Iron Harvest: When Farming Becomes Conquest-Chapter 244 - 13: Administrative System

Roman had always believed that it was the position that cultivated talent, not the other way around.

Without a platform, even the best talents would be submerged.

But with a platform, even clods of earth and pieces of rubble could one day become uncut jade.

So, don’t worry about whether it’s a good fit, just start working for now.

We’ll deal with any issues that arise later.

The population is currently only thirty thousand.

A small domain has its advantages.

For example, it’s convenient to heed the voices from above and understand the sentiments below.

Roman himself presided over the area, ensuring that appointments and promotions were communicated swiftly and effectively.

Power could be delegated, but it should never be fully relinquished.

Otherwise, they would quickly turn from ’us’ into ’them’.

Power corrupts the flesh, and desire erodes the soul—especially for those who are inexperienced.

Just appointed: they are overwhelmed with favor, tears of gratitude, vow to do every task the Lord has entrusted, respectful to superiors, and lenient to subordinates.

Two months into the job: they take their role for granted, grow gradually lazy, still somewhat manage the administrative tasks, but don’t prioritize their own responsibilities.

Six months in: they become accustomed to their position, believe their status is due to their own merit, begin to exert control over their rights, and use their influence to seek additional benefits.

One year in: Troublemakers! Lowly people! I am the Lord’s Steward, all of you bow to me, if I say ’one,’ you can’t say ’two.’

Hey!

The lords of the old era are back!

...

The influence of environment on humans is complicated, but such incidents will certainly occur.

Why?

Because they have really seen Stewards lord it over others, and once they have power, they will naturally imitate such behavior.

You ask why they don’t learn the good instead of the bad...

Well, you speak as if they’ve seen any good.

Humans are limited.

They can’t imitate someone they’ve never seen, and Roman can’t explain it to them.

Because explanations are superfluous — Roman always thought so.

Especially for clerical staff, the more you explain, the more likely you are to make mistakes.

They tend to second-guess the thoughts of those above them.

They won’t revere a talkative Monarch, but they will certainly fear a silent one.

Silence is a pose that contains deep power...

Let them speculate wildly.

Roman’s approach won’t change.

He first gave each department a different number of recommendation slots, and nominees had to meet certain criteria — possessing some cleverness, willing to think, good at asking questions, and having demonstrated potential for growth in their daily interactions.

Roman couldn’t set the bar too high.

Therefore, the sources on this list were varied.

There were dockworkers, old farmers, masons, road pavers, constables, and some who were Angels originally crammed into the residents’ department — the unqualified Angels had been eliminated long ago.

These individuals would receive Roman’s promotion and advancement.

Those of humble origin became interns, and those who were interns became full-time employees.

Roman’s administrative hierarchy was now very simple and clear.

Intern, junior, intermediate, senior, and the heads of departments.

Intern clerks received 5 copper coins per month, junior clerks 10 copper coins, intermediate clerks 20 copper coins, senior clerks 30 copper coins, and heads of departments half a gold coin— and the heads’ various benefits were top-notch.

The heads were in place, but the backbone was lacking and had to be filled slowly.

It was a long-term process.

Constantly trying, constantly screening, constantly eliminating.

In the end, a group that obeyed orders, arrangements, and management was formed.

You might say they are illiterate and inexperienced.

But they had to meet Roman’s demands, complete obedience, doing whatever they were told without question.

This was particularly important.

The "Origin Code" granted all residents their human rights—except for prisoners of war and criminals.

Human rights could not be trampled upon, only Roman had the authority to do so, no one else was qualified.

Roman’s duty was to enforce it, to demonstrate the legal system’s efficacy.

He had the education department’s Jimmy carry out the propaganda work.

He would give Jimmy a draft, explaining the fundamental rights of being human.

Anyone who dared to trample upon human rights was trampling upon the laws Roman had personally established.

Even the Stewards were not exempt.

They were operators and protectors of the system.

They operated the law and protected human rights.

Starting from now, the responsibilities of these administrative officials had truly changed, now possessing full administrative powers.

In the past, they were accountable only to the Lords above them.

Now, they were also responsible for the residents below them.

If you don’t work, there are plenty of others who will.

Only by ensuring a good living environment for the residents can long-term, efficient productivity be maintained.

Of course, if some residents were lazy, there were ways to deal with them.

The genes of the idle should be eliminated!

Damn it, I wouldn’t hesitate to lay hands on my own administrative officials, what’s so wrong about crushing a few lowly commoners?

...

Roman called for Hans and Geman.

"I need to reorganize your work," he said straightforwardly.

"Lord, your word is law," replied the two young men, already numb to emotion.

"I need a courtroom now!" he declared.

At first, they were stunned, then their dim eyes lit up with unprecedented brightness.

"Lord! My grandfather was a Judicial Officer for a Great Lord!" Hans spoke up first.

"I have received a complete education in internal affairs! Please trust me! I am competent for this job!" Geman hurriedly added.

They really could not hold back anymore.

The life of the past nearly two years had nearly crushed all their pride.

Every day they opened their eyes to face a group of children.

Teaching numbers, letters, words, over and over again, endlessly.

Even though Nillie had drastically streamlined the school in recent times, expelling over fifteen hundred students.

But the remaining two thousand students were still a huge headache.

The more people Roman took, the more students there were.

The more students, the fewer teachers.

For their age, this experience was truly torturous.

And they could not slack off—the school was right next to the estate, sometimes Roman would pass by, and he regularly checked on the students’ progress.

The two had never seen such a twisted Monarch.

Thoughts of class promotion, of grand plans, were all gone.

At this moment, they just hoped to escape the hell they had been in.

Roman sat on a chair, legs crossed, gesturing as he said, "Don’t rush, I need two judges."

Both men instantly breathed a sigh of relief.

"But I have one condition, with each trial, randomly select nine unrelated individuals to be spectators, and when one of you makes a judgment, the other must raise a different objection, the final decision will be made by a vote from the nine spectators."

"We will carry out your orders without hesitation, Lord Roman!" both men said in unison.

Afraid even a moment’s hesitation might make Roman change his mind.

Roman nodded, "You’ve done fairly well recently, so I’m increasing your wages to three silver coins per month—that’s 3.6 gold coins a year."

Hearing their pay had more than doubled, they were overjoyed, suddenly feeling all their past suffering was worth nothing.

Roman watched them leave, pondered for a moment, then stood up and headed to the barracks.