This "first test" exploded like a thunderclap in the minds of the four Administrative Officers. Their faces instantly lost all color, becoming as pale as the limestone on the walls.
One of the older Administrative Officers trembled, seemingly wanting to say something, but couldn't utter a single word.
Solomon watched their reactions and sighed, knowing that their completion of this task was likely subpar. His voice turned cold, devoid of any warmth: "Go back immediately!"
"From the subjects to you, I want a list. A list accurate to every single person. His name, his address in the Military Fort, who his wife is, how many children he has."
"Find out for me which families have men who are currently bandits in the mountains outside, and make a separate list."
Not issuing some harsh words probably won't work. Solomon stood up, and that invisible pressure almost made the four collapse to the ground.
"I made you the Lord's Administrative Officers to work for me! Not to let you eat for free and live a good life!"
"Whoever does well will be rewarded! Whoever does poorly...!"
Solomon didn't continue, but the fear brought by those unfinished words was heavier than any direct threat.
"Bear the consequences yourselves!"
The four Administrative Officers retreated from the Lion's Den almost on hands and knees. Only when the cold night wind blew on their faces did they realize their backs were soaked in cold sweat.
This command, like a death warrant, was brought back to their respective Military Forts and told to their colleagues, the Military Officers and Tax Officers.
The news spread like wind, passing through the Household Chiefs (Hu Zhang), then to the grassroots Neighborhood Chiefs (Lin Zhang), spreading layer by layer downwards, rapidly diffusing among the populace.
The originally peaceful night was shattered. Every Military Fort was in an uproar. Undercurrents of suspicion, doubt, and fear began to surge wildly between those simple wooden huts and stone houses.
The Military Officers were all junior officers from the three hundred veterans who had followed Solomon.
The Military Officer of Back-Mountain Fort summoned all Household Chiefs and relayed the Lord's order in the harshest terms, adding his own interpretation.
"You are all veterans who have followed Lord Solomon! You obtained the private land granted by Lord Solomon! This is an opportunity, an opportunity for us to prove our value to the Lord!"
He announced publicly that the first Family Head (Jia Zhang) to report a valid list, along with his superior Neighborhood Chief and Household Chief, would all receive a bag of wheat as a reward.
And any family attempting to shield or conceal information, once verified, would be severely punished.
The order was passed down layer by layer. Household Chiefs, Neighborhood Chiefs, and Family Heads were all veterans who had followed Solomon. To complete Lord Solomon's task, they all worked with 120% enthusiasm.
For a time, the wind of informing blew everywhere. Neighbors who were once harmonious began to size each other up with scrutiny and suspicion.
A careless word, an abnormal action, could all invite disaster.
In South-Gorge Fort, a "Family Head" named Toma was experiencing unprecedented torment.
Counting his own family, among the five households he was responsible for lived the widow Amy. He basically knew her family's information.
Amy's husband died last year after being conscripted for labor by House Terry, leaving only her and two children. The older one was called Laban, just turned sixteen this year.
His neighbor, another family under his management, came to find him late the night before last and told him that Laban had disappeared during House Terry's rule.
Amy claimed to outsiders that Laban just wanted to go out and earn some money so she and his brother could have enough to eat.
Toma knew that Laban was likely in the mountains, having become one of those bandits.
Night fell deep. Toma sat by his own fire pit, staring blankly at the dancing flames, ignoring even his wife's call to rest.
The words of the Household Chief and Neighborhood Chief during the day still echoed in his ears: "How good Lord Solomon treats us! You know clearly! We must be grateful to Lord Solomon!"
"Secondly! If one family conceals, five families are punished together! Think clearly! Is your own wife and children important! Or are others important!"
Yes, I am a veteran who followed Lord Solomon from the earliest days. Lord Solomon shared the spoils with us and gave us private land. How can I conceal and not report?
He closed his eyes, as if he could see Amy's haggard face and her younger son's thin figure.
But he also saw his wife mending clothes under the dim oil lamp, his daughter sleeping on the straw mat breathing evenly, and thought of the figure of Lord Solomon who lived and died with them in the Water Valley and handed the land deed to his hand.
After a long time, he stood up abruptly, grabbed a coat, and rushed into the cold night. He knocked on the Neighborhood Chief's wooden door.
Thud, thud, thud.
Every sound was like a knock on his heart.
"Who?" The door opened. The Neighborhood Chief held a candle, looking at him with sleepy eyes.
Toma's lips moved, his voice hoarse as if ground by sandpaper:
"Amy's... family... her... her... son, Laban."
Different from the struggle in South-Gorge Fort, an unexpected event occurred in Crack-Valley Fort.
A white-haired old woman, leaning on a wooden cane, supported by her granddaughter, took the initiative to find her "Family Head."
After meeting the Family Head, two lines of tears flowed from the old woman's cloudy eyes. Trembling, she spoke the name of her disappointing son.
"I heard, the Lord only wants to investigate, not to kill them all."
The old woman grabbed the Family Head's hand, her withered fingers cold and forceful.
"That damn son of mine, back then he really couldn't survive... I beg the Lord for mercy, give him a way to live."
She believed in the benevolence Solomon showed them when he took over this land. That benevolence was her last hope.
A few days later, four lists were sent to the Lion's Den again.
The four Administrative Officers stood in the same positions, but their expressions had changed from previous fear to extreme exhaustion and excitement. Their hands were trembling slightly.
Evelyn took the four rough pieces of parchment and transcribed the ugly names written on them one by one onto a more exquisite piece of paper.
Her quill rustled on the paper. The writing of every name seemed to represent the fate of a family.
When the last name was written, she looked up and reported to Solomon with a solemn face: "Lord Solomon, a total of one hundred and twelve names, involving one hundred and twelve families."
This number made Luchen and Lauchlan frown. Even a flash of surprise passed through Evelyn's eyes. But Solomon didn't have any expression of surprise.
He stood up from his seat, walked to Evelyn's side, and picked up the other heavy list that cataloged all the subjects, his blood boiling. He didn't care how many families had relatives as bandits; he valued this civil register of all subjects more.
Looking at the dense records detailed down to family relationships, a strong surge of excitement welled up in his heart.
This system worked.
Like an invisible giant net, it had firmly ensnared the entire territory, every family, within it. Any movement in the wind or grass could not escape his control.
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