Wearing British clothes as a second-generation aristocrat

26. The three members of the maintenance committee

Under Dugan's strong directives, the planning and deployment of safe villages were rapidly rolled out in and around Omarachi.

The villagers who were forcibly relocated were forced by British soldiers to dig trenches and build rammed earth walls.

The destruction of the towns of Kapur and Bandawar has been completed, with the remaining houses reduced to ashes.

Villagers who refused to relocate either had their wells filled in or were buried on the spot, while the survivors were relocated in batches to temporary settlements around Omarachi town, awaiting the completion of a safe village.

Lieutenant Cook's logistics team operates efficiently. Despite his unassuming appearance, he is an expert in logistics.

Military rations, weapons, and building materials were continuously transported to the village. Cook even dismantled the villagers' houses to obtain building materials to construct watchtowers, earthen walls, and fences for the safe village.

The patrol teams of each company set off on time, repeatedly searching the blank areas, not letting go of any fleeing villagers, and also guarding against the infiltration of the Marata guerrillas.

In particular, Lieutenant Bekhami's cavalry was swift as the wind, and the guerrillas had nowhere to hide on the open Deccan Plateau.

Moreover, Bekhami's cavalry would always appear near the water source, throwing rotting animal carcasses and human and animal excrement into the water, in order to cut off all the resources the guerrillas could use.

Everything was proceeding according to Dugan's plan, and a tense and oppressive atmosphere permeated the air.

Once the initial arrangements were in place, Dugan ordered a meeting with the three members of the Omarachi town maintenance committee.

They were all influential high-caste Indians in the area: Prasad from the Brahmin caste, Rajesh from the Kshatriya caste, and Agarwal from the Vaishya caste.

All three were local wealthy merchants and gentry, and held considerable prestige among the villagers. Duggan chose them to form a maintenance committee, both to leverage their influence to control the villagers and to reduce the trouble of direct British military control.

The meeting took place in a Hindu temple temporarily requisitioned in Omarachi, which was converted into Dugan's temporary command post.

Inside the main hall of the temple stood a colossal statue of Ganesha, the elephant god of India. Dugan sat in front of the statue. Prasad, Rajesh, and Agarwal bowed as they entered the hall, their hands clasped together, their expressions respectful yet revealing their unease, and they dared not look Dugan in the eye.

They had already witnessed the ruthless methods of this British major and knew that this summons was no small matter.

"Sit down." Dugan's tone was calm, yet carried an undeniable authority. His gaze swept over the three men. "I know you are quite influential in the area, which is why I had you form a maintenance committee to assist me in managing the affairs of the town and the safe village. I summoned you today to lay down three rules with you, which you must strictly abide by, or you will bear the consequences."

The three of them quickly agreed and sat down.

Prasad began respectfully, "Your Excellency Major Dugan, rest assured, we are all honest men who respect Brahma and Ganesha and never dare to cause trouble. Everything in this world is ordained by the gods long ago, and we will certainly listen to you and would never dare to act recklessly."

Dugan was satisfied with his answer and then said, word by word, "The first point concerns the discipline of British soldiers. I will strictly order my soldiers not to commit crimes such as rape, robbery, or murder in towns or safe villages. If any soldier violates this order, once verified, he will be handed over to a military court for trial without reporting, and hanged on the spot after sentencing. There will be no leniency."

Upon hearing this, a hint of surprise flashed in the eyes of the three, and then they breathed a slight sigh of relief.

Rajesh quickly bowed and said, "On behalf of all the villagers, we thank you for your fairness and kindness."

"Mercy?" Dugan sneered. "Don't be too happy yet. I'll give you justice, and you'd better behave yourselves. Second, anyone in the town or a safe village who dares to kill a British soldier or collude with the Maratha guerrillas to attack British troops will have 10 Indians executed for every British soldier killed; and 20 Indians executed for every British officer killed. As for who to execute, your maintenance committee will be responsible for choosing. If you can't choose, then it will start with your three families."

Prasad and Rajesh's faces immediately darkened.

Agarwal added cautiously, "Major, most of the villagers are ignorant. It would be inappropriate to implicate innocent people if someone made a serious mistake in a moment of confusion!"

"Inappropriate?" Dugan glanced at the three men and said, "When our soldiers were ambushed by the Marata guerrillas, the local villagers were accomplices. I was merciful enough not to kill them immediately. For God's sake, you had better do as I say. Either keep your men in line and behave yourselves, or you'll be buried with them."

Prasad, Rajesh, and Agarwal dared not utter another word of rebuttal and could only nod repeatedly: "Yes, yes, the major is right. We will definitely discipline the villagers strictly and never let such a thing happen again."

Dugan's gaze softened slightly as he continued, "The third point concerns the duties of the maintenance committee. First, as friends of the British Empire, you are to collect taxes from the villagers of the town and all the safe villages. These taxes include grain, cloth, and money. The specific amounts will be determined by Lieutenant Cook. You must collect them on time and in full, without embezzlement or delay. All taxes will be handed over to the British Army for safekeeping."

"Secondly, I will allocate a portion of the collected taxes to the maintenance committee as operating funds. If you collect taxes in a timely manner and manage them properly, the allocation will be increased appropriately in the future. However, if it is found that you have embezzled taxes or failed to collect them effectively, not only will the allocated funds be recovered, but you will also be treated as traitors."

"Finally, you must form a joint defense team of no less than 500 people within a week. The team members should be selected from the local villagers, with priority given to able-bodied young men. The equipment of the joint defense team will be provided by the maintenance committee, and Lieutenant Joffrey will be in charge of daily training. Their main responsibilities are to cooperate with the British army in patrols, guard the safe village, and investigate suspicious persons. If they encounter guerrilla attacks, they must cooperate with the British army in combat and must not retreat."

After Dugan finished speaking, the three men clasped their hands together and bowed again: "Please rest assured, Major, we will strictly abide by these three rules, complete all tasks on time, and never let you down."

"Trust?" Dugan said calmly. "I don't easily trust anyone. I'll be keeping a close eye on your performance. Tom, you're in charge of liaising with the maintenance committee and supervising their work. Report any unusual activity to me immediately. Joffrey, you're in charge of training the joint defense team. Make sure they have basic combat capabilities and aren't just for show."

"Yes, Major!" Tom and Joffrey responded simultaneously.

Dugan's gaze swept over the three men again, and he said in a very stern tone, "I'll remind you one last time: don't try anything funny, and don't even think about colluding with the guerrillas. Your families, your property, and your lives are all in my hands. Do your job properly, and you'll keep everything. Otherwise… I'll find someone else to replace you. You can guess what will happen once you're no longer of any use?"

"I swear to Shiva!" Prasad shouted. At this moment, all three of them had beads of cold sweat on their foreheads. Only when Dugan waved his hand did they bow and leave the hall as if they had been granted a pardon.

Watching the three men hastily depart, Tom couldn't help but say, "Major, aren't your rules a bit too harsh? Especially the second one—ten villagers must be buried with every soldier who dies. Won't that incite a rebellion among the villagers?"

Dugan shook his head. "Most of these locals are secretly colluding with the Marata guerrillas. If we don't take a tough stance, they will only become more demanding. Only by making them feel fear can we ensure that the maintenance committee doesn't dare to slack off."

As he spoke, Dugan drew his sword from his waist and swung it at a small wooden statue beside him, instantly beheading it.

"Before the sword of the British Empire, heads either bow obediently or be severed defiantly."

Lieutenant Joffrey chimed in, "The Major is right. There's no room for mercy when dealing with these Indians."