There were more than 200 people gathered in the town square, both residents of the town and people temporarily dispatched by nearby villages to be responsible for liaison.

The two hundred people crowded in front of the small town square, talking to each other, looking a little impatient.

After a while, the mayor of the town walked to the high platform of the square, turned his head and nodded to the military attache stationed at his side and several village elders.

The garrison military attaché and the village elders understood and beat the drum on one side, while several village soldiers also began to maintain order in the crowd, ordering the people to be quiet.

"Uh-huh... The mayor of the town coughed twice, and when everyone on the field calmed down, he spread out a roll of parchment with his hands and said, "I have summoned you here today to read the decree of His Royal Highness William and Lord Baron, so you should listen carefully." ”

Hearing the mayor's words, everyone present was silent and listened.

The mayor nodded slightly, and said, "First of all, the Reserve Military Service Decree, His Royal Highness William and Lord Lords require all men in the Barony of Alençon to participate in a two-month winter military training and register as reserve soldiers......"

Before the mayor of Ethiopia could finish speaking, the people in the square began to make a loud noise, loudly expressing their dissatisfaction.

"Quiet..."

The military attache standing beside the mayor shouted at the crowd with a murderous aura that seemed to be in substance.

The garrison attaché was a disabled veteran of William's Army, and the group was stunned by a single snap.

The mayor stood on the high platform and watched this scene with great satisfaction, nodded and continued: "Don't worry, everyone, I still have benefits to finish!" His Royal Highness William told the lord that if you signed up for the reserve army and received two months of winter training each year, you would receive three months' rations and be exempted from three months of hard labor on the estate. ”

Hearing this, everyone on the field began to get a little excited, after all, as long as they paid the two months they originally used for cat winter, they could get four months of rations and be exempted from one year's manor labor, even a fool knew that this was a good deal.

After the atmosphere cooled down a little, the mayor continued to speak eloquently: "In addition to this, we will select eighty of the best reservists from the town of Ethiopia and the surrounding villages, and these reservists will form a defense force. These defenders are required to participate in training except for the spring and autumn when the farm is busy, and their share of land will be cultivated by the steward of the estate, and the rent will be reduced by two tiers, and they will also receive a subsidy for two years' rations each year. ”

Oh... Profound...

Many able-bodied men began to cheer, for they thought that the position of the Wehrmacht soldiers was simply for them, not only to be fed and drunk, not to be exempt from servitude, but also to help them take care of their fields, and to be able to reduce the rent, and to foresee that their lives would be much better than those of the others.

"Well, cough..., everyone be quiet, be quiet" The mayor interrupted everyone's heated discussion with another cough, spread out another piece of parchment with both hands, and said: "There is also a decree here, called the "Longbow Decree", His Royal Highness William and the lord require everyone to practice the longbow on Sundays in lieu of other entertainment activities, as long as they pass the longbow shooting assessment presided over by the military attaché stationed in Ethiopia Town, they can reduce the rent of one layer of land rent and can be stacked.

In other words, if someone is not only good at using the longbow, has passed the longbow shooting test, but is also selected as the original of the defense army, then he only needs to pay one layer of income to rent the land of the manor. ”

As soon as the words fell, everyone in the square showed excited looks and cheered loudly excitedly:

"O... Long live, long live, long live His Royal Highness William. ”

It was never before that the new lord, His Highness William, would be so merciful as to meet the rent for them, which was never the case.

In the past, the lords here did not have much compensation for either conscription or soldiers, and every time everyone brought their own dry food to serve the lord, they had to take off a layer of skin.

Ordinary farm work was fine, but if there was such an errand as chariot and horse labor, the serfs had to use their own carts and horses to transport a certain amount of grain or other goods to the designated place for the lord, and the distance was different. If the poor peasants do not have chariots and horses, they must carry them on their shoulders.

This kind of labor is time-consuming and damaged, and the animal power and tools are consumed, so the peasants hate it. In addition, many estates often stipulate that the journey of three to four days is considered a working day, which is a big burden. As for the transportation of grain, hay, timber, firewood, etc., within the estate, it was a necessary item in serf labor.

In addition to the normal three-day daily work week (the number of days varies from region to region, but it is customary to use three days), there is also help.

There are two main seasons, one is the hay harvest in June, and the autumn harvest is busy from August 1 to September 29.

At this time, the serfs were to help the lord, in addition to the usual three-day servitude.

The dates of the help varied from place to place, and when the help was carried out by the whole family of the serfs, only the housewife could stay at home to do household chores or prepare food for the serfs. Because of the hard work of helping time, the feudal lord also gave some small favors, usually to provide a meal. The food was slightly better, with meat, bread, and sometimes even wine.

It can be said that the serfs in the Middle Ages worked many times harder than the tenants of the Chinese landlords, and the mere labor was a great burden, and the farm work at home had to be stopped, otherwise they would not be able to pay the rent and taxes without food.

In this way, even if you only participate in the reserve army, you can get three months' rations and a three-month reduction in hard labor, and your own family will be able to reduce your burden much in the future.

And more men who have the confidence to become a defense army and pass the longbow assessment are confident to live a good life of full exemption from labor, someone to help cultivate the land, two years of rations (one for one person) every year, and only two layers of rent (one floor rent and one agricultural tax), and their hearts are full of yearning for a rich and beautiful life in the future.

"Okay, if you want to join the reserve army, you can start to sign up with the garrison military attaché."

"Oh!"

The crowd cheered, and they all gathered around the garrison military attaché and began to register with their fingerprints at the garrison military attaché.

As for the contacts from other villages, they immediately rushed to their own villages, wanting to inform the villagers of this great thing.

In fact, this edict was valid for all domains and estates, and William, in order to enforce it in the whole of Alençon, gave the thirty or forty knights, the lords of the manor and Uncle Adolf, a certain amount of food and money compensation.

Otherwise, if the interests of these knights and nobles are not compensated, sooner or later they will make trouble, at least to prevent the implementation of the two decrees, or at worst to rebel.