"You see, that's why I say you're arrogant."

Anna had a sense of anticipation of Lothar's response.

"I have learned of your deeds in your domain, and you have generously taxed the citizens and serfs under your rule, and lent them tools free of charge for the cultivation of wasteland and the construction of houses."

"You are worthy of the reputation of the generous and the merciful."

"But I don't understand why you're doing this, after all, you're not that rich right now, and you might even be a little embarrassed."

"You can take more money out of their hands, and they will never oppose you because of this, and besides, I don't think they have the ability to resist you."

Lothar frowned, "I don't really treat them well. ”

"Under my rule, civilians still need to serve unpaid, they still have to pay 20% of the tax, and the cattle and farming tools that were lent to them before will also need to be redeemed by them in the future."

"Isn't that enough?"

Anna's large, beautiful eyes were filled with doubt.

There is no saying that the people are noble and gentle, and there is no Chen Sheng and Wu Guang, when Daze Township rebelled, there was no prince and general, and he would rather have a kind of deafening.

The image of serfs is often that of philistine, treacherous, unshaven, coarse, ugly-faced, dishonorless, untrustworthy, and only worthy of eating thorns, straw, and pods.

There is a proverb that says: torture a serf, he will bless you, bless a serf, he will torture you.

Although there were often serfs in Europe who could not bear the tyranny of the lords, pulled the flag and rebelled, and became thugs who swallowed everything, burned and looted, they were limited by the scattered territories of the lords, and it was difficult to get in touch, forming a behemoth with tens of thousands, or even hundreds of thousands, like the Yellow Turban Army.

The peasant uprisings on the continent had no clear goals or programs, they had no idea where the future would be, and the beginning of the uprising meant that defeat was imminent.

They shouted slogans not against the king, but only against the tyrannical nobles, and even hoped that the king would stand up and seek justice for them.

They didn't even think of changing themselves to be kings, because the noble are inherently noble, and they are born lowly.

Who knows, the king is the biggest nobleman, how can he tolerate these "mobs".

It's not because the civilian class is stupid.

Rather, it is because they have no opportunity to be educated, they work on the land all day long, they have to worry about excessive taxes every day, and they never have a day of leisure and comfort.

It's like a hamster thrown on a wheel, forever on the run.

Be careful that one day all your belongings will be looted by robbers and mercenaries who ravage the countryside because the lord of the lord is at war with the lord next door.

Neck was locked with a noose, dragged and trampled by war horses.

Wives and daughters were toyed with, and houses were burned.

This is a portrayal of the life of the vast majority of serfs in this era.

Only then did people hear that there was a "Promised Land flowing with milk and honey" in the East, and they immediately "fanatically" gave birth to one poor man's crusade after another.

Thinking of this, Lothar's voice became much heavier: "It has been said that serfs are born to suffer, and when he is born, pain is born with him. ”

"Many of my rulers were in fact fugitive slaves of the lords of the continent, and some of them tried to escape to the cities and settle as freemen, only to be banished by the xenophobic guilds; Many poor pilgrims died of hunger and disease on the way; There were also many who, unable to afford a ticket to the Holy Land, had to travel by land, and before they were halfway there, they were captured by the robbers and sold to Alexandria as slaves. ”

"Those who are lucky enough to be free people under my rule have suffered enough. As a lord, I only wish my people would suffer less. ”

"And I believe that they will reward me with loyalty.

When the enemy comes, they will not hesitate to take up their weapons to defend against the invasion without my call-in—for they are guarding not only me, but themselves. ”

Lothar's voice came clearly, as if with some kind of strong ambition.

He had no intention of challenging the established rules of the world, but at the very least, he would try to be a benevolent lord.

Anna looked slightly stunned, she thought for a moment, and said, "I understand." ”

It's like the peasant and soldier system that the empire once had.

The peasant soldiers who owned the land were the strongest walls of the entire empire.

Unfortunately, the walls of the Eastern Empire have collapsed.

It is true that the nobles are far more worthy of being wooed than the common people, but how can their greed be easily wooed?

…

In the dim sewers, there was a faint sound of dripping water.

Liena, dressed in a black robe, was tiptoeing through the filth with one hand over her nose and a cluster of orange flames in the other.

Feeling the disgusting slippery feel of the soles, she thought to herself: if only there were shoes with long heels, like the kind of stilts that gypsies walk on when they perform circus.

That can isolate oneself from these filths to the greatest extent.

Ahead, there was a rustling sound.

Liena looked through the light of the flame in her hand and found that it was a group of ugly rats, probably because they had not seen the sun for a long time, and they were accompanied by filth, which caused them to have rotten sores.

These rats are so big, can they grow to this size by eating garbage and excrement?

Liena thought as she threw a fireball at her hand.

Squeak –

The screams of the rats came to an abrupt end.

"Go to hell, ugly things."

Burning a group of rats, the corners of Liena's mouth curled slightly, and her mood became much better.

Even the rich, rancid smell that permeated the air seemed to have faded.

"I heard that the Marquis of Lothar is also very good at fire spells."

"And he's handsome, so much better than those rude, savage, stinking witchers."

Liena swallowed, she really wanted to have a deeper conversation with Lothar, but looking at the way he looked, she didn't seem to be interested in herself - what a pity.

Constantinople has a complete drainage system, which has been used, repaired and maintained for thousands of years, and has become a huge underground palace under the city.

But it's also a breeding ground for monsters.

Ghouls, water ghosts, night ghosts, dreaddemons... No one knows how many monsters are hidden underneath.

In fact, a small ecosystem has been formed here.

Ghouls and water ghosts, who feed on corpses, excrement and other garbage, are scavengers at the bottom, night ghosts feed on ghouls and water ghosts, and Dreaddemons are even higher.

This also controls the number of monsters in the underground so that they do not overflow.

Constantinople also tends to be laissez-faire towards monsters that do not threaten the survival of humanity.

Because they are like weeds, if you cut off a stubble, a new one will always grow.

No one knows how ghouls and water ghosts were born, they are like cockroaches, forever inhabiting the underground of Constantinople.

Liena didn't have any nosy thoughts, dealing with one more monster, Anna wouldn't give her an extra gold coin, her goal was just to clear the lair of ghouls near the western suburbs.

The sound of her footsteps echoed through the deep sewers.

Ahead, there was a sudden sound of a rapid splash.

Based on experience, Liena was able to tell that there was a high probability that a water ghost had jumped into the sewage and was waiting for an opportunity to sneak up on her.

Water ghosts, low-level monsters, have lackluster combat effectiveness, and are even weaker than ghouls.

If it weren't for their ability to attack from the water, they wouldn't even be a match for an adult male on land.

She stopped, staring at what seemed to be covered in a layer of black grease, with all kinds of filthy water floating inside, and a dark shadow could be faintly seen below, rapidly approaching her.

The thought that she might be touched by this filthy water ghost on her clothes immediately frowned.

His eyes were full of disgust.

Her robe flew, the glow of magic flickering, and the muffled sound of chanting incantations engulfed her with crimson flames that instantly burned the water spirits that swooped in.

Sniffing the thick stench in the air, Liena scolded Anna a hundred times in her heart before continuing to calm her face and walk deeper into the tunnel.

It should be close.

At the edge of the tunnel, she saw a skeleton covered with tooth marks, gnawed clean, and without even a bit of minced meat.

There are not only humans, but also chickens, ducks, geese and other birds, cattle, sheep and horses and other livestock.

Various bones are scattered on the ground.

When you step on it, it will make a creaking sound.

Liena frowned, as an adventurous witch, she was very tolerant of the harsh environment in front of her, but she still felt a strong discomfort.

This underground palace does not belong to the living at all!

She quickened her pace, not caring if she would alarm the approaching ghoul lair.

Ghouls are much more daring than water ghosts, and it is impossible for such social monsters to hear the slightest movement and give up their nests, which are likely to raise dozens of cubs.

On the contrary, Liena expects the ghouls to rush forward and die because they feel the intruder's breath.

It's a pity.

By the time Liena was about to reach the end of the sewers, the ghouls had not appeared.

"It can't be a mistake, right?"

Liena muttered to the end of the sewer.

Here, it was a cliff-like platform, and in front of it, perhaps a chiseled wall, was littered with piles of slippery dirt, and it was pitch black.

She was just about to hold up a fireball and try to light it up.

only to find that in the darkness, dense lines of dense red light suddenly lit up, and at first glance there were at least thousands of terrifying red lights.

"It's... Hell yes. ”

Liena subconsciously took a step back, only to find that a shriveled and grotesque head covered in tooth marks was stepping under her feet.

This is...

Ghoul's head?

Liena's eyes widened.

It seems that he is not looking in the wrong place, but these ghouls have been eliminated by "people" first.

She turned her gaze back to the red eyes in front of her.

These are a bunch of fat rats that are like carpets, spread on the floors and walls.

Their skin was festering, their eyes were red as if they were dripping blood, and they were staring at Liena with a look of cruelty and longing.

If it weren't for the fireball in Liena's hand, it would have made the rats living in the sewers feel strange.

I'm afraid they've already pounced on them in desperation.