158: Guards and Inspection Department

The booklet Fornal gave to Renn recorded instances of corruption, bribery, and malpractice among some individuals, along with a small portion dedicated to vicious incidents like murder and rape that had occurred in the Red River Territory.

Previously, the Red River Territory had a small population and few issues. Combined with the constant crises, everyone was busy building the territory and defending their home, so there were very few chaotic incidents.

But now, with the rapid expansion of the population in the Red River Territory, many issues have followed. Where there are many people, there will be all kinds of characters, and naturally, wicked people who break the law may appear.

As the chief government affairs officer, Fornal is usually in charge of the daily affairs of the Red River Territory, and recently he has been receiving more and more reports of vicious incidents.

In the past, Fornal would only handle one or two such vicious incidents a year, and he didn't have to make the final judgment; the Lord would always make the final ruling.

Now, Fornal has dozens of cases on his hands, and Renn is so busy every day that his feet hardly touch the ground, making it difficult for Fornal to report even once.

Last night, Fornal wanted to tell Renn about this, but seeing the lively atmosphere of the banquet Renn organized, Fornal didn't feel right bringing up such a disappointing matter on such an occasion.

So early this morning, he sought out Renn and finally spoke about it.

“Ross, the territory's public security has always been managed by the Guard Army. Why have so many things happened without you reporting to me?”

Renn was very annoyed by the Guard Army's inaction. As long as the Guard Army maintained strict control, public security issues could be completely avoided, but the Guard Army had clearly failed to do so.

“Lord, it was my negligence. Please punish me!”

Ross stood up and admitted his mistake to Renn with a face full of guilt. He indeed hadn't paid much attention to the city's public security, focusing most of his attention on external enemies and improving the strength of the Guard Army.

“This time I will fine you half a year's salary. Sit down!”

Although Renn's tone was stern, the punishment for Ross was not very heavy.

“The tasks undertaken by the Guard Army are indeed a bit too disorganized. As the core combat force of the territory, in the future, you will only be responsible for defending against external enemies. The Guard Army will no longer manage internal affairs like public security.”

After thinking it over, Renn decided to reduce the management authority of the Guard Army, allowing them to focus on their core tasks and professionalizing the military.

The army would do army things, while for internal issues like public security, Renn had other arrangements.

“I have decided to establish a Guard Team. In the future, the internal security of the territory will be managed by the Guard Team. The Guard Team is tentatively set at one thousand people, selected from the previous Militia ranks.”

Last year, to deal with the Dragon War, Renn had successively trained tens of thousands of Militia. After the Dragon War ended, these tens of thousands of Militia seemed too numerous, and most of them needed to be disbanded and put into the territory's production work.

Renn selected the best of the best from these Militia, choosing three thousand people to supplement the Guard Army, expanding the Guard Army to five thousand people.

In addition, ten thousand people were selected as a permanent Militia force. While participating in daily production work, these ten thousand people would also undergo one day of military training every ten days.

These ten thousand people would serve as the reserve force for the Guard Army, to be drawn upon whenever the Guard Army needed to expand.

Normally, this ten-thousand-man Militia would maintain this constant number; once there was a shortage, new personnel would be added, and the scale would continue to increase as the territory developed.

The Militia also bore the responsibility of guarding the various villages in the territory. The Guard Army was only stationed in Red River City and the towns. No Guard Army soldiers were stationed in the villages scattered across the territory, so the daily guarding of the villages fell to the Militia.

Renn was now drawing one thousand people from these ten thousand Militia to form the Guard Team. This was only the first batch of Guard Team members, and Renn would continue to increase their numbers later.

Renn's idea was that in the future, each village should have about five Guard Team members responsible for security and arrests, each town should be equipped with twenty to fifty people, and Red River City would need one hundred to two hundred Guard Team members.

Listening to Renn's explanation of the newly established Guard Team department, Fornal was very happy. The Guard Team to be established would be under the management of the Government Affairs Hall, not the military.

This meant his workload would be significantly lightened, and there would be people to handle many tasks, so he no longer had to worry.

In the past, he had to communicate with the Guard Army to get things done. Although Ross was a good person and easy to communicate with, there was still a layer of separation, and the army had its own primary tasks, so they couldn't prioritize Fornal's needs.

Now with the Guard Team, Fornal could command them directly, which naturally made him feel much better.

Relatively speaking, the officers of the Guard Army were a bit uncomfortable. Alger and Wayne's faces were somewhat dark; the establishment of the Guard Team was equivalent to weakening the power in their hands, but they didn't dare say a word and could only endure it.

Ross, as the commander, didn't feel much of anything; instead, he thought it was a good thing, as he could focus entirely on training the army to improve their strength and deal with external enemies.

“The person in charge of the Guard Team will be Grayson!”

After giving a general explanation of the Guard Team's division of labor, Renn appointed the head of the Guard Team.

Grayson came from the Guard Army. The reason Renn chose him was that he felt Grayson was steady in his work, making him suitable for Guard Team affairs, and his strength was sufficient.

A few days ago, Grayson had broken through to the Silver Rank, which was another important reason Renn chose him.

Grayson, who was attending the meeting, was a bit stunned. He had somehow changed his identity from a soldier to the head of the Guard Team, and he still hadn't fully figured out what the Guard Team's status was.

“Yes, Lord!”

Grayson still stood up and loudly accepted Renn's appointment.

“The matter of the Guard Team is settled. Next, we will discuss the second matter: the Supervision Department!”

“Supervision Department?”

Everyone looked at Renn in confusion. The name of this new department was even harder to understand than the Guard Team; they couldn't figure it out.

“The number of management personnel in the territory has increased significantly, and the power in your hands is also constantly increasing. When power grows, some people's hearts change.”

Renn took out the booklet and flipped through it casually.

“These vermin Fornal found are only a small part. I believe there are still many such people who haven't been discovered—corruption, bribery, malpractice, and using the power in their hands for personal gain.”

Renn's tone gradually became heavier.

“I gave you power so you could do these things?”

“The Supervision Department will be responsible for inspecting all departments, all managers, and all heads of the territory in the future. Any management personnel who engage in corruption, bribery, malpractice, and so on will be rooted out and meet the end they deserve.”

“Drummond, you will be the head of the Supervision Department in the future!”