This work arrangement isn't a case of Horn being harsh towards Martin; rather, it's how Horn treats himself.

Horn works over ten hours a day himself,

and it's common for those bishops and work groups to wake up, work, and then sleep.

Although the Salvation Army currently presents an unstoppable momentum, seeming confident to surpass Leia and Falan imminently,

Horn himself knows all too well that their regime is too new and their power too weak.

Perhaps a hundred times stronger compared to the Gulag period, but the gap with current enemies remains enormous.

Any slight negligence could potentially bring the crisis of national demise.

The saying "you need to be strong yourself to forge iron" has been proved true by Horn's numerous experiences, teaching him that depending on others is less reliable than developing oneself.

To cope with formidable military pressure from outside, Horn has to use his trick—industriousness.

He not only engages in it himself but also forces those below to join in, requiring them to keep up with the pace of the Saint's Grandson.

Because constructing government frameworks takes too long, and the current priority is advancing the "Holy Country Field Decree," Horn adopts more flexible work group models.

For example, there are now twenty-five land distribution groups, seven financial management groups, five public security groups, and so forth.

These groups report directly to Horn himself.

Although this tires Horn out a bit more, eliminating the delay of layer after layer of communication actually boosts efficiency.

However, currently these are only stopgap measures; eventually, a complete bureaucratic system and departmental hierarchy must be established.

"Is that all?" Horn closed the account books brought by the financial group.

"Yes, Your Grace." The accountant wiped sweat off his forehead with his sleeve, "Currently, we have 115,000 gold pounds, 200,000 gallons of grain; adding the civilian reserves can sustain another month."

"I remember that corn is planted in March and harvested in July, right?"

"Yes, Your Grace." The accountant turned a few pages of the booklet he held, "Under current circumstances, by early May we'll fall into a complete grain shortage, two months before harvest, and the Church has closed Luca, preventing grain transport to us."

"Counting the grain expenditure for the June expedition to the Tbe Plain, we're still short nearly 1 million gallons, equivalent to 10 million pounds of grain."

"I understand." Horn contemplated for a long time before closing the booklet, "You've done quite well, you may leave now; while leaving, please let Brother Martin come to me."

"Yes, Your Grace." As the accountant turned, Horn noticed a large sweat stain soaking through the back of his robe.

Horn couldn't help but let out a bitter smile.

Unlike those area bishops who were clueless about the actual operation, Horn almost always had these lower-ranking monks sweating profusely when questioned.

Horn, coming from modern times, already possessed superior thinking ability and broad vision; the only lacking grassroots practical experience was honed from the previous blood-and-sweat journey and during training at Daze Village.

If anyone wants to slack off before the industrious king Horn, there's no chance.

Although true industriousness means it's not particularly grueling, the land distribution groups might feel a bit fatigued, whereas other groups just work about six to seven hours daily.

Being in feudal times, the Imperial People's sense of time is very backward, lacking any punctual concept.

Many cathedral priests claim to work ten hours daily with no rest throughout the year.

But out of those ten hours, only half an hour is spent handling specific affairs, with the rest mingled with naps, leisure, and socializing.

They mix work and rest, working five minutes, resting an hour, rendering efficiency extremely low.

Unlike in modern times, where work and rest are concentrated separately.

In their eyes, Horn, who works nonstop like a Pope from dawn till dusk, is just insane.

Others surrounding Horn follow the modern methods of high efficiency and fast-paced work flow, ending up utterly exhausted.

Yet, they have to admit, the current administrative efficiency and progress of the Salvation Army exceed previous levels by fivefold.

Some lower-ranking monks clearly remember, measuring land by Horn's term "Hundred Households District" used to take around two weeks.

The current land distribution group takes only 4-6 days for land measurement and distribution of a Hundred Households District.

With 25 land distribution groups acting together, averaging seven Hundred Households Districts daily, they advance brutally.

At the current speed, about a month later, they will complete the Hundred Households system reform for the Devout Special District, involving 100,000 people.

Though hard to manage, once the Hundred Households District reform is complete, Horn's control and mobilization capability at the grassroots level will far exceed the Empire's imagination.

Helping Horn accomplish this high efficiency is not some high-quality elite talent, but the Child Soldiers department.

The Child Soldiers are divided by function into Cheka led by René, Military Police led by Raphael, and Night Watcher led by Duvalon.

The Cheka handles intelligence gathering and anti-slacking, Military Police manage judicial punishment and anti-treason, Night Watcher maintains public security and anti-espionage.

The current Child Soldiers have conscripted five batches, totaling 453 people, with ages ranging from 9 to 17 years old.

Those over 15 years old represent one third of the total.

Most of these orphans' parents died at the hands of knights and nobles, bearing profound hatred towards the Empire and Church.

Under the Pope Country system, they are the youngest, most stubborn, and most fanatical group, hard to bribe.

Weapons farmers and civilians arrested twice for bribery charges by Child Soldiers tragically testify to this point.

Currently, most of those truly responsible for work are above 15 years old; adults still handle specific arrests and a series of tasks.

Yet they are too young, often chaotic and brutal in enforcing law, prone to threats and beatings.

With Cheka and Military Police being typical examples, their reputation among the populace, especially citizens, is not too favorable.

This is something Horn recently noticed, but he hasn't spared time to address.

In times of chaos, imposing heavy laws is still essential, and the Pope Country is currently in a wartime state.

Various armed farmers, even Public Register Farmers, consorting with former knight priests aren't few; Child Soldiers serve as a deterrent quite well.

Yet, this brings an unexpected issue: the attitude of Salvation Army Government's civil personnel towards him has turned to both reverence and fear.

Anyone working under the Salvation Army Government, especially lower-ranking monks, trembles upon seeing him.

Despite Horn's belief that he's maintained enough gentility and amiability, it hasn't proven very useful.

As he's been to the battlefield, that air of violence often makes the weak-minded unable to stand steady.

The last time Horn lost focus during a briefing and instinctively questioned "Hmm?" the reporting lower monk immediately knelt down.

Indeed a situation leaving him helpless.

Having dismissed the elderly accountant reporting fiscal details, Horn stood up intending to stretch lazily, only to spot Martin peeking at the doorway.

"Brother Martin, what are you doing standing there? Come in right away."

"Your Grace," Brother Martin shook hands with Horn, bearing dark circles, "I wanted to ask; it's been three days; when will I be able to go to that huge library?"

"I called you over precisely for this matter," Horn answered succinctly, "Coincidentally, I plan to return to Autumn Dusk Island tomorrow."

"That is wonderful... um, may I boldly ask, you returning to Autumn Dusk Island at this time, is it for what reason?"

His smile gradually faded, and Horn looked up at the sunset beside dense clouds, "Whether alive or deceased, our War Monks must return home."

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.