CH 10

Mike Andrew is a slave in a small manor in Fort Comoy. At the age of 14, he is physically strong and powerful, and is much stronger than that of his peers. He usually helps his parents work for the manor.

Two days ago.

The fact that the knights of the Wissas Territory came to Fort Comoy to preach and recruit people was known all over the city and caused numerous heated discussions.

Some people are excited, others can’t believe it.

Mike Andrew listened to the whole process when he went out shopping. After returning, his heart never calmed down, and he was tossing and turning when lying in bed at night.

His heart moved.

He wanted to go to Wissas to see if it was true or false.

Mike Andrew talked to his father about his idea, but his father rejected it.

“Mike, my child, don’t be silly, how can slaves become soldiers.”

“We are not free people, we are controlled by the manor, and we can’t leave the manor without permission… Yes, I know you can go out to Wissas with a poll tax…”

“But that notice must be false. You will be fooled, you have to understand that the poll tax is not cheap.”

Old Andrew wanted to dispel Mike Andrew’s unrealistic thoughts.

He didn’t believe that Wissas could have such great benefits at all.

It’s like the Creation God suddenly mercifully dropped a lot of gold coins on the world, it could not be true at all.

He looked at his son’s lost expression and gave him a dry consolation, “Maybe the commoners will go to the territory of Wissas and try, then they will know that they have been deceived… a trip for nothing…” 

The biggest difference between slaves and civilians is that the slave belongs to the master.

Slaves are not allowed to leave without permission, let alone escape. If they want to go out to do their own affairs, they must pay a poll tax to their masters, otherwise, there is no freedom to speak of.

If they abscond and are captured back, the master has the right to dispose of the slaves at will, including cutting off their hands and feet and giving them death.

In addition, the marriage of slaves is not free, they need to pay marriage tax to the master, and the children born after marriage are also slaves.

When the slave dies, all the property that no one inherits will belong to the master.

Slaves have no right to redeem themselves, they can only sell from one master to another through mutual buying and selling.

Compared with civilians being hired to work for the manor, slaves are supposed to work for the manor. They are often oppressed and humiliated, not to mention the long working hours yet the lowest pay.

The personal freedom of civilians is not restricted, of course they can go to Wissas at any time.

But it’s not easy for Mike Andrew to get there.

The content of the Wissas notice is very clear.

The lord stipulated that if the slaves in Wissas wanted to participate in the evaluation, the master could not restrict their freedom, but must let them go.

If the slave passes the preliminary examination, he can become a reserve soldier, and the lord will give the slave’s owner silver as compensation.

But the slaves outside of Wissas had to go on their own.

If they pass the preliminary examination and are determined to be reserve soldiers, the lord will send knights to buy qualified slaves and their families from the master.

In Xia Zuoyi’s view, this is a disguised buying population.

Although he was still a slave, he was a slave who became a reserve soldier, and after accumulating a certain amount of merit, he can become a free citizen and break away from the status of a slave.

Not to mention the significant reduction of taxes in Wissas, which is a great thing for both civilians and slaves.

Because of this, most people can’t believe it and dare not try it easily.

Old Andrew’s persuasion and comfort did not dispel Mike Andrew’s idea.

He thought that this is probably the only chance in his life, and there will be no more if he misses it.

It should not be false news because the knights of Wissas came to Fort Comoy to preach and recruit people in person.

In the end, Mike Andrew made up his mind.

The next day.

While his parents were out to work, he secretly took some of the money that Old Andrew had saved, quickly paid the poll tax to the manager of the manor, and left Fort Comoy.

He apologized to his parents in his heart.

If the news proves to be really false, he must work harder to return the money to his father when he comes back.

Mike Andrew only brought a little water and dry food.

He walked on the mountain road of Pal Mountain, with the sun above his head and sweat on his forehead, his heart became more and more bottomless.

But he’s already here, he can only bite the bullet and move on.

After about an hourglass, Mike Andrew finally entered the city of Wissas.

He looked around, a little at a loss, not knowing where to sign up for service.

At this moment, a knight guarding the city gate suddenly shouted, “Civilians or slaves participating in the conscription follow the direction of the arrow to sign up at the registration point, and accept the preliminary examination.”

Mike Andrew immediately looked for the wooden sign on both sides of the street.

More than ten meters away, a wooden sign was inserted on the ground, with an arrow pointing in a direction.

Suddenly someone next to him said, “Brother, are you here to participate in the conscription?”

Mike Andrew turned around, “Yes, yes, you too…”

The man nodded and said, “Yes, my name is Rad. I’m a slave and I live in Wissas.”

Mike Andrew immediately felt relieved.

He said, “I am also a slave, living in Fort Comoy. Why don’t we go together.”

“Okay, no problem.” Rad agreed.

Before leaving, Mike Andrew heard the knight guarding the city gate yell again.

When they arrived at the registration point, they took a closer look and found that there were two long lines, one for civilians and one for slaves.

They spontaneously lined up behind the slaves’ line.

Finally, it’s Mike Andrew’s turn.

He came to the table and listened to the person who records skillfully ask, “What’s your name? How old are you? What’s your height? How much do you weigh… From where?”

Someone next to him asked him to move his arms and legs casually.

Then he said to the recorder, “I’m in good health, there is no disability on my body, and I don’t seem to have any mental problems.”

The person in charge of recording nodded.

Mike Andrew answered all the questions just now.

When he said he was from Fort Comoy, the recorder looked up and gave him a very kind smile, “Mike, right? Fourteen years old, pretty good, very strong.”

“There are not many slaves who signed up that came from Fort Comoy. Go back and help publicize more that we’re really recruiting in Wissas. After being elected, not only can… and…”

He told Mike Andrews and the people behind him about the benefits of the draft conditions.

Mike Andrew couldn’t help but get excited, “You, don’t worry, I will.” 

The recorder smiled, “Very good, very good, your age meets the standard, your physical fitness is very good, qualified, go there and wait.”

After speaking, he wrote an excellent on the parchment.

Mike Andrew was a little unsure, but he still walked in the direction pointed by the recorder.

More than a dozen people gathered there, and there were knights standing nearby.

Mike Andrew was about to ask someone when he heard a teenager speak to him in a voice of apparent excitement and joy.

“You must also be a slave of Fort Comoy, and so am I. Oh, my God, I can’t imagine that all this is real!”

“We are here until today’s registration is over then the knight will lead us back to Fort Comoy. As it is written in the recruitment conditions, the lord of Wissas will buy us back with our family…” 

Obviously, the teenager couldn’t control his elated mood and was always talking.

Mike Andrew couldn’t calm down either.

But he is relatively dull and does not know how to express.

The teenager said, “My parents are also slaves. My mother doesn’t believe that there will be such a good thing so I wasn’t allowed to come. It was my father who secretly paid the poll tax for me to get out.”

“What about you, how did you come?”

Mike Andrew, “…Just like you, paid the poll tax to come here.”

However, neither of his parents agreed.

A while later.

He saw Rad stepping into the crowd belonging to Wissas slaves and waved to him.

The registration ended before the sun went down.

The people in the two teams did not disperse.

Seeing that they did not leave, the recorder had to shout, “The registration deadline is 15 days later and for those who haven’t enlisted yet, you can come back after sunrise tomorrow. Hurry back!”

The people in the teams slowly dispersed.

Mike Andrew breathed a sigh of relief, fortunately he came early.

…

A total of four knights led them back to Fort Comoy.

Before entering the city, he listened to the knight say, “There’s not much time left for you, go back and pack up quickly. Tell me how many family members you have and how much money you need to pay for them… Finally, we’re going to drive all night back to Wissas, okay?”

Mike Andrew and some slaves were taken away by a knight.

The knights paid for them from house to house, and those who were not willing to let them go were threatened in the name Lord Desinia.

When they got to Mike Andrew’s estate, he said as usual, “The only family members are you and your parents? Three people…Well, it’s not too much. Go back and pack up quickly, don’t dawdle, or I won’t wait for you…”

Mike Andrew dared not hesitate and ran away quickly.

As soon as he entered the room, old Andrew wanted to pick up his stick and beat him.

Mike quickly and clearly explained everything.

“The lord’s knight is paying to buy us. Father, mother, quickly pack up our things, we can leave and go to Wissas. From now on, I will be a reserve soldier. I will work hard to accumulate merits and get out of slavery…”

Old Andrew was still stunned, standing in place blankly.

Mike Andrew yelled anxiously again, “Father…”

Old Andrew regained his senses, “Quick! Quickly pack up! Hurry up, don’t let the knight wait.” 

The slaves didn’t have much private property.

Because no matter the house or farm tools, it belongs to the owners of the manor. They only need to carry a few scattered things to leave.

Before leaving, Mike Andrew remembered the recorder’s words, and promoted a few words to the other slaves who were watching—it’s true, those who meet the conditions can sign up, and go as soon as possible!

The four knights finally assembled outside the city gate. After counting the number of people, they led them to return.

When the moon was high and the stars adorned the night, they were taken to a temporary shelter in the city of Wissas. According to the knight, they would live here temporarily and wait for the registration to be completed.

During this period, the lord will provide them with a silver coin for free.

Knight, “If you are not used to living, you can build a house by yourself.”

“Slaves who are about to become reserve soldiers cannot leave at will. The rest are going to work in the salt drying area by the sea and there will be a special person who will come tomorrow. Have a rest first tonight.” 

After the knight left, the slaves did not temporarily move.

They have a huge amount of work every day and their physical strength is very good. They don’t look tired until now, but everyone’s expressions are a little tranced, standing still and not knowing what to do.

After quite a while.

Someone murmured, “It’s like a dream…”

As if opening the chatterbox, one person began to follow.

“From now on, we’ll live in Wissas?”

“This thing turned out to be true?! Thank you God of Creation! Thank you, Lord Earl!”

“My son is loyal! He is promising…”

Mike Andrew pinched himself, not in a dream.

He wanted to find a place to rest when old Andrew came up and patted him on the back, looking very pleased.

“You kid… did a good job this time!”

… 

The same thing happens every day.

The number of civilians and slaves from Fort Comoy began to increase, and their families were sent to work in salt pans or organized to build temporary shelters.

Thank God of Creation, thank Lord Earl.

Every day, Xia Zuoyi can see the reputation value on the top right of the system interface steadily rising.

Extremely happy.

The author has something to say:

[One more, two more at night~]

Little Earl: Be quick! Take advantage of the stupid earl of Fort Comoy to pry away all the people before he reacts!

[Tips: Manor owner is a title, and the identity of the owner of the manor can be different, including but not limited to kings, nobles, bishops, knights…]