I am Peter III, Emperor of the Hexagon of the Goose Kingdom

Chapter 12 Two Kinds of Land, Summoning Serfs

The other carriages were empty, and all the coachmen were disguised as guards. Although they were funny when they participated in the Peter queue game, they all had some skills to be selected for the court.

Among them, there are many soldiers who have been assigned to the palace by the elite corps during their service years.

Under the vague protection of these people, Vorontsova got out of the carriage. The steward of the manor was wondering what these carriages were for, when he suddenly saw the young lady and was startled.

Every manor has a steward, the bigger the manor, the greater the authority of the steward.

Although the master gave this manor to the young lady, the young lady seldom comes here. What happened today?
And looking at the lady's attire, shouldn't she be working as a maid for Her Majesty the Queen in the palace at this time?

Later, to the steward's surprise, the lady helped a man out of the car.

It actually grabbed the hand directly, and seeing the young lady's expression, I admire her very much.

The steward is stupid, who is this?

But he can't control this kind of thing at all, and he doesn't even have the qualifications to start a conversation. He ran to Voronzova and said respectfully:

"Miss, welcome!"

Voroncova nodded, then took a step back and stood behind Peter to show her master-slave status.

Peter glanced at him and said lightly, "Lead the way."

"Yes!"

Even the young lady stood behind this man, the steward didn't dare to say anything, and immediately led the way.

The breeze was blowing, and the air in the [-]th century was so fresh, Peter felt a little weird in his heart as he walked on the uneven dirt road.

In terms of the territory of the empire, the Russian Empire can be called the largest in the world. In terms of strength, I haven’t worked with France in this period, so I don’t know yet, but this dirt road is too down-to-earth.

And then, as the group moved forward, Peter saw many serfs in thin clothes.

Because St. Petersburg is different from the northern forests and Siberia, this is not a tundra but a black soil zone, so these serfs are working, there are adult men, adult women, and even small children, all of them are speechless as they bow their heads.

And many serfs felt the strange atmosphere, and looked here one after another. They seemed to feel the extraordinaryness of Peter and his party. They didn't dare to look more, and lowered their heads, but their hands kept working, and they seemed to be paying attention to this place from the corner of their eyes.

Peter noticed that no one dared to speak out.

It's winter now, and the climate can be imagined to be cold. It's understandable that Vorontsova is not afraid of the cold. After all, she has a lot of fat, but these serfs have no resistance to cold because of their thin clothes.

Peter also noticed that some of them were still wearing bark shoes, which are worn in summer.

He couldn't help thinking of a joke. During the Seven Years' War, military expenditures were insufficient, and some generals suggested that there were no taxes on bark shoes, and suggested that all serfs be taxed on bark shoes.

This unfunny joke contains extreme contempt for serfs, and if executed, it will imply countless blood.

Watching all the way like this, Peter walked all the way to a hut.

Then he walked in under the leadership of the steward.

It was still cold outside, but it was warm inside the room. After sitting down, Peter scanned the faces of Voronzova, Mirkowski and others, and found that none of them had strange expressions. It seemed that what they saw just now was taken for granted. .

Peter was the only one sitting, and the others were standing. Peter looked at the steward and asked:
"Tell me about the situation of the serfs in this manor."

The steward stammered and said:

"This distinguished guest, say... say what?"

Voronzova's face was full of blood, which seemed to be angry.

Peter prevented her from trying to teach the steward a lesson. He found that in the court, Voroncova was a respectful and obedient maid, but outside, especially in her place, Voroncova was a noble lady of the Boyars.

Without him, at the root, Voroncova is a nobleman.

And he is the royal family!

The aristocrats are to the royal family, just like the Duchess of Polia is to the aunt, they try their best to please.

The ass decides the attitude.

And this steward, no matter how high his status is, is essentially just a serf.

For the manager, he has reached the pinnacle of his life, but for them, one look, one mood can deprive him of his family, wealth, and even the lower-level people of his children.

Therefore, feeling that the management did not deal with it properly, Voroncova wanted to teach her a lesson to reduce his anger. This is very natural here, and the serfs are used to it.

Voroncova was a little puzzled as to why His Highness stopped her, but His Highness was God, and she retreated obediently.

Peter patiently asked the steward:
"How many serfs are there in this manor?"

The steward felt the young lady's actions just now, and tremblingly said:

"My... my lord, there are 350 serfs in the manor, and 430 if you count the children."

Peter nodded and continued to ask:
"Is it necessary to work all year round?"

"Yes." The steward replied respectfully.

Then he asked a few more questions, corroborating the memory in his mind.

The historical records are correct. The northern forest and Siberia are difficult to cultivate because of the frozen soil. The nobles collectively passed a bill in order to obtain greater benefits.

That is, in the tundra, it is enough to pay the immunization money. You need to pay 6 rubles a year, 2 hens, and 2 catties of oats as rent, while in the black soil area, it is a lifelong labor system.

Because the black land is fertile, the income from lifelong farming is far greater than paying rent.

Then Peter said:

"Call all the serfs."

The steward was stunned for a moment, then looked at Vorontsova, only to see that the young lady was staring at him, as if she was about to slap her if she was too late, she didn't dare to hesitate any longer, turned around and ran out.

The guard leader Mirkowski next to him couldn't help but feel a little strange, what is His Highness going to do?
Then he winked, and all the guards became alert.

Soon, the serfs were all assembled, Peter went out, and the guards set up a barrier between him and the serfs.

The guards were in charge of his safety, Peter didn't force it, after all he was still quite thin now.

So in the cold wind, Peter stood on the steps of the hut and glanced down at the hundreds of people.

These people gather together like refugees.

Although they are not ragged, they still wear canvas clothes in winter.

This was the case in Voroncova's manor, and it was conceivable in other noble manors that the status of serfs was really low to a certain extent.

All the serfs were summoned to have a look at the whole picture, and after watching it, they were only emotional, and Peter then said to the steward:

"Let the young adults who have already married and have children stay, and the rest should do what they want."

"Yes!"

(End of this chapter)