Since the Accounting: A Chronicle of the Roman Khanate

Chapter 755 Seeking Complaints from Overseas Ming Powers
Despite the long-standing disputes and numerous clashes, the local problems have remained unresolved for a long time.

The Mongols who escaped the mining area didn't change much.

After eliminating the Venetian guards and successfully escaping into the mountains, these people quickly formed new groups based on their original tribes. These small Mongol tribes also occupied several hilltops, grazing goats on the slopes and cultivating crops on the plains. Soon, tribal chiefs and caravans specializing in transporting supplies emerged—they were not much different from the original mountain people.

In fact, the sudden influx of so many people has exacerbated the strain on local resources. The Tujia mountain people and the Hakka Mongolians frequently clash over land and pasture.

In addition, to alleviate the resource shortage problem, besides the civil war, the mountain people could only increase the frequency of raiding. Just like in the civil war, if they won, they would have food; if they lost, they would lose population, but everyone would still have food. In short, they would win.

Although it is a mountainous area, this region was actually a vital transportation route connecting the north and south of Europe. Merchants from places like Venice would first travel north to Trento and Bolzano, then through Innsbruck, across the mountains, and north to Munich, entering the Allemanne region.

Furthermore, the mountains here are not particularly isolated. There are many mountain roads that lead northeast to Salzburg and Vienna, and west to Zurich and Constance. Mountain dwellers from Switzerland and Bohemia frequently travel along these roads, forming a close-knit community that has often clashed but also frequently traded with each other.

Therefore, this place had many merchants traveling from Italy, transporting goods here, which provided many opportunities for plunder.

Faced with these easy targets, even previously hostile mountain communities would unite. The Mongols, in particular, brought advanced experience from the grasslands, leading to a significant increase in the scale and organization of the raiders. Merchants traveling through the area complained bitterly, and those with connections went to local powerful lords, saying they had paid protection money but to no avail, demanding a solution or they could forget about taking any more goods from Italy or the East.

At this time, a massive riot broke out in the mining area. Moreover, their methods had escalated.

It turned out that although Count Bernhard had consistently used harsh methods to resolutely suppress all rebellions, his abilities were ultimately limited. Moreover, the lack of funds triggered a series of chain reactions.

Previously, his family had accumulated some wealth through mining. With these assets, he actively worked to acquire a large amount of real estate in Hungary through diplomatic means and loans.

The land there was far more fertile than the mountains, so the count was very confident that he would soon recoup his investment and even make a fortune. However, not long after, the Hungarian Civil War broke out.

Princess Maria, claiming to be the heir to the kingdom; the Luxembourg family, hoping to acquire the kingdom through marriage; the Kingdom of Naples, also claiming to be the heir; the Poles, wanting to seize territory; and even the Purple Horde, which forcibly intervened—all entered the fray at once. They sometimes cooperated, sometimes fought each other, causing the situation to change rapidly.

Locally, the counts who occupied central Tyrol were already considered "great nobles," belonging to very high-ranking figures. However, compared to these people who were often kings or emperors, Count Bernhard was just a nobody, no better than the others.

As the war progressed, the land he had just purchased was annexed by the Purple Horde. They claimed to be the legitimate Roman government and refused to recognize the land ownership of these nobles; there was nowhere for them to appeal.

Worse still, although he lost the land, his debts did not disappear.

Previously, several Hungarian nobles he had lent money to had fled to Austria for refuge. These people constantly threatened to fight back and demanded money everywhere, saying they needed to reorganize their armies and recruit more soldiers. Nobles who had no connection with them were also pestered for donations, told that since they were all nobles whom the Romans wanted to eliminate, they should lend a hand; Bernhard, who already owed them money, was even more bound to be harassed.

The Hungarians came every few days, pressuring him to repay his debts, demanding a full refund. At most, they would reduce the amount of each repayment because he was on the verge of bankruptcy, but the interest and repayment period would be increased.

Bernhard was initially furious, thinking these people were like stray dogs, how dare they cause him trouble? However, his stewards advised him not to rush into a rage and to investigate first.

Fortunately, he remained relatively calm and didn't immediately renege on his debt. Instead, he first inquired about the situation. He then discovered that the Hungarian exiles actually still had some men under their command.

After the collapse of the Kingdom of Hungary, Sigismund intended to utilize them, keeping them as a military force for his own use. More than three thousand of them were stationed in the Vienna area, led by the Hunyati family, Sigismund's trusted confidants, ready to advance westward at any time.

Although these people claimed their strength was limited and they couldn't defeat the Purple Horde for the time being, this was merely a show of humility to the high-ranking nobles in order to solicit more support. In reality, they were almost all nobles and wealthy merchants who had lost their lands and property. Although their numbers were small, their fighting strength and morale were quite high—otherwise, they would have already returned to the Purple Horde and wouldn't have persisted until now. If they couldn't defeat the Romans, how could they possibly be unable to defeat him?
In short, these creditors are all ruthless people, and they probably can't renege on these debts.

Bernhard spent most of his life indulging merchants who exploited their laborers through debt. In the end, he himself was also coerced into paying debt. For a time, he didn't know what to do.

In order to pay off his debts as soon as possible, he had no choice but to put pressure on the mine operators to increase the amount they needed to extract each year. The mine operators, in turn, intensified their exploitation.

However, even if the rebellion is successfully suppressed, he would find it difficult to completely massacre the towns and mining areas; otherwise, no one would work for him, and he himself would be finished. This resulted in a significant number of people surviving each riot and passing on their experiences and lessons.

Similarly, because of his extreme poverty, he not only had to squeeze money out of the common people, but also had to tacitly allow his managers and mercenaries to be swindled as well, otherwise he wouldn't be able to break even. Over time, the mercenaries also began to spread his bad reputation, making it difficult for him to mobilize a larger force to carry out suppression.

The inefficiency of the suppression led the craftsmen to discover that while their resistance was rarely successful, certain patterns could be observed. Over time, they even developed some experience. The new manager and foreman initially dared not be too arrogant, allowing everyone some peace and quiet.

Of course, along with experience came the pressure of repeated failures. Moreover, the Earl's pressure and the Chamber of Commerce's targets remained unchanged. Even if managers wanted to alleviate the conflict, they didn't have many options; ultimately, things would revert to the way they were. Over time, many began to doubt whether there was any possibility of success at all.

As a result, both the count and the craftsman found themselves in an extremely difficult situation.

But then, everything suddenly took a turn for the better. More than ten years ago, an Italian craftsman came from Milan and worked in the armor workshop. After becoming familiar with the locals, someone complained to him that they could never pay off their debts—even though their creditors had died twice, their debts were still outstanding. Isn't that amazing?
This is a common topic of conversation in the workshop, and people usually just complain about it. But this time, the Italian craftsmen seem to have a different idea.

The craftsman laughed at him, saying that wanting to repay debts was a flawed idea from the start, because the rules were set by others, and the purpose of the rules was to make it impossible for him to repay them.

As a highly skilled craftsman specializing in armor production, this Italian was quite cultured and well-educated. He said that long ago, the Roman Empire rose from their side of Italy. But behind the empire's expansion were countless Italians working themselves to the bone.

At that time, a significant portion of Rome's workforce consisted of slaves. However, ironically, the foreign slaves captured by the army were actually only a minority.

According to the laws of the time, those unable to repay their debts would become slaves to their creditors, working for them without pay, or be sold into slavery. For the nobility, capturing foreign slaves was dangerous and laborious; conversely, their own people were more numerous and easier to control, making them far better targets for enslavement. Therefore, they frequently devised ways to inflate the debts of commoners, turning them into debt slaves. As a result, the largest proportion of slaves in Rome were actually Romans themselves.

Therefore, these kinds of things have happened before. Almost everything that is happening now can be found in similar cases in the "History of Rome." It's just that as time goes by, the officials in charge become more and more adept at covering it up, often giving this method a different name.

Everyone shared this sentiment and was completely convinced. However, they also told the Italians that although they didn't understand history, they could guess some of the reasons behind these events.

Over the years, many people have sensed something is amiss. They believe that the idea of ​​paying off debts, accumulating wealth, and becoming a respectable rich person through labor is just a story concocted by the wealthy to deceive people into working. But the problem is, even knowing this, there's little they can do. In the end, despite numerous outbursts, little has changed.

The Italians say that there are solutions to this problem in history.

Debt slavery in Rome was later partially abolished. New laws stipulated that, within Italy, people could not be enslaved because of debt. This change was achieved through the efforts of the Roman plebeians themselves.

According to the ancient Roman historian Livy, the incident was sparked by another city-state declaring war on Rome. The Senate immediately summoned the citizens and ordered them to meet the enemy.

As the citizens gathered in the square, an old man, ragged and scarred, arrived and began to weep, recounting his story. He said he was a veteran, a former centurion with many war merits. However, in the previous war, his house and land had been looted by the enemy, and all his property had been destroyed in the fighting. To survive, he had to borrow money from all sides, but having lost his property, he was unable to repay these debts. The Senate not only failed to provide him with assistance or compensation for the losses he suffered while serving the country, but also condoned the creditors' oppression of him, treating him and his family like slaves.

Hearing the senators' mistreatment of veterans, the civilians present were outraged and immediately staged a protest against the Senate. The senators were forced to make concessions, promising to improve the treatment of civilians and agreeing to grant debt slaves the same right to serve in the military as citizens. They were promised that if they could win the war, they would regain their former status.

However, after the battle, the Senate reneged on its promise and refused to fulfill it. The common people were angry, but they couldn't think of any good solutions.

However, at this time, central Italy was in chaos, with various enemies constantly coming and going. Before long, the nearby Volcy also attacked Rome. The Senate quickly sent troops to meet them, but the soldiers in the army were all composed of civilians. After leaving the city, they fully armed themselves, climbed a hill, and then remained there.

The senators gave them orders, but the commoners declared that the Senate had broken its promise and therefore they had no intention of continuing to cooperate. They wanted to seize several hills in the area and establish a new Rome. As for the original city, they would leave it to the senators to defend themselves.

With the enemy about to attack, the Senate was dumbfounded and had no choice but to agree, not daring to openly renege on the agreement afterward. In this way, the common people achieved some results.

The Italian told the craftsmen that he had also read many literary works. In fact, many intellectuals praised the Roman senators, considering them wise, cultured, and possessing excellent political and literary skills—a group of respectable figures who firmly upheld the spirit of democracy and safeguarded national interests. However, this story suggests that even these relatively outstanding leaders were actually quite like that.

The lords of today are far inferior to the Roman senators in every respect. Expecting them to show kindness and treat everyone as human beings is utterly impossible. The only way to force them to concede is to exert pressure on them, just as we did with the Romans, making it impossible for them to avoid conflict.

Everyone enjoyed his stories about ancient Rome and said they understood most of them. However, they pointed out that the premise of these stories was that Roman commoners were soldiers, and quite capable ones at that. Furthermore, the constant emergence of external enemies put immense pressure on the senators, forcing them to concede.

But these people aren't soldiers; most of them lack combat experience. Besides, this is considered the heart of the empire, where there aren't many external enemies attacking. Therefore, while the story is exciting, no one knows how to use it as a reference.

However, the Italians say these are all easily solved—even without foreign interference, anyone can simply find one to act as a figurehead and intimidate the authorities. This is a common tactic in Italy.

Previously, he was employed in Mainz, where he instructed local craftsmen to improve their techniques and produce better armor. There, he heard about a force called "Da Ming" that had organized an underground kingdom that was now attracting many members in the Rhine region.

These two conditions happen to be things that the Ming Dynasty excels at. Therefore, it would be better to invite this Ming Dynasty official over, put some pressure on the master, and help everyone achieve their goals.

Of course, the more people involved, the better. If you're worried about being outnumbered, you might as well learn from Lorraine's experience and bring in as many people as possible, including farmers who have settled around the town and mountain people who live in the valleys—in short, anyone who has been offended by the lord can cooperate.

Although conflicts exist between different groups, just as mountain people can cooperate to rob caravans, these long-standing grudges can be eased if the benefits are significant enough. If the lord can be forced to concede, everyone will benefit greatly, far more than one or two caravans. Therefore, negotiations are still possible.

Everyone thought it made a lot of sense, so they secretly started calling on their friends and family. Under the cover of others, some mountain people who had come to the city to work also secretly ran back to their hometowns to contact their relatives.

Perhaps because of the many ineffective efforts before, people were disappointed, but seeing the new plan, they couldn't help but want to give it a try. So soon, more people joined in, preparing to complain to this powerful foreign lord.

(End of this chapter)