Crusade against the Pope

Chapter 100 The Master’s Kindness is as Heavy as a Mountain
Gailis looked around to make sure no one noticed him, then he whispered in Simon's ear: "There is no love without reason in the world, and any gift has already been secretly marked with a price."

"They can't pay taxes this year, will they be able to pay next year? If they can't pay taxes, they owe it to the lord, but if the steward pays the taxes for these people, who do you think they owe it to?"

“这种麦子，收成不过是1比4到1比10之间，巴勒斯坦这边地还算不错，但也至多不过是种1收7或收8。”

"To grow 2000 pounds of wheat, you need 300 pounds of seeds."

"They borrowed so many seeds. How much should they pay back next year? It's impossible to pay back as much as they borrowed. How much tax should they pay back next year for the tax the butler paid for them this year? It's impossible to pay back as much as they borrowed..."

"Do you think it's better to owe this to a distant lord, or to the steward near you?"

"It seems like an extra year of time gives people a chance to breathe, but how can we repay the kindness of others next year?"

Gailis didn't say anything more. A drop of kindness should be repaid with a spring. The butler had already been so kind to them, so shouldn't they repay the butler with everything they had?
If the things that belong to you are still not enough to repay the huge kindness, shouldn't you work like a slave to repay it?
There was actually no clear boundary between free people, serfs and slaves.

It should be noted that freemen did not own the land, they only obtained the right to lease the land. Therefore, when their debts piled up, in theory they were not even qualified to sell the land.

A family like Charlie's owns a lot of livestock, houses, and even armor and weapons. They are the upper-middle class among the free people. However, the few families who just knelt down and cried to the butler for mercy are the ones who are about to fall into a lower class.

In the past two days, Gailis had heard such stories. The more kind-hearted people like the butler were, the more slaves there would be in the world.

If freemen obtained the right to rent land, then serfs were dependent on the land, and slaves belonged to individuals.

In the manor economy, the only people who could truly be called landlords were actually the noble lords.

After listening to those few words from Gellis, Simon looked around at the Franks who were already crying loudly, and felt a sense of empathy for the people around him.

There was a sense of confusion in his heart.

"Sir, every time there is one less freeman in this manor, doesn't that mean one less person to serve in the army and fight against the Muslims? When the war breaks out in the future, doesn't that mean there will be one less chance of winning?"

"Yes, but he doesn't care. This is how termites work. To these insects, the house of the Kingdom of Jerusalem is like a house that will never collapse. No matter how much they gnaw, it will last forever..."

"Simon, you know, that guy just mentioned the first sentence of the scripture, but didn't mention the following sentences."

"You must know that [whoever loves money cannot be called righteous; whoever pursues profit will go astray. Many people have fallen for money, and their destruction is at hand. Money is a stumbling block for those who worship it; woe to those who love gold! All fools have become its captives.]"

Garys also felt angry, but more than that he felt ridiculous and powerless.

More than half a year later, the Kingdom of Jerusalem will face life and death, but this is a critical moment.

From the king and nobles to the tax farmers and stewards, everyone in the Kingdom of Jerusalem continued to drill holes in the sinking ship of the Kingdom of Jerusalem out of their own selfish interests.

Why is Garys unwilling to take the upper-level route? Because the roots of the Kingdom of Jerusalem have actually begun to rot long ago...

It's just that he didn't have such a clear understanding before. It was not until now, when he witnessed this scene with his own eyes, that Gailis confirmed his previous thoughts. Even if Gailis became the real power in the old kingdom, could he educate people like the butler in the manor?

He is not a true God in this world, so it is impossible for him to control the entire country in such detail that it dances to his will.

As long as the old system remains in place, it will be difficult to reform it.

What's the point of just being a repairman if you don't dig up the rotten tree of the past?
To put it bluntly, the old things are blocking the sky and preventing the new things from breaking out.

……

Garys slept in the guest room of Charlie's house, and as usual, he took notes on paper to record what he saw and heard.

To be honest, given Gillis's memory, his notes were not actually for his own use, but as educational materials to be shown to others.

Even in the Internet age of the 21st century, many people are trapped in information cocoons. In the 12th century, it was even more serious. It was not an information cocoon at all, but an information vacuum!

The reason why Gellis is keen on rural investigations is to avoid making a joke of "Let them eat cake!" and to enable other people in the cult to understand the world better instead of imagining a world they don't know.

dong dong dong.

There was a knock on Garys' door.

"Please come in."

Charlie walked in from outside the door, looking very haggard.

The first thing he said when he entered the door was: "Prophet, can you save Emma?"

"Save? Is there anything she needs my help with? Didn't the housekeeper already kindly let Emma not pay taxes this year?"

"But!" Charlie was choked by Garys' words, because from the perspective of the morality of that era, the butler was indeed a great good man!
But this kind-hearted man wants to eat human blood, pull out tendons and bones, and eat living people alive!
"But the housekeeper has set his sights on Emma! Her family doesn't even have an adult man now, so how can she possibly make up the debt next year!"

"Targeted? That housekeeper's interest in Emma, ​​what does that have to do with you? Two days have passed, and you never went to Emma's family to propose marriage, right? If you marry Emma, ​​with your family's financial resources, it shouldn't be difficult to keep Emma, ​​right?"

Two days ago, when Gaillis met Charlie for the first time, he told him that Jacques agreed to their marriage, but Charlie did not tell Emma about it.

Garys could roughly guess the reason.

Just like what we chatted about this afternoon, Jacques' family has fallen to the point where they are about to fall into lower social class. Not only can they not afford a dowry, but his mother and brother are also obvious burdens.

From the perspective of being well-matched, Charlie's parents would definitely be extremely opposed to this marriage. In their opinion, if Charlie married Emma, ​​endless troubles would surely follow.

(End of this chapter)