I, the prince in distress, send money

Chapter 245 Turmoil
The player expedition has been gone for over a week, and during this time, things have been rather turbulent in Voltradnoy.

Every day, the documents delivered to Chris filled an entire oak desk, these parchments densely documenting the various conflicts that had occurred in the city.

Food allocation, personnel resettlement, and a constant stream of disputes flooded Chris's desk like snowflakes.

There were complaints about unequal food distribution, with some complaining that their rations contained too much weeds and sand; and some residents even fought over temporary shelters, requiring a ruling and punishment.

The neighborhood's sewers were clogged with garbage, causing sewage to overflow, and residents signed a petition demanding repairs.

After each task was completed, new documents began to arrive.

There were letters of appeal from surrounding villages and towns, hoping to receive support in terms of food and military supplies; caravans whose goods had been robbed due to road disturbances were requesting the prince to send troops to quell the unrest; and refugees who had fled famine were hoping to be settled in the city and asking Chris to approve a place of settlement and provide basic necessities.

These documents, each and every one of them, concerned the people's livelihood and the stability of the city. Chris dared not slack off in the slightest and had to carefully review and approve them one by one.

All of the above could be delayed for a while, but there was one thing that Chris took extremely seriously and dared not neglect.

More than 20 newly appointed civil servants, including neighborhood chiefs and village heads, have been injured or killed in the unrest that has lasted for several days.

The newly established militia suffered over a hundred casualties.

Chris learned that the injuries and deaths of these village chiefs and yamen leaders were basically related to the local thugs and ruffians.

What does this mean?
This means that Chris's hand reaching out to the grassroots is being tried to be severed by these people.

According to the Chinese understanding, the capital city is the political and economic center of a country, and its security and stability should be the most important thing for the country.

However, the reality is quite the opposite. As the capital of Bagnia, Votradnoi has a far more intricate and complex underground network than one might imagine.

Well, the statement above isn't entirely accurate. Or rather, China, both offline and in the gaming world, is an unusual, utopian country that shouldn't exist. It's not perfect, but it's safe and stable enough.

In other parts of the world and in other countries, it is actually quite normal for capital cities to be places of corruption and filth.

The same is true of Vortradnoy; the city's underground is teeming with monsters and demons.

If Chris hadn't tried to take control of the city from the bottom up, living in the dark world of Waterladnoy, he wouldn't have dared to have any conflict with Prince Chris.

Instead, these guys intended to fawn over and pledge allegiance to Chris, and they even prepared gifts for His Highness the Prince... enough wealth, equipment, and food to build an army.

In addition, there are nearly a hundred beautiful women of all shapes and sizes.

The local strongmen in Walteradnoy had no idea what Prince Chris's current situation was, because the speed at which the prince had returned home and led his army to Walteradnoy was simply too fast.

In addition, due to the players and Connie's intelligence agency, it is extremely difficult for anyone to find out about Chris's situation, let alone know the prince's detailed background and his style of doing things.

However, while specific details are difficult to obtain, in some cases, the local strongmen in Walteradnoy can deduce a reliable fact from unreliable snippets of information.

Prince Chris has no nobles under his command, nor has he yet lavishly bestowed titles upon them.

Based on their limited perspectives and past experiences, the local bullies speculated that Prince Chris, in order to re-establish his rule over the Kingdom of Bagnia, would certainly need the nobles as his assistants to help him govern the country and manage this not-so-vast and somewhat impoverished territory.

After all, for the past few centuries, the ruling order of Bagnia has been maintained by the nobles, the church, and the underworld... The nobles were responsible for managing the territory, the church for pacifying the people, and the underworld for handling the dirty work that could not be seen in the light of day.

However, while their general assumptions were correct, and Chris didn't intend to abolish the aristocracy, he clearly didn't intend to perpetuate the old order. At least in the society Chris planned to establish, there was no fertile ground for gangsters.

Why can gangs exist in a country?
That's because the country's lack of control over the grassroots level makes it impossible for the government to effectively manage every corner of society, thus giving these underground forces room to survive.

What Chris wanted to do was extend his reach to every street and every household in the city.

The urban baojia system is something Chris had envisioned before, and now he's trying it out.

When the first batch of village chiefs and neighborhood leaders began to take over street affairs, the leaders of the underworld were still taking a wait-and-see approach.

However, as these grassroots civil servants gradually figured out the ins and outs of their jurisdiction and began to strictly enforce food rationing, population registration, and tax policies, the interests of some people were genuinely affected.

The local bullies began to retaliate, which was the main reason for the casualties among the village chiefs and headmen. They were demonstrating their power to the prince while intimidating the locals.

"Your Highness, the 'Bloody Hand Gang' attacked the food distribution station in the East District this morning."

Connie strode into the office, her face serious.

"They injured three village chiefs and stole two cartloads of grain."

Chris put down his quill, a cold glint in his eyes.

"How many cases are there this week?"

"The seventh case."

Connie answered immediately.

"And their methods are becoming increasingly brazen. Yesterday, a black market dealer in the southern district openly threatened our tax office clerk, saying he'd disappear if he dared to collect taxes."

Chris stood up and walked outside the tent. The distant Wartradnoy seemed calm, but he knew that beneath the calm surface, undercurrents were surging.

So far, Chris has not moved into Waterladnoy. On the one hand, he doesn't like the old palace, and on the other hand, the hygiene in Waterladnoy is really worrying, and he doesn't want to step in poop every time he goes out.

However, the local bullies in Wattradnoy seemed to take Chris's behavior as cowardice and concession.

"It's really ridiculous..."

Chris lowered his eyes, concealing the cold glint in them.

"Clearly, not launching a major crackdown on Waterladnoy is not..."

"Report!"

Just then, a messenger ran over and interrupted Chris.

"Your Highness, the garrison of Watradnoy has issued an urgent report that the judge you appointed who went on a rampage through the city... he is leading his men on a killing spree!"

"What!?"

(End of this chapter)