Steel, Guns, and the Industrial Party in Another World-Chapter 671: The Dossier System and Political Vetting
Chapter 671: The Dossier System and Political Vetting
TL: Rui88
In Lakeheart Town, at the lord’s manor.
Count Paul Grayman of Alda sat behind his desk, concentrating on a booklet before him.
The booklet was thick and placed squarely in front of him.
In fact, it was an execution list.
The rebellion that had occurred in Babor Village, after a thorough investigation and trial, had finally reached a preliminary conclusion.
And the Lord’s Court had passed judgment on each person’s crime or possible crime.
The one before Paul was the list of prisoners sentenced to death.
It provided a detailed introduction for each person, including their name, gender, age, physical appearance, and the role they played in the rebellion.
Chief Justice Thomas watched the Count’s slightly furrowed brow and couldn’t help but feel a hint of worry.
“My lord, you don’t seem to be very satisfied with this list?”
Paul let out a sigh.
“My esteemed Chief Justice, I find this list a bit too long.”
Thomas did not agree with the Count’s view. “This is already in accordance with your instructions to appropriately narrow the scope of punishment, not even including the collateral relatives of the traitors.”
Paul shook his head in distress.
“But I don’t understand. Even for the immediate family of the traitors, is it necessary to execute the children who are not yet of age?”
Thomas had a matter-of-fact expression and was about to refute his lord, but he was interrupted by another voice.
“Of course, it’s necessary!”
Paul’s mother, Mariana Grayman, approached Paul with a serious expression.
“If you let them grow up, they will inherit the hatred of the previous generation and will very likely become a poisoned dagger stabbing at you from the darkness.”
Mariana had originally come to bid Paul farewell, but before she could say her goodbyes, Chief Justice Thomas had come to visit Paul.
Not wanting to disturb her son’s work, she had yielded the time and waited on the side.
Then, from their conversation, she learned a terrifying fact that made her heart pound—her eldest son had recently experienced a rebellion that could have threatened his life.
So Mariana eagerly asked for the details of the rebellion.
“Damn Fergus, that scoundrel who should go to hell. To think he was such a hypocrite. And to think your father and I once considered him an upright knight.”
Mariana angrily cursed the former knight of the Grayman family.
“Perhaps he thought he was practicing the ‘uprightness’ of his era,” Paul said to Mariana.
However, now that the rebellion had been queled, Mariana’s mood gradually calmed down, until her son displayed what she considered unnecessary ‘mercy.’
Mariana picked up the list from in front of Paul and quickly flipped through it.
“She reads so fast!”
Watching his mother’s actions, Paul was secretly surprised.
He saw Mariana’s eyes dart slightly left and right as the list in her hands flipped by like a spinning lantern.
If anyone else had done that, it would have been doubtful if they were really reading.
But Mariana was a witch, or rather, a sorceress.
“Hmph!”
After finishing, Mariana slammed the list heavily on the table.
She looked at the Chief Justice with a scrutinizing gaze.
“Thomas, is this how you shelter traitors?”
Thomas was not familiar with this former mistress of the house. He had been appointed Chief Justice of the Lord’s Court by the old Grayman many years after Mariana had left the Northwest Bay, and had not frequented the lord’s manor before that.
But he had a vague impression of Mariana and knew she was a very capable woman.
Faced with Mariana’s stern gaze, the Chief Justice shrugged helplessly and cast a pleading look at Paul.
“Ahem, the Lord’s Court acted according to my wishes!”
Paul came to the Chief Justice’s rescue, drawing Mariana’s fire onto himself.
“Of course I know that!”
Mariana glared at her eldest son, her voice rising unconsciously.
“You are appeasing your potential enemies. If it were any other lord, this list would be at least three or four times longer.”
Paul retorted, “For those traitors who planned, participated, and have blood on their hands, I will execute them without mercy. But for their unwitting relatives, especially the children, I feel it is completely unnecessary to involve them!”
“Unnecessary? Do you think this is a game? This is a life-and-death struggle.”
Mariana’s tone was extremely stern, just like the parents from Paul’s previous life who were scolding their children for failing grades.
“I, your mother, experienced a terrible rebellion while living in Gabella. It was filled with conspiracy and blood!”
The rebellion Mariana spoke of was naturally the court coup in Gabella. In fact, she had more than just experienced it; she herself was one of the planners and executors of the rebellion.
Naturally, Mariana also knew the potential consequences if their side had failed—Prince Antonio’s faction would have been completely eradicated.
The Arcane Society would be exposed, and its members would be hunted down.
The Scholars’ Tower would be purged, even though the organization’s leader, Aldridge, was the Emperor’s teacher.
Antonio’s friends and subordinates in the army, such as Siegfried and others, would all be executed. At best, they might be ordered to commit suicide, even if they came from famous imperial families and had distinguished military records.
Although Emperor Bartley Griffin was known for his magnanimity and open-mindedness, it depended on the matter.
Holding on to power was the instinct of every feudal monarch, and he would certainly not bestow magnanimity and open-mindedness on those who challenged his power.
Fortunately, her faction was the victor.
“Paul, those innocent children you speak of are the wicked eggs laid by vipers. When they grow up, they will disguise their identities, deliberately get close to you, use sweet words to win your trust, and then carry out their revenge when you least expect it. Therefore, the danger must be nipped in the bud.”
“So…” Paul held out a hand to his mother, indicating that she didn’t need to continue, “I plan to establish a lifelong dossier system!”
“A lifelong dossier system?”
Thomas and Mariana were stunned; they had never heard of such a thing.
Paul explained to them, “It is a system for collecting information about a person throughout their life. From their birth, all major events in this person’s life will be recorded, such as major mistakes and major merits. Even if he moves from one place to another, his dossier will move with him and be managed by the local administrative department.”
“For those who are to approach me and those who are to be entrusted with important responsibilities, they will have to undergo political vetting, which will be based on their dossier. The person themselves and their immediate relatives for three generations must have no criminal record to pass the vetting.”
“You see, doesn’t this eliminate dangerous elements to the greatest extent possible?”
It seemed like a solution, but both Mariana and Thomas felt it was a bit too idealistic.
Chapter 671: The Dossier System and Political Vetting
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