The library of Noble Theological Seminary has not encountered a generous sponsor like Art for many years. Except for churches, universities and affiliated libraries, those sporadic visitors usually spend a small silver coin to hide in the library to borrow and read. At most, they buy a Bible or a set of manuscripts recording poems and stories and take them home to decorate their desks.
And Art bought seven sets of books in one go, totaling fifteen books. If they were placed in a remote place in the North, the church in the county might not have fifteen books, such as Tyniec Church.
Three sets of art of war books were prepared by Art for the Officer Academy. As the legion continues to expand, the theoretical training of officers must also keep up as soon as possible. It is no longer enough to rely on precepts and deeds and battlefield experience as school teaching materials, so Art plans to draw on the wisdom of his predecessors and combine them with practical experience to refine the contents of those three sets of art of war books as theoretical teaching materials for the officer academy.
Two of the other four sets of books are about words - "A Brief Introduction to Latin" and "Grammar and Rhetoric". Both of these books are teaching materials compiled by Noble Theological Seminary themselves, aiming to help seminary apprentices learn Latin and grammar and rhetoric. To be honest, these two sets of books are not very good, but they are completely sufficient for teaching apprentices and officers who were civilians yesterday. The most important thing is that these two sets of books are practical and cheap. The combined price is only 1,200 pfennigs, and they also come with six parchment manuscripts made by the academy;
The other two books are "The Book of Calculation" and "Introduction to Arithmetic". Art has only a rough understanding of arithmetic in both his previous life and this life. The little "arithmetic" in the knight's education can only be used to calculate territorial taxes and sales transactions, and the mathematics of later generations is unlikely to be promoted and applied here in a short time. Calculating quietly behind closed doors is acceptable. If he dares to openly peddle, he may be called in by the Inquisition for questioning one day.
The book "Introduction to Arithmetic" was transcribed from a classical book. After repeated transcribing and writing, I no longer know the work of the great man. However, after rough browsing, Art felt that it would be no problem to teach those apprentices in the parish school who would become the pillars of civil affairs in the future, so he bought it with a wave of his hand. Cooper and Salter would definitely be proficient in the civil affairs system of this book. Thanks to his father-in-law, a merchant aristocrat. Irvine gave it to Lottie, who was also proficient in it, so this book was used as a teaching material for them; and the "Book of Calculation" was inscrutable. Its author was a great calculation master in the southern continent, named Leonardo Fibonacci. Art planned to study this profound mathematical book together with the several sets of military books carefully, and then hand it over for special study when he met the right talents in the future.
In addition to the seven sets of books and volumes, Art also purchased five sets of pens and inks. These pens and inks were equally valuable, but nearly half the price of Beidi, so Art bought them without thinking.
This was a deal worth more than 20,000 pfennigs, which even alarmed the library steward.
The steward, who was just busy on the side at first, has now treated Art and the others like distinguished guests. He invited a few of them to the tables and chairs aside for the distinguished guests to rest. Wine in exquisite wine glasses was served to the three of them one after another. The steward's originally indifferent face was now full of flowers.
While the steward and two administrators were packing several sets of books with pen and ink covers, Art waved to summon the young librarian named Balor.
Balor’s face was still filled with excitement. The commission for today’s sale exceeded his entire year’s compensation.
Balor eagerly filled the wine glasses for Art and the three of them again, waiting for Art's question.
Matt picked up the wine glass and looked at Balor with interest, "Young man, I have seen the set of books you copied. The writing is very beautiful. What is your monthly salary here?" Art asked.
"Thank you for the compliment, what do you mean by monthly salary?"
"Oh, I was wondering how much you get paid every week?" Art remembered that except for his own territory, most places still have a weekly salary system.
“Dear guest, I came here as a labor apprentice for five years when I was twelve years old. The labor apprentice only had room and board but no salary. It was not until last year that I started working as an administrator and scribe after my apprenticeship expired. As for the salary, I can get one grosso (Lombard currency, about ten pfennigs) from the library for every thousand words of ancient books copied, and I can get a twenty-one commission from the books sold. However, the job of transcribing books is difficult even after a year. I met him a few times, and I mainly earned some commissions from selling books.
"Well, apart from the food money given to the library, if I'm lucky, I can get a salary of fifty or sixty grossos a year."
Art has already looked at this young man. As a scholar who can write Latin and speak multiple languages, he shouldn't be so embarrassed, at least he shouldn't be wearing patched clothes and ripped boots.
Att pointed to the holes in Balor's boots, "You are a scholar who can write and read. Even a scholar who has just become an apprentice shouldn't be like this, right?" Art asked.
"Dear guest, the most indispensable thing in Noble is scholars. There are too many priests, monks and people who can write and read here. I am not a scholar." Balor awkwardly blocked the patches on his clothes with his hands, and subconsciously shrank his toes into his boots.
"Then have you ever thought about leaving here? After leaving Noble, you will definitely be worth more than you are now." Art didn't intend to beat around the bush and made the point.
Balor could understand Art's solicitation, but his eyes immediately dimmed, "Leave? I have a mother who has been bedridden for two years, a younger sister who has just been able to do housework, and two younger brothers who can't even hold a dinner plate."
"Where's your father?" Matthew on the side spoke.
"I'm sorry, maybe I shouldn't ask." Matthew asked and then shut up. He knew that he asked something he shouldn't ask.
Balor shook his head, "It's okay, he was drunk to death. The priest said that people like him are not worthy of sympathy and pity."
At first, he was interested in recruiting, but when he heard that he still had four burdens at home, his heart suddenly became cold.
However, Art still tried with the mentality of recruiting talents, "Barol, to be honest, I am a frontier viscount in the county of Burgundy. I have just obtained a fief. Now I need young scholars like you to work for me."
"If you are willing, I can recruit you as my personal secretary, responsible for handling documents for me or teaching the officers and apprentices in my territory. You will be treated with respect and favor by a bachelor in my territory. In addition, you will be responsible for food and accommodation, and your monthly salary will be eight grossos (about eighty pfennigs, the salary of deputy civil affairs administrator). This is the lowest salary. If you do well, you will be promoted to position and salary. If you have meritorious service, you will be rewarded separately."
"As for your mother and younger siblings, if they are willing, they can come with you to my territory. Your younger siblings can enter the school I opened. If they are not suitable for going to the school, they can do simple work in my territory. I will let them grow up. As for your sick mother, your salary can fully support her, and there are doctors with superb medical skills in my territory. They can treat your mother for free..."
The conditions offered by Ate are definitely sincere enough.
A glimmer of light returned to Balor's eyes, "Lord Viscount, you are not the first guest to extend an olive branch to me, but you are the first person willing to accept the burden behind me. Thank you for your kindness, but Burgundy is far away in a foreign country in the north, and I need to discuss it with my family..." Balor was a little moved.
Matt nodded with satisfaction, turned around and whispered something to Ron. Ron immediately took out a piece of birch bark. Art took it and tore off a strip. He took the pen and ink on the wooden table for guests to copy, wrote a line on the birch bark, and then signed "name" at the end.
"Balor, I want to go north in a hurry. If you think about it carefully, go to the city of Verno in Provence in the north and find a shop called Continental Trading Company. As long as you take out this note, they will arrange for you and your family to go north." As Art said, he raised Balor's hand and patted the birch bark into his palm.
At this time, the library steward had already packed all the books and ink that Art purchased in their covers. After paying the money in full, Art did not stay much and left the seminary and Noble City under the eyes of everyone in the library.< br/>
The group of people had left for a long time, but Balor was still standing at the door of the library, holding the piece of birch bark and looking at it, "Salt? Medici? The Medici family name~I seem to have heard of it somewhere~"
…
After leaving Noble, everyone stopped wasting time and rode northward all the way.
The Principality of Lombardy has lax control over business travelers, and as long as they do not enter the city, they basically do not have to pay taxes, so the Ates can travel unimpeded across the Lombardy border.
But as we get closer and closer to the border, this relaxed atmosphere gradually becomes tense.
The war between the two principalities of Provence and Lombardy has ended for more than a year. However, the embers of war between the two armies have not been completely extinguished. The two principalities still station a large number of troops on the border.
The Ates also kept a low profile and tried their best to avoid garrison castles with strict inspections. They also lowered their profile when encountering checkpoints and responded to the inspections as an ordinary business traveler should. They paid taxes when they needed to pay taxes and gave money when they needed to. With Salt's business traveler identity document obtained in Provence, the Lombards did not deliberately make things difficult for these merchants. After all, their country relied on these merchants to transport gold and silver blood.
However, after crossing the Lombardy border and passing through Bogdan Fort, which had been turned into ruins and a black market, the hard days of inbound business travelers came.
Ten miles north of the ruined Bogdan, across a shallow river is the actual control area of Provence. As soon as the Ates drove their horses across the river, they were stopped by a group of Provençal soldiers armed with swords, shields, axes and spears.
Without saying a word, the soldiers took the reins of several people and walked to a tax checkpoint on the shore. Art waved his hand to stop Ron and Matthew from drawing their swords. This was not Burgundy.
The Provence soldiers did not do anything extraordinary. They just brought a few people to a long wooden table in front of the checkpoint and handed them over to a man who looked like a tax collector.
This tax collector, who is in his thirties, has a broken finger on his left hand, and has a wounded face, like a retired officer from the army. Without raising his head, the tax collector dipped his quill into the carbon juice in the glass bottle, "Name? Where are you from? Do you do business or travel? Do you carry any goods? How much is it worth?"
"Att Wood Wells, from the County of Burgundy, traveling without any goods." At this time, Att had left Lombardy, and there was no need to conceal his identity.
The tax collector had obviously not heard of the Atchi people. He just glanced up at the horses and guards behind At, "Are you going to travel to the south in such a big formation? Sir, according to regulations, I need to check your luggage, please understand."
Ate shrugged and moved out of the way.
After speaking, the tax collector winked at a few soldiers on the side. The soldiers walked to a few horses. Ron and others stepped aside with eyes wide and resentful, staring at the soldiers for questioning.
Several soldiers dug out the books that Art bought and brought them to the tax collector.
"Sir, didn't you say you didn't bring any commercial goods with you? What is this?"
At was a little dumbfounded, "This~ religious property and books have never been subject to customs duties and commercial taxes, don't you know?"
The tax collector scratched his forehead and pointed to a parchment notice on the wall of the sentry tower behind him, "You are talking about a few years ago. Now, unless it is a religious property personally escorted by a clergyman, all other property will be taxed, but the tax amount is lower. , 100% tax for other ordinary goods, and 10% tax for southern goods, spices and other goods.”
It seems that Provence has indeed gone crazy due to the war, and this kind of tax is almost crazy.
The tax collector saw the disbelief in Art's eyes, "Sir, our taxes are not heavy here. Now the taxes on the western border are more than twice as heavy as ours. The Lombards have robbed us of too many things, and we must rely on commercial taxes to recover the war losses."
"We know Viscount Balian! My master is a friend of Viscount Balian, and also the Viscount of the Frontier of Burgundy." When Ron heard such a high tax, he couldn't help but bring out Viscount Balian's flag and Art's noble status. Generally speaking, such status still has an effect.
The tax collector was startled at first, then regained his composure. He quickly stood up and bowed to Art, and then asked several soldiers on the side to put down their weapons. "I'm sorry, Lord Viscount, but you should indicate your identity in advance. Burgundy is a friend of Provence. We treat friendly nobles as our own nobles." After saying this, he bowed to Art to express his apology.
"Okay, can I leave then?" Art had no intention of embarrassing these conscientious border tax collectors.
"I'm sorry, Lord Viscount, unless you have a privileged pardon from the palace or a warrant from the Lord Viscount Balian, according to the law and our valuation, you need to pay a commercial tax of thirty-five Provence Niels (Provence currency, equivalent to approximately four hundred pfennigs), and the other five people and six horses need to pay an entry tax of fifteen Provence Niels (approximately one hundred and seventy pfennigs)." This tax.吏一脸的铁面无私......
............
「......等见到了贝里昂大人您可得和他说说，让他的收取的这些税赋全都退给您。」罗恩还在为那笔巨额的国境税心痛不已，这都快赶上他半年的军饷了。
"Okay, let's talk about it after seeing Viscount Balian. I'm not just worried about this little money..."