Gawain couldn't explain his full vision and forethought to anyone else—not even to Rebecca and Hedy, his most trusted allies. All he could do was break down his grand plans into stages, dividing them into manageable steps and carefully building each one.
Today's work represented the foundational layer of his vision, the very first bricks in the construction of this territory.
For Rebecca and Hedy, Gawain had shown them a surprising side of the commoners and serfs. They had never seen these people work with such enthusiasm, nor complete their tasks with such speed and accuracy. To them, this newfound energy stemmed from Gawain's promise of meat for dinner—a simple but highly effective incentive.
Returning to the central tent, Gawain summoned Byron and asked for pen and paper to begin noting down a few things. He instructed Byron, "Send two men to prepare the meat for cooking, enough for ten portions. Also, ensure everyone who worked has enough soup and black bread. We have ample supplies for now, and no one should fall ill from hunger or cold in the early stages of building this territory."
"Ten portions of meat?" Byron asked in surprise.
"Of course," Gawain replied firmly. "I must keep my promise. Is there an issue?"
"I thought you might just make a big pot of meat broth," Byron explained, "a few walnut-sized chunks of meat with vegetables could make enough soup for everyone, and they'd be grateful."
"Do as I instructed," Gawain said, waving him off. "My promises must be fulfilled completely, no exceptions. Set the cooking pot in the most visible spot in the camp and have soldiers maintain order. I want everyone to see the meat being cooked, and no chaos."
Byron bowed with a slightly bemused expression and left.
Gawain noticed Amber staring at him intensely. "What's the matter?" he asked, shifting uncomfortably. "Is there something on my face?"
"I'm checking to see if something from the treasure vault possessed you," she said, with unusual seriousness. "I've never heard of a noble voluntarily reducing their own wealth."
Gawain chuckled. "You think my actions are reducing my wealth?"
"What else could it be?" Amber shrugged. "Turning serfs into freemen means they'll only owe you a portion of their crops instead of all of it. And paying freemen wages? That's money out of your own pocket… What noble would do that?"
"If I asked you to paint a wall with no pay, just by command, how much would you get done?" Gawain asked.
Amber thought for a moment, then smirked, "I'd swipe a few coins from your pocket, hire a kid from the scullery to do it, and spend the rest on wine."
Gawain sighed. "Why do I even bother discussing logic with the disgrace of all creation?"
"Hey! How am I a disgrace to all creation?!"
At this moment, Hedy entered the tent, interrupting Amber's indignant outburst. With a look of disbelief, she said, "Ancestor, it's unbelievable. I've never seen them work so hard before, especially the serfs. They're finishing tasks without anyone having to watch over them…"
"They were working for the lord before," Gawain replied, unsurprised, "but now their work directly impacts their meals. This is just the first step, Hedy. As you can see, the reward far outweighs the extra cost in food and wages."
"I've thought about motivating them before, but I've never seen it work so well…" Hedy said, shaking her head. "I can hardly imagine what the future of the territory will be if these systems continue."
Gawain smiled. "Trust me, it will improve. This is only the beginning. Here, take a look at these…"
He gestured at the sheets of paper he had been writing on. Amber had glanced at them earlier, found them dull, and lost interest. But now, Hedy leaned in curiously. "What are these?" she asked.
The pages were filled with terms she didn't understand, phrases like "work groups," "competition and contracting," "evaluation system," and "efficiency tracking." Other pages contained terms like "basic education," "magical aptitude surveys," and "talent recruitment." To her, these were even more cryptic.
"These are ideas I've been working on," Gawain explained, "but I hadn't had the chance to implement them until now. Now that the territory is underway, it's time to put some of these into action." He pointed to the top sheet. "These concepts might be hard for most of the peasants and serfs to understand, so I'll explain them to you first. You can then pass them on to Byron and those supervising the workers. They'll have to repeat and reinforce these concepts to everyone."
"And where's Rebecca?"
"She's burning the weeds and brush by the riverbank," Hedy said. "She often uses it as magic practice."
Gawain sighed. "Ask her to join us. She can practice fireballs later."
Rebecca arrived shortly, her face and clothes smudged with soot and reeking of smoke. She looked less like a noble and more like a cook who'd just come out of the kitchen. Gawain couldn't help but think her focus on fireballs might be the reason she hadn't yet mastered another spell.
"Let's go over the shift work system for the camp," he began, spreading out his notes. "First, the work groups. I want all laborers divided into teams of five to ten, with work assigned and breaks scheduled by group."
"Each group must check in with the supervisors at the start and end of each shift. Supervisors will keep track of each team's work. Each team will have a leader responsible for task delegation within the group."
"Leaders should be chosen by the teams themselves, and inform them that the role isn't permanent. If a leader impedes efficiency or misleads supervisors or the lord, they'll be replaced immediately. We'll assess work by group, reward by group, and penalize by group. I'll explain the reward and competition systems next…"
"As for the points system I mentioned earlier, Hedy, I'll need you to record each team's completed tasks, as most people here can't read or count. We'll work out a clear contribution count system over time."
"There's also the matter of logging tool distribution and returns for each team."
Gawain covered a lot of ground in a single breath, overwhelming both Rebecca and Hedy. Hedy blinked at him, watching as he scribbled further notes on his paper. Each point now had its own sub-item hastily scrawled below it. Unable to suppress her confusion, she finally said, "Ancestor, won't making work so complex reduce… efficiency?"
"It might seem complicated, but to the peasants and serfs, they'll only need to know that if they work hard, they'll gain rewards. Once they see the benefits, they'll follow the system and bring even greater efficiency than today's tent-building efforts. At first, implementation may be challenging, which is why you'll have to explain and enforce it continuously. It must be mandatory and upheld without exception. Just tell them, 'This is the law of Cecil.'"
At this point, Gawain felt grateful for this simpler era. With commoners and serfs trained to obey without question, there was no need to explain or persuade them—his commands were law. But he knew this wasn't the society he wanted to build. His goal was to break down this environment so that every "commoner" in Cecil would no longer be viewed as lowly but as a person.
He needed people. Lots of people. For what he had in mind, it was impossible to succeed alone.
This was why he tasked Hedy with repeatedly explaining the rules as they were enforced. The people might not understand now, but one day, they would.
Hedy was clever and insightful, well beyond her time for a noble. After listening and thinking it over, she began to grasp the significance and agreed to carry out his instructions.
"And me?" Rebecca piped up, seeing that Hedy had been assigned a task. She was eager to take on any job that would help Gawain.
"Tomorrow, take a few people and survey the soil, gauge the difficulty of clearing the land, and identify the areas that can be tilled initially. Don't go too far."
While speaking, Gawain sketched a rough map on a blank piece of paper, marking an area centered around the riverbank, complete with approximate distances. It was a crude outline, but Rebecca stared at it, mesmerized.
"Just focus on this range for now," he instructed. "We'll deal with the areas beyond it later."
Rebecca took the "map" with a bewildered expression. "Alright… okay…"
Amber glanced at Gawain, her eyes wide. "You guys from the Second Expansion really are monsters, huh?"
Gawain thought for a moment, hoping none of his old comrades would come back to haunt him. Then he shrugged. "Sure. We all closed our eyes and casually drew half a kingdom's terrain for fun."
Amber: "…"