Mortal Epic of Douluo

Pan City is a small city located in the northeastern part of the Beiyuan Province of the Tiandou Empire. According to the basic information on the fiefdom obtained by Atreus from Xue Qinghe, Pan City has a total area of ​​nearly [-] square kilometers. It's not small, but its total population is less than [-]. It can be said that it is vast but sparsely populated.

This "total population" may not be the actual total number of people living in the Pancheng area, because bandits are rampant in Pancheng and even the entire northern part of the North Plains Province, from Haagen-Dazs to Lorraine Province.The activities of bandits have seriously affected the survival and production of ordinary people, and a considerable number of people have even been coerced into joining bandits.

Another situation is that some powerful soul master families may choose to form a stronghold to protect themselves in such a local situation.In order to avoid dying from banditry, ordinary people joined these soul master families and became tenant farmers and vassals. However, the local government was unable to even eradicate the bandits and naturally did not dare to offend these powerful soul master families, resulting in a large number of people being hidden.

The enfeoffment system of the Tiandou Empire is very strange. The enfeoffments of the royal family are usually located within the direct jurisdiction of Tiandou City, and those further away are also located in the important towns of the five major provinces.In such a fiefdom, no matter how high the title is, the person who entrusts it has no power to govern the people in the fiefdom, and the taxes collected are done by tax collectors directly sent by the empire.

There are two situations of salary and salary for people of the opposite sex who are ennobled. Those below the earl (baron and viscount at all levels) do not have land, and their salary and salary are completely issued by the treasury.Counts and above have the power to govern and tax the people of the city, and can be said to be the true "Emperor of the Land".

Nobles who own fiefs have the responsibility to defend their territory. Once they lose their land, they may be deprived of their title, or executed or even exterminated. This is also a risk that needs to be taken while enjoying power.

When they arrived at Calgary, the capital of the North Plains Province, two imperial tax collectors joined the convoy. They were responsible for verifying and recording the actual status of Earl Panson's food estate.

Atreus was a little curious about this and asked: "You two, Your Majesty has designated two thousand households as my settlement. I wonder how many people can be included in these two thousand households?"

One of the two tax collectors was named Deng Kai and the other was named Chang Song. Deng Kai was the first to answer: "According to the Empire's Civil Code, men are required to separate from their parents when they reach adulthood. If parents have many children, only one child can be left to inherit the incense. Usually, Under certain circumstances, a household may have three to five persons, and a household of two thousand may have as few as six thousand persons or as many as fifteen thousand persons.”

Atreus said with great interest: "So, if we calculate it as ten thousand people, a quarter of the population in Pan city belongs to my food town?"

"Theoretically, that's the case, but..."

"But what?"

Just as Deng Kaigang was about to speak, Chang Song stopped him and apologized: "Your Majesty, the things you said can only be used as reference. Some things... you will naturally understand it when you arrive in Pancheng."

"Hey, are you still pretending?" Atreus saw that they were not willing to communicate seriously and did not force it. "Okay, let's talk about it when we get to Pan City." After saying that, he whipped his whip and drove towards the carriage.

After coming out of Tiandou City, there were not that many people in this team. Apart from Atreus himself, they were Fraser, Zhu Zhuqing, Oscar, Liu Yan and Leonid.Atreus did not let Lou Qiao come with him because Shyvana was a "key protection" target in Tiandou Royal Academy and could not take her with him for the time being, so Lou Qiao stayed at Tiandou Royal Academy and became a Tianwei-level teacher, taking care of Shyvana by the way.

Six people rode in a carriage together, and they did not hire a groom. Instead, Liu Yan and Oscar took turns driving. Atreus himself rode a wind horse, traveling lightly, and headed towards Pan City.

The two imperial tax collectors deliberately kept a distance from them, always hanging on the back of the carriage, and invited them to have dinner with them during the break. They also declined due to their low status, so after getting used to it, Atreus ignored them and let them The two of them do everything on their own terms.

The further north I go, the more I see a completely different scene. This "scene" does not refer to the scenery along the road, but...

"What house is this?" Atreus pushed open the door of a farmhouse and asked in a low voice, looking at the mess inside and the body of a woman on the bed who had obviously been tortured.

Zhu Zhuqing beside him also had a low face and responded softly: "No. 13's family. I didn't expect that the northern border of the Tiandou Empire would be so unstable. A village of a hundred people will be destroyed at the last word."

Today was the evening of October [-]st. In the evening, they saw this village from a distance and wanted to spend the night here, but after walking for a while, Atreus noticed something was wrong.

In the evening, there was not a wisp of smoke in the entire village!

With uneasiness, he called Zhu Zhuqing to go into the village to check, only to find that it had long become a hell on earth.

The whole village has long been in a mess, and unspeakable corpses appear randomly in various places in the village. Some died by the well, some died in front of their own gate, and some died on the bed.

There was no living thing in the village. The chicken coops, pig pens, and cowsheds were all looted. Even the pots, pans, and other belongings from every household were missing.Only a few utensils were broken to the ground. It is not known whether the owners dropped them when they were fighting with the robbers, or whether the robbers took too many things and accidentally lost their hands.

After the companions arrived, everyone gathered all the corpses in the village together and burned them all.

The young people all showed unbearable expressions, and Leonid also sighed repeatedly. However, the two tax collectors there did not react at all, as if they were used to it.

At this moment, Atreus realized that there might not be peace on the way to Pan.

"Sir, I always feel something is wrong. Although Beiyuan Province is the hinterland of the Tiandou Empire, if I remember correctly, there are also three local legions stationed there. Why are bandits allowed to run rampant?" Atreus asked Leonid. .

After thinking for a moment, Leonid said, "Do you still remember the bandits you encountered when you were traveling through the Northern Mountains from the Northern Plains Province when you were ten years old?"

"You mean to say that after six years, the corruption problem in the local army has still not been rectified, leading to repeated desertions. These bandits are actually...?"

"Not entirely," Leonid shook his head, "No matter how corrupt the local army is, it is impossible to allow bandits to run rampant and do nothing. The three armies of Beiyuan Province are stationed in the southeast, southwest, and center respectively. For the vast area in the north, , especially the northeastern region where we are located, is basically left alone. The security of these places is mainly maintained by local officials and nobles. For example, you, the Earl of Pancheng, are obliged to maintain local order and protect the safety of the people. "

"So what do you mean?"

"The more chaotic the place, the worse it is for the central government. The Tiandou Empire covers a vast territory, and many large sects and soul master families within the territory are restless. In recent years, the conflict with Wuhun Palace has become increasingly serious, which has led Wuxia to worry about remote areas. Regional affairs. For nobles and businessmen who keep their peace, local chaos will inevitably damage their interests, but what if the chaos behind this will not only not affect their interests, but even help them strengthen themselves?"

This is just Leonid's guess, but Atreus feels that the real situation may be worse than what Leonid said, but whether the truth is as expected remains to be verified by him...