longer be part of the military expenditure. Therefore, the scale of the garrison system and the armed police still needed to be calculated in detail. Currently, the person in charge of the garrison was appointed by Lollister as Head Kordan.
After the five-day military reform meeting, the Norton Family's armed forces immediately began to reorganize and reduce, hoping to complete most of the work before the new year. Lollister was so busy that he only had some free time in the middle of November.
When he returned to the Furious Bear City, Krisya had already returned from Maple Villa. She reported to Lollister that Ms. Elina had probably died of a sudden heart attack. Because Lescot's arrest had greatly affected Ms. Elina, she was imprisoned in the Maple Villa and cried day and night. She often cried and cursed Lollister and called out Lescot's name. The guards who guarded her secretly thought that Ms. Elina had gone crazy.
It was around eight o 'clock at night on the day of Ms. Elina's death. As usual, she began to curse Lollister and call out Young Master Lescot's name. After crying for about half an hour, Ms. Elina's voice suddenly stopped. At that time, the guards weren't used to it and felt that it was strange to stop so early. However, Ms. Elina would usually fall asleep due to exhaustion, so they didn't think much of it.
At around ten o 'clock, when the guards patrolled outside the door as usual, they didn't hear Ms. Elina's breathing. They quickly went in and found that her face was blue and purple, and she had already stopped breathing. After an examination by the pharmacist, it was determined that she died of an acute heart attack due to excessive emotion. When Krisya went to check on her, she found that the body was well preserved, and there were no wounds on Ms. Elina's body. It was confirmed that she had died of a heart attack …
However, Krisya made a request to Lollister. She wanted to adopt Wilward, the second son of Lollister and Elina. Because of what happened during this period of time, Wilward was terrified. He was only a child who wasn't even 13 years old, and Krisya wanted to keep this poor child by her side. After some consideration, Lollister finally agreed to Krisya's request.
…
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