The court of Besançon quickly agreed to the list of canonizations of its subordinates by the frontier barons. Of course, the mediation of Count Baldwin was indispensable, because the court only granted Art four new knights, and the trainee knights Art appointed himself were not included in the authorization. Now, although the Marquis of Ivrea is critically ill, the palace's control over the entire county is still very strict. At least the palace can not recognize these unauthorized canonizations.
But in the final analysis, they were just a few trainee knights in name only, and the court did not pay much attention to them. With the support of Earl Baldwin, everyone was too lazy to quarrel over such trivial matters.
As for the knight's attendants, they are not considered lords at all. They are essentially just ordinary civilians with promotion ladders.
The efficiency of the palace is rarely so fast. Within half a month after the documents were delivered, three knights' canonization documents and four trainee knights' granting documents were sent to the valley in the southern border of the county. Along with these documents, there were also the small officers sent by Count Baldwin to the Art Army.
"The palace has approved the list of canonizations I submitted. I have asked the civil administration to prepare the canonization ceremony for you knights and trainee knights. Viscount Pierre, Baron Galvin, and Baron Antayas will personally or send their relatives to the valley to attend your canonization ceremony."
"I called you two here today mainly because I want to give you instructions on how to deal with the three young officers sent by Count Baldwin."
"I have met three of them. They are acquaintances. They are all soldiers of Baron Charis (former Count Baldwin's inner palace knight) in the first company of the Eastern Army. One of them has served as a squad leader, and the other two are also elite soldiers. Count Baldwin means to arrange several suitable military positions for them after the army is expanded. What do you think?" Art asked the two army commanders in front of him.
Angus had already guessed their identity and purpose, and said bluntly: "My lord, it is obvious that they were sent by Earl Baldwin to keep an eye on you."
"Sir, this is not difficult to understand. After all, Count Baldwin asked you to form an army of more than five hundred people, which is considered a large army in the County of Burgundy. Even if a few people are sent to monitor you, it is understandable. If we want to continue to receive the support of Count Baldwin, we must accept Count Baldwin's goodwill..." Odo thinks that Count Baldwin's actions are understandable.
"If you are worried that these people have ulterior motives, we can also arrange for people to monitor and control them, make them more kind on weekdays, and give them a few medium-sized military positions after the army is expanded. I think they will not go too far." Angus made a suggestion.
"This is a good suggestion, but who should be sent to monitor them? It would not be good if it is too conspicuous." Art was lost in thought, thinking about the officers and soldiers around him, there are really not many who are qualified for this task.
Odo thought for a moment, but stopped talking.
"Odo, do you have a good candidate? Speak up."
"Sir, I think the baggage officer Spencer can do this."
"Reason?"
Spencer He is a baggage officer, not a soldier. There are many soldiers and officers on weekdays, and they have close contact with each other. It should not be surprising that he is close to anyone. Moreover, this guy is a merchant apprentice, and making friends is his strength. "
"And he is also very familiar with those junior officers."
“How do they know each other?” Angus asked.
..."
"Well, let Spencer get close to them."
…..
In early July, a heat wave hit, and the atmosphere in the valley became extremely lively.
In the open space outside the church of the wooden castle in the valley, a wooden cross was erected at the door of the church. People gathered around the cross to watch a grand knight canonization ceremony.
At the foot of the cross, the court frontier baron Art Wood Wells was wearing plate chain armor that had been polished to a shiny finish. He had the stainless steel knight sword that had been with him for three years slung around his waist. He stood upright, staring at the seven newly promoted knights (trainee knights) who were receiving the canonization ceremony.
The six army commanders, headed by Odo and Angus, all wore standard chain mail and black heraldic robes and cloaks, and they all carried a tailor-made knight's sword on their waists;
"Knights of Honor. Civil Affairs Officer Cooper's attire was different from that of the army commander. He wore a thin raw silk lining, a pure cotton shulko coat, a hood, and a pair of pointed leather shoes. This outfit did not suit the old man's temperament, but it cost him several months of salary.
Of course, Art also ordered someone to make a lightweight knight's sword specially for Cooper to meet the occasion, but obviously the old man was not suitable for carrying a murder weapon at his waist.
The people watching the ceremony have arrived. The parish priest Hamish adjusted his sacrificial robes, lowered his head to the cross and lightly drew a holy cross on his chest. He muttered a few words, then turned around and loudly said to everyone around the cross: "Today, under the witness of God and you, two knights and four apprentice knights are about to be born. This is the holy will of the co-lord of the world and the grace of the Lord. "
"Now, let's start the canonization ceremony! Please step forward and kneel down facing God and the Lord."
Odo, Angus, and Cooper were in front, and Bass and Ron were half a step behind, kneeling on the soft cushions prepared in advance.
Originally, everyone should be given a Bible at this time, and the would-be knights would place their hands on the Bible and begin to swear an oath. However, due to the large number of people being knighted, Hamish had to stand facing each other, holding up the Bible with both hands, and symbolically let the knights who were knighted swear an oath on the Bible.
"Now, please swear an oath to your lord in the name of God."
The knight's oath (note), which has been practiced countless times by everyone, is loud and clear:
Swear to heaven to clarify my will;
Don't bully the weak, spend your time with humility;
Don't be afraid of strong enemies at the point of the sword;
I will attack any evil!
Women are weak and children are grown up, fight for what they can do;
Helping each other in jail, help them with all their strength;
loyous in the Lord and will remain loyal until death!
............................
"Who wrote this oath? It sounds so damn encouraging!" The "special" little officer named Walter asked Spencer beside him.
Hence Spencer is now also a knight's attendant. He is under the jurisdiction of the adjutant Odo in the army, so he is nominally Odo's knight's attendant.
"This eloquent oath was of course written by my lord himself." Spencer's face was full of pride, and his nostrils almost went up to the sky...
Under the cross, the canonization ceremony was still in progress.
After taking the oath, Art looked solemn and solemn. He slowly pulled out the stainless steel knight's sword from his waist. He held the handle of the sword with his right hand and the sword with his left hand. He walked up to the kneeling prospective knight and gently tapped the knight's shoulders and head with the sword. , "In the name of God, I, the Border Baron of the Court of the County of Burgundy, and the Knight of the Guard of the Court of the County of Burgundy, Art Wood Wells, accept your oath. From now on, you will have a seat under my seat, and I will be with you. You will live and die together, share weal and woe with you; I accept your allegiance and promise to protect you."
"From now on, I allow you to have your own coat of arms, flag and family. Proverbs, and reserve your right to obtain fiefs."
"In the name of God, Amen!"
"Amen~" A pious voice rang out from the crowd.
Then there was a roar of laughter, because a special canonization banquet had been prepared for several days...
.........
The lively atmosphere after the canonization ceremony lasted for a day or two, because after the banquet, there were brothers and friends from the army or civil affairs who wanted to celebrate separately, so the Emma family's tavern in the wooden castle was full every day.
On the second Wednesday in July, the entire valley returned to its former peace and bustle.
In the hall of Lord Woodcastle's Mansion, before everyone left and was busy, Art was holding a meeting with the civil affairs officials. Simon, the commander of the border outpost, also attended the meeting, because he was not only an officer in the army, but also in charge of the civil affairs of the border town.
"...Sart, Lawrence, the recruitment of refugees has been temporarily slowed down. In addition to doing business and acquiring the main business of small workshops in Provence, your task is to assist the army in recruiting young soldiers."
"In addition to arranging specific tasks, I have to give you an important task."
Everyone's ears stood up.
· At said solemnly: "Write a code!"
· "Yes, it is to write a code."
· "The military code is relatively simple. I have ordered the entire officer academy to discuss and formulate it. The civil affairs code involves complex matters and requires everyone to discuss it together."
Matt picked up a piece of birch bark on the table and said to everyone: "This is a list of codes that I have drafted. I have listed all the matters that may need to be regulated by codes in the barony. It mainly involves ten major items such as land distribution, tax collection, military service, public security maintenance, crime punishment, and business management."
“The most important things at the moment are land distribution, taxes, labor, military service and public security. When I was a patrol officer, I promised those groups of people that the land would be owned by the people who reclaimed and cultivated it for five years. Although I never promised this again when I recruited the refugees, we still need to fundamentally clarify the distribution and ownership of the land in the valley. My idea is that, except for the small amount of land that has been given to the soldiers who died and were wounded in the war, all the remaining land in the Barony of the Valley will be returned to the lord. The residents will enjoy the status of free citizens, but they can only rent land from me. As for how to deal with the previously promised residents, you can discuss it after you go down, whether it is to make up for the money or reduce taxes. "
“Sir, the earliest batch of citizens are the richest in the entire valley. Many of them have relatives in the military or civil affairs. As long as the method is appropriate, I believe they can support your decision.” Cooper said.
Matt nodded, handed the list of codes in his hand to Cooper, and ordered: "It would be best if you go down and start compiling it immediately. I have asked the two priests Hamish and Robert, as well as the parish school, to participate in formulating the code. At present, our territory has a small scale of citizens, and the code strives to be simple and practical, without those elegant and luxurious words. This code is for the citizens, not for the nobles to read..."