Heroes of Might and Magic: Grand Consul

Chapter 463 Reflections on the Art of Governance
Although the decision to send troops has been made, it will still take a few days, as the losses in the battle of the hills were quite heavy, and a wave of fresh troops is needed to replenish them.

The new week that followed finally changed the state of the lunar eclipse, triggering a new astrological month.

[Bright Crystal Month: All crystal production is doubled this month, with a chance of encountering new special crystal mines, and the number of troops recruited using crystals has a chance to double.]

Because of Sedros's presence, Kuraki already knew this information, and the astrological moon attribute of Kuraki's area was changed, remaining the Swordsman's Moon.

With the Swordsman's Month bonus, it's possible to recruit over 100 of the strongest swordsmen each week. It's a pity Forrest's recruitment skill is still at a beginner level; otherwise, he could recruit even more swordsmen.

While preparing for military operations, Sumu made a trip to the northern border.

First, to retrieve the magical armor after its release from the seal; second, to examine the management of people's livelihoods in the North.

Forrest reported that the number of merchants returning from the North had decreased recently, suggesting that the people in the settlements were leaving the villages.

Due to successive wars and unpredictable natural disasters, the population of villages and towns is declining rapidly, and those with a little money or assets have moved to larger cities.

Although the North is a harsh and cold place, it is rich in resources, and many ancient families are rooted here and are generally unwilling to move.

Previously, Salman ruled over the major families of the North. Now that half of the region has been incorporated into Silvertop City, Sumu has not changed his strategy toward the tribes. He has even allocated special funds to support the nobles of the North.

After all, the area is so vast that Kuraki's defenses are limited. He may be able to fight anyone, but when it comes to management, he still has to rely on these local strongmen.

During Crystal Moon this month, the North can produce crystals at a high rate, providing a considerable amount of resources.

Su Mu didn't expect the nobles to make any great contributions. As long as they could hand over rare resources on time and maintain regional security, that would be enough. But it seems that the results are not very good.

"Silvertop City is a city of towers, and most of the nobles in the North are human, and the heroes are knights of castles. Won't some of you be a little resentful?"

Forrest raised a pointed question: different places nurture different people. Cedrus was essentially an outcast lord, and his title was merely Baron of the White Tower. There were still some marquises and earls remaining in the North. It's no wonder he felt resentful.

Su Mu pondered for a moment, then nodded and shook his head: "There are definitely some who are not convinced. I have already spoken with Gard Quentin. After this battle in the heartland is over, I will bestow several more powerful earls, and Congress will also make additional appointments."

But that shouldn't be the main reason. The Northern nobles were disillusioned with the Salim family, faced the invasion of the Frost Treants, and then the Arcane Empire; they were already tired of their nomadic life. We provided them with subsidies and allowed them to return to their original homes, which was initially well-received. There must have been some underlying issues.”

The two entered the Northern Territory from the northern part of the Shilin Plains. This area, close to the former Cold Night City, was the territory of the Cox family. This area had previously been conquered by Isildur and then occupied by the Arcane Empire. After Kuraki reclaimed it, he brought them back and allowed them to continue managing the lands of the Northern Territory.

Although their boss had changed, Cox had long been disappointed with Suliman, and given their good relationship with Maggie, they returned to their old haunts to rebuild their home.

But as far as the eye could see, the fertile land was barren, and even the crops that were planted were malnourished, and the farmers were pale, thin, and extremely weak.

Su Mu found an old farmer and asked, "Has this place been hit by a disaster? As far as I know, this place is near a crystal mine, and the Cox family manages it. There should be disaster relief funds, right?"

The old farmer was visibly nervous when he saw the noblemen. Forrest gave them a few silver coins before stammering, "The lunar eclipse lasted for a long time, and wild animals roamed the wilderness. Without log powder, crops could hardly grow. In addition, the harsh winter in the North was approaching, so everyone simply stopped paying attention to the land and retreated to the larger towns."

"As far as I know, the relief funds should have been distributed to address the effects of the lunar eclipse. Didn't you receive them?"

The old farmer lowered his head, no longer daring to speak. Even if he was numb, he could sense that the people in front of him were not simple, and saying too much might bring trouble.

Su Mu's expression was somewhat unfriendly; he had basically guessed the outcome: "Send some dream thieves to investigate what's going on!"

They continued walking forward, and the affected area gradually shrank. Things got much better as they approached Cold Night City, and the flow of people slowly increased.

Forrest said, "It seems the nobles are not doing enough, but they are not deliberately ignoring it. They are doing alright in the core towns."

If that's the case, it's understandable. After all, with more and more months of disaster, small villages and towns don't have enough troops to resist wild beasts and foreign enemies. Abandoning most of their land and moving into heavily fortified cities is a trend.

To a certain extent, even Kuraki's top management encouraged this approach.

But this is a transitional phase, and the disaster relief funds are for emergency use. If any official embezzles funds, he will punish them severely, regardless of who their subordinate is.

The dream thief quickly ascertained the situation and reported it to Forrest.

Upon hearing the specifics, Forrest was also somewhat taken aback.

"The disaster relief funds have been allocated, but Han Yecheng hasn't claimed them, saying they haven't suffered any disaster!"

Su Mu pointed to the barren land: "With the concentration of magical power in the Hero World, the crops have grown like this, and they haven't suffered any disasters yet?"

"Those outer lands were originally meant to be abandoned, but the delay is due to the free people's unwillingness to leave their homeland. If they are willing to go to Cold Night City, they will be compensated and will not starve."

Hearing this, Su Mu nodded. At least there was no embezzlement; the methods were just a bit harsh. However, nobles often have this mentality, treating their territories and people as their own property, to be manipulated however they please. This is the influence of the times, and Su Mu cannot change it.

But what puzzled him was why Cold Night City was so insistent on relocating when there was free funding available. It seemed a bit unreasonable not to take advantage of the situation.

Forrest continued, “The person in charge of disbursing the funds is a sorcerer from the tower, a man obsessed with alchemy and extremely rigid.”

Hanye City had received the payment, but was required to do everything properly and with clear instructions. Any slight deviation was to be recorded and reported to the Silver Peak City Council.

This made the human city lord extremely paranoid, so he eventually stopped reporting the situation altogether, insisting that there was no disaster, which conveniently accelerated the process of bringing the people under his control.

This was indeed somewhat unexpected. The imagined embezzlement and corruption did not exist. Even Silvertop City carried out the order, but it deviated from the original intention.

In the Tower's culture, alchemy is the best path to advancement, and the Tower's agriculture is highly magical, aided by numerous alchemical tools. In the prosecutor's view, the problem could be solved simply by using the money to upgrade equipment and distribute log fertilizer, allowing the disaster victims to focus on farming. As for the funds, to prevent embezzlement and misuse, every item must be clearly explained.

What kind of place is Cold Night City? It's a barbaric land where people gather and live among wolves. It's a backward region where you're lucky to even have some agricultural equipment, let alone magical artifacts.

Purchasing so much sophisticated equipment only requires maintenance and is largely useless; it would be better to just give it all to raw timber fertilizer and let them use it as they see fit. Over time, Cold Night City simply stopped reporting disasters, resulting in a significant reduction in oversight.

If anyone is at fault, it's both.

Cold Night City's lack of ambition, its adherence to rules and regulations, and its aversion to trouble can be seen as a form of negligence. But in such a desolate place, it's already commendable that someone is holding on. It's a very primitive region; if the people had such capabilities, why not migrate to the heartland?

The tower's overseer blindly copied the rules without adapting them to local conditions. Furthermore, his appointment was entirely based on the Silvertop City Council's approval; these rules were undoubtedly meticulously crafted by those above. As long as they were perfectly implemented, even if mistakes occurred, it would still demonstrate loyalty to the council, at least ensuring his stance was sound.

To say he's solely focused on advancement isn't entirely wrong. For the Tower Hero, his greatest motivation is to impress those above him, accomplish his tasks, and return to the comfort of his mage tower to conduct magical research. In some situations, this is even the best solution to drive him.

Punish Cold Night City? It's already a harsh, cold place; if we have to follow so many rules, even fewer people will come.

Disciplining the supervisor? He was simply following the Tower Council's decisions. Currently, Kuraki's rank wasn't high enough, and Su Mu, as the Duke, could naturally punish anyone. But what about later? His direct superior issued one set of orders, while higher-ups issued another. Whom did he listen to?

To put it bluntly, it's only because Su Mu's authority is so great that if someone else had punished the supervisor today, the Silver Peak City Council would have reinstated him sooner or later. They don't think their methods are wrong.

If the measures are made even harsher, the enthusiasm of those below will vanish, and they will all be content with simply avoiding mistakes, showing no sense of responsibility, which will only make the situation worse.

Of course, this is just a minor issue. After all, we are in a time of war, and survival is often the primary concern. Minor frictions won't affect the overall situation. However, it's always necessary to nip problems in the bud, otherwise, they could escalate into major disasters.

"Let's go to Silvertop City and have a talk with Cedros!"

Su Mu's direct intervention is bound to succeed, as everyone has to give Duke Kuraki face. But what about afterward?

The kingdom has provided a large number of boundary stones, and Su Mu intends to upgrade Silvertop City to a parliament. At that time, Silvertop City will be a high-level city second only to Cang Mu. If the conflict with the human nobles remains the same, it may not work.

When Cedrus met the Duke in the council hall, he was somewhat surprised.

In particular, after Forrest recounted what he had seen and heard along the way, Cedrus was first angry, then ashamed, and finally fell into deep thought.

This astrologer possessed an absolute talent for alchemy, but that didn't mean he had a sufficient understanding of human nature. While Silvertop City primarily bore the responsibility of research and defense, stabilizing the territory didn't rely on natural defenses, nor did it depend on border control to attract population.

With fewer merchants and fewer people gathering, we can find ways to cope.

Su Mu discussed the matter with him and Forrest, without much blame, but rather exchanging ideas and clarifying things more clearly.

This problem isn't unique to Silvertop City; Kuraki faces it as well, only more pronounced in territories where towers and castles are mixed. As Kuraki's territory expands and it needs to accommodate inhabitants from different civilizations, this must be considered in advance.

After a long discussion, some consensus was basically reached.

In the future, Silvertop City will extend the timeframe for evaluating officials, taking into account their governance capabilities from multiple perspectives, and will no longer rely solely on alchemy as a specific indicator. If someone performs well in their territory and solves livelihood issues, the council will establish special rewards.

Ultimately, to get things done well, you need the right people to execute them. The key is finding the right people for the right positions. Silvertop City will separate governance from research, making the best use of everyone's talents.

Guidance is definitely an effective measure. When most people are used to good rules, even a small amount of supervision can do a good job.

The next step is to bring in some local human nobles, grant them seats in the council, raise practical questions, and allow them to have more contact with the lives of those at the bottom of society.

Finally, the disaster relief funds were discussed with the local nobles to adjust their structure to better suit the situation in the North.

Of course, there will definitely be other problems with this arrangement. When money and people are involved, there will be bargaining; that's just how the world is.

But now that war is raging, if anyone dares to openly cause trouble, don't blame Su Mu for using that person as a sacrifice.

[Visit the territory of Cold Night City to investigate disaster relief funds; Governance proficiency +200]

[Participate in the formulation of Silvertop City's rules, and your Governance Proficiency will increase by 300]

Discuss national affairs with heroes, instill your governing philosophy, cultivate governing talent, and increase your governing skills proficiency by 400.

Often, when Su Mu leads his heroes to victory and achieves a glorious triumph, his promotion is merely a side benefit of his subordinates' advancement. The insights he gains from battle are far less than those of ordinary heroes; otherwise, given his record, his attributes would have been maxed out long ago.

What governance is truly good at is governing territory, managing heroes, and developing the economy.

Through this incident, Su Mu became more familiar with his own skills.

Governing a country and ensuring its stability involves countless complexities. Reflecting on the essentials of governance, and gaining a more profound understanding of these principles, I take another step towards becoming a legend!

Previously, Su Mu felt that some of his ideas were quite vague, but now the more he discussed them, the clearer they became, and his mind was suddenly enlightened.

When I return this time, I can integrate the fragments of divinity into the Hundred Kings Palace of the Divine Prison and take another step forward.

Meanwhile, Sederlos also has some good news.

"The Cult of Wisdom has given us new blueprints; progress has been made on the Moving Castle!"

(End of this chapter)