Chapter 328: Chapter 239: Still Many Good People_1
"Since I don’t like the sight of blood, we won’t be beheading anyone. Hang the foreman, the person in charge, and everyone involved in the murder case in the square. Don’t feed them; only give them water to let them recall the feeling of the past famine.
Let them suffer under the scorching sun for seven full days. If they die, send them to the sanatorium for disposal. If they don’t die after seven days, send them to the sanatorium for a long, slow ’convalescence.’
Confiscate all the possessions of these people. Their family members shall be stripped of their Hamlet citizenship and degraded to Serfdom, then starved for three days before being sent to the labor farms for indefinite reformation.
Those directly involved in the case will be treated the same: their losses will be recouped, and their status as free citizens will be revoked, reducing them to Serfs sent for reformation.
If any of their relatives work in government departments, schools, or the military, all their qualifications will be revoked, along with any preferential policies.
Those who gathered as onlookers, falsified evidence, or stormed the police stations—all of them—will be sent to labor farms for reformation. The minimum labor-reform duration will start at three months, with no upper limit. The terms will be doubled for those who perform poorly.
Tell them what they should and shouldn’t do!"
The value of his leverage had always been determined by capability. Weren’t those people always emphasizing their own status? Now that their status had been directly stripped away, who then were the true Hamlet’s People?
Previously, Hamlet had only eight hundred people, so Lance had been forced to entrust those positions to them out of necessity, as he had no one else available.
Back then, with Susan, it was because the refugees hadn’t yet been effectively settled. To maintain stability, Lance hadn’t made drastic reductions in personnel.
These individuals had occupied many key positions due to their initial advantages. However, some were clearly incapable of fulfilling their responsibilities and, lacking prudence, even dared to smear his reputation.
This was Lance’s greatest taboo. He needed prestige to unite everyone, and any blemish could give the Old Ancestor an opportunity to exploit. If shedding blood wouldn’t benefit the Old Ancestor, he likely would have started killing much earlier.
The Lord creates all beings to nourish the people...
Notably, this time, most of the offenders were locals. It was the perfect opportunity to conduct a purge and allow the capable to rise.
Moreover, the wilderness development project was short-staffed. This influx of labor would save the need to reallocate more people, and they came free of charge. This would likely save thousands of Gold Coins.
Those people knew he was short of workers and offered themselves up. Hamlet truly has many good people, all so eager to help!
Lance briefly described how the matter should be handled, and William could tell there was no intention of holding back.
Logically, William should have been pleased that the Lord wasn’t granting Sanctuary to those offenders merely because they were locals. However, his expression didn’t show much relief; instead, there was a hint of internal conflict.
"My Lord, isn’t this a bit... too harsh? Imperial laws do not prescribe such severe sentences for these cases."
William hesitated but still voiced his opinion. Lance merely smiled in response.
"Do you wish to uphold justice with Imperial laws?"
"Is the law not the weapon of justice?" William retorted immediately. His firm expression showed his conviction on the matter.
William came from a family with a scholarly heritage; how else would he know how to read and also train dogs?
His early reading material wasn’t the Church’s Holy Canon, but an ancient manuscript of the Empire’s laws.
Even the Empire has to use the fig leaf of legal documents to cover its shame. So, isn’t it a bit extreme for the Lord to condemn these people with a single pronouncement?
"Who established those laws?" Lance asked casually, not rushing into a debate.
"Naturally, the Empire’s rulers established them," William replied.
"That’s just it, isn’t it? If laws are made by people, they can never be truly just, because everyone has their own position."
"But!" William tried to respond, but then seemed to realize something and halted.
"Alright, even if we assume that laws are absolutely just, who is it that enforces them? It’s still people. And as long as it’s people, they will have their own positions and biases."
William’s ideals were indeed more principled than those of most Imperial Bureaucrats and politicians, but who sets those rules in the first place? The Empire’s laws have never been anything that could truly be called just. They are merely reins used by the Nobility, the ruling class, to keep their carriage stable. Reins are only fitted on horses; they are not for those seated in the carriage. Did you really expect those individuals to put a noose around their own necks? Lance certainly wouldn’t. To confront the Old Ancestor, powerful and decisive measures are necessary; now is not the time to be constrained by laws. Moreover, laws can only achieve a certain degree of fairness. Their main function is to maintain social stability, and this is what ordinary people need. They just want to live their lives peacefully. And this is all Lance can give them.
William had never pondered this issue before; he found himself lost in contemplation.
Lance, however, clearly wasn’t going to let him waste time there. He quickly gave William a pep talk to get him back to work.
"So, don’t get hung up on the endorsement of laws. Justice is never found in those tedious texts but in you, in me, in the hands of all who yearn for it—I am justice!"
William came back to his senses, the words echoing in his mind.
I am justice...
Yet the Lord’s next words threw William into confusion.
"But I won’t intervene in this matter. I leave the investigation entirely in your hands," Lance declared.