My Players Are So Fierce

Chapter 418: Let Heroes Manage Heroes, Let Good Men Check Good Men

When Professor Malcolm received the roster made by the Pioneer Army for 50,000 aid personnel, Murphy, far away in the Crimson Citadel, received a notification of 56,843 territory workforce.

This made the Governor extremely pleased, not just because he had another 568 player slots to allocate, but more importantly because this batch of workforce had officially pushed Transia’s currently registered population past 180,000, just one step away from the 200,000 target he had set for the “100-Day Grand Construction Campaign.”

Moreover, according to the Administrative Department’s statistics, given the little players’ current progress in searching for vagrants, Murphy was confident enough that after the 100-Day Grand Construction Campaign, which had just passed one-third completion, his territory’s population might truly exceed 300,000.

The once seemingly unreachable goal was now clearly within sight, giving Lord Murphy quite a feeling of elation.

Taking over this mess of Transia and making the territory flourish in just two and a half months, could he really be the legendary “genius ruler”?

“However, these 50,000 people are a hidden danger!”

Miriam’s serious voice pulled Murphy back to reality from his fantasy. He turned around with an elegant posture to look at everyone in the meeting room behind him.

Basically, except for the military chief officers, all the mid to high-level managers under the Crimson Citadel’s governing system were here.

Miriam was currently lecturing her subordinates as the Regent.

She stood at the podium, holding a straight wooden stick that would make men wildly excited, pointing at the map of Transia hanging behind her, saying to the managers from various fields who were holding notebooks below:

“The Goldflower Kingdom has sent us the workforce we need most right now, but their malicious intentions cannot be concealed.

These 50,000 people will create a new wave of security problems in our newly stabilized territory if they aren’t properly settled. Although we can apply the previous plan for handling the Northern thugs, it’s indeed difficult for our security forces to digest them in a short time.”

“Regent, it’s not that we can’t digest them, but there’s completely no need to,” said the balding middle-aged man Knight Portman, shaking his head:

“The locals have no goodwill towards the Goldflower Kingdom that once invaded us. Even though these border troops were nominally members of the Portia Federation, in the locals’ eyes they’re no different from the jerks from East Prussia. The relationship between both sides wasn’t very good even in previous eras.

My opinion is that we don’t need to try to digest them and actively include them!

They need to recognize their identity and status!

They were sent to Transia to die by their general. When even their own people don’t care about these scum bastards’ lives, why should we care so much?

As Governor Murphy says, outsiders who want to integrate into our collective must be more proactive, rather than waiting for pie to fall from the sky!

Transia will open its arms to all who contribute to this land, but those clever fellows who only want benefits while refusing to fulfill their duties are not the people we need.

Therefore, my suggestion is, don’t give them any good treatment!

First throw them into various construction sites, those places always need people.

Especially the southern mines, although we’ve signed an ore-for-grain agreement with the Winter Wolf Legion, the Northerners have no interest in managing an enclave, so we have to mine the ore ourselves and send it to Fort Crimea to complete the trade.

Now there’s not much time left until the first delivery, and even if we recruit more Kobold miners to dig, the progress there still can’t be satisfactory.

These supporters have come at just the right time.”

“I’m not denying your hawkish proposal, Mr. Portman,” Miriam said, shaking her head:

“I just want to emphasize that throwing 50,000 people into the mines itself requires strong execution power. I don’t think those lazy scum will voluntarily pick up pickaxes.”

“We can set up supervisors!”

The chief chef Shovan who was in charge of logistics and all construction site canteens in the Crimson Citadel raised his hand and shouted:

“Our soldiers are already training. I go to the barracks every day to deliver supplies, and I can see our fine lads have been armed with discipline and belief. They need to see blood, and those bastards also need a good beating to learn Transia’s rules.

I think we should find some people to stir things up, let the stupidest troublemakers among them who harbor ill intentions actively jump out and cause trouble, then we can legitimately suppress them.

After removing the disobedient troublemakers, the rest can be gradually reformed.

And honestly, Professor Chen’s attempt to teach us to use ‘greenhouses’ to grow off-season vegetables has been very successful, but expanding the homemade greenhouse vegetable gardens requires a lot of manpower.

I’m making suggestions from my professional field.

If we want our soldiers to have enough good food to eat when fighting the Gnolls in early spring, we need to start preparing now.

We need to dig at least 3 large vegetable gardens before the first snow falls, and we also need to expand the scale of pig breeding at the collective farms. In short, I need at least 1,000 people to be responsible for this, and General Maxim has asked me to train a batch of professional army cooks.”

“Shut up, you’re not the only one short of people, you greedy bastard,” Knight Portman, who was in charge of all militia matters in the territory, couldn’t help but retort:

“I haven’t even mentioned the severely insufficient number of militia between our rapidly expanding farms! You can’t be so demanding! It would be a lot if we could extract 5,000 socially useful talents from 50,000 scum, there aren’t enough people for us to divide!

And Sister Jules hasn’t even spoken yet, aren’t our medics in even more shortage?

When did it become your turn as a cook to speak here?”

Seeing her subordinate “golden warriors” about to quarrel, and Lady Palen was eager to try, cracking her knuckles ready to “join the battlefield,” Miriam immediately got a headache.

As the Regent, she understood too well the true thoughts of these subordinates with “excessive ambition.”

They weren’t just requesting talents for the territory’s development, but also thinking about their own career paths.

The first civil servant performance review would be conducted at the end of the year, and these people who had already become Administrative Knights were all eager to win themselves a chance at becoming “Administrative Baron.”

Recently Professor Malcolm was granted the title of Administrative Baron and received a small fief in Anderma Hills, which had already stimulated these people’s eyes red. They needed to expand their authority to fight for more political returns.

In Transia’s current primitive political situation where everyone lacked experience and skills in political struggles, people meant power, the more people you manage, the greater your power!

These bottom-level folks who had just tasted the sweetness of power absolutely wouldn’t let go.

Miriam planned to wait for them to argue and then discuss an allocation plan, but Murphy was already tired of these guys’ quarreling.

It wasn’t that he disliked his subordinate managers all striving to be first, but you bastards should at least look at the situation, this little business might not even survive when the Black Plague comes, what’s the point of fighting for power and profit now!

No vision and pattern at all.

So Murphy, who had been sitting in the back row without speaking, suddenly stood up. This action immediately paused the argument in this closed-door meeting.

Everyone turned their gaze to Lord Murphy, waiting for the Governor to speak.

“Don’t rush to eat up this batch of people as delicacies into your own mouths. As Miriam said, we now have more important things to handle than allocation,” Murphy said in a commanding tone:

“Whether you acknowledge their value as supporters or not, they have already become forces we can mobilize once they crossed Transia’s borders. How to properly settle them is the big issue. I need them to integrate into Transia’s construction process as quickly as possible.

You can slowly discuss the specific allocation methods in private, don’t waste time here.

And for this I already have a preliminary plan. Miriam, how are the remaining laborers performing on the southern defense line, except for those jerks who keep thinking about causing trouble and keep getting discovered and executed?”

“According to the news I received, most people have already adapted to the intensity of labor reform,” Miriam flipped through her notes and replied:

“According to reports from Blood Rat Gang spies mixed among the laborers, their work efficiency has improved significantly in the past half month, and the split within the laborers has also begun. The laborers who truly want to restart their lives in Transia have already started to distance themselves from those with bad intentions under the spies’ guidance.

The boundaries between the two sides are becoming increasingly clear, those with ill intentions have been isolated. The managers there have assigned Kobolds to monitor them. Although Kobolds are stupid, they are honest and obedient, always reporting everything in detail, making it impossible for those stubborn elements who resist reform to use their strength.

From this point we can conclude that our reform plan for them has been very effective.

Although the labor intensity is high there, the daily supplies haven’t been reduced. According to some laborers’ responses, the stew they eat here is even much better than when they were building railways in the wilderness.”

Hearing the Regent praise the food rations for the laborers, Chef Shovan immediately stuck out his chest proudly, all these matters were handled by him personally.

Wanting to control the laborers’ food rations at a delicate interval that wouldn’t starve people to death, left enough strength to work but not let them eat too full to avoid causing trouble was a very difficult thing to control. Fortunately, Chef Shovan had some experience in this area.

“Very good, this is what I want to see.”

Murphy waved his hand and said:

“Select 500 of the best-performing laborers from the southern defense line, award them the title of ‘Model Worker’ and give them the job of ‘Stonemason Brotherhood Apprentice Foreman.’ Let them go to the northern POW camp under construction as quickly as possible to receive their laborers, and join the construction of the north-south roads according to the Stonemason Brotherhood’s plan.

‘Veterans leading newcomers’ is a good tradition, and we once promised to give those guys a way out.

Now it’s time to fulfill that promise.”

“This…”

Miriam hesitated and said:

“Let Northern soldier thugs manage Goldflower Kingdom’s soldier thugs? Won’t this trigger conflicts between both sides?”

“Regent is too kind, but this is exactly the effect Governor wants!”

Mr. Portman, who used to be a police officer in Kadman City, immediately realized and explained to Miriam:

“Conflict between both sides is inevitable. Even if we don’t intervene, they will beat each other’s dog brains out, but this isn’t a bad thing for us. Once the Goldflower Kingdom’s soldier thugs and criminals hate the Northerners, we as neutral managers can be in a mediating position.

The Northern foremen need our support to secure their positions, and the Goldflower Kingdom thugs can’t treat us as enemies anymore if they want to fight for power for themselves.

Best of all, seeing firsthand that good work can earn rewards and status promotion can also set up a very good example for other laborers on the construction sites who haven’t made up their minds yet.

This way, people’s hearts will be settled.

After that we only need to coordinate the contradictions between both sides and labor targets to make them quickly adapt to the rules of this land. This is much better than some cook’s stupid idea of inducing rebellion then suppressing it.

As expected of Lord Murphy!”

“I also admit the Governor’s method is very clever, but I’ve noted your hidden mockery of me, you bastard,” Chef Shovan cursed:

“Be careful when you eat in the cafeteria in the future! Didn’t your mother teach you not to provoke those who cook for you and can fill your stomach?”

“You two please stop arguing,” Sister Jules, a sincere Avalon follower and current faith manager of the territory, said with a headache:

“Unity is what can keep us going in these stormy times. Also, I suggest we can look for followers of Avalon doctrine among the Goldflower Kingdom’s soldier thugs and criminals.

They come from East Prussia, which was once covered by Avalon’s light.

I can coordinate with the Avalon Church to send priests to the POW camps. Guildmaster Natalie and Grandma Marianne have urgently trained a batch of armed priests who are well-versed in scriptures.

They not only have deep understanding of the doctrine, but are also deeply blessed by our God, and can participate in intense warfare when necessary.”

“One hand holds sword, one hand holds scripture,” Murphy sighed:

“Natalie learns really fast, this is exactly how it should be!

Armed priests

Good!

This is the abundant martial virtue that our great Transia should have!

Our priests can purify souls when picking up scriptures, and can send off evil spirits when putting down scriptures, this is what I want to see in believers.

If everyone has no objections, let’s get to work quickly.

I’ll give you some inside information here.

By next month at the latest, I will withdraw some warriors and military force to go to Foul Swamp. The reconnaissance operations there are near the end, military operations should be put on the agenda. After the military force is withdrawn, local security maintenance will be handed over to the militia and new local security officers. Commander Portman, the moment for you to perform is coming.

Everyone is watching you.

Don’t let your colleagues who crawled out of hell with you laugh at you.”

“I will not disappoint you!”

The balding knight suddenly stood up and properly gave Murphy a knight’s salute.

Although of humble birth, etiquette is something that will actively improve with one’s status. Who could have imagined that a slacking uncle from the Kadman police station could now achieve such high official position and salary?

And the situations of Portman and other managers present could completely be used as “inspiring examples” for propaganda. They are all classic models of the “Transia Dream.”

If they can survive the Black Plague, the stories of these people will surely be sung throughout this land.

After others left, Murphy and Miriam looked at Lady Palen who specially stayed behind.

The Governor said softly:

“Are you ready? Lady Palen, regarding the journey to represent Transia to the Genoa Peninsula, I can only say this trip is of great significance to us.”

“Frankly speaking, I lack confidence, my lord,” the capable and bold Lady Palen didn’t pretend to be confident in front of the Governor. She touched the blood stone knight ring on her finger and sighed:

“I was just a small business merchant in the first half of my life, never imagined that one day I would represent my hometown to go to the most commercially atmospheric place on this continent.

For me, the rumors about Halfling cities and prosperity only existed in dreams of faraway places, but I also know our current situation.

I will do my utmost to help you complete the final preparations.”

“The list of talented children in the territory has been organized,” Miriam took out a list and handed it to Lady Palen, saying:

“A total of 500 people will travel with you and Professor Malcolm to the Genoa Peninsula. Little Countess Sharon and her 200 Winged Cavalry will travel with you and provide security work.

Also, your two daughters will be appointed as…”

“No, no need,” Lady Palen waved her hand and said:

“I’ve talked with my daughters.

They don’t want to leave here when their hometown needs them. They are also Transians, they inherited the rough and wild part in our bloodline. Moreover, I can no longer persuade them like before.”

At this point, Lady Palen looked somewhat resentfully at Governor Murphy and complained:

“They have seen more outstanding souls than the excellent men this land can produce. Just like having seen eagles soaring in the sky, they no longer want to associate with roosters crawling on the ground.

I must protest to you as a mother, Lord Murphy!

That ‘Grayman’ sir under your command has been keeping my poor daughters hanging and unwilling to respond to their passion, making my poor girls dejected day after day.”

“Uh…”

Murphy really didn’t expect this matter would end up relating to himself. He could only helplessly shrug his shoulders and say:

“I’m very willing to help, Lady Palen, but regrettably, I cannot control my warriors’ matters regarding feelings, this is their freedom. Most importantly, you know, they don’t look at this world the same way we do.

So my advice to you is, let nature take its course.

I believe Grayman won’t be an unfaithful man, and if he is, then I will punish him!”