Whenever Dick thought of the banditry in Laguge, he felt the urge to curse.
Laguge is a territory that has existed since the founding of the empire. It is not a colony and the local people are not foreigners. However, because the previous governors were not human beings and imposed heavy taxes and levies, the people were full of resentment and some civilians began to become hostile to the government and turned to bandits.
By the time David came to power, the private army in the castle and the vigilante group controlled by the Saxon family were already enjoying the same treatment as the Japanese and puppet troops in North China around 1943.
Dick didn't want his private army to be bogged down in a security war. Besides, Laguge wasn't supposed to be a place for a security war. This wasn't a foreign country! ?
So Dick did two things at once. On the one hand, he trained troops and formulated a plan to suppress bandits, and dealt a heavy blow to the bandits and those who were colluding with them. On the other hand, he liquidated the evil forces during David's time and actively treated patients with colds, in order to win over the hearts of the people and try to win over as many people as possible to his side.
After the military meeting, Dick then convened the internal affairs staff to discuss how to carry out the spring pioneering movement next year.
Dick had an immature plan in his mind. He had asked the Governor's Office and the Business Alliance to establish a special agricultural cooperative to provide local farmers with various support including technical support.
Dick hopes to use the preferential policy of "three years of tax exemption and two and a half years of tax" to guide some local people to continue to explore northward, but it is estimated that not many people are willing to go.
Therefore, the main force of the land reclamation movement depends on the results of the anti-bandit operations during the period from late winter to before spring plowing.
The mining area is already saturated with labor, so there is no need to squeeze more people in. So Dick planned to build four to six collective farms southeast of the castle and send the prisoners captured during the suppression of bandits to labor reform.
And because these lands are newly developed wasteland, they can apply for tax reduction policies.
Although the Empire has stolen Earth's culture and technology over the years, it has not learned anything good. At least it has replaced the poll tax with the land-based tax and supported spontaneous land reclamation movements in border areas.
Since these collective farms were run by criminals, Dick would not abuse them, but most of the money earned by these prisoners would be taken by the Governor's Office. However, Dick did not intend to put all the money into his own coffers, but invested as much as possible in the construction of the territory.
Dick has his own ambitious plans for the development of his territory. He wants to revitalize agriculture, develop commerce, and build bridges, roads, and infrastructure on a large scale, all of which require money.
But unfortunately, all this can only be started after this winter is over.
On the last day of the year, Dick, who had always been frugal, indulged himself in a rare extravagance when he came to Laguge. He held a New Year's Eve party to entertain local celebrities and his meritorious officials.
Dick made a speech as usual. He first thanked the gentry present for their presence, praised the contributions of several local chambers of commerce to the local economy, publicly commended some meritorious officials, and then changed the subject to talk about suppressing bandits.
"Just think about it. When the spring and summer arrive next year, you take your wife out of town for an outing, eating snacks and singing songs, and suddenly you are robbed by a group of bandits! Do you want to see this happen to you? So, the days without bandits are good days!"
"The Governor is right!"
“We all support you!”
There was a chorus of praise from the audience. Although Dick had only been in Laguge for more than three months, the thundering skill he displayed had already made the locals realize that this governor was no ordinary man.
Especially the annihilation of the Vulture Gang a few days ago was extremely shocking. Although the official news was only about the annihilation of some bandits, these local gentry more or less had their own intelligence networks, and some even had their own connections to the underworld and had secret channels to communicate with the Vulture Gang.
So they knew very well who was killed, and they also vaguely guessed why the governor did not seek credit.
Since we are going to be together for a long time in the future, we must not be reluctant to use our tongue when it is time to lick.
Some people who had had close contacts with the bandits before even came forward to "apologize and punish themselves", saying that they were quite wealthy and had just heard the Governor's words about developing Laguge and were very moved. They were willing to donate half of their wealth to support the Governor's great cause.
To put it bluntly, this guy is scared and wants to spend money to avoid disaster and buy his life from the governor.
Of course, Dick was not such a cruel person. He smiled and patted his shoulder, telling him to relax and that he would never wrongly accuse a good person. Then he accepted his surrender and turned around to ask the ninja team to send someone to keep a close eye on this guy.
If he is so scared, he must have done a lot of immoral things!
Dick was not worried that there might be spies among the guests, because the Governor had been preparing for war for so long that the news of the bandit suppression had probably spread among the people. The only thing that everyone was unclear about was when the Governor was going to send troops to suppress the bandits.
Therefore, Dick pretended to accidentally reveal a "news" at the banquet, complaining that the current castle barracks were dilapidated, small and shabby. He was afraid that there would not be enough room for the second batch of private troops when they arrived in late spring next year, so he asked local building materials merchants about the prices of wood and hired craftsmen.
Dick did have plans to renovate the barracks, but the so-called "second batch of private troops" was completely fictitious. But since these words came from the governor's mouth, others could not help but believe them, so many people speculated that the governor would most likely take action after the end of next spring.
If nothing unexpected happens, this information will be known to the local bandits in no time.
Dick had long seen through the so-called gentry. They were timid, cowardly and greedy, and many of them practiced "betting on both sides" as their life creed.
Perhaps in their view, Laguge Mountain is high and forested, and according to the bandits' principle of running away if they can't defeat them, it is impossible to kill all the maned dogs. Their governor may return empty-handed or even suffer a great loss.
At that time, they will have to "coexist peacefully" with those bandits as they did in the past.
The author says:
Author's note: This chapter is 4300 words long, which is not as high as the promised 5000 words, so tomorrow's update will be 6000 words, or two chapters of 3000 words each.
The pain is mainly in the joints, all over my body, and my hands and feet are weak. It must be because of the drop in temperature in the second half of last night.
035. Private Party (Part )
After the banquet ended and the guests left, Dick just felt a little tired.
Dick suddenly remembered a widely circulated saying in the empire, saying that banquets are the fourth most important survival condition for nobles after food, water and air. A noble who has never held a banquet or been invited to any banquet is not worthy of being called a noble and can only live an extremely failed life.
When Dick was still in the imperial capital, he was probably that kind of "relatively unsuccessful aristocrat".
He never received any invitations except for the parties held at his home, while his brothers and sisters were all popular socialites, almost to the point of partying every night.
Dick didn't care at all about being isolated by the social circle of young nobles in the imperial capital. Instead of attending such meaningless "parties" and then flirting and dancing with those aristocratic ladies who were all flashy but empty-headed, he would rather stay in the library of the magic school and read a few more books.
However, things are different now, Dick is now the Governor of Laguge. It is okay not to hold banquets on weekdays, but a New Year's party is a must to bid farewell to the old and usher in the new.
Back in the hall, Dick didn't see Belfa and Rita around, so he called a maid and told her to have someone clean up the mess. Try not to waste the leftover, untouched food, and let the servants working in the castle eat it.
When the maids and servants heard this, they all looked happy.
After all, the food at the banquet was not something that ordinary people could easily eat. In the past, they could only envy it. The governors of previous dynasties would rather pour all the untouched delicious food into the garbage pit than give it to their servants.
Because in the masters' view, how can they let their servants eat the same food as themselves?
Although the maids and servants didn't say anything, they were deeply moved.
Previously, they were required to receive vocational training from Belfa and Rita, saying that they could only work in the castle after passing the training. This made them think that the young governor was a master who liked to show off and was particularly particular.
Later I learned that although the Governor was strict with them, he treated them well and was clear about rewards and punishments.
Well done, rewarded.
Made a mistake and got punished.
Sometimes, like now, they would show tenderness to people of low status, because they were respected by the servants. It was also this respect and gratitude to the master that made them resolutely reject many financial temptations and not be traitors.
After explaining things to the servants, Dick went upstairs to his room.
He suddenly felt a little puzzled at this moment. Why did all the girls under his command disappear?
With this doubt, he pushed open the door of the inner living room, and then the light suddenly came on in the originally dark room, and two firecrackers rang out in front of him.
“Happy New Year and Happy Birthday!”
Dick was stunned and stood at the door. In the room were the girls who had been wondering where they had gone. It was obvious that everyone had prepared a small surprise for him. Especially when he heard the words "Happy Birthday", even Dick himself suddenly realized that his birthday in this world was indeed on the last day of every year.
It's just that before Dick lived in the Duke's Mansion, no one had ever held a birthday party for this unpopular bastard, and even his sixteen-year-old coming-of-age ceremony was just a symbolic and hasty one.
Although there is no change in my physical appearance, I am indeed nineteen years old now.
"you……"
"Surprise? Master!"
Still maintaining the posture of pulling the trigger to set off the firecracker, Lily smiled naively.
It was then that Dick noticed that Lily was wearing a black bunny girl costume. The silly beautiful girl's plump breasts were held up by the tights, creating an extremely explosive visual effect. They were like two original ice cream balls, milky white and round.
With her was the teacher Shizuka Marikawa, who had an even more violent figure. She was wearing a red bunny girl outfit of a slightly different style, and her voluptuous long legs were covered in sexy fishnet stockings.
Based on Shizuka's usual personality, it would be impossible for her to wear such sexy clothes on her own initiative, so Shizuka's face was flushed at this moment, obviously after drinking.
"Didn't I tell you not to let Teacher Shizuka drink alcohol?"
"We couldn't help it. The teacher said she would never allow cosplay at first, so we had no choice but to inject a little bit into her."
"What the hell..."
Seeing Lily talking about the sins she had committed with a playful smile, Dick was about to say something to her out of habit, but Marikawa Shizuka had already rushed over, like a large truck out of control, crushing him in the face with its headlights.
"Governor, come play with me, I'll give you a reward!"
Seeing the female teacher losing control, everyone worked together to pull her over, and then surrounded Dick to the dining table. On the table was a square cream cake with "Happy 19th Birthday, Master Dick" written on it with plum jam, as well as blessings in various languages. It was obviously a work completed by everyone together.
Even though Dick was not the kind of person who expressed his emotions much, he was still moved.
You know, Dick has always felt a little guilty about these girls he summoned with magic. After all, this is a one-sided forced summoning, and because the magic circle comes with a slave contract, these girls are shackled as soon as they arrive.
On the contrary, the girls were relatively more open-minded, because most of them were summoned by Dick when they were in dangerous situations, and for the ones in the most serious situations, it was no exaggeration to say that Dick saved their lives.
"Thank you, thank you everyone."
"Okay, Master, why bother saying thank you at this time? Come blow out the candles and make a wish!"
Surrounded by the crowd, Dick blew out the candles on the cake and began to divide the cake.
To be honest, Dick didn't eat much at the party in the evening and was actually a little hungry, but the fatigue brought by entertaining guests made him want to go back to his room and sleep.
But the birthday party this time was different. Besides being touching, it was more relaxing.
Then the girls closed the curtains, locked the living room door, and prepared Dick for the job!
"I declare that the first Dick Cup COSPLAY Competition has officially begun. Contestants, please come on stage one by one. Master! You are responsible for scoring!"
Dick: ???
Under Dick's puzzled gaze, the bright lights in the living room suddenly changed to colorful neon lights, and the atmosphere suddenly became a little unserious. Lily turned into a show host, holding a sausage bun as a microphone, which looked quite funny.
Dick, who was forced to sit on the sofa, looked at the scoreboard from one to five in front of him and the small stage curtain pulled opposite him, and subconsciously felt a little nervous.
COSPLAY conference? Is this fake?
As Lily imitated the drum beats with her mouth, the curtain was pulled open, and the first contestant to appear was Tia, who was in the same spy group as Lily. The black-haired beautiful girl wore a formal OL outfit at first glance, and wore black-framed glasses on her face.
But the top three buttons of her white shirt were deliberately unbuttoned, revealing the black lace bra straps underneath. Her lower body was wearing a navy blue hip skirt that was so short that it was almost level with her thighs, with a three-finger-wide strip of snow-white showing between the hem of her skirt and the black suspenders. This look made her look like a capable secretary!
To be honest, Tia was ordered to manage the Chamber of Commerce for Dick, so she often had to show up in public. Most of the local businessmen had seen her and were surprised by her beauty, but they also knew that she was the governor's man, so they did not dare to have any improper thoughts.
Tia usually dresses very conservatively, wrapping herself tightly in winter clothes.
But as soon as she returned to the castle and there were no outsiders around her, Tia would change her dressing style. She would never sit obediently on the chair when reporting to Dick, but would deliberately sit on the desk. Although she was talking about serious matters with a serious face, her seductive body was constantly moving.
Among the girls who had had sex with Dick, she was the one who was most fond of playing "office romance" and had left many "traces of battle" in Dick's study!
As soon as the first contestant appeared, Dick realized that this was not a serious COSPLAY at all.
These bad women are using this to test the cadres again!
So Dick slammed the table with a serious face... and gave it a five-point thumbs-up.
The second contestant following closely behind was Rita, who was wearing a low-cut cheongsam with a high slit. Her long legs in black stockings were deliberately parted, almost completely exposed along one side of the skirt. The velvet-edged folding fan in her hand covered most of Rita's face, revealing only a pair of affectionate and seductive eyes.
Dick raised his hand and was about to press five when he saw Rita turn around, revealing her almost completely naked back and the altered stigmata on her back that had changed due to the time travel. At this time, these stigmata were emitting a strange halo. Dick, who was very familiar with Rita's body, knew that it was a reaction that Rita had after she became aroused, but no one else knew it.
This maid was obviously hinting to Dick in this way that this was her "battle outfit" tonight!
Then came the three ninjas.
These three were professional costumers who had changed their outfits countless times in a game called volleyball but never played it seriously. But these guys under Dick were obviously not from that game, so they were a little restrained.
Kasumi and Ayane both chose sailor uniforms that were more suitable for their age. Unfortunately, due to their plump figures, the sailor uniforms did not look pure on them at all, but instead looked very erotic.
The one who really did a great job was Hongye. When she COS'd the magical girl and appeared between the opened curtains, Dick really couldn't hold it in and burst out laughing.
However, just when he was laughing so hard that Hongye was so embarrassed that she escaped using ninjutsu, Dr. Natasha, who came on stage afterwards, really amazed Dick.
The author says:
Author's note: This is the first update of 3000 words, and another 3000 words will be updated before . My shoulder joint still hurts, so I'll go see a doctor this afternoon.
036. Private Party (Part )
"I'm an old lady over 40, isn't it inappropriate for me to dress like this?"
The curtain opened, and Natasha's outfit was more ordinary than cosplay. She had changed into a more girlish outfit. The top was a tight knitted sweater, which perfectly outlined the prominent bust and slender waist of the female doctor. The bottom was a knee-length plaid skirt with high-heeled boots.
This action, combined with Natasha's mature charm, is unexpectedly in harmony.
After all, as the old saying goes, as long as you are beautiful, you will look beautiful in anything!
Natasha herself seemed quite unconfident. Seeing Dick with a dull look on his face and no reaction (actually he was stunned), she thought her pretending to be young was too annoying. She was about to turn around and run to the locker room when she saw Dick, who had come to his senses, slapped the five-point button hard, and then grimaced in pain because he used too much force.
Seeing Dick slapping so hard, Natasha hurried forward to check with concern, and saw that the palm of Dick's little hand was red, with an obvious red mark.
Natasha kneaded it repeatedly to make sure that no bones were injured, then she breathed a sigh of relief. Then she looked up and saw Dick looking at her with a smile. Their eyes met, and Natasha felt her heartbeat quicken like never before for no reason.
Natasha was stunned for a moment, and then suddenly realized that some strange thoughts that shouldn't have just occurred to her mind seemed to have just emerged.
