People in the Middle Ages, draw cards to get promoted

Chapter 315
"You see, that's why I said you were arrogant."

For Lothar's response, Anna had a feeling that she expected it.

"I have learned about your actions in your territory. You generously exempt the citizens and serfs under your rule from taxes, and rent tools to them free of charge for them to reclaim wasteland and build houses."

"You live up to your reputation as a generous and merciful man."

"But I don't understand why you want to do this. After all, you are not that rich now, and you can even say that you are a little embarrassed."

"You can obviously extract more money from them, and they will never oppose you because of it. What's more, I don't think they have the ability to resist you."

Lothar frowned and said, "I'm actually not that kind to them."

"Under my rule, civilians still need to serve without pay, and still need to pay [-]% of the tax. The cattle and farm tools that were loaned to them before will also need to be redeemed by them in the future."

"Isn't that enough?"

Anna's beautiful big eyes were full of doubts.

In Europe, there is no saying that the people are more important than the emperor, and there is no such thing as Chen Sheng and Wu Guang. During the uprising in Daze Township, the sound of no princes and generals was rather deafening.

The image of serfs is often philistine, treacherous, unshaven, vulgar, ugly, without honor, untrustworthy, and only worthy of eating thorns, straw, and pods of livestock.

There is a proverb that says: torture a serf, he will bless you, bless a serf, he will torture you.

Although there are often serfs in Europe who can't bear the lord's excessive expropriation, raise the flag to rebel, and become thugs who swallow everything, burn, kill and loot, but they are limited by the scattered territories of the lords, and it is difficult to connect, forming tens of thousands, or even tens of thousands. One hundred thousand, a colossus like the Yellow Turban Army.

The peasant uprisings in continental Europe did not have any clear goals and programs. They did not know where the future was, and the beginning of the uprising meant that failure was imminent.

They chanted the slogan that they were not against the king, but against the aristocrats who extorted money, and even hoped that the king would stand up and seek justice for them.

They don't even think about becoming kings themselves, because the noble are born noble, and they are born low.

Who knows, the king is the biggest nobleman, how could he forgive these "mobs".

It's not because the commoner class is stupid.

It is because they have no opportunity to receive education at all, work on the land all day long, worry about exorbitant taxes every day, and never have a day of leisure and ease.

Like a hamster thrown on a wheel, always running.

Also be careful that one day the lord and the lord next door will go to war, and the robbers and mercenaries who ravage the countryside will loot all the property.

Locked around the neck with a noose, dragged and trampled by the horses.

Wives and daughters were played with, and houses were burned.

This is the portrayal of the life of the vast majority of serfs in this era.

Only then did people hear that there was a "promised land flowing with milk and honey" in the east, and they immediately "fanatically" gave birth to one crusade for the poor one after another.

Lothar thought of this, and his voice became heavier: "Some people say that serfs are born to suffer, and when he was born, the pain was born with him."

"Many of the people under my rule are actually fugitive slaves of the European lords. Some of them tried to run to the cities and settle as free citizens, but they were expelled by xenophobic guilds; many poor pilgrims, halfway Most of them died due to hunger and disease; many people could only travel by land because they could not afford the ferry tickets to the Holy Land. "

"Those who are lucky enough to become free citizens under my rule have suffered enough. As a lord, I only hope that my subjects will suffer less."

"And I also believe that they will repay me with loyalty.

When the enemy comes, without my conscripting, they will not hesitate to take up the weapons in their hands to resist the invasion-because they are not only guarding me, but also guarding themselves. "

Lothar's voice came clearly, and seemed to carry some kind of strong ambition.

He has no intention of challenging the established rules of this world, but at least he will try his best to be a benevolent lord.

Anna looked slightly startled, she thought for a while, and said, "I understand."

Just like the peasant and soldier system in the empire.

Those peasants and soldiers who own land are the strongest walls of the entire empire.

Unfortunately, the walls of the Eastern Empire have collapsed.

The nobles are indeed far more worthy of wooing than ordinary civilians, but how can they be wooed easily because of their greed?

...

In the dark sewer, there was a faint sound of dripping water.

Lienna, who was wearing a black robe, was covering her nose with one hand and holding a cluster of orange flames in the other, walking on tiptoe through the dirt.

Feeling the disgustingly slippery feel of the soles, she thought: If only there were shoes with long heels, like the ones gypsies walk on on stilts in circuses.

That can isolate oneself from these filth to the greatest extent.

There was a rustling sound ahead.

Lienna looked through the light reflected by the flame in her hand, and found that it was a group of ugly mice with rotten sores probably because they had not seen the sun for a long time and were accompanied by filth.

These mice are really big. Can they grow so big by eating garbage and excrement?
While thinking, Lienna threw a fireball casually.

squeak--

The screams of the mice stopped abruptly.

"Go to hell, ugly things."

After burning a group of mice to death, the corners of Lienna's mouth turned up slightly, and her mood improved a lot.

Even the strong rancid smell in the air seemed to have faded away.

"I heard that the Marquis of Lothar is also very good at fire spells."

"And he's very handsome. Compared with those rude, barbaric, and smelly demon hunters, he's simply much stronger."

Lienna swallowed, she really wanted to have an in-depth exchange with Lothar, but looking at him, he didn't seem to be interested in her—it's a pity.

Constantinople has a complete drainage system. After thousands of years of use, repair and maintenance, it has become a huge underground palace under the city.

But it is also a breeding ground for monsters.

Ghouls, water ghosts, night ghosts, horror demons... No one knows how many monsters are hidden here.

Even, a small ecological circle has been formed here.

Ghouls and water ghosts, which feed on corpses, excrement and other garbage, are at the bottom and are scavengers. Night ghosts feed on ghouls and water ghosts, and fear devils are even higher.

This also controls the number of underground monsters, so that they will not be flooded.

Constantinople tended to be laissez-faire towards monsters that did not threaten human existence.

Because they are like weeds, once they are cut off, new ones will always grow.

No one knows how ghouls and water ghosts were born. They are like cockroaches and live forever underground in Constantinople.

Lienna didn't want to meddle in other people's business either. Anna wouldn't give her an extra gold coin as a subsidy for dealing with one more monster. Her goal was just to clean up the lairs of ghouls near the western suburbs. up.

Her footsteps echoed in the deep sewer.

Ahead, there was a sudden rush of water splashes.

Based on experience, Lienna can judge that there is a high probability that a water ghost jumped into the sewage and waited for an opportunity to attack her.

Low-level monsters like water ghosts have poor combat effectiveness and are weaker than ghouls.

If it weren't for their ability to attack from the water, they wouldn't even be a match for an adult male on land.

She stopped and stared at the surface of the water, which seemed to be covered with a layer of black grease, with all kinds of filth floating in it, and a black shadow could be vaguely seen below, approaching her quickly.

Thinking that she might be touched by this dirty water ghost, Lienna immediately frowned.

His eyes were full of disgust.

Her robe fluttered, and the brilliance of magic power shone. Accompanied by the low sound of chanting mantras, crimson flames swirled around her, instantly burning all the water ghosts that rushed at her.

Smelling the strong stench in the air, Lienna scolded Anna a hundred times in her heart before continuing to walk deep into the tunnel with a sullen face.

It should be close.

At the edge of the tunnel, she saw bones full of tooth marks, gnawed clean, and not even a little bit of meat.

Not only humans, but also poultry such as chickens, ducks and geese, and livestock such as cattle, sheep and horses.

All kinds of bones were scattered on the ground.

When you step on it, it will make a creaking sound.

Lienna frowned. As an adventure-loving witch, she had a strong tolerance for the harsh environment in front of her, but she still felt a strong discomfort.

This underground palace does not belong to the living at all!
She quickened her pace, not caring if she disturbed the approaching ghoul lair.

Ghouls are much more courageous than water ghosts. It is impossible for this kind of herd monster to abandon its lair that is likely to raise dozens of cubs upon hearing the slightest movement.

On the contrary, Lienna was looking forward to the fact that the ghouls would rush forward to die because they sensed the breath of the intruder.

Unfortunately.

When Lienna was about to reach the end of the sewer, the ghouls did not show up.

"It's not a mistake, is it?"

Lienna muttered softly and came to the end of the sewer.

Here, there is a high platform similar to a cliff. In front of it, there may be a wall that has been cut through. The edge is scattered with accumulated wet and slippery soil, and it is pitch black.

She just wanted to hold up a fireball to try to illuminate it.

However, they found that in the darkness, densely packed, at least thousands of scary red lights suddenly lit up at first glance.

"What the hell."

Lienna took a step back subconsciously, only to find that there was a shriveled, weird skull covered in tooth marks under her feet.

This is…

Ghoul head?

Lienna's eyes widened.

It seems that I didn't find the wrong place, but these ghouls have been wiped out by "humans" first.

She turned her gaze back to the red eyes in front of her.

These are a group of fat mice that look like carpets, spread on the ground and on the walls.

Their skins were so festered, their eyes were so red that they were about to bleed, and they were staring at Lienna with cruel and longing eyes.

If it wasn't for the fireball held in Lienna's hand, the rats who lived in the sewer and had long been accustomed to the darkness felt strange.

They may have already rushed forward regardless of everything.

(End of this chapter)