85_85536Because of this rain, William lost his soul for several days. Until he heard the good news.

The damage caused by the heavy rain was not as severe as he thought.

This is mainly because of the promotion of new scythes and the agricultural tax rebate system, which has made the people of the estate explosive. So the work of harvesting and drying the wheat was much faster than William had imagined, and most of the millet in the field had been put into storage in the first two days. So the damage caused by this rainstorm is actually not too much.

In comparison, the rest of the farms are miserable. The original production system was still in place, and the peasants who used the original production tools complained about the misery. All farms have different reductions in yields. The worst farms lost their yields by a third. It seems that this winter is not destined to be peaceful.

The torrential rain continued until the next morning, and the clouds had not yet cleared, and the rain continued to flow. It seems that the reduction in the autumn grain production of Barony Hereford is inevitable.

In the baron's study, Baron Otto frowned. William, on the other hand, also frowned, looking very dissatisfied. On the other hand, the third person sitting there, Constantine, the captain of Baron Otto's henchman, had a stern expression and a flat voice: "The cavalry has returned. The nobles who are adjacent to our realm have also suffered. In fact, I'm afraid that the whole Grand Duchy of Mazovia will have problems......

Hearing him say this, the baron, father and son, were relatively speechless. In this era of agricultural dregs, even in a good year, there will be no enough to eat, and people will starve to death in ordinary years...... Expanding the scope to the entire Grand Duchy of Mazovia, even if the grain production is only reduced by one or two percent, it is a great deal.

After questioning, William had learned that the peasants of this era did still have the traditional habit of "rioting". And a natural disaster that affected Yan zhòng, which in turn caused a large-scale, large-scale peasant uprising. It's just normal.

"In other words, do we need to prepare for war?" asked Baron Otto, frowning.

"I think so, my lord. Konstantin replied.

“...... Can't we wait a minute?" "Is there nothing we can do to deal with natural disasters?" I think we can resolve this by reducing taxes and even providing some relief, father, if you—"

"We alone are not enough. Baron Otto interrupted William with a little annoyance: "The point is someone else - the entire Grand Duchy of Mazovia, with a population of millions. We only manage a few tenths of them. We can certainly bail out those people, and we can certainly reduce taxes. In fact, I would have done that even if you didn't say I, the problem is that the other nobles wouldn't. ”

Speaking of this, Baron Otto looked even more distressed: "They are reluctant to give up their money, nor their food. In their eyes, those peasants deserved to starve to death. They don't feel bad. ”

Hearing Baron Otto say this, William probably understood...... At this pace, it is inevitable that a famine and revolt will engulf the entire Grand Duchy of Mazovia, and even the entire border region. The Hereford family could do nothing about it—not even by exempting all agricultural taxes at all costs, and devoting all of their modest wealth to the victims.

The current situation has not yet developed to that level. The autumn harvest with reduced production is also the autumn harvest. The peasants barely had a bite to eat. The problem is that after a few days, the lords and nobles will collect the grain, as is customary. If these guys had not lowered their taxes and had collected grain according to the standards of previous years, it would not be long before the hungry peasants died in large numbers in the winter, and then there was a desperate riot...... If the riot had been suppressed in the first place, it would have been nothing.

But if the revolt had not been eradicated in the first place, the peasants would have become homeless. Wandering around in the territory of Mazovia. Wherever they go, they will rob other local farmers of their food. When they are hungry and dizzy, they will consume all the food in the shortest possible time. Then he continued to wander with the other peasants.

The ranks of homeless people will snowball like this, getting bigger and bigger. Led by retired soldiers, mercenaries, robbers, and some bankrupt nobles and down-and-out knights, they will also become more and more organized.

When the food in the field could not satisfy their appetite, they would attack the castles of the noble lords, driven by careerists. If they get away with breaking a lord's castle, things will get out of hand. The army of displaced people who have gained greater fame, more food, and more advanced equipment will naturally greatly increase their combat effectiveness. And then there's ......

Thinking of this, William's head ached irrepressibly—it was terrible, it was terrible. The news was much worse than he had thought.

"All in all, get ready. The farms will only receive 30% of their taxes this fall. At the same time, they should organize the strong men and practice again. By the way, I also have to talk to Charlumi about this. William - You go. ”

At this point, Baron Otto called William by name: "Go and tell Sù Charlumie that she will do as I say." In addition to this, sue her and ask her to stay at Hereford Castle. Don't think about going back to her own fiefdom. ”

“...... Yes, Father. William nodded, then stood up and walked out. At the same time, Konstantin then left the study and sent men to spread the baron's orders.

After that, William, who left the baron's study, was a little hesitant. Of course, he knew what his father meant. It's fine if nothing happens. But if the worst-case scenario really occurs, then the Barony of Hereford, with a Juggernaut in charge, is naturally safer than Charrumi's territory. It was only natural for the baron to want Charlumi to stay here.

The problem is, theoretically, Charlumi shouldn't stay here.

Although in terms of age, she is only a year older than William. But she was indeed a countess. She is a nobleman, and she is responsible for her own territory, her people. In normal times, forget it. But at the critical moment, she should return to her territory and lead her people through the difficult times with her guards.

And from what William knew about Miss Charlumie, it was quite possible that she would do so—she wasn't the kind of character who liked to curl up and hide under the wings of others. She is bold, ambitious, and ambitious. At the same time, it has its own code of conduct. And she's fifteen years old. One year away, and you'll be officially an adult. In this case, Baron Otto, as the guardian, has no way to influence her behavior.

William felt that even if his father, Baron Otto, intervened, it was unlikely that she would be compromised......

"Because you can't do it yourself, you just leave it to me? No, no, no, my father is not like that. ”

On the way to Charlumie's room, William thought about it - Baron Otto would choose him for this task, naturally thinking that William was more suitable and more likely to complete the task than he was. This made William feel strange.

"I remember that Charlumi respected her father very much. Moreover, her father was kind to her, and he was his guardian. is reasonable, and it should be more likely that her father persuaded her. My words...... The relationship with that guy has not been very good. That guy also looked down on me all the time...... But it's been a little bit better lately. But even then, it's not as good as my father's, isn't it? Not to mention the famine I owe her two hundred Vendekins lately. It's hard to speak. ”

Thinking about it like this, William suddenly thought of a very terrifying reason:

"Father should not think, think...... No, no, I don't have that tendency. No, no, no, no. Maybe I've been going too well lately, and I've become more narcissistic -- how could that guy like me? Father, you must have misunderstood. Hahaha, that's definitely the case. ”

In this way, William actively eliminated the most unlikely option. Then he decided on his tactic: "Do your best to let Charlumi stay." But if she had to go, she couldn't help it. Anyway, it's just a little bit of a clue. There is no saying that it will really develop into such a bad Cheng dù. Even if there is a small riot in Mazovia, there is no problem. Charlumi's earl had two hundred cavalry at his disposal. When the situation allows, at least 1,000 peasant soldiers can be mobilized. This force is enough to deal with the vast majority of the rebellion. ”

Think about defeat before you win. William made up his mind and quickened his pace. Soon arrived at the door of Charlumi's room. I was about to knock on the door, but I heard a creaking and the door opened. The little maid brought by Xia Lumi walked out with a worried face, and was stunned for a moment when she saw William, and then immediately saluted and shouted, "Young Master William." ”

"Well, what's wrong?" asked William, seeing that her face was wrong.

"The young lady said she wanted to go back and was packing her luggage. You see, this is the way it looks...... Go in and persuade her. The little maid said to William. At the end, he added: "If Young Master William persuades, Miss will definitely listen." After saying that, he looked at William expectantly, and looked at William all over his body - how can a person say that he must be able to listen to what he says? This is too strange.......