At the end of the Tang Dynasty, it was a feudal town, but in Western Europe

Well, if you don’t want to and think I’m unfair, then please be a witness, you and I have the guts to fight a duel before God! "

Clarent pulled out of the scabbard abruptly, and the gleaming silver light clearly illuminated the blue and uncertain face of the Earl of Eresberg.

"Earl Ernesburg, ask you again, do you think I'm unfair?!"

Silence is deathly silence. Everyone knows that Feng Sen is the number one warrior in Saxony. Countless people who tried to provoke him couldn't do five tricks in his hands.

This trick is indeed hooliganism, but in the law of this era, the duel before the gods is indeed a way of judging lawsuits, allowing the plaintiff and the defendant to have a fair duel, and whoever wins is the party that wins the lawsuit.

The Earl of Eresberg was silent for almost a minute before he gritted his teeth and said, "Your Excellency Anthony is very fair, and I have no objection."

With a chuckle, Feng Sen withdrew his long sword, turned his back to the Earl of Eresburg and walked back to his position: "The road has been blocked by heavy rain in the past few days, and the Earl of Eresburg is temporarily staying in Hamburg. I will notify the two places by myself. Swap counties."

As for Eresberg, with a stiff face, he said rudely: "Your Excellency, I am tired, please allow me to step down first."

Before Feng Sen could reply, he left on his own.

The Earl of Eresburg walked away with a stinking face, but Feng Sen put on a smile. He turned around and continued to raise his glass, as if nothing had happened just now: "What are you doing in a daze? Continue to play music and dance. "

As a result, the passionate music played again, and the earl and chiefs who had watched a big show were thinking about it in their hearts, while gulping beer and wine cheerfully.

The late second dance was also performed. Amidst the cheerful and festive dance, Aunt Zhu came to Feng Sen's side in a hurry and whispered in his ear.

After listening to Aunt Zhu's words, Feng Sen almost bounced on the spot. He was a little at a loss, but the warmth of joy in his eyes could not be faked.

Feng Sen checked again, and before the second dance was over, he stepped on the solid wooden table in front of him.

In the surprised eyes of everyone, Feng Sen raised the wine glass in his hand high, this time his joy came from the heart:

"Everyone, relatives and friends present, I have good news for you! My lover, the Duchess of Saxony, our Gisela, is confirmed to be pregnant!"

Chapter 2 The Arrival of Astolfo

The news of the pregnancy of Duchess Gisela of Saxony quickly spread throughout most of Saxony, and Feng Sen also generously amnesty a group of slaves as a celebration.

The reason why this news spread so quickly is also related to the dense population of Hamburg in the recent period. Around Christmas, the population of Hamburg City soared to more than [-] in a very short period of time.

Most of the nobles from Saxony and surrounding areas flocked to Hamburg and the surrounding towns, and the purpose of their trip was very simple - to come for the Saxon Cuju Competition.

Since watching a wonderful cuju game in Bremen last time, the nobles who watched have been fascinated by this exciting sport.

As this sport became popular among noble groups, the free folk also began to play cuju, but they didn't dare to wear rattan and leather armor like the nobles, and only dared to kick it with their feet. .

And when I heard that Feng Sen was planning to hold a Cuju competition, although he was a bit caught off guard, the chiefs and nobles from all over the country enthusiastically formed six Cuju teams, plus two teams from Hamburg and Denmark, exactly eight teams, gathered in the Hamburger.

The early Middle Ages was a dreary time, and many manor owners and freemen were willing to pay some price if they had fun.

Thanks to Feng Sen's crazy road and water conservancy projects during this period, these idle nobles and free citizens can come here on horseback or by boat. Otherwise, the cost of traveling on those roads in the past would be enough to discourage most nobles.

December 27th is the start date of the Cuju Competition. In the next five days, eight Cuju teams will compete in the arena. The final winner will be received by Feng Sen, 25 pure Gold medals and a set of chain mail for each.

On this opening day, Hamburg was exceptionally crowded.

The wet and cold wind brought a gust of smoky rain, covering the arrow tower of the Hamburg city gate. From Astolfo's perspective, it seemed that all the buildings had grown a layer of furry rain.

But looking at it again, those raindrops dissipated invisible again, as if they had never appeared before.

Leading a hundred or so noble youths from Gaul, Ah Fu gently stroked the brand-new earthy atmosphere on the square wall, but his gaze had already been set on the street in front of him.

Under the light light, the whole city of Hamburg is reflected with a layer of blue light that seems to be absent.

Smooth brick and stone roads, serious street patrol archers, simple and introverted mansions, several goshawks flying in mid-air, and a drunk falconer is waiting at the foot of the city wall, holding a fat The pigeons begged loudly for the goshawk not far away to come down quickly, and it was time to return to the cage.

Crowds with festive faces are walking on the lanes, congratulating each other with "Merry Christmas" or "Happy New Village" endlessly. Salesmen in felt hats, carrying two loads of goods on their backs, are walking through the streets to sell their groceries.

The sound of selling was mixed with the sound of bargaining and quarreling, which made it difficult for Ah Fu to adapt.

Compared with merchants like shopkeepers, those "sellers" who set up stalls are somewhat superior, but in front of merchants who actually open stores, they are not even merchants.

Ah Fu walked outside those shops and looked inside. Compared with the bulk goods trade at the port, here are more exquisite and expensive luxury goods, such as amber, wine, tools, furniture and even carriages.

These merchants and merchants are very well-behaved, and they never set up stalls or sell goods outside the walls of the square. Without these messy sheds and vendors, the streets between the squares look unusually open.

"What do you do with such a wide street in a small ruined city in a wild place?" A noble young man in a linen robe and a thick cloak muttered.

"Sirivald, keep your voice down." A fat young man with plateau red on his cheeks looked around excitedly and curiously, and hurriedly dissuaded him when he heard his friend complain.

Seerivald replied resolutely: "I said we shouldn't have come here, Kariulf, my Girlentrude, my bride is waiting for me to finish the duel to marry her!"

"Seerivald, I don't think you really like her." Kariulf said helplessly to his friend, "You just can't swallow this breath. It might be better to come here to relax."

"I……"

"Okay." A young man who was much taller and stronger than the two of them came to them and said with his arms around their shoulders, "Stop talking, this is a task entrusted to us by His Royal Highness Charlie, do you have any complaints?

Besides, this Duke of Saxony is the same age as you and me, and he has already won the reputation of the Duke of Beheading. You and I are still doing nothing in the family's territory.

Maybe we can learn something from him. "

"That's you, Gundoram!" Silvald shook off Gundoram's hand, "I don't have such lofty ambitions."

Gundolam wanted to continue talking, but he saw a man who was almost as tall and strong as himself walking towards them, and the soldiers guarding him and the priests who accompanied him proved his identity—Fonsen, Duke of Saxony.

"Long time no see, Ah Fu!" Feng Sen came up and gave Astolfo a big hug.

"You have been in the limelight these days." Astolfo grabbed Feng Sen's thick arm and said with a smile, "now most of Frank and even Italy know you."

"What did I do to make me so famous?" Feng Sen couldn't help asking.

"You don't know what you did?" Astolfo pulled Feng Sen and said, "We'll talk as we walk."

After changing horses, he asked someone to lead the noble children to the pre-prepared houses. Ah Fu followed Feng Sen's pace and moved forward together.

"During this period of time, you have become famous in Frank." Ah Fu smiled, "But it was a good name before, but now it's just infamy."

"How to say?"

"In the beginning, when you helped Your Highness suppress the Saxon rebellion, everyone was still very curious about you, and at the same time they liked you very much. Especially after the appearance of the Siris paper, some people even tried to go from Paris to Hamburg just to take a look at you and your soldiers.

Many priests even began to sing praises, saying that even powerful nobles from far away from Siris are willing to submit to the king, His Royal Highness Charles is virtuous.

But gradually, the tone changed, and guess when? "

Feng Sen raised his eyebrows, and laughed after thinking for two seconds: "It must be West Britain Company, right?"

"Yes." Astolfo smiled, "Although this guild is named after my hometown, it is not very popular, especially after you conferred knights on those seventeen merchants.

Previously, the promotion of the slaves of the Eight Banners to freemen could at least be attributed to the teaching and military exploits of the heavenly father, but it was unacceptable to confer titles on merchants, even if they were false titles. "

"Besides, I also sucked a lot of people from their territory, right?"

"Especially after the gold rush, a large number of slaves fled to your Saxony. In order to get their slaves back, many counts and even the Duke of Bavaria went to sue His Highness."

Feng Sen snorted coldly: "They occupy the latrine and don't shit, so they give it to me to make the best use of it, besides, do you really think they objected to me because I conferred titles on merchants?

It's not because I want to deprive them of their power. In fact, they are against His Highness, but they have no eggs, so they can only come to trouble me. "

"You are still too extreme." Ah Fu shook his head, "If you are willing to provide some compensation, maybe the situation will be much better. You see, His Highness sent two hundred educated noble youths to assist You, but you are only in your early hundred now."

"But there are still a hundred, right?" Feng Sen blinked slyly, "If I'm not mistaken, those Gaul Romanized families still like me very much, right?"

He glanced at Feng Sen in surprise, and Ah Fu continued: "It's true, they are very interested in your policies and farm tools."

Those Romanized aristocratic families in Gaul were the remnants of the civil service system when the Roman Empire fell. Their power did not come entirely from the land, and there was no vacuum in power. The power of the feudal military counts attached to the land was weakened.

That's when they come to fill the vacuum, and naturally they won't resist.

Power is mutual, when pushing away a group of people, one has already opened arms to the opposite group of people, simply put, the enemy of the enemy is a friend.

"Let's not talk about this, come on, I'll take you to the bathing place in Dongshi, take a good bath, oh, call those Gaul youths, please."

"Bathroom? You mean taking a bath?" Ah Fu frowned, "It would be sacrilegious, just take a hot towel and wipe it off, or don't go there."

"The baths here are different from the Roman baths. I am a devout and loyal believer, so gambling and gambling are strictly prohibited in the city. The baths we went to are in the city, so naturally there will be no such things. Hey, you went Just know."

Chapter 291: Emphasis on the Outside and Light on the Inside, Frontier Army Forbidden Army

The Dabaojian bathhouse in Dongshi is Feng Sen's own property, and it can also be regarded as the property of the tooth soldiers, because the annual profit of the Dabaojian bathhouse is also distributed to the tooth soldiers as salary.

To be honest, speaking of officers and soldiers, these dental soldiers are really officers and soldiers. Their salaries have already caught up with some of the lowest-level officials.

Walking on the creaking wooden boards, under the leadership of several attendants, Feng Sen and Ah Fu, who had been washed separately in wooden barrels, wrapped their waists with towels and came to a small wooden house.

"Please come in." An attendant opened the door of the cabin, and smiled to guide Feng Sen and Ah Fu.

Ah Fu's fair skin was a little red from the heat, and he looked curiously at the room with a scent of fragrance. Since only a few small windows were opened, the room looked a little dark.

"what is this?"

"This is a sauna room. Let's go in and talk about it. I'll explain it to you." Holding Ah Fu's arm, Feng Sen said with a smile, "There are good ones inside."

The two found a place to sit down, Feng Sen waved to the attendant, and the attendant closed the door of the sauna.

Feng Sen poured a ladle of hot water onto the volcanic rock in the middle of the sauna room, and a stream of steam with a fragrance spread out: "This is called a sauna, and it was a way of washing the soul in ancient Rome."

"It does look very healthy." Afu said curiously, "I thought all the baths were of the Roman kind."

Thinking of this, Feng Sen couldn't help but smiled helplessly. In fact, before the arrival of the Black Death, it was not that Europeans did not take baths, but advocated going to bathhouses.

This is how the church got ptsd by those romans who always had silver parties in the bathhouse.

In fact, in the Middle Ages, as long as conditions were available, most people were still willing to take a bath. Those priests who opposed bathing even used hot towels to wipe their bodies every once in a while.

Those who really don't take a bath all their lives are basically those pilgrims and monks who are similar to ascetics.

"This sauna contains substances similar to what I used to make the beer less sweet, which can cleanse the soul. You see, after the sauna is finished, let's take a bath again to ensure that all the filth in your mind will be wiped out.

After taking a shower, let's go to the second floor. I have ordered beer to be prepared in advance, and there are two hamburger dishes, sauerkraut pork knuckle and big sausage. "Feng Sen relaxed his whole body, leaned on the bench, narrowed his eyes slightly, and enjoyed it.

And Ah Fu also imitated him and leaned his head on the backrest: "This bathhouse also has the function of a tavern? Can ordinary people afford it?"

"Ha, if ordinary people don't have separate baths like before, they are all big baths, and those bathing, pedicure, shaving, noodles, and food on the second floor all have to be paid separately." Feng Sen narrowed his eyes and said, "Generally speaking, ordinary craftsmen can also enjoy it, but they have to use the big bath outside. Like us eating pork knuckles, they can only eat grilled chicken racks."

"Then how much is the annual income of this bathhouse?"

"The net income is one or two thousand solida, it's not too much." Feng Sen poured another ladle of water, "Because we have to ship goods every month, such as paper and bricks, those merchants usually Come here for consumption, that is, I am not allowed to enter skilled women, otherwise those 'bathhouses' outside the city would have been wiped out by me long ago."

Ah Fu sighed: "You know that the church is against this kind of Roman extravagance. Although there are no such obscene things, it will still make your reputation go down."

"What are you afraid of?" Feng Sen still looked like an old god. "The worse my reputation is, the more secure this Duke's position will be. If those nobles and churches praise me every day, I will be restless."

Ah Fu originally wanted to persuade him a few more words, but after thinking about it carefully, it was indeed the truth, so he shook his head and stopped continuing this topic.

"However, Feng, since you know that all your power is attached to His Highness, why do you still get involved with Hadrad? You know, His Highness appointed you as the Duke of Saxony in the hope that you can check and balance him. ..."

Ah Fu was halfway through speaking, but was interrupted by Feng Sen.

"Ah Fu, have you heard that I have recently moved three earls overtly and covertly?"

"I heard from the priest in Bremen."

"Then do you know why I did this?"

Although separated by the rising steam, Ah Fu could still see Feng Sen's eyes shining brightly behind the smoke.

"Why?" Ah Fu sat up straight, even though he was a little dizzy, he still pulled himself together and his expression became serious.

"A sage in Seris once said that governing a big country is like cooking a small fish." Feng Sen's voice was even a little hazy in the fog. He knocked on the wall of the wooden house, and the guards around him immediately dispersed the people around the wooden house. servant.

"This move is an experiment for the future reform of Frank. At least it must prove that Saxony can do it. If Saxony can do it, then Frank can do it." Feng Sen stretched out two fingers, "Yizhen, the first One is to test whether they are loyal. The second is to prevent them from taking root in the land, or not in the rich land.

As I said, if you want to be autocratic, you have to centralize power, collect the power in the hands of the earls, and make them become rootless water attached to the kingship by moving the town. "

"Water without roots? But are the earls willing?"

"Of course they don't want to, but they can't do anything about it." Feng Sen smiled complacently, "The representative of Buyi Town is not loyal, so Charlie will naturally make trouble or keep an eye on it and come to take care of it later.

However, Yizhen has achieved its goal, reducing the earl's power. If the unloyal earl wants to bear it, he will definitely be weakened. If he does not bear it, he will be equated with the potential rebels.

This is a conspiracy, but it must be based on His Royal Highness Charlie's powerful force. Military success will always be the most direct source of the monarch's prestige and power.

It is also fortunate that His Highness retains the power to revoke the earls, otherwise when it comes time for these earls to take root in the land, it will be hard to get back, and it may not be possible to unify after a hundred years. "

To be honest, Charlie is still a little naive in this regard. The way he guarantees the loyalty of his subordinates is to take hostages and force them to swear loyalty to him, and basically only these two.

Regarding the matter of taking family members as hostages and courtiers swearing loyalty, the old Cao family in Siris has a lot to say.

Although the oath is still very valuable at this time, but I can't bear it if someone is thick-skinned or has no brains. At that time, there will be a broken window effect, let's see if the oath of allegiance is still useful.

Defense attorneys are always available.

"After the success of this matter is ensured, I will ask His Royal Highness Charlie to implement this decree in Frank and gather power by moving the town." Feng Sen's skin began to turn red, and Ah Fu had already turned into a lobster color.

"The Earl has moved the town so much, can the place still be managed well?"