Chapter 646 Exterians

In the trial court, the two sides argued more and more fiercely, and Baron Trent blushed.

"I demand that, in accordance with the tradition, the previous public labor time be restored on the land of the Trent family, so that this group of unsophisticated people can return to farming on the land! They have been neglecting and evading labor for too long, and this has truly harmed my Benefits, the harvest of my territory, this will ultimately harm the South Bank and even the kingdom..."

But correspondingly, the defender Slimani opposite him was slow but organized:

"... In 661, the Duke of Leinster's "Recreation Order" exempted the lords and their people from many physical services, including military service, security patrol and agricultural service, and construction and industrial service. Such as the labor and work that requires every healthy adult male and woman to participate regularly and regularly, the losses caused by this are allowed to be filled in the rent and tax to the lord by quarterly settlement and payment of cash..."

"The cash they handed in, even if the tax is added, is not enough to make up for my loss!"

Baron Trent yelled and interrupted him. The old judge Brennan had to beat his hammer many times before ordering the guards of Kongming Palace to come forward and "help".

On the second floor, the conversation between Thales and Jane became more serious.

"I rushed back to Yongxing City, trying to grasp the direction of the wind, trying to ease the situation," Jen said solemnly, "but the king refused to see me."

"As the palace chief, Baron Quentin’s reason for replying is: Your majesty rarely reunites father and son. He needs to enjoy family happiness and not see foreign guests."

Tels swallowed his throat:

"In fact, his reunion with me... Forget it, it doesn't matter."

Jenn ignored him: "At that time, Anke Bailar came to me."

Thyls frowned:

"So you gave him a sword and tricked him into a duel with me at the royal banquet?"

Jen does not deny:

"I said, I must do this."

"First of all, once the conflict between the Western Wilderness and the Fuxing Palace breaks out, Nan'an Ling will no longer be your father's priority." He squinted his eyes and looked at the trial below. "Secondly, only when he is devastated, my gift It seems so precious."

Thales frowned.

"your present?"

Jen nodded.

"Before the royal family banquet, I wrote a low-pitched letter to the king. In the letter, I supported the reform of the royal standing army, asking for money, money, name and name, and hitting his itch."

Jane’s letter to the king, supporting the reform of the standing army...

That letter?

Tyles narrowed his eyes and suddenly had a bad feeling.

"Your father refused to see me before," the Duke of South Bank snorted coldly, "but once the Western Famine Incident affects the kingdom, and his plan is frustrated and stretched, the price and weight of this letter will be different."

"So," Thales couldn't help but said, "what's the result?"

"Result, result?"

Jane's eyes freeze, he sneered.

"After the royal family banquet, the Xihuang people who always came to be full of bad water did not protest or make trouble. Under the leadership of Falkenhauser in the ruins, it was like that, and they hurriedly raised their hands and surrendered to the Fuxing Palace."

He disdainfully said: "It's even better than when the Freedom League surrendered to the Exeters."

Thyls felt mixed:

"Actually, the Freedom League is not so happy--"

But Jann didn’t want to pay attention to his views on the war, and shook his head: “I guess, your father must have caught the Xihuang people somehow, making them powerless to resist-as expected to be King Kessel V.”

The handle of the Xihuang people...

Tels confided:

"In fact, the reason why Xihuang compromised so quickly... Forget it, it doesn't matter."

The two were silent for a while.

"Just like that, I didn't succeed in getting the South Bank leader to avoid disaster."

Jane looked ugly.

"Not only that, my gift—the letter that might change your father’s attitude—has never been replied. It went into the Fuxing Palace like a stone sinking into the ocean. There were no waves at all, as if it had never existed."

That letter...

The stone sinks into the sea...

Tyles rubbed his hands with a weird expression: "Yes, why..."

"There is only one explanation," Janen had a sharp gaze at this moment, "The Fuxing Palace has been out of the predicament, so the horizon has risen. Your Majesty is no longer satisfied with the conditions I offered, and he wants more."

Jane gritted his teeth:

"More."

Tels held back for a long time, and finally couldn’t help but speak:

"Actually, Jen, your letter did not get a reply, yes..."

Jen's eyes shot at him.

Thyls’s discourse is stagnant:

"It's a pity...but forget it, it doesn't matter."

Jen looked at him for a while, sighed and nodded.

"Yes, time has changed. Regret is useless, it's not important anymore."

historical

At that moment, Thales and Jane had their own concerns, and both fell silent.

咚!

Brennan’s gavel sounded again, drawing the attention of the two back to the court.

"Master Inquisitor! In the past, after we paid in the money and goods, we had to do some handwork by ourselves to collect firewood or something, and we could live alive, but this year, the baron's butler said that we should make more contributions... "

Beside the plaintiff’s bench, a peasant dressed in unsuitable clothes spoke under the guidance of the defender. It was apparently the first time he came to Kongming Palace. He stammered and panicked:

"He didn't let us take the grain to the market to sell money, saying that he would collect rent on the spot, and if he didn't want to, he would levy money or do more work for him! But I have a relative who is a grain collector. , He said that such a tax increase is wrong..."

"That's not a tax increase!"

Baron Trent stood up from the table again and spoke angrily.

"Prices are soaring year after year, and even the price of food has risen by 20%, and they pay rent every year, and they still only give so much cash. This is equivalent to me being robbed! This group of sneakers can sell the food afterwards. Go into the city and make a full meal with the profiteers, and I, I still have a large piece of land to manage! Of course they have to increase the rent, make up for the loss, or change it back to the original state and provide food or service instead. , This is fair!"

Amidst the boiling sound of the observers, Judge Brennan was about to smash his gavel.

Slimani’s defender coughed, and stood up politely:

"Dear Inquisitor, with regard to the tax payable for each household and each piece of land of a fixed size, my client has followed the rules set for more than ten years. Lord Baron, your land has not increased, no fertilizer, no change. Types and changing positions, then this number should remain the same, no more, no less.

“As for the choice of payment by cash settlement, in-kind exchange, or labor service—as I said earlier, this was stipulated when the Duke of Leinster was reigning—this is the freedom and right of my clients.”

Hearing this, Jen hummed softly and whispered to Thales:

"You know, that guy, Slimani was originally a clerk of the Security Department, but he hasn't even been on the street. His best job is to help people write case closure reports and even quarterly summaries, especially those who are responsible for the Security Department. The case... Later, at the end of the year, every security department rushed to second him."

"This...is really not something ordinary people can do. No wonder he later became a defender." Thales shrugged.

"As far as I know, the inquisitor," the Slimani defender continued in the courtroom, "there have been no wars that have spread to the local area in the past few years, no serious natural disasters, no plagues, no large churches and castle projects. The most recent local suppression of bandits was jointly carried out by the Emerald Legion and the New Suburb Security Agency, but Lord Duke did not issue a call-up order, and the cost and personnel of the bandits were independently supported by the Emerald City—that is, Lord Baron did not have a higher rank. There is no compulsory labor that must respond to the taxation of the lord of the level."

"And the kingdom has not issued a new ordinance involving Fengpei Village to increase taxes. As for the living tax items, the two sons of the baron have grown up and their three daughters are also married. Within a year, there will be no weddings in his castle and no knighthood. , There is no funeral, the only religious ceremony, the tax items have been turned over by the villagers themselves to the sunset church...To sum up, Baron Trent has no reason and name to request redundant confessions, in the absence of consultation and the duke’s approval. In-kind, cash, labor, and any form of demand outside the usual practice are illegal tax increases!"

"fart!"

Baron Trent began to yell again, and this time Inquisitor Brennan had to send guards to make him "calm down."

On the other side, Srimani became more and more courageous:

"My Lord Baron Trent, the law allows exemption from service, but you force additional service. The law encourages the payment of rent with cash, but you privately prohibit it. Then my client no longer recognizes your authority as a landlord, and no longer performs the special service. The sacred agreement of the Lent family is that they do not want to work on your land anymore, and even move to another place with all their belongings—including the harvest of this season—that is logical.

"And you are still restricting your people for ridiculous reasons without the kingdom decree and duke's warrant: seizing their harvest, not allowing them to move, not allowing them to trade, not allowing them to pursue a better life-judge Sir, this is illegal robbery and unreasonable detention."

The voice of the defender fell, and there was thunderous applause from the spectator seats behind, and many people cheered "please for the people".

The villagers beside him felt hope, and their faces were joyful.

The old judge had to maintain order again.

Baron Trent’s hairstyle is not as neat as before. Seeing that the situation is not good, he took a deep breath and seemed to have made some decision.

"Master Jayne! Your Excellency Duke!"

In the next second, I saw the Baron yelling at the second floor in disregard of etiquette and rules:

"Exemption and deduction, paying taxes with cash, these policies of the old duke are just expedient measures after the Scarlet Years! But this is not the tradition of the kingdom! And now we have recovered from the war, as your vassals , I don’t think we have a reason—"

Jen frowned.

"Quiet!"

咚!

The hammer was struck again.

"Excuse me to remind you, Lord Baron," Judge Brennan looked very angry, but he still maintained a steady tone. "The opinions of the two dukes are of course very important, but I am the chief judge of this case in this court. ."

Facing the gaze of nearly everyone in the court, Thales secretly stabbed Jayne with his elbow:

"What about you, don't you respond?"

"As he said, we are just a jury." Jayne remained silent, but sat farther away from Thales.

"Of course, you are distinguished and distinguished, and you are a guest from afar. If you want to express your opinions, you will not stop you from coming to the Brennan Inquisitor."

Tels chuckled:

"Want to pit me again?"

The two looked at each other, and both turned their heads.

On the other side, Baron Trent began to talk about the kingdom’s traditions and the laws of the South Bank.

"So, Thales, do you feel it?"

Jen sneered.

"Since you returned to China, the series of changes in the situation between Everstar City and Emerald City... is like someone in the dark, always working on key points, disrupting all deployments, and pushing the situation to be unfavorable to me. Direction development."

Who in the world...

Tyles is sitting more and more in distress.

"Also pushed your father to look at the Nanan collar, and pushed him to send you over-what's wrong with you, why are you constipated?"

"It's nothing, it's just..."

Tels held back for a long time, but finally sighed:

"Forget it, it doesn't matter anymore... So, have you figured out how to fight my father?"

Hearing this, Jen paused for a while.

"The Arundel girl in Coldcastle, and the little black lion in Valkyrie, are they all in your team now?"

"Yes?"

"As soon as your father took the Northern Territory and the Western Wilderness, you took in the heirs of the princes from these two places, and the signal given was very unfriendly-no wonder he didn't wait to see you and even wanted to exile you."

"do you have any opinion?"

Jen chuckled and glanced at the prince.

"No, I’m just thinking, if I were your father, I would just plan with you secretly, and let you pretend to take them in. Wouldn’t it be more convenient to get rid of political opponents and opponents at once?"

At that moment, Thales seemed to miss a beat of his heartbeat.

"It makes sense," but the prince, who has experienced many battles, didn't change his face. He just rubbed Gurtaxa in his pocket lightly, feeling the hideous spikes on it, "I can't help but want to suggest my father this way. NS."

Tyles and Jane’s eyes met in the air, as if to see through each other.

A few seconds later, Zhan En smiled:

"But unfortunately, you are not him."

Thales frowned: "What?"

"I said, the assassin who can fight for the banquet, he is indecisive, and even willing to take the risk of his own end, and he will turn the table with me at any cost." Jaen showed a mysterious smile, and he was overwhelmed. "It's impossible for someone who is as cold and capable as the king to walk together."

Thales did not speak, but held the "covenant" tighter.

"He will never believe you."

Jean looked at the chair he was sitting on, his words showed frost:

"You will never recognize him."

What a lovely father and son.

At that moment, Thales did not move.

He just watched the trial below calmly.

Jean did not turn his head either.

He rubbed the back of the expensive chair patiently.

The air around the two seemed to be frozen.

"Little Flower, let's make a deal."

"trade?"

Jane smiled, but then his face changed: "Okay—wait, what's the little one?"

Tyles suddenly stretched out his hand and buckled the hand of the Duke of South Bank on the back of the chair!

"You don't talk about Anke Baylar, and don't talk about the things you used to cheat me," the prince said coldly, "I will talk about your sister less."

Jane's expression instantly cooled down.

"And you don't mention florets—that's the name?"

The two looked at each other silently, their clasped palms pressed hard against each other, and they fought silently amidst the growing quarrel in the trial court.

A few seconds later, the two people seemed to have a tacit understanding, and they released each other's hands together.

"Deal." Thales said uncomfortably.

"I don't expect to turn the enemy into a friend with you," Jaen resumed his sitting position. "But you are right. Your father sent you here. Maybe it is to use our hatred to get me and you deep in a life-and-death struggle. Sound east to west, profit from it."

"And we can't let him succeed?"

Jen nodded:

"So, let us sort out our grudges now, and make sure that there is no reason to cause misunderstandings and let us go to war with each other."

"Then," he said cautiously, "in the days of the Emerald City, we must be honest and honest between us."

Tyles glanced at him.

"Very good, although not big, but it is the first step."

Thales raised his eyebrows.

"Now, can we end the hostilities?"

Jean smiled:

"can not."

Thyls's expression stagnated.

"why?"

Jen answered quickly this time:

"Because we must be hostile."

"Since your father expected and counted on us to be hostile," Duke Jen snorted coldly, "The best, let him continue to think like this."

Thales frowned.

All right.

I understand.

but....

"So, we will continue to fight as usual during the day, and we will continue to fight each other and ask for trouble." Thales has a strange expression. "At night, we will hide in the bedroom and conspire to discuss it, and behave?"

"In order to confuse our enemies, wait for them to automatically jump out, and then catch them all?"

Does it sound like...

Somewhat familiar?

Jen showed a mysterious smile.

"I want a higher level of appeal! Even as far as the Noble Affairs Institute in the Royal Capital!"

The scream of Baron Trent reached the top of the hall, interrupting the conversation between the two dukes, and Thales and Janen frowned.

But it's far more than that.

"His Royal Highness Thales! You are from the capital, you are generous and kind, you are the hope of the kingdom, you are here," Baron Trent stared at Thales, he ignored the judge's gavel and raised With both hands, "Labor, taxation, rule of the lord, the old rule of the kingdom, this makes no sense! Without reason, my people are getting richer and richer, but I am getting poorer and poorer!"

Thales sighed lightly.

No way.

The next second, the Baron shouted in a nearly fanatical manner:

"In the spirit of establishing the country with the stars, and with the rights granted to us by the Canstar royal family, I ask the jury for the arbitration of the nobles! Now, now!"

As soon as this remark came out, there was a sudden up and down in the trial hall!

"This is the tradition in the Star Contract! It is my power! The judge has no right to stop!" the baron shouted.

"Quiet! Quiet!"

Inquisitor Brennan was so angry that his hands trembled, but he was still conscientiously maintaining order.

But this can't stop the countless lights from shooting towards the prince.

"You expected it a long time ago, didn't you?"

Thales looked at Jen unhappy:

"This is also your strategy, is it part of my father's show?"

But the latter just smiled slightly:

"Relax, this was not planned-although it is a good way."

Duke Jann narrowed his eyes:

"But remember, you owe me once today."

The next moment, before Thales could react, Jayne got a serious expression and stood up abruptly!

"Why, Baron Trent?"

The Duke of South Bank spoke loudly, attracting everyone's attention.

Jane stepped forward, leaning on the railing on the second floor, blocking Thales from everyone's eyes.

Baron Trent looked up in confusion.

"The land in the Emerald City is so tight, but even in the suburbs, most of the land is not used for farming-we don't produce much food," Jane said blankly, "then why, why the fields outside the Emerald City, the countryside, And the peasants and hunters on it, including the peasants in your territory, want to provide us with their crops, raw materials, and grain production? Why do they feed the growing population in the Emerald City so that we do not starve to death?"

If I push from behind now...

Thales stared at Jen's back in front of the railing, calculating the height of the second floor to the ground.

But he then shook his head.

No, no, don’t think too much.

How can it be!

"My Lord Duke..." Facing Jain, Baron Trent seemed to be short of breath by nature, and he was interrupted before he could speak.

"Did we force them? Or did we steal them? Or did I use my privileges, resort to traditions, brainwash them into slaves, and obediently make sacrifices for me?" Jaen's voice echoed in the hall.

"Because the lord protects them! Lords like you and me, Lord Duke," Trent slowed down and said unconvincedly, "This is a sacred contract and tradition. It is their obligation to provide a lord to the lord..."

"Then why, Baron Trent!"

Jane continued coldly:

"What's the material in the coat you are wearing? The velvet? No, it doesn't matter. Why do they have such good handwork and shape, which are beautiful and convenient to keep warm? Does your manor have such craftsmanship? "

I don't know if he didn't understand or reacted slowly, the Baron was stunned and looked at his coat.

"Oh, because it was not produced from your manor and village," Jen said suddenly, "but you bought it from the Emerald City-maybe there are a lot of things in your family, from your wife. From the fine powdered jewellery to the grape wine for your son."

"Because the Emerald City produces more things, more commodities, more resources, more tools, and in turn exchanges them for them," Zhan En coldly snorted, "They, the farmers in your territory will Take the grain produced from the land-originally only needed to be stored in a warehouse to wait for the winter-grain, walk out of the countryside to the town, participate in the market, and finally sell it to us."

"So, the people in the Emerald City, the ‘lord’ like me, will not live on the little tax paid by a baron of you. In the end, they will starve to death, or they will raise the tax officials to force the people to rebel."

Baron opened his mouth, but was speechless.

"We, the Emerald City not only protects them," Jann held up his hand, showing his majesty, "but also supplied them in return in exchange for their output, so that both parties can benefit from the development of the Emerald City, thus allowing the whole The South Bank has benefited.

"My father exempted them from redundant labor, and even regular military service? That way, they will have more time, more zeal, and more efficient. The output on their own land will increase year by year, and the newcomers in your territory will be With the increase, the reclamation of wasteland will become more and more, the mind will become more and more active, the variety of products will become more and more abundant, and they will be able to sell more output to cities such as the Emerald City and obtain higher and more profits. ."

"But our tax--" The baron seemed to want to argue.

"As for allowing cash to pay taxes and rent... Yes, in the tax you receive, the physical output is less and the money is more, but it is in exchange for the cash for rent that the people on your land will change. It needs a market, it needs a transaction, it needs to exchange goods for money, and collect enough tax."

Behind Thales, he frowned deeply when he heard this.

Jane said something that was silent in the noisy hall. He only heard his speech:

"More and more people will go to towns with their produce, come to the Emerald City, sell grain and other goods that can sell money, in order to form a large-scale specialty product, attracting merchants from farther away, and their arrival, Can bring to the Emerald City-and even the South Bank and Star Kingdom-things that cannot be produced by itself.

"On this basis, countless grains, agricultural products, and raw materials will flow into the cities and towns to support the population, thereby driving commerce and connecting distances and nears. Only the goods carefully crafted by the craftsmen in the cities and towns can feed back to you and the people on your land. , So that you can enjoy civilized products and distant commercial products, not to nest in the castle manor, guarding ragged clothes and broken bowls, not knowing the seven seas, knowing the square, sitting on the well and watching the sky for a lifetime until old age-you still need me again Remind you, what are the raw materials for this luxurious coat, and where are they produced and made?"

Jane scolded:

"Baron, the reductions and exemptions you hate, the cash taxes that you are not interested in, they connect cities and villages and maintain the economic operation of the entire South Bank region. This is the meaning of these laws!"

"But...tradition..." Trent was sweating coldly by him, but he still refused to give up, "It turned out not to be like this... when my grandfather..."

Hearing this, Jen didn't immediately refute as before.

He showed hesitation and embarrassment, and was silent for a while before he sighed.

("Fuck you can pretend."-Thales afterwards)

"I know your difficulties, Baron, and I know your plans, but the presence of Prince Thales is not a reason for you to take the opportunity to make trouble."

Duke Jann raised his eyes, and said coldly:

"It's not your tool to use the power of the royal family to put pressure on you."

As soon as this statement came out, everyone in the trial hall was stunned.

"But don't forget, Baron Trent, your ancestor four generations ago was just an ordinary villager who worked and cultivated in the territory of the Kongming Palace," the owner of the iris gradually became gentle, "Yes. , I remember your family, in fact, I know the origin and past of every vassal under my command."

Baron Trent looked at him startled, shaking slightly,

"The Fourth Continental War gave your ancestors the opportunity to prove themselves on the battlefield. He grasped it and earned Trent’s surname and the title of lord. His descendants went further, winning the fief and the responsibility of keeping the land, and holding the title. The glory of becoming a family hereditary, and finally passed on to your generation.

"So, compared to ordinary people, Baron Trent, you have more opportunities: you were born under the care of servants and nurses, you have received an education that ordinary people cannot imagine since you were young, and you still have a large piece of land. , You have the reputation of the family, you have the savings left by your ancestors, you have the connections of several generations, and you have a castle that still has military significance."

Jen stared at him closely, his eyes were complicated, seemingly pitiful, but also sullen.

"You have your surname...and the privileges it represents, tax collection, conscription, trial...too many privileges, some can be seen, some can't be seen."

"But you are in such a field, financially distressed, and you have to rely on illegal means to exploit your people," he said. "It was also the decree of my father and the deve-->>

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