Chapter 1666: Chapter 93: A New Wave of Reform
The celebration banquet is scheduled for ten days later; there’s no need to attract attention by going early. From the time of the winter campaign until now, it’s been more than half a year, and Hudson feels physically and mentally exhausted.
Returning home, he barely had a moment with his wife and children before he was immediately drawn into territorial affairs.
This is the fate of the nobles on the Continent of Aslante!
While enjoying wealth and splendor, they must also bear corresponding responsibilities and obligations. A leisurely life is but a luxury that at least the nobles of the Alpha Kingdom are not entitled to.
The stronger one’s abilities, the more frequently one leads troops into battle, and the less time is spent with family.
Delegating is impossible!
The Koslow Family, as a new major noble, emerged around Hudson from the start, essentially still a grassroots team.
The top management in the territory is almost entirely hired from outside, with few family members being capable.
In this context, Hudson must be autocratic to ensure the family’s control over the territory.
Delegation can only occur once a well-established system is in place and the most suitable development model for the family has been explored.
Human nature cannot withstand testing.
Hudson has never intended to test the loyalty of his subordinates.
People change; even if they are loyal now, there is no guarantee they will remain so in the future. People’s mindsets differ at different times.
Moreover, from the start-up phase, the territory has been rife with spies from various forces.
Adhering to the principle of not wasting what is valuable, these individuals, although gradually removed from core positions, continue to contribute to the construction of the territory.
Who knows if there are deeper hidden ones? As long as it doesn’t harm his interests, Hudson doesn’t mind feigning ignorance to exploit these fine horses and oxen for his own service.
After reviewing the account statements, Hudson frowned. The biggest fear materialized in the end.
The daily administrative expenses of the territory have increased significantly, and the efficiency of several major projects has declined rather than improved, clearly indicating management issues.
For any power, it’s normal for management efficiency to decline as scale increases.
Deep down, Hudson was prepared for this. The Snow Moon Territory and the Mountain Domain combined are already massive entities, incapable of the detailed management of the past.
However, efficiency should have a transitional process and not a precipitous drop.
In just over half a year away, so many issues have arisen. What if the time were longer, wouldn’t the consequences be more severe?
Fortunately, the bureaucrats below are still on the first-generation level, with limited ability to falsify accounts; otherwise, Hudson wouldn’t have even spotted the issues from the financial reports.
“Nothing major happened in the territory while I was away, right?”
Hudson asked, pretending to be unaware.
The bureaucracy’s turn towards corruption is an inevitable cyclical rule. Any power can maintain relative integrity in its start-up phase, only to inevitably succumb to corruption as it develops.
As a newly established major noble, Hudson’s word was law within the family, exerting significant deterrence over the bureaucracy—issues of corruption barely arose in the early development phase of the territory.
“Duke, everything in the territory is operating normally…”
Perhaps noticing Hudson’s piercing gaze, Jacob replied with slight apprehension.
He’s also aware of the issues in the territory, but in this age of family rule, often personal relationships outweigh regulations.
As an outside family servant, even though he sees certain issues, he can only feign ignorance.
“Is it truly so?”
“If I’m gone for a few more years, would there be a change of owner in this mansion!”
Hudson’s tone was calm, but to those hearing it, it sent chills down their spines.
“A change of owner,” was undoubtedly piercing to the heart.
Even for a strong family head like Hudson, let alone a weaker one, being overthrown while away leading troops was impossible.
Mutiny is a strict taboo on the Continent of Aslante. Even if one successfully seizes power, the kingdom will come to settle the score.
Everyone has personal aspirations, but fomenting rebellion is an exaggeration. Rebel against anyone, but not against Master Hudson.
No matter how well-coordinated the conspiracy, Hudson merely needs to stand before them for the scheme to collapse.
“Duke, we…”
Before they could explain, Hudson interrupted with a wave: “I don’t want to hear any more nonsense!
Some people have been getting too carried away recently and have nearly forgotten who the true master here is.
No matter their background, as soon as they lose loyalty, they lose the right to exist in this world.
I’ll give you one last chance: immediately root out all the parasites within the territory and deal with them entirely.
If you cannot do it, I won’t hesitate to find those who can!”
The territory’s issues aren’t new, only masked by rapid development.
To avoid hindering the territorial development pace, Hudson chose to postpone dealing with these issues, leading to the current situation.
Once human greed is ignited, it becomes uncontainable.
Hudson’s previous leniency made these people increasingly audacious, ultimately leading to underhanded tactics with the finances.
If it were an ordinary noble, they might have been deceived.
But this is child’s play to Hudson—Belsden can read finances; of course, he, the master, can as well.