Chapter 258: Discussion Concluded

When holding the discussion assembly for everyone, people brought their own stools, each household sent a representative, and then they sat in the area where their Production Team was located. Free Persons also had their own Production Teams, and there were specific spots for them to sit in the assembly square; otherwise, it would be chaotic and without any rules.

Once everyone was seated, the Administration Department read the plan out item by item. Because it was a rough plan, it was very brief, and everyone could remember it. Then, starting from the people in the first Production Team, they began to ask questions, and those with doubts or opinions raised their hands in order to ask.

Of course, the ranking of these Production Teams was not that casual. At first, Baifeng marked them according to the location of the housing, but now it was done anew. The people were still the same people, and the names were the same, but the order was calculated according to the annual production volume.

The more they produced, the higher their ranking. For example, if Jia One Team used to have the highest output, then they were the number one Production Team. If Bing Sandui had the highest output, then Bing Sandui was number one. However, the names did not change, and there were no material rewards, but there would be verbal and honorary commendations. Furthermore, for activities like this and various celebrations, they had priority. Just for this, everyone fought happily; honor was still very valuable in this era.

Someone asked if it was mandatory, and the people from the Administration Department explained: first, it was voluntary registration. If the number of people who signed up exceeded the limit, a portion would be screened out. If there were not enough, they would draw lots among those who were not married, or those who were married but had no children, and those selected had to go.

As for the question about whether people could really come and go freely between the two cities, the person was immediately scolded by the staff from the Administration Department, because asking this question meant not trusting the Tribal Chief and questioning the Tribal Chief's prestige. People nowadays would not consider what civilization was, nor did they care about the image of the staff; if what you said was inappropriate, they would really scold you.

Because there were not many questions, some of the Production Teams at the back did not have time to ask before everything had already been clarified. The things they wanted to ask and the questions they had prepared had already been asked by people in the front; it was impossible to let them repeat the questions.

When it came to the Free Persons, what they valued most was the issue of status. People of two different statuses had different focuses, so many of the questions asked by the tribesmen did not take the Free Persons into account.

The Free Persons asked if their treatment would be consistent with the current tribesmen after they went, whether there would be discriminatory treatment, how the first year's food would be obtained, and so on. The people from the Administration Department answered them one by one with patience.

The moment Free Persons were selected, they obtained the status of tribesmen. If those who had already been selected wanted to go back on their word, they needed to pay food as a fine. Those who could not afford it would be made Slaves for a period ranging from a few months to a few years, depending on the severity.

This punishment was gradually developed by the Baifeng tribe. Because the tribe grew larger and there were more people, crimes naturally occurred. Theft and fighting were very common, and whenever they happened, Baifeng had to make the judgment.

The simplest was whipping, using a cowhide whip to lash them. The second was imprisonment. Unlike the imprisonment of later generations, theirs was pitch-black, a cramped little dark room so small that one could only stand, unable to even squat. They could not eat or drink, the location was remote, and they could not hear human voices.

When they first heard of this punishment, everyone was dismissive, thinking it was too simple and just a way for them to rest. However, anyone who had experienced it would cry and howl upon coming out, saying they would never do it again.

The most serious case so far was someone locked up for three days. Tribesmen were fighting and refused to admit their mistakes, even after being whipped. The cause was that the two of them had taken a fancy to the same woman and would not yield to each other over who would marry her, eventually coming to blows. They even felt that whoever admitted their mistake would be giving up. After Baifeng dealt with it a few times and grew tired of it, he simply locked both of them in the dark room for three days. When they came out, let alone fighting, they couldn't even stand, begging for mercy incessantly. Then they each found a different woman to marry, and no one fought over the woman they had both taken a fancy to anymore.

This kind of punishment was only for tribesmen. Unless there was one of the four major, vicious, and serious crimes of arson, murder, or looting, Baifeng would judge according to the severity. The light ones would be whipped and then made into Slaves; the heavy ones would be directly beheaded, without mercy.

Slaves only received whipping and the death penalty, because some people were not worth wasting energy to discipline.

Fortunately, the judgment of cases in this era was simple. The people from the Military Department would first conduct a simple inquiry, and then Baifeng would review it one last time before sentencing. Now Baifeng was already starting to delegate this power to the Military Department; only those requiring the death penalty needed him to review it, to reduce the pressure on himself.

Then there was the food issue asked by the Free Persons. The tribe would provide all the food needed for the first year, and after the Autumn Harvest, they would no longer be responsible. Moreover, the New City would have to be the same as the Main City; surplus food still had to be handed over to the Main City, but the proportion would be smaller.

The New City would also establish institutions like those in the Main City, and the food and supplies that were not handed over would be used by these institutions to build the New City.

And after this piece of information was announced, the sound of discussion among the tribesmen grew louder instantly. Originally they were listening quietly, but this sentence was too attractive to them.

As ordinary tribesmen, they already had families, housing, and food, so they had no other pursuits. But suddenly being told they had the opportunity to become management, even those with families in tow wanted to give it a try. Becoming the person in charge of a certain department was no worse than being an ordinary tribesman in the Main City. Although it was called a New City, it was on a scale of a thousand people at the start, comparable to some small and medium-sized tribes, and it would expand in the future. What's more, this was the New City of the Baifeng tribe!

Hearing the commotion from the tribesmen, a smile appeared on the corner of Baifeng's mouth. Sure enough, if you want people to do things, you must have enough temptation. The tribesmen had long known the beauty of power. Not to mention power, even just the status of being a tribesman gave them a great sense of superiority in front of Free Persons and Slaves.

In the end, all the plan provisions were unanimously approved by everyone, and there were some additions to the details. The plan was perfected, and then it was the implementation stage.

After the assembly was dismissed, Baifeng gathered all the leaders for a meeting again. This time it was mainly focused on the Household Registration Department, as after all, matters involving the population were all under their management.

They tallied the people who signed up, then screened them according to the criteria, and finally calculated the people who needed to go, formulated a roster, and, like in the Main City, assigned them work and divided them into Production Teams.

The Industrial Department, Construction Department, and Finance Department began to coordinate and plan the roads between the urban areas. Now that the Autumn Harvest had ended, construction could begin.