In fact, there were intermittent smaller-scale riots throughout Richmond County before Ernest Walton returned home.

When the rebels reached a peace agreement with Henry VIII's counterinsurgency commander, the northern counties, including Richmondshire, entered a state of unrest that lasted for two months. Causing trouble, illegal assembly, disseminating inflammatory speech, fighting, robbery, theft, infringement, violence against women, and even violent resistance to the law are all kinds of illegal acts.

During the week that Ernest returned home to rest, he found that his father, Isabel, the magistrate of the county and a favorite of the Duke of Richmond, was very busy every day. What exactly are the two of them doing every day, he can't ask the two directly. Therefore, he had to ask for some information from Euphemia, who was closest to Isabel.

On the third day of his vacation, after sunrise at 4 p.m., he went to the parlor to find his sister Yufemia, who was staying with his mother. Then, he made an excuse to invite Euphemia to the back garden.

As Euphemia walked slowly, she said to her eldest son, "Ernest, what are you looking for me?" ”

Ernest deliberately said with a straight face: "Effie, I am the eldest son in the family, why do you call me by my name directly?" Isn't it disrespectful to me to do this? ”

Euphemia glanced at her pretentious brother, "Really? If you want to blame anyone, you can ask Isabel first. ”

"Why?"

It started with her, who often called her father Sir Jazz. So, you can't blame me for that. ”

"Well, okay. Effie, I find it hard to see my father and Isabel every day, do you know why? ”

Euphemia squinted at him, and suddenly smiled evilly, "I know. However, I have to be paid. ”

Ernest stared at his sister in surprise: "Honorarium? What does that mean? ”

"This is what Isabel told me, and she said that the news is also a kind of goods that have a price and can be sold. It's like the food, the drinks, and the clothes you wear every day. ”

"Well, I can pay you. Say, how much is a message? ”

"Ernest, it looks like you're not going to be at home again this Christmas. Therefore, I have converted the Christmas gifts that you should have given me over the years into money, plus the money I have paid you for the sale of the news, and you should have paid me a total of money for a thoroughbred Arabian horse. If you don't want to pay, you can buy a horse and give it to me. ”

As soon as Euphemia finished speaking, Ernest was speechless for a long time in surprise. Staring at his sister with two eyes, he opened his mouth and said, "Do you know how much a purebred Arabian horse costs?" ”

"I know, it's about £15 to £18."

"Very well, so do you know how much my annual remuneration is for a year?"

"I think Isabel seemed to say something like that...... As I remember, the land income of a would-be knight is about £80 a year. Add to this the instability of time, the price of goods, and the purchasing power of the populace, as well as the various gifts that you receive as Lord Carlisle's standard-bearer, and your annual honorarium is between £85 and £100. ”

"How could Effie be so accurate? How did she figure it out? Ernest muttered in his heart, looked at her with puzzled eyes, nodded and said, "Effie, this is what Isabel taught you?" ”

Euphemia raised her head triumphantly and said, "Yes, she said that when I become a Sir Lady in the future, I should be fully aware of the various incomes and expenses of the territory and the estate. Only in this way can I protect the lives of my husband and children. ”

The sister's words made Ernest see the other side of Isabel and smiled and said, "Well, I'll pay you for a thoroughbred Arabian horse." It's just that I don't understand, what does Isabel do every day as a favorite of His Royal Highness the Duke? ”

"Well, most of them are the duties of the Privy Counsellor, as well as the duties of the Minister of State and the Duke's Secretary, as well as the duties of the Guards and the security of the castle and the territory."

"My God, how many people do these things usually need to be done, and she can do them alone? How much annual honorarium does His Royal Highness the Duke pay her? ”

"yes, so she's busy every day. The annual honorarium paid to her by Her Highness... I don't know, she didn't tell me. I think there are at least so many, though. ”

After Yufemiaa finished speaking, two fingers of her right hand shook in front of her brother. Ernest sighed slightly, and just said, "200 pounds is worth a knight's annual honorarium." ”

"Ernest, you must not mention the matter of the annual gratuity in front of her, or she will surely guess that I told you."

"Oh, why is that?"

"She said that income and age are personal matters and cannot be told to a second person."

———————————

Shortly after 6 p.m., Isabel Walton, dressed in quasi-lancer armor, with a short sword at her waist and a longbow on her back, and a quiver full of arrows hanging from the left front bridge of her saddle, rode down the road leaving Kirbyhill Village.

She was flanked by Francis Swift, the governor of the security army, also dressed in armor and riding on horseback, and behind him was a 20-man security army squad with sergeants on foot escorting four or five wrongdoing tenants and hired laborers.

As the Governor rode beside Isabel, he said with concern: "Your Excellency, are you still uncomfortable with the arrest of the suspect just now?" ”

Governor Francis said that he and Isabel led the security forces to arrest several suspects in the county village of Kirbyhill for illegal acts, and there was a great deal of violent resistance to the law.

In accordance with the arrest duty of the magistrate in the judicial duties, the magistrate and the armed personnel accompanying him are not criminally liable if a citizen is killed as a result of violent resistance to the law. As a result, Isabel used a longbow and arrows to kill three violent rebels and hired laborers in succession.

Isabel glanced at him, shook her head, and said, "I'm just wondering how long this chaos will last." ”

Francis turned his head and glanced at the suspects behind him, and whispered, "Your Excellency, could it be that His Majesty's representatives have caused these chaos in peace talks with the rebels?" ”

"Perhaps, these people are waiting for an official reply from His Majesty the King."

"Your Excellency, do you think His Majesty will reply?"

Isabel lowered her voice: "No, His Majesty will never reply. ”

Francis looked at her with an expression of disbelief: "Your Excellency, His Majesty the King will watch chaos ruin Richmondshire?" ”

"Not just Richmond County, it's the whole North."

"My God, the whole north?"

Isabel looked at the road leading to the Duke's castle to the south and said calmly, "All the counties in the north have joined the rebellion, and the nobles and people in all the counties are anxiously waiting for a reply, so I will not be surprised that there is chaos in the whole north. ”