Marco was stunned when he heard this, then looked at the dejected Barnes who was following behind the horse, and lowered his voice and said, "Then didn't we wrong him?"
"No." Jin Tong yawned, "It has been clearly investigated before. The serfs below are indeed forced to work overtime for free in the farm. We are just taking them back to face trial this time. Don't think too much.
"
Seeing that Ma Ke still looked troubled, Jin Tong made an exception and said a few more words, "I don't think there is anything wrong with those serfs. They are definitely not as motivated to work in the farm as they are to work in their own fields, because the former are working for free.
, the food harvested by the latter belongs to themselves."
"How can it be for nothing? Those lords also provided them with shelter and land on which to make a living." Marco said stubbornly, "The two parties have entered into a contract and they should strictly abide by it."
"That's right, but the contract doesn't stipulate that you have to work harder on the farm." Jin Tong waved away the two buzzing flies in front of him.
"But the contract..."
"Ma Ke, Ma Ke," Jin Tong also became a little impatient, "Relax, these are people, they always think about themselves first, this is our nature, you should not blame them for this.
"
"But in this case, the owner of the farm will suffer a loss."
"Yes, but what does this have to do with us? We are Saturday believers, we are the referees, and our job is to ensure that the commandments are obeyed.
"How to make those serfs work well is a question that the owners of the farms should consider, not us. They cannot think of challenging the commandments and the majesty of our Lord whenever they encounter problems.
"They have such big heads on their necks. They are not just used for eating and licking women's breasts. They should also be used occasionally."
Jin Tong and Marco took Barnes back to the Inquisition, and then someone went outside Teacup Castle to invite Thomas, who was supervising the construction of the rammed earth wall.
The captain of the guard did not resist after seeing the referee of the tribunal, nor did he lose his temper because of his status. He even stopped two guards beside him who were about to draw their swords.
Then he apologized to the referee in front of him.
The latter remained calm and said, "It's not surprising, we are the most unpopular people in Luye."
"It's just that those fools don't understand the importance of the Inquisition."
"No, no, no, I take this as a compliment. If everyone is happy from the bottom of their hearts when they see us, then it must be that we didn't do our job well." The referee said with a strange smile.
"Sir Thomas, according to our investigation, there is a situation where serfs are forced to work overtime without pay in a farm in your fief.
"Really? I can swear to my ancestors and my lord that I have no knowledge of this matter. In fact, I have been staying at Teacup Castle recently, responsible for the construction of the outer city wall, and it has been almost two months.
There is no time to return to the fief." The guard captain argued.
"The trial of the relevant persons involved will be held in the court before sunset in the afternoon. Do you have time then?
"Don't worry, we will not let a sinner go, nor will we wrongly accuse a good person," the referee said.
"Of course, I can go back with you now." Thomas said immediately.
"Great, thank you for your cooperation."
After the referee finished speaking, he did not move his steps, but said to the captain of the guard again.
"I noticed that you just mentioned that you have been responsible for the construction work of the city wall for two months, and you have not returned home once during this period. Do you think Miss Ilea, who arranged this work for you, is forced to work overtime?
, or there have been such hints with the help of one’s own identity.”
"No, no, no, I strictly abide by the commandments and have five days off and two days off. We don't work for two days a week. The reason why I didn't go home is because I have been honing my swordsmanship in the training ground." Thomas.
He quickly explained.
"Well, I hope you can enjoy your rest, Lord Thomas."
"the same as you."
The trial regarding the farm's forced serfs to work unpaid overtime did not last too long. In fact, after Barnes was brought to the tribunal, the fat steward was almost paralyzed with fear, saying everything he should and should not say.
He said it all at once.
He admitted that he had given the overtime order and that he had ordered the serfs to underreport their working hours by four days in the hope that they could work longer on the farm.
The reason is also very simple. He hopes to perform well in front of the knight's wife.
Because Thomas had only been a formal knight and owned a fief for a short period of time, there were not many people around him who could help him manage the territory. Barnes was not willing to just be the steward of a farm and wanted to go further.
In the end, his momentary greed led him to make a big mistake.
The tribunal later interviewed several other insiders, and their statements were similar to those of Barnes.
At this point, the tribunal could finally conclude that Thomas was innocent in this matter, and announced the punishment for Fat Controller Barnes on the spot.
He needed to go to the fields of the serfs who were forced to work overtime by him and work under the supervision of the tribunal.
Work on each piece of land for four days, and you will not be free again until you have paid back all your owed rest days.
When Barnes heard the verdict, he rolled his eyes and passed out.
He had just been forced by Jin Tong to go to the fields to harvest crops for an afternoon, and he deeply realized the hardship of labor. His waist could hardly stand up straight, and his hands were bruised and covered with blood.
Barnes has been a housekeeper at the farm for more than thirty years. He has worked for two families and three lords. When has he ever suffered such hardship?
And this is just the beginning. There are more than thirty serfs in Thomas's farm. If he works on each farm for four days, he will have to work until winter.
After doing a simple calculation, it’s not surprising that Barnes fainted from fear.
His wife and son petitioned the tribunal, hoping to pay someone to do the work instead of Barnez, and even offered to work twice as long on each field.
But they were all rejected by the tribunal.
Thomas then stood up again and said that he, the lord, was also responsible for the mistakes made by Barnes, and he was willing to pay four silver coins to each of the serfs.
His generous act was also unanimously praised by the Saturday believers who were watching, and the trial ended in a harmonious atmosphere.
Of course, most of the time things don't go that smoothly.
However, with the support of Miss Rabbit, coupled with the strong prestige established by Shuangxiujiao in Green Field, and the occasional cooperation of Black Dog Guard, the work of the referee can often achieve a satisfactory result.
As a result, subsequent incidents of forced overtime work in Greenfield were effectively curbed.
This chapter has been completed!