It only took two days for the courier sent by Earl Loon to spread the orders to increase taxes and raise supplies to every village in every territory of the count.
The people complained and complained about this, but the armed soldiers of Count Loon were not vegetarians. After many farmers who took the lead in resisting the tax were whipped to death, most of them began to come to the ground obediently with resentment and anger. Money and supplies were handed over.
The village of Esbai is in the northeast corner of the earldom of Lowen, close to the Rhine River, and on the other side of the river is the village of Verde. The village belonged to Baron Quenier.
Since the messenger crossed the Rhine from the southernmost ferry at Broekhofer, the village of Esbai was almost one of the last villages to receive the news.
Although the tax collector and his notorious armed tax collection soldiers have not yet collected the tax, the villagers have already caught wind of it from travelers and merchants passing by north.
The sky today is gloomy and full of dark clouds. Villagers with common sense know that a spring rain is coming.
However, the cruel village chief Duden still let them go to the fields to farm, on the grounds that the weather could change at any time, and it would not be too late for them to hide when it started to rain.
The village chief Duden is a middle-aged man with a mustache and a face full of shrewdness and ruthlessness. The inseparable thug Adam beside him is his nephew. Adam is strong and holds a whip in his hand. He always advocates speaking with his fists. This makes the villagers who have suffered so much in the past dare to be angry but dare not speak out in most cases.
The spring thunder was rolling, and the wind began to get stronger. The villagers' minds were not on their work at all, but they were worried that they would be soaked in the rain and become sick.
"Erwin, how long will this continue?"
In the fields, several men in dirty old corsets were plowing the fields and chatting. The man named Erwin looked a bit old. Although he was not wealthy judging from his clothing, judging from everyone's attitude towards him, he was quite popular among these farmers.
"I don't know. We have already paid last quarter's taxes on the Annunciation Day not long ago, and we can be said to be impoverished. And now, those stupid nobles are struggling on the front line, but they have put their plans on our heads. , another war tax will be levied, my God, I don’t even know how I will survive this year after handing over my remaining grain and captive piglets." Erwin said worriedly.
"This is not the worst," the young man who asked the question lowered his voice and whispered, "There are rumors that our lord, Baron Quinnier, was captured. Think about it, where will his ransom come from?"
"Oh no! This damn idiot, incompetent waste," Erwin was so excited that he couldn't help but cursed, but suddenly realized something, looked around, and after confirming that Duden and Adam were not nearby, he continued, “No doubt we’re going to be hit with heavier taxes, dammit!”
"Wait a minute, since he was defeated and captured, will my stupid brother who accompanied him on the expedition also have to pay a ransom before he can come back?" An old farmer wearing a brown turban next to him palpitated.
He knew that unless something bad happened to his brother, his struggling family would have to spend a lot of money again.
"Yes, Elijah. I really can't believe I said this. I hope this is just a rumor and that the Baron is fine and has not been captured." Erwin shook his head bitterly. At this time, the raindrops began to fall, and the farmers put on their hoods or straw hats and ran quickly to the village carrying their farm tools.
Not long after noon, the rain stopped.
Duden led the vicious Adam to kick down the doors from house to house, asking the farmers to go back to work in the fields. Most of the people were forced to pick up the farm tools obediently under his power. In the past few days, Little John just complained a few times. After saying a few words, he was severely beaten by Adam, and he is still lying on the straw mat.
If Baron Quinnier was in the territory, he would naturally disapprove of this kind of management method that would harm his "property" if he disagreed.
However, there are no tigers in the mountains, the monkeys are kings, the Baron goes on an expedition, and now the village chief Duden, who is personally appointed by him, does whatever he says.
At this moment, followed by Adam, the farmers who went to the fields outside the village did not even dare to complain, and had expressions of hatred on their faces. This was one of the few ways they could express their dissatisfaction.
The farmers began to bend down to work again. After Adam walked away, a villager spat at his back: "A dog relies on human power."
"We can't go on like this. Maybe we can find Krieg in the forest!"
"Krige? I haven't seen that guy for a long time," Erwin touched his head and said while thinking about the memories in his mind, "He has also caused a lot of trouble himself. Baron Quinnir sent him some time ago. The Sheriff led his soldiers to search for him in the forest, and at the same time issued an order that every resident in the territory was obliged to seize Krieger if he saw him."
"Hey, if anyone really did this when he saw Krieger, I don't think even God would forgive him!" the young man said with a smile.
Krieger, a solitary but friendly weirdo, or mountain man. Villagers generally call it Timber Wolf Krieg.
In fact, five years ago, Krieger was just a foreigner who moved to Esbai Village and came back with a caravan man who returned home. His hometown didn't know what happened, and he never mentioned it to the villagers.
He has the features of a Celt from the remote mountains of Brittany, and his carpentry skills are superb.
He was very smart and spent a year learning the local language, but he always spoke with a strong Breton flavor. The villagers think he is a good man. He chooses to be silent most of the time, but he always has a simple and honest smile on his face. People can't help but be friendly to him when they see him. This is not easy for a foreigner.
The next year, he took over all the carpentry work in the village and became familiar with the villagers. This year, he fell in love with a girl in the village who admired him. They fell in love and finally held a wedding. The life of this poor man who had nothing when he first arrived in the village has improved significantly and his life has become brighter.
But the good times didn't last long.
One day, a village militiaman who was a gangster got drunk in the tavern. He was so hungry and thirsty that he wandered around the village like crazy, looking for lone "prey". He bumped into Krieger's wife, who was returning home with a bucket, and pounced on her like a hungry wolf.
She was a loyal woman and would never allow herself to be molested by this disgusting drunkard, so she resisted wildly and shouted for help.
The drunkard's patience was exhausted. He was anxious and scared. He didn't know what he was thinking. He actually took out a dagger and killed the poor woman.
The villagers who arrived after hearing the sound were shocked. Krieger was in agony. What everyone didn't expect was that this kind and gentle man immediately took the ax he usually used for carpentry from his waist and lifted the drunkard who was lying on the ground. The militiaman's head was chopped into two pieces.
He knew that doing so was wrong according to the local law and he would be arrested by the lord, so he took advantage of the chaos and hurried home to pack his things and fled to the forest south of the village.
The villagers had no objection to Krieger hacking the drunkard militiaman to death, but instead applauded him, except for the village chief Duden and Adam - the drunkard militiaman was their cousin.
This is not surprising, and only those who are related to the village chief Duden have the courage to break the law knowingly and yet have the confidence to escape legal sanctions.
Sure enough, Duden ran to Baron Quinnier and cried, twisting the facts with added fervor. In his mouth, Krieger became a hateful drunkard, and the militiaman became an innocent victim.
So the sheriff received an order to go to the forest with dogs and armed soldiers to hunt down Krieger.
But the magistrates and soldiers found nothing in the forest, and even the sharp noses of the hounds failed this time. They had to accept the disheartening truth and return home to face the baron's wrath - there was no way they could catch the Celtic descendant in the forest.
As time passed, the villagers thought that Krieger had either died in the woods or joined the bandits, and they sighed secretly.
But one day, when hunters in the village entered the forest for hunting, they discovered a small-scale bandit stronghold behind the mountain col. However, the thieves and thieves in dark clothes had turned into corpses and fell to the ground.
A man with long brown hair and a wild beard was grilling meat by the campfire in the center of the stronghold. The hunter recognized him. He was Krieger. Krieger also gave him a piece of roasted venison.
Since then, Timberwolf Krieg's reputation has spread throughout the nearby villages. Baron Quinnier was very angry. He did not want to see his subjects worshiping a captured fugitive as an idol, so he sent the sheriff and more soldiers into the forest to search, but still found nothing.
Recently, before Baron Quinnier went on an expedition, Krieger was once again charged with murder, poaching, and smuggling, and was once again hunted by the sheriffs and soldiers who were tired of it all, but the result is obvious-so far Come on, I haven’t even caught a single bird feather.
"I hope nothing happens to him." Erwin sighed.
At this time, the sound of rolling horse hooves was heard outside the village. Some curious farmers stopped what they were doing, propped up their waists and looked into the distance. What everyone was most worried about happened - the damn tax collector came with armed soldiers. .
Duden and Adam, as well as two militiamen and armed soldiers who helped the tyrants, drove all the villagers to the open space in the center of the village like chickens. Some villagers were trembling with fear.
"By the grace of God, the ruler of the earldom of Loon informed the people living in this land that the additional war tax must be paid. Anyone who dares to disobey the regulations will be severely punished! Hildivard Zhao tell."
The tax collector riding a black horse read the parchment document with a seal loudly, making every word clearly conveyed. The elite cavalrymen with evil looks behind him made every villager tremble with fear.
The villagers were forced to go home and dig out their few remaining rations and the copper coins they had worked so hard to save. The seeds of hatred towards the count were planted in everyone's heart.
The crisp sound of copper coins being placed in the big iron bowl was endless. Not just money, the villagers lined up to pay taxes with various materials, while the tax collector quickly wrote and recorded on the parchment.
The poor people who could not pay the taxes were beaten, kicked and beaten severely by the armed soldiers in the name of resisting the taxes. After the tax collector found out that he really couldn't pay the tax, he asked the village chief Duden to record his name. The poor man's tax would be doubled in the next quarter.
The tax collector didn't care what these "untouchables" in his eyes thought, and how difficult their lives were. He only cares about whether taxes and supplies are in place.
When the last bag of grain, the last box of copper coins and the poultry in wooden cages were loaded on the carriage caravan, the tax collector, who was drinking red wine, capped the leather wine bag with a cork and tied it back to his waist with satisfaction. In the meantime, he stepped on the horse.
"Drive~"
The armed soldiers followed the tax collectors and cavalry on horseback with heavy carriages and caravans to leave the village of Esbai and set foot on the road back south. The flattering Duden stood at the entrance of the village and watched them leave.
Three days later, they will take a ferry with six cars full of baggage to cross the Rhine River at Brockhofer Ferry in the south. They will first arrive at the village of Lohausen in the Earl of Berg, which was first attacked two weeks ago, and then go straight to Du. Siege camp outside the town of Seldorf.
