Count Lange's temper has been very bad these days, and the servants around him are all in danger. Although they don't know what caused this, all they can do is work more carefully to avoid touching Lange's bad luck.
When the servants were whispering in private, some people said that the count got angry after receiving the Duke's messenger. Maybe he and the Duke had a conflict.
And Lange's wife, Josephine, lived very comfortably under the care of the maids, and even gained weight slightly. Although she didn't like her husband who kept a straight face all day long, her belly had begun to bulge slightly - a little life was being gestated in her body.
Perhaps the only thing Lange cares about now, apart from Simon's wealthy territory, is his unborn heir.
As for Josephine, there was no love between her and Lange, it was just a political marriage. However, the benefit she can enjoy is the distinguished status she now enjoys as a countess, which allows her to steal the show in front of her best friends and other female aristocrats.
After all, the Principality of Cologne is just a new small principality, with only three earl titles in the principality. As a countess, Josephine could feel the praise of many baronesses at the banquets in the Duke's court.
"How is Simon's territory going?"
This is the question Lange has asked his spymaster Sir Julian the most during this time.
"They are making a batch of strange-shaped spears, or a kind of spear combined with a mace. I guess this is in preparation for the expedition against the Magyars." Julian was wearing simple civilian clothes as always. , stood low-key behind Lange, leaned down respectfully and whispered into Lange's ear.
"Ha, this young brother of mine always has some strange ideas," Lange said in a disdainful tone, "I even suspect that he has a wizard hidden in his palace who specially advises him!"
"Currently, my spies and I have not discovered that there is such a wizard or similar person around him..." Before Julian could finish his words, he was interrupted by Lange.
"That means he hid this wizard so deeply that you haven't discovered it yet," Langer waved his hand. He subconsciously wanted to pick up the wine glass on the table next to him, but he didn't get anything. He glared at the servant. , the latter realized what terrible thing had happened, and quickly filled a glass of wine for him and brought it over, "Let's not talk about this anymore. I think it's time to deal with those two heretics."
"But my lord, how will you describe this victory to your subjects? You know, our army just went to Fort Ford, and then came back with two prisoners without any effort. "Julian looked worried and seemed a little uneasy.
"You idiot," Lange cursed with hatred, "What do you mean effortlessly? Our invincible army is going to crusade the infidels, and the infidels who only bully the weak and fear the strong will be frightened when they know that we are going on the expedition." We lost our courage and were finally defeated by Simon who took advantage of us. Undoubtedly, our contribution is the greatest, and the honor attributed to us is worthy of the name!"
Julian's eyes widened slightly, but he soon returned to normal. He had become accustomed to his monarch's greed and shamelessness. However, deep down in his heart, he did not agree with Lange's statement about "the army went out" and "the pagans were scared out of their wits".
"So, under the watchful eyes of God's servants, we will burn to death the pagans who were scared out of their wits by our marching army and were captured in the name of God this Sunday. In the name of God..." Julian's face was unknown. He turned red unconsciously, and he didn't know whether he was reddened by the light from the fire in the fireplace or out of shame.
"Now you finally understand!" Langer curled his lips and smiled proudly.
…………………………
On Sunday, Fordburg looked a little different from usual. The streets that were originally quiet on this Lord's day off were now bustling with people.
Today is the day to execute the heretics, and everyone wants to see the heretics screaming amid the flying fire snakes. This shows how curious and afraid they are of these unbelievers.
Since there was no farm work on Sundays, farmers from several nearby villages gathered at Forde, and Simon's vassals also rarely gathered together. These damn pagans made them spend many nights of fear. , and from now on, at least for a period of time, they no longer have to worry about the possible raids by the Magyars at any time.
Accompanying Sir Gabriel were twelve mounted hussars. They are herdsmen from the Meilingen pasture. Normally, Sir Gabriel would let them ride on the horses at the stud farm to practice spear thrusting. When Simon recruits them, they will wear equipment in Gabriel's armory and join the army as light cavalry. .
And Sir Bill brought three young men dressed in furs. They looked well-nourished, and their thick exposed arms had clearly visible muscle structures. They should be the long archers trained by Bill for Simon.
As for Sir Miller, this dashing fellow simply wore a bright red uniform and came riding a traveling horse.
"Good day, Sir Bill, long time no see. I would like to take the liberty to ask, why did you only bring three longbowmen here? I remember that there are at least thirty archers who have received longbow training in your territory, right? "Sir Gabriel has completely lost his vulgar language and style when he was a mercenary, and now he has completely shown himself to be a nobleman with good etiquette education.
"Good day, Sir Gabriel, thank you for your concern. In addition to guarding the forest farm and lumber mill, the remaining archers also have to guard the troublesome Exile Village." Sir Bill replied patiently.
The Exile's Village is located deep in the Dehes Forest. It is a newly cultivated village established by the family members of the former private soldiers of Baron Qunier.
The families of these private soldiers of Baron Quinnier originally lost the right to continue living in the fiefs granted to them by Baron Quinnier, and should have been expelled from the baron by Simon. However, for the sake of Father James and Father Hanns, After much persuasion, Simon decided to change their banishment order to a reclamation order.
These originally exiled guys were quite honest at first, reclaiming land and cutting down trees under Sir Bill's supervision without any complaints. However, when their new lives stabilized, the grievances and anger they had held in their hearts in order to survive reappeared. came back to their minds.
They had no assets or lands of their own, and in layman's terms, they were no different from slaves. The crops they grow and the chickens and ducks they raise belong to Simon, and Simon is only responsible for protecting their safety and providing them with daily food rations, nothing more.
However, in their view, the so-called archers who protected them were rather to guard and supervise them, and the memory of Simon forgiving them was diluted as time went by. Now, they just want to regain their freedom and a field of their own.
Simon is cautious about the demands they make. In Simon's view, the sons, husbands, and fathers of these old and young women and children have all been killed or sold into slavery by Simon. All this determines that no matter how sincere they say in their mouths, they may not necessarily forgive themselves deep in their hearts. .
If their status as free men is restored and they are allowed to regain their own assets and fields, who knows what troubles they will cause later? Maybe they will collude with Baron Luke, who has a strong legal claim to Esbaiburg, to overthrow themselves!
So, seeing that their appeals were fruitless, these cunning exiles began to do illegal things, such as poaching, poaching, illegal logging, etc. Of course, these petty thefts pale in comparison to premeditated murders - a patrolling archer was attacked from behind and had his throat slit with a dagger when he was taking off his pants for convenience near the bushes near the village. .
This incident made Sir Bill and Baron Simon furious.
At that time, Simon called out Priest Hannes angrily and asked him if this was what he said those "poor people in need of mercy and salvation" would do. The latter became embarrassed and silent.
It turned out that there was a widow in the Exile's Village who knew the whole story of the murder and was worried. On the night of the incident, she found Priest Hannes and confessed the whole thing, hoping that they could get God's forgiveness.
Although Priest Hannes knew who the murderer was, he refused to reveal it to Simon and Bill, because in this way, the authority of the church would definitely be shaken, and the positive image of God's servants in people's hearts would collapse.
Just imagine, if the clergy who promised you in the name of God not to reveal the contents of your confession to anyone actually broke their vows, who would confess to them in the future? Who will believe in the church again in the future?
Of course, it was Priest Hannes who tried his best to persuade Simon to leave them. Now these "poor lost lambs" killed an excellent archer, and Priest Hannes was definitely responsible for this.
So, under repeated threats, Father Hannes finally couldn't help but tell everything. Finally, the murderer was found and the evidence was collected. The murderer was hanged in public under the sympathetic and unbearable eyes of the exiled villagers. The rotting corpse is still hung on the short tree at the entrance of the village to warn these uneasy people. Divided pioneers.
After that incident, Priest Hannes never had the face to go to the Exile Village. He kept saying that he wanted to change them and let them return to the right path and no longer hate Simon, but in the end he failed and even killed him. A competent archer.
Instead, Father James went to the Outcast Village every two weeks to preach, but his prayers and comforts had little effect.
So now, Sir Bill's archers and soldiers are always guarding the Exile Village. Once anyone expresses their intention to harm them, the soldiers can kill them with weapons without hesitation, which intensifies the conflict. Reached a new high.
But it is undeniable that under such high pressure, these exiles became obedient and law-abiding.
"Those untouchables," Sir Gabriel spat disdainfully. It was obvious that he had also heard about the various acts committed by the exiles. "Baron Simon should have driven them all away without mercy at that time. Leave, or dispose of them secretly."
"Thanks to the hypocritical bald donkeys of the church, now they have successfully turned into a big trouble in the barony!" Sir Bill looked dissatisfied. In his opinion, Priest Hannes still had to bear the main responsibility for these messes. .
"I heard that they are slacking off in their work. They also use the fertilizer from the Holy Pit to grow crops, but the yield is far less than that of other villages." Sir Miller also came forward at this time and took over the conversation.
"This just shows that even God has abandoned them," Sir Gabriel put forward his opinion, and almost everyone nodded in agreement, "God is not willing to perform miracles to turn excrement into fertilizer where they live. , this is because the exiles living there are guilty and have bad intentions, and this is the punishment they deserve!"
While everyone was chatting, their conversation was interrupted by the ringing of bells on the roof of the church. People were waiting eagerly, and amid a commotion among the crowd, Simon's soldiers appeared in the small square to maintain order.
In the center of the small square, there was a temporary torture rack filled with dry firewood. Father James was holding his Bible and praying beside the torture rack. After a while, amidst people's exclamations and curses, two sloppy The unbearable Magyars were escorted from the dungeon by the soldiers.
The stage is ready, the actors are here, the audience can't wait, all that's left is a fire.
－－－－－－Digression－－－－－
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