The suggestion made by Byron made everyone present a little confused, especially Hetty. She asked directly: "Buy slaves at 30% of the market price? And also in the form of issuing mercenary commissions? How about this? Maybe someone is willing to accept it? Not to mention the abnormally low price, the mercenaries' remuneration must be taken from the 30%... This is a total loss for those mercenaries."
< p>Facing this question, Byron just said lightly: "So we have to add an extra one: no slavery or contract is required."Hetty and Rebecca looked at each other, and Amber She had already understood. The half-elf thief was about to say something, but she didn't expect that it was Gawain who spoke before her: "In this case, the mercenaries will kidnap the refugees and sell them as slaves for money."
Amber glanced at Gawain in surprise, as if she didn't expect that the Duke would understand such a thing, while Knight Byron nodded in surprise: "A strong man with complete slave contract procedures and a... Serfs or slave laborers with clear origins usually need twenty to thirty small inlaid silver coins, or sixteen or seventeen silver shields, and the biggest cost is actually their slave registration, because they are registered with their identities, so It must be purchased from formal channels. In addition to the money to buy the slave itself, the slave owner, the lord's tax officer, the local church, the slave market and even the 'slave labor association' composed of local rogues will also take a commission at various levels. That’s several times or even ten times the price, but refugees... refugees cost nothing, no one will protect them, they don’t have any identity information, and their disappearance or death will not attract any attention.”
At this point, Byron paused, as if to give Hetty and Rebecca some time to think, and then continued: "Under normal circumstances, nobles will not buy slaves without slave contracts. Because such a slave has no guarantee of origin, and will appear to be a noble, stingy, poor, and of low taste. Moreover, if such a slave is killed or captured by another slave owner, he cannot receive compensation. But even so, some people will still complain. The commission to purchase cheap stateless slaves - this is a default black rule, which actually refers to... refugees."
Hetty clutched her chest, even though she was already among the nobles and living with commoners. A very recent example, but she has never been exposed to this deepest dark fact: "How can such a thing still happen?"
"Not only does it happen, but it happens every year and everywhere. , Madam," Knight Byron said in a low voice, "In some unscrupulous mercenary circles, this kind of refugee is called 'long-legged money', and they will even regard the refugee gathering points and shelters as paid intelligence. They circulate secretly, watching the displaced people like sharks and hyenas, waiting for anyone to buy cheap stateless slaves - usually in large quantities - and they will swarm them. ”
Rui. Beka subconsciously clenched the iron staff in her hand, her knuckles even turning white from the exertion. She whispered as if talking to herself: "Mercenaries... I listened to their stories in the tavern.Listening to their stories about slaying bandits, killing monsters, and exploring in ancient castles and secret realms, I thought that was the life of mercenaries, but..."
"Lord Viscount, when you were in the tavern When the time came, the mercenaries in the tavern were no longer mercenaries." Knight Byron gave Rebecca a deep look, "Not all mercenaries will do what I just said, and what you said is indeed true. Part of the life of a mercenary, but there is another point - the hands of a mercenary are destined to be unclean, it is just a matter of how much evil they commit. "
Then the middle-aged knight raised his head and looked at Gawain: "Sir, what do you mean? About publishing the commission..."
Gawain looked at the knight with a half-smile, and the knight told the darkest truth in front of everyone. In fact, the subtext was already obvious, but He didn’t want to expose this half-way knight who seemed to have a past: “I don’t plan to save this money. "
Both Hetty and Rebecca were obviously relieved.
"We are not short of money. The gold and silver in the treasure house are enough for the entire territory to last for a long time, but If we save money by promoting evil, the debt we have to bear on our souls will not be so easy to redeem." Gawain said unhurriedly, "Just follow the normal procedures and go to the nearby territory to post notices and send troops. People read it, negotiate with the nobles who can get on the line, rent carriages and horses to prepare dry food, if you want to buy serfs, buy them through normal channels, don't be stingy with money, I have only one request: to ensure that everyone who is about to come to this land Everyone understands one thing: no matter what they have done before, they must obey the laws here. "
Byron caressed his chest and lowered his head: "This is their duty. "
Gawain nodded: "You are good at dealing with people in this field, so I will leave this matter to you. If you need any money, go to Hetty to get it, but you must have clear accounts. and support plans. In addition, if you have channels, it is best to find out where the refugees gather. ”
Since the infrastructure work is on track and there is some spare manpower, the coinage work in the territory has begun on a small scale. Gawain designed and ordered the minting of the first few currencies a few days ago, and these were The currency was sent to the nearby town of Tanzania and several other distant towns, and was notarized by merchants and nobles. Now the currency is ready for use.
After Byron and others left, Only Gawain and Amber were left in the tent, and the latter kept looking at Gawain with strange eyes, making Gawain feel uncomfortable: "What are you looking at? ”
“Letting those mercenaries who only care about money to capture the refugees and send them over is obviously much more trouble-free, labor-intensive and cost-effective than sending your own people to carry out propaganda and search, and also to prepare dry food for carriages and horses.” , I thought you would definitely choose a more practical solution - haven't you always said that you are a pragmatist? ”
“I am indeed a pragmatist, but I am not a villain. I can imagine how those mercenaries will capture refugees and use them as slaves with my back molars. haveHow many people will be killed on the spot? How many people will be separated from their wives? How many people will die of hunger and disease during the rough 'transportation' process of those mercenaries? Even if I deliberately emphasize the need to ensure the health of the 'slaves' in my commission, how many mercenaries do you think will really listen? These things may not have been done by me, but they were prompted by me, which is against my code of conduct. ”
“But you know, even if you don’t do it, others are doing it. Stingy farmers and black mines will find mercenaries to buy stateless slaves every year. The amount they buy is enough to fill the country.” Your little camp several times. ”
“So I am ready to destroy this status quo and build a new order. Not only must I act in accordance with these principles, but also in every piece of land I establish, I must abide by these principles—— This is true whether they are slave owners, mercenaries, ruffians, bandits and profiteers, or powerful hereditary nobles. I don't do evil - and neither do they. "
Amber opened her mouth and looked at Gawain in astonishment. After a while, she said, "You are quite loud...but why are you so obsessed with protecting the weak?" Is it really because of those so-called ‘classical noble virtues’ or ‘chivalry’? "
"No, this is just basic morality. "
As if deliberately angry, Amber insisted on finding something wrong: "You are so naive. How can you change so much by yourself? You must know that in this world, the law of the jungle is the rule, and the strong overpowering the weak is moral in itself. "
Gawain looked at Amber and suddenly couldn't help laughing: "Yes, the weak eat the strong. This is indeed the rule of this world, even the rule of nature. The strong should make the rules. The weak can only obey. "
Amber blinked: "Then you..."
Gawain's smile became even more uncontrollable: "So haven't I already started to make rules? "
Amber: "...It can still be done like this! ? ”
At the same moment, Veronica was staying in her prayer room on the White Oak, which was far away from Cecil Territory and sailing on the white water river.
She was still wearing a simple white nun's uniform, with long pale golden hair draped softly behind her head, without any extravagant decoration. She knelt in front of the statue of the God of Holy Light, folding her hands on her chest. Mimicking the image of the two holy lights crossing on the Holy Emblem, the filled light elements circled and danced around her, surrounding her like translucent little angels, guarding this extremely devout believer in the Holy Light.
She prayed devoutly, letting the light gradually shroud the statue of the God of Holy Light whose face was blurred and whose appearance could not be distinguished with the naked eye. After finishing a prayer, she opened her eyes, Looking at the thick candle burning in front of the statue, the flame of the thick candle jumped a few times, suddenly changing from orange to pure white, and the flame suddenly expanded several times and turned into a bunch. Pure flame, this flame trembled and shrank, gradually forming a figureThe image of an old man.
The old man is sitting on a chair. Although he looks quite majestic, he is obviously old and weak. If there are any believers of the God of Holy Light here, they will probably recognize him at first sight. It turns out that this is the current supreme ruler of the Holy Light Church, Pope Saint Ivan III.
Veronica lowered her head slightly: "His Majesty the Pope."
The Pope's slightly distorted voice came from the flames: "Child favored by the Holy Light, you have already Returning?"
"Yes, I have left the Cecil Territory, and the fleet should be approaching the mouth of the Dorgon River now."
"Is everything going well on this trip? All goes well? Is that Gawain Cecil the enemy of our lord?”
Veronica pondered for two seconds and replied in a soft voice: “Everything goes well, Gawain Cecil is indeed the Seventh One?” The legend from a hundred years ago was not an evil spirit who stole the hero's body and remained in the world. He spoke freely under the light of the Holy Light and was a person of noble character."
"Then, That's good. I have heard the voice of the Lord frequently in recent years. He wants me to teach the righteous way of the Holy Light to the world. It is really a matter of concern that Gawain Cecil is resurrected at this time, but now you After confirming that he is not the enemy of the Lord, I feel more at ease."
Veronica folded her hands and bowed her head deeply: "My Lord's righteous way will definitely spread throughout the world."
p>
The candles are gradually burning out, and the power of the magic has reached its end. The voice coming from the flames has become fainter: "Come back as soon as possible, and don't delay on the road, in case the dirty world affects your purity. The Holy Light, return to the Holy Light Cathedral..."
The flame disappeared, only some pale ashes remained from the candle, and the Pope's aura was also far away from this place.
Veronica waited for a few more seconds before slowly standing up and quietly staring at the statue of the God of Holy Light.
She spoke softly, as if talking to herself:
"That is actually a person without faith, right?"
"Yes, not only does he not Faith, and contradicts the way of the Holy Light."
"He seems to be only contradicting God, not the Holy Light..."
"In short, he is neither a servant of the Holy Light nor a servant of the Holy Light. Not a minion of darkness."
"It's interesting..."
"It's interesting."