The Spy (Part II)
The Spy (Part II)
The room was filled with the smell of pine oil. The scent of sweet and moist rotten wood made him sleepy. But in Border Town, he could not ask for more. Elegance had nothing to do with this poor land and having a house for shelter was already very good, not to mention that he now had a large group of houses.
His office was located in a compound not far from the castle, where the City Hall initially built by the former lord lay. Of course, the lord took all his men when he left, and now it was the assistant minister's territory.
The continuous rustling sound of writing and the whistling winds outside the window constituted two different worlds. Barov was struggling to write on a wooden table fully covered with books and old scrolls. There were two low-lying long tables beside him, which were hardly used and just for placing manuscripts. When it was necessary, he would call his disciples to work at the low table to arrange information or compose drafts.
The candle on the mahogany holder had already been changed three times. Apart from getting up to replace them, Barov did not stop writing. Time was precious for him. There was a pile of documents waiting for him to deal with, and His Highness' financial expenditure also needed to be carefully reviewed.
Now Barov worked an average of 10 hours a day, but he did not feel tired at all. Instead, here he was able to work freely and had unending vigor. [This was the taste of power,] he thought. He no longer had to ape his tutor's footsteps. All the disciples had to obey him. No one dared to hinder him or cause problems. As long as he completed the orders of His Royal Highness, the specific process of governance could be decided by him.
It would be perfect if the prince's order could be slightly more normal. Barov pouted regretfully. For example, the document in front of him that had Roland's personal seal had a request to send staff to Willow Town to recruit management personnel and also to purchase a double mast ship. The second article also specifically wrote: In view of the price, you can do without the captain, helmsmen, and sailors.
He did not know whether to laugh or cry after reading it. [Without these people, who will drive the ship back? Do you expect them to walk back after buying it? Why do you need to buy a boat? This is the most critical point. The trading between Border Town and Willow Town was very stable. If you want to expand the ore trade after winter, you can just ask them to increase the number of boats. Buying boats isn't a wise choice, not to mention the town's port can only be used for docking. Without any shipyard protection or sailors to manage them, it will be abandoned before long. Probably His Highness was up to his crazy ideas again, right?]
As for the first request, he could understand its motive.
Currently, everyone in the City Hall was busy. The dozen staff that Barov brought was responsible for the regulation of commerce, statistical reports and income and expenditure settlements. He himself handled the administrative and legislative services, which was obviously unreasonable. If His Highness wanted to separate these departments, he needed to increase the employees in the City Hall. This was a very normal reason, but yet Barov did not want to let go of his power so soon. Having all the power in his own hand was just too satisfying. He thought that even his teacher, the kingdom's Treasurer, was only responsible for the finances of Graycastle. But he, Barov, was the Hand of the King.
[Ahem, well, only effective in Border Town,] he added in his heart. Although His Highness Roland had promised this, there was still a long way to go before he could ascend the throne. Barov found that he subconsciously included Prince Roland again as a contender for the throne. In the past, he would not have thought that this noble son with bad character and lack of any learning or skills could be crowned king.
Since coming to Border Town, he had no end of surprises. Up till now, Border Town was under the protection of the Militia. It was standing firmly in the Western Region and looked like it would persist for a long time. This was already good enough. Coupled with His Highness' new inventions, and a good understanding of the people's hearts, he was completely different from Prince Roland back in the Kingdom of Graycastle. He resembled more a demon who had an insight into everything.
At this time, there was a sound of knocking at the door. Barov reluctantly stopped the business at hand, and said, "Come in."
Coming through the door was one of his favorite disciples, "The Writer" Jaaro.
"Teacher, another 'Rat' was caught."
"Yeah? Did you manage to find out anything?"
"He said he was sent by the Second Prince. We found a package of cement powder on him, some coins and a letter." Jaaro came forward, handed Barov a leather-wrapped envelope. "We're still interrogating him to get more information. Teacher, how should we deal with him..."
"Just like before. After interrogation, compile all the information into a book. Then sentence him as guilty and hang him," Barov said nonchalantly.
"Yes," said Jaaro with a bow, "In that case, I'll take my leave."
The door was closed again, but Barov did not go back to his work immediately. Instead, he went back to the table and used an envelope opener to take out the letter.
[The fourth one...] he thought.
Way before the Months of Demons arrived, Roland Wimbledon had called him to discuss this problem.
His Royal Highness believed that when the cement, new snow powder, and witches were disclosed, the spies sent by his siblings would not be able to retain their patience and would come out from hiding. This would be the best time to remove the Rats. Barov agreed with the first half of the statement but did not agree with the latter part. In his view, Border Town had more than 2,000 people, so it was impossible to monitor everyone. They did not have the manpower or time to prevent this sort of small offense.
His Highness refuted. "How could there be no one? Every subject of Border Town can be our eyes."
At that time, Barov felt it was wishful thinking on the prince's part. He wanted to let these ignorant and dull civilians monitor the possible emergence of Rats? It was completely impossible!
It turned out that he was wrong.
At the first census conducted in winter, Roland deliberately mentioned to all the indigenous people that stayed here for more than five years: Longsong Stronghold's conspiracy to burn the grain failed, but they still did not give up. They already sent enemies to lurk among the people. Most of them were disguised as relatives of the town people or businessmen that did not evacuate in time. These spies would find any opportunity to scourge everyone. If anyone saw any suspicious characters, they should report it to the City Hall immediately. Once verified, they would receive a reward of 25 silver royals.
This trick turned out to be surprisingly effective.
Although there were some false reports, it was not long before that the first Rat got caught this way.
At that time, Barov also remembered that Roland proudly said something quite awkward.
What was it? He tried to think, that's right... "Let the enemy get drowned in the sea of the civilian battles."
Really weird wording and syntax. Barov shook his head and spread out the letter.
The guy, known as the "Groundhog", repeatedly stressed in the letter that many factors proved that Prince Roland Wimbledon had been replaced by a demon. Barov could even read his fears through the lines. Associating this with His Highness' manipulation of human sentiments, Barov could not help but agree. He took a deep breath, moved the letter to the candle, and soon the paper was engulfed by the flame and turned into ash.
[Even it's true, he's a demon who was not afraid of God's Stone of Retaliation and able to endow him with power, right?]