Iron Harvest: When Farming Becomes Conquest-Chapter 387 - 17: With Great Power Comes Great Responsibility_2

Chapter 387: Chapter 17: With Great Power Comes Great Responsibility_2

"Military camp," Roman declared offhandedly.

"When will you take me to see it?" Tashina asked.

But Roman ignored her and continued to review the newly added legal regulations in the Origin Code,

such as how to convict a farmer who stole two farming tools, how much to fine someone for insulting his neighbor, how much compensation one farmer should pay for accidentally injuring another, what punishment should be meted out for brawlers and disruptors of production regulations, and the divisions of divorces, inheritances, and so on.

At first, Roman’s Origin Code had only a handful of articles and was merely posted on the wall as a notice, but now it had grown to a full two hundred pages, becoming a veritable tome.

Roman disdained the manorial courts, which were designed to protect the interests of the Nobles and offered some degree of protection to peasants but with the interpretation of the private laws left to those same Nobles, what chance did commoners have against the lords?

"They charge tax on the use of a mill! I find that utterly insane!" Roman would say.

In comparison, Black Iron law—the law of the Conquerors—was somewhat acceptable, certainly better than the Nobles’ private laws.

But Black Iron law demanded that "everyone must abide by the law," otherwise they would be given severe sanctions according to the law, and this applied to slaves as well. To consolidate the masters’ supremacy, the code specifically emphasized that slaves must obey their masters’ orders without any resistance...

"I’d like to give you a punch for such a thought!"

It’s high time we did away with such backward notions as slavery!

What? There are slaves in Origin City too? Aren’t those just stubborn fools from the old era undergoing labor reform?

Once reformed, renouncing the faith of All Gods, and fully acknowledging the supreme position of Master Roman, they would evolve into people with full human rights, enjoying equal social status with other residents.

Roman’s view of the law was simple: a law that served the majority was the true law, reflecting universal moral values.

And on this land, it went without saying who the majority was.

The only issue was that redrafting a complete set of laws was extremely difficult.

The greater the forest, the more birds it harbors.

Even the most perfect legal system could encounter unexpected or bizarre cases eager to exploit loopholes.

The progress of law is in incessantly filling these holes.

Roman had Hans act as Judicial Officer, with nine farmers making up a jury of both men and women, aimed at setting penal standards.

A farmer who stole tools would be convicted of theft, and following the manorial court’s approach, thieves would have their hands chopped off to deter other farmers—too much waste of manpower!!

After the jury’s deliberation, the final punishment was dozens of lashes, suspension for an entire day, and a fine of 10 copper coins—punishment being five times the value of what was stolen.

If the theft was substantial, the culprit’s property would be seized, and labor reform would be re-implemented. Additionally, a reward of 1 copper coin was offered for reporting a theft.

The jury consisted of commoners, and though commoners might be blind, the development of law itself required progression amid blindness.

It was a tool for governance.

Once a legal system operates over time, it leads to various social customs. And the majority of commoners will spontaneously maintain public order and morals.

A law accepted by all is unlikely to be all that bad.

In this dog-eat-dog era, the commoners are the vulnerable, and only the vulnerable can sympathize with the vulnerable—after all, who can say that their offspring or relatives will never run afoul of the law? The lighter the punishment, the better for them.

The balance depended on Roman’s discretion.

After all, he held ultimate interpretive power and could shape the law to his liking.

Roman looked over the newly added legal articles, making sure there were no issues, and handed them to Hans.

"Compile these, and we’ll follow these standards from now on."

It wasn’t the first time Hans had reported, nor would it be the last.

The Origin Code was still in its rudimentary stages and it was normal to amend it several times a year until the provisions became increasingly detailed, more substantial, and more aligned with Roman’s vision.

"Understood, Your Highness," Hans replied, taking the thick code in both hands.

At that moment, Tashina gave him a glance, her gaze cold as a knife. Hans felt a sudden surge in his heart as an irresistible kingly aura hit him, his body reacting faster than thought, instinctively handing the code over to Tashina to review.

After taking it, Tashina flipped through a couple of pages, finding only trivial laws.

The White Steel Princess did not care about the weight of the code, returning it to Hans and waving her hand to dismiss him. frёeωebɳovel.com

She asked, "Can we go to the army camp now?"

Roman’s next destination was the army camp. He returned to Origin City regularly to deal with political affairs. Legal provisions were one aspect, but there were also infrastructure, education, healthcare, finance, military, agriculture, and many other affairs.

Tashina was quite curious about how Roman had forged such a powerful army, so she had been urging him to visit the army camp.

Although Fertile City also had an army camp, only two to three thousand auxiliary soldiers were stationed there, and Tashina was not satisfied with what she had seen.

Roman said, "Even if you went, you couldn’t learn it."

Basic and physical training were secondary; the main thing was the Angel Envoy’s special enhancement function.

Roman now had at least two thousand soldiers of First Rank Knight level, nearly a thousand Second Rank Knights, and over sixty Third Rank Knights.

However, he did not waste words and went straight to the army camp.

The road to the army camp was very clean. Seth had found some elderly people, both men and women, and arranged for them to clear the snow from the road to prevent them from being idle.

...

Roman was stationed in Fertile City for a long time, but he had to make major decisions in Origin City, such as new soldier recruitment, large unit numbers, promotions, transfers, military supplies reserves, and combat training.

Jet and his men welcomed Roman and the White Steel Princess.

Mainly, they were welcoming Iota Hina.

After the battle on Heavenly Pegasus Plain, Jet and the others had witnessed her valor and respected her greatly.

They all saluted and said, "Your Highness the Princess, we salute you!"

Tashina looked at the high-ranking officers of the River Valley Army, her eyes sparkling brilliantly, realizing their true natures in one glance, "Oh, the Sword Master of Divine Mysterious, the betraying Knight Dick, the Cavalry Captain of farmer origin, the Witch from Witch Forest, and the fisherman siblings I have already met once, with only two young Knights originating from Dragon Castle... Lord Roman, your subordinates are an eye-opener for me."

Roman snorted lightly, "I do not judge by one’s background, Your Highness."

At that moment, Tashina’s gaze shifted, and she spoke generously, "Would you like to join my command?"

The crowd was somewhat surprised.

Poaching right in front of the boss was one thing, but to do it openly? Life in Origin City was excellent. Nobody was thinking of looking for a new leader, and even the outspoken Green didn’t dare say more.

Tashina’s recruitment plans had failed.

And Roman seemed indifferent to this.

He inspected his troops and found that they were still lacking in number.

The Angels he had previously recruited had already had their Attributes enhanced, and it was time to fish for new Angels from the pool.

Roman was ready to conduct the tenth recruitment, planning to recruit two thousand Angels this time.

Tashina frowned slightly; she saw through many people’s natures, yet she found Roman deep and dark, sometimes difficult to gauge.

"Lord Roman," she said, "do you know the nature of a Conqueror?"

"Are you referring to His Majesty Ioannos?" Roman was a bit puzzled.

"It seems that Grand Duke Alster did not tell you about this." The White Steel Princess pointed at Roman, "The previous King’s bloodline is pure, and so is ours."

Jet felt something was off and said, "Your Highness the Princess, please allow us to excuse ourselves."

She looked directly at Roman, as if no one else was present. "No need. These matters were secret in the past, but the Order of the Conqueror has already collapsed. His crown is shattered, so there’s no need to hide it anymore."

She said, "We are all children from the Dark Age. The blood of the empire flows in our veins."

Roman, however, said, "You mean the Human Clan Empire that existed before the Seven Kingdoms were born? I’ve heard that Divine Mystery Kingdom is a remnant of that empire, and the King of the Fjords is also one of the ancient kings."

"Exactly. That grandiose empire was also called Divine Mysterious; it weakened during the Dark Age and curled up in a corner of the earth. It was not until a man named Iaos, the King among men, crossed the fjords on the wings of a storm. In later days, he was called Ioannos, also known as the Conqueror, and as a great Monarch, he established the Black Iron Kingdom. It is said that the tale was still sung a hundred years ago, but now it has been lost."

The White Steel Princess said, "He was of Divine Mysterious royal descent, yet conquered the Seven Kingdoms under the name Ioannos. He had three lieutenants by his side, all from that lost empire, one of whom was the First Generation Split Armor Grand Duke."