The loyalty of ordinary people is based on the favor and hope of life from the superiors. Now people like Nolandenburg cannot be said to be absolutely loyal to Balian, but at least they will not betray Balian easily at the moment, not only because of the current situation
There is no need to worry about food and clothing, and because successive victories will make people see bright prospects, they are willing to follow Balian.
After putting all the items in storage and putting the livestock and poultry into the pen, it was already completely dark. Mark directed the women to make sumptuous food for everyone and lit several bonfires in the camp. It was now early spring.
Although it is still very cold at night, it is much better than the cold winter. Sitting near the fire and eating hot food, it is not that cold. So tonight's celebration banquet will be held in the open space in the castle. There is a constant flow in the kitchen.
Apple pies and meat pies were baked, and pigs and lambs were roasted on the bonfire outside. In addition, a large pot was set up, in which steaming fish soup with fragrant aroma was cooked.
Balian asked everyone to open the captured ale and let everyone drink freely. Except for the soldiers who guarded the prisoners and the night guards, everyone else came to participate in the celebration banquet. However, Balian would not treat the soldiers who stayed at their posts badly tonight and celebrated.
A portion of the food at the banquet was sent to them, and at the same time, both mercenaries and Nolandenburg soldiers who stayed at their posts were rewarded with two dinars to make up for their regret of not being able to attend the celebration banquet.
People who had experienced the war and had come down from the line between life and death, under the catalysis of alcohol, completely relaxed. I don't know how long I drank that night. Balian remembered that he was being helped back to his feet by Bess and Toul's uncle and nephew in a daze.
In my own room, even though the alcohol content of this ale is low, it is still intoxicating after drinking too much. Just after the war, things are complicated. Logically speaking, Balion should not drink like this, but no one is born to do this.
The lord, who was annoyed that he shouldn't be drunk, found a reason for himself to feel relieved, and then started to deal with important things.
The first thing is to interrogate Lal and Quaid and ask them who asked them to attack Fort Noland. Now Balian doesn't even know who the enemy behind the scenes is, and it's hard to formulate countermeasures next.
No. Lal and Quaid, who were already prisoners and had experienced Balian's interrogation methods, obediently explained the whole story in front of Balian, and the mastermind behind the scenes also came out.
The person who instigated the Blood Wolf gang to attack Nolandenburg was none other than Sir Yellen, the heir to the lord of Lidaburg who was officially offended by Balian, and the son of Baron Raul. This man had always held a grudge in his heart after losing the duel with Balian.
He also provoked the relationship between Balian and his brother Sir Sey, but he never expected that among the crowd watching the battle that day, there was Sir Charles, the only son of the Duke of Carolingian. Sir Charles and his entourage escorts witnessed the entire duel.
process.
Sir Charles was deeply impressed by the chivalry and superb martial arts displayed by Balian. After he returned to the court of Wallonbraed, he announced the matter to his father, the Duke of Caroline, and a group of nobles who were friends with him.
Everyone knows that Sir Yellen deliberately provoked but was beaten to a pulp in the duel. Although this incident had little impact on the status of the Baron Raul family, it was still a shameful thing and greatly affected their work in the war.
The reputation within the aristocratic circle of the Principality of Rick, especially Sir Yellen's reputation, was a huge blow. This caused Baron Raul to move around and had a major impact on Sir Yellen's plan to enter the Duchy's court and take up an official position.
Sir Yellen is an arrogant and narrow-minded person. His father, Baron Raul, is not much different from him. After being humiliated, he will definitely wait for an opportunity to retaliate. He first used the Chancellor of Finance to appoint a palace knight who is related to his family as his direct subordinate.
The deputy sheriff of the county squeezed Balian into an unimportant position like inspector, and then asked the knight named Sac to contact the person in charge of selling stolen goods to the bandits in Amundine, and through him to help the Blood Wolf bandits.
Then Sir Sack met with Lal and Quaid, the leaders of the Blood Wolf gang, outside the city of Amundine. Sir Sack handed Lal the two thousand dinars given to him by Baron Raul and told him this
It is a deposit. After completing the task, all the wealth of Nolandenburg will belong to Lal, and they will also pay another three thousand dinars as a reward.
Lal learned from Sir Sack that the current lord of Fort Nolandon had only a few soldiers, but he had a lot of wealth. He was immediately moved. At the same time, Sir Sack also assured him that after the matter was completed, he could
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In order to get him a chance to be a palace knight attendant through Baron Raul, he would change him from a robber to a nobleman. How could Raul not be tempted by such conditions? He immediately agreed to Sir Sack, and after returning
He planned carefully, but he didn't expect that Balian saw through his plan at a glance, which made him end up in jail.
It is said that it is better to dissolve enemies than to end them, but now that they have become enemies, there is no need to shrink back. Now that he knows who his opponent is, Balian has a plan to deal with him. When the time is right, Balian will also let Raul
The baron's family suffered a big loss, so that they knew that they were not easy to mess with.
After interrogating Lal, Balian asked people to bring Quaid, Hama and others in. By interrogating other leaders, Balian basically had a clear understanding of the situation in the Blood Wolf Gang. Although Lal was also the main leader,
But he rarely participates in robberies, and he plays the role of a butler in logistics support. Not only that, he also saved the blacksmith Hama's family, allowing the Blood Wolf gang to have skilled blacksmiths that many small lords dream of. Balian knows these things
Of course, you cannot kill all the captured bandits. Those who have skills and have not lost their humanity can still fight for it. After all, your territory is still very short of people, especially important technical talents like blacksmiths.
Quaid's group all had wives and families, so it was not difficult to persuade them to surrender. Balian told them his conditions, that is, Balian would protect their lives and their families' lives, and would not pursue them for the crime of becoming bandits, but they
They must swear allegiance to Balian and become subjects under Balian's rule. Quaid and others agreed to this condition without even thinking about it. Not only could they not die, but they could also have a legal identity, which was their dream.
They didn't want to be robbers at all. If they couldn't survive, who would want to live in fear every day.
So in the open space of the castle, Quaid and others took their families and swore allegiance to Balian in front of the statue of the God of Fire. Under the witness of everyone, Balian not only gained more than a dozen strong laborers, but also gained
With a skilled blacksmith, Nolandenburg finally solved the problem of not having a blacksmith, and the development bottleneck was about to be overcome.
After subduing Quaid, Hammar and others, Lal knew that Balian would not spare his life, so he asked Balian to learn his name at Norandenburg and not send him to the governor.
When he was about to die, his cry was also mournful. Considering that he had given so much money, Balian decided to give him a happy death. However, before executing him, a ceremony had to be held.
At noon the next day, everyone in Fort Nolanden gathered in the open space outside the castle. Balian straightened his clothes and climbed onto the temporary wooden platform. He looked at the people in the audience and said: "Follow me, everyone."
It has been three months since we came from the warm Lake St. Martin to the cold northern forests, for no other reason than to have a place where we can live a good life with dignity! I promised to let
You have no worries about food and clothing. I have done it since you followed me! I also promised to protect you with the sword in my hand. During this period, I led you to fight hungry wolves and kill bandits, and I did it! I also promised
I want to lead you to live a good life. Now the blood wolf gang that poses the greatest threat to us in the territory has been wiped out. Winter is about to pass. We can build the territory well. As long as everyone follows me well, I will definitely fulfill it.
A promise to let you live a good life."
"Lord Balian! Lord Balian! Lord Balian!" As soon as the words fell, the people in the audience cheered, following a man who was wise and brave, could treat the people in his territory well, and could lead them to the
For these serfs and farmers who had no clothes to eat and no food to eat before, such lords were worth following.
When everyone's cheers died down, Balian continued: "In the battles of the past few days, the warriors who participated in the battle were very brave. It is their fear of life and death that led to the victory of these two battles! But sadly, we
Three good brothers died in the battle. They used their lives to defend Fort Norland and protect our safety. They deserve our eternal commemoration! Not only is it a commemoration, the families of the three of them can receive five pounds from the lord's mansion every month from now on.
For food, you can receive an annual subsidy of ten dinars from the lord's residence.
In addition, their families will be exempted from serf status and each family will be allocated two acres of farmland.
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Land to ensure life!" At this point, Balian paused and continued: "Norandenburg will not forget those who contributed to its development!"
After Balian said this, the people in the audience cheered louder than before. They never thought that they could get paid to fight for their lords, but they could benefit from their families even if they died. What else would they do if they went out to fight in the future?
What is there to worry about? Even if he dies in battle, the lord will not treat his family badly.
The movement of Balian and the others also attracted the attention of the mercenaries of the Free Company on the city wall. A tall mercenary holding a spear said to Grove: "Boss, Sir Balian is really an amazing lord. To be able to become his
The people under our rule are really a happy thing."
Grove nodded, "Indeed, such a lord is worthy of people's loyalty to the death." After saying that, Grove remembered that there was something in this guy's words. He patted the man's helmet and laughed and cursed: "You little kid.
Bitch, what do you mean? Do you want to go to Lord Balian?"
The tall mercenary who received the beating chuckled twice, "If you hit me again, there's no telling. I might just be like Boss Bess that day and defect to Lord Balian."
Before he could finish speaking, Grove kicked him over. The tall mercenary ducked away with a smile and went to another place. Grove looked at his men running aside and couldn't help but smile and shake his head, secretly thinking
He sighed: "I also want to join a lord like Sir Balian. A mercenary's job of licking blood with the tip of a knife is not something I can do for a lifetime."
Balian didn't know what happened on the city wall. He had just read out the list of those who had made contributions in the two battles. At this time, he was giving bonuses to these people who had made contributions. According to the merit, they were divided into ten dinars and seven dinars.
Seoul, three levels of five dinars. In addition, anyone who participates in the battle can receive a bonus of one dinar. The payment of money is the most practical. When Balian was working in sales after retiring from the army in his previous life, the nature of the company was the most
The effective rules are cash rewards. Do more business and earn more money. A wad of red banknotes will be handed into your hand.
Bonuses were distributed to everyone. The actual effect was exactly as Balian expected. The clanking sound of silver coins made the soldiers who had participated in the battle immediately excited. They were fighting to defend their homeland, and they could also get rewards from the lords.
And it's a silver coin, which is unimaginable.
After saying what should be said to his own people and the rewards that should be rewarded, the next step is to judge the Blood Wolf gang. Balian asked Lal and the more than 40 prisoners to be brought over. Balian announced on the spot that he would punish them
Judgment, "The Blood Wolf Bandit, headed by Lal, has been entrenched in the Stag Forest for many years. They robbed and killed hundreds of merchants and travelers. The crime is unforgivable! I, Balion Tucker, the master of Norlandenburg, directly under the Principality of Brick
County Inspector, we now announce the punishment for you - the bandit leader Lal is sentenced to death and will be beheaded today. The head will be sent to the city of Amondin and handed over to the county governor! The forty-five robbers under his command are accessories and should be considered guilty.
Kill them, but considering the large number of people, they will be escorted to the city of Amundine and handed over to the governor."
After Balian finished speaking, Bess led people to drag Lal to the beheading platform, and the executioner who performed the execution was none other than Quaid, the second-in-command of the Blood Wolf gang. Balian asked him to execute the beheading himself, one was for testing.
One reason for his loyalty is to get him to surrender. He killed the bandit leader, which confirmed the rumors that he betrayed the Blood Wolf gang and defected to Balian. If he wanted to betray Balian again in the future, not many people could.
Trust him. When the captured robbers saw that it was Quaid who was executing the execution, their eyes were filled with fire. At this time, they all wanted to eat Quaid alive. If it weren't for Quaid's
Betrayal, how could they end up as prisoners?
Quaid also understood the intention of Balian's move, but he had no excuse to refuse. He had no doubt that if he refused at this time, he and his family would appear among the prisoners and be escorted to the city of Amundine.
Then there is a high probability that he will become a slave worker in the mine directly under the county, and die miserably while working day and night. After thinking about it, Quaid no longer has any interest in his former boss. After hearing the order, he picked up a big ax and killed Lar.
He chopped off Lal's head, and personally salted Lal's head with lime and placed it in a wooden box so that Balian could take it with him to receive the tribute from the governor.