Extraordinary in Reality Through Magic Games

397: Chapter 384 First unify the surrounding areas, then look towards distant lands.The streets of Keton City were as bustling as ever.

Street vendors called out loudly to attract customers, and the bakery Shop Owner put out a sign displaying the latest bread styles. Fashion-conscious girls paused outside the windows of clothing stores, discussing the merits of the outfits on the mannequins with their companions.

Zhang Mu walked past the girls with his hands behind his back, swaying slightly, and said to the two people a step behind him, ”See those young girls?”

The two turned their heads to look at the girls still chatteringly standing before the window. ”We see them.”

“Although Lake is still in a truce period, war is not far away. They don’t seem worried at all about being affected. Why? Are they certain of Lake’s victory?”

“Probably...” Domit hesitated for a few seconds. “That’s not very realistic.”

“Setting aside the outcome of future wars, even regarding the previous battle against the allied forces, probably no one except the First Army Soldiers thought we could win.”

“Even if we won, those who believe we will eventually fail and perish probably still make up the majority. After all, our enemies are every Kingdom except ourselves.”

“Mm.” Zhang Mu nodded in agreement, then followed up by asking, “Then why is that?”

“Uh, sorry Lord Marshal, I don’t know.”

Zhang Mu didn’t make it difficult for him and said to himself, “Because they have no idea what their fate would be if Lake were defeated. Naturally, they don’t worry about the war’s outcome, and they’ve never considered contributing to the war effort.”

Domit knew the answer to the question now, but he still didn’t understand why the question was raised.

Perhaps realizing he was being too profound, Zhang Mu explained directly: “As managers of a Kingdom, many times we cannot force the subjects to understand everything.”

“Especially when one usually doesn’t care about cultivating the subjects, but expects them to understand everything at a critical moment—that’s a bit nonsensical.”

“This logic applies to the issue of the rangers as well.”

Zhang Mu stopped and turned to look at his adjutant: “You’re right. Those who become rangers and then oppress the poor people of their own class don’t deserve pity.”

“Don’t say the situation is special right now and I can’t find time to deal with them. Even if I had time, I wouldn’t waste energy guiding them.”

“Like I said before, they’re all poor people. Why can other poor people honestly clear land and live off the Kingdom’s rewards, while they run off to commit all sorts of evil?”

“So should we follow the example of other cities and just execute the rangers upon capture?”

Zhang Mu tapped Domit on the head. “Are you stupid? Was everything I said for nothing?”

“Uh...”

With a sigh, Zhang Mu continued walking forward: “Don’t worry too much about the rangers who have joined the darkness; just chop them down to save trouble. What we need to pay attention to are those who haven’t fallen after becoming rangers, or haven’t fallen too deep.”

“They can be saved, and it just so happens we can save them. There’s no reason not to.”

“But you just said we can’t find the time right now...”

“I also said that the premise for shelving an issue is that the situation is within our control.”

The adjutant carefully took up the conversation: “Could you be more specific?”

“Give them a chance. Those who take the initiative to accept it are saved. Those who are unwilling, once caught, will be taken outside the city and beheaded.”

Domit thought of something and said with slight excitement, “We could launch some relief plans modeled after the Land Decree, like those willing to work a proper job will...”

“Are you stupid?”

“If we do it your way, in the future, if they want something, they’ll just cause trouble first, and the Kingdom will give it to them after the trouble is over. How could we have that?”

After scolding him, Zhang Mu turned and entered a restaurant. He ordered a few dishes after sitting down before continuing: “We proceed with both hands simultaneously.”

“Isn’t the second batch of factories in Keton City about to be completed?”

“Set aside a few production lines to manufacture daily necessities, so that workers can be recruited from the populace.”

“Hmm... at that time, you guys calculate the annual income of a local Farmer. Set the wages to be slightly lower than a Farmer’s annual income.”