Chapter 453 (2/2)

“So… what do you plan to do with the guilty nobles?”

“Why do you ask?” Roland raised his head and glanced at Petrov. “Are some of these men your friends?”

“No, Your Highness.” He shook his head. “I just think that if you hanged them all, it might harm your future rule.”

“You were talking about an eye for an eye a week ago.” The prince raised his eyebrow curiously. “Now you want to spare them?”

“I do want all these people to go to hell, but even if I strangle them all to death myself, it wouldn’t change anything… It might even cause the other nobles to hate the Honeysuckle Family. Also, if everyone learns that you’ve executed the nobles, other cities might resist your rule.”

After hearing this, Roland was quite surprised. This was the logic of a seasoned politician, who set aside personal emotion while weighing the pros and cons… “It seems that this battle hasn’t made him hate fighting but actually helped him become mature.”

“It doesn’t hurt to tell you this beforehand.” He stood up and walked to the window. “I’m going to announce everything about this matter to the people and hold an open trial for all the rebels at the square, including the nobilities, guards, squires, and mercenaries… the ringleaders and direct organizers of the rebellion, as well as scoundrels with the people’s blood on their hands. They will all be hanged. People who are guilty of following their orders will be stripped of their titles and sent to the North Slope Mine.”

“This way, only five or six noblemen will be hanged. The Earl of the Elk Family and the Viscount of the Wolf Family died in battles, so those who survived will be trading their titles for their lives. When the message gets out, I don’t think anyone will see this as too harsh a punishment—after all, rebelling against the king is a capital offense.”

Petrov sighed in relief. “Your Highness is merciful.”

When the eldest son of the Honeysuckle Family left, Roland felt an unfamiliar feeling of satisfaction.

This operation had cleared all the obstacles for him in the Western Region, so he could easily make laws and distribute orders throughout this vast land.

More importantly, he gained the support from many people and nobles—after the rebels were removed, only supporters would remain.

This was especially true for the nobles—after losing their feudal and legislative power, they would have to wholeheartedly follow and spread his policies if they wanted to continue living a comfortable life. Since the nobles had more resources than civilians, it wouldn’t take them much thought to figure out how to profit from them.

Once they started to gain small profits, they wouldn’t ever want to go back to their old lives —after all, these low-level nobles had never gained much from their territories, and sometimes even went into debt if they didn’t manage them well. They would soon realize that as long as they played by the rules, they would live an unimaginably comfortable life.

There was no doubt that he had taken a big step toward his city-building plan.

Roland wiped off the water vapor on his window and looked at the city enveloped in snow—since he still had to stay in Longsong Stronghold for a while to deal with governmental affairs, he might as well refurbish this office to his own liking.

For example… he would start with the French windows.