Sword of Dawn

Many people thought that their "new lord" had another order, and it might be a more complicated order than those complicated "tent-building system", so some people became frowning, thinking that they could go to sleep after the work was done.

Gao Wen stood on a big rock and looked down at the more than 100 people below. He had already seen Amber secretly hiding in the crowd. He wanted to find out this guy who might make trouble at any time, but after thinking about it, he still couldn't. Say nothing.

Then he cleared his throat and said loudly in a volume that everyone could hear clearly: "Cecil's citizens, I have something to say-about your future, and Cecil's new laws !"

Chapter 0044 Serfs and Freedmen

Gawain stood on the rock, looked at the numb and shrinking faces below, and took a deep breath.

People are not ignorant, but that doesn't mean they aren't ignorant.

Ignorance is a judgment made with prejudice and contempt, but ignorance - it is just a statement of fact.

The civilians and serfs of this era are ignorant. The social structure determines that they have almost no channels for acquiring knowledge and increasing their knowledge. The heavy cost of living also makes them have no energy to focus on things other than survival. If they survive, they will appear not to think, and they will have the illusion of "ignorance".But in fact, they can think, but their ignorance makes it difficult for them to understand things that are too far away from life.

So you can't talk to them about those fake things, talk about ideals, talk about the future, talk about the prospect of the territory and the logical relationship between the development of productivity. Go back to the "lord's side" and draw a line with yourself, so the best thing to do is to talk to them about their life.

"People of Cecil Territory," Gao Wen said loudly, "you should all know who I am—so you should also know that I am the person with the most right to speak in this territory now, I said The words can represent the laws of Cecil, which will provide you with protection and are what you must obey.

"We're breaking new ground and we need some new rules, so I'm announcing three things here:

"First, since the old territory has been destroyed, all past wealth has been cleared, so I declare in the name of the ancestor of the Cecil family that all debts involving the lord in the territory are cancelled—whether the debtor is a freeman or a serf , starting today, no longer assume any debts to the lord.

The crowd below was a little agitated, but the agitation was not obvious, because although commoners and serfs in this era would owe their lords more or less debts, but today when the territory is being rebuilt, everyone has lost the ability to repay their debts. According to Lord Rebecca's previous benevolence, they had already guessed that the debt would be forgiven.

Gao Wen went on to say: "Secondly, all serfs in the territory have the opportunity to become free citizens - the lord will issue a series of tasks, such as building houses, building roads, digging mines, and joining the army. All these tasks will have corresponding The scoring method, as long as the corresponding work is completed in strict accordance with the requirements, the contribution can be accumulated. After reaching the standard, the serf can become a freeman. And if the serf is already a freeman, he can get the corresponding reward after completing these tasks. Specifically I will announce the method of calculating the remuneration in the near future. I can assure you that any hardworking and reliable serf can become a freeman as long as he works hard for two or three years, and a freeman can become a freeman as long as he works hard for five or six years. Get a house of your own!"

This time, the commotion below completely turned into an irrepressible discussion.

Serfs became freedmen-this in itself was quite a challenge to conventional things in this era.Although Ansu's kingdom laws did not strictly prohibit serfs from becoming free citizens, and there were no clear regulations in this regard in the territorial laws of nobles in various places, but in fact, almost no noble would let their serfs be freed casually ——For them, serfs mean cheap, and they can drain the last drop of blood from them without any burden. Those nobles who only know how to keep raising taxes and working hours to search for wealth never think of letting serfs be free What's the point.

When Rebecca proposed that the serfs be freed by joining the army, it also caused a commotion, but this time Gawain obviously took a big step forward.

As for getting paid for working, or even getting a house... Many civilians who are free themselves hardly believe it.

Work for the lord and get money?Who would believe it!

Gao Wen didn't give them time to continue the discussion, but went on to say the third point:

"Third, the tents and fences that will be erected today, as well as the drainage ditches in the camp, are the first tasks the lord has given you in the new law—I have already asked people to record the scope of each of you's responsibilities , Only those who have completed the work strictly according to my requirements are considered to have completed the work. In addition, as an incentive to work hard, the first ten people who complete the work can eat meat."

After saying this, Gao Wen jumped off the rock and returned to where Hetty and Rebecca were, regardless of the reaction below.

The gathered civilians and serfs, after being stunned for a moment, suddenly shouted and rushed towards the seemingly completed camp - they were going to re-strengthen the loose ropes and nails, and drive the fence deep into the ground go!

For them, the calculation of contributions and scoring standards mentioned by Gao Wen is still too difficult, and they don't really believe that the soldiers and master knights who are in charge of the work will really help them calculate the work seriously. However, there is one sentence they can understand: there is meat to eat at night!

Only those who finish their work ahead of time and have to finish their work seriously can have meat!

Just as Gao Wen thought - only when it is about personal interests, people will be motivated the most.

Seeing the civilians and serfs running away in a swarm, Hetty felt a little dazed, and she didn't realize it until Gao Wen stood in front of her, and asked in disbelief: "Ancestor... what you just said is true ?”

Gao Wen looked at the other party with a half-smile: "Which one are you referring to specifically?"

"...is the part where serfs become freedmen through work," Hetty said with a frown. "Of course, I don't object to this, because Rebecca issued a decree on the promotion of serfs joining the army, but you said that even building a house Things like road construction can be regarded as contributions, and it only takes two or three years to become a free citizen...is this true?"

"Of course it's true," Gao Wen looked at the other party, "What do you think is wrong?"

"If it's so easy to become a free citizen, I'm afraid it won't be long before all the serfs on the territory are civilians," Hetty said with a dazed expression, "The children of commoners are also commoners. Could it be that General Cecil A place without serfs?"

Gao Wen continued to look at her with the same smile on his face: "Is there anything wrong with not having serfs?"

Starting from her class-derived thinking habits and worldview, Hetty instinctively felt that something was wrong, but starting from her insights and thoughts far surpassing that of the nobles of the same period, she felt that there was nothing wrong even if there were no serfs, so Suddenly fell into a contradiction.

On the contrary, Rebecca frowned and said after thinking for a while: "Actually, I think... the serf system is not so necessary today, and there is nothing wrong with it."

Gawain looked at this descendant who had always been tough-headed in surprise, and nodded: "Continue."

"Serfs are labor, and the purpose of labor is to provide labor, but if turning them into free men can get more labor, then why do you have to keep the concept of 'serf'?" Rebecca scratched her hair, "My father told me back then that the main reason why the serfs were not allowed to be free was that once they were free and there was no whip, they would immediately become lazy and stop working, but I think the whip is not necessarily the best... ..."

Gawain looked at her approvingly, and Rebecca, who was encouraged by her ancestor for the first time, suddenly became courageous and said fluently: "And I also noticed that if a serf is asked to work, they will always find a way to be lazy, But if two serfs are asked to do the same work, and they are told that they will get an extra piece of bread if they finish first, they can finish the work of three or four people at once—the value is far more than that piece of bread...so I I was just thinking that it is not necessary to use a whip to keep them from being lazy, and it might be better to use other methods.”

"This is already a very good enlightenment." Gao Wen couldn't help laughing. This is a very simple and easy-to-understand thing, but in this era, almost no one pays attention to it-in fact, the nobles don't even pay attention to it. How the serfs and even civilians under their rule work, and they don’t have the concept of statistical work efficiency. Using whips and sending soldiers to supervise them is the ultimate embodiment of their ruling skills. Rebecca like...

It can only be said that this poor country viscountess is really idle.

Thanks to being idle, she was able to think of these things.

It's just that she can only think of these superficial things based on her own observations. In fact, Gao Wen is very clear that the emergence and abolition of slavery is not just a matter of "whip and bread", but the deeper reason is whether productivity Enough, whether society has really reached the point where it needs to change.

Through this period of observation, he believes that at least as far as he can see, the serf system no longer matches the productivity of this world - a large number of people are piled up in repetitive and inefficient low-end jobs, relying on the number of people Use the lowest efficiency to produce various materials to support the upper class, and these people will never have a way to rise.Obviously those upper-class people who have mastered magic have entered the stage of watching fireworks and listening to music in the castle, and using fluorescent lamps (Magic spar) for lighting, but the common people below are not much better than the primitive people, and the whole society is almost deformed.

On Earth, earth-shaking changes had already taken place at this time, but here, the existence of supernatural forces prevented this process.

Because a hundred civilians holding a pitchfork can't beat a low-level mage or knight, even if they are brave enough to die at the same time, it is impossible to double their number.

Maybe the world will continue to develop and this deadlock will be broken sooner or later, but Gao Wen doesn't intend to wait any longer. He has to change all this in advance and start his own big development plan.

Because he had a feeling—the tide of magic might really be coming.

The Gondor Empire in its heyday was unable to withstand the tide of demons, and now the continental countries that have regressed to the ignorant state of the Middle Ages in all aspects, should they use their faces to carry it?

And even if the issue of the magic tide is not considered, Gao Wen still has other things to care about.

Those "eyes" in the sky who don't know the truth.

It is difficult for a backward world in the Middle Ages to break free from gravity. If it is strangled by gravity, it is not even qualified to look up at the sky, let alone study the secrets among the stars.

Chapter 0045 The First Step Plan

Gawain couldn't explain to others the plans in his heart and those long-term considerations—even for the most trustworthy people like Rebecca and Hetty, he couldn't explain to them exactly what he was thinking, so what he could do It is to disassemble all my grand plans into stages and details, and then slowly build them up.

What he did today can be said to be the most basic part of it, and even the construction of this territory is just the foundation.

As for Rebecca and Hetty, Gawain let them see the unbelievable side of those commoners and serfs.

They have never seen that civilians and serfs can work with such high enthusiasm, and can complete the jobs that they were absolutely unable to do well in the past quickly and well.

They thought it was Gawain's promise of "you can eat meat at night" to motivate these people, and it was true.

It is still too early to build the so-called upsurge of people's self-confidence and labor glory. Using a meal of meat to stimulate the enthusiasm of the labor force is the simplest and most effective way.

Back in the tent in the center of the camp, Gawain found a pen and paper and began to record some things. At the same time, he ordered the Knight Byron who followed: "Send two people to cook the meat and prepare a portion for ten people. In addition , As long as they are involved in labor, they will be fed with vegetable soup and black bread, and we still have plenty of food. In the early days of the territory's construction, no one should fall ill due to cold and hunger."

"Do you really want to prepare meat for ten people?" Byron asked a little surprised.

Gao Wen answered as it should: "Of course, I must fulfill my promise. Is there any problem?"

"I thought you were just going to make a pot of broth," Byron explained, "just a few pieces of meat the size of a walnut, add vegetables, make a big pot of soup, and those people will be grateful."

"Do as I say," Gao Wen waved his hand, "I won't allow any discount on the promise I made. By the way, let the cook set up a big pot in the most conspicuous place of the camp, and I want everyone to see the stew. The sight of the meat, and at the same time let the soldiers maintain order by the side, and no one is allowed to loot."

Knight Byron bowed with a slightly strange expression, and left after taking orders.

Gao Wen noticed the sight from the side, he turned his head and found that Amber was staring at him without blinking.

"What are you looking at?" He moved his neck uncomfortably, "Is there something on my face?"

"I wonder if you were possessed by something that affects your mind when you were in the treasury, but it doesn't look like it," Amber said seriously, "I've never heard of a nobleman who would take the initiative to cut own wealth..."

Gao Wen felt a little funny: "Do you think my actions are reducing my wealth?"

"Otherwise?" Amber spread her hands, "Turning serfs into free people means that in the future, they only need to give you a part of the food they grow, and you have to pay wages to free people, which is even more out of your own pocket. Paying for money... Can nobles do this?"

"If I asked you to help me paint the walls, how much can you do in a day with no money but orders?"

Amber thought for a while: "I'll steal a few coins from your pocket, hire a boy from the utility room and ask him to do it for me, and use the rest of the money for wine!"

Gao Wen: "...I am full to reason with you, the shame of all things!"

Amber: "Why am I a shame on all things!"

At this time Hetty walked into the tent and interrupted Amber's eruption, the lady still had an expression of disbelief on her face: "Ancestor, it's simply incredible, they have never worked so hard—especially those serfs , they don't even need an overseer and they can get things done..."

"Because they were only working for the lord before, but now their work is closely related to their food," Gao Wen said without any surprise, "This is just the first step, as you can already see, it takes more than we For what we paid for food and wages, we got much more."

"I also thought about motivating them to work, but I didn't do it to this extent," Hetty shook her head, "I don't dare to think about what the future of the territory will be if these systems are really continued. Sample."

Gao Wen laughed: "It will definitely develop in a good direction, you just have to believe in me. And what I did today is just the first step, come and take a look..."

He has been writing and drawing on a few pieces of paper since just now. Amber leaned over to look at it before and got bored and stopped paying attention, but now Hetty came over obediently after hearing Gawain's order: " what is this?"

The paper was full of sentences she couldn't understand, and it looked more like a pile of strange nouns, such as working groups, such as competition and contracting, such as assessment methods and efficiency statistics, and on the other several sheets were written The words of the mid-term plan, which are general education, magic talent census, talent introduction, etc., seem even more puzzling.

"These are all things I've come up with during this period of time, but I haven't had the time to implement them before. Now that the construction of the territory has started, those things should be included in the agenda," Gao Wen pointed to the top one. Paper, "These things may be difficult for many commoners and serfs to understand, so I will tell you first, and then you will tell them to the Knights of Byron and the people in charge of the work, and then repeat these to everyone— —By the way, where's Rebecca?"

"She... is helping to burn the weeds and bushes on the south side of the river beach," Hetty said, "This is also one of the ways she usually practices magic."

The corner of Gao Wen's mouth twitched: "Let her come too, it's the same any time you practice the big fireball."

Soon Rebecca was called in. The Viscountess's face was dark and her body smelled of smoke and fire. Rather than saying that she went to practice magic, it was more like she just got out of the kitchen—— It's no wonder that he will also use a big fireball now.

"Let me tell you about the working shift system in the camp." Gawain spread out his schedule and explained in detail, "First of all, the working group——I ask all the labor force to be divided into groups of five to ten people. Assign work content and shift breaks in groups...

"All groups must report to their supervisors before starting work, and also report when they finish work. The supervisors are responsible for counting the work of each group. In addition, each group has a team leader who is responsible for assigning work within the group... …

"The team leader asked them to choose by themselves, and told them that the team leader is not fixed. If a team leader affects work efficiency, or deceives the supervisor and the lord, he will be replaced immediately.

"Assess the effectiveness of the work according to the group as a unit, the whole group rewards, the whole group punishment, the reward and punishment system and the competition mechanism, I will talk about it later...

"About the scoring system I mentioned earlier, considering that most people can't read or write, let Heidi record the completion status of each team first. Let's discuss the specific contribution counts later...

"Also we're going to have a discussion about how each group will record the collection and return of tools."

Gawain said a lot of things in one breath, not only Rebecca, but even Hetty became dizzy. The latter stared blankly at Gawain while talking and continued to write and draw on the paper. Previously, there was only a noun Soon there were some scribbled shorthand content under the entry, and she couldn't help being a little confused: "Ancestor, making a simple job so complicated, won't it reduce...efficiency instead?"

"These systems only look complicated, but at the end of the system, that is, the commoners and serfs, they only need to work fast and well to get benefits. After they taste the sweetness, they will naturally abide by it seriously. When they start to comply, you will see more amazing efficiency than pitching a tent today. Of course, it may be difficult to implement at the beginning, so you have to keep preaching them and explaining them. Besides, It has to be enforced, enforced, for no reason—just tell them this is Cecil's new law."

At this time, Gao Wen couldn't help but be grateful for this backward era. The people's wisdom is not yet developed. Both the free people and the slave class take obedience to orders for granted. The words of the lord are absolute, and the so-called "untouchables" have no There is no room for resistance. In this case, many of his ideas can be implemented without much explanation...

However, this is not the situation that Gawain wants. His purpose is to break this environment, so that every "untouchable" in Cecil's territory is no longer an untouchable, but a living person.

He needs people, lots of people.

Because what he wants to do, it is impossible to accomplish it with his own strength.

That's why he asked Hetty to continue to preach these systems to the people while forcing them to be promoted. It doesn't matter if the common people don't understand now, they will understand one day.

Hetty is not stupid, she has enough wisdom, and her insights are already far ahead of the contemporary aristocratic class, so after Gawain explained and she thought for a while, she has already fainted Understanding the meaning of doing so, he nodded and agreed.

"Then what about me?" Seeing that Aunt Hetty already had a mission, Rebecca couldn't help coming up excitedly, "What am I doing?"

The viscountess, who was the lord of Lord Cecil not long ago, had completely put herself in the position of Gawain's assistant at this time.

"Take some people to investigate the soil quality tomorrow, and confirm the difficulty of opening up wasteland and the scope of opening up wasteland in the initial stage. Don't run too far."

While talking, Gao Wen quickly sketched a rough map on a piece of white paper next to him. It was a large area centered on the river beach, and he also marked the distance numbers of various places on it, even though it was just a sketch It wasn't even a contour line, but Rebecca was taken aback for a moment.

"You just go according to this range-don't worry about the places outside the range."

Rebecca took the "map" in a daze: "Oh... oh..."

Amber next to him looked at Gao Wen as if he was looking at a monster: "You...were the guys you did the second pioneering back then all monsters?"

Gao Wen thought about it, and felt that other old guys from 700 years ago would not jump out of their graves to beat him, so he said nonsense: "That's right, it was our generation who drew the topographic map of half the kingdom with closed eyes. Human standard."

amber:"……"

Chapter 0046 The Status of Magicians

Those who worked in the camp quickly realized that the "ancestor" who came from 700 years ago was really a strange person.

Regarding Cecil's lord suddenly changing from Miss Rebecca to Lord Gawain, the commoners and serfs had no idea at all. The lower class people in this era would be grateful for the lord's generosity and He is wise, but as for who the lord is, he doesn't care at all.For them, the only thing worthy of discussion after the lord was replaced by Master Gao Wen was the strange rules that this "ancient man" made as soon as he came up.

About serfs can be promoted to freemen, and freemen can get paid for their work, most people choose to believe in a limited way, and regard it as a means for the new lord to show his generosity.According to the general rule, they believe that these promises will eventually be realized in a very harsh or cunning way: there may be serfs who become freemen, but there may be one or two, and there may be things that work for money, but probably in various ways. The reason was deducted, and in the end, only three or two lucky ones could get a little symbolic copper coin to show that the lord had indeed done what he said.

But neither civilians nor serfs would complain about this. After all, a lord who is willing to show his generosity is much better than a lord who wants to whip his slaves to show his authority.

And there are always some benefits that will be handed out, isn't it?

Compared with those generous rules, the various so-called "rules and regulations" formulated by Lord Gawain are really confusing things.

Dividing people into working groups, requiring group competition, registering workload and "assessment"... These are really unheard of methods.

Some were furtively discussing, guessing which of these new rules would become part of the tax collection in the future-even though no one on the penniless Cecil collar could afford to pay taxes at all, others were Discussing whether Master Gao Wen made so many tricks on the simple labor service because of the ancient eccentricity of the ancient nobles...

But in any case, they can still understand some of the parts that involve their own interests - the No.1 group in the daily work evaluation has meat to eat, and No.2 and No.3 can eat with bread dipped in broth until full.

As for those who finished their work in a mediocre way, they only had bland vegetable soup and black bread. Although these two things are all you can eat, for those who failed to eat meat on the first day of the "Tent Rating" As far as humans are concerned, the feeling of drinking vegetable soup and watching others eat stew is really not wanting to do it again.

Regardless of whether the promotion and salary system that sounded like a fantasy is true or not, at least the fact that the lord gave meat to eat has been proved to be true.