But the Minister of Public Security did not let him go, "The Minister of Military Affairs and I admire you very much, please don't let us down."
Hearing this, Balion quickly leaned over and saluted again. He knew that if he didn't express his position today, he would offend the Minister of Public Security and the northern lords behind him. "Belion Tucker, I will always be loyal to you, Your Majesty."
Your guidance and support are the foundation of my survival, and my sword and I will always serve you."
"Hahaha, you are not serving me, you are loyal to our monarch and serve the monarch. Of course, although there are some problems with your words, I can still feel your sincerity. From now on, it will depend on your performance.
"The Minister of Public Security's loyalty to Balian is still very useful.
"I will not let you down, my lord." Balian said sincerely.
"Okay, now let's talk about the fiefdom." After saying that, the Minister of Public Security asked the servant to spread a large map on the table. He took a charcoal pen and drew a circle on it, "Your knight awarding ceremony,
It will be held in three days, and your fiefdom is in the direct county, bordering my territory, Gaoshan Province, and we will be neighbors from now on."
Balian looked at the circle drawn by the Minister of Public Security on the map and asked doubtfully: "Sir, this is a forest land. There is only one outpost sign. Why is there no village marked?"
The Minister of Public Security continued to smile and said: "This outpost, this woodland and the surrounding grassland are your fiefdom. This territory covers an area of more than 80,000 acres, which is larger than the territory of most knights in the principality. Others
It seems that it is just a forest and grassland now. As long as you manage it well, it will definitely become a prosperous place. Besides, I will not only let you become the lord, but you will also serve as the deputy sheriff of the direct county, responsible for exterminating the evil spirits that haunt the Stag Forest.
Green Forest Robber, this is an important task. If he is not a trusted person, I will never give it to him, so you must thank me!"
Hearing what he said, Balian cursed in his heart. These guys gave me this forest as a fiefdom in order to let me open up wasteland. That's not all, they also asked me to do the work of suppressing bandits with a near-death experience!
You get the worst reward, do the hardest work, and still ask me to thank you. I thank you for eight generations of ancestors.
He scolded in his heart, but still said thanks with his mouth. After all, people were under the roof and had to bow their heads. Balian still thanked the Minister of Public Security profusely, "Thank you, my lord, I will definitely achieve great results!"
"
Perhaps feeling a little guilty, the Minister of Public Security said: "Although the territory is just a forest land now, you can recruit some refugees and buy some serfs to open up wasteland. In just two or three years, you will have a large area of farmland. Don't worry. And I
I will fight for you and reward you with that outpost as the lord's official residence. You will now have a castle and can be a lord with peace of mind."
Although Bellian knew that what the big man in front of him said was all to deceive him, he still had to pretend to cooperate with him in his performance. After all, if he wanted to win the respect of others, he had to speak with strength, and Bellian
Lyon currently does not have the strength to win the respect of the powerful nobles. Besides, no matter whether this fiefdom is good or bad, at least it has a foothold in this strange time and space. As long as it is managed patiently, it will become rich.
.
After Balian once again expressed his gratitude to the Minister of Public Security and expressed his loyalty, he said goodbye and left. It was already evening. He first bought a ham and some sausages and dried meat on the street outside.
I brought a barrel of ale and brought these things to my uncle's house. After all, becoming a knight with a hereditary fiefdom was a cause for celebration for the entire Tucker family. It just so happened that I didn't want to go back to the dormitory to crowd with everyone.
Then come and bother Uncle Rudy.
When he came home, when he saw Sir Rudy, he eagerly asked for the result. Balian explained in detail what happened in his meeting with the Minister of Public Security today. Sir Rudy was very excited when he first heard it, but he sighed at the end.
, "Although we have been a knight family for several generations, we are only the lowest nobles after all, and we don't have a big backer in the court. Why should they reward us with good territory?"
While Sir Rudy was talking, Balian put the food on the table, opened the ale and poured it into the cup. After the two drank a drink, Balian said: "Uncle, no matter what, I am also a knight with a territory.
My lord, before I didn’t even dare to think about owning my own fiefdom.”
Sir Rudy shook his head and said: "Silly boy, that's just a piece of woodland. You can't even see a single citizen."
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None. Besides, I asked you to be the deputy sheriff to suppress bandits. Firstly, you have no money, and secondly, you have no citizens. How can you recruit soldiers? Without soldiers, you cannot complete the task of suppressing bandits, but you will be punished."
Hearing this, Balian suddenly realized, yes, although he has 80,000 acres of forest and grassland and an outpost, he has no one. What is the point of having no one in front of the polished commander? Thinking of this, Balian lowered his head.
Come.
Sir Rudy saw the depressed Balian and said with a smile: "Silly boy, there is nothing to worry about. Your father has three villages and a market. It is okay to give you twenty or thirty serfs, and there are some in the city defense camp prison."
The prisoners themselves are to be punished as serfs, so I can find a way to sell you a batch at a low price, so you don't have to worry about anything."
After hearing what his uncle said, Balian couldn't help but laugh. After all, he still had a family to rely on. "Thank you, uncle. After the knighting ceremony is over, I will go home quickly and ask my father for support and let him lend me some money."
Talking about money, Sir Rudy sighed, "Hey, I haven't saved any money over the years. Otherwise, I can lend it to you first and take it to visit the Minister of Public Security at his home. You don't know, although these people from the north
The minister looks down on the Southerners who buy and sell knighthoods, but privately they are also very greedy for money. As long as you are willing to spend money, you can still get them to get some benefits for you, such as the palace providing you with wages for recruiting soldiers, providing weapons and armor, etc.
.”
After hearing his uncle's words, Balian's eyes lit up. When he was in sales in his previous life, what he did most often was give gifts to big customers and key people. How could he have forgotten this time and space, especially when facing these ministers who openly accepted bribes?
, if you go to them with your property, you will definitely get benefits.
The authorities are confused, but the bystanders are clear. After Balian was awakened by his uncle's words, his thoughts opened up, and his depressed mood was swept away. That night, the uncle and nephew got drunk again. When they woke up the next day, Sir Rudy had already
He is no longer at home. After all, he is still responsible for city defense matters. He leaves early and returns late almost every day.
After Balian got up, he tidied up briefly, took out twenty gold coins from his purse, and brought two hundred dinars with him. After packing them in several purses, he led his horse out and went straight to Warehouse Street.
Almost all merchants' warehouses are here. Balian found a large warehouse and went in to exchange twenty gold coins for two thousand dinars. This was done because gold coins were basically not circulated in the market, and Balian
I am also worried that there will be risks in spending these gold coins. After all, the bandits robbed them from the Duke's private vault, so I still have to be cautious.
Balian took these silver coins and went to Carpenter Street again. In a bronze workshop, he spent 500 dinars to buy a gold-plated bronze statue of a knight. At the same time, he spent 50 dinars in a woodwork workshop.
I bought a beautiful small wooden box covered with deerskin. Balian put a thousand dinars of silver coins in the box, filled most of the box, and then put the gold-plated bronze statue in. Looking at himself
Balian felt a little sad for the gift worth fifteen hundred dinars, but he couldn't bear to leave the child without trapping the wolf. He hoped that the reward from the Minister of Public Security would be worthy of this heavy gift.
The official residence area where the Minister of Public Security's residence is located is located in the upper town of Valombre City along with Warehouse Street and Wine Street. The distance is not too far. Balian first found a tavern in Wine Street and had a quick bite.
He went straight to the Minister of Public Security's house.
When they arrived at the door of the Minister of Public Security's residence, although the guard saw that Balian had the family crest on his clothes, Balian had not yet been formally ennobled after all. In addition, he was young and was mistaken for a knight's attendant, so the guard was very arrogant.
Treat Balian well, after all, there are so many young knights who come to seek help from the Minister of Public Security every day. They have no regard for low-level nobles such as trainee knights and knight squires.
In desperation, Balian had no choice but to resort to a money offensive and took out a small purse with ten silver coins in it. After handing it to them, the attitude of the guards was indeed very different. Shortly after a guard went in to report, the housekeeper came out.
Yes, he heard the Minister of Public Security mention Balian several times in the past two days. Because of this, his attitude towards Balian was completely opposite to that of the guards, and he was very polite.
The butler led Balian to the living room of the mansion and asked the servants to bring wine and fruit. He asked Balian to wait here and told Arne that the Minister of Security would not necessarily come back when. After hearing this, Balian not only verbally thanked
The steward also gave the steward a purse containing twenty dinars of silver coins and asked him to arrange a meeting with the minister as soon as possible after the minister of security returned.
housekeeper
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Weighing the weight of the purse in his hand, he was very happy. He asked Balian to wait here with peace of mind, and he would report the news as soon as the master came back. Fortunately, Balian's luck was not too bad, and he drank in the living room.
After five glasses of ale and a plate of pickled pork, it was finally time to meet with the Minister of Public Security.
The butler led Balian to the study of the Minister of Public Security and left. After Balian came in, he bowed respectfully. The Minister of Public Security was in a good mood today. He asked Balian: "Sir Balian, why do you think of coming to this old man like me?"
Sit at home?"
"If you have nothing to do, why don't you come and greet my most respected lord?" After saying that, Balian stood up, put the box on the table of the Minister of Public Security, and opened it for him to see.
When the old guy saw so many silver coins and a gilded knight statue in the box, he couldn't help but get entangled. His territory, Gaoshan Province, was one of the few wealthy areas in the north, but compared to the territory in the south, it could only
He is considered a small rich man. Normally, there are not many friends and subordinates who can give him such expensive gifts. Today, Balian is so generous. Is he trying to beg to change his fiefdom?
Thinking of this, the Minister of Public Security's face became serious, "Sir Balian, what do you mean by this? Are you trying to ask me to change your fiefdom? This is impossible. What the Duke has decided cannot be changed.
"
Seeing that the old man had misunderstood what he meant, Balian quickly smiled and said: "Sir, I swear to the God of Fire, I did not mean this. I am very satisfied with the fiefdom that the Duke has given me, how dare I ask for a replacement.
"
"That's fine. Apart from the matter of changing the fief, you can tell me about other things." Seeing that it was not a matter of changing the fief, the Minister of Public Security relaxed his mood. It is difficult to change the fief, but other matters are still easy to discuss.
"Sir, you see, now that I have a piece of land and no people, I can't recruit troops to suppress the bandits. In this case, not only will I not be able to hold the position of deputy sheriff directly under the county for a long time, but my annual taxes to the palace will also be reduced.
I can't hand it over." Balian said aggrievedly.
The Minister of Public Security nodded, "You are right, I cannot let you take the post alone."
Hearing the response from the Minister of Public Security, Balian saw that there was something going on and hurriedly struck while the iron was hot, "Besides, my lord, my territory is between Gaoshan Province and Yang Weixuo. I have an elite soldier in my hand to prepare for the trip."
The caravan escort of the Alpine Fort can better serve as a barrier to the northwest for you. Sir, I want you to help me apply for some people and weapons. If these don't work, then help me apply for a tax holiday of at least three years and some financial resources.
Let’s reward the goods.”
Learning with reason is not as good as using profit. Balian simply explained the stakes, and the Minister of Public Security understood that as long as he could help Balian gain a foothold, Balian could not only eliminate the bandits who intercepted the merchants in the Stag Forest, but also allow Balian to
The trade route between Gaoshan Fort and Yangweixuo City is smoother, and it can also serve as a barrier to defend his fief from enemies at critical moments.
After listening to Balian's words, the Minister of Public Security thought quietly for a while, and then he said: "I have to admit that you are not only a brave knight, but also a wise person. By the way, you are also a sensible person."
As he spoke, he pointed to the gifts on the table.
"In this way, I will get some serfs for you, but the number will not be too many, twenty at most. I can help you apply for some weapons and armor, but the number will not be too many. As for the rewards in terms of goods, what do you think of me, the Duke?
I don’t know. I will know this when you are knighted, and there is nothing I can do about it. However, your fiefdom will be exempt from paying taxes in the first few years of land reclamation. This can be fought for, but for the specific number of years, I can only
I can say that I will do my best." The exemption from paying taxes is indeed a great benefit. Otherwise, if the palace collects taxes according to the land area, Balian would have to lose money every year. So after Balian heard that the Minister of Public Security was willing to fight for him, he
There was excitement on his face.
"Thank you, sir, for your kindness. My descendants and I will always remember it in our hearts." Balian thanked the Minister of Public Security.
"Okay, young man, there's no need to say any more words of thanks. I'm very optimistic about you, so don't let me live up to my expectations." The Minister of Public Security said with a smile.
"That is natural, my lord," Balian responded.
"Okay, go and have a drink with this old man like me. Someone gave me a few barrels of Sarion wine the day before yesterday. It's much better than the ale in Wallombre. You and I will have a taste today."