Eagle Byzantium

But Gawain had no scruples at all and continued, "The imperial capital of the entire empire has a population of 200,000 to 400,000. Officials, craftsmen, and citizens loudly sang slogans praising the emperor in exchange for food rations. Where do they come from? Where do officials' salaries come from? They are all torn from these miserable peasants like animals, one copper coin at a time. When their taxes are gone, He took away their clothes and bit off their flesh and bones when they were naked. The land tax, the oxbow tax, the bonded tax, the fire tax, the six-foot tax, the customary tax, the additional tax, the inheritance tax... ....Yes, maybe the tax setting is reasonable, but this is just a group of people living in a closed and backward rural commune. Any small disaster or setback can make them trapped. If the country falls, if it encounters famine, drought, plague, or floods, it will inevitably lead to tragic large-scale deaths. Many rural communes will be exterminated. Then the rest of the tax burden will be transferred to other people, and they can only flee from famine. Or look for landlords to sell themselves for shelter, and after giving birth to children, they can only keep drowning, and there is no talk of improving production and innovating technology, so they can only put all their hopes on it! Relying on the anesthesia of the gospel in churches and monasteries, when they were dying and met a priest who came to make a final confession, they still had to summon up the humble emotion to hold onto the priest's delicate and white flesh on the dirty thatched couch. With their hands, they begged to donate their last meager land to the temple property after death to atone for their sins - and their sin was that they were born into such a class and family. "

Anna was shocked. She touched her forehead and leaned on the armrest. Gawain's words were too damaging to her. Agnes held her shoulders with concern, and then protested to Gawain, "Say it." So much. Why don't you give money to them and instead complain and blame Her Royal Highness and her father?"

"I am not blaming anyone, I am just telling the truth about this land. I have no idea of ​​saving these farmers. I just hope that in our country, they can farm with peace of mind and be able to collect the twelve gold coins to marry their daughter. They can eat fine bread and drink absinthe that can make them happy for a few days during the festival, and these cannot be solved by being condescending and giving out a few fake coins." Gawain. After finishing speaking, there was a pause. He suggested to the two of them, "We can continue up the Mut River Valley to see the properties of the Jinat military nobles."

This time, along the way, Anna no longer joked, but looked at the mountains passing by in silence through the gauze curtain. Obviously, Gawain's words just now made her feel the heavy relationship between "power" and "responsibility".

Soon, the Mutter Castle towering on the mountains appeared in everyone's sight. By this time, the sun was already setting in the west. In the villages on the slopes, many tenant farmers are working hard, harvesting patches of barley under the supervision of deacons and stewards. There are also several draft horses, which are struggling to drag a vehicle filled with barley towards the barn down the mountain. The weather becomes cooler due to the increase in altitude and the slant of sunlight. The originally dazzling green woods became calm, with the fragrance of wheat in the wind. Makes you feel at peace.

Several deacons and housekeepers immediately came to the gorgeous little shoulder carriage. Kneeling down in front of Anna and Gawain, "It turns out that His Excellency General Stratigos and His Royal Highness the Princess in Purple are here. The fortress mansion where the master is located is still on the mountains more than ten kilometers away. I will go to report immediately. Please tonight." Your Excellency, your stay in the master's mansion will be a blessing to the master's family."

Anna looked up and saw that the housekeeper was right. Wangshan was a dead horse. Although Mutter Castle was so close to her under the blue sky, it was probably night when she walked up there.

Gawain shook his head, "We are here for inspection, and we will soon return to the other territories on the other side of the river."

The butler didn't seem to insist. He only said that Gawain and Anna, like other nobles, came with a chariot and a procession to "demand tribute", so he hurriedly asked the tenant farmers to line up and store the goods surrounded by mulberry and poplar trees. Beer in the room , ice cubes, preserved meat, fruits and vegetables, honey and other produce were all brought out and listed in front of the cart for Gawain's chariot team to rest and enjoy. Then a box full of coins was presented as a tribute, and Gawain did not refuse. , accept it generously.

Anna, who was sitting on the small bed, eating neat and exquisite food, facing the wind on the shady hillside and looking at the winding Sallev River below, couldn't help but ask Gawain a question, "Big barbarian, you call me You came to Mutterburg just to let me have questions, right?”

"That's right."

"My only question is, how did a Genat nobleman like Kallegos obtain so many wheat fields, farms, and woodlands in this valley and mountains?"

"I asked the locals that this was originally a densely populated area with rural communes, but the tax on the fields was too heavy. Many farmers left the communes and went to distant places to open up new wasteland that was tax-free, leaving the original land uncultivated. However, the empire still had The investigation of this piece of land is attached The taxes were increased year after year, and finally reached a very scary amount, at least for a certain farmer, which they could not afford in their lifetime." Gawain looked at the barley fields. , and the tenant farmers working among them, talking slowly.

"I remembered that the land law of the empire once stipulated that once a land cannot afford to pay additional taxes, and there are no neighbors to help it guarantee it, after the tax arrears reaches thirty years..."

"Yes, then the empire has the power to confiscate this land to the state. But since the farmers don't want this land, what can the state do if it wants this wasteland? The only option for the emperor and officials is to sell these lands Give it to capable people in exchange for a hot sum of money.”

"Are these capable people Ginat?"

"Yes, they are like this. They are annexing more and more commune properties. The same is true for the Komnenos family in Kastamonu. They are becoming more and more powerful, and more and more landless peasants are attached to their estates. The more they responded to the local situation and the glory was extraordinary, they tried every means to avoid their responsibilities to the empire and tried to stand on their own forever. This group of people dismembered This country - in other words, the peasant army who originally owned the land and also served the country was gradually replaced by the Ginate nobles who owned the land but only used it for personal gain." Gawain breathed, and then looked at Bai Yang standing in the distance. Under the tree, the farm official who appeared to be serving them but was actually monitoring them shouted, "Her Royal Highness the Princess in Purple, I want to see the farm tools used by your tenant farmers!"

The housekeeper did not dare to neglect, but Anna had not yet reacted. She held the white bread in her mouth and looked at Gawain with a serious face and said nothing in bewilderment.

After a while, plows, harrows, hoes, mowing, and even livestock harnesses were all lined up in front of Anna, "Big Barbarian, this..."

But Gawain did not answer her directly. Instead, he turned to Agnes and said, "To feed the little sunfish, do you use these utensils at your family estate on Lesbos Island?"

"Of course." Agnes was very angry, but she was also afraid of Gawain.

"How backward, this is the sin of Genat Real Estate." Gawain's next words made Agnes furious, but there was nothing she could do about it. (To be continued ~^~)