world

Behind the Reyes Manor Church, a towering ancient tree supports a huge canopy, sheltering the family members buried here.

The dry eye on its vicissitudes of life is witnessing an atrocity.

Several coffins lying quietly in the tomb have been exposed to the shadow of the tree.Sharp iron plows and iron picks smashed into the ground, and then gouged them out to dig new tombstones.The sound of farm tools touching stones was endless. Dozens of expectant farmers surrounded the cemetery, and a priest stood among them.

——"Stop." Caddy froze in place, her lips moved unconsciously, she couldn't believe it all.Then he passed Levi in ​​a sudden disenchantment, pushed aside the ragged peasants, and ran towards the priest, shouting, "Stop!"

After everyone heard these words clearly, they all looked at Kaidi. Although it was only a girl who came, there were still many people whose expressions changed.

Caddy knew the priest, had seen him in this church before him.He was no different from that day, with a black robe on his body, a pure gold magic weapon in his hand, and an indifferent expression that seemed to be detached.

"You guys, what are you doing?" Caddy asked.

The priest saw Kaidi clearly, then closed his eyes calmly, and said slowly, "The tomb is attacked by devils and animals, and is responsible for exposing the immoral behavior of the owner of the tomb. Open the tomb again, and you can gain insight into the despicable behavior of the deceased." It seems to be for To increase the weight and sanctity of these words, the priest rang the Dharma bell, and no one spoke another word around.

Caddy was stimulated by the atrocities, and rushed up involuntarily, but when he heard such ridiculous but high-sounding remarks, he was at a loss for a while.

Arrogant farmers surrounded her in the middle, and her palms were cold and trembling due to the tension.Suddenly, a crying voice called out, "Miss?"

She looked towards the voice, and saw a servant about twelve or thirteen years old kneeling helplessly on the ground.Caddy recognized him as the loyal Sancho of the Reyes family, and he still called her Miss affectionately as before, Caddy suddenly felt a little sour.

Sancho walked over on his knees, his coat was dragged on the ground, he hesitated for a while, and fell on Kaidi's feet, crying, "Since grandpa disappeared, people often come to the house to steal things, and now they say they want to dig up the cemetery , Look at the toads in the coffin. But there are no toads, they just want to swagger and snatch the silverware and valuables from the house."

There was unspeakable grievance in Sancho's voice, Kaidi helped him up, he hugged her calf in surprise, Kaidi covered his head with his hands, protected him, and comforted, "Good boy, don't be afraid .”

Seeing this situation, everyone immediately made a loud noise.The priest raised the magic weapon again, and then calmed down a little.

At this time, Levi had quietly come to Caddy's side, and he was sure to bring down a few people to control the situation, but it really didn't make sense to do so.

Just now on the way, Caddy just explained that she was acquainted with the late eldest daughter of the Reyce family, so she had to come and see.But Levi didn't know whether the Reis family was worth her help. He glanced at Caddy and decided to wait for her reaction before making any plans.

Caddy glanced at the indignant crowd, and finally looked at Levi. Her gaze stayed for a moment, then she resolutely walked to the cemetery, placed herself between the tombstone, the iron pick, and the iron plow, and looked contemptuously at seven or eight emotional farmers , declaring her position.

Levi saw that she didn't expect her to make a move, and thought to himself, it's not good to hit hard, it's not smart.But at the moment, without a chance to think about it, a dark and thin hand stretched out towards Kaidi.

Levi raised his hand casually to block it, but the black-faced farmer didn't succeed, so he gritted his teeth and snorted.Although the man had already seen that Levi was difficult to deal with, he practiced twice on his own, and rushed over again.

This time, Levi got a little impatient and gave him a kick.Blood flowed from his thick lips, and his scorched-toothed face twisted into a ball.

Everyone was shocked, and helped the black-faced farmer who had fallen to the ground, and looked at Levi resentfully, but no one dared to take a step forward.

That's when Levi sees Erwin squeeze into the crowd.

It turned out that Erwin couldn't find him, so he asked the long-term worker in the bamboo forest, and heard that he and Caddy rode to Reyce's church on horseback, so he followed to investigate the situation.

"Erwin, you have to figure out a way," Levi said to Erwin.

Erwin didn't make a sound, sorted out the information he got from the chief engineer, and judged that this was the church's crusade against the Reyce family.But things will not be so simple, he thought, the church dared to encourage the lower class serfs to compete with the aristocrats, and it must have more substantial support.

What kind of power can overthrow an aristocratic family overnight and cause political factions to struggle?He recalled the results of Caddy's political background check, thinking that it was not safe to take sides.

From the crowd, a shrill voice said, "I know him, he's from the Survey Corps!" Then someone recognized Levi and started muttering.

Someone sneered and said, "Military men are so handsome, they must be going to a banquet when they come to the countryside!" Another said, "You have built so many walls, what have you achieved?" Another said, "I think they and those landlords They are all the same thing, just asking for money, drinking our blood, and eating our flesh!"

An old woman patted her thigh and said, "Hey, let the giant eat me, I'll be happy, I can't live, I can't live." The farmers whispered to each other, talking one after another.

Kaidi was very sad, not only could not stop these people, but also innocently involved the investigation corps.She thought about what else to do, and her heart moved, if, if Eri could come, it would be great.

A sound of rolling horseshoes came from a distance, followed by the sound of the wind blowing flags and the sound of weapons clashing. A group of servants broke through the crowd and rushed in. They all held spears and wore blue gowns with high collars. Trousers and a yellow vest.

They held the iron chains in their hands and clanked them. In an instant, the farmers who were five meters away from Kaidi were all tied up without any explanation.The farmer standing behind panicked and became angry for a moment, showing fear on his face.

A white steed flashed into the passage opened by the servants. Duke Ereli Polk dismounted and walked towards the priest surrounded by the servants.Contrary to the resolute style of the servants, Eric Polk himself reveals consideration and dignity everywhere.

Caddy's surprise was beyond words, and Sancho jumped up happily, with tears in his eyes, and grinned at Caddy.

The priest repeated what he had said to the Duke, and Eremo listened silently, and said in a low, guttural voice, "Father, I respect you. But I have to say, your words are worthless."

Then he turned to the peasants, and never again rewarded the priests with even a look.

Due to defense, trade and other reasons, the borders of the fiefdoms of the families north of Xina are criss-crossed, showing a tendency to threaten each other.And if the two neighboring families trust each other and support each other, the landowner will often build the mansion near the border for convenient communication.Therefore, although the Reyes family and the Polk family both have vast lands, their residences are not very far away from each other.

After getting the news from Reyes Manor, Ai Rui led the servants and came directly without delay.He didn't expect to see Kaidi here.

At this time, the crowd parted to both sides, and an old man with long beard stepped forward slowly. His beard was as white as a waterfall, covering the whole cloth.The respected old man spread his hands and said respectfully, "Your Excellency."

The old man told the Duke about the current situation of the peasants' suffering.After the fall of Maria, the aristocratic lords were the first to bear the brunt and offered to accept refugees. The number of farmers increased, and the land was brutally re-divided, but the taxation of each household did not change.

It must be known that the refugees who could escape the volunteer military service in the Battle of Maria Recapture were more or less related households with some contacts with the upper class, and they were naturally allocated fertile and good-quality land.On the contrary, the lives of native farmers are only going from bad to worse.

"Father, don't waste your words, they are all deaf and blind!" said the dark-faced farmer, his voice a little hoarse.During the period, several women had already sobbed sadly.

Kaidi turned her back and didn't look at the weeping farmers, as if she didn't want to hear it at all, and she seemed to be suffering. She shook her head with difficulty, "These can't be the reason for them to deviate from morality."

Eri put his hands gently on Katie's shoulders to comfort her, they haven't seen each other for a long time.

Four servants carried a riveted wooden box into it, and Eri signaled them to place it in front of the bearded old man.The old man bowed respectfully to the Duke again.

Levi watched all this with a frown.Giving money like a beggar is not a good idea, he thought.These people worry about living, living, paying off debts, getting sick, gambling, drinking, he can think of a hundred ways to spend the money.At that time, he will stare at this ownerless yard like a hungry wolf again.

But in the state of hungry wolf, there is no need to wait too long, there are several people in front of them-seeing the box, they rushed up directly.

Kaidi stared at these people in a daze. They were the families on the road behind the hillside.Frieda once told Kaidi about their situation. Their rooms were narrow and dark, with no trees around them, and their living conditions were very difficult. Kaidi still remembers her worried expression when she told the story.

Later, Katie and Frieda found a carpenter to open skylights for their houses, so that sunlight could shine in. After finishing all this, Frieda seemed still not satisfied, and dug fish ponds for each of their houses.

Caddy pursed her lips hard, clenched her fists and passed over Eri, stood in the middle, and said, "The Reyce family is upright." Her voice trembled a little, "They provided shelter for you during their lifetime, and they fulfilled their obligations. People respect you. You shouldn't be bullied even after death."

"If anyone else," she raised her voice, her eyes became determined, "dare to come to Reyes Manor to make trouble, all of you will have to pay the price for what you are doing now and what you have done before."

The man kneeling on the ground struggled, the iron chain clanging loudly, and shouted, "What happened before, don't slander people! What evidence do you have!"

Kaidi stepped forward and said coldly, "I don't need evidence." She pressed the folded whip against his chin and raised his head. "You'll be sewn into buckskins, and I'll have my hounds entertain you and teach you how to behave. You know I can do it."

The blue veins on the man's temples were bulging with excitement, he stared at her fiercely, spat on the ground, and did not speak again.

That's the right way, Levi thinks.He knew all too well what to do with the poor and the rascals.Not so long ago he was one of them, and now he is the guest of the nobles, standing between two worlds, ridiculous and hateful.Levi never felt like he was separated from them, why should he?

He understood their expressions.Some people are afraid because they came here after others, some people will regret it because they also hate doing those stealing and robbery activities, and some people are cursing in their hearts because they were born this way and never surrendered. people.

But no matter what it is, the deterrence of power has an effect, he knows it all too well.

No one saw how the stone flew over and hit Kaidi on the forehead, and immediately, blood flowed out.She nearly stopped and fell, but finally steadied herself with a shake.

Ai Rui hurriedly went to help her, and everyone was shocked, and they all followed the trail to look at the source of the stone.The servant held the weapon in the air, but no one blamed him for not reacting in time to suppress the perpetrator.

Because what they saw was a child, a little girl of four or five years old.

When the adults turned their backs and walked away suppressing all kinds of emotions, only this child showed her truest psychology, and she hated it.

The girl stared at Kaidi blankly, her clear eyes told Kaidi that she was not afraid.She just stared, and Kaidi was forced to look at her. In that abyss-like gaze, she actually felt the timidity in her heart.

The child's mother took her away in a panic, and Kaidi sat down without saying a word, clutching her bleeding forehead.Eri ordered someone to take care of Caddy, then turned to Erwin.

"Captain Smith, I wonder if you are interested in visiting the house."

"Long admiration, Your Excellency, I am extremely honored by your invitation."

The author has something to say: Reference materials: Zhihu Question-Did the nobles dig their ancestral graves between the Middle Ages and modern times in Europe?