I Became a Genius Commander at the Academy

Chapter 24: Reclaim The Territory (3)

Two days after summoning the influencers of the territory, I ordered everyone in the territory to gather in front of Bruno Castle.

Typically, peasants who were used to absolute obedience to the lord’s command would show displeasure to such orders. However, the peasants gathered here showed no sign of annoyance despite having left their farming tasks. They even cheered.

“Damn, is that cursed Curt finally getting beheaded? I knew it since the time the bastard touched someone else’s precious daughter. I knew his head would fly!”

“Milton, you corporal bastard!!! May your journey be excruciating!”

“The new lord really is fierce! Those bastards need to be executed!”

And when the alcohol I provided started circulating, the venue for executing the corrupt soldiers turned into a festival.

I was appalled, looking at the mad scene, and thought,

‘Damn, medieval executions are kind of a festival, aren’t they?’

But as the lord of the Bruno territory and a commander of over 500 soldiers, I couldn’t disrupt this festival of beheading vile men.

Just when my soldiers brought in 30 soldiers who had severely exploited the peasants, enormous cheers erupted among the peasants.

“Kill all those wicked and filthy beings!”

“They pretend to be high and mighty in front of us, good riddance!”

“Executioner, strike their necks more than three times!! It’s too wasteful to end them in one!”

Despite their joy, the executioners’ faces turned pale, feeling their deaths more profoundly, and some even started to wet themselves. However, the soldiers in charge of the execution showed no mercy, placing all on the execution block.

Next, the village priest led a short service before the execution, and the executioners placed the convicts’ heads on the blocks.

All the convicts started pleading in unison only then.

“We were wrong! Please spare our lives!”

“If you spare us, we will live anew!”

“Merciful Lord Peter Yaeger, please have mercy on us! What sins do we mere soldiers have? We just followed orders.”

The crowd jeered at their voices. Then I raised my hand to silence them and spoke loudly to the audience.

“Kokon, the former lord, was the worst scum who stole your cows, took your daughters and wives as concubines, and excessively taxed your food. That’s not all. He even took the brides on their wedding night. He is a creature that should not exist.”

I then stated that the Emperor deeply regretted and felt sorrow for what had happened in this territory and had personally ordered me to govern this territory well.

“I, Peter Yaeger, by the command of the Emperor, will execute 30 soldiers and non-commissioned officers who disturbed this territory. Each executioner, check the state of your axes.”

Then, the executioners swung their axes dramatically for those who were enjoying the festival of harvesting corrupted soldiers’ necks. Each swing made the convicts flinch, and the peasants sent intense cheers.

“Swing it well! Kill!!!”

“Strike twice!”

Next, I pulled out the command baton from my waist and swung it, saying,

“Strike their necks!”

Simultaneously, the soldiers in charge of the execution swung their axes down after raising them high for execution.

With a ‘thud’, the axe blades sank into the necks of the soldiers who were fervently involved in the crimes, and blood splattered in all directions.

However, no one among the soldiers lying on the execution block lost their lives with just one strike of the axe.

So, the soldiers who were in charge of the execution had to strike two or three more times.

Normally, when an execution would take more than one axe strike, the atmosphere would become tense due to the unexpectedly brutal sight, but…

“Let those bastards suffer more!”

“It’s a shame your mother and father can’t see this state of yours!”

Due to their long-suffered grievances, everyone fervently cheered at their miserable deaths.

My subordinated soldiers quickly cleared the dead soldiers’ bodies and the execution block, then I went up to the platform used for execution and said,

“The evil former lord and his dishonorable officers who followed his will are now strictly admonished and judged by His Majesty the Emperor. By executing the soldiers who tormented you in front of you, I’ve resolved your grudges. Additionally, 472 soldiers with comparatively lighter crimes will help rebuild the village as criminal slaves.”

I could’ve killed about 100 more criminals who had behaved atrociously and embezzled goods and food, but considering my funds and knowledge, rebuilding the territory into a habitable and manageable place within two years was extremely difficult.

In such a situation, it was better to use those with ambiguous crimes for the development of my territory rather than kill them all. However, to manage the dissatisfaction among the territorial residents towards the ‘criminal slaves’, I had to instruct the soldiers supervising them to employ them in heavy labor while wearing sackcloth, chains, and collars.

Seeing them in painful states while performing their duties with subpar food should naturally dissipate the residents’ complaints because watching the criminals suffer continuously was quite a relieving experience.

“Also, acknowledging that you’ve been unfairly exploited, I, Peter Yaeger, will lend a cow to each household and bestow 200 kilograms of wheat next month.”

Hearing the words of lending each family a cow, a lifelong dream of the peasants, and providing food for those starving, everyone cheered, hugging each other and jumping up and down.

Then I looked at them and added,

“Considering how hard it was for you to live due to the former lord’s evil deeds, I will provide a reasonable amount of food if you work for me during the idle farming seasons like winter or early spring. If you work steadily for 5 years during this time, the loaned cow will be given to that house. Trust me, Peter Yaeger.”

Usually, if I had gathered the people and made such a speech, the peasants would have a questioning attitude. However, having witnessed the strict punishment of corrupt soldiers, everyone enthusiastically accepted the message and praised it.

“Long live the Lord!”

“Thank you for giving us cows and grains!”

“We survived, we survived!”