If looks could kill, Hudson would have already torn the old man in front of him to pieces. Just earlier that day, they had been on friendly terms as "uncle and nephew," and now the old man had sold him out.

  "The one who proposes the pn is responsible for executing it. If it succeeds, the credit belongs to everyone; if it fails, the bme falls solely on the proposer."

  Such a simple workpce rule, and yet, even after transmigrating, Hudson had fallen victim to it. He was on the verge of tears.

  In all honesty, he had been very careful. All he wanted was to make a little profit. Was it really necessary to make such a big deal out of it?

  The so-called "pn" wasn't even his idea. He had only hinted at it and never once mentioned the word "looting."

  As for the specifics of the pn, Hudson had chosen to remain silent, fearing that saying too much would lead to trouble.

  He had intended to be a quiet bystander, but now he found himself at the center of the storm. As soon as old man Mechel made the suggestion, everyone jumped on board.

  The fttery they showered on him was so excessive that even Hudson felt embarrassed. As a rookie knight, he had somehow been elevated to the status of "highly respected" overnight.

  Such shameless manipution left Hudson with no choice but to admit defeat.

  With the praise piled high, no matter how much Hudson tried to decline, he couldn't resist the collective push from the nobles.

  It truly made Hudson understand the saying: "A tree that stands out in the forest will be toppled by the wind."

  The root of the problem was that he had performed too well earlier. Even though Hudson had tried to downpy his abilities, he still stood out among his incompetent peers.

  His act of "pying the tiger to scare the pigs" had been too successful, leading everyone to believe that "the more soldiers Hudson commands, the better."

  Otherwise, they wouldn't have dared to entrust him with such a "heavy responsibility." After all, if something went wrong with the supplies, everyone would suffer the consequences.

  Even if Hudson were willing to take the bme, his small stature couldn't bear it. Even if they needed a scapegoat, it would be Chelse, the army commander, who would take the fall.

  With everyone ganging up on him, Hudson had no choice but to reluctantly accept the responsibility. He had initially considered dragging a few unlucky souls down with him, but in the end, he decided against it.

  If they encountered the main rebel force attacking the supply train, even the entire Fifth Army wouldn't be enough to handle it. Leaving a few unlucky knights behind wouldn't make a difference, so he chose not to stir up more resentment.

  Taking command of all the serf soldiers was a heavy burden for Hudson.

  Fortunately, the strict hierarchy of Ystnd meant that troublemakers had long been dealt with by the noble lords, so no one dared to cause trouble.

  Using a voluntary election system, Hudson democratically selected a group of squad leaders and appointed his trusted subordinates as centurions, barely establishing a command structure.

  Looking at the disorganized ranks below, Hudson took a deep breath and reminded himself: These aren't my soldiers. I don't need to hold them to such high standards.

  "From now on, the entire army must act as one. Whether it's eating, sleeping, or even relieving yourselves, it must be done collectively at designated times.

  Keep your eyes sharp and watch each other. If someone breaks the rules and no one reports it, but they're caught, then the entire squad will go hungry. If a squad breaks the rules, the entire company will go hungry.

  Under my command, you will follow my rules. Don't take this lightly. Anyone who viotes military orders will be hanged.

  If we can't catch the culprit, it doesn't matter. Their family will take the bme. If you don't want to implicate your wives and children, then behave.

  Stay close to the group. If anyone goes missing and there's no body, they'll be considered deserters. Their entire family will be hanged at the vilge entrance..."

  Hudson expined in simple terms. In summary, it was a system of collective punishment.

  Originally, he had wanted to say that vioting military orders would result in the entire squad being executed, but remembering that this was a ragtag group, he feared he might end up with no one left. So, he settled for "going hungry."

  For the serfs at the bottom, going hungry was also a severe punishment. Before joining the army, they likely hadn't eaten a full meal in years.

  It was only now, with Count Piers providing food, that they could eat their fill. Having finally enjoyed a few full meals, no one wanted to go back to starving.

  Frankly, the current method of transporting supplies wasn't efficient. Sending everything at once meant that if the war dragged on, they'd have to make multiple trips.

  Hudson knew this, but he kept his mouth shut. As a low-ranking officer, his job was to follow orders.

  Besides, this was just a rebellion, not a full-scale war. Talking about the sustainability of the war would only invite ridicule.

  In fact, even in wars between kingdoms on the continent of Asnt , conflicts rarely sted long.

  The reason was simple: war was expensive. In the feudal era, with its limited productivity, prolonged warfare was unsustainable for anyone.

  Thanks to the strict enforcement of collective punishment and the execution of a few unlucky rule-breakers, the supply train finally stabilized.

  Whether they could be relied upon in battle was uncertain, but at least no one went missing while transporting supplies.

  Of course, one important factor was the improved rations. Not only was there enough bck bread, but they also received a bowl of salty meat broth.

  Thanks to this bowl of salty broth, Hudson's image in the eyes of the serf soldiers shifted from that of a fearsome noble lord to a "generous" one.

  Unsurprisingly, the extra salted meat broth came from the rations allocated to the Fifth Army's nobles.

  Hudson had initially pnned to keep it for himself, but with no merchants along the way, there was no pce to sell the stolen goods.

  Supplies were bulk goods, and there was no pce to hide them. Hudson wasn't foolish enough to bring stolen supplies to rendezvous with the main force.

  He bitterly criticized the short-sighted merchants for not seizing such a lucrative opportunity.

  With no way to sell the stolen goods, embezzlement was out of the question. Faced with this harsh reality, Hudson had no choice but to be an honest soldier. He decided to be generous with his allies' rations and improve the soldiers morale.

  After some self-reflection, Hudson attributed his failure to embezzle to a ck of connections.

  While merchants were profit-driven, their ck of power often left them at the mercy of unscrupulous nobles, who could ruin them without consequence.

  Knowing that the Fifth Army was responsible for transporting supplies, no merchant dared to do business with them. The main reason was that there were too many nobles in the Fifth Army, making it impossible to bribe everyone.

  If even one link in the chain wasn't secured, the entire operation could be exposed. Such shady deals, even if robbed, couldn't be reported.

  With the risks outweighing the rewards, no one came. After all, who could have expected the nobles of the Fifth Army to pull such a stunt, leaving Hudson alone to guard the supplies while they went out to loot?

  With his dreams of wealth shattered, Hudson could only skim off some disposable military equipment like arrows to soothe his wounded pride.