Chapter 680: Chapter 423 Promulgating a Decree
The situation in the Borlay Kingdom was indeed not an isolated case.
In the following five nations, Colin found serfs displaced to varying degrees.
This situation had already become sizable, rising to the level of a disaster, bringing tremendous pressure to every kingdom.
Furthermore, many nobles chose to leave due to the grim future of the Tilaimei Plain, further exacerbating the scale of displaced serfs.
Moreover, most of these nobles who left the Tilaimei Plain were not minor nobles, since only families with a Wizard were confident enough to migrate long distances.
They were the stalwarts of the Tilaimei Plain’s elite, and they owned the largest number of serfs.
Fortunately, as serious as the situation was, it had not yet reached an irreversible point.
At least in Colin’s view, it didn’t matter much that the nobles left, as long as there was still enough population on the Tilaimei Plain, it wouldn’t be a crippling blow.
However, when faced with displaced serfs, the other five nations were not all as benevolent as Borlay.
...
"Respected Lord of Tilamei, we have no choice, there are too many displaced serfs, and the kingdom’s food reserves are not sufficient to support them..."
In the heart of Kanz, the capital of the Alman Kingdom, the Arman Family lay prostrated on the cold marble floor of the glittering palace.
Hogan, the First Rank Wizard leading them, trembled slightly as he continually tried to explain.
"Is this the reason you’ve slaughtered all the serfs?" Colin asked in a deep voice.
Remembering the horrific scene he had seen at the Sky Pit on the outskirts, he couldn’t help but convey anger in his tone.
Behind him, Jennifer’s complexion was also somewhat pale, still shocked by the gruesome spectacle.
Flesh and blood, and the stench of blood soaring to the sky, all these terms used to describe the pit of ten thousand people were pale and powerless; the actions of the Alman Royal Family were truly enraging.
"My lord, if those serfs are not dealt with, hunger will spread, inevitably leading to uncontrollable riots, and at that time those serfs would die just the same, but the resulting damage would undoubtedly be much greater..."
Hogan continued to make his case. In his heart, he had never seen those serfs as humans. They were merely slaves, and killing them was no big deal. After all, the farmland was already contaminated and they were no longer needed. Continuing to feed them was just a waste of food.
Colin’s eyebrows nearly met in the middle.
Even disregarding a basic sense of morality and compassion, from a perspective of interest, those serfs were the resource he valued most on the Tilaimei Plain, yet now Hogan had wiped out at least tens of thousands of them.
Moreover, what Hogan argued seemed reasonable, but in reality, the situation never necessitated such actions.
He didn’t oppose the Alman Kingdom resolving the issue of the serfs for their own safety and stability, but only if those serfs indeed posed a threat to the kingdom’s peace.
But could those unarmed serfs genuinely threaten the kingdom’s stability?
Even a single Great Knight in heavy armor could easily take on a thousand of them, and a Wizard could effortlessly defeat ten thousand.
With such a vast gap in power, where was the threat?
The Arman Family had simply chosen the simplest method of dealing with the problem.
"Take me to see how much food Alman has in store now," Colin held back his anger and finally commanded.
As soon as he finished speaking, the Arman Family fell silent.
"Lord..." Hogan raised his head, wanting to continue explaining.
"How long could Alman’s current food reserves last if we allocate a portion to support those serfs?" Colin interrupted his explanation.
"...Two years."
"Hm?!"
"No, no... it’s three years." Feeling Colin’s brooding gaze, Hogan, lying prostrated on the ground, panicked and quickly changed his statement, trembling like a leaf.
"Damned fool!" Colin couldn’t help but curse in anger.
He was not a moral saint, and he never wished to admonish anyone from the moral high ground.
Selfishness, cold-bloodedness, all could be understood—everyone is more or less selfish.
But there is a limit to such selfishness, and if it crosses the bottom line of humanity, like the Arman Family did, they could no longer be called human.
What was cruelly killed were not tens of thousands of chickens or ducks, but tens of thousands of living human beings.
Fortunately, the Alman Kingdom’s decision to actively cleanse the displaced serfs, and the Borlay Kingdom’s choice to provide porridge for the serfs, were both exceptional.
The remaining four nations essentially opted to drive the serfs out of the cities, leaving them to fend for themselves.
In fact, this was the most normal choice. Heaven knows why the Arman Family chose to commit such inhumane acts.
However, everyone in the Arman Family had already been imprisoned, with everything under investigation. If there was any conspiracy, it wouldn’t take long before things came to light.
What was more important now was to resolve the problems of the entire Tilaimei Plain.
In a conference room in the Golden Barley White Tower,
Colin was explaining to the people in front of him how he planned to deal with the crisis of the displaced serfs.
Having surveyed the situation, he knew that current conditions did not allow him the luxury of a slow, thoughtful response.
For every day he delayed, the situation on the Tilaimei Plain worsened.
If the population continued to decline, and the serfs kept dying in large numbers, then no matter how strong or capable he was, he would face a situation where there was no one available to work.
"I plan to use a decree to temporarily restrict the nobles from driving out serfs," he said, looking at the three people in front of him.