People in the Middle Ages, draw cards to get promoted

Chapter 574 People’s Heart
"What do they do?"

Pro pointed to the bustling crowd in the square in the center of the town.

The flags hoisted high were written in Coptic.

But neither Plo nor his companions could read.

Curiosity prompted them to squeeze into the crowd and look around.

"It seems to be a Coptic priest."

"Are you blind? Those people are Franks! Our Coptic cross is different from theirs."

"Okay, it is. But they seem to be distributing food."

“Can everyone receive it?”

Pro was excited, but then he became suspicious and asked, "Why are the Franks so kind?"

Someone on the side said sarcastically: "Otherwise, do you expect the Saracen masters to have a good heart? When Governor Mahli was here, he never gave us a grain of wheat. He only greedily took away everything we had."

At this time.

It seemed that a man suffering from a serious illness was cured by the solemn priest.

He shouted excitedly, "Praise the Father, praise you, Lord Urdin. My headache has lasted for more than ten years. No matter Jewish doctors or Saracen doctors, they are helpless. How can I repay you?"

Ulding shook his head: "The Heavenly Father gave me the power to save the world. This is the credit of the Heavenly Father, not mine, and I don't need your repayment."

For a moment, the onlookers were all moved by the righteous act of this great man.

"What exactly is going on?"

Pro felt a little confused.

Are these still those vicious Franks?

The tavern owner nearby sighed and said, "They are monks from the Order of Saint Lazarus. These days, under the leadership of Bishop Urdin, they have been distributing herbs to civilians and holding free clinics. Many poor people with intractable diseases have received effective treatment. Today, they also received a batch of food from the Duke and distributed it for free to the hungry poor."

"Duke?"

Pro was keenly aware of this key word: "Which duke? It can't be evil."

The tavern owner hurriedly stopped him, saying, "Please don't say that prefix again. Anyone who knows a little about the Duke's character will know that the so-called "butcher", "demon", "murderer" and the like are pure nonsense."

"It's unbelievable."

Not only Pro, but the residents of the city of Semanud almost all had the same idea.

Could it be that when these Franks entered the city, they really meant what they said, that they were coming to rescue them?

Governor's Palace.

Losa and Hans stood at the edge of the lake, holding a copper basin full of fish food in their hands. From time to time, they threw out a handful of fish food, causing the fish to jump and leap as if they were about to jump from the lake to the shore.

"Sir, to be honest, I don't quite understand. This Master Saman is also a character. Why don't you consider subjugating him?"

He had just finished listening to Hans' report, smiled, put the fish bowl aside, and said:

"Julia didn't tell you that this Master Saman has a private army of 300 people under his command, as well as two 'merchant fleets' that can act as pirates at any time. He also funded a pirate gang along the coast of Cyrenaica that often plundered villages along the coast and captured slaves."

"Do you think I should subdue a slave trader?"

Although the serfdom in Europe was not much better than slavery, serfs at least had some human rights.

At the very least, the Ella Port Chamber of Commerce does not engage in slave trade. At most, it is just a transit point for the black uncles from Nubia.

Hans shook his head: "Of course not, I just think"

Lothar smiled and said, "I understand what you mean. Indeed, a moral role model cannot be a good monarch. As a monarch, one cannot tolerate any injustice and acting on impulse is not a virtue."

Hans quickly said "I dare not".

"Hans, do you know how many people in this city of Semanud hate this Saman? This Saman is not a Zoroastrian, so he can openly and honestly do many things that Governor Mahri and his men are not convenient to do.

You can imagine how much this person is hated.

He wanted to see me simply because he thought I would use him just like Governor Mahri did.

But unfortunately, I think it is in our best interest to first pretend to be friendly with him, and then to drag him out for public trial and execution after we have exhausted his value.”

"I understand, sir. But didn't you promise to guarantee his life as long as he agreed to your request?"

Lothar frowned and said, "Do you think I need to make an oath with a slave trader?"

Hans shook his head. "I just think that dealing with such a scum shouldn't damage your honor even a little bit. I ask that you leave this matter to me, sir."

"No need."

Losa waved his hand and said, "I don't need to be so careful. Besides, this Master Saman will not accept his fate so obediently."

He paused and smiled, "Hans, do you think peasants are more suitable for winning over, or urban nobles like Master Saman?"

Hans was silent for a moment, then said helplessly, "It's a noble, sir."

"Yes, they are nobles."

The smile on Losa's face gradually faded and he sighed softly.

"But if we want long-term peace and stability, we have to appease the farmers who make up the majority."

The feudal fiefdom system, which divided territories among knights and lower-level lords, did not mean that the problem was solved once and for all. Many knights and lords without family backing would probably find it difficult to deal with rebellions from the lower classes.

Therefore, winning the hearts of the people is by no means unnecessary.

"However, most of the lords of this era probably don't care about long-term peace and stability. They don't have such a long-term vision. In other words, they would rather squeeze out all the wealth from the land, exchange it for troops, and then acquire new territories, rather than develop their own territories."

"Even if the peasants rebelled, they could easily send troops to suppress them. While crushing them, the soldiers could also make a fortune - poor peasants naturally couldn't provide much spoils, but peasant rebels were different. They would coerce and rob the rest of the poor, as well as the rich. It was indeed a process of redistributing wealth."

In Lothar's previous life, the raging Germanic Peasant War affected two-thirds of the country's peasants, but was still suppressed by the coalition of nobles.

"Hans, you are also a German. Is there a German Peasant War in your world?"

Hans nodded.

"After the war, the lives of the peasants did not get better. Instead, most of them became serfs. The nobles and monks became even more extravagant and enslaved the working people. In my opinion, such a society is like stagnant water, without any vitality."

Losa threw the last bit of fish food in the basin into the lake, causing the fish to scramble for the food.

"Hans, every fish is competing for food. If we keep feeding in one place, they will be full or even stuffed. There will always be only a small group of fish. The more they eat, the bigger they will become, and they will eat other small fish."

Losa looked at Hans and said meaningfully, "This requires us to sprinkle some everywhere when feeding the fish."

For a ruler, it is definitely beneficial for society to be more fair and less rigid in class divisions.

A society where nobles are always nobles and commoners are always commoners is hopeless. If Lothar's own territory became like this, he would probably not even have the face to see Lavinia.

(End of this chapter)