"Lord Randall, the main body of the tenants is the vagabond, not the registered citizens of the lord, and there is no duty of loyalty to the lord, but they enjoy the rights of the lord...... Rent land and divide the harvest in half, and when the territory encounters disasters and dangers, they do not need to defend their homes. What is the cornerstone of the tenant system? Is it simply based on the benevolent virtue of the lord?"

Wallalt looked at the young and handsome Victor and said meaningfully: "There is no day without night, there is no warmth without cold, and benevolence without authority only encourages the cunning and contempt of inferior people, and cannot win true respect and gratitude." ”

In the reception room, there were a total of 11 powerful lords above the earl level and more than 30 court nobles, most of whom did not know the true intention of the palace minister to invite them to the tea party. It wasn't until the Marquis of Worralter spoke of tenant rule and threw a pointed question at Viscount Randall that the guests came to their senses.

This court tea party was, in essence, a hearing on the tenant system.

The kingdom of Neville was sparsely populated, and the mountain hunters were still semi-autonomous, resulting in a limited number of vassals and soldiers for the lords. If the Neville Kingdom wants to open up the northern wilderness, it must expand its army and actively prepare for war.

King Rex was determined to emulate the Centaur Hills, implement the tenant system, absorb hundreds of thousands of homeless people, and form a mercenary army as an auxiliary force for the king's ** team. The sub-democracy under the royal family was to concentrate in the Neville Basin, which was overcrowded and could no longer accept the displaced people, while the northern mountainous areas directly under the royal family could accommodate up to 100,000 displaced people, and the remaining more than 400,000 people had to rely on the lords of central and southern Neville for settlement.

The king had no right to interfere in the internal affairs of the lord, and it was up to the lord to decide whether or not to implement the tenant system in the domain.

On the one hand, the tenant system gave rise to a fictitious feudal system, in which the lord alleviated the internal conflicts of the family by granting false titles and rewarding lords, so as to maximize the retention of knights in the family center, thereby enhancing the authority of the lord; on the other hand, the implementation of the tenant system was costly and full of hidden dangers. The tenants were busy farming, and their leisure was working, which not only divided the harvest, but also earned wages. If the territory is in danger, they may return the lease and flee. Moreover, the mercenary corps recruited from the tenants were paid every year, and the lords had to pay for the dead and wounded, which increased the financial burden on the family.

The palace minister's question was simply asked to the heart of the lord of the south-central part of Neville, and everyone stared intently at Viscount Randall to see how he could answer the question.

"Protectors are never short of authority. ”

Victor stood up, looked around with deep dark eyes, and said calmly and elegantly: "The tenant system is built on the cornerstone of the vassal system, and it is an extension of the vassal system. The tenant system emerged because of changes in production capacity and modes of production, which led to changes in the distribution system. ”

"In the past, the output of a village was very limited, and in order to secure the seeds and grain reserves of the territory for the coming year, the lord had to collect most of the grain from the villagers, who were not enough to collect food and had to rely on the commons to collect and survive. And the lord only symbolically received some commons resources as an offering. Now......"

Victor smiled and continued, "I give the tenants not two percent of the harvest, but three percent. The Randall family's total grain and product reserves have increased nearly two hundred times compared to the original! Randall's territory is full of hills, and Navel is mostly mountainous, and what the Randall family can do, all of you here can do the same. ”

Archbishop Vespucci nodded and said to the lords, "The Randall family paid eleven taxes on agricultural and animal husbandry materials last year, which is more than you combined. ”

There was an uproar in the reception room. The lords discussed for a moment, and one of the counts stepped forward and said with a smile, "Lord Vespucci, this can't be compared. My realm produces no food, only minerals, timber, herbs, and hides. ”

The archbishop glanced at him and said slowly, "Yes, Randall has no mines yet, and it has only been 7 years since it was pioneered. ”

The lord of Neville was speechless now, and his gaze at Viscount Randall became extremely burning. The palace minister of Worralter asked in a deep voice: "Your Excellency Randall, what does it mean that the capacity of production and the mode of production promote the change of the distribution system?"

"Oh, my lord marquis, who cares about these things?"

The earl glared at him regardless of the palace and asked earnestly, "Your Excellency Randall, how did you do that?"

"That's actually a problem. ”

"By cultivating the crops in a very intensive way, we have fewer seeds and more food harvested," Victor explains. Although I increased my share of the tenants and the tenants, the total amount of property I received did not decrease but increased. As the harvests of tenants and lords increased, they no longer had to rely on the harvesting of the commons for their livelihoods. When the income from farming was greater than the collection of the commons, the lords and tenants were happy to turn the wild commons into taxed pastures. The cultivated land area of Randall's territory has changed from 80,000 mu to 1.5 million mu today, and in the next ten years, the cultivated land area of Randall's territory will reach 3.5 million mu. ”

"This is the change in the distribution system driven by the productive forces. It can also be said that the productive forces determine the social system. ”

"The productive forces determine the social system...... Productive forces determine the ...... of social system"

Worralter muttered to himself, and the other scholars fell into deep thought.

Rex was secretly anxious, and a few dry coughs failed to wake up his palace appearance from meditation. The tea party was to introduce the benefits of the tenant system to the lords of the south-central region, and there were still two key issues left undiscussed, and Worralter had lost his mind.

What kind of productive forces, what kind of distribution system? Shouldn't this kind of academic concept wait for the business to be done and go back and ponder it slowly?

Rex really wants to use a basin of water to wake up this old dog Worrenter!

Queen Satya's eyes fluttered, and she asked in a soft voice, "Cousin Victor, can the mountains of south-central Neville become as fertile as Randall's Collar?"

"On this issue, I think the Marquis of Ruhr has the most right to speak. Victor smiled and turned his gaze to the Golden Knight of Neville.

Marquis Farul nodded and spoke, "During my visit to the Centaur Hills, I was deeply impressed by Randall. There, I saw endless farmland and pastures, streams and reservoirs connected by canals, terraces and bridges built on hills, and ......" he paused and said to Victor, "but at that time, Randall's arable land and terraced fields were only about 300,000 acres. I didn't expect that in just three years, His Excellency Randall would expand his farmland by five times. ”

"The main canal of the Randall Lordship has been connected to the entire territory. Victor's voice changed and he said, "Of course, the growth of farmland mainly depends on the reclamation of terraces. ”

Mrs. Dolly's eyes flickered, and she asked, "Victor, Neville's water conservancy project does not involve my territory. If you were to plan the county of Decaiser, what would it become?"

"This ...... It depends on the specific geographical conditions of the county of Dekaiser. ”

Victor thought for a moment and said, "But I think there will definitely be no problem in building a stream reservoir, controlling flash floods, opening up terraces, and building bridges over waterways." The sunny side of the terraces can be planted with cash crops such as spiny kidney beans, rye, sweet potatoes, wolf's tail pastures, fruit trees, etc., and the back side can be planted with some herbs and spices that like dark environments, or open up spider silk shrubs to develop the spider silk weaving industry. In addition, the stream reservoir not only provides a stable source of water for villagers and livestock, but also cultivates aquatic fish. When necessary, the stream reservoir opens the flood gates to release the floodwater, and the silt accumulated by the flash flood is very fertile, and the villagers can use the silt to make fertilizer......"

The lords listened attentively and leisurely, and even King Rex's eyes lit up and he kept nodding. The scribe's quill rustled across the vellum as if it were an accompaniment to Viscount Randall.

Catherine's hand is like a cream-like snow-white cheek, and her green eyes reflect the eloquent demeanor of her sweetheart, and her expression is focused and deep, but no one knows what the Queen Mother of Gambis is thinking at this time.

These are some of my observations. Victor bowed his head and ended the conversation.

Dolly looked at him deeply, and said with a smile: "Your Excellency, just listening to your simple description, I feel that the future of the Dekaiser family is bright. ”

"Madame, you've won the prize. Victor responded politely.

"Master Randall, let me introduce myself to you again. The earl who had spoken first saluted and said, "I am Manfrey of the House of Maitens. My domain is in the middle of Neville, and may I have the pleasure of inviting you to visit the county of Maitens?"

Without waiting for Victor to express her position, Queen Satya immediately interrupted the stupid actions of the lords and said, "Count Maitens, Your Excellency Randall is a guest of honor invited by the royal family. He came from afar to help Neville design a water project. Your invitation is very inopportune!"

"Sorry, I was so rude. The Earl of Maitens hurriedly apologized, and asked earnestly: "Your Excellency Randall, according to your statement, we can build stream reservoirs and aqueduct bridges before the main canal is completed, and develop new farming and animal husbandry?"

"Yes. Victor nodded and said solemnly: "I must make it clear that a stable water source is very important, and the role of small water conservancy projects is far from being comparable to that of large water conservancy projects. If you only want to develop a small water conservancy in your own territory, an average designer will be sufficient, and there is no need for me to visit the kingdom of Neville. ”

Earl Mytens, seeing that King Rex was staring at him fiercely, hastened to remedy:

"Your Excellency Randall said that's great! I mean, if the small water conservancy of each family and the large water conservancy of the kingdom can be carried out simultaneously, our financial burden will be much smaller. ”

King Rex laughed, "I invited Cousin Victor to visit Neville to solve the problem of simultaneous construction of the water conservancy project. ”

As long as Viscount Randall delineates the node reservoirs for large water conservancy projects, the local lords will immediately be able to rely on the node reservoirs to develop their own small water conservancy systems. The improvement of the water conservancy system means that agriculture and animal husbandry flourish, and by the second year, the territory will have additional income.

In Neville, the prices of agricultural and animal husbandry products have remained high, and the lords who have mines at home are complaining, and the families of the lords who have extracted the minerals have really been reduced to the point of "selling their sons and daughters".

Agriculture and animal husbandry are the inexhaustible gold mines. Needless to say, Viscount Randall has the ability to turn dirt into gold.

The lords were thinking about what kind of gifts to give so that Viscount Randall could prioritize their territory. They look at Victor like they want to see a goose that lays golden eggs.

Victor faced a pair of "winking eyes", and his elegant smile finally stiffened. Forget about the beautiful lady like a flower, the veined gaze of the male nobleman really makes his hair stand on end.

At this time, the palace minister of Worrenter, who had recovered from the new academic theory, quickly skimmed through the transcript of the conversation recorded by the clerk, cleared his throat, and asked respectfully:

"Dear Lord Randall, if the development of water conservancy and new farming and pasture can obtain arable land and pastures, then why should we implement the tenant system?

The reception room suddenly became silent, and everyone looked intently at Viscount Randall.

"There will be wealth if there are people, and wealth will be meaningless without people. ”

Victor sat back on the sofa, patted the armrests with gold leaf, and said in a cheerful voice: "This leather sofa is made of centaur leather and fine wood, and is decorated with gold and precious stones, which is very valuable...... Only for people. In fact, all the processes of this sofa are done by people, and it is the concept that people give it value, or that human labor creates value. ”

"We think of gold as the general equivalent of wealth, but it's hard to imagine a bear buying this couch with Kinsol. ”

Victor's witty description caused a burst of laughter, and when the laughter had subsided, he continued: "It seems to me that the concepts of nobility and lordship should be discussed separately. Because the aristocracy has a personal subordination, and the lord is the authority brought about by the duty of protection, and does not have an individual subordinate. Nobles deserve wealth, but how much wealth can they enjoy as individuals? It's as if I only occupy a place on the sofa, and His Majesty Reske has these valuable sofas, isn't it for us to enjoy?"

"That's right!"

A marquis nodded and praised: "Our lord claims to have all the wealth of the territory, but we only eat three meals a day, and the resources that belong to the lord are not to feed our people?

"So the lord does not enjoy the wealth, and the lord should control the wealth. ”

Victor said with a smile: "Based on the duty of protection, it is necessary for the non-individual lord to treat the population as a wealth to be protected and to control it. The tenant system is designed to help the lord transform the displaced people into controllable wealth, wealth that needs to be protected! The Randall family has been able to achieve today's achievements thanks to hundreds of thousands of people. Without them, there would be no aqueducts, no millions of acres of farmland and pastures, no towns and villages, no castle armies, and no Randalls. ”

"Smack" "Slap" "Slap"

Archbishop Vespucci applauded and said, "Your Excellency Randall said it well!"

There was a burst of applause in the reception room, and Victor had to stand up and bow to the guests.

As the applause subsided, Count Mytens spoke, "Dear Lord Randall, I would like to ask you how we can control the wealth if the tenant families leave the realm and take their food and wealth with them?"

Victor looked at the archbishop and smiled, "Tenants have the right to do this. However, the lord has the power of the lord, and we Randall do not allow tenant families to build their own warehouses, they must deposit grain in the bakery of the village office, and if the tenants choose to leave Randall, they can only take the equivalent currency with them. Randall's food reserves remain under the control of the Randall family. As for money, it was the wealth that the tenant family deserved...... Will the lord of Neville ask for coppersol, or grain?"

"Food, of course. Neville has a copper mine, and Coppersol can't buy much food at all!" said Count Mytens, laughing.

Victor nodded and said, "Lord Neville has left behind valuable grain, and the tenants can buy more grain when they enter other kingdoms with copper sol in their pockets. When Neville builds a water conservancy project and achieves self-sufficiency in agriculture and animal husbandry, the price of food will be under your control and will no longer be controlled by others. ”

"Of course, that's another topic, and I'd love to talk to you about it, but it's getting late, and I'm going back to rest. Tomorrow morning, I'm going to go to the Mist Mountains to survey the terrain. Victor offered his farewell.

"Wait, Lord Randall, I'd like to ask one last question. "The Marquis of Worralter, the palace minister, was retained.

"Lord Marquis, may I ask. ”

"Do you think the tenants are the registered citizens of the lord or the freemen?"

The previous discussion was about the theory and practical application of the tenant system, and this issue is related to the legal basis of the tenant system. If the legal issues cannot be clarified, the tenant system will lose the basis for its promotion.

Victor blinked his eyes and said, "This should be answered by Lord Vespuch." ”

The Cardinal's eyes flashed with excitement, and he foresaw that the Diocese of Neville had succeeded in promoting tenants, and that the negative effects of his criticism of the Knights of Radiance would be completely neutralized, or even more than detrimental. With Neville's example of success ahead, the Sassan Empire needs to follow suit.

"All those who follow the obligation of dedication are the Lambs of our Lord, and have the right to be protected and redeemed. ”

Vespuch said in a deep voice: "Wanderers, freemen, and registered people are all concepts that were formed later, and are not in the specific content of the Radiant Codex. How did the freedmen and the outcasts come to be? The lords and clergy lost their ability to protect and redeem the people, and they became freedmen and outcasts. If the lords and clergy can effectively exercise the duties of protection and salvation, then whether they are tenants or outcasts, they have an obligation to give to the lords and clergy. ”

"The worldly is to the lord, and the divine is to the church. The lord had the right to make secular laws governing the tenants, but the lord had to ensure that the children of the tenant families attended general education free of charge and received both the lord and the clergy. ”

Earl Maitens was the first to jump out and said loudly: "The Maitens family will implement the tenant system, and they are also fully in favor of the dual education of the children of tenants. However, the form of education in general schools is debatable. ”

"This is not negotiable!" Vispuch said categorically, "Following the model of the diocese of Randall, children between the ages of 4 and 8 will be boarded in the general education school for free, and the cost should be borne by the lord, and the church is responsible for sending some preparatory priests to act as teachers to assist the lord in managing the general school. ”

"No, no, my children who have so much food for the tenants?" said Earl Maitens, shaking his head.

"Mytens, even your brother is here, and I'll beat you all over the ground looking for teeth!"

Vespucci was furious, tore off the veil of gentleness, rolled up his sleeves and was about to come forward to beat the Earl of Maitens, but King Rex stepped forward to hold him, and he roared menacingly:

"Rex, let me go and see how I teach this stupid bird a lesson. The general education school is obviously helping the lord to convert the displaced people and cultivate qualified lords...... Talk to me about the conditions, I'm sorry!", he said, and threw the coffee cup in his hand.

"It also depends on the actual situation of each family...... Old man, don't go too far, I can't beat you, can't I run away from you?" Mytens, obviously short of breath, hid behind the other lords, still screaming.

Such a fierce and violent scene made Victor and Catherine dumbfounded.

"Cousin Victor, Lady Catherine, make you laugh. Queen Neville said with a smile, not at all ashamed, and obviously accustomed to it.

"Your Majesty, this ...... We'll take our leave. ”

Archbishop Vespucci pushed Rex away, straightened his messy red robe and hair, and said to Victor amiably: "Victor, I will take you back to the Earl de Caeser in a carriage. ”

"Uh...... It is our pleasure. ”

With Victor and Vespucci leaving, the noisy tea party came to an end.

"Let's all go back to sleep. ”

Rex waved his hand impatiently, and Neville's Power Lord left the reception room with a head in hand. Queen Satya smiled and said, "Dear, you have something to say to your staff, so I will retire first." ”

The glamorous Queen Neville led the attendants out the side door of the reception room. Rex sat down in Victor's place, took out a sheepskin scroll from his pocket, put it on the coffee table, shook his head, and said:

"Viscount Randall is unfathomable...... The unfathomable can be measured. You say, what did he ask me to hold a tea party and ask him these three questions?"

The court scholars looked at each other, all looking at the king's chief thinker. The Marquis of Worrentert, the palace minister, just drank his coffee unhurriedly and did not seem to hear the king's question.

A young aristocratic scholar was the first to speak: "Viscount Randall is of course here to help us enforce the tenant system. If our built-in strategy fails, we will inevitably open up the northern wilderness in advance and occupy the fertile red land. The Kingdom of Gambis clearly does not want us to fall completely to the Knights of Radiance and the Sassan Empire. ”

"I know that. What I'm asking is, Viscount Randall's personal intentions, and he'll help us, but there's no need to be so careful. ”

Worralter put down his coffee cup and sighed, "Viscount Randall is so talented that I can't fathom what he thinks." He reminded me of someone, though. With that, he lowered his eyelids and kept silent.

Rex's heart moved, and he instructed the other staff, "You all go back to sleep." ”

The staff members walked out of the main gate one after another, and when they all left the reception room, Rex asked his palace minister, "Who do you think of?"

"The noblewoman of Arya pioneered the vassal system, and her wisdom and knowledge were of course top-notch, but she was only a senior knight, serving as a priestess of the monastery of the Holy Castle of Ivory. And Viscount Randall has the potential of the Sanctuary of the Sword Saint Draven...... Although His Majesty Ravin is a powerhouse in the Sanctuary, he is a free and loose ranger in his bones, not a lord. ”

Marquis Worralter shook his head and continued: "In history, there is only one person who possesses exceptional intelligence, extraordinary strength, and great power at the same time. ”

Rex gasped and said in a deep and powerful voice, "The First Pope Enoch!"

Worralter pondered for a moment, then said, "Viscount Randall is not as good as the first Pope, but he undoubtedly has all three of Enoch's qualities. ”

Rex got up, paced back and forth in the room for a few steps, stopped and said, "The essential difference between the two is that Viscount Randall is on the side of a secular lord!"

"So, His Majesty Clement wants to put Viscount Randall in the position of saint?"

"Yes, the kite cherishes its feathers, the crow feeds in the carrion, the personality of the first pope is glorified by the support of all, and of course Saint Randall will not do it. "Fupin Chinese