The tax officer, Gasparton, began to report the information about Baron Zeon's territory one by one.
Baron Jean's territory had a baron castle and town, a horse farm, a vineyard, and five natural villages. The Chinon River, which flowed down from the mountains, divided the baron's territory into two. There were mines in the mountains and workshops along the river.
The barony could provide the baron with around 700 to 800 crowns of income each year. Apart from that, there was also the income from the vineyards and the mines, which added up to around a thousand crowns. However, around 300 crowns were used to pay various expenses and military expenses. Laing also had to pay tithing to the Lake Nymphs, but as a Grail knight, he didn't have to pay the king's 5% tax.
That was why his real income was around 500 to 600 crowns a year.
But apart from that, the high and mighty knights would never let go of the poor serfs and citizens. War taxes, road tolls, all kinds of special taxes, business license taxes, and even poll taxes could be collected depending on the mood of the knights. The exact amount of income from these taxes was not fixed. Some knights would even send tax officers to collect from the serfs on their own birthdays, such as "birthday tax" or poll taxes.
In other words, if he didn't care about the consequences, he could force his income to reach a thousand crowns a year.
When Duke Winford, to whom Laing belonged, issued a draft, Laing was required to send at least two knights, five cavalrymen, and fifty foot soldiers to report for duty, or to pay a military service tax equivalent to the cost of enlistment.
What he didn't know was that the Grail knight's performance surprised Gaspaton quite a bit.
Most of the knights in Brittania had one thing in common: they didn't like to focus on such complicated matters, nor were they sensitive to those messy numbers. Therefore, the knights would usually set a rough number after an inspection and then hand it over to the tax officer to complete. Their attention was focused on how to serve their ladies and display their valor.
This gave many tax officials and their stewards an opportunity. The shrewd tax officials and stewards would spend years or even longer slowly turning the money that belonged to the nobles into their own. Then, they would find a way to get rid of the situation of living under someone else's roof.
As a tax officer sent by the Lake Nymphs, Gaspaton naturally wouldn't embezzle money. However, it was the first time he saw a Grail knight who could know all the accounts like the back of his hand and estimate the range of income. The middle-aged man couldn't help but perk up. It was no wonder the person in front of him could become the Chosen of the Lake Nymphs.
"How many standing soldiers are there in the fief right now?" Laing asked casually.
"Twenty-five infantrymen and four sergeants," Gaspaton replied immediately.
"Why so few?" Laing furrowed his brow.
In the ancient times of the Celestial Empire, the limit under the feudal system was ten men per soldier. But in the Middle Ages of this world, it couldn't be calculated like that. Taking into account the productivity of Baron Zeon's fief, the fertility of the land, and the war potential of the serfs, twenty-five men per soldier was a relatively normal number of standing soldiers.
Even so, Baron Zeon's fief, which had a population of six to eight thousand, shouldn't only have this many standing soldiers.
"I've disbanded most of the standing soldiers, leaving only the best young men. I think the army should be personally selected by Lord Laing." Gaspaton didn't feel any pressure when talking about this matter. He said in a relaxed tone, "It's a great honor to be able to fight for Lord Laing, who is a Grail knight. We can't just let anyone join Lord Laing's team. Lord Laing must have his own standards for selecting people."
Huh? Laing looked at the middle-aged man in front of him and his eyes lit up. The tax collector sent by the Fairy of the Lake was indeed excellent. Laing's original plan was to disband the army and select new ones himself, but he didn't want to be the bad guy. It wasn't easy for Gaspaton to think of this.
Gaspaton explained many details. Not only did he send people to clean and renovate the castle in advance, but he also prepared enough furniture for the second and third floors of the castle. The money was given by the Lake Goddess, Morgiana. It was evident that the Fairy of the Lake favored Laing.
Gaspaton handled many aspects very carefully. He posted notices in a few villages to let the serfs know that the new Baron was a Grail knight. He constantly supervised the spring plowing and encouraged the serfs to work hard. At the same time, he borrowed some Rangers from Duke Winford to patrol the border of Chalon Forest in the North. He ensured that if the Orcs invaded, he would be able to organize the militia to fight back.
"Very good! Mr. Gaspaton, are you temporarily stationed here on secondment? Do you have your original position? " When Laing asked this question, the forty-year-old man immediately realized something. He suppressed his excitement and quickly replied, "No, Lord Laing."
"That's good. You'll be my tax officer for the time being. If you perform well, I'll consider letting you officially take over this position … But not now." There was no expression on Leon's face. He waved his hand, indicating that Gasparton could leave.
"Yes, sir!" Gasparton bowed backwards and then exited the room.
Seeing the tax collector leave the room, Laing frowned. He was thinking about many things.
In this medieval world, the feudal lords had absolute authority over their fief, but the areas they could control were limited. Apart from collecting taxes and conscripting soldiers, the feudal lord's life was undoubtedly separated from the lives of the commoners.
What he needed now was to form his own team and manpower.
A baron had two Royal Knights and five Ranger Knights under his command. Among them, Lopes would definitely enjoy the position of a Ranger Knight. As for the Royal Knights, there was no need to worry. In the Kingdom of the Knight King, there were countless Ranger Knights who were eager to stand out. He believed that these two vacant Royal Knight positions would attract everyone's attention.
Ranger Knights were also different. In Brittany, any nobleman would get the title of a Ranger Knight when they reached adulthood, but that was a false title. The five Ranger Knight titles in Laing's hands were real titles, and they had a position.
In particular, Laing was a Holy Grail Knight. Who didn't want to fight side by side with a Holy Grail Knight? The powerful Holy Grail Knight could often win the personal attention of a lady. If he was accidentally noticed by a lady, wouldn't he be honored?
A Holy Grail Knight as a Baron could greatly reduce the distrust of the current Baron, but he still had a lot of things to do. Most of the things could only be done one by one.
Gaspaton had already organized a team of five servants for Laing. Laing immediately appointed Emilia as the head maid, Olica as his personal maid, and Miranda as the head maid.
In the evening, at the large wooden table in the castle's dining room, Laing, Lopes, Aldous, Frey, and Gaspaton had dinner together. Because they had just arrived, there was nothing to eat in the castle, so they had to make do with everything.
As for Emilia and the others, they weren't qualified to eat at the same table as Laing and the others. They had to clean up the table for the new Baron before finishing their own dinner in the kitchen.
The sky gradually darkened. Tonight, there was no moonlight in the Jean Baron's territory. There were only stars in the sky. It was now the end of March, and the early spring nights were still cold. Although the Jean Baron's territory was rich, they didn't have enough money to install magic lamps. The territory was very dark at night.
Laing had some magic lamps in his hand, which were given to him by Teresa's mother, Aurora. He only needed to inject psionic energy to activate them. These lamps had been installed in several main rooms.
Standing on the balcony of the castle, the Chalon Forest in the north appeared at the edge of the line of sight. No one knew what dangerous creatures were lurking in the dark forest.
The mountain range in the east followed the river and led to the Winford Duchy. The snow on the top of the mountain didn't melt all year round. If one crossed the snowy mountain, they would reach the capital of the Winford Duchy, Helenhilde, which was a famous city in Brittany.
At this time, footsteps came from behind Laing. "My Baron, you were looking for me?"
It was Gaspaton.
"Yes, Gaspaton. Please sit." Laing turned around and motioned for his temporary tax officer to sit with him on the balcony.
The dark elf Olica came over with an iron plate. On it was a butter beer, a mug, and a small bowl of water. She carried the things and placed them on the table on the balcony. She filled the mug with butter beer for both of them, then stood behind Laing without saying a word.
Gaspaton was a little curious about how Laing got such a dark elf maid, but since the lady didn't have any instructions, he naturally didn't dare to ask. Moreover, Laing's next actions continued to refresh the tax officer's worldview.
Laing stretched out his hand, and light blue energy gathered in his hand. A ball of clear water was separated from the bowl of water, then quickly froze in the air. The ice cubes were thrown into Laing's mug. "Mr. Gaspaton, would you like some too?"
"No … No need." Gaspaton waved his hand a little pressured. "If there's anything, please say it, my Baron."
"Many parts of the castle are damaged, and the water tower also shows signs of disrepair. I plan to have my castle completely renovated. I don't know if Mr. Gaspaton has any good suggestions?" Laing said calmly. "Money is not a problem."
"If the Baron doesn't have any concerns about money, then I suggest you make a trip to Helenhilde and find a merchant to complete this matter." Gaspaton thought for a moment and said sincerely, "There are craftsmen in Zeon, but their skills are limited and may not be able to meet your needs, and …"
"What's more?" Ryan still didn't show any emotions.
"And I think it's necessary for the Baron to visit Duke François of Winford and Marquis Connery of Ascot." Gaspaton continued, "Zeon is part of the Winford Duchy, and also the gateway to the duchy. I believe Sir François will be willing to help."
"Okay." Laing nodded. He made up his mind. When things here settled down, he would immediately visit Marquis Ascot and Duke Winford.
He wanted to take root and grow here in the future, so it was necessary to have a good relationship with his immediate superior, even if it was in name.
"By the way, I have a question. Mr. Gaspaton, can you explain it to me?" Laing smiled. "In the previous records, I remember that our king's name is' Tiger 'Dinoir Jean Richard, but in Miss Suria's mouth, how did he become Richard Le Angoulan?"
"There is no contradiction. His Majesty's full name is Denoir Jean-Richard de Le-Angouland." Gaspaton began to explain the difference between the two names.
It turned out that Dinoir was the name of Richard's mother, Jean was his father's name, Richard was his real name, and Le Angoulan was the name of the lord he was in.
The general meaning of this name was that the child of Jean and Dinoir was Richard of Le Angoulan.
"So Miss Suria's full name is Suria Kumani Antrel de Winford?" Laing said casually.
"That's exactly the case. However, Your Excellency Baron, please take note that only families with hereditary titles can use the name of their territory." Gasparton reminded.
"Okay, I understand."
Gaspaton retreated.
Only Olica and Laing were left in the balcony. Laing saw this and said to Olica, "Let's go to rest."
The dark elf nodded and followed Laing to the third floor.
The third floor was where the lord and his family lived. Laing lived alone in a separate room. It was a large room of 60 square meters. The floor was covered with various carpets, the windows were covered with thick curtains, all kinds of furniture, and the fireplace was lit.
The servant brought two buckets of hot water. The baron and the dark elf took a bath and changed their clothes. Then they lay together on the innermost bed, each with a quilt.
In the dark night, everything was silent.
Until the dark elf took the initiative to speak, "Master? Can I give you a suggestion? "
"Don't you know that slaves don't have the right to give suggestions to their masters?" Laing smiled. He reached out and gently hugged the dark elf's shoulder, feeling her softness.
The dark elf resisted for a while, but her weak strength was no match for the mid-legendary human in front of her. Her hands were pulled behind her back, and she failed again.
But this was also within her expectations. The dark elf knew that she couldn't succeed, but this was what she wanted. It wasn't that she wanted to be hugged by this human, but she wanted to use this opportunity to start a conversation.
"I think I need to show you my value. The weak don't deserve protection." Olica shook her head. Her face was full of self-mockery. "I can't show any value other than being your servant. In Duruqi, the only value a slave like me has is …"
At this point, Olica's cold and wild face blushed a little. She looked away.
"Emmm, let's hear it."
Select text and click 'Report' to let us know about any bad translation.
