People in the Middle Ages, draw cards to get promoted

Chapter 129
Back to the palace.

After the dusty people settled down, they quickly took a hot bath.

Lothar soaked his whole body in warm water, held his breath, and surfaced for a long time.

He took a deep breath, glanced at Hannya who was sitting on the recliner outside, and asked with a smile, "Do you want to take a bath together? You haven't taken a bath for a long time, right?"

Banruo put down the book in his hand and said calmly: "You are in danger right now, it is really inconvenient for you to take off your clothes to perform the duty of reloading the iron guards. Although I don't care much, but if it is not necessary, I don't want to be naked. The enemy fights."

Lothar said: "Indeed, those two vampire assassins are not weak. At least I am not sure that I can solve any of them. Thanks to the abilities of Fringila and Jeanne, they happened to restrain them. Otherwise, Even if they can't beat them, it's still very easy for them to escape."

"Fringila has already tamed one of them. As a lower-level vampire under her control, do you plan to meet her?"

"Forget it, don't rush."

Lothar sighed lightly: "I know that a mother who loses her son is terrible, but I didn't expect this Countess Stephanie to move so fast."

There is no right or wrong in this matter.

It was right for Lothar to kill Humphrey in order to protect himself.

Countess Stephanie wanted to kill Lothar in order to avenge her son.

Even Humphrey was not wrong. According to the knights in Montreal, this Sir Humphrey was originally a very decent person, but he was gradually brainwashed, manipulated, and lost himself by God Crocodile.

But it's all right, it doesn't mean that Lothar will be magnanimous and let others slaughter him.

Banruo said calmly: "Do you want to get rid of this Lady Stephanie as soon as possible? We are not afraid of the Demon King. It is not difficult to get rid of her."

Lothar nodded without hesitation and said, "Of course, since she has already done something to me, it is only natural for me to use the same means to retaliate."

Banruo asked again: "Then do you want to get rid of Leonard? It's better to be neat and tidy as a family."

Lothar frowned.

After a while, he still shook his head and said, "As the lord who guards the gate of Transjordan, Leonard is actually very talented in military affairs. He played well in Mengiza and the surprise attack on the Holy Land of Zoroastrianism."

"Moreover, assassination is the worst method in political struggle."

If Leonard died suddenly after being stripped of his earl title, it would be a huge blow to him and Baldwin IV's political credibility.

I am afraid that all the reputation he has accumulated among the southern nobles of the kingdom will be wiped out all at once.

After Stephanie died—Leonard should realize that this was a counterattack to their assassination, and he probably didn't dare to publicize it, and even concealed it for Lothar.

As for whether Leonard wants revenge?

In this era, for a lord who relies on marriage to obtain fiefdoms, the death of his wife can be said to be a good thing, because it means that he can marry a new lady who can bring a dowry.

Leonard of Châtillon, who originally only owned the small fiefdom of Châtillon in Gaul, obtained the Grand Duke of Antioch by marriage, and later obtained Transjordan by marriage.

This is his ability to drive lightly.

"In short, if you want to assassinate Leonard, you must not choose this sensitive and critical moment. It will take a year or two."

"Of course, if he really doesn't know good from bad, he still wants to trouble me. After finding the evidence, I will punish him in an upright manner as his lord. If he refuses to accept, I will lead an army to attack."

Lothar lay in the bath, feeling tired again.

He narrowed his eyes and gradually fell into a deep sleep.

Although Banruo would always be by his side no matter what the occasion was, which sometimes troubled him, he had to admit that having her by his side was really reassuring.

When he opened his eyes again, the sky was completely dark.

The water in the bath, no matter how many times it was added, was still warm.

"Prajna?"

"I'm here."

Prajna got up and walked in.

"Your Majesty's valet has come to summon you to have an audience."

Lothar laughed at himself: "It's a coincidence that I woke up."

"No, I stopped him."

Prajna's tone was very calm.

Lothar smiled wryly: "So that's the case. You turn around quickly, I'm going to change clothes, His Majesty summoned me, there must be something important to discuss with me."

He quickly changed into a silk dress and walked outside the hall.

The heraldic officer's work efficiency is very high, or in other words, the extra bounty given by Lothar is attractive enough, along with the dress, and the gold ring with the brand new coat of arms.

This ring also functions as a seal, and can be used to stamp wax seals on letters, dipped in ink pads, and can also be used to stamp various documents.

"Sorry to keep you waiting."

Baldwin IV's personal servant smiled and said, "It's okay, Your Majesty has told me to call you after you have rested."

He looked at Prajna behind Lothar again, and said, "Madam, Your Majesty has also invited you, please come together."

Through the dark corridor.

Lothar and Prajna came to Baldwin IV's room together.

He didn't wear a mask, and the disabilities and distortions on his face had almost completely disappeared. On the surface, he was no different from a normal person.

"sit down."

Baldwin IV pointed to the chair opposite: "Get away from me, and you should go to the Cathedral of the Holy Sepulchre to watch the night."

"Lothar, you have become an earl, one of the most powerful nobles in Jerusalem. What are your plans next? Do you want to stay in Jerusalem and lead the Royal Knights, or focus on the affairs of the territory?"

Lothar hesitated, and said: "I hope to focus on my own territory. You should also know that I have developed Fort Yoglius well. Moreover, during the war, I captured Prince Zahir. Through him and For the Mamluk cavalry under his command, I have received a large sum of money, and I hope to use this money to build a good territory."

Baldwin IV showed approval: "That's right, that's what I suggested to you. When Earl Raymond returns to Jerusalem, this place is bound to become the center of power struggle again. Hebron is very close to Jerusalem. If you can train a team as soon as possible." The military has also been a huge support for me here."

"Your Majesty, since I have decided to focus on developing my own territory, what about the position of Grand Master of the Royal Knights?"

Baldwin IV said without hesitation: "It's still up to you. You can send Knight Hans to take charge of the Knights for you while you are away."

Lothar hesitated, but still informed Baldwin IV of the assassination.

He was silent for a moment and asked, "How do you plan to respond?"

Lothar felt a little apprehensive, but said frankly: "I will fight back in the same way. I plan to send someone to assassinate Countess Stephanie."

Baldwin IV nodded and said: "Yes, a mother who lost her son will no longer care about anything, as long as she can get revenge, she is even willing to sell her soul to the devil-but I hope you can stop here, although Leonard knows , but didn’t get involved, so.”

Lothar had planned for a long time, and naturally followed suit: "I understand, I will not attack Leonard."

Baldwin IV asked Lothar about some of his planned governance policies, and he was a little worried about the "conversion" action he decided to implement slowly.

Lothar said seriously: "Your Majesty, don't worry, I just intend to use methods such as 'tax cuts' and 'rewards for wealth and land' to motivate and guide, rather than adopt tough measures."

His confidence comes from the statue that has been advanced to an angel, so that the people in the leadership will instinctively have a certain liking for him.

Otherwise, he would not dare to implement the idea of ​​encouraging conversion in holy places of both religions where the religious atmosphere is strong.

After all, most of those who can go on a pilgrimage to Hebron are devout pagans.

In the whole of Hebron, the number of pagans accounted for two-thirds, and this only refers to the permanent population. Most of the pilgrims who stayed in the city were pagans.

If he dared to force people to convert with swords and guns, these troublemakers would immediately take up swords and fight Lothar with their lives.

In fact, religious cleansing is just a pretense. Underneath, the tax reform that Lothar intends to implement is hidden.

In the final analysis, it is to divide the local forces, pull up a faction of "conversion faction", avoid local powerful local tyrants, raise the banner of religion, and resist the tax reform that Lothar intends to implement.

In Lothar's view, the tax package system should be swept into the dustbin of history.

Relying on taxpayers to rule the people indirectly, Lothar wanted to collect a tax of ten dinars, and the taxpayers dared to shout that the lord would charge a sky-high price of fifty dinars.

At that time, the infamy of Lothar will be borne, but all the benefits will be taken away by the taxpayers.

Lothar's real plan was to confiscate the powerful land of these pagans and distribute all their land to the pagan tenant farmers for cultivation.

However, the land is limited, and there are still a large amount of land, manors, and hereditary fiefdoms belonging to the Crusader nobles, and these people cannot move.

Therefore, it is impossible for everyone to be allocated land.

As for who can give priority to land?

A convert of course!

"That's good."

Baldwin IV let out a long breath: "Lothar, do you know why I favor you so much?"

Lothar knew this well, but still shook his head to express his ignorance.

After all, you can't boast yourself, can you?
Baldwin IV praised: "In addition to your father's sake, your personal ability, philosophy, and character are all worthy of my respect for you."

"That day, when you brought the potion that can transform mortals into werewolves, I was actually very moved. Later, you invited Uldin to control the evil disease on my body."

"Lothar, as a friend, I thank you very much."

Not everyone understands the principle of reciprocating love.

After being soaked in the dyeing vat of power, mediocre aristocrats who are mercenary and short-sighted are everywhere.

Lothar smiled and said: "Your Majesty, I am also very grateful for your promotion. Looking at the whole of Europe, it is rare to be promoted from a knight to an earl in less than a month."

Rare, but not non-existent.

Many knights, relying on inheritance or marriage, became earls and even kings in one step. There are precedents to be found.

Baldwin IV chuckled and said: "I hope that our friendship will not fade because of the difference between monarch and minister."

Lothar solemnly said: "I promise not, I swear in the name of the heavenly father, Your Majesty, I will always treat you as a friend and a lord who serves you."

(End of this chapter)