Since the Accounting: A Chronicle of the Roman Khanate

Chapter 236 Ross Strongman
Guo Kang's speech did not surprise everyone.Tuo Huan couldn't help laughing a few times, while Theodora showed a dumbfounding expression.As for Joanna, it seems that her Chinese level is not good enough to understand this word, so she didn't respond for a while.

"You can call it whatever you want..." Mrs. Irina was also a little confused, and continued: "In short, everyone has been using this set of laws since then. But by the time of my great-grandfather, it was already very outdated."

"Since the Mongol era began, great changes have taken place in the countries of Rus, from the Norse style to the grassland style. In Ryazan, this change is especially obvious. Because of the geographical location, there are many people in the Ryazan territory. There are people who migrated from the grasslands, including Bulgars and Kipchaks. These people are not used to the Nordic management, which makes the chaos worse."

"So, he invited a Greek jurist, hoping to refer to Roman law to formulate a "Law of Peoples" to manage all residents. With their efforts, Ryazan's own code was finally compiled."

"I see you've been emphasizing this. Does it have a big impact?" Tuo Huan asked.

"After all, it itself is only a document, but the key point is that the legal thoughts of the Greeks have provided us with many ideas worth learning from." Mrs. Irene said: "For example, jurists not only brought legal , and taught us the art of governing. They taught us the logic of governing and the essence of law in a superficial way. Looking back now, I think these ideas are the most precious.”

"The greeks tell us that the key to law is to 'give law to disputes, to make crimes punishable, to judge right and wrong by words, not arms'. The whole code revolves around these three purposes. The code must Make it public, so that anyone who needs it can be consulted and quoted, and it needs to be strictly maintained by forceful means to maintain order in the Principality.”

"The key to governance lies in 'You are loyal to me, and I will protect you'. This sentence has been the governing principle we believe in until now."

"This is a typical feudal duty." Tuo Huan commented.

"That's true." Mrs. Irina nodded, a little helplessly: "But to be honest, in the Ross area, this is already a very advanced management method."

"This is..."

"This law makes our society a bit like the Franks back then. The people in the village are almost serfs, and the power and responsibilities of the nobles are clearer than before. But my father thinks that this is still too backward, so he carried out a lot of New attempts." Mrs. Elena said: "Our plan is based on these successful attempts."

"He is a vigorous and strict man. After stabilizing the situation, he has been trying to restrain the boyars in the capital and cut off their connection with the territory. The daily affairs of the territory are handed over to the lesser-rooted retainers and Great rich peasants, let them centralize the management of the estate industry."

"In addition, he also attacked the local diocese, forcing the church to pay taxes to the prince. He has ruled for more than 50 years, so the current atmosphere in Ryazan...according to our side, it is more secular and different from other duchies. Of course, they also scolded us for it."

Guo Kang nodded.

Thanks to the basic knowledge of various countries that his adoptive mother forced him to learn, he has already had an impression at this point.Because Mrs. Elena's father is too famous among the generations of Ross people.

The word "strict" she used was too euphemistic.In fact, both Ryazan's laws and her father, former Grand Duke Oleg Ryazansky, the most appropriate adjective is "brutal".

Ryazan's laws are so harsh that other Ross principalities can't stand it.The Smolensk people next to it compared this law to being "written in blood".

Order was established in Ryazan because the Grand Duke maintained it with horrific violence.The Ryazan law completely forbids the traditional blood revenge and forbids the settlement of disputes by force.According to the local tradition, both sides will execute all those who fight with weapons.For this reason, some local big clans are forced to choose to hide their hatred, and when encountering conflicts, they give priority to compromising with each other in the form of losing money, lest both sides be wiped out by the brutal Grand Duke.

The whole code is full of such bloody rules.Not only the Rus people from all over the world in this era, but also the Rus scholars of later generations, all believe that this law is so harsh that it is inhumane.Later, with the stability of the order, the law was revised several times, and the punishment was slightly milder. However, the Principality is still famous everywhere for its severe punishment.

Grand Duke Oleg is a leader in using brutal methods.Not only that, but he's also known for being cunning.He has been going back and forth between the Russian countries, Poland, Lithuania, and the grassland forces, but all parties have nothing to do with him. Even Moscow and the Golden Horde have been tricked by him.

Domestically, he tried to use an iron fist to maintain control of the grassroots and weaken the power of the boyars.

Not only that, but he also extended his hand to the territory of the church, and by intervening in the management of water sources and land, and the referee of disputes, he essentially emptied the church.Even as Mrs. Elena said, it has weakened the religious atmosphere that has always been very strong in the Ross area.

The cultured aristocrats were very afraid of his agility and lethality, and gave him the nickname "Viper".

Paradoxically, however, life for ordinary Russ improved under his rule.

During the more than 50 years of Grand Duke Oleg's reign, he promoted more advanced farming techniques, which tripled the annual grain harvested by the Principality.The quality of life of ordinary people has not declined as a result.

In name, most of the peasants became serfs of the country or the lord, bound to the land.However, after serfdom, forced labor and military service were reduced.Moreover, under the new law, taxes are clearly fixed, and the property that farmers need to turn over has been greatly reduced.Later, the principality also learned to build relief depots for emergencies in times of famine.

As a result of these changes, despite the bloody brutality of Oleg's rule, the common people welcomed him.The Grand Duke is also very clear about this. In order to deal with some stubborn nobles, he will even take the initiative to support the opponent's subjects to resist.The common people's trust and support for the Grand Duke made the nobles weaker.

Under his rule, the enfeoffed nobles, who were not considered powerful in the first place, almost became substitutes in the end, and could be replaced by the cold and ruthless Grand Duke at any time because of their unqualified performance.

After the increase in food production, cash crops such as flax and olives began to be planted on the noble lands that were under unified management during the previous political changes.These newly introduced centralized management methods have brought more income.In addition, there are commercial routes here, which makes the national power improve faster, and even has the confidence to challenge the most powerful Moscow.

These situations are quite "anti-traditional".Other Rus people were surprised to find that Ryazan farmers actually had the desire to actively increase production and were willing to work for more pay.

Over time, the local social atmosphere has also changed.

The Smolensk history books describe that Ryazan people have no sense of humor and only know how to indulge in work, as if money is more important to them than God.Moreover, these people do not keep the Sabbath, and even contemptuously send nobles to collect taxes from the church.

Even the way of life of the nobles was constrained by harsh laws.They lead a relatively simple life, and their greatest pleasure is to spend and show off in the capital market.The social ethos has become martial, respecting discipline, and advocating simplicity. Everyone is rigid and lives in a well-regulated way, daring not to be out of the ordinary, for fear of touching the strict code.

Mrs. Yi Lianna should think that this kind of condition is good for the implementation of the new system.Moreover, there are indeed urgent situations on the ground that need to be addressed.

The biggest problem is that this system requires a powerful governing machine to maintain.However, the civilization foundation in the Ross region cannot provide so many high-quality managers.

Grand Duke Oleg enforced this policy for half a century on his own, but after his death, a very traditional Ross problem emerged: the strongman has passed away, and his heir does not have the same ability.

When the priests recorded, they agreed that Fyodor had inherited his father's cunning, but lacked the corresponding strong skills.Therefore, he can only be left to his own devices, and with the help of supporters from all walks of life, he can barely maintain the status quo, but he cannot promote reforms more effectively.

(End of this chapter)