Since the Accounting: A Chronicle of the Roman Khanate

Chapter 712: Manor Lord: Finally Defeated by Capital
A large group of people gathered around a fortress on a hill in the Alemanni territory. Princess Jeanne stood behind a row of large baskets filled with soil. The King of Wu and several of his ministers sat behind the shelter, chatting quietly.

"Where is your lord?" Princess Jeanne shouted at the top of her voice, "Let old Franz come out! Tell him that I have come in person to speak to him!"

The soldiers above were in a commotion. A young man quickly shouted down, "Wait a minute, I'll call my father over!" Then he disappeared behind the wall.

Soon, a man with gray hair and wearing chain mail climbed to the top of the city wall.

"Who is looking for me?" he shouted. "Why is the Princess of France here?"

"I came to find my husband, and you are blocking his way." Princess Jeanne told him bluntly: "I think a good talk will benefit both of us, so I came here."

"No, forgive me for being so presumptuous, but the main problem now is that I'm not sure if you are the princess." Old Franz shook his head and said, "If you are really that distinguished person, I should greet you in a more polite way so as not to be impolite - even though we are still in a battle. But you also know that now there are even people pretending to be the emperor of Eastern Seris. We are just country lords and have never seen the world. We really don't know what to do."

"It's normal that you don't know me, but this time someone knows me." Princess Jeanne was prepared and turned around and ordered, "Bring the bishop up."

Soon, two soldiers held an old man in a high-ranking priest's robe and brought him to the front of the battle.

"This is Bishop John of your diocese. You must know him," said Princess Jeanne.

The bishop raised his head, looked at the castle somewhat awkwardly, rubbed his hands, but said nothing in the end.

"Hey?" Old Franz was shocked and asked quickly, "Weren't you going to a meeting? Why were they bringing you here?"

"Your information is too outdated. The meeting can no longer be held. Let's go home." Princess Jeanne replied: "You can ask him about the specifics."

"There have been too many emergencies recently. It is meaningless to forcibly convene a council." Bishop John had to explain briefly: "The King of Naples died of illness some time ago, and several heirs have been arguing. Someone invited the Romans to arbitrate. Now their three legions have assembled on the coast, and some vanguard troops have arrived at the ports of Brindisi and Taranto."

"Now there is news that Constantinople has announced that it will take this opportunity to retake Rome. This matter has a huge impact, so they also sent someone to inform us. According to them, they believe that the meeting chaired by Sigismund is illegal and mediation is meaningless. They require us to go to Rome and completely resolve the problem of the Great Schism of the Church there."

"So you're not going to open it here anymore, but in Rome?" Old Franz tried to understand.

"Yes, Cardinal Wilhelm informed us that we can all go back. At present, no one has decided whether to really go to Rome, but here..." He hesitated: "The situation in Bohemia looks bad. At Sigismund's strong request, the meeting passed a resolution to grant him permission to organize a crusade. Then, it announced an indefinite adjournment, and everyone went home."

"On my way back, I happened to meet the King of Wu and the princess. They insisted... on inviting me over, so I came here." He finally spread his hands and said reluctantly:

"We have all served the Count and are his colleagues, so they asked me to tell you. This is the current situation. In the south, some Guelphs have begun to take action and are going to hold a meeting in Florence to welcome the Romans. Although we are far away, the situation is expected to change rapidly, so you'd better make some preparations."

"Oh oh..." Hearing him say that, old Franz nodded repeatedly, and then asked: "But what are the Guelphs?"

"..." The bishop was silent for a moment, then said somewhat disappointedly: "Anyway, the princess is real. I have visited the royal family when I was studying at the University of Paris before, and I can testify to this. You can believe her and have a good talk - I can only help her up to this point."

"Well, thank you." Old Franz scratched his head and said.

He didn't seem to care too much about the Council itself - or if he did, he probably didn't understand it. But it was clear that he was still concerned about the strategic situation these situations represented.

"You heard everything he said." Princess Jeanna took the opportunity to say, "No one knows what kind of fight Rome and Bohemia are going to have. But it is obvious that Sigismund will no longer have time to take care of things here. You are a lone soldier who has been guarding for more than half a month. You have done your duty to the lord and Sigismund. No one will say anything if you negotiate now. Don't think that he will retaliate against you afterwards. At the current situation, he can't even keep his hometown."

"That's what you say, but let me surrender now..." Old Franz was still a little hesitant.

"It's not surrender." Princess Jeanna corrected: "We are not enemies, so there is no need to surrender. My husband hopes to establish a better order, so he needs everyone's help, especially those who are capable. You just need to be loyal to the Ming Dynasty, and don't worry too much about other things."

"But that's not what they said before." Old Franz pointed out, "I was doing fine here, but suddenly a group of peasants came out from nowhere and looted my estate. My subjects also suddenly betrayed me - there must be someone to lead these outsiders, otherwise they couldn't have acted so accurately and robbed the wheat that had just been harvested in my granary."

"After that, they surrounded my castle until now. Before you came, the mob threatened to kill us all and hang me on the top of the city wall." He said unhappily, "I won't learn those vulgar words, but I have been dealing with farmers all my life and I know their situation very well. These people have never been so organized before. They have learned how to attack and collude. There must be someone organizing and teaching them for this to happen. Their banner is also related to you."

"There are too many people using our name now, and most of them have no affiliation with us." Princess Jeanna shook her head and said, "I'm not sure whether they are imitating us, because many people are pretending to be Ming army and officials, and even pretending to be my husband. These things have nothing to do with us. We have to wait until everything is stable before we have time to slowly investigate."

"But these people are yours." Franz's son couldn't help but interrupt, "I saw the mob leader reporting something to you this morning."

"The situation is a bit confusing, and it's normal for some misunderstandings to occur." Princess Jeanna said calmly, "The previous conflict was caused by Sigismund suddenly starting hostile actions, forcing us to respond hastily. Therefore, even among our own officials, some people were impatient and failed to understand the situation, and fought recklessly, leading to a chaotic situation. Now that both of us have come here to sort out the situation ourselves, isn't it to solve these problems?"

"I believe that you came here in person with good intentions, but what happened before was beyond my expectation." Old Franz insisted, "I am not rich, and I have been working hard over the years to barely make ends meet. I have a lot of debts, and life is not easy. But you can see that others do not understand my difficulties, and my territory has suffered serious losses in the past period of time, which will definitely make the situation worse. I don't know what the future will be like."

"Before the siege, I sent my eldest son to ask the earl for help. I believe there should be a response from the earl." He specifically said: "If you can't uphold justice here, then I can only continue to ask my own feudal lord for protection."

"Don't worry. If we can reach an agreement, there will be no need to continue the confrontation. We will also compensate you." Princess Jeanna said without hesitation: "I grew up in an aristocratic circle myself. Of course, I understand the difficulties you mentioned."

"Don't worry. We have always advocated restoration of the past and are committed to restoring the broken order. We are promoting the system known as 'Zhou Li' in the Seris region." She introduced: "This is a mature, reliable, and very stable system. It has been in operation since nearly 2,500 years ago. Even though the regime has changed many times, it has not changed."

"The Zhou Li guarantees the status and interests of the nobles - of course, the premise is that they are loyal to the country, abide by their duties, and serve the monarch. If you can do that, then of course we will grant you and your descendants the corresponding titles and treatment."

"My husband is from the royal family of the East..." She turned her head to greet him, lowered her voice, and said in Chinese: "This way, come here."

"Oh!" King Wu stood up quickly.

"You see, he is a genuine Oriental. From New Rome to the courts of Paris, his noble status is recognized." The princess continued: "If you have any grievances, you don't have to ask the lord for help. Because the level of the Ming Dynasty is higher than all kings and nobles. With this opportunity, why not give feedback directly?"

"I know you are worried about the threat from the peasants. But our French royal family is the top aristocracy, so we naturally know how to treat people of the same class. They are the royal family of the Ming Dynasty, and they are also the most noble people in the world. His grandfather, the greatest emperor of the Ming Dynasty, Zhu Hongwu Hehan, was also known for his kindness and friendliness towards his own people, and it is impossible for him to treat the nobles badly. I can understand that you are afraid of the grudges between the peasants and you. But what do you have to worry about when you discuss with us?"

Old Franz did not answer for a moment.

"She's telling the truth, just listen to her." Although he didn't know how his grandfather treated the nobles with kindness, the King of Wu took the opportunity to chime in and said, "I have a lot of titles here. I heard that it's quite difficult for you to become a formal baron, and you have to pay money to get things done. Don't worry, I can give it to you."

"If you're waiting for reinforcements, forget it." Princess Jeanna grabbed a broken flag and threw it on the ground. "A few days ago, we encountered a group of enemies. They didn't want to communicate properly, so we killed them."

"Ah..." Recognizing the sign, old Franz's expression finally changed noticeably. He thought for a moment and said quickly, "Well, let's talk about it. I'll ask my son to leave the city and explain in detail how to do this."

Princess Jeanne nodded and asked everyone to step back. Soon, the young man came out of the castle and walked towards this side. The bishop said that this was the lord's second son, little Franz. So everyone called him to the camp.

The King of Wu noticed that his clothes were still patched, so he asked, "Your family is one of the largest lords here, why does your father still say that life is difficult?" "There is a problem with our family's business." Little Franz said, "Our land is all plantations, but the output is not good, and there has been no solution. In the past two years, in order to fight the war, the great lords have increased the tribute requirements. But even if we increase the tax collection efforts, we often cannot keep up with the requirements of the feudal lords. For this reason, we have been scolded by the count many times."

"We can't make much money by selling grain to merchants. I suggested that we just let the merchants run the estates, and we can focus on other things. But my father refused to accept it, saying that he couldn't give in to these lowly people." He spread his hands: "He could only think of forcing the farmers to grow more and pay more, but this is not realistic. So, we kept losing money, and the farmers had no respect for him and cursed him behind his back every day."

"I think you're right." King Wu commented, "I've been to the capital, that is, Constantinople. You worked hard for a year and caused such a big enemy, but the output you earned was actually just this little. I have said similar things to many noble lords before: with their military strength, even if they go there to be mercenaries, it will be much more comfortable than here."

"Many people listened to my advice, so my men are not peasant thugs as they said. Instead, there are many nobles who want to advance, and there are many who are good at fighting. Well, it's just that I didn't think much about it before and sent them to other places to help others, so you can't see them here." He looked a little embarrassed: "In short, we have a very complete mechanism to settle people with different expertise and different positions, so you don't have to worry."

"We actually didn't think we had to fight to the end at the beginning." Little Franz said quickly: "But, if I may be frank, the selection of the envoy you sent here for the first time was a bit problematic."

"Oh?" King Wu was a little surprised.

"Your envoy is a Jewish merchant." Little Franz told him, "Before, when we sold grain to pay back debts, and when we bought tools and rented items, we were often deliberately suppressed by Jewish merchants. They used the capital in their hands to manipulate the market, and every time they did that, we suffered huge losses."

"So, you sending this kind of people here is considered a disgrace. In comparison, Sigismund actually issued a decree to restrict the Jews from doing whatever they want and killed all those people. Maybe his side is more acceptable."

"Is there such a thing?" The King of Wu didn't seem to have thought about it so much. "But I have also come into close contact with them. There are many Jews serving him in his court. Didn't he say that they were all killed?"

"How can it be the same?" Princess Jeanna couldn't help but say, "The guy you sent is just a tongue-tied and smelly cobbler. He can't speak and smells unpleasant. How can he negotiate with the nobles?"

"Among the locals here, he has a relatively high cultural level..." King Wu defended.

"That's too tragic. Let me tell you, it was these people who were killed. Of course the nobles don't like them, I don't know if you think so." The princess shook her head: "And those around Sigismund are all big businessmen who collect money and lend money to him. If these people are also killed, who will help him raise military funds? Will he have to beg for food himself?"

"It's not impossible to raise the money myself..." King Wu actually considered the feasibility of this.

The princess was speechless for a moment and ignored him, turning to talk to little Franz about the imperial edict.

The negotiations progressed quickly, and soon both sides understood each other's specific needs and intentions. Franz said he would take everything back, but his father was always stubborn and might not be happy, so he could only do his best.

Before leaving, he specifically asked, "You said that all noble children can have titles and are eligible to inherit territories. Is this true?"

"Yes. According to Zhou Li, you have noble status directly, and you don't need to pay money to the lord." The princess assured without hesitation: "If you want to work hard with us, it's better. If you want to stay in your hometown and inherit the land, we also support your choice. Because the children of nobles are also nobles, of course they can get fiefs."

Little Franz nodded, said goodbye and left.

When he returned, the King of Wu was relieved and asked, "Did you really defeat the main force of the enemy here? I didn't even know that."

"Not yet." Princess Jeanna shook her head and said, "This flag was captured by us when we attacked the outpost before. It's not the one their main force was carrying. It's just that their flag and drum system is not perfect, and they can't tell the difference themselves."

"Ah? Then it's not dangerous for us to stay outside the city?" King Wu immediately became alert: "I have finally convinced everyone, and it is not easy to gather such a small number of people. Why don't we preserve our strength and retreat first?"

"You were so confident a while ago, why are you just running away now?" Princess Jeanna was speechless and complained, "Don't worry, it won't take long. After we solve this problem, we can move around here and eliminate the reinforcements."

King Wu still didn't quite believe it, but the princess had led everyone to win several small-scale encounters before, and she seemed to be much more reliable than Huang Zicheng. Therefore, he decided to listen first and see what tricks she had.

At night, there was a sudden commotion in the castle. The sentry noticed the situation and immediately woke up the king of Wu and others. Princess Jeanna did not lie down at all, but was resting against a tree wearing armor and holding a sword. When she heard the alarm, she immediately jumped up, shouted to everyone, and prepared for battle immediately.

In the camp, the peasants summoned by the King of Wu clearly lacked a plan to deal with the situation. Many of them were still drowsy and had not yet gotten up. Those who were quick to react did not know what to do and just ran around everywhere.

But there were still some people who were prepared. She quickly called over the several thousand households she had gathered along the way, and rushed to the front of the position with the equipment prepared for the siege.

However, there was no sound of an attack from the castle. Instead, not long after, the gate suddenly opened and someone held out a white flag. Then, little Franz and others filed out and came to the open space in front.

"We won't fight anymore!" he shouted, "We want to surrender to His Majesty the King of Wu!"

The King of Wu just reacted at this moment. He was half-running and half-dragging here by several servants. Seeing this situation, he was also a little confused and asked quickly: "Are you sure? Hey? Where is your father?"

"I put him in the dungeon." Little Franz said without hesitation: "The old man is incompetent in business and war. I think he should have retired long ago. It's not good for everyone if he's still here commanding everyone."

"Well, you should be more filial for the sake of your reputation..." King Wu couldn't help but mutter.

"I didn't kill him either. I'll just throw him to a monastery later." Little Franz said proudly, "In the aristocratic circle, there are not many people who can still think about their own father after suffering such things. Look at us, there are few people as filial as me!"

"Uh……"

"I know the bishop very well," said little Franz in a low voice, "but don't worry, whether he stays there or runs away, it doesn't matter. I don't plan to take this territory anymore."

"Have you thought it through?" Princess Jeanne confirmed.

"I've thought about it. I'll write a transfer document later." Little Franz replied, "I thought about it and realized that even if I inherit it all, this crappy land won't produce much. I still have to argue with my brothers, so even if I get this little money, I may not get it all."

"It just so happens that I've heard your propaganda these past two days. You said that you want to implement the well-field system, nationalize the land, and distribute it to farmers for cultivation. To be honest, some people may think this policy is too radical, but for me, it's just right."

"I'll take the lead and respond. I don't want this land anymore. Please give me some money so that I can replace this armor and buy two horses. It's not that I'm greedy, but my father didn't even want to give me his armor. He gave it all to my eldest brother. The armor I have is taken from the guards, so I really need to make a better one. Oh, my brother's share of land should also be included. I roughly know their marching route, and I'll show you right away."

"From now on, I will not be concerned with these matters. I will only follow you in the battles and work. You just need to pay me according to my merits. What do you think?"

"No problem." Princess Jeanna agreed directly: "Go report to Captain Hans. He is also the youngest son of a nobleman. He must understand your situation and needs."

Little Franz responded and left with his men. Princess Jeanna then organized some men to take over the castle first. The King of Wu had nothing to do for the time being, so he was left in the open space, and no one cared about him for a while.

"One decides for his own father, the other decides for her husband. The social order is in chaos..." He muttered, "But what is capital? Well, it must be a social order as well..."

He shook his patched old robe, shook his sleeves, put his hands behind his back, paced, and walked towards the castle.

(End of this chapter)