Chapter 18 Production Teams and Work Points (Part 2)

Chapter 18 Production Teams and Work Points (Part 2) It was precisely for this reason that the number of serfs in the Norman Empire continued to grow rapidly, while the number of civilians decreased sharply.

It’s not that there were no civilians who rose up in resistance, but they were powerless. How could the civilians, who didn’t even have weapons, fight against the nobles?

And today, the words of Count Bruno Stuart of Idar gave hope to many serfs present.

The hope of becoming a free people again!

But... in fact, most people still hold a wait-and-see attitude towards Bruno's words, because this is a bit too far-fetched for them who are used to being oppressed by the nobles, and it is just an illusory promise.

Bruno did not elaborate on this point, but continued his speech: "Of the four hundred and fifty-three serfs, one hundred will stay, and the rest will set off tomorrow to the outskirts of Idar to build the Hanging Gardens."

"The serfs who go to build the Hanging Gardens will be divided into eight production teams. They will be evaluated every day based on their workload. The team that does the most work that day will receive a sumptuous dinner, including fish, white bread, and vegetable soup, which is enough to fill your stomach. The team that does the least work can only get a limited amount of black bread."

As soon as Bruno finished speaking, the serfs gathered around the campfire began to whisper. For them, becoming a free man might be a distant thing, but daily meals were the most practical thing. If the lord could really fulfill his promise, then going to build a garden would definitely be an excellent job.

The demands of serfs are actually very simple. Having a place to live and food to eat is a good life.

When the serfs had almost finished their discussion, Bruno continued, "During the construction of the garden, each production team will receive corresponding work points for each task they complete. The work points earned by each production team will be recorded by Idar's subordinates and announced every day. On the day the garden is completed, the top three production teams will have 20, 15, and 10 serfs liberated as freemen, respectively."

As soon as the words fell, the serfs became completely excited.

As long as conditions permit, no one wants themselves and their descendants to be slaves of the nobles forever, but Bruno gave them an opportunity that no other lord had ever given them...

"But!" Bruno said, "Many of you have seen the process of making salt from seawater. Therefore, in addition to keeping it absolutely confidential, you cannot leave Idar Territory after becoming a freeman and must report to a special person regularly. Of course, your children are not subject to this condition."

In fact, the excited serfs didn't care much about this.

After all, Bruno was a noble lord who could promise to free the serfs. Regardless of whether it could be realized, this kind of intention alone was hard to find. If he didn't live here in the future, would he run to other nobles' fiefdoms and be captured as serfs? As for informing on others... that was unlikely.

After all, other nobles wouldn't even look at these peasants, so how could they possibly listen to them? They might even think they were liars and arrest them...

"Master, is what you said true?" At this time, a young serf bravely asked.

"The Stuart family always keeps their word! I am the Earl of Idar and the owner of this territory. If I lie to you...what good will it do me?" Bruno said with a smile.

"Can I sign up for that...production team now?" asked the young serf.

"Of course, anyone interested can contact Old Ford to sign up. Only tonight."

After Bruno finished speaking, he didn't care about the reactions of the serfs around him, and left directly. He was tired after a day of hard work, and felt a little sleepy, so he went to sleep...

The young serf was the first to squeeze in front of Old Ford and said respectfully, "Master Steward, I want to sign up for the production team."

Seeing this, the other serfs also reacted. With such good conditions, anyone who didn't sign up was a fool. After a while, old Ford was surrounded by a crowd of people.

Old Ford didn't know whether to laugh or cry. His master... really didn't want to do any troublesome work. He didn't even tell me beforehand. It was hard for me, an old man over 50 years old, to collect registration information in the middle of the night...

"Don't be anxious, don't be anxious... Hey, which bastard stepped on the old man's foot... Someone, where is L'Hôpital... Someone, help me..."

Claire was the first to sign up. As a serf, he had always been unwilling to accept his fate.

He was sold to Idar by a slave trader two years ago because his father owed a debt to the lord. He had only borrowed two silver shillings to treat his family's illness. Unexpectedly, the illness was cured, but the interest kept increasing. In just one year, the principal and interest increased by more than ten times...

As a result, the local lord sold the Krell family to a slave trader as serfs.

Claire's mother and brother were sold to a noble lord in the Kingdom of Basel as servants; while Claire and his father were sold to the Territory of Idar.

Fortunately, the Stuart family, the ruler of Idar County, was pretty good. Both father and son were assigned to work in the salt field. Although it was tiring, it could fill their stomachs...

Until today, Lord Bruno of the Stuart family actually said that serfs could also become freemen. This sentence instantly ignited the hope in Claire's heart. After all... he was once a freeman...

…

When there is no tiger in the mountain, the monkey will be king.

Arnel has lived a comfortable life since Bruno left Idar.

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After Old Ford, the chief steward of Idar, left, Arnel became even more influential.

The servants in the castle were extremely respectful to Arnel. After all... he was a wizard hired by their master and a big shot who could cast magic.

Anel likes the life here very much. Although it is geographically remote and far away from the center of the empire, it has less flattery and more things he has never experienced before.

For example, the servants in the castle respected him not because of his father, Duke Rune, but because he was a wizard.

This made Arnel very happy, but secretly… a little ashamed at times.

Because he knew very well his own strength. To put it nicely, he was called a mage, but to be more direct, he was just a mage apprentice who had not yet completed his studies.

Therefore, apart from instructing the castle's chef to prepare delicious food in different ways, Arnel spent all his time practicing magic.

During these few days, after getting up in the morning and having breakfast, Arnel practiced levitation and fireball in the courtyard in front of the castle, from morning to night without stopping.

Although an ox cart was burned and a stable was set on fire along the way, we still gained a lot. Overall, we made great progress.

I'm going to practice quietly and then surprise all of you!

Arnel thought so.

(End of this chapter)