Pinghu Town, Government Affairs Hall, Round Table Conference Room.

"And the Lord says, Let all who believe in me be merciful and merciful, and give a helping hand to those who are in distress, give a fire to those who are lonely and cold, share food with those who are afflicted, and not bury one's brothers and sisters as soon as they are alive, and not expelle widows and children, and not ......abandon the old and the sick and the sick."

Kohler clenched his hands into fists, raised them to the tip of his nose, and half knelt on the floor with a solemn expression, sweat dripping down his chin, his knees were sore and soft, the muscles in his thighs were pounding suddenly, and his fine linen shirt was wet against his body, not to mention how uncomfortable it was.

The sweltering heat of the conference room and the reverend's incessant chatter made his head dizzy, and there was only one thought in his mind:

"Why isn't it over? Why isn't it over?"

“...... Those who help others, others help them, those who save others, and those who save others are the way to self-salvation and the way of dedication...... Obey the word of the Lord, and the light of the Lord will be with you. The pastor drew a false emblem on his chest to announce the end of the sermon, nodded to the church attendants beside him, and motioned for them to open the doors and windows to disperse the smell of sweat in the conference room.

Kohler quickly drew a triangular holy emblem on his chest, stood up and rubbed his sore knees, and suddenly saw a fat man sweating profusely next to him who couldn't stand up for a long time, and there was a puddle of water under his feet, and he felt inexplicably happy in his heart.

This fat man's name is Wei Qi, and he has only recently moved from Yeliu City to Pinghu Town. It is said that he was once a well-known merchant in the black market of Waterdeep, with more than 200 associates, more than 20 grocery stores, four hostels, and two taverns. Because the business was too big and was remembered, he had to sell the storefront in Waterdeep City at a low price, and took the initiative to pay a large sum of money to the Gangsters in Waterdeep City, and then ran to Yehliu City to make a living.

The business in Yeliu City is really good, as long as there is a shop, everyone can make a fortune. However, to this day, the most difficult thing to get in Yeliucheng is the shop. I don't know whose relationship Wei Qi left, but he actually talked to Master John in Yeliu City. Mr. John not only took out 6 shops and handed them over to Wei Qi to take care of, but also introduced him to Pinghu Town.

The freedfolk merchants sharpened their heads and wanted to squeeze into the market of Wildwillow City, and the freefolk merchants of Wildwillow City all wanted to settle down in Pinghu Town. Everyone knows that any businessman who buys a house in Pinghu Town, their storefront business in Yeliucheng is stable. Nowadays, Pinghu Town no longer sells houses, and free folk merchants can't pay any amount of money.

Kohler was one of the first freeman businessmen to buy a house in Pinghu Town, and he deeply appreciated the benefits of Pinghu Town.

The business of Pinghu Town Market is usually not as hot as Yeliucheng, but every weekend and two days, tens of thousands of homeless employees pour into Pinghu Town Market to open their money bags, eat, drink, and shop. The market is crowded, one after another, and it is more lively than Yeliucheng. Although the hired workers do not have much business to do, the profits of the retail sale of goods are very high, and the total profits are quite amazing.

The merchants in Pinghu Town transported the bulk commodities led by Randall to the Yeliucheng market for sale, and then purchased the goods from Yeliucheng and returned them to Pinghu Town to sell them for free.

Ten days away is the Randall family's annual Midsummer Carnival. Kohler received a notice from the tax collector early in the morning asking him to rush to the government office in the afternoon to attend a gathering of merchants convened by the market director of Pinghu Town to discuss the preferential treatment of goods and tax relief during the carnival.

Not all businessmen are eligible to attend meetings organized by the Government Council. The marketing director of Pinghu Town elected 26 representatives from 274 merchants. Kohler is one of them.

He had lunch early, took good care of his appearance, changed into decent clothes and the latest gentleman's leather shoes, and rushed to the government affairs hall in advance with the other 25 delegates. They didn't expect that Wei Qi, a fat businessman who had just joined Pinghu Town, was also here, and they didn't expect that Pastor Dane of Pinghu Town Church would preach to them in the round table room.

After talking about the matter, how did it become a preacher to preach?

Dane looked at the 27 embarrassed businessmen and felt weird himself. He preached to the faithful every day, but he was the first to preach in the lord's government hall.

Randall understands that there are many new things that you have to study and think about...... Remembering Pope Clement's advice, Dane shook his head with a wry smile, cleared his throat and said, "Is there anything you don't understand about the way to redeem yourself?"

"Understood, understood...... We will follow the Lord's teachings. The merchants nodded busily.

The servants of the government hall walked into the conference room with cool well water and handed them to the merchants. After the merchants had drunk water to relieve the heat, Pastor Dane said slowly, "There is now something that will test your piety. ”

The businessmen looked at each other and secretly complained...... Lord Dane, is this asking us to donate?

With a glass of cold water, Kohler's mind cleared up a lot, and he took the lead in saying: "Dear Lord Dane, if there is anything, even if you command, as long as I can do it, I will never shirk!"

The rest came to their senses and said in a rambling voice:

"Yes, yes, yes, as long as it is within our power, we will not shirk. ”

"I know that all of you here are devout and generous believers who give every month...... The cathedral was built in Pinghu Town, and among the common believers, you donated the most. Pastor Dane nodded appreciatively and said in a deep voice, "Randall and Phinecole lead 100,000 people, and some believers are living in hardship. Although the church has many reliefs, it cannot completely solve their problems...... They need the self-salvation of the faithful. ”

Cut, it's not about asking for money yet!

The merchants exchanged glances with each other, and their eyes converged on Kohler's body. He stepped forward, bowed deeply, and said sincerely, "I am willing to give 400 silver soles to help my brothers and sisters tide over the difficulties. ”

Everyone donated generously, "I am willing to give 400 silver soles to help my brothers and sisters redeem themselves." ”

"I'll give 380 silver sol ......"

"I'm out 360 silver soles. ”

The fat businessman Welch raised his right hand high, and the last one to speak: "I'll give 100 ......"

100 Silver Thor was embarrassed to scream so loudly...... Kohler and the others looked disdainful.

"100 gold soles!" the fat merchant gasped and finished speaking.

100 gold soles?3600 silver soles!Dead fat man, really rich...... Aren't there just two stinky money...... Everyone nodded in friendly acknowledgment to their new partner, with a hint of disdain in their eyes.

Dane also glanced at the fat businessman, then shook his head and said, "It's not just about money...... The Kingdom of Gambis is battling the murderous Fishmen, and recently Randall led 307 brave mercenaries who were killed in battle, and more than 100 were wounded, 27 of whom were left with lifelong disabilities...... In addition, the swamp scouts who are responsible for monitoring the Ant-Man army have also been killed and injured from time to time. So far, a total of 83 swamp scouts are disabled, some of them paralyzed for life...... Although Viscount Randall gave them a pension, they needed to be taken care of. Their wives, parents, siblings had to take out their work, stop working and stay at home to take care of them. It is even more difficult for families with only husband and wife and minor children, the wife cannot go out to earn money to support the family, and the pension will always run out one day. There are also some bachelors who have no one to take care of them, and can only live in the church's workhouse for a long time......"

Dane paused and continued: "In the future, there will be such unfortunate people, and there will be such families...... I hope that all of you here will contribute money and help these families to redeem themselves. ”

It's really not a question of money...... It's a matter of a lot of money, and it's a bottomless pit if it's urgent or not!

The merchants' faces were pale, and they secretly made up their minds that when the priest was gone, they would go to Mrs. Lilia and ask her to come forward and ask the priest to give up this kind of demand that the dead will not pay for their lives.

"Lady Lilia and I have already negotiated......"

The hearts of the merchants were like ashes...... Can Pinghu Town stay anymore?

"She agrees that you should form a mutual aid society. The purpose of the Mutual Aid Society is to help families in need to complete their self-salvation. ”

Dane said with a smile: "The Mutual Aid Society has built a mutual aid house next to the workhouses in the villages and towns and farms, and specially sheltered the widows and orphans of Randall's Territory, so that their families can be reborn. Do any of you want to join a mutual aid society?"

"I!" the fat merchant Welch raised his hand again and shouted, "I am willing to pay 400 gold soles to join the mutual aid society!"

"Well, from now on, you will be the first head of the Randall Mutual Aid Society. Dane pointed to the fat man and asked kindly, "Believer, what's your name?"

"Dear Reverend Sir, my name is Welch. ”

The fat man bowed triumphantly, drawing angry glances from the merchants.

The atmosphere in the venue was a little stiff, and Pastor Dane coughed dryly, looked around, and said, "Of course, it is not realistic to let the core members of the mutual aid society bear the cost of the rescue. The widows, widows and the infirm were fed and clothed by the workhouse, and the mutual aid societies were mainly responsible for their centralized care. Lord Randall allowed the Mutual Aid Society to hire people to take care of the food and clothing of the widows and the disabled. In addition, the Mutual Aid Association can collect a certain monthly fee from the recipient's family members to fund the operation of the Mutual Aid Home. ”

Huh?

Kohler's eyes lit up, and he raised his hand and shouted, "I'll give 150 gold soles, no! I'll give 240 gold soles, join the mutual aid association!"

Mutual aid is a civil organization led by the church and permitted by the lord. Although joining the mutual aid association will lose a little money for a long time, it can improve your social status in Randall!

The others also reacted and shouted:

"I'll pay 220 gold soles!"

"I'll give 240 gold soles!"

"I'm out 180 gold sol ......"

Father Dane nodded in satisfaction, cast a spell of holy light, and said in a solemn voice: "The pious will be rewarded, may the Lord bless you." ”

"May the glory of the Most High be forever!" the crowd prayed as they knelt on the ground.

The misty light gradually dimmed, and a melodious voice like a yellow bird sounded outside the door:

"Father Dane, are you done talking?"

The glamorous and charming Lady Lilia paced gracefully into the conference room, and bowed to Pastor Dain with her skirt raised. Her personal bodyguard, Marcy, bowed.

"Lady Randall, may the Lord guide your path. Pastor Dane painted the emblem on his chest.

"Good day, Lady Randall. The merchants bowed respectfully.

Dane left his position, walked over to Lilia's side, and said to the merchants, "Lady Lilia has a tax-exempt business to give to the Mutual Aid Society. He raised his arm and bowed his jaw and said, "Madam, please, I will be out of company first." ”

Lilia smiled slightly, stepped on her high heels, walked to the main seat, took a black piece of paper from Marcy's hand, and said to the merchants: "This business is called mutual aid rolls, but it is actually a gambling business...... It is issued once a week and is drawn on weekends...... 2% of the total revenue is used as the issuance cost, and 4% is used as the bonus pool ......"

Dane led his church attendants to the door, and when he looked back, he saw that the merchants were listening quietly, their eyes showing respect. He couldn't help but think of a famous quote in the church:

No matter how devout a believer is, he must be clothed and eaten!

Pinghu Fort, the lord's study.

Victor sat behind his desk, playing with a black piece of paper on which seven numbers were written in a special white dye. Unexpectedly, Randall's improved paper had not yet been used for writing, but had been used for lottery tickets.

Randall's rules and use of funds are modeled after Earth's lottery, but the name has been changed to "Mutual Aid Ticket".

The paper and dyes of the mutual aid roll are made from several special plants, which emit orange and indigo flames when ignited. Alchemy humans use these plant fuels as signal flames, which are difficult for human craftsmen to copy, enough to ensure the anti-counterfeiting function of the mutual aid rolls.

Compared with the technical content of the mutual aid roll, its own meaning is more extraordinary.

The appearance of mutual aid associations and mutual aid rolls represents the filling of the barrel bottom of the barrel of the centralized system of feudal fields. It has the upward channel of the education system and the self-healing of the guarantee system, and from then on it can be steadily loaded with "water".

"Water" was not limited to the vagrant tenants, but also included the lords, vassals, knights and nobles, scholars, clergy, and lords.

Assuming that the tenants did not have a security system, the bankrupt tenant families would have to appeal to the church, and the priest of the church would throw them to the knights, who would have followers and start their own small families. The centralized system of sealing fields still lost to the sub-feudal system.

When the most basic outcasts have the ability to heal themselves, they will no longer rely on knights and priests, but will be steadily united under the rule of the lord. The knights could not recruit a sufficient number of followers, so they could only rent the land to tenants, serve by the lord's side themselves, and gradually become a landlord and nobleman. Tenants, vassals, and vassals were also converted into the landlord caste.

In other words, Victor can now start recruiting Wild Knights!

The Randall family's military power, political power, and legal power are concentrated in the hands of Victor, and the efficiency and strength formed are by no means comparable to ordinary lords. In the Pioneer War, the more land resources the Randall family occupies, the stronger the gravitational pull on the outcasts, knights, scholars, and clergy, the snowball is getting bigger and bigger, the traditional feudal lords cannot compete with Victor, the family becomes weakened, and the new knights will only serve the Randall family.

This allowed Victor to overtake in corners.

There has been a change in the productive forces, and whoever is the first to readjust the relations of production will first gain an advantage from the new system.

The success of the Mutual Aid Society is the key to this.

Victor is not worried that the mutual aid will be manipulated by the church, the backbone of the mutual aid association is the merchants of Randall's territory, their sources and stores are in the hands of Victor, Victor can make them destitute, they will naturally be out if they lose their wealth, no matter how pious they are.

I am afraid that the top management of the church will quickly realize the seriousness of the problem and immediately stop the mutual aid association and establish a new tenant relief system. Clement, in particular, is resourceful and determined, and is most likely to be the first to spot the problem.

Victor thought about it and realized that what could be used was the mutual tilting of forces within the Holy See.

Clement's desire for power and survival is very strong, and as long as he is cornered, he should be able to pull him into the water...... Victor pondered for a moment, picked up his quill and wrote Catherine a fiery love letter, in which he revealed to his lover his ideas about tenants and mutual aid...... There is also an otherworldly version of the lottery.

"My lord, Father Dane asks to see you. ”

"Ask him to come in. Victor put down the quill and put the love letter in a drawer.

Pastor Dane walked into the study and saluted, "Good day, Lord Randall, may the Lord guide you." ”

"Call me Victor. ”

Victor got up from his seat and greeted him cordially, "Dane, has the matter of the mutual aid society been completed?"

"Uh...... Victor, I think it's better for the Mutual Aid Association to hold off for a while. ”

Pastor Dane hesitated for a moment, then frowned and said, "I feel that the size of the mutual aid society will become larger and larger...... I'll inform Bishop Pero first. ”

"How big can the Mutual Aid Society be? Dozens of free folk merchants are representatives, and the mutual aid society is mainly financed by mutual aid rolls, and is subject to the dual supervision of the church and the government office. These businessmen are just using the money to hire caregivers, and there is nothing to worry about. Victor smiled disapprovingly.

"But the group of people who will be helped by the mutual aid will get bigger and bigger...... "I always feel that something is wrong." ”

Victor leaned against the table, clasped his hands on his chest, and said, "That's right! The scope of services of the mutual aid society also includes the elderly who have lost their ability to take care of themselves, so as not to make them a burden to the tenant family." Although they were incapacitated, their faith in the Most High remained. The Mutual Aid House is right next to the church, and they pray day and night...... Isn't it a good thing that a large group of elderly and disabled people sing hymns every day in the church? Or do you think this feat is too great for you to bear?"

"I ......"

Victor stepped forward and pressed Dane's shoulder, looked him in the eye and said, "My friend, His Majesty the Pope is not in a good situation, he has given up a lot of dioceses. Whoever he supports, there will inevitably be people who oppose it, and if he opposes it, there will be people who support it! If you report the mutual aid association, there will be many people vying with His Majesty for this merit. If they can't fight it, they will suppress the crown even more frantically, and you will be the unlucky ones in the end...... And me. ”

Victor let go of his hand and said lightly: "I designed the tenant system to cooperate with the resettlement of the displaced people under the crown. The easiest solution to the problem of tenant self-salvation is polygamy. Randall now has more than 3,000 singles, and even if they are two wives, the number of singles will increase to more than 20,000. If you get these 30,000 bachelors for me, I don't want them! And that lord dares to accept tens of thousands of bachelors?"

"Besides, the treatment of the tenant is not much different from that of the tenant, the tenant can marry two wives, and the tenant can also marry two wives, what will my subjects and vassals think?

Dane smiled awkwardly and exclaimed, "Hehe, Victor, the mutual aid association and mutual aid volume you designed are very ingenious, I don't think there is any need to change them." ”

"I think so too......"

Victor touched his smooth chin and said with a serious expression: "Dane, for you, this is a political speculation! Understand? There are hundreds of acolytes under Clement's crown, and if you want to get ahead, you must come up with convincing results! You have won great prestige within the church, and the pressure on Clement's crown will be reduced. The first thing to be promoted is you!"

"Even if someone wants to suppress you and rob you of your merits...... Will your situation get worse?" Victor looked at Dane with pity.

"You're just an assistant to Randall's resident priest now. ”

Dane's face turned pale. Victor said coldly: "Old man Miller doesn't care about things at all...... Lords and priests need to support each other, you support me, I support you, and the higher your position in the future, the more it will help me. The farther I go, the stronger it will help you. ”

"We did it, and we were our closest allies. ”

Pastor Dane's eyes became burning like a flame, and he nodded in a deep voice, "Okay!