NOVEL NEXT WORLD Chapter 18 - A Blatant Case of Corruption
Chapter 18 A Blatant Case of Corruption
[Warning! Warning!].
[There has been a corruption incident in your territory. If not dealt with promptly, it will affect your governance performance!].
Richard was taken aback—corruption incident?
Who the hell is so reckless as to engage in corruption in my territory, even provoking the system? They’ve really got some guts!
But then again, it’s impressive that the system is so attentive, even sending alerts for such matters. It’s not an exaggeration to call it a nanny-type system!
In an instant, Richard’s trust in the reliability of the system increased.
As he marveled internally, he began searching for the target.
After all, the entire Long Eagle Territory wasn’t that big; it shouldn’t be too difficult to find.
Richard rode forward, his gaze constantly scanning each suspicious character.
After passing through an intersection, he suddenly spotted the tax officer Harvey slowly carrying a large box toward his home.
Some servants were helping him carry it.
Behind him, there was also a cart loaded with many items.
Richard narrowed his eyes, sensing something was off about this person, and rode forward.
At the same time, a prompt from the system arrived just in time:
[After some searching, you have discovered the person involved in the corruption incident. Please decide how to handle it, host.].
That confirms it.
“Harvey! What are you doing?”
Richard’s cold voice rang out, devoid of any emotion.
Harvey was startled by Richard’s voice, quickly putting the items down and smiling naturally as he bowed to Richard:
“Tax Officer Harvey greets you, my lord!”
“I’m asking you a question!” Richard replied coldly.
Harvey was taken aback but soon laughed, saying:
“In response to my lord, these are just some simple jerky, food, leather goods, and oh yes, some clothes.
I was just preparing to move these things into my house.”
“Is that so? Where did you buy these items? Can you use all of this?” Richard knew perfectly well that he couldn’t have bought them with his own money. He asked to see Harvey’s reaction.
After all, if he could so casually claim to move them into his own home and the system had indicated a corruption incident, the greatest possibility was that Harvey had already prepared an excuse for himself.
However, Harvey’s response was unexpected.
“Why buy? These are the taxes I’ve worked hard to collect!”
Richard almost laughed out of anger upon hearing this.
“Is that all you collected?”
“Of course not; most of it has already been transported to your castle. This is my portion, my lord—what about you?” Harvey seemed confused as to why Richard kept questioning him about this matter.
“Your portion?”
“Yes!”
“According to management, the things collected from taxes are partially handed over to you, and this portion naturally belongs to your subordinate.” Harvey said confidently, looking up at Richard.
As their conversation unfolded, everyone around came to a standstill.
The guards stationed nearby couldn’t help but cast glances over, curious about what was happening.
“It seems Lord Harvey has run into trouble; do you think the lord will punish him?”
“That shouldn’t be the case, right? After all, Lord Harvey has always been like this. Many years ago, when Viscount Harken was in charge here, he also tacitly allowed such situations. This should be Lord Harvey’s reasonable income, right?”
“It’s hard to say. I just wonder if there’s more to it than this. I heard that previously, Lord Harvey’s work did not receive the lord’s approval; this time he might really be in trouble.”
“Lord Harvey is in for a rough time. But being punished for not doing his job well is just bad luck. After all, that survey order didn’t specify what exactly was required from the lord.”
“Let’s not talk about it; the lord is quite powerful. Be careful he hears us chatting; we might be in trouble too.”
Richard naturally overheard the guards’ whispers. He didn’t address them for the moment, but felt somewhat displeased.
The military discipline of this era was indeed lax; standing guard and still daring to gossip.
Damn it, even a slightly more formal security position in my past life wouldn’t allow such recklessness.
This was something he’d need to regulate later; it wasn’t his intention to be harsh; it was just a basic requirement.
But first, he needed to deal with the corruption issue at hand.
Richard found Harvey’s attitude hard to understand.
Was this outright blatant embezzlement? Did he really think it was normal?
This was rotten to the core.
Generally speaking, any position involved in embezzlement would inevitably drag along a line of others.
What goes up must come down, and indeed it was true.
As Richard was Harvey’s only direct superior, he naturally couldn’t trace the issue back up to Harvey, meaning Harvey’s subordinates were unlikely to be any cleaner.
Richard’s response to Harvey was quite simple—he drew a whip and struck it across his face.
Harvey’s face was instantly marked with a gash, and he cried out in pain.
“Please spare me, my lord! I don’t know what wrong I’ve done!” Harvey wailed.
Richard coldly replied, “I have repeatedly stated that everything on this land belongs to me. Only what I give you is yours. Are your ears deaf? Or are you tired of living?”
Harvey’s head buzzed.
He certainly remembered Richard saying this, but he thought it was something said for the subjects to hear.
Moreover, as the only tax officer in Long Eagle Territory, Richard couldn’t possibly just dismiss him, let alone reprimand him for such a ‘small matter’.
His face showed grievance and confusion.
Just like the guards whispering nearby, he felt perhaps it was his previous poor performance that led the lord to intentionally make things difficult for him.
He regretted it a bit, but after thinking it over, he wasn’t intentionally opposing Richard; he truly hadn’t expected this normal procedure would lead to him being reprimanded, or even directly whipped.
Richard paid no mind to his feelings and directly commanded the knight attendant following him, “Seize him! Conduct a house search immediately!”
Harvey was stunned!
Only now did he realize Richard truly had no intention of letting him off.
Before he could react, he was immediately pinned to the ground, his hands bound, and thrown onto the cart loaded with the items he had embezzled.
After a while, cries of women and children echoed from inside the house, and a knight attendant conducting the search emerged holding a small bundle.
“Reporting to you, my lord, these are valuable items found in his home.”
As he spoke, the knight attendant opened the bundle.
Inside lay several gold coins, a piece of magic steel, and a piece of mountain copper.
Both magic steel and mountain copper were considered extraordinary materials.
“If I remember correctly, there’s no magic steel in the castle treasury, and only two pieces of mountain copper—this is your little share?”
Before Harvey could defend himself, Richard commanded his subordinates, “Take him away and imprison him!”
“Furthermore, you people have benefited significantly from Lord Harvey these past years, right? Before tonight, go find the clerk to explain your issues. If I find out about anything later…”