Mark's status is that of a farmer, which is only higher than a pure slave.
Of course, 80% of the people in this world are farmers, and there are also some businessmen, craftsmen, etc.
The rest are knights, lords, grand dukes, kings, and popes, ascending in order, the hierarchy is strict, the rules are strict, and irreversible.
The lord is the absolute ruler of the area where Li Feng is located.
Mark rented one hundred acres of land from Lord Cavendi. One-third of the land will be used as fallow, and the other two-thirds will be used to grow crops such as soybeans, oats, and rye, as well as a small amount of peas.
and pasture.
Although there is fallow cultivation, the planting methods of the people here are very backward, and they basically use free-range farming, resulting in a very low return rate on seeds.
Li Feng has never seen a bad year. Anyway, in a good year, one pound of seeds can yield 4 to 5 pounds of grain.
The harvest looks good, but half of it has to be given to the lord.
In addition, the church also comes to collect tithes. If you don’t pay them, the Lord will not bless you, and you may die inexplicably one day.
You do it, I do it, and after you finish it, the rest will ensure that the whole family will not starve to death.
However, the hardship of the farmer did not stop there. Three days a week, his father Mark had to do voluntary work for the lord, plowing, transporting, sowing, threshing and warehousing, and also went to the manor as a handyman.
After finishing, you can drag your tired body and go to work in your own fields.
If voluntary service can at least guarantee life safety, then military service is different.
This group of lords in the Middle Ages had no concept of national unity, and they particularly liked fighting and were addicted to food.
For example, Baron Cavendi especially likes to fight with Baron Edward and Baron Blanc next to him. Whenever this happens, his father Mark will be drafted into the army and stand at the front of the team, serving as cannon fodder for the knights.
If you die in battle, you will all receive a feast.
Oh no, you won’t even get a meal. That’s at least the treatment of a steward or above in the Lord’s Mansion. Mark’s status is not worthy of it.
If you don't die, you still have to pray to win.
Because you get nothing if you lose, and you get a small bag of black flour as a reward if you win (about one-twentieth of the total payment from Mark's family).
After black flour is made into black bread, it is as hard as a brick and will not be eaten by the lord's family, but it is a good winter food for farmers.
If it's just high land rent, heavy labor, and dangerous military service, that's not the only thing that matters to farmers like Mark.
It can be said that people like them have no property at all in this world.
According to the laws of the kingdom, everything in this land belongs to the nobles.
As for the Dia Territory where Mark's family is located, everything belongs to Baron Cavendi.
The fish in the river, the beasts in the mountains, the rabbits in the fields...every blade of grass on the roadside belongs to the lord.
If one day they are destroying your crops and you want to drive them away, you have to go to the lord's castle and ask them to give you this right, because the pigeons and the crops you grow also belong to the lord.
Even his father Mark, his mother Juliet, Li Feng himself, and his sister Elena cannot leave this town or marry at will, because theoretically, they are also the property of the lord.
If you accidentally picked up a piece of firewood or a bird egg on the road, or if you were clever and made a trap and hunted a few sparrows, then I'm sorry, you have to either hand it over or collect taxes.
This tax is really weird, and sometimes it can be as accurate as a sudden poop on the roadside.
As a farmer's father, he was destined to farm the land, perform labor service, and serve in the army since he was born. He could not do anything else unless the lord showed mercy.
"No wonder the world calls for people to eat people."
Li Feng silently complained, in comparison, the start of Dragon Soul Continent was heaven.
How can he maintain his rule for so long after being squeezed to this extent?
Don't the peasants know how to unite, rush into the castle on a dark and stormy night, tear the lord's family into pieces, open a warehouse to stock up on grain, and start a rebellion?
The answer may lie there...
Li Feng frowned and looked at the tall and sturdy castle. In addition to the lord's family, there were also knights with lances and heavy armor, armed to the teeth.
Let’s look at father Mark’s frail and malnourished body.
I'm afraid ten thousand people like my father together wouldn't be able to capture that tall castle with only twenty knights.
What's more, no one is willing to take risks with someone like his father due to his long-term acceptance of the hierarchy and fear of lords and other nobles.
"Take a step and take a look."
Li Feng wants to grow up quickly, and things may be different when he unlocks those buffs.
........
Maybe the weather has been going well for a long time, but God doesn't think it's exciting enough.
When he was seven years old, a rare famine struck.
There has been no rain in the entire town of Dia for eight consecutive months. The land is parched, the vegetation is withering, the rivers are drying up, and all the crops in the fields are dead, leaving no harvest.
The scene seemed familiar, but the disaster it brought to Li Feng was unprecedented.
The family drinks some rye porridge that can be seen clearly at the bottom of the bowl every morning, then spreads out a straw mat and lies there all day without moving to minimize energy consumption.
This kind of life only lasted for a month. Li Feng was already walking shaky and breathless. After two months of persisting, Li Feng's legs were weak and his whole body was swollen.
Physical training has long since stopped, and his health is getting worse and worse.
If this continues, this game will end early.
He stood up and walked out. The poor sister stretched out her little hand, shook it twice and then lowered it. Maybe she wanted to ask her brother where he was going, but she was so hungry that she didn't even have the strength to speak.
There is a big river near the town. There are fish in the river and some grasshoppers by the river. These things are rarely caught by people. People don't know how to run when they see them. Li Feng can catch them with his bare hands.
Living by the river water, I finally had enough to eat.
Just as I was about to take two back to my family, I was caught by a colleague who secretly came out to catch a grasshopper and prepared to eat it.
........
Along the river, there was a bustle of people.
"Lord, without your merciful kindness, this damn pariah shamefully stole your fish and even took your dead branches to light the fire. I recommend that he be executed immediately."
Next to the lord, the short and fat butler Laudno pointed at Li Feng who was kneeling on the ground and told him his crimes.
Li Feng tried to struggle, but it was useless. A tall and strong knight held him down, unable to move at all.
On the ground, two plump fat-headed fish were not fully dead, jumping and making their final struggle. The onlookers were skinny, with pale faces, pale and dry lips squirming, swallowing saliva, and couldn't help but move forward.
"Run~~" The cold light flashed, and several tall, majestic knights wearing heavy armor pulled out the swords at their waists, causing these people to take two steps back.