I built a manor in the Middle Ages

Chapter 184 People on the Edge of the World
"Murder, robbery, rape, wounding, theft, fighting. Those who violate the above laws will be punished by hanging, finger amputation, flogging, cage, or fine."

Outside the Knight's Castle, located in a prominent position on the main road, a tall cross stands tall among the rolling waves of wheat.

A row of eye-catching Latin words was engraved on the surface of the cross, and old Eck recited loudly in front of the crowd.

Pilgrim Peter stood in the corner, listening quietly to Old Eck's words. His bloodless face hidden under his dirty cloak was calm, but his fingers clenched at the hem of his clothes proved the turmoil in his heart.

Squinting his eyes, he looked carefully at the cross that symbolized law and violence.

Although the inscriptions on the cross are all in Latin, they are still mixed with some Germanic grammar and Old Highland language.

At the bottom there are some patterns of gallows, axes, and purses to better convey ideas to illiterate serfs.

Peter didn't need to look at the patterns or listen to old Eike's explanations. He could read and knew quite a few words.

He glanced past the public security penalties at the top and looked at the economic provisions.

"No mill tax?"

“Only tithes?”

Peter's eyes were obscure as he scanned the entire bill. His face, shrouded in cloak, turned to look at the drum wheel and canal in the distance, and he became even more silent.

After speaking with a dry mouth, Old Eck once again explained that manure fertilizer is a blessing from God.

This needs to be emphasized again and again every time a new person comes.

After finally getting rid of the free farmers and serfs who had very poor comprehension ability, he took a big gulp of water. Seeing Peter's motionless figure, he first ordered his own serfs to weed, and then slowly walked to Peter's side.

"Pilgrim, the master said that since you voluntarily followed me to the Knight's Castle, you must participate in the labor. Your hand is broken, so you can't be a farmer, so go help the master take care of the orchard."

Seeing Peter nod silently, Old Eike shouted, "Follow me."

Ryan said that this guy was very noisy along the way, so how come he became silent when he got to the mountains?
Old Eike didn't think much of it, perhaps because he was tired from the journey. As soon as they reached the apple orchard, he told Peter about his important task. "You're lucky to have a good job. Believe me, no one on the entire estate has it easier than you. After all, you only need to drive away the birds. The master will take care of everything else. Don't ask why the master needs to take care of it personally. After all, our apple trees are very special."

"The grafting technique is indeed very special here."

"Yes, grafting. Wait a minute, how do you know it's grafting?"

Old Ek smiled and nodded, but then his expression suddenly changed. He looked at Peter with surprise. This guy actually knew about grafting?

"Not only grafting, I also understand why wheat and peas are planted together, and the importance of canals and drum wheels."

As Old Eck looked increasingly shocked, the silent Peter suddenly uttered the final words that nearly made Old Eck drop his jaw in shock:
"I even understand what your master means by God's blessing fertilizer."

"That is not God's blessing at all, but the work of pagans!"

……

Since the wooden fort was built, there have been few cases where outsiders have been truly prohibited from entering.

But at this moment, everyone in the castle, except Luklein, and even Du Si were invited out to inspect the manor on his behalf.

If there is an outsider.

That was a man with a broken arm standing in the middle of the hall.

Ryan held a dagger in his hand and looked at Peter with a bad face. His sharp eyes were full of murderous intent, as if he was ready to draw his sword and kill him if they had a disagreement.

Luc was more serious than ever before, looking at the pilgrim who was still calm.

"Tell me, why are you slandering God's blessings?"

Ryan roared, he had never been so angry.

From the moment he was bought by Luc and brought into the mountains, his entire life had undergone earth-shaking changes, including status, wealth, and so on.

But what impressed Ryan the most was the first sight of the rolling waves of wheat on the one-fifth acre of land. The feeling of new life and excitement was still engraved in his mind, and became clearer and clearer as his status improved. He never doubted that Luc was a man favored by God.

Now, when he heard an outsider say that this was something from pagans, he was immediately furious.

"Slander? I'm just telling the truth under the guidance of God. How can that be slander?"

Peter glanced at Ryan indifferently, and suddenly raised one hand as if to welcome something.

Luc frowned when he saw this scene, and felt a little suspicious that he was making a big deal out of nothing.

This could simply be a madman.

Stopping Ryan's actions, Luc said in a deep voice: "You said it was the work of pagans, do you have any evidence?"

"My eyes are the proof."

Peter enthusiastically lowered his hand, pointed to his coral-blue eyes, and spoke softly but solemnly: "Because I've been to the edge of the world!"

Peter's eyes were lost in memory. "I am from Andalus. When I was seven years old, I was captured by Moorish pirates and sold to an unknown land that I only knew as Aleppo."

"There, I witnessed pomegranate grafting, water wheels and canals, and saw fertilizer made from a mixture of saltpeter and guano."

"How is this different from everything in your territory?"

"Isn't this a pagan method?"

"I even saw the damn numbers that belonged to them."

Peter's eyes were filled with resentment, as if recalling his own childhood experiences. With his devout faith, he had finally escaped from that land and returned to Provence. He had intended to follow Luc north, then to Aachen Cathedral, but he hadn't expected to be detained in the valley. Even more surprising was the fact that there lay the very thing he least wanted to see.
Luc looked at Peter quietly and suddenly smiled.

No one knew what had happened in the Knight's Castle. All they knew was that the pilgrims, who had been shouting about pagan methods, had stayed inside for three full hours and had immediately changed their expressions when they came out.

Especially the new serfs, whose faces once again showed the fanatical expression in the face of everything.

"Ryan, did you hear what Peter said? Go ahead and do what he says."

"no problem?"

Ryan showed a slightly resistant expression, he was a little distrustful of Peter.

"It should be fine, unless he remembered it wrongly. But he has been to the academy after all, and he served as a translator for a long time."

"At least the tax system he said is reasonable."

"Okay, sir."

Ryan nodded, and that night, Shanlin promulgated a new law:

The tithe was abolished and replaced by a phased taxation system based on the fertility of the land.

No one understood what it meant. After it was explained, they understood that the amount of grain each person contributed was different depending on the fertility of the land.
Secondly, two days later, Luklein and Peter, who had squeezed in beside them at some point, looked at the water mill. This well-informed pilgrim who had seen Arab technology said enthusiastically:

“That’s how a sawmill should be built!”

"And you need a real waterwheel."

"Persian. Oh no, Roman waterwheel!"

(End of this chapter)