The early spring night was still freezing cold, but at this time, the tent in Feld Village was warm and comfortable.
There is a blazing fire in the warm fireplace, which makes people want to grab a bench and sleep by the fire.
The interior of the house is luxuriously decorated, with a precious wolf skin draped over an exquisite armchair. Sitting on the chair is a deer wearing a bright yellow dye striped robe, red and white tights, and a deer polished with lard. A fat middle-aged man in leather boots.
It can be seen from the ruddy face and the oil droplets on his thick beard that this guy is really good at oil and water.
In front of the fat man was a large oak table, with two sturdy militiamen wearing clean soft armor sitting on the left and right sides of the table. There were two sharp spears and two brand-new leather shields leaning against the wall beside them.
At this time, the three of them were drinking and playing a dice game.
"Damn it, Keynes, why are you so lucky?" The fat man in gorgeous clothes, or Mr. Fox, the tax collector, looked at the militiaman Keynes on the left. Keynes showed a victorious smile and put a pile of dirty copper coins in front of him into his arms.
"One more, and I'll make you lose all your underwear!" Fox, the tax collector, took a sip from the wine bottle, picked up a strip of meat from the plate on one side with his oily hands, and put his head up into his mouth. , chewing vigorously.
"Master Tax Collector, I swear I don't mean to spoil the fun. I just want to know if the new lord came to take over the village today. Wouldn't it be bad if we didn't go see him?" The militiamen on the right side of the tax collector looked fine. The more alcohol you drink, the clearer your mind will be.
"Tch, you're not afraid, Huber," the tax collector Fox sneered, and took another sip of wine, "I know the new lord, the second son of the old baron, was not even granted the title of this barren village. He had no rights at all. The old baron was drunk that day, so when he was happy, he gave it to him!"
"Then, he can be regarded as our lord after all..." Huber's voice trailed off.
"Hey, Huber, I really don't realize why you are so cowardly as a mouse. I know that boy Simon was as timid and cowardly as you when he was in Dorstenburg. Even if he comes here Even if you go to the village of Verde, you can't tame those untouchables who hate the Dorsten family so much," the tax collector said, picking up another stick of meat, "What's more, I am a close friend of the old baron. Looking at Lang Master Ge's grown-up attendant. When the time comes, will his fledgling little boy be able to outsmart us?"
Fox the tax collector put the strip of meat into his mouth, as if he was sure to eat Simon.
"That's it, ha, then what are you worried about!" Huber and Keynes laughed, shook their heads, and picked up the dice.
"Come on, come on, give it another try, you two brats really won me a lot of money!"
The room was filled with a cheerful atmosphere, and the sound of drinking and rolling dice once again filled the tent.
There was a "clang" sound.
The door to the tent room was suddenly kicked open, and a gust of cold wind rushed into the room, making the three of them shiver.
"who is it!?"
Keynes, who was closest to the weapon on the wall, immediately stood up to get the spear, but just when his hand was about to reach the spear handle, suddenly his whole body seemed to be hit by a high-speed bull, and he fell violently backward, knocking a table of people The wine, meat and gambling equipment were knocked to the ground.
Fox the tax collector and Huber the militiaman suddenly stood up and took a step back.
At this time, with the light in the room, he could clearly see a fat man holding an ax in one hand and a shield in front of him, followed by two thin young men holding wood axes.
Keynes staggered up from the ground, holding his waist. The fat man's impact with the shield just now caused his waist to hit the corner of the table, and now half of his body was sore and numb.
"Who are you!? Wait, I seem to remember you. You are the follower next to little Simon!" The tax collector squinted his eyes and looked at the fat man. After the establishment of the village of Verde, he would personally go to Dorstenburg every quarter with the village's taxes, so he naturally remembered Simon's playmate who was by his side every day.
"It doesn't matter who I am, I do know that you are trying to trick someone." The fat man didn't care about the tax collector's arrogance. He looked at the tax collector as if he were looking at a dying person.
"Ha," Fox, the tax collector, laughed loudly as if he had heard a big joke, "You kid, do you know who I am? I am the tax collector of Verde Village appointed by Baron Dorsten! Who do you think you are, trespassing on me? It’s just that you hit me and hurt me, but you are still talking crazy here. Who do you think you are? Let me tell you, if you don’t apologize to me today and leave three Denier silver coins, even if Simon himself comes It’s not over yet!”
"Are you talking about me? Honorable Lord Fox!" Along with a sneer, Simon walked in from the door of the counting room. Immediately afterwards, the village chief also came in, staring coldly at the tax collector with a pair of eagle-like eyes in the darkness.
At this time, Fox, the tax collector, noticed that there were torches everywhere outside the house, and when he took a closer look, he turned out to be villagers with angry faces.
"Oh, Lord Simon, I'm just feeling a little unwell today and haven't had time to see you. Do you need to give me such a rude greeting gift? Hum, don't forget that I am..." The tax collector's face was filled with emotion. It's cloudy or sunny.
"Of course I know," Simon waved his hand, interrupting the tax collector, "What if my father and brother know about it? Do you think you can still use their banners to dominate? Do you think they know your What you have done can still keep you comfortable? Do you think everyone is still in the dark about the things you have done that are outrageous to both humans and gods?"
At this time, a slight drop of sweat began to appear on the tax collector's head.
"Haha, Lord Simon, I don't understand what you are talking about." The tax collector tried to calm down. But Huber behind him was so frightened that his legs were shaking.
"Aha, are you pretending to be stupid?" The village chief said at this time, "Tax collector Fox, militiaman Huber, Keynes, everyone already knows your dirty deeds of embezzling public food!"
Fox, the tax collector, was still calm at this time, but both Huber and Keynes turned pale with fear. When this kind of thing comes to light, it's not as simple as putting a mark on your face.
They remembered a murderer executed in Dorstenberg last year. The poor guy was first hanged, then his head was mercilessly chopped off by the executioner, and his body was cut into five pieces and finally fed to pigs.
The two of them knew that they were doomed. He is not a nobleman. If he commits such a serious crime, the result awaiting him will be like that of a murderer.
"I'll do it, I'll do it, please show mercy to Mr. Simon!" Huber said with a sad face and knelt down.
At this time, a sudden change occurred. Fox, the tax collector, quickly pulled out the dagger from his waist and stabbed it into the side of the kneeling Huber's neck. Huber watched in disbelief as Fox took out the dagger from his neck, and bright red liquid continued to pour out of his mouth. Blood, but no words could be said.
Just when Fox, the tax collector, was about to stab Keynes with his dagger, the fat man rushed forward with a strong step, knocked Fox to the ground against his shield, and the two struggled together.
Simon, the village chief and the two young men who had been standing behind hurriedly stepped forward to help control Fox, and a large number of villagers also poured into the house.
Keynes on the side finally reacted and slumped on the ground sluggishly.
He couldn't believe that he had been serving the tax collector loyally, but he almost ended up with the same tragic end as Huber.
"Damn it, let me go!" At this time, the tax collector was completely controlled, his eyes were red, and there was incomparable madness in his eyes.
A villager found a long straw rope, and everyone worked together to tie the tax collector tightly.
"What a clever plan. Kill the two informed witnesses. Then the baron will just explain that they have offended and humiliated you. You will be fined some money or imprisoned for a few days, and the matter will be over. Then you will be beaten to death. You don’t admit that you embezzled that truck of life-saving food, or you lied that you were robbed on the road, confusing right and wrong, maybe you can really get over it." Simon looked at the tax collector in front of him who was beaten with blood on his head, and said slowly .
There is no way, in this era where the lord is the law and justice, the lord mainly relies on personal subjectivity to handle cases.
Because this tax collector has aristocratic blood and has a good relationship with his brother and father, even if Simon himself and the whole village testify that the tax collector committed murder intentionally, his father will not be punished severely. Most likely, he will be given some symbolic punishment. . By this time, two of the three people who had embezzled life-saving food were already dead. The last tax collector bit him to death again. He was robbed on the road at that time. Most likely nothing would happen to him. At most, he would be suspected by the baron. From now on You can't be so blatantly greedy for ink.
Fox the tax collector was a nobleman and would certainly not be tortured. But those two soft-mouthed militiamen may no longer be able to control their mouths after experiencing severe torture to extract confessions.
Fox the tax collector said nothing, but stared at Simon hatefully, as if he had torn Simon into pieces in his heart.
