This young master truly has the ambition of a hero.

The Saxon family's method of tax evasion was quite simple: they smuggled and sold their homemade wine under the guise of "grape juice," with David covering for them, thus evading a large amount of taxes.

David had given Dick a detailed account of the Saxon family's smuggling methods and the times and places they met with smuggling caravans. If Dick had sent his men to investigate this crucial information, they would have likely uncovered most of it, but it would have taken at least several months. David's revelation had saved them a great deal of time, allowing them to proceed directly to the action phase.

After explaining everything he knew, David asked somewhat nervously.

"I've said everything I needed to say. What are you going to do with me?"

"David Porter will die."

"You said you would spare my life."

"That's right, but David Porter is going to die."

"..."

Dick finished speaking and smiled, while David smiled wryly and sat back down in his seat, dejectedly agreeing.

"alright."

After having lunch with a dejected David, Dick got up and left the restaurant. When he pushed open the castle gate, the training ground was already full of private soldiers ready to go.

Rita then brought over a fine horse and helped the short Dick mount it.

Dick skillfully held the reins, and the black and white guns had already spontaneously gathered around him.

Looking at the two hundred soldiers, who stood in perfect formation and completely silent, Dick was quite satisfied with the quality of this core force. So, he rode on his horse and spoke loudly.

"Brothers, I have an urgent mission. I've received reliable intelligence that someone in Laguge is incredibly audacious, daring to engage in smuggling and tax evasion. What kind of behavior is this? This tax money belongs to His Majesty the Emperor, to you, my Governor, and to all of you hundreds of brothers—it's your pay! This damned bastard stole gold coins that belong to all of us. Now tell me, do you think you can let that scum off easily?"

"No!!!"

The soldiers, their emotions stirred, unleashed an unprecedented surge of anger and morale.

Dick nodded in satisfaction, then pulled out his long spear and wand and shouted loudly at the assembled soldiers.

"Guns in hand, come with me! Let's go take back what's rightfully ours!"

Chapter 014: Confiscating property! Confiscating property!

At this time, the Saxon family was shrouded in gloom.

The eldest son, Hansen, was wrapped up like a mummy, lying on the bed, barely breathing, relying entirely on healing potions, while anxiously awaiting the arrival of the priest.

Because Laguge is a harsh and cold place with a small population—less than 50,000 people live in its tens of thousands of square kilometers of forest and snowfield—it has temples and resident monks, but no priests.

If you want to ask a priest to save your life, you have to send someone across the mountain pass to a place more than 200 miles away to ask him.

Fortunately, the Saxons were wealthy. To save his eldest son's life, old Jonah sent his steward to invite the priest, offering three times the usual "offerings," hoping the priest would hurry up and come.

Compared to the eldest son, whose limbs were completely crippled, the second and third sons were in slightly better condition, only suffering from ordinary bruises and swelling.

Jonah's face was as black as if it were about to rain. He was indeed worried about his eldest son's life, but he was even more afraid that after this tournament, the Saxon family's "prestige" in the area, or to put it more bluntly, their "infamy," would be completely wiped out.

No one will be afraid of them anymore, and what will become of a group of thugs that no one fears...?

Jonah was too afraid to think any further.

What to do? The new governor is no pushover; he's a ruthless tiger ready to pounce. After replacing David, he became the duke's de facto representative in the fiefdom, at least in terms of power, not much different from a lord. He has a group of capable men and several hundred well-trained private soldiers under his command, and he'll definitely make an example of someone to establish his authority in the region.

And the Saxon family, notorious for their evil deeds in the area, was undoubtedly the most suitable monkey!

Jonah hesitated for a long time, but then gritted his teeth and decided to make a tough decision: once the priest came and cured Hansen, his family would immediately give up the territory and move away.

According to imperial law, knights who are truly bad at managing their lands are allowed to relinquish their fiefs, as long as they continue to respond to the call to participate in wars.

The Saxon family had been operating in the area for three generations, and after decades of development, their business had grown to a considerable size. If they were to flee, they would have to sell the estate at a loss, which would certainly result in a huge financial loss, but preserving their lives was more important than anything else.

Unfortunately, Jonah was unaware that David, who had left Lagog the day before, had been caught and brought back before nightfall, and that morning, in order to save his life, he had betrayed the Saxon family.

By this time, it was too late for him to run!

Jonah was feeling distressed when he suddenly heard a commotion outside. A servant rushed in, delivering a devastating message to Jonah.

"Master, it's terrible! The governor has led hundreds of men and stormed in. They've pushed down our fence and are swarming in!"

"What!? How dare they... How could they..."

As a notorious local gang, the Saxons previously controlled not only their militia but also a 30-man household guard and hundreds of serfs on their estate, all of whom were armed fighting forces that could be mobilized in critical moments.

It is worth mentioning that Park Deok-yong, who had not yet succeeded in currying favor, once volunteered to train the Saxon troops using a "global-style modern military training model".

But Old Jonah only regarded Park Deok-yong as a household slave and was not at all at ease letting his subordinates be trained by an Earthling. He was more interested in the bullying methods that Park Deok-yong had learned from the "Great Cold Netherworld Army". He only allowed Park Deok-yong to discipline the serfs, but did not allow him to interfere in the training of the household servants and the self-defense force.

So when Dick's private army stormed into the Saxon manor, his dozens of servants were utterly useless and obediently laid down their weapons and surrendered.

Old Jonah rushed out of the room and questioned Dick, who was riding on horseback, about what he meant.

They, the Saxons, were knights who had been knighted. Even if they were the lowest-ranking nobles, they were still nobles. They hadn't broken any imperial laws, so they shouldn't be subjected to such casual humiliation!

But Dick just sneered and pointed his whip at his face.

"Not breaking the law? You dare to swear a poisonous oath to the 'God of the Holy Star'? You haven't broken the law?"

“You… I admit that I have conflicts with some local powerful families, but private duels are not taboo in the empire!”

"Tsk! Even now, you're still making excuses. You won't admit it until you're faced with the truth!"

"Since Your Excellency is determined to frame me, I have nothing to say."

Jonah adopted a defiant stance, believing that Dick's surprise attack on the Saxon house was a "blunder" and that he could not possibly have any substantial evidence.

But just then, a group of soldiers suddenly came over carrying several boxes that Jonah recognized very well.

Jonah's heart tightened immediately, because that box was where he kept the "real ledger," and in theory, only he, as the head of the family, knew about it; he hadn't even told his eldest son.

Immediately afterwards, another group of soldiers rushed into his vineyard with shovels and began digging under several rows of grapevines. Jonah then realized something was wrong.

"you……"

"I came prepared, specifically to bully you, you old geezer."

Jonah probably never dreamed that the person who betrayed him was actually his most beloved eldest son, Hansen, the "legitimate eldest son" whom he had groomed as his heir.

He discovered where his father hid the account books by spying on him and secretly colluded with former Governor David.

The reason he wanted to bid farewell to his father and laugh with his son was mainly because he couldn't wait any longer!

It should be noted that there is only one knighthood in the Saxon family, which is still held by old Jonah. The old man is proud of this and enjoys all the vanity that the title of "Knight Lord" brings him, but he does not notice that his son is also yearning for it.

In addition to his knighthood, Hansen also had designs on his father's concubine, Park Ae-jung.

In short, this guy conspired with David to deal with Jonah behind his own father's back.

After learning about these inside stories, Dick couldn't help but think that even without him, these people would still fight to the death because of their ridiculously dramatic relationships.

The entire raid went very smoothly. Dick obtained Jonah's ledgers, providing irrefutable evidence of the Saxons' tax evasion over the years. He also unearthed a large number of human skeletons in the vineyard, victims killed by the Saxons over the years, whose identities are yet to be confirmed.

In addition, some of the hundreds of Saxon servants came forward to identify Jonah, saying that they were not slaves at all, but "abducted persons" bought by the Saxons from bandits, and were forced to admit to a false identity and sign a contract of servitude.

One of the young men, not very old, even claimed to be of noble birth, the second son of a viscount family in the eastern part of the empire. He said he had been kidnapped by bandits while traveling and sold into slavery to the Saxons, where he had been for five years. He had managed to escape once and complained to the former governor, David, but David sent him straight back to the Saxons, where he was severely beaten.

Finally, and most importantly, is where the Saxons hid their money.

Besides the manor's basement, there was another place on the hill behind the estate, which the servants jokingly called the "Hole of Happiness." The manor's basement was filled with the Saxon family's own money—more than a dozen large chests, estimated to contain tens of thousands of gold coins, as well as many other valuable items.

And that so-called "Happy Cave" is even more extraordinary.

There were a large number of abducted people there, both men and women, some of whom were "hostages," their clothing clearly indicating they were not commoners. There was also a large amount of stolen goods, likely obtained through trade between the Saxons and bandits, which hadn't yet been sold.

The Happy Cave was arguably the biggest surprise. David had mentioned this place, but he didn't know its exact location or what was hidden inside.

So when Dick learned that he had unwittingly rescued two noble ladies and an earl, he was about to drink water when he accidentally sprayed it all over Jonah's face.

"Holy crap! You're incredibly audacious!"

"..."

Old Jonah did not speak, but his face was ashen.

After thinking for a moment, Dick decided to personally visit the kidnapped nobles. The two "noble ladies" reminded him of his third sister, and the count was also somewhat lacking in appearance. In short, none of them were good-looking, but because they were hostages to be exchanged for ransom, they hadn't suffered much abuse, except for being frightened.

When Dick arrived, the two young ladies were tightly embracing his soldiers. Both soldiers were quite good-looking and tall, but their expressions were pained, as if they were being held by a giant toad monster and unable to kill it with a single blow.

Dick's arrival undoubtedly helped them out of their predicament.

When the two young ladies saw Dick, who was handsome, elegantly dressed, and clearly a nobleman, they immediately rushed over to him, whimpering, seeking comfort.

Fortunately, Dick reacted quickly and immediately gave instructions to John, who had come with him.

"Sir John, go and appease these two ladies."

"what!?"

Before John could react, Dick had already ridden off on his horse.

This "Pleasure Cave" only needs a glance or two; it contains many cells and numerous gruesome scenes. Dick now has ample evidence to kill him.

"Arrest all the Saxons! Take temporary control of the serfs and those who have been kidnapped, and verify their identities. I need to go back and write a report for the Duke!"

Dick wasn't saying this to shirk his responsibilities, but rather because he needed to file the complaint first and obtain the Duke's edict to strip him of his Saxon knighthood as soon as possible.

This is where killing nobles becomes more complicated; even the lowest-ranking knight must have his title stripped before he can be killed.

Fortunately, Dick had prepared a draft beforehand, and after adding some details, he used magical communication to send it to Duke Best, who was far away in the capital.

This report details a series of problems that Dick discovered after taking office, including the illegal mining and smuggling of cold iron.

After a thorough investigation, he successfully obtained decisive evidence, which led to the suicide of former Governor David out of fear of punishment. Subsequently, troops were sent to raid the Saxon Knight's home, and enough evidence to repeatedly hang him more than ten times.

In his report, Dick did not deny that he had some "capable people" under his command, but he did not elaborate on the details of these people.

The report was sent out at noon, and a reply was received from the Duke that evening.

They agreed to strip the Saxon family of their knighthood and urged Dick to handle the matter according to the law.

When Dick saw this, he immediately understood.

Kill them!

When he learned that his knighthood had been stripped, old Jonah broke down and roared in the prison.

“Absolutely not! My Saxon family has served Duke Best for three generations! My father and I both shed blood on the battlefield! Let me see the Duke! Let me see the Duke!”

“I was just about to take you to see the Duke, but he is the late Duke.”

Because his title was stripped and he no longer held noble status, Jonah was no longer even entitled to use the guillotine.

The Empire was similar to the West on Earth in its approach to capital punishment, not caring much about whether the body could be left intact. Therefore, nobles used the guillotine, where the blade snapped and the person died before they even felt the pain. Hanging, on the other hand, required more time and effort.

The day after receiving the Duke's approval, Dick held a public trial, dragging out the entire Saxon family and criticizing them one by one.

The locals are also warm and simple; they can't bear to throw away rotten vegetable leaves, and they only throw away stones.

After each sentence was pronounced, one was hung on the gallows, the whole family neatly assembled. About a third of the servants were also hanged, and the rest were all sentenced to twenty years of hard labor and sent to the mine's labor camp.

It's worth mentioning that Dick originally intended to spare the two young sons of the Saxon family, who were eleven and thirteen years old, respectively, and didn't look very old.

The investigation revealed a shocking truth: these two little devils were no pushovers either.

Influenced by their three older brothers, the two brothers were generally unruly. Just because they thought it was fun, they set fire to someone's thatched hut at night and even blocked the door, resulting in the deaths of an entire family of eleven. Afterwards, Jonah paid David to help him get away with it, claiming that "the children were just young and playing around."

When Dick found out about this old story, he thought to himself that there really were "born bad seeds," so he hung both of them up as well.

As for David, Dick offered him a salary and found a death row inmate of similar build. He blindfolded him, put him on the guillotine, and after the execution, set the body on fire.

The public trial during the day was met with applause from the local people, who had long been fed up with the bullying and persecution of the Saxon family. So, seeing them hanged brought them immense satisfaction, and they all praised the new governor for his impartiality.

While the local gentry didn't particularly like the Saxons, seeing them hanged evoked a sense of shared sorrow. Furthermore, Dick's invitations to almost all the local gentry to breakfast the following morning after the public trial only added to their unease, yet none dared to refuse.

That evening, in the dense forest outside the castle, Dick personally led a few trusted men to bid farewell to the deceased David. The carriage was the same one he had ridden that day, and the luggage remained untouched; Dick even had a small box of gold coins brought to him.

But David glanced at the box and couldn't help but purse his lips.

He recognized the box; it was the smallest of his secret stash of gold coins.

As for the other treasures, he knew without asking that they had all ended up in Dick's pocket.

Fortunately, the man kept his promise and, after promising to give him a way out, he really let him go.

"Cousin David, now that we part, I'm afraid we'll never see each other again."