Chapter 42: Chapter 42: Su Li’s Court Cabinet
After naming the territory, the most important thing for Su Li now is understanding and taking control of this unfamiliar land.
The situation here is in complete disarray; it’s a mess that seems impossible to untangle, like a tiger deciding where to bite a vast sky.
If he were a diligent lord, at this moment he certainly wouldn’t have found a way through this yet, nor decided from which direction to approach.
But Su Li is quite composed, already having a perfect solution in mind.
After Knight Oerstein commanded the troops to prepare the meal, all the knights, soldiers, and slaves of the territory gathered at this simple camp.
The meat soup bubbled enticingly over the bonfire, its alluring aroma wafting in all directions, drawing everyone’s gazes here, and many starving slaves gulped involuntarily.
The most essential personnel in the group gathered beside the bonfire, so Su Li grasped his longsword, stepped into the center of the crowd, and formally announced the first management decision for his territory.
"From now on, I officially become the master of Hesse Territory. This will be our starting point for pioneering and development. To better manage the territory, I have decided to immediately form my court cabinet."
Every Kingdom Knight has their court cabinet, sometimes referred to as the courtier cabinet. In essence, they are ministers who help the lord manage various territorial affairs.
Although the development focus of each territory varies and the court cabinet may differ slightly, the key members are almost the same, including the Minister of the Seal, Minister of Finance, Judges, Religious Advisor, Military Marshal, Minister of Foreign Affairs, Attendant Chief; some special territories focusing on maritime transport have a Navy Commander, while those emphasizing agricultural production have a Minister of Agriculture.
Su Li, according to the situation of Hesse Territory, proceeded with the appointments for the territory.
"I appoint Hilude as the Attendant Chief."
"Appoint Knight Oerstein as Hesse Military Commander."
"Appoint Frederick as Judge."
"Appoint Lauren as Minister of the Seal."
"Appoint Vandar as Religious Advisor and Minister of Agriculture!"
What’s the first thing in quickly mastering the territory? Of course, it’s appointing ministers responsible for various affairs.
A true duty of a monarch is to select capable and virtuous talents, arranging them accordingly, rather than personally attending to every task. A competent lord should delegate numerous matters so that cleaning the territory, settling soldiers, cultivating farmlands, building ranches, training the army, and clearing hidden threats can advance simultaneously.
This appointment also helps quickly stabilize people’s hearts. For instance, Great Druid Vandar Oak, Su Li privately negotiated with him en route, directly pointing out his concealed identity and reaching an agreement with him before he could cause any disorder.
As long as he doesn’t secretly plot against the territory, Su Li can support him in spreading the doctrine of the Dawn Church within the territory.
Su Li himself doesn’t have particularly strong beliefs, having only crossed over half a year and become a knight just a month ago. If inclined towards any divine spirit, it could only be the Sun Goddess, given the genuinely strong creed and followers.
But unlike him, Vandar is very dedicated to missionary work, and when Su Li proposed supporting his evangelism in exchange for his compliance, he agreed without hesitation. After all, where isn’t it missionary work? At least here he can gain the lord’s support, which is beneficial for the Dawn Church.
With the support of the Dawn Church, the agricultural development is bound to ease Su Li’s concerns.
After Su Li announced the appointments, everyone immediately stood up, bowing respectfully and solemnly pledging, "We swear by our honor, we will definitely not fail the undertaking entrusted by the Lord."
With these appointments, all matters of the territory immediately started advancing smoothly and comprehensively.
First, Minister of the Seal Lauren Leopold, along with manpower and slaves, quickly cleaned and repaired some rooms in the south of the city.
The Minister of the Seal, also known as the King’s Hand, aids the lord, convenes meetings and organizes agendas, acting as the executor of the Kingdom Knight’s will. Although lacking substantial authority, they can oversee all the governance affairs of the territory.
Under his leadership, nearly a hundred slaves and attendants, before dusk, tidied up over forty rooms, preliminarily accommodating over two hundred people who followed Su Li. As long as there’s no strong wind or rain, it’s temporarily habitable.
Subsequent attendants wishing to improve living conditions, including knights seeking land, houses, residences, must pay to buy or rent from Su Li, the lord.
Upon Su Li’s assumption of the territory, everything here became his property; creatures flying in the sky, swimming in rivers, growing on mountains, even beasts in the forest are the lord’s private property.
It even includes previous lands, houses, and residents here, becoming his spoils. All residents, except for Lauren the civil servant, were classified as serfs.
Why else would Su Li provide food for them? Relief, that is not something nobles in this world would do. Only by becoming a noble’s private property serfs will the nobles drop some food, similar to feeding cattle and horses.
However, this also brought a problem, which is the serfs’ very low work incentives; without overseers whipping them, they will find ways to slack off.
Priest Vandar, the territory’s Minister of Agriculture, personally taking three Dawn Church nuns, guided over fifty slaves to cultivate wasteland, achieving less than 20 acres in a morning.
At this rate, the knights of the territory would starve to death.
Frederick, in his fiery temper, wanted to execute a batch of shirking serfs on the spot.
Su Li shook his head, told Hilude to summon Frederick in front of him, and said, "My Judge, killing, killing, killing isn’t the solution. The problem of shirkers and indolence among the serfs exists in every territory. Solely relying on killing one to warn others won’t deter them."
"Conversely, those cunning serfs will feel more at ease, knowing that after you kill a slave, you’re unlikely to kill others right away. They will become more fearless."
Frederick, somewhat dissatisfied, replied, "Lord, judging is the court’s responsibility. Even as the lord, it’s inappropriate to interfere crudely with court judgments."
Knights in this world are very proud and domineering; Frederick’s response already shows significant respect for Su Li’s reputation. With another lord, a court judge being questioned in this manner might feel insulted, leaving the territory.
Of course, Frederick wouldn’t leave the territory but clearly expressed his reluctance, emphasizing the dignity of a cabinet minister.
Su Li certainly respects his subordinates’ attitudes; having open discussions about work matters is something he appreciates.
Yet he emphasized, "I’m not here to interfere with your judicial decisions. However, my dear Judge, you must understand one thing: the purpose of law is not punishment but regulation and restraint. All measures ultimately aim to maintain my governance interests and order."
"That’s why we formulate a series of laws. So, my Judge, do I have the right for the court to pass a law?"
"Of course!" Frederick bowed and said, "As long as we submit, your Minister of the Seal stamps it, a law can be passed."