Chapter 132, The First Night of Being a Lord
Tax Officer Gasparton began to report information about the Barony of Jean one by one.
The Barony of Jean governs a baronial castle and town, a horse farm, a vineyard and five natural villages. The Chinon River flowing down from the mountains divides this baronial territory into two. There are mines in the mountains inside the territory. The river has some workshops.
Every year, the barony can hand over about 700-800 gold crowns worth of income to the baron. In addition, there are income from vineyards and a small amount of income from mines. The total sum is about 1,000 gold crowns, but about 300 of them The gold crowns will be used to pay various expenses and maintain daily military expenditures, and then Ryan will have to pay a tithe to the fairies in the lake, but as the Holy Grail Knight, he will no longer have to pay the 5% "king tax" to the king.
So his real annual income is about 500-600 gold kroner.
But other than that, it is impossible for the noble knights to let the poor serfs and citizens go like this. War tax, road tax, various special taxes, business license tax and even poll tax can all be imposed according to the mood of the knights. The exact amount of these incomes is not fixed, and some knight lords will even send tax officials to collect all serfs on their birthdays to collect poll taxes such as "birthday tax".
In other words, if he doesn't care about the cost and consequences, he can force his annual net income to reach 1,000 gold crowns.
When the Duke of Winford, to which Ryan belonged, initiated the call, Ryan had to send at least two knights, five cavalry, and fifty infantrymen to report, or pay a military service exemption tax equivalent to the recruitment fees of these troops.
What he didn't know was that Gasparton was also very surprised by the performance of the Holy Grail Knight.
Most of the knight lords in Brittania have a characteristic. They don't like to focus on these complicated things, and they are not sensitive to those messy numbers. The figures are then handed over to the tax collectors, whose attention is focused on serving their ladies and displaying their prowess.
This gave many tax officials and their housekeepers an opportunity to take advantage of. The shrewd tax officials and housekeepers would spend a few years or even longer to slowly turn a portion of the money belonging to the noble lord into their own, and then figure out a way Get rid of the situation of relying on others to do things for others.
Gasparton, the tax officer sent by the Fairy of the Lake, is naturally not embezzled, but this is the first time Gasparton has seen the Holy Grail Knight who can read all the accounts and estimate the approximate income range. The middle-aged man not only played up his energy, he thought to himself that it is no wonder that the person in front of him can become the champion of the lady in the lake.
"How many standing soldiers are there in the territory now?" Ryan asked casually.
"Now there are twenty-five infantrymen and four sergeants." Gasparton replied immediately.
"Why so few?" Ryan frowned.
In ancient China, under the feudal system, the limit was ten men and one soldier, but in the middle ages of this world, this calculation could not be done. Taking into account the productivity of the Barony of Jean, the fertility of the land, and the war potential of the serfs, twenty Five men and one soldier is a relatively normal number of standing troops.
Even so, the Barony of Jean, which has a population of about 6,000 to 8,000, shouldn't only have these standing troops.
"I disbanded most of the standing army, leaving only the best young lads. I think the army should be selected by His Excellency Ryan." Gasparton talked about this matter without any pressure, and he said in a relaxed tone: "It is a great honor to be able to fight for His Excellency Ryan, who is a Holy Grail Knight. We cannot allow anyone to join His Excellency Ryan's team. His Excellency Ryan must have his own criteria for selecting people."
Huh? Ryan looked at the middle-aged man in front of him and his eyes lit up. With this knowledge, it can be seen that the tax officer sent by the fairy in the lake is indeed excellent, because his original plan was to disband the army and re-elect himself, but he didn't want to be a tax collector. This villain, Gasparton can think of this level is really not easy.
Next, Gasparton explained many details. He not only sent people to clean and repair the castle in advance, but also prepared enough furniture for the living areas on the second and third floors of the castle. Anna gave it, which shows that the fairy in the lake has a preference for Ryan.
Gasparton was very careful in handling many places. He posted notices in several villages to let all the serfs know that the new lord was a Holy Grail Knight. He kept urging spring plowing and encouraged the serfs to work hard. Duke Ford seconded some rangers to patrol the border of the northern Sharon Forest, ensuring that when the Beastmen invaded, he could organize the militia to counterattack as soon as possible.
"Very good! Mr. Gasparton, are you here on temporary secondment? Do you have an original position?" When Ryan asked this sentence, the forty-year-old middle-aged man immediately realized what was going on. , He held back his excitement and quickly replied: "No, Your Excellency Ryan."
"That's good, you will serve as my tax officer for the time being. If you behave well, I will consider letting you officially take up this position...but not now." Ryan had no expression on his face, and he waved his hand as a gesture Gasparton can go out.
"Yes!" Gasparton bowed back, and exited the door.
Watching the tax collector slowly back out of the room, Ryan frowned. He was thinking about many things.
In a world like the Middle Ages, the lord's authority over his fief is absolute, but the part he manages is limited. Except for tax collection and conscription, the life of the lord is undoubtedly separated from the life of the common people.
He now needs to form his own team and manpower.
A baron has two knights of the kingdom and five knights of the ranger. Among them, Lops must have the position of a ranger knight. As for the knights of the kingdom, there is no need to worry. , he believes that these two vacant knight positions in the kingdom will make everyone move.
There is also a difference between a knight-errant title and a knight-errant title. In Britannia, any nobleman will receive the title of knight-errant knight when he becomes an adult, but it is a fake title. The five titles of knight-errant knights in Ryan's hand are real titles. There is job income.
Especially Ryan is still a Holy Grail Knight, who doesn't want to fight side by side with the Holy Grail Knight? You must know that a powerful Holy Grail Knight can often win the personal attention of a lady. If you accidentally get noticed by a lady, wouldn't it be an honor?
The Holy Grail Knight serving as the lord can greatly reduce the distrust of the existing lords towards the new lord, but he still has a lot to do, and now most of the things can only be done one by one slowly.
Gasparton has already organized a five-person servant team for Ryan, and Ryan immediately appointed Emilia as the head maid, Olika as his personal maid, and then incorporated Miranda into the servant team. .
In the evening, on the large wooden table in the dining room of the castle, Ryan had a dinner with Lops, Alfred, Gasparton and others. Since they were newcomers, there was nothing to eat in the castle, and everything Just deal with it.
As for Emilia and others, they are not qualified to eat at the same table with Ryan and others. They will finish their dinner in the kitchen after cleaning up the table for the new baron.
The sky is getting darker. There is no moonlight in the Baron of Jean tonight, and there are only stars in the sky. It is the end of March, and the night in early spring is still cold. Although the Baron of Jean is a rich land, it will not be so It costs a lot of money to install magic lamps, and the territory is very dark at night.
Ryan has some magic lamps in his hand, which were given by Teresa's mother Aurora. He can activate them only by inputting spiritual power. These lamps have been installed in several main rooms by him.
Standing on the balcony of the castle and looking out, the Sharon Forest in the north appeared at the edge of sight, and no one knew what dangerous creatures appeared in the dark forest.
The mountains in the east have a road leading to the Duchy of Winford along the river. The snow on the top of the mountain does not melt all year round. If you cross the snow-capped mountains, you can reach the capital of the Duchy of Wenford, Helen Hild, which enjoys famous big city.
At this moment, footsteps came from behind Ryan: "My baron, are you looking for me?"
It's Gasparton.
"Yes, Gasparton, please sit down." Ryan turned around and motioned for his temporary tax officer to sit down with him on the balcony.
The dark elf Olika came over with an iron plate on which butterbeer, mugs, and a small bowl of water were placed. She put the things on the table on the balcony, filled both of them with butterbeer, and then Standing behind Ryan with his hands tied, he said nothing.
Gasparton was a little curious about how Ryan got such a dark elf maid, but since the lady didn't give instructions, he naturally didn't dare to ask, and Ryan's actions continued to refresh the tax collector's three views.
I saw Ryan stretching out his hand, the light blue energy gathered in his hand, a ball of clear water was separated from the bowl of water, and then quickly froze in the air, and the ice was thrown into Ryan's mug: "Gaspar Do you want some, Mr. Ton?"
"No...no need." Gasparton shook his hand with a little pressure: "If you have anything to say, please speak up, 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 repaired. I wonder if Mr. Gasparton has any good suggestions?" Ryan said calmly: "Money Words are not a problem.”
"If the baron has no worries about money, then I suggest you go to Helen Hilde to find a merchant to complete this matter." Gasparton thought for a while, and said sincerely: "There are craftsmen on Jin's side." , but their level is limited, they may not be able to meet your needs, and..."
"And?" Ryan still didn't show any emotion.
"And I think it's necessary for the Baron to visit His Excellency Francois, Duke of Winford, and His Excellency Connery, Marquess of Ascot." Gasparton continued: "Jin is a part of the Principality of Winford, and it is also a principality. I believe His Excellency Francois will be willing to help."
"Well~" Ryan nodded, he made up his mind, and when things settled down here, he immediately went to visit the Marquess of Ascot and the Duke of Winford.
If he wants to take root and grow here in the future, it is necessary to have a good relationship with his immediate boss, even in name only.
"By the way, I have a question, Mr. Gasparton, can you explain it to me?" Ryan smiled and said: "In the previous records, I remember that the name of our King is 'Tiger' Dinoa-Jean -Richard, but in Miss Suria's mouth, how did he become Richard-le-Angoulant?"
"It's not contradictory. Our majesty's full name is Dinoir-Jean-Richard-de-le-Angulan." Gasparton began to explain the difference.
It turns out that Dino is the name of Richard's mother, Jean is his father's name, Richard is his real name, De means "from", and Le-Angulan is the name of his lord.
The general meaning of this name is, the child of Jean and Dino, from Richard of Le-Angoulang.
"So Miss Suria's full name is Suria Kumani Antri De Winford?" Ryan said casually.
"Exactly, but please note, Your Excellency, that only families with hereditary titles can use the name of Germany + territory." Gasparton reminded.
"Okay, got it."
Gasparton backed away.
Only Olika and Ryan were left on the balcony. Seeing this, Ryan said to Olika, "Let's go to rest too."
The dark elf nodded, and she followed Ryan to the third floor.
The third floor is where the lord and his family live. Ryan lives alone in a separate room. This is a large room with a size of 60 square meters. Various carpets have been laid on the floor, and the windows are also thickly covered. Thick curtains cover it, all kinds of furniture are available, and the fireplace is already lit.
The servant brought two buckets of hot water, the baron and the dark elf bathed and changed one after another, and then lay down together on the innermost bed in the room, each with a quilt.
In the dark night, everything is silent.
Until the dark elf took the initiative to speak: "Master? Can I make a suggestion?"
"Don't you know that slaves don't have the right to make suggestions to their masters?" Ryan smiled. He reached out and gently put his arm around the dark elf's shoulder, feeling her softness.
The dark elf resisted for a while, but her weak strength was no match for the legendary middle-level human in front of her. As her hands were pulled behind her back and cut back, she failed again.
But this is also within her expectation, the dark elf knows that she cannot succeed, but this is what she wants, not that she wants to be hugged by this human, but that she wants to take this opportunity to provoke Huatou.
"I think I need to show you my value, the weak are not eligible to be sheltered." Olika shook her head, her face was full of self-deprecating: "I can't show any of my own except being a servant to you now. value, in Drucci, the only value of a slave like me is..."
Having said that, Olika's cold and wild face was flushed, and she looked away.
"Emmm~ Let's just listen to it."
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