When Simon returned to the hunting house, the sun was already shining brightly.
"It's really terrible." Simon entered the room dripping with sweat. With the help of the fat man, he took off his blouse, mail, and soft armor, and went to the water tank to wash his face.
At this time, Klein also prepared lunch, and the three of them simply ate bread with broth.
"Little Klein, you are familiar with this place. How many serfs and free farmers are there in the village?" Simon chewed the bread and took a sip of the soup. I came in a hurry and just had a brief chat with the village chief.
"If you don't count those who have not survived the winter, there are now fourteen free farmers and more than fifty serfs in the village." Little Klein bit his wooden spoon and thought carefully.
Most of the people in this village lost their land due to the war and became serfs after coming to the Barony of Dorsten. There are also a small number of farmers who have enough money to pay the cost of acquiring land at that time and still remain free. As for the serfs, in addition to performing unpaid labor for Simon, they had to cultivate the public land belonging to Simon three days a week, and they also had to pay nearly one-third of their income in rent and taxes.
Simon was looking at it carefully in his mind at this time. In this era before the three-field system, the village chief assigned people to each piece of land that now belonged to Simon. Year after year of cultivation has made the land more and more barren, and the harvest is not as good as every year.
If you can first implement the three-bed system on your own land, leave part of the land fallow, collect the feces in the village every day to make farmyard manure, irrigate and restore fertility, you will definitely be able to get a good harvest when you resume farming next year.
And for this part of the serfs who were freed due to fallow farming, they could gather them and train them into militia, and build some preliminary defense facilities in the village.
Simon had a wishful thinking and drank the broth in his bowl in one gulp.
"Little Klein, after dinner, go to the village and tell all the serfs and free farmers that I will make an announcement in the small open space in the center of the village in the evening." Simon said, taking out the long sword from the cabinet and walking out. outside.
In the open space behind the hunting house, Lin Feng was grinning. Simon followed the memory in his mind and waved the sword. From the simplest sword-holding postures and hand gestures to complex sword techniques and footwork, Simon is trying to inherit the fighting skills of his former body owner. You know, this is the foundation for a knight to survive.
…
At this time, on the public field of Verde Village, several serfs were lying under the shade of trees, chatting and enjoying a short lunch break.
"Who is that? Your little Bol?" A young serf rubbed his eyes, looked at the young body walking towards his group in the distance, and said to the elder Bauch.
"Probably not. Unless that kid's brain was kicked by a donkey, he would not go to the river to play in the water on such a hot afternoon, but instead go to the open fields to look for me." Old Bao He was also very confused.
"Perhaps your mother-in-law is flirting with Wolf from next door again, and then little Bol comes to complain!" A young man joked. Several serfs around also laughed heartily, and for a while, the shade of the trees was filled with a happy atmosphere.
"Fuck you, Hann, you kid who hasn't even grown his hair yet still dares to tease me. It seems that if I don't take care of you today, you won't even know who you are!" Old Bao He scolded with a smile and took off his clothes. The smelly old short boots were put on.
Everyone made a fuss.
When the figure in the distance walked in, everyone realized it was little Klein.
"Oh! Little Klein, why are you here?" Old Bauch put on his shoes again.
"Master Simon asked me to come over and deliver a message. All the serfs and free peasants will gather in the center of the village in the evening. He has something to say." Klein wiped the sweat from his forehead and continued to walk to another free peasant village not far away. Go to the hut.
"Oh? Is Mr. Simon going to give us a tax cut? Ha, I don't want anything else. First, he will waive my rent for this month, and then build us a small church, so as to save the poor Xinkser Village. The pastor has to work hard to preach here every week. It is always not good for a servant of God to be tired." Hann said with a lively expression, and several other serfs talked about their beautiful visions.
The same scene happened in farmland and huts all over the village. In this way, everyone finished the afternoon's work full of curiosity, carried farm tools, and walked briskly back home. After dinner, they came to the open space in the center of the village one after another, and talked loudly with people they knew.
…
After an afternoon of restorative exercise, Simon felt that his proficiency in using the two-handed sword had improved a lot, and he even competed with Fatty on a few moves.
"It's getting late, that's it for today." Simon wiped the sword with a rag and put the sword back into its scabbard.
After the two had dinner, they came to the open space in the center of the village together.
At this time, many farmers had arrived, chatting loudly and joking. Two young men even struggled with each other, and the farmers gathered nearby cheered and shouted for them.
"Quiet! Quiet!" The fat man took off the buckler from his back, pulled out the battle ax from his waist, and banged it hard, like a pot of boiling water suddenly added with a ladle of ice water. Gradually calm down.
"Many people may be curious as to why I summoned all of you who deal with the land every day!" Simon spoke at this time.
"My lord, are you going to give us a few days off?" A serf in the back row shouted loudly, and everyone looked at Simon expectantly.
"You got to the point! But you're only half right." Simon was in a good mood today, so he didn't care about the serf's answer.
As soon as Simon finished speaking, the crowd seemed to explode. Some people were so happy that they were so happy, while others shouted long live.
"Quiet!" The fat man raised his buckler and ax again and struck them hard. After a while, everyone regained their composure.
"Now, I, Simon von Dorsten, Lord of the village of Feld, hereby declare a decree. Starting tomorrow, two-fifths of the public land will be left fallow. The remaining public land will be cultivated by some serfs!" Simon Seeing the crowd being quiet, he said loudly.
As soon as Simon finished speaking, the crowd erupted into a noisier and more joyful voice than before, shouting "Long live" all the time. There was even an exaggerated guy who danced shirtless and swung his shirt, which attracted bursts of applause. There are also people with frowning faces, worried that they will be chosen to continue farming.
What was rare was that the fat man did not maintain order this time. He just quietly watched these ignorant guys being "crazy" and having fun, and even sneered.
This time it was noisy for a while. There were even a few guys who thought that was all. They turned around and were about to walk home. They didn't take two steps before they were grabbed by their clothes by some people who had the slightest hint of wink. People gradually noticed Simon, who was watching indifferently, and the fat man with a smirk on his face.
"Listen, I didn't say that the free serfs can lie at home all day long, enjoy some family happiness, or cultivate your own private land without any scruples. The remaining serfs will be incorporated into the Ful De Village Soldiers. I am responsible for training you, and my attendant Hoffman is responsible for supervising you. In addition to daily training, you also need to build a new sharp wooden fence and two arrow towers for the village before summer. The task is still quite heavy. Simon continued to say after seeing that the crowd was calm again.
"Look Hann, I'm telling you there is no such good thing in the world!" A young serf with freckles on his face patted Hann the serf, and Hann was looking at the fat man next to Simon with a fierce look on his face.
"Dear God, to be honest, compared to working as hard as a dog and being stared at by that fat evil star every day, I think it is better to sing songs, plow the ground and sow seeds in the public fields! " Hann said.
"Be content. It's already good that the lord didn't ask you to serve in the army and die on the battlefield with a broken pitchfork." Old Baoch said quietly, as if it evoked a memory of the past. But Simon's new order tonight also left him very confused.
In the noisy discussion, several free farmers in the front row looked at each other.
"Well, Master Simon, don't you have something to say when you summon us free peasants today?" A middle-aged man in the front row, who was dressed slightly more decently than the serfs around him, asked doubtfully.
"There's one thing I haven't said yet," Simon cleared his throat. "In Germanic customs, every man who can hold a sword is a warrior. So I hope you can also take up arms and join the militia. in the team.”
"Sir, we are Lorraine, or Gauls..." said a free farmer who looked older and somewhat knowledgeable.
"Perhaps you were once," Simon interrupted, "but now, you are Germans, and so are your sons, and so are the descendants who will live on this land in the future! You took up arms not just for me, But to protect this village, your homes, land, and children that you rely on for survival!" Simon's words made the free farmer fall into silence.
"Of course, if you can spend ten days every month to build new walls and arrow towers for the village, or to guard the sentry towers, I can exempt you from one-third of the tax for that month. If you complete ten days in a month, For five days, one-half of the tax will be waived." Of course Simon knew that majestic empty words would not be able to impress these cunning and selfish free farmers.
"Everyone, listen, for those who are participating in the militia and those who are participating in the construction of the village defense project, Mr. Simon will provide broth for lunch and dinner every day, ensuring that everyone can have a bowl of hot broth for every meal! Excellent performance Your Excellency will reward you separately." The fat man also said loudly at this time.
Serfs were not allowed to raise livestock privately, and it was good for them who were so poor that they could feed their own family. At the end of the year, they would occasionally have some spare money to trade with their lords for some meat. When they heard that there was meat, some serfs who looked like eggplants beaten by frost rubbed their hands again and became excited. There were also some serfs who were mocking and disbelieving.
"Hey, old Claude, I think it's a good deal. My wife still has some strength and can take care of the fields while I serve the lord. Not only can I save a tax, but I can also have meat to eat every day. What a wonderful move!" A young free farmer wearing a clean white linen robe patted the older and knowledgeable free farmer beside him, who nodded thoughtfully.
"That's all I have to say, everyone, please go home. We will also gather here tomorrow morning. I will assign specific tasks and select militiamen. Those who live outside the village, be careful to hold a torch. There have been wolves near the village recently." Simon looked at the worried and happy farmers in front of him and said quietly.
People were talking to each other and dispersed in small groups in different directions.
"Old Bauch, what do you think?" asked a serf walking barefoot in the mud.
"The lord has great ideas, but I don't know if they will succeed. I have never seen a policy decree like this in my life. But at least, I can see that he is working hard for our village and the stability of our villagers." The old man Bauch walked slowly forward holding a torch.
"I hope so. God bless! I hope the newly built walls and arrow towers can stop and kill those damn Vikings!" A serf prayed secretly.
Simon held a torch and walked with Fatty on the road up the hill. At the same time, his brain was running at high speed.
Now, new decrees have been issued, and the foundation for agricultural reform has been laid. The task of selecting militiamen tomorrow can be left to the fat man, and he has to think carefully about how to get these ignorant and superstitious farmers to accept the farmyard manure he makes from human and animal excrement to apply to the land.
In addition, two smart young men had to be selected as archers. There is a bow among the luggage he brought from Dorstenburg; there is also a bow hanging on the wall of the hunting house.
When the time comes to really start training militiamen and building villages, the amount of meat required will be huge. If Hunter Bill and Little Klein can hunt together with the selected young men, they can not only ensure a stable supply of meat, but also be able to initially train two archers over time.
Looking at the starry night sky, Simon knew that this was just the beginning.
