I built a manor in the Middle Ages

Chapter 237 Duty-Free Flag: Current Status of Enclaves
Ezra's expression turned sour for only a moment before he immediately smiled again.

"Ha, long time no see, my friend."

Ezra smiled broadly, but unfortunately, he was only met with Luc's ill-intentioned face.

Seeing this, he took a deep breath, bowed, and said, "Friend, we are merchants who have come from afar. I hope you can treat us fairly."

“Fair. I’m very fair. I won’t be like you. You won’t be subject to any price gouging here. There’s just one thing: you’ll need to pay a commercial tax of one hundred pfennigs.”

Luc sized up the guy who had suddenly appeared. Although he had been ripped off by the Jews, he had to admit that these people had a very keen business sense, and had actually followed the pilgrimage group to Knightsburg.

“One hundred pfennig.” Ezra gritted his teeth and shook his head in dissatisfaction. “One hundred pfennig in commercial tax? I’ve never seen such a harsh tax rate in even the most prosperous cities. This is blatant extortion!”

"Why didn't you think this way when you were extorting us?"

Ryan's anger surged when he saw Ezra, but Ezra, with his hooked nose, blinked and said righteously, "When have I ever extorted you? Extortion only occurs when one party is unwilling. I don't like this tax now, but you didn't dislike my price back then."

"You!" Ryan suddenly drew his longsword, ready to stab the silver-tongued merchant to death.

Luke stopped the enraged Ryan, as killing a merchant in the marketplace did not earn him a good reputation.

"One hundred pfennigs, no questions asked. If you don't want to pay, you can leave."

"However, I need to tell you in advance that although you are not required to pay commercial taxes, every inch of land you pass through now belongs to me, and I have the right to charge you a toll. Of course, if you pay commercial taxes, you will not need to pay the toll."

"The toll is twenty pfennigs. You can choose one."

Medieval lords were extremely domineering in this respect.

Within one's own fiefdom, one can theoretically levy various taxes on anyone outside the nobles of one's own country, provided one's sword is sharp enough.

Ezra glanced at Ryan's longsword, then at David who remained silent and only watched the show, and finally set his sights on the unusual items he had never seen before in the market.

Finally, he shrugged and said, "Okay, you win. I'll give you a hundred pfennigs."

With the arrival of all parties, the market trading officially began.

The limestone was monopolized by Luc, and if anyone else wanted it, they would have to wait until old Pons brought more stones next time, and incidentally bought some wine from Maconshire.

The Luc grapes aren't ripe yet, so I'll buy some wine to try.

David brought nothing with him; he had come mainly to form alliances. However, looking at the bustling trade, he felt somewhat annoyed that he had returned empty-handed.

This is the advantage of trading posts: they allow people from the surrounding area to gather and trade with each other.

Of course, the most popular items are those from Luc.

Old Pons and the others examined the burqas from all angles, the Macon caravan went on a buying spree of wine, and Ezra scrutinized the insect repellent with interest.

After deducting expenses, by evening the sold-out goods brought Luc a full pound in revenue.

"That's fucking profitable."

This is just small-scale trade; with more goods and buyers in the future, who knows how much revenue will come?
After Ezra and the Macon caravan camped on the south bank, and Luc, David, and old Poons had dinner together at Knightsburg, everyone dispersed early the next morning, except for a few pilgrims.

It was agreed that there would be another market next month, and Luke instructed two serfs to carry buckets of manure to the composting area.

As the owner of the market, Luc had the right to set rules, one of which was that people could not defecate anywhere and had to relieve themselves in wooden buckets, with violators subject to fines.

The crowd didn't understand this rule, which seemed utterly absurd to them, but due to the reputation of the pilgrimage site and Finney's power, they had no choice but to obediently clench their buttocks.

"Sir, I have a suggestion. You could build a pilgrimage donation box on the shore, allowing pilgrims to donate pennies, and tell them that the money will be used to build a church. What do you think?"

“Good suggestion, old Ek. I’ll leave this to you.”

With the market over, the development of the area around the south bank will begin.

With the brick kiln in hand, Jason began to work on making the iron plowshare for the curved plow. Once large agricultural implements began to be mass-produced, both land reclamation and farming would only become easier.

"Sir, we only have two mules and one donkey right now. Shouldn't we buy some more livestock?"

"You're right, we need to keep an eye on that."

After instructing old Eck to keep an eye on Knightsburg, Ward Village, and the logging camp for the time being, Luke packed his bags and prepared to go to the banquet.

Clovis, who had been under surveillance for a long time, was brought out. Several men, clad in chainmail, mounted their warhorses and gathered at the Treff Bridge a few days later. Jean also arrived on horseback, bringing Byrne's first month's tax revenue.

"Sir, the situation in Tiha Village is not optimistic."

As the man with a sullen face handed over the fragmented pieces of Finney, Luc frowned, already guessing what was going on.

"Was this Berry's doing?"

“That’s right.” His face hardened, revealing a visceral aversion to the name.

"The original village of Tihar was very prosperous under the rule of Sir Baldwin, but when it came into the hands of Berry, that greedy fellow only cared about collecting taxes, and within a few years he had plundered the village to the point of poverty. Because he wanted to grant Tihar the village to you, he recently sent people to plunder it again. You don't know, that bastard even demolished the mill in Tihar!"

"How many people are left in Tiha Village?" Luke asked, his head throbbing.

"Half of it was given to the church, plus a few people who escaped in recent years, leaving more than eighty people."

"What about arable land?"

Three hundred acres.

"How much?" Luke turned around abruptly.

Three hundred acres?

Knightsburg is only a little over 170!

“Sir, not everyone can support a hundred people with such a small amount of arable land like you. Three hundred acres is only half of the arable land in Tiha Village. If you include the woodlands, pastures, and wastelands, you have a full six hundred acres of land in Tiha Village.”

Luc turned his head. No wonder Tiha Village is so wealthy.
"We can't waste such good land."

Knightsburg needs to be reclaimed, and Tiha Village also needs to be developed.

After distributing the meager tax revenue among a few people for drinks, Luc looked up at the large flag fluttering in the wind.

The flag, depicting a field, stood prominently at the bridgehead.

"Sir, are you sure you want to be exempt from taxes for three years?"

Ryan looked at Luc with heartache. As his most loyal follower, he and Luc were practically one, and the thought of tax exemption always made him feel a pang of regret.

"Of course, there are fewer and fewer refugees now. How can we attract people without tax exemption? I also sent a message to Hugo. Both sides have declared that as long as they are affiliated with Knightsburg, they will be allowed to cultivate their own land. Each household can cultivate up to 15 acres. The cultivated land will be tax-free for three years, and after three years, the land will belong to them!"

"But sir, if we do that, you won't get paid."

Ryan looked at the triumphant Luke with concern. How would the lord make money if he didn't collect taxes?

"Who says I can't make money?"

Luke smiled slyly.

Only the group from Ward Village will have absolute inheritance rights to the land. The next people will only have the right to use it. In other words, even if the land is given to them three years later, they will not actually have any inheritance rights.

Secondly, even if there is a three-year tax exemption, Luc has plenty of ways to make money if he wants to.

The first is to replace taxes with work. Ward Village has a 40-day free labor period, so they will have 60 days.

Secondly, Luke will monopolize these people's supply of goods!

In other words, these people will have to pay for their pottery, wooden barrels, clothes, cooking oil, and alcohol, and they can only buy Luke's.

Although he had his own market, Luc would charge an extra 10% tariff to any caravans that competed with his goods, ultimately ensuring that Luc's goods were of higher quality and lower price.

"Don't worry, I definitely won't lose money. In fact, compared to other lords, it's more profitable for them to come here; at least I don't have to pay mill tax. George, spread the word in the tavern that you shouldn't just be busy sleeping with women!"

"Okay sir!"

With everything arranged, Luc, along with Jean, Ryan, and George, the four of them clad in chainmail and mounted on horseback, escorted Clovis to Berry's dinner party.

Having been to Fort Cooper countless times, this was the first time Luke had walked in with his head held high, almost defying all rules. When the guards asked him to lay down his weapons, Ryan lashed out with his whip, making the guard's eyes bloodshot.

Ultimately, at Berry's special instruction, four men were allowed to enter the castle with swords.

(End of this chapter)