Succubus' Manor

In the early years, when the king was not Joels VI, but his father Joels V, the power of the Holy House was not so great. In order to gather the royal power, the fifth created Protestantism and proclaimed himself the Pope of Protestantism. For a long period of time, the Holy Court was attacked and the royal power was gathered. During that period, the common people still had a good life, because the royal power and theocratic power were integrated, whether it was poll tax or land tax.

The sixth king is the illegitimate son of the fifth king. He grew up in the Holy Academy since he was a child. The fifth king has been wise all his life. The only fault he committed was probably not having a child in wedlock. The other two illegitimate children who were with him also died in the palace chaos after his death. .

Since the coronation of VI, Protestantism has gradually declined,

He disbanded the Protestantism, and the Holy House regained most of the power, from fighting against the royal family, to now stabilizing the royal family.

Chi Yan felt incredible when he heard what the housekeeper said: "So many people can't keep two illegitimate children?"

It turned out that one of the illegitimate children was a daughter. In order to inherit the throne, she made a marriage contract with the king of the neighboring country, promising to marry him after she inherited the throne, but the other party lent her soldiers and changed his mind, resulting in her death. Her half brother also died.

The cheapness fell to the current King Joels VI.

However, Joels is not a smart person. He sincerely believes in the Holy Spirit, and sent his legitimate son to the Holy Court early to let the Holy Court teach him.

After listening to these stories, Chi Yan felt that his three views had been impacted.

In the chaotic period of ancient China, there was no example of the emperor's illegitimate son being raised among the people, and then being found back to inherit the throne.

The butler had a very high opinion of the princess who had died in the civil strife.

Said that she was a princess loved by people, but unfortunately she took a wrong step and lost herself.

After the sixth generation, the number of slaves became more and more, and nobles and officials all obeyed the orders of the Holy Court.

Civilians are becoming less and less able to survive.

It has been particularly serious in recent years. In many noble territories, no commoner can be seen, and they are all slaves.

And the civilians who lived in the city and spent all their property and paid their taxes gradually fell into disrepair. The original small rich family has now become a poor family that has eaten this meal without rest.

"There is always a reason." Chi Yan thought about it seriously, and then made a guess, "Is there going to be a war?"

The housekeeper always guessed this way, he looked around, closed the door again, and then whispered, "I guessed that way too."

Otherwise, why are the Holy Court and the royal family so eager to collect money?Quite a taste of killing the chicken and picking the eggs.

But fighting has nothing to do with Chi Yan. Except for the big nobles, most of the small nobles can't even afford their own people, and at most they can provide some food.

There is no military merit here. To be precise, there is no military merit against civilians and slaves. Only knights and nobles can obtain higher titles and larger territories by virtue of military merit.

It's just that once a war breaks out, the domestic situation will be difficult to say.

It will only be more chaotic at that time, the Holy Court will not be able to take care of both ends, and the criminal law will be more stringent.

In troubled times, heavy codes are used everywhere.

"My lord, let's build the city wall." The housekeeper suggested in a low voice.

If it weren't for the lack of people, he would also like to propose to dig a moat.

Chi Yan was a little dazed. He had wiped out all the termite nests. Besides, even if there were still many termite nests, it was not enough.

Where to find clay?

Burning bricks?Even the oldest adobe bricks need clay, and they have to be air-dried for half a year.

All I had to do was dig, and look for it in his territory, digging down two feet deep in every piece of land.

So the slaves had new tasks, but in this way, there were not enough manpower.

Productivity is directly related to the number of people, especially when there is no industry and everything depends on manpower.

The firing process of adobe bricks is very slow. The clay is dug out and air-dried for half a year, then water is added to make a thick mud like dough, and then it is put into a wooden mold for compaction. In order to prevent sticking, fine yarn must be spread.

And it can only be dried in the shade to prevent cracks and deformation caused by exposure to the sun.

The last step is to burn the bricks.

It looks like it costs nothing, but the labor cost is huge.

Chi Yan could only ask the housekeeper, "Do we still have money to buy slaves?"

The butler answered quickly: "Yes, I can buy a lot."

All that money came from Cady going out and selling alcohol.

This relieved Chi Yan's financial pressure to a great extent.

Being a lord can be so poor, Chi Yan is considered a pioneer.

After all, more lords don't care about anything, they just wait to collect food and money, and they don't care whether the slaves and civilians on the territory can survive.

Chi Yan: "Then buy some, don't buy too much."

He was afraid that he would not be able to afford it.

After all, he couldn't be like other lords, regardless of the life and death of slaves.

Probably modern people can't turn a blind eye to human life like the aborigines here.

As for the slaves who didn't belong to him, he didn't care.

It is too difficult to be a purely good person, and he can't embrace the suffering into his arms and spread the brilliance of happiness to others.

It's not easy to be a pure bad guy, you have to lose all his views and education, it's no less difficult than going back to your mother's womb to be born again.

So it's best to be a normal person.

The merchant called by the butler this time was Josh, the slave merchant who "sent" the elf to Chi Yan.

Josh said that as long as he was allowed to meet the lord, he could sell slaves at the lowest price without earning a penny.

The butler went to ask Chi Yan.

Chi Yan didn't refuse. After all, it was on his territory. If Josh wanted to do something to him, he had to ask the servants in the castle if they could do it.

Josh came to see Chi Yan, of course he couldn't bring a weapon on him.

The servant led him to the hall, deliberately took a detour, and walked through several long corridors.

Josh, who was originally excited, gradually became afraid during the long walk. When he saw Chi Yan, he immediately saluted.

"My lord." Josh's voice was trembling.

Chi Yan was sitting on a chair with a glass of wine in his hand - it was given to him by the housekeeper.

In fact, it is for pretense.

It means that although I buy slaves from you at a low price, it does not mean that I am poor, nor does it mean that I am easy to bully.

Chi Yan: "I remember you."

Josh's face was flushed with excitement, but he didn't dare to make any drastic moves. He only dared to raise his head quietly and "send a glance" to Chi Yan.

Those eyes blinked so much that Chi Yan almost felt that he might have an eye disease.

"My lord!" Josh raised his voice a few degrees, "I can sell you sixty slaves!"

"I only charge you one gold coin!"

The price is really cheap too much.

Josh had lost his mind, and he said to Chi Yan: "Now there are many homeless civilians everywhere, we just need to catch them."

Chi Yan was taken aback. Has the current situation gotten this bad?

However, Josh was very proud of his business acumen.

Chi Yan pretended to be very calm: "In this case, then you can send sixty slaves over."

"There are more human slaves."

Josh said quickly: "Forty human slaves, what do you think?"

Chi Yan nodded: "Very good."

Josh immediately showed a sweet smile recognized by his sweetheart, which made Chi Yan get goosebumps all over his body.

Because of Josh's insistence, Chi Yan didn't give a deposit, probably in order to bring him over earlier, Josh didn't even stay in the castle for one night, and went back by car despite the blizzard outside.

And promised to bring people over within ten days.

About... There are still benefits to being a heartthrob?

Chi Yan thought in a daze.

It is not easy to dig clay in winter, because the surface soil is frozen hard, so Chi Yan only asks the slaves to dig the soil that is not frozen hard on days when there is no snow.

They can't be made to stay in the house all winter, not to mention that even if Chi Yan doesn't let them go out, they have to go to the woods to cut firewood. After all, the amount of charcoal is definitely not enough. Part of it was also used for steelmaking.

Dahe was about to dig the ground. He wore the coarse cloth clothes that Chi Yan had rewarded him for a lifetime, and stuffed them with dried and soft withered grass. After taking a few deep breaths, he took a shovel and went out.

Mother was very worried about him: "Be careful."

In addition to the snow outside, there is also the ice surface formed after the snow melts and freezes. If you slip, you may fall badly.

Da He: "It's okay mom, I'm dressed so warmly, and I still have shoes."

The shoes were made of animal skins, and they were also a reward from the adults. Among the slaves, Da He was considered very respectable.

Moreover, although he is a slave in name, he is exercising the power of a freeman. He chose to dig the soil by himself.

There are not many slaves like him, and they are all slaves who followed Lord Knight to meet the robbers last time.

Although they still live with their own people, they are essentially different.

Those in charge can no longer whip them at will, and they can walk freely on this land.

Although he can't leave the territory, Dahe has always dreamed of such a life. When he was very young, he fantasized about such a day.

To be able to be a dignified "person".

It is not a "livestock" that is bullied.

It's just that he recently discovered that he is the only one who thinks this way, the others are used to being slaves, they don't know how to be "human" anymore.

And he couldn't blame them yet, because even his mother was like that.

Not long after Dahe went out, he saw the tauren people gathered together. The tauren were born with strong physiques, especially because they ate well a while ago, stored a lot of fat, and could walk around without clothes in winter.

Dahe has been working with them recently.

Among the tauren, the one who has the best relationship with Dahe is called Jiger, a young man who has just grown up. He only wears an animal skin skirt. When he sees Dahe, he keeps waving his hands: "Dahe! Come on! We are going!"

Dahe hastened to walk over, but he didn't dare to run, what if he fell?The ground is quite slippery.

Each of them has a shovel in their hands. Jiger said to Dahe: "This thing is great! It can dig out such hard soil. There was no such good thing before. We can only break the ground with stones first." .”

Jiger talked about the past with sympathy.

It was really difficult at that time, they didn't eat much, and they couldn't move freely in winter like now.

The stone can be glued to it by hand, and if you pull it hard, you have to tear off a layer of skin.

Unlike now, they only need to hold a wooden stick attached to a shovel.

What I used to feel like suffering, now feels very easy.

"My lord is so smart and wise." Jiger kept sighing.

"It would be nice if the adults came sooner."

If adults had come earlier, they could have lived like this last year, or the year before last.

The tauren in front said: "Jig, you are too greedy!"

Jiger scratched the back of his head: "Got it, Mom."

Among all races, dwarves and tauren are the race with the smallest difference between men and women. Even having children is not as difficult as other races. Their men and women basically look the same, and it is impossible to distinguish them without careful distinction.

They still haven't harvested anything today, and the soil they dug out is no different from what they usually dig out.

When it was getting dark, they went back to the house and waited for the servants to bring today's food.

Every time around this time, the servants would come over with wooden barrels, which were hot and mushy, and sometimes there would be some wild vegetables, but because of winter, there were no wild vegetables.

The paste is cooked with wheat bran and various beans. Because of Chi Yan's instructions, there will be salt in the paste.

There is nothing more blissful than eating a bowl of warm mush on a cold winter day.

The goblins put down the half-woven rattan frame and ate together.

They also sun-dried the mushrooms, soaking the dried mushrooms in hot water for a while before putting them in the paste for a comfortably filling meal.

Josh's slave delivered, but the clay hadn't been dug out yet.

This time, Josh personally sent the slaves over, so he met Chi Yan again.

"My lord, although the slaves I sent were a little thinner, none of them lacked arms or legs." Josh looked at Chi Yan as if to take credit.

Chi Yan smiled and said, "You've done a good job. If I want to buy slaves in the future, I will come to you."

Josh looked very moved: "It is my greatest honor to be able to do things for adults."

If it wasn't for the fact that he still had some sanity left, he would have almost sold himself to Chi Yan.

Chi Yan stood up, walked to Josh, and patted Josh on the shoulder: "I will remember your loyalty."

Josh looked incredulously at his shoulder that was patted by Chi Yan, his eyes were red, and he looked a little funny, he nodded again and again, and said excitedly: "No matter what your lord wants, as long as I can get it Yes, they must be sent to the adults!"

Chi Yan: "Can you get the seeds of Yun Duo Hua?"

At this time, Josh's IQ had dropped to a negative number, his mind was blank, and he only had one thought. He couldn't say that he couldn't do it anyway, so he said firmly, "I can get it."

so easy?

Chi Yan also became happy now: "Then it's hard work for you. I asked the housekeeper to clean up the room for you. You can rest here for a night before leaving."

Of course, Josh didn't come alone. He also brought many slaves and his subordinates. The most trusted person around him was his nephew.

The nephew is a mighty-looking young man with strong muscles, a body full of tendons, wide shoulders and a narrow waist. He belongs to the kind of person who can look good in a suit in modern times. He doesn't quite understand why his uncle wants such a cheap one. Sell ​​slaves.

Not only did they not make any money this trip, they also lost money!

Although the captured slaves do not require money, the manpower needed to capture the slaves and transport them all the way need money.

He asked his uncle before he came, but his uncle scolded him, and now he doesn't understand why he was scolded.

And the uncle didn't take him with him when he entered the castle to meet the lord.

"Uncle must have been bewitched by something." Alger said to the servants beside him while he was warming his hands and exhaling a breath of hot air.

The servant didn't answer, and said with a smile: "The master must have his reasons for doing this."

Alger didn't understand.

Recently, business has been difficult, slaves are becoming less and less valuable, and the price of salt remains high. Every time they go to buy salt, they lose some manpower, and they can’t make much money when they bring it back to sell it—because the more people buy it, the more people buy it. Come less and less.

Even the big lords, few like to hoard salt, buy enough to last for a year, and say nothing about buying it again.

After all, there are places that need money.

But they can't sell weapons. If they sell weapons, they will be guillotined if they are found.

"It's really different here." Alger looked at the land, "There are no slaves working, and no one watching slaves."

This is a new thing, slaves are slackers, as long as they don't watch and don't hold a whip in their hands, they will find ways to be lazy.

In his view, people who can be reduced from commoners to slaves are all slackers.

The servant said beside him: "The lord here is very kind, and I heard that he is very generous."

Alger thought for a while, and said seriously: "A benevolent lord doesn't live long."

There are so many examples of this!

Most of the benevolent and generous lords were eventually killed by their own kindness.

Servant: "Since the master is willing to follow the lord here, the other party must not only be kind."

The servant is old, but his body is still very strong. He and Josh are actually half-brothers, but his mother is a maid, so he became Josh's servant. The relationship between master and servant is different, they are more intimate.

So he knew Josh and knew that Josh was not a fool. If he was a fool, he would not have the family business he has today.

Alger didn't quite believe it. He felt that his uncle was just stupid. If those slaves could be sold to other lords, they would be able to earn double the money.

His resentment was written on his face, the servant sighed, and could only say again: "The master thinks that if there is chaos one day, he must find a place that can take us in and protect us. The master is not a big businessman, so he can't get into a big business." The eyes of the lord, and the little lord sometimes gets greedy and can squeeze our bones dry."

"Only a benevolent and tolerant lord with a broad mind can accept us."

Alger understood a little now, he felt that his uncle was thinking too much: "How could it be chaotic? The Holy Court is still there."

The servant shook his head and said nothing more.

If Alger was his son, he would have opened his ass long ago.

Josh received courtesy from Chi Yan. Although it was not the highest standard of courtesy, for a businessman, getting the lord's good looks was already considered very good.

You must know that apart from big slave owners and big businessmen, small businessmen like them also have to live by the faces of the nobles.

"Tell me about the outside world." Chi Yan asked Josh with a gesture.

Josh was drinking the thick soup cooked by the cook. Now the cook only adds a lot of spices when there are guests. After all, the natives here really eat this way. The more spices are added, the more flavorful the soup will be. The richer they are, the more they prove that they are valued.

"My lord, the people who went to sea now brought back a group of black slaves." Josh felt that this was the freshest topic this year. "They are as black as burnt firewood."

Josh said enthusiastically: "The price is not expensive! I heard that the nobles along the coast love to use those black slaves, which can endure more hardships and are cheaper than our local slaves."

Chi Yan almost spit out the soup.

Black?

Is there Africa here too?

Isn't that related to Asia?Maybe there is another country like China?

Chi Yan asked, "Where were they brought here?"

Josh: "I don't know. It should be on the other side of the sea. They actually use gold as a bowl. I heard that the crew can exchange wine for gold. Those who come back will be rich!"

He felt a little regretful, knowing that he would also buy a boat and go to sea with him.

After exchanging a lot of gold, they exchanged some people.

"There are slaves over there too!" Josh danced, "This time, the ones who got back here are their slaves."

Josh also said: "Many big merchants are now planning to organize merchant ships to go there, exchange food, wine, and cloth for gold and silver, and then exchange some slaves."

Chi Yan listened carefully, and asked, "Is it dangerous to go to sea? Are there any pirates?"

Josh: "Of course! My lord, you don't know, there is a small country in the Dolphin Strait, and it earns money by being an island! Ships that go out to sea every year are almost always robbed by them. They Robbery doesn't count, but murder."

"But the sea is full of good stuff," Josh said.

Chi Yan thought of Portugal, and then thought of England ruled by Elizabeth I, who became the temporary overlord by relying on the sea.

There is no way out for fishing honestly, and being a pirate is a bright road.

Elizabeth I personally encouraged fishing boats at that time—it was fishing, but who didn't know that it was the pirate industry?

Chi Yan felt that it was a pity that his territory was not near the sea. If it was near the sea, there would be an inexhaustible supply of salt. Sea salt depends on drying. Although it requires manpower, it is much cheaper than buying salt.

There is also free seafood, maybe you can make oyster sauce as a condiment.

But he didn't have to choose. He should be thankful to be a lord instead of a slave.

Josh stayed in the castle that night, and the people he brought slept in the small room on the first floor, which was usually used to store sundries, but no one complained, no matter how much they enjoyed at home, they came out It's just as inferior.

It's best to be a man with your tail between your legs.

At night, Chi Yan nestled in Kleist's arms and said to Kleist: "If we didn't rely on the sea, I would have made the slaves go to sea and become pirates! Hey!"

He is so poor!

Kleist didn't understand why Chi Yan wanted to be a pirate after seeing the businessman.

Chi Yan was still sighing: "When will I get rich?"

Kleist couldn't hold back, and reached out to touch the back of Chi Yan's head: "Go to sleep, don't think about it."

With Chi Yan's temper, not to mention getting rich as a pirate, even if he was asked to kill someone himself, he would be so scared that he couldn't sleep for days.

Be good, don't think about it, you'd better go to sleep.

There is nothing in a dream.

The author has something to say: Chi Yan: "God is still good to me, and didn't let me pass through to be a slave."

Me: "You should thank me, I almost made you a coolie."

Chi Yan: "..."