In the evening, southwest of Tyniec County, the southwest farm that originally belonged to the Dean family had been attacked by nearly a hundred people from two flag detachments of the Welsh Army.
The Southwest Farm is composed of more than thirty households of serfs and servants and their guard relatives inside the fort wall and forty or fifty scattered farmers outside the farm fort wall. The defense here is not as strong as the Wincheston Manor. Since the Dean family was granted the title of Wincheston Manor, they have basically transferred their valuables and property to the Wincheston Manor. There are only some old stewards and some temporarily recruited or forcibly recruited farmer guards left in the southwest farm fort wall.
There is neither an owner of the Dean family to guard the farm in the southwest nor a reliable soldier to protect it. Ordinary bandits were able to break through the outer wall a year ago, and it would not be too difficult for professional legionnaires.
After Bangada led his army to the farm, he asked the accompanying troops and laborers to make siege equipment, and at the same time shouted to the farm, stating that the Welsh Army was ordered by the palace and patrol officer Baron Art to search and suppress bandits controlled by the Dean family, and the culprits would be held accountable.
There were no cronies of the Dean family guarding the southwest farm, and more than a hundred menacing soldiers were determined to attack the city. After a brief confrontation, the people on the farm opened the outer wall door under the care of several serfs who had been enslaved by the Dean family.
The Dean family guards and several old housekeepers and servants hid in the inner fort and struggled for a while. Banganda broke through the inner wall of the southwest farm after paying the price of three deaths and eight injuries.
No very valuable property was seized from the southwest farm. Even the wages paid to the farm guards were sent by Wincheston Manor on time. Therefore, Bangda searched the entire farm and only found less than 3,000 pfennigs.
Not much property was seized, but there were considerable gains in other aspects.
The weapons and armor stripped from the farm guards are nothing. This is not the focus of the Dean family's defense. The guards' weapons and armor are also very simple. These short spears, cotton armor and single-sword daggers are suitable for the peasant soldiers, but they are indeed too shabby for the standard weapons of the Wells Legion. However, this statement is also a bit biased. Broken sticks and pieces of iron are better than empty hands. All these captured weapons and armor were taken away by Pats' second company and fourth flag team. Until the attack on the southwest farm, Pats's flag team was not fully equipped. A flag team could only be divided into two parts to take turns assembling weapons and armor for attack.
In addition to weapons and armor, what made the two flag captains Bangeda and Pats ecstatic were the three warehouses filled with more than 200,000 pounds of grain stored in the inner wall of the southwest farm, as well as hundreds of sets of heavy plows, hoes, shovels, sledges, sickles and other iron farm tools, four four-wheeled carriages, and there were 12 oxen, 15 draft horses and nine mules and donkeys in the livestock shed, as well as many poultry and livestock such as pigs, sheep, chickens and ducks.
The Dean family made their fortune through trade, but they did not forget to exploit the blood and sweat of the serfs and tenant farmers who relied on the farm for survival. Most of the farm tools and livestock in the southwest farm were owned by the Dean family. Farmers had to rent farm tools and livestock from the farm at high rents. Only a few farmers who had good relations with the Dean family owned their own land, farm tools and livestock.
After the Southwest (Dean) Farm was invaded by a group of bandits last fall, the farmers on the outskirts of the farm were in danger, and they sent grain materials, farm tools and livestock to the relatively safe farm fortress. Therefore, the biggest gain from the capture of the Southwest Farm this time was these grains, farm tools and livestock...
It was almost dark but not dark yet.
A squadron leader wearing armor and holding a sword dusted his body and walked towards Bangeda who was leading a search in the farmer's house in the inner fort. He reported: "Chief Bangeda, we found a man at the back wall of the inner fort. There are a lot of abandoned carriages and parts that were scrapped from the Dean family caravan. There are at least fifteen carriages. I have ordered the carpenters and the baggage team at the farm to repair them. It is not a big problem to piece together three or five carriages, but they will definitely not last long. "
Bangadateng grabbed a piece of fine white bread on the table and threw it to the squadron leader who reported the report. He also stuffed the remaining half of the bread into his mouth, chewed a few mouthfuls and swallowed it hard. "I don't plan to let you bring a bunch of rags to the merchants. Just transport the supplies you can take back to the valley. The two adjutants will find a way to transport the remaining food supplies. "
The squadron leader put the fine white bread into his arms and replied: "That's okay, I will urge them to put together as many carriages as possible. Anyway, there are enough animals to pull the carriages on the farm."
As soon as the squadron leader left the house, Pats, the captain of the fourth flag of the second company, walked into the house with bloodstains all over his body. He found a cup of low-quality beer and drank it in one sip. Then he said: "Bangoda, the remaining enemies in the farm have been eliminated. In addition to directly killing the prisoners of war who were stained with the blood of our brothers, five more who like to bully civilian slaves have been identified." The guards and stewards were killed on the spot, and the remaining dozen prisoners of war were all tied up and brought back to the valley to serve as war slaves. "
Due to the lack of weapons and armor, Pats's flag team only played a feint and auxiliary role in the farm attack. Therefore, after the war, his flag team was responsible for clearing the battlefield of the remaining enemies.
Pats was not as lucky as Bangda, being able to suddenly obtain a batch of weapons and armor before the battle. Half of the soldiers in the second company and the fourth flag team were not allocated weapons. Many soldiers could only hold homemade wooden spears to replenish their supplies. Therefore, after capturing the southwest farm, Pats brought all the troops inside and outside the farm. All the iron items were plundered, and iron farm tools must be handed over to the civil administration according to regulations, but there are no clear restrictions on the remaining iron products. Therefore, from iron nails and iron spoons to iron pots and iron racks, from iron candlesticks to iron sheets and iron gates, anything related to "iron" inside and outside the southwest farm was collected by the soldiers of the Pats Flag Team.
"Pats, I heard from the soldiers that you specially sent people to search for iron products inside and outside the farm, isn't that true? I gave you all the weapons and armor seized from the farm guards~" Bangda felt that Pats was a little crazy.
Pats looked indifferent, "Brother Bangda, you are now fully equipped with weapons and armor, but some of my guys are still empty-handed. This time I collected some more iron products and returned to the valley. I asked the blacksmith in the workshop to melt molten iron and make them into spearheads and daggers. These weapons are the armaments of my fourth flag team. They can be replenished by themselves in an emergency, and there is no need to face the risk of going to the battlefield with bare hands. Embarrassing situation. "
According to the legion's laws, the flag regiment has its own command camp (including arsenal), so it can also have a certain amount and regulation of armaments. However, Bangda still thinks it is not necessary. "After this battle, we will definitely seize a huge amount of money and baggage. According to your nature, you will not watch the legion soldiers go into battle shirtless. Your armaments will be replenished immediately."
Pats still muttered and insisted on his opinion, and Bangeda said no more. It was just a little harder anyway.
"Pats, have you sent out the messengers who will lead the army to command the camp's victory?" Bangada changed the subject.
ceddie ″ ifier |
As night fell, candlelight bonfires were brightly lit in the Dean family's mansion on Southwest Farm. All officers above the squadron captain of the two flag squadrons and five or six soldiers who had performed outstandingly in battle attended the dinner in the mansion. The remaining soldiers who were not on guard duty were also given a piece of bread, a bowl of stew, and a bag of beer.
At the banquet, five trembling farm household representatives and three specially invited serfs were also invited to the banquet.
The five farmer representatives are all farmers who have some say in the farm and do not do much evil. They are worried that this group of soldiers will kill them, but they are also very curious about the polite attitude of this group of people.
The three serfs were the ones who took the initiative to respond to the attack on the outer wall. They were severely oppressed by the Dean family and the farm guards on weekdays, so they rebelled angrily when the army attacked the farm.
This is also convenient for Bangda to complete the task of commanding the camp.
As the commander of the southwest farm battlefield, Bangada was the speaker at the banquet. He raised a glass at the banquet to celebrate the heroic performance and great achievements of the soldiers, and encouraged the officers and soldiers to learn from experience and sum up lessons.
After settling the army battle matters, Bangada finally began to answer the questions of the frightened farmers and confused serfs, "You must be curious as to why several farmers and serfs from the farm were invited to the banquet tonight."
Everyone saw their eyes turned to the eight farm people who had been sitting in the corner and did not dare to vent their anger loudly.
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Bangada's voice continued to sound, "Since it was the Welsh Army that captured this farm, from today onwards this farm will be under the jurisdiction of the Welsh Army!"
As soon as these words came out, several people invited to the banquet finally knew the purpose of their coming, which was to change the ownership of the southwest farm, but they didn't understand why they didn't just say that the frontier baron Art Wood Wells had occupied this place.
The Southwest Farm was originally a public land purchased by the Dean family from Tyniec County. It had no direct superior lord. In theory, the powers of taxation, labor, and judgment belonged to the county chief. However, the Dean family had deep-rooted power in the county. Apart from paying a symbolic tax to the county every year, it was basically like an autonomous fief.
Now that the Dean family has been annexed, the victors certainly have the right to enjoy the spoils of war. As for how to deal with the censure from the county magistrate and the court, it is up to you to worry about it, so Bangda said with confidence, "You are all people who have some prestige on the farm. During the day, He also played a role in breaking down the outer wall and identifying evildoers, so I have invited you here today to announce to everyone the future ownership of the Southwest Farm.”
This old man is one of the few wealthy yeoman farmers on the farm. His ancestors were servants of the Dean family. He was restored to free status and received land for his meritorious service. What is rare is that this old man does not bully the farm serfs and untouchables on weekdays. On the contrary, he occasionally secretly helps some serfs who are struggling to survive. Therefore, the old man and his family were lucky enough to escape the execution axe during the daytime screening.
The old man stood up after hearing the words, but remained silent.
"Mr. Rembrandt, on behalf of the Welsh Army, I appoint you as the farm steward (village chief). This farm will be managed by you for the time being. Spring plowing, summer hoeing, autumn harvesting, winter maintenance, tax collection, and labor dispatch will all be managed by you. During the tax season every year, we will send people to pay grain and collect taxes."
The old man did not expect that he was called to appoint him as the farm manager, so he immediately refused, "Dear Sir, I am sorry that I cannot accept your appointment." The old man refused to say another word.
The air in the room condensed for a moment, and Bangeda broke the silence with a laugh, "Rembrandt, are you waiting for Dean and his son to lead troops to retake this manor? Not to mention whether Dean and his son can survive today, even if they escape today, it will be difficult to survive tomorrow. God, I only let you take charge of the farm temporarily because you are well-respected by everyone for your kindness. Besides, I appointed you on behalf of the Wells Army. If you dare to disobey the order, your head will not be missing from the outer wall of the fort!" Bangeda's words were obviously threatening.
Bangeda said hard words and then soft words, "As long as you take good care of the farm, we will not treat you badly. Your monthly salary of fifty pfennigs will not be less than a penny. The food and materials left on the farm are also at your disposal. If you do well, you may be promoted to an official position in the future."
It doesn’t matter if you disagree, he has another trick.
"Mod." Bangda called another person's name.
A man with scars all over his body stood up. This man was the leader of the serfs who defected and supported him during the day's battle. His family had been serfs for two generations and had been oppressed by the Dean family and the farm stewards. His wife and daughter were sold to slave traders by Old Dean two years ago. The only remaining members of the family were a dying mother and a skinny son.
"Dear Sir!" Maud quickly walked down from a broken table and knelt in front of Bangada.
Hongda nodded and asked Mod to stand up, but Mod insisted on kneeling on the ground.
"Brother Maud, thanks to the support of your three men during the day, we were able to successfully capture the outer wall. As a reward for you, on behalf of the Welsh Army, I declare to restore your free status and give each of you one hundred pfennigs, three hundred pounds of grain and three iron farm tools as rewards."
“To show that you are freed from serfdom, you will be given half an acre of land, which is entirely yours. In addition, other land you rent from the farm will also pay the normal taxes like free farmers. Your identity and land are protected by the Legion of Wales.” It is impossible to make a living on half an acre of land, but it is a symbol of free status.
Mord did not expect that the shackles that had been tied to his neck for decades would be taken off like this. Before he could react, "Sir, sir, you are saying that we are no longer serfs and we still have our own land?"
"Yes! After the army selects the land for you tomorrow, the deed will be issued." Bangeda replied affirmatively.
Mord was so excited that he kowtowed repeatedly after hearing this. The other two serfs also ran to Bangada and knelt down to thank him.
After the three people kowtowed in thanks, Bangeda asked the three to stand up and said: "In addition to commendations and rewards, the legion will also appoint the three of you to a position."
Surprises continued, and the three people who had just announced their return to free status listened with bated breath.
"The Farm Guard will be established immediately..."
Bangada announced the formation of the Southwest Farm Guard, with Mod as the guard captain and the other two serfs as deputy captains. The guard team has fifteen people, and the three captains and deputy captains will select loyal and reliable people from the farm to form. The guard captain will receive fifty pfennigs per month, the deputy captain forty pfennigs, and the ordinary guards thirty pfennigs. Food is provided by the farm warehouse. The Farm Guards were part of the Welsh Regiment.
“Mod, I will give you two days to select the escort peasant soldiers. In the next period of time, we will station two squadrons of legionnaires here. The garrison army will take three of you to train the escort..."