The stone houses next to the castle are very tall, and the closer to the outer edge, the simpler the houses are. The outermost edges are filled with shacks and other huts.
It was still very cold outside at night, there was a fire in the fireplace, and Lu Ming was talking to a brown-haired middle-aged man.
It turns out that there is also a group of people here who look more like the Grifenni people. They also speak the Grifenni language, but their intonation is weird and some vocabulary is different, but communication is no problem.
However, the Grifenni people are a serf-like class. The social structure here is that of a small kingdom. There are seventy-two castles like this one, hereditary and hereditary, and the population is the same as here, tens of thousands.
Castle owners are similar to dukes. After the old king dies, these dukes elect a new king. Any duke family can run for king.
Moreover, if the king behaves unfairly or has serious misconduct during his term of office, the Duke's Round Table Conference can also depose the king.
This castle is called Snow Dragon Castle, and there are more than a dozen frontline castles like this that fight against the barbarians.
Other castles are obliged to provide materials and even a certain number of serfs to these castles every year, which is similar to protection fees.
As far as this castle is concerned, the owner of the castle, Duke Xuelong, is the largest slave owner here. In addition, there are small slave owners who own a small number of serfs, as well as craftsmen, free people, etc. The rest are serfs.
However, serfs in this world all sign contracts from a young age and have various rights and obligations stipulated in the "Throne Code". Their personal protection is much better than that of the serfs in their previous lives.
Moreover, there are fruits of that strange tree as basic rations, and the serfs are not that tired.
Each castle has a throne court with five judges and five clergy, which belong to the family inheritance. The five judge families will only choose one of the best next generation as their successor, and the rest will become free people.
The man who was explaining the situation here to Lu Ming was called Federo, because when the barbarians attacked more than ten years ago, he desperately saved a warrior, and used the warrior's weapon to kill a ferocious beast, and obtained "The Throne". The honor mentioned in the Code thus ended the serf contract, obtained the status of a free citizen, was assigned ten red fruit trees, and basically became self-sufficient.
"Sir, where are you from?" Federo asked curiously. He had never seen someone like Lu Ming with black hair and eyes in the Kingdom before.
There was a knock on the door outside, and it was the old man who Lu Ming rescued. Federo acted as the interpreter, and the old man said some words of gratitude and brought ten gold coins as a reward.
In this world, the number of gold coins is fixed, and their value is getting higher and higher. One gold coin can buy a set of refined armor and weapons. Armor and weapons can only be purchased and maintained by the noble class.
The old man's name was Gu Di, and he was one of the five judges of the Court of Thrones. The other prisoners were all serfs who had just been sent from the north.
The old man was originally going to receive it halfway as a witness, and his signature was also required. As a result, a barbarian hunting party appeared, a dozen warriors were killed, and the rest were plundered.
Lu Ming remembered that in the barbarian tribe, when he said he could only take a few children with him, the children were actually serfs, and the old man did not raise any objection. He felt that the old judge had really good character.
At this time, the old man was chattering something with a slightly serious face. Federo said: "Judge Guti said that he has already acted as a guarantor for your identity. However, the Duke hopes to kill all of your ferocious beasts. He seeks the opinions of the judges, and three judges agree. , Judge Gudi believes that this move is not in compliance with the Throne Code, because it is your private property, and outsiders have no right to decide how to deal with it. Now he is trying to convince the Duke and other judges, but please be mentally prepared. After all, These ferocious beasts are everyone’s nightmare here, and it’s understandable that they don’t want to see them.” Lu Ming thought for a while and said to the old man: “If you finally decide to kill these sheep of mine, I will take them away. Judge Gu Di was slightly startled and said, "Go back to the north?" Lu Ming nodded and said, "According to what I know about the situation here, we are afraid that it will be difficult for us to intervene in the war between you and the barbarians in your eyes." Judge Di's eyes lit up.
"It turns out that you really come from the legendary Northern Continent. There has always been a legend that there are humans in the distant Northern Continent. However, our expedition team has never returned. Later, we did not send out any more expedition teams." Lu Ming smiled and said: "By the way, if you want to dispose of my property, according to your throne code, don't I need to be questioned? Listen to my opinion as the client?" I really won't tolerate these sheep being killed. However, if they are brought back to the New World, I am afraid that I will not have the power to decide their fate, so it is better to keep them here temporarily.
In addition, the red fruit tree is a good thing. When it is ripe, it can be ground into flour, and when it is crunchy, it can be directly fed to livestock.
If you can bring back saplings or seeds and successfully transplant them, the significance will be greater than the discovery of corn and potatoes from North America in the previous life, and it can almost bring about disruptive changes to the kingdom's agriculture.
Over there, Gu Di thought for a while and said: "According to the Throne Code, if you are a foreigner, you can use the laws of the foreign country to defend some of your actions. If the laws of the foreign country are more reasonable, we will also accept these provisions. "Lu Ming smiled and said: "Okay, then I hope that the Court of Queen's Bench will hold a hearing to listen to my client's thoughts." Judge Gu Di nodded slightly: "I will arrange it." Lu Ming added: "Judge Gu Di , I wonder if there are any local technical personnel regarding the cultivation and maintenance of red fruit trees? I have some questions I would like to ask." Judge Gu Di said: "I know there are such people." Then he looked at Lu Ming doubtfully: "Are there no red fruit trees in the northern continent?" Lu Ming didn't hide it either.
"Yes, the yield of food crops in our north is not as efficient as that of red fruit trees, so if it can be transplanted, I hope to bring some seeds or saplings back." Judge Gu Di nodded lightly: "It is commonplace here. , it turns out they are not everywhere." He glanced at Lu Ming and said, "I don't think I've ever heard what you said." After Federo translated, Judge Gudi said something to him again, Federo said to Lu Ming: "I didn't hear what you just said." Judge Gu Di said again: "However, I will try my best to help you with what you want to do." Lu Ming understood what Judge Gu Di meant. The red fruit trees to be introduced may be extremely important to their own continent, which will definitely impose many harsh conditions.
Lu Ming nodded: "I just want to be honest with you, so I won't hide it from you. In addition, if I can help you in any way, I will do it. In fact, have you ever negotiated with the barbarians before?" Judge Gu Di smiled bitterly: "How can they negotiate with us? You have also seen that in their eyes, we are food." He also asked: "Can people in your mainland communicate with ferocious beasts?" Lu Ming said: "That's not the case, to be honest. You said, it might not be a good thing if people from the Northern Continent discover you." If the United Enterprise discovers these humans and barbarians, it's hard to say how the top management will deal with it.
Judge Gu Di was startled, then nodded silently, and then said: "Mr. Lu, don't underestimate the barbarians. As far as we know, those on the front line and bordering us are the lowest tribes among the barbarians. In the hinterland of the barbarians, they There is a royal family, very intelligent, living in a paradise-like area, and they don’t bother to deal with us humans. Otherwise, we would have been destroyed long ago. So, if you think that you can use your special ability to communicate with vicious beasts to force It is unlikely that the barbarians will negotiate peace with us." Lu Ming nodded and said nothing more.
