Sword and Sorcery and Martial Arts

Chapter 237
This village is not as poor as the villages that Rhodes saw in the Roman Empire, but it is not rich either.

They took out the best things in the village to entertain Rhodes and them, soup made with dried meat and mushrooms, stewed carrots, boiled wild vegetables with salt, and hard black bread.

Although Rhodes wasn't very appetizing, everyone else ate deliciously. The old man's young grandson was salivating when he hid outside the door and smelled the smell.

Rhodes asked him to come in to eat together, but was stopped by the old man, but in the end he obeyed Rhodes' arrangement, but the old man didn't let his grandson serve.

They usually only eat two meals a day, breakfast and dinner, and rely on the morning meal to survive at noon.Today is to entertain Rhodes and his party, they specially prepared lunch.

"Are all the villages in this area like yours?" Rhodes asked after taking a few casual bites.

"How can we all be like us, our village can live so well only because of his presence." A villager in his 30s next to him answered with some pride.

"I told you to be humble. The people in the western town live much better than us." The old man turned his head and said to the villager, but there was pride in his tone that could not be concealed.

Although it is not terrible to be poor, the terrible thing is that I don't know that I am poor.But for these farmers who have never traveled far, and have never seen the living standards of ordinary people in Rhodes' world, their lives are better than those in other villages, and they are considered richer if they can often eat enough. Life is pretty good.

"Does that town belong to the Riverview Plain?" Rhodes asked again.

"Yes, my lord." The old man replied, "But it is the fief of Baron Dennis."

"Baron Dennis died in battle, and now the entire Hewang Plain and half of the Rocky Mountains are my territory." Rhodes replied.

Duke Ulver told Rhodes that now he is the only nobleman in his territory, and all the land is under his control. He can decide whether to entrust others or rule by himself.

"But his illegitimate son is still alive, and in the absence of other heirs, he is the first heir, and now he inherits that land." The old man hesitated for a while and replied.

"Since the illegitimate son became the lord, the people in the town are not as good as us." A villager whispered.

Rhodes raised his brows. He wondered if Duke Ulver made a mistake. After all, he had never been here before, and he didn't know the situation here.

"That's the rule of the imperial people. In the Kingdom of Nord, illegitimate children have no right of inheritance, and lords who lose their legal heirs will have their territories taken back by the king after their death." Hammer said in a low voice.

"I'm very sorry, my lord, I'm not familiar with the laws of the two countries." The old man said awkwardly.

This land belongs to the land that the Nord Kingdom and the Roman Empire have been fighting for. This year it belongs to the Nord Kingdom, and next year it belongs to the Roman Empire. People living here don’t know which country they belong to, and the laws of the two countries are even more different. clear.

What's more, this kind of aristocratic inheritance law has nothing to do with them.

"Aside from that town, are there any other towns in this place?" Rhodes asked again.

"There are five small towns in the entire plain, and none of the other towns has a lord. As for the rocky mountains you mentioned, I don't know." The old man replied after thinking.

Rhodes nodded, and Baron and the others had finished eating, so he stood up, took out a few gold coins and put them on the table, then walked out.

"My lord, you gave too much." The old man chased him out and shouted loudly.

"You guys just accept it. Winter is coming. If you have more money, you can buy some clothes for the children." Rhodes turned his head and said.

"Then..." The old man hesitated for a while, and finally summoned up his courage to ask, "Then how much tax do we need to pay?"

Since his village belonged to the Nord Kingdom last year, no one has come to collect taxes. It has been a long time since this place belonged to the Nord Kingdom last time. He does not know the rules here, and the taxes charged by each lord are different. More, and he didn't know how much Rhodes was going to charge.

"You have already paid this year's tax just now. As for the future, let's talk about it." Rhodes replied, he is not short of money now, and he doesn't want to suck the blood of these farmers, and he can't suck much. It is completely unnecessary.

Compared with winning the hearts of the people, such a small amount of money is nothing at all.

"Thank you." The old man said gratefully to Rhodes, and he and some other villagers sent Rhodes to the gate of the village all the way.

When Rhodes arrived at the entrance of the village, he found that the young groom had left, and only the middle-aged groom was waiting here. Before Rhodes asked him to go in together, he politely refused.

"Can you keep these instruments for me?" Gilbert asked the villagers next to him. The young groom's carriage was bought by Gilbert before, and he just rode his horse when he left.

"It is our honor, my lord," said one of the villagers.

"Be careful not to break it!" The old man warned.

"You stay here first, don't leave in a hurry, we will need your help in a few days." Gilbert took out the money and handed it to the middle-aged groom. He felt that it would not be easy for him to follow. Well, besides slowing them down, it might also hurt the taciturn middle-aged groom.

"We're leaving first, and you don't have to send it off anymore." Rhodes rode on the horse, and he was going to visit the small town, maybe he would have a fight with someone later.

"My lord, walk slowly all the way!" The old man said goodbye to Rhodes.

"By the way, it doesn't usually snow here in winter, right? Are people in your village willing to accept my employment? I'm going to build a road near here in a few days. As for the salary, I'll check it out here. Discuss with you." Rhodes said before leaving.

"Your Excellency, you don't need to pay, just take care of the food!" A villager said excitedly, he was still embarrassed by the lack of food for the winter.

Many people in the village are like him. The food they hoard is only enough for the family to survive the winter, and they may have to go hungry for a few meals to eat.

Going out to work and earn money in winter is more reliable than planing food in the wild.

"Don't worry, I don't care about the food, and the money will be paid." After Rhode finished speaking, he left here with Baron and the others.

"Shall we meet that daring illegitimate son now? Without the king's order, how dare he directly inherit the territory here." Hammer looked at Rhodes and asked.

Rhodes nodded. The town is to the west of the village. On the way from the old man's house to the entrance of the village, Baron had already asked the exact location of the town, so all he had to do now was follow him.

After a while, they came to the town that the old man had mentioned. There were still a few guards standing at the gate of the town, as if they were collecting money from people who entered the town.

I didn't expect such a small town to have such a thing as a city fee.

"He dared to summon the army privately. Originally, he only had to be exiled, but now it seems that he can go to the gallows." Hammer sneered.

"Go and see first." Rhodes rode to the gate of the town...

(End of this chapter)