People in the Middle Ages, draw cards to get promoted

Chapter 573 Gwent

Slightly up?

A little harder?

Galio suppressed the urge to curse and said quickly: "The price of bread has risen to three times the usual price, rice has risen to two times, and the price of tools and ironware has risen to five times."

"Yes, citizens with a little wealth can still survive, but it's a little harder. But the lower class - stevedores like us can't even buy a loaf of bread with a day's salary."

Saman sighed softly: "That's a pity. I hope the church can take on such responsibility."

With a look of genuine regret on his face, he said to the unknown Coptic recruit: "It is the clergy's duty to give alms to those who cannot afford food. But that is not mine. I am just a small merchant from faraway Sassanid who works diligently to contribute to the prosperity of this city."

Small businessmen
Galio clenched his fists.

"Yes, you will only degrade yourself to a small merchant when you are needed to contribute. But everyone knows that you, Master Saman, are the uncrowned king of this city. What industry or profession does not have your people?"

"That's enough, Galio."

Hans coughed and drove away the angry young man. He looked at Master Saman who still had a calm expression on his face and said slowly, "Sir, the Duke is kind."

“This is obvious, otherwise he could have turned everyone into slaves when he captured the city!

And then he will demand a large sum of money from you at the cost of your freedom. This is a right that the victors should have, but he gave it up for the sake of his Christian brothers and to show God's tolerance. "

"But this does not mean that the Duke is weak and can be bullied. If we can put down our swords, we can naturally pick them up again."

Saman's expression was calm, but his mood was terrible: "No one would think that the Duke is weak and can be bullied. He has already proved his reputation on the battlefield, but the operation of a city requires order, General Hans."

"If possible, I hope to meet the adults and talk."

Saman still hopes to be able to obtain a series of privileges.

Because the old privileges were obviously going to be abolished after the death of Governor Mahri.

This is not a non-negotiable matter.

He was confident that he could reach a consensus with the greedy demon duke.

Hans nodded slightly:

"I will convey your request, but Master Saman, before that, you must give me your answer first. Do you reject the Duke's order or obey it?"

Saman took a deep breath and nodded, "If you insist, I will do as you wish."

Hans said, "That's good. If there are any difficulties, Master Saman, please try your best to overcome them, because they are your difficulties, not mine. Do you have anything else to say?"

Saman shook his head and said, "I will try my best to overcome all difficulties and give you a satisfactory explanation."

"That's good."

Hans sighed with pretended regret: "I thought we would have to go through another big battle tonight, which would be a good opportunity to test the training level of these young men."

Saman forced a smile and said, "General Hans, you must be joking. As a devout Christian, I would never dare to refuse the Duke's request. Previously, I was just afraid of failing the Duke due to my limited personal ability."

As Saman dared not speak out of anger, Hans led a group of recruits out of the mansion.

As soon as they went out, everyone's faces showed uncontrollable smiles.

"Who would have thought that the once high and mighty Saman sahib would have to bow down to us one day?"

"Galio, you were really good just now. I wanted to question that old man at that time, but unfortunately I am not good at talking."

Galio waved his hands and said, "Now that I think about it, I'm still a little scared. That was Master Saman just now. In the past, even a dog he raised could have killed me."

"Yes."

For a moment, all the recruits couldn't help but sigh.

From this perspective, the arrival of the Crusaders does not seem to be a bad thing.

...

Damietta.

In the bustling tavern, pilgrims and crusaders from all over the world were eagerly discussing the major events that had just happened.

Duke Lothar captured another city and conquered the western gateway, the city of Semanud.

There are also rumors that the Wild Hunt Knights appeared in the world and killed the evil wizards who blasphemed the dead.

The combination of the two has given Duke Lothar's advance, which was not particularly impressive compared to his previous battles, a lot of legendary color.

The crusaders and knights under Richard have now become the darlings of the taverns in Damietta. The crusaders who did not participate in this battle are happy to spend money on a meal and listen to the stories of these people who have experienced it firsthand.

"Those dead cavalrymen had their heads tied to rotten war horses, only skeletons were left. The weapons in their hands were also made of bones. When they ran, they were accompanied by black fog. Once swallowed by the black fog, even the bravest warriors would die immediately without leaving any trace."

"Fortunately, Duke Lothar showed up with his troops in time, otherwise all of us would have been dragged down to purgatory by the pagan devils."

"But I heard that it was the legendary Wild Hunt that defeated those headless knights, wasn't it?"

"Yes, it was the Wild Hunt, but Duke Lothar also made great contributions. The former was responsible for dealing with the army of the dead summoned by the pagans, while the Duke defeated the pagans. This may be the will of God."

"Yes, this must be the will of Heavenly Father. Otherwise, how could such a coincidence happen in this world?"

"Your Excellency the Duke can even command the Wild Hunt... but isn't that an army of the dead?"

"madness!"

A crusader from Northern Europe mocked in a loud voice: "The Wild Hunt is an army of heroic spirits under the command of the god Odin, dedicated to fighting against evil! Only the bravest warriors are qualified to be taken to Valhalla by the Valkyries."

"What Odin? Your Excellency the Duke is the Son of God, the Son of Heaven. What does that have to do with pagan gods?"

"You know nothing!"

"You know nothing!"

"You are a Viking who has converted to Christianity but still clings to the old gods. How dare you, a filthy soul like you, come to this sacred place?"

For a moment, the two sides started to curse each other and were about to fight in the street.

In the eyes of the Franks, the Vikings were even more barbaric than the Normans. Even though they had converted to Christianity, they were still full of beliefs in the old gods. The Viking devils who would occasionally plunder everywhere on their longships are still the bedtime stories that many parents use to scare their children.

In fact, by the end of the 12th century, with the continuous increase in population, economy and military strength of European countries, the Vikings had already declined.

"stop!"

"This is Damietta, the territory of Duke Losa. The Duke has issued a strict order prohibiting private fighting!"

The city militia who were responsible for maintaining order arrived upon hearing the news and quickly pulled the two sides apart.

The two parties did not continue to fight.

It’s not that these city militias organized by Lavinia and rushed into battle hastily without much training really have this ability.

But it was because Lothar's reputation was well-known, and even the Crusaders on Richard's side were very convinced of Lothar.

In their eyes, Lothar was definitely a hero who saved their lives and generously gave them most of the spoils after the war. If they had not been loyal to Richard, they would have wanted to defect on the spot.

...

At this time, Richard, who was unaware that his men had almost come into conflict with the Viking Crusaders, was excitedly flipping through the book in front of him called "The Witcher".

The texture of the paper is very good, as white as snow. The cover shows a white-haired middle-aged man wearing chain mail and carrying two swords. The details are very detailed, including the buckles of the chain mail and the beard on the man's face.

This extremely realistic painting style, which was very different from that of the era, made Richard's eyes light up.

“This is a really nice painting.”

Turning to the first page, the title is "Monster Encyclopedia", and on it is a picture of a monster called "Water Ghost". Every detail is lifelike, and its habits and weaknesses are marked with words below.

"I seem to understand why this book is so popular. Even if the content is average, the illustrations alone are worth every noble who comes here to make a pilgrimage to collect a copy."

"It's a pity. Just by looking at the title, you can tell that this is not a knight novel."

The chivalric novels of this era can be roughly divided into three categories: one tells the story of the Alexander period; one tells the story of Gaul and Charlemagne; and the other focuses mainly on King Arthur and his Knights of the Round Table.

Moralists criticized the heresy of such novels, believing that they contained absurdities. But in fact, if real knights could be like those described in knight novels, the whole of Europe would become much more peaceful.

Captain Fuller of the Earl's guard explained expressionlessly, "This book mainly tells the story of Van Helsing hunting monsters. Miss Martha said that although there are many fictional contents in it, there are also many places where it describes the habits of some monsters very accurately."

Richard continued to flip through the book and asked without looking up, "I heard that this book has been popular in the Holy Land for a long time. Is the gameplay of the popular Gwent card game based on this book?"

"Yes, Your Majesty."

"Fuller, go buy some decks of cards and let's try our hand at playing."

"Your Majesty, I must remind you that this kind of card comes from Marquis Lothar's industry. Every gold coin we spend is Marquis Lothar's capital for recruiting soldiers and horses."

Richard couldn't help laughing and said, "Fuller, you are really a petty guy. Although the Marquis and I are competitors, our goals are the same, which is to recover the Christian homeland and expel the pagans."

"The competition between us is fair and square. His temporary lead does not mean that he can really gain the greatest results of the Eastern Expedition. Do you, old dog, think that I will be defeated by Lothar, who was born into a rural noble family?"

Fuller sighed.

As a monarch, I cannot really be considered competent.

He was both violent, domineering, tyrannical and cruel, but also an upright and generous man. Fuller always felt that his master would suffer a great loss one day because of being too upright.

"Well, go ahead and buy some. I heard that this is a very brain-testing and enjoyable pastime. Anyway, we still have to stay in Damietta for a long time. We can't just sit there and wait, right?"

Richard stayed in Damietta to recruit soldiers, a task that obviously could not be completed in a short period of time.

Fuller said helplessly: "Your Majesty, you must want to buy this thing because of Lord Randall's invitation today, right?"

In his opinion, his own King was already idle enough, and now seemed to be developing new bad habits, which made him feel deeply powerless.

Richard's face froze.

"Okay, I knew I couldn't hide it from you. That guy who only knows how to flirt with women and hang out with fireflies all day, actually dared to show me that kind of expression just because I don't know how to do this thing - he actually laughed at me for being old-fashioned!"

Fuller said: "Sir Randall didn't say that."

"Yes, of course he didn't dare to say that, but his expression clearly said that!"

Richard slammed the table, furious. "He said that playing cards on a chessboard is a more civilized way for knights to duel, and those barbarians from Northern Europe he hired can't learn it at all - that's bullshit. I must show him that I can play better than him even in just one night!"

(Note: Richard was a Norman, and his ancestors were also a branch of Vikings)
Fuller sighed and said, "Okay, as you wish, Your Majesty. But I must remind you that to collect a set of powerful enough cards, it will cost a lot of gold coins. Given our current poor economic situation, even if you ask me to, I can only allow you to spend a budget of 300 Souleds on this matter at most."

"Three hundred should be a lot."

Fuller hesitated, then nodded and said, "It's indeed a lot."

Fuller is very familiar with Gwent, because almost every tavern now has a dedicated Gwent battle area, and every new Crusaders arriving in the Holy Land can easily get access to it. Even if they don't play it themselves, they can understand the logic and inside story of the game just by watching.

"You hesitated!"

Richard raised his voice: "That is to say, three hundred Suledes gold coins are not a lot. Good man, I didn't expect that this toy made by Lothar would become a source of income for him!"

Fuller smiled bitterly.

"In fact, it's not just in the Holy Land, Your Majesty. Even in the countryside of Europe, many places have started to get into this game, but most of the cards they use are made by themselves."

Lothar has never been afraid of Gwent being pirated, because the paper and printing technology used in the production of Gwent are unique to him. If others want to imitate similar cards, the cost will be very high.

If it was a low-quality Gwent card, there was no need for Lothar to care.

The nobles in the Middle Ages attached great importance to the word "respectability". In their opinion, using such inferior cards was too low of status. Although the poor people didn't care about this - but Lothar never intended to make money from the poor people with this thing.

(End of this chapter)