Chapter 93. Hygiene, Gunpowder, and War (3)

Sometimes it's better to be unemployed than to work in a place where you're not treated like a human.

For example, there are jobs where it's normal to work until 8-9 PM with pre-tax starting salary of 2.06 million won, working every other or every third Saturday.

Even after accumulating seniority and getting promoted, you don't reach 2.5 million won pre-tax after 10 years.

Objectively, it would have been better to prepare for employment a few years longer than starting your first step into society with such a job.

"For people who urgently need to make a living, even such jobs are just grateful."

Because it's not a crime anyway, and if you work, you can live in a house with a roof and not starve.

Also, the poor in this era are those who unhesitatingly engage in pickpocketing, theft, blackmail, violence, and even murder just to get something to eat right away.

'Even forcing them into employment a bit is a humanitarian measure.'

While thinking that, we arrived at the slum before I knew it.

The division head assistant shouted so loudly on my behalf that my ears hurt:

"His Majesty has bestowed grace on you trash-like poor people to give you a chance to live like humans! So right now, receive His Majesty's grace and be reborn!"

The people of this era, especially the poor, tremble just hearing about the country's grace.

Because under the pretext of reformation, they're taken away and made to do long hours of hard labor that makes you want to curse, and in return they're only given a bowl of thin oatmeal porridge.

It's common to be dragged into the military and made to do work that's practically like being meat shields.

Therefore, the poor actively utilized the wisdom of life they gained from living, even if they hadn't learned much:

"Damn it, run! If we're caught like this, we'll be dragged to the battlefield!"

Even if it was cleaning, the empire wasn't carrying out some 'massacre'.

They just gave opportunities to voluntarily enlist in the military and worked them to the bone.

The probability of returning alive is low, and military service is a citizen's duty, so even if you're discharged safely, you only get a few silver coins in the end.

It seems they chose to run away because they felt they would suffer if caught.

The poor who hadn't awakened to His Majesty's love started fleeing anyway.

"Aaagh, I felt unlucky tonight!"

"We'll die if we're caught! We'll really die!"

"Which crazy bastard offended a high-ranking person and got caught?!"

Seeing this scene, the Marine Captain who followed us smiled suspiciously and said:

"Is it really right to request that my performance evaluation be viewed favorably by the Military Affairs Ministry if we catch those bastards?"

I called the Marine Captain because he seemed like he would desperately comply with my request since his promotion was slow compared to his status, age, and performance evaluation.

Blinded by promotion, he was making lip-smacking sounds.

Marine means naval infantry, and.

'Looking closely, this gentleman's skin is unusually tanned brown.'

It seems he's really the optimal talent for voluntary enlistment, no, gathering excellent people to improve Florence's hygiene and work on gunpowder production.

The soldiers behind there are smiling suspiciously too.

"You know the Captain said he'd treat us to a feast if we catch all those bastards?"

"Will he buy us beef?"

"That depends on how satisfied we make Viscount Medici over there."

For some reason, I feel like I should buy these guys red octagonal hats.

I should get along well with the Marine company, if not other companies.

"Just catch 200, no, 400 people. Don't kill anyone or break anything in the process."

"Our soldiers will handle it neatly and cleanly on their own. Please wait a moment."

The Marine Captain and his subordinate soldiers raised wooden clubs like baseball bats with suspicious smiles.

I cast a magic spell of enthusiasm on the marines, no, soldiers here:

"If you catch 400 people by today, I'll buy this company unlimited beef and beer. And I'll give some bonus money too."

You should save money usually, but spend when you need to.

And now seems to be that time.

When meat, alcohol, and money were at stake, the Marine Captain's company and other companions charged towards the poor while blowing trumpets.

"Beating up those bastards will make money! Beat them moderately and drag them away!"

If they had voluntarily enlisted, they wouldn't have had to be forcibly enlisted.

They are truly pitiful and miserable poor people.

But well, since they're criminals who have committed petty theft at the least and murder at the most to survive in this slum, there's no need to sympathize too much...

**

Leo, a native of Florence's slum, was desperately fleeing.

"Aaagh, save me!"

The reason for fleeing was very simple.

If caught by those soldiers chasing after him, it was obvious he would be dragged to some unknown battlefield and die.

Although his current life wasn't good, he at least didn't want to die a dog's death.

'It's better to live even if rolling in mud.'

Regardless, the soldiers were chasing him hard with wooden clubs.

"If you stop now, you'll just suffer a bit of pain and be taken away, if you don't stop, you'll die today!"

"Make a wise choice, poor man!"

"Rejecting His Majesty's grace is a capital offense!"

He wanted to shout like this:

'It's obvious I'll become a corpse full of holes within a few months if I receive that damn emperor's grace!'

However, due to the respect for the emperor and class system instilled by the Deus religion, he couldn't bring himself to say those words.

"Come forward voluntarily and receive His Majesty's grace! Then you'll become happy!"

Happy my ass, you'll go to heaven after dying.

Leo ran for his life, but the soldiers trained by all sorts of drills and odd jobs finally captured him.

"Bastard, there's no use in running away. Instead of that, you should have knelt and come in voluntarily comfortably. Why make us both blush and suffer unnecessarily?"

The senior among the soldiers gave a signal and raised his club.

"Instill His Majesty's grace into this stupid bastard."

With those words, someone kicked Leo and knocked him down.

"It's time to teach the spirit needed to live as an imperial soldier, no, as an imperial subject."

Then they beat his whole body like mincing meat, avoiding vital points.

Seeing how they hit just enough to bruise without cracking or breaking bones, they were masters of beating.

If Fabio saw this, he would have seriously considered hiring some of them as his bodyguards after discharge, with such skill.

One soldier lifted Leo's chin and reproached:

"You bastard, why do you run away and make people annoyed? Wouldn't it be so much better to just enlist voluntarily comfortably?"

Voluntary enlistment, those words sounded like this to Leo:

'If the emperor tells you to die, go get dragged into the military voluntarily and die.'

Those guys might be better off than poor people like him, but they must be in a position to be trampled on as mere serfs.

However, the tact and social skills honed by all sorts of violence and murder in the slums fortunately kept Leo's mouth shut.

If he had opened his mouth, he might have suffered the sad fate of ending his life.

"Um, soldier sirs, may I ask one thing? What's going to happen to me now? Am I going to be dragged to the battlefield and die like a dog?"

Leo said that serfs and poor people are in the same exploited position, but in reality there's an enormous difference between the two.

Poor people who don't even have a family register and are practically not even "human" can be kidnapped and killed by nobles for fun without anyone caring.

As long as the criminal's tail isn't stepped on by other nobles or someone.

In other words, all crimes are allowed against the poor as long as you don't get caught.

On the other hand, if a serf is murdered by someone, the guards or territorial soldiers will conduct an investigation while showing signs of annoyance, and sometimes the church will take their side.

There's an enormous difference between those who aren't even human and those who are at least bottom-rung people...

The soldiers of serf origin snickered looking at Leo, a poor person.

"You won't be dragged to the battlefield. Instead, you'll be in charge of cleaning excrement in the city. It's a lowly job, but they'll feed you properly and give you a place to live."

Leo couldn't believe those words.

The country is going to do something for them?

He had only been extorted by the country all his life and suffered all sorts of tyranny from noble gentlemen.

'Am I escaping this damned life of petty theft in the slum?'

"And isn't it just cleaning for His Majesty to kill dirty poor nobodies on the battlefield? From what I learned while serving in the Florence Guard, 70% of all crimes in the city are caused by you poor people. You might not have been arrested, but how do we know if you've killed someone, pickpocketed, or raped women?"

According to imperial law, very harsh punishments are inflicted on the poor.

If you meet the wrong judge, it's common to be sentenced to death for stealing just one loaf of bread.

And the reason such verdicts are handed down is simple.

The poor, who are socially vulnerable, have to engage in some kind of crime to survive, so they assume that by the time they're caught, they will have committed accumulated crimes.

"Still, be grateful that you can do a lowly job but one that properly feeds you, thanks to His Majesty's grace. Will you still reject His Majesty's grace?"

Even cleaning poop is better than petty theft.

"No! I'll follow!"

And Leo followed the soldiers with a big smile, bruised all over except his face.

On this day, over 400 men gained such salvation that wasn't salvation.