It was late winter, and the wind was howling.
It was another normal winter in the Duchy of Lyonassi. It was dark and cold outside the house. At night, no one dared to leave the village. The town walls were the only line of defense for the serfs. When the night fell, bandits, vampires, and Orcs would roam the wilderness in search of their prey.
The fire in the room was not extinguished. There was hot water boiling inside, and the floor was swept very clean. An old mother was working hard to sew clothes and sew.
She looked at the child lying on the yellow linen bed with worry and reproach. The child knew he had made a mistake. He lowered his head and said nothing.
This was her youngest son. Her husband had died in the Chivalry War five years ago.
The house was not far from the fence. From time to time, the old mother could hear the frightening roars of wild beasts. As she mended her clothes, she prayed silently, "Lady Shalia, my Lady Shalia, please bless Raymond's safe return."
Raymond was her eldest son and the only adult laborer in the family. During the slack time, he would go to work for the knight early in the morning. Her youngest son was only eight years old and would only be able to work in the fields in a few years. Ever since her husband's death, from morning to night, she and Raymond had worked extremely hard. They never dared to slack off for even a moment. They barely managed to survive. For lunch, they had porridge mixed with flour, vegetables, and bran. Only at night did they eat black bread.
Today, her youngest son got into trouble. The old mother took out a piece of black bread for dinner and cut one-eighth of it for herself. She planned to leave the rest for her two sons. However, her youngest son ate the rest of the bread and complained that he was hungry.
The old mother wanted to scold her youngest son, but when she saw how skinny he was, she couldn't bring herself to scold him. His ribs were clearly visible on his body, and his arms and legs were as thin as reeds.
Her youngest son's stomach was round and bloated due to years of starvation. After a long period of lack of nutrition, the stomach would swell. When she pressed it with her fingers, it would sink in. It would take a long time for the stomach to recover.
There wasn't much food left at home, and the daily ration had to be halved in order to survive until the next harvest. During this period of time, it wasn't only her youngest son who was starving. She had just finished eating and she could already hear her stomach rumbling.
The old mother forced herself to turn her attention back to her needlework. As the sky darkened, she became more and more anxious.
"Sigh, I ate too much again today. Raymond will definitely scold me when he comes back. If he wants to scold me, then scold me. Thomas really can't stand the hunger anymore. Children don't know any better. If he wants to scold me, then scold me." The old mother reached out to caress her son's face. She was only in her early forties, but her face was already wrinkled and her hair was white. "It's okay, Thomas. It's not your fault. It's not your fault …"
"Mo … Mother," the youngest son said timidly with tears in his eyes, "I … I'm sorry."
"Sigh ~ It's all Nian Cheng's fault! And that damned tax collector! " The old mother shook her head. She wrapped her yellow hair in a headscarf and carefully checked how much food was left in the house.
There were still a dozen pieces of rye bread and a bag of flour. If they ate another 20% less every day, they should be able to survive until the winter wheat harvest.
Some people in the village had already begun to eat tree bark. The old mother endured the pain and used a knife to cut off half of a piece of rye bread. Serving as a knight required their own food, and this kind of labor was always hard work. Raymond had to eat something, otherwise he wouldn't be able to last.
Suddenly, there was a sound from the door. The old mother jumped up and looked nervously at the door.
A cold night wind blew into the house, causing her to shiver.
Raymond's figure gradually emerged from the night wind. He looked exhausted, carrying tools on his back. Even in the cold, he only wore a thin layer of clothes, and the animal skin cloak outside had a lot of straw added to it. "Hey, Mother, I'm back. I'm so tired."
"Oh, Raymond, you're back." The old mother was very nervous, like a child who had done something wrong. She said unnaturally, "Well, I've cut the bread. Eat it quickly. There's hot water in the stove."
Even though his mother's actions were very unnatural, Raymond didn't realize that he was too tired. He used the clear water in the wooden bucket in the corner of the room to wash his hands. He said an insincere prayer and soaked the cut bread in hot water for a while, preparing to eat dinner.
"Raymond … What did you do today?" the old mother asked worriedly.
She saw the wounds and abrasions on her son's hands. The blood had just scabbed over.
"What else could I do? Cut trees, dig ditches, make fences, chop firewood. I had to do everything perfectly. Some even had to be extra. Otherwise, I'd get beaten up." Raymond sighed. "I heard that the knight left because he had something to do. His steward was even more vicious … Thank you, Madam. Thank you, Madam Shariah. I'm finally back alive. Mother, what did you do at home?"
"Me? I mend … I boil water and cook. "The old mother looked away unnaturally.
"Where's Thomas?"
"Thomas is asleep," the old mother said hurriedly.
"… I've finished eating. Is there any more?" Half of the black bread was eaten by Raymond at an extremely fast speed, but even so, the serf's stomach still had a strong sense of hunger.
"Go and rest. You'll feel better when you're asleep." The old mother shook her head silently.
He couldn't eat anymore. He really couldn't eat anymore.
Raymond didn't say anything more. He still had to do labor tomorrow. The family extinguished the fire in the stove and went to bed early.
…
The old mother lay on the bed, unable to sleep for a long time.
Since her husband died in the War of Knighthood five years ago, her family's life had been getting worse and worse. Previously, they could barely keep themselves fed. Now, they were starving and hungry. Every time it was harvest time, the family would run out of food.
And the worst was yet to come.
It was said that the War of Knighthood five years ago was a complete victory. However, none of the knights and soldiers of the Dukedom of Lyonassi returned. The law and order were terrible. Bandits and robbers were everywhere. Occasionally, a small number of Orc tribes would come out to look for food for the winter.
Bandits, robbers, and Orcs gradually left the forest and harassed the nearby villages. Due to the poor harvest, the already shaky peace was severely damaged. The reduced number of garrison troops was transferred to the nearby cities and manors of the nobles to ensure the safety of the Lords' property. The poor and defenseless serfs were left to the garrison troops.
The bandits and robbers always rushed into the villages to look for anything valuable. Their favorite places were the houses of the villagers and the taverns in the villages. The houses of the villagers had shiny coins, while the taverns had grain and ale.
If the serfs resisted, they would be killed. If they chose to escape, they would starve to death or be hunted in the wild. If they waited for death … they would lose their rations and eventually die.
A few villages suffered tragic fates.
The income of the nobles had decreased, but their income couldn't be reduced. Their luxurious banquets, high expenses, and the children of their families required a lot of expenses. They certainly wouldn't pay for it themselves. In the end, it would fall on the heads of the serfs.
Therefore, in addition to nine out of ten taxes, the serfs were also deprived of their rations. The tax collectors taught the serfs that "this will make the kingdom better" and then mercilessly took away most of the serfs' rations.
Did the Kingdom really become better? The old mother didn't know. She only knew that life had become worse. The tax collectors were more diligent and wanted more rations. Perhaps, they were thinking of planting rations.
At this time, there was a slight movement in the quiet room.
The cold wind blew against the wooden window and made a whistling sound. It greatly affected the old mother's hearing. However, she had lived in the house for decades, and no sound could escape her ears.
Raymond got up secretly. The serf dragged his tired body and got up secretly in the dark. His eldest son swallowed hard as his stomach growled.
He was too hungry.
The old mother didn't say a word. Her eyes were filled with tears as she tried to cover her mouth and not let herself make a sound.
She heard the sound of Raymond turning over the bread basket. She also heard the sound of the knife being removed from the wall.
Then there was the sound of chewing. The sound should have been covered by the wind, but for some reason, the old mother felt that she could hear it very clearly.
"Raymond, what's wrong? Did something happen? "The old mother finally decided to speak. She choked out," Why are you up? "
Ding! The knife fell to the ground.
"I … I heard some rumors … Check … if the window is closed." Raymond was surprised to hear his mother's voice. There was a lot of fear in his voice. "Recently … there hasn't been much food in the village. I'm worried that someone will steal … steal food."
His son had lied, and Raymond had lied to him, just like how he had lied to Raymond.
"If there's nothing else, rest early. You still have to work tomorrow." The old mother's voice was sobbing, and tears flowed down her wrinkled face.
"Mother!" Raymond didn't know that his mother had found out about him stealing bread. The serf sobbed. "I'm sorry, mother. I'm too hungry."
"I know, I know." The old mother also cried. "How are we going to live like this? The food is running out, and your brother is still hungry. "
"When we farm, the food is theirs. When we hunt, the game is theirs. When we harvest, the fish and prawns are theirs too. Mom, when we were serving today, Ah Lang's father was smashed to death by a log because he was so hungry that he had no strength left. We can't live like this anymore!"
"Ah! Ah Lang's father is dead? He's only 35 years old. Ah Lang's mother died early. How are we going to live like this? He … "
Raymond thought about it again and again. Finally, he made up his mind. "Mother, let's run away. We'll take Thomas with us as a family of three. If we don't run, we'll starve to death. Today, I overheard the knight's steward say that this year's winter wheat will be taxed more!"
"Ah? More taxes? " The sudden bad news made it hard for the old mother to breathe. In a situation where half of their rations were going to be confiscated, the Lord still wants to raise taxes?!
"Yes. This year's harvest is poor, and the Lord may lose a lot of income. So, the steward and the tax collector plan to raise taxes because the Lord's task must be completed." Raymond hesitated for a while before saying to his mother, "Mom, there's no hope for us to continue living like this. Even if we can harvest winter wheat, it won't be ours. Not only that, we don't know where we'll get more food from to satisfy those greedy tax officials."
The dark room was like a big black hand, holding the necks of the poor people, making it hard for them to breathe.
In the past, even if there was no food at home, the serfs could still go to the forest to collect berries and try to hunt. The lord had clearly stipulated that the prey of rabbits and birds could be hunted by the serfs themselves. In principle, the berries also belonged to the lord. However, most of the lords turned a blind eye to this, so the days were still okay.
But now that public security was so bad, how would the serfs dare to go into the forest? If they were lucky, they would only get food for a day or two. If they were unlucky, they would never come back.
"Escape? If you escape and get caught, you'll die! You'll be hanged by the Lord Knight! "The old mother hesitated." It's too dangerous, Raymond. How can we escape? "
"… Everyone is hungry. A lot of people are hungry. A lot of young men like me, who have strength and know how to use a manure fork and hoe. Mother." Raymond hesitated for a moment, but still decided to say. "A lot of young men have nothing left … The Lord Knight's house has a lot of food, and a lot of people want to eat a full meal. We can smell the smell of bacon and butter. They don't care if they can eat a full meal. Mother, do you know what I'm saying?"
"You mean, they plan to …" The old mother opened her mouth wide in shock.
"Yes. Therefore, this is a chance for us to escape. The stewards will focus on those young men. Nobody will care about us. We can escape. No matter where we go, it's better than being starved to death. Clark, who lives next door, has made an appointment with us. Tomorrow evening, those young men will rush into the knight's home to look for food. By then, we can take the opportunity to escape." Raymond gasped for breath. "Mother, I have you and my brother. I can't follow those young men and cause a riot. You will be implicated. We can't do nothing. Let's escape, mother!"
"Escape slaves … escape slaves." The old mother muttered to herself.
"Mother! If we don't do anything, we will starve to death! I can't lose you and my brother. Tomorrow night, we will escape in the opposite direction. We will succeed. Tomorrow, you pack your things, boil water, cook, and let the whole family eat a full meal. Then we will escape! "
"Okay … okay."
…
The next evening, a long-simmering riot finally ignited the village.
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