The villagers listened in agreement.

No one dared to speak.

William then continued, "As a lord, I have an obligation to protect you, so I will recruit the convoy members in the village, provide food and lodging, and train! ”

The eyes of the villagers lit up, and there were some young men who were ready to move, and the provision of food and lodging was enough to attract many people in this era, especially those with little land but a large number of people.

Recruiting members of the escort team is something William has wanted to do for a long time, after all, he can't always let a baron take the lead, and even the whole formation has to ask him to go out!

But it's not in a hurry, you can take your time, it's not something he desperately wants to do.

"In the same way, where there is obligation, there is power!" William's words spread throughout the premises, and the villagers, knowing that the main event was coming, cheered up one by one and listened attentively, "As your lord, as the sole master of this land, mountains, rivers and forests, and swamps, I have the right to charge a reasonable fee for the protection I provide!" ”

"Your Excellency, Lord Baron Dicas, your request is as normal and reasonable as a person wants to eat. I would like to ask how much you plan to charge? Counting from the right, in the middle of the third row, there was a slightly obese middle-aged male villager who asked William.

"Tell me your name." Anyone who dares to eat the first crab has courage to be encouraged William looked at him with a hint of appreciation in his eyes and said.

"Adams, honorable Baron Dicas, my name is Carl Adams, and everyone here calls me Adams of the Mill!" Feeling the gaze of William and the nearby villagers, the only miller in the village was slightly excited, and he liked the feeling of being noticed.

"Good, Addams! But I would like to remind you that if you want to make a statement, then you have to raise your hand before you speak, and you can only speak when I agree. ”

When William said this, the smile on Adams' face suddenly froze, and the nearby villagers also laughed.

"Then, Adams, go back. Then raise your hand and ask questions. William took the trouble to say that he had to instill this new habit of behavior in his subjects, and he didn't want a bunch of people rushing to speak out every time there was a meeting!

"Yes." Adams stepped back, then raised his hand again.

William looked at all the villagers and said majestically, "It's not just Adams, it's everyone else!" If you want to have an opinion, I'd welcome it, but raise your hand first! ”

Old John behind William was anxious, thinking that William was too approachable and would make these untouchables lose their due respect, but it was not good to talk to William about it at this time, so he could only wait to talk to William about it later.

The old Gretel in the team also smiled secretly, and said in his heart, Old Gretel has seen so many masters, this new lord is really a different lord!

After William finished inspecting all the villagers, he looked at the embarrassed Adams again, and first praised him, "Adams, you are the bravest person I have ever met today!" ”

Adams was stunned for a moment, then the corners of his mouth opened to both sides, and his eyes narrowed into a slit, "Thank you, Lord Baron, for the compliment!" Thank you, Lord Baron, for the compliment! ”

William chuckled, his expression became serious again, and he said, "Now, I'll answer your question." You ask me how much I charge, and I think that forty percent of the harvest is a reasonable range! ”

As soon as the words fell, all the villagers fell silent, looking at William with a look of shock and despair.

William's brows furrowed involuntarily, in his mind, the value of forty percent is still relatively low, and many lords collect more than this amount of land rent, not to mention that they also collect other taxes, their lords, after a year of hard work, can get one-third of the harvest is already the result of the lord's generosity.

Could it be that the good days of no one collecting taxes before were too long, and now when it comes to collecting taxes, everyone has opinions.

Sure enough, it is easy to go from thrift to luxury, and it is difficult to go from luxury to thrift!

If that's really the case...... A flame rose in William's heart.

He paused, and then added, "I want to reiterate that I collect forty percent of the money I collect not only for your land rent, but also for your taxes on cutting down trees in the forest and fishing in the water. In addition to the business tax, all other taxes are in it! ”

Old John was in a hurry, and couldn't help but shout, "Lord Baron, you don't need to be polite to them! ”

"Old John, I naturally have my own considerations." William didn't look back.

Old John had no choice but to close his mouth helplessly, and looked indignantly at the group of untouchables below who were still dissatisfied!

"What? Do you feel low? Maybe I should have closed a little higher. "William is a little tired, there is no one under him, and this kind of thing can only be said by himself.

The villagers in the team couldn't help whispering, and the sounds were superimposed, just like in the evening, a large group of mosquitoes gathered together, and the sound of flapping their wings made people annoyed!

William let out a loud shout, drowning out everyone's voices, "Old John, help me see, who's talking?" Pull it out and whip it ten times, and a fine of one silver franc! ”

As soon as the words came out, none of the villagers dared to speak, and the whole place fell into an eerie silence again.

Old John was useless again.

After a pause, there was an old man in the ranks of the villagers, who raised his hand tremblingly.

"You say!" William pointed to the old man and said.

"Thank you, Lord Baron! I'm Gretel, old Gretel, and the people in the village call me to deliver letters to Gretel. The old man introduced himself first.

"Hmm." William nodded uncertainly.

"Look, Lord Baron, our life is already so difficult, and if you add such a heavy burden, I don't think our whole village will survive this winter. Baron, do you want a territory where no one will work for you? So, I beg you, on behalf of all the people of the small village of Nisse, to lower the taxes even more! ”

The other villagers of the small village of Nisse nodded in agreement and looked at William with wistful eyes.

"You damned pariahs, are you threatening your lordship?" At this time, Old John stood up and reprimanded the people.

William remained silent.

This in itself is an affirmation of Old John's behavior.

Old Gretel waved his hand and said, "Master John, we never meant that. We respect and welcome us more than anyone else! It's just that a thousand loads of boulders have been pressed on the shoulders of the small village of Nisse, and we can't afford it, and a light thatch will make the whole village die! ”

"Untouchables, put away your quibbles! In front of Old John, all your attempts will not succeed. Old John thought Old Gretel was lying to him.

"Master John, I can prove that what old Gretel said is true! We really can't afford to pay such a high rent. Adams interjected, swearing.

Old John suddenly screamed, "Untouchable, you didn't raise your hand to speak, you violated the lord's regulations!" You will be whipped and fined! ”

Adams was dumbfounded.

At this time, William frowned, blocked Old John's actions, and then looked at Old Gretel, and said in a calm tone, "I'm strange! Hope you can answer me! ”

"I'll know it all!" Old Gretel bowed.

"Hmmm! As far as I know, forty percent of the land rent belongs to the lowest level in the whole principality, not to mention that I also include so many taxes. Compared with the forty percent of the land rent I set, the taxes collected by the other lords will only be higher, not less, fifty percent, sixty percent, not uncommon, and even seventy percent. ”

"If they can survive, then why can't you?"

William's question is very similar to what his school teachers often said when they criticized their students in his previous life, "Why can so-and-so do it, why can't you?" ”

"Is it really not working, or is it for some reason?" William's words already had a hint of murderous intent in them.

Old Gretel smiled bitterly, "My lord, the harvest moon is coming, so the frost moon is coming soon!" ”

"Oh."

"In the month of frost, heavy snow covers forests and swamps, and food will become scarce! And those terrifying creatures that live in the depths of the forest will come out to feed, and the small village of Nisse is the first place for them. ”

"What horror creatures?" William's heart moved and asked.

"Wolves! And the lizardmen in the swamp? Old Gretel hesitated, then said.

The villagers all had sad expressions on their faces, as if they were thinking of an unhappy past.

"Lizardmen?" This was something William didn't know, and he looked back at Old John.

Old John also looked unaware.

William looked at old Gretel again and said, "Tell me about the lizardmen." ”

"Yes, Lord Baron Dicas." Old Gretel replied, "Lizardmen are humanoids living in the Shadow Swamp, with an upright appearance like a large lizard, with sharp fangs on their mouths and a thick layer of scale armor, and they also use some simple weapons, which are extremely numerous. ”

"Whenever snow falls, the lizardfolk of the Shadow Swamp swarm out in search of food. We humans are their recipes, and my father died under their fangs. ”

"There's such a thing!" It dawned on William that it was no wonder that this shadow swamp had been resting like a thorn between the Kingdom of the Golden Rose and the Duchy of Fadil for so many years, but no country had yet completely conquered it!

In addition to the problems of the swamp itself, the presence of lizardfolk is also an important factor that should not be overlooked.