Enforcement authority

Currently, Damian has two spear infantry teams, one peasant archer team, one longbowman team, three fanatics, and elite Chivalrous Bandits, totaling three hundred people.

With the Free City having just over a hundred residents, it's impossible to sustain such a large army.

Adding the tax bonus from system buildings and estimating the next trade quota deduction, the monthly income is probably only around four or five gold coins, not even enough to pay the longbowmen's monthly salary.

Fortunately, after the rebellion and the looting of the Marianne Manor and Gothingen Monastery, Damian still has about five hundred gold coins on hand, enough to support for quite some time.

However, the territory is severely lacking in food, and the newly cultivated fields by the riverbank cannot supply food in the short term either.

By autumn and winter, when the few merchants close shop and everyone stays indoors for winter, Damian won't even have a place to buy food.

So Damian must start thinking now about how to store enough food to get through the winter.

Additionally, rewards for inventing the improved torsion trebuchet have also been allocated.

[Farmer's Camp: What's there to say? Relying on a group of ordinary farmers to conquer a kingdom is impossible, but at least they can be trained to defend the village. Construction conditions: 5 gold coins, one week. Can recruit: Farmer Spear Infantry, Farmer Archers, Farmer Infantry, Farmer Mounted Archers.]

This is quite an awkward construction.

The Farmer's Camp is not marked with a level, indicating it's a special building that cannot be upgraded.

Although many types of troops can be recruited, they are all from the farmer series. Instead of expecting them to win battles against formal armies or knightly orders, it's easier to believe pigs will fly.

But Damian always felt they would be useful somewhere, he just couldn't think of it right now. So finally, he chose to spend time and money building this camp.

Anyway, if he can't think of their use in the future, he can always dismantle the buildings.

Additionally, Damian has found that the experience of making war machines like catapults is limited to the craftsmen, and training a new batch of people would be necessary if he wants others to make them.

For sustainable recruitment, a War Workshop must be established, but without blueprints and knowledge, Damian has to give up for now.

Two days later, with Damian's trebuchet completed, Amelia, full of confidence in war, brings a new batch of supplies from Bovendon village's farmers.

"Amelia, what should I do if I want to mint coins myself?"

Damian recalls the coinage molds taken from the monastery and feels eager.

"Shh, do we have mines? How could we do that," Amelia says, thinking he must be drunk to consider coinage.

Indeed, they need to find mines first.

Damian rubs his chin. If he remembers correctly, there should be copper mines in the hills near Milhaus. This gives him another reason to defeat Schmalen.

Damian makes a plan for himself.

In the near future, he needs to solve the food crisis in his territory and deal with the church's appointed Andreas.

In the mid-term, he must defeat Schmalen, get Conosa to formally appoint him as the Prime Minister, and take over all administrative affairs in the territory.

But something doesn't seem right?

…

Half a month after the great war, a horrifying rape case occurred in Damian's territory.

An elderly man from Bovendon village raped a homeless woman near the city gates.

The problem was, the homeless woman had intellectual disabilities and had already been married off to a similarly impaired son by a merchant.

So, there was a commotion demanding Damian to adjudicate this case.

In simple terms, a court was convened.

Only then did Damian suddenly understand.

Why do modern Western societies emphasize the separation of powers?

Because in the medieval period, there were rudimentary forms of it. Local lords had the right to enforce laws in their areas, they could set up courts at will, and adjudicate various cases in the villages based on their preferences and moods.

This was one of the powers of the lords. Applying for trial required payment, so for the lords, they often can benefit from both sides, and tend to favor the side from which he gains more.

Administration? They didn't really have that concept. When there were disputes, they held a court, but otherwise, they didn't care much about what happened in the villages.

Damian regretted deeply.

He should have developed the church more in the Free City, as the church often had better public reputation and could intervene in legislation, preventing lords from arbitrary law enforcement.

But no matter what, the court in Gothingen Free City must be officially established now.

Damian called the merchant, "Did you ask for my permission and pay the marriage tax before marrying this woman to your son?"

Marriage tax meant guardianship by the lord. Besides war protection, another aspect of this guardianship was marriage. In name, it was protection, but essentially, it required paying a sum of money before being allowed to marry.

The merchant was embarrassed.

He had just moved to the Free City because of its convenience. When finding a match for his son, he only thought about resolving it quickly, saving time and effort. Therefore, he had no idea about the marriage tax obviously.

Seeing his expression, Damian knew he was trying to greedy for small gains. So, he angrily said, "Without my consent, it's not considered a marriage. So you can drop this case. Also, this woman is mentally ill and lacks rational thinking, so whether she can remarry must be certified by me. I have guardianship over her!"

In essence, one cannot take advantage of mentally ill individuals. Damian needed to carefully assess if her prospective husband could support her.

On the other hand, the accused old man was ecstatic and was about to run away when Damian ordered the guards to restrain him.

"As for you, committing adultery with a mentally ill person is an insult to dignity. Although you didn't rape a married woman, this is still a form of rape! I decree that you must compensate her with five bushels of wheat, and you'll stay in my prison until the busy farming season. During this time, you'll also have to clean the streets as punishment," Damian thought it through and made the following judgment.

Five bushels of wheat would suffice for the woman's needs for a year. Being imprisoned until the farming season wouldn't affect production, and cleaning the streets would serve as additional punishment.

The old man naturally vehemently objected.

But for Damian, his objections were futile.

The merchant across proposed a remedy, "I'm willing to provide five bushels of wheat if you marry her to my son."

Damian agreed but strictly warned, "Out of these ten bushels, I will take 1/10. Also, you and your family must not abuse or mistreat her, let her starve, or suffer torment. I will listen to the people's reports."

The merchant readily agreed.

Everyone agreed that Damian's judgment was fair and reasonable, much more civilized than those illiterate barbaric lords.

After the court session, Damian was contemplating how to adjust his plans when an elderly man with a white beard, accompanied by a beautiful woman and many servants, approached him.

"Young man, I am very pleased with your handling of the trial. My impression of you is starting to change," the old man patted Damian's shoulder and smiled.

Damian was stunned for a moment,Is he the newly arrived abbey leader, the Duke's relative… Andreas?