I built a manor in the Middle Ages

Chapter 257 The Brainless Free Farmer
As the days went by, in addition to Tiha village, the two fiefdoms of Luke were successively planted.

Knightsburg has more complete farming tools and livestock than last year, but the population on the other side of the river has also increased significantly, so the pace of development is the same as in previous years, not much faster.

Because of Luke's orders, population absorption was much stricter during this period.

Lu Ke, who already had a household registration system, intensified the screening of the population.

First of all, one must have a family to support; there are too many uncertainties for a strong man living alone.

Secondly, they had to have a clear background. To ensure that the other party was not lying, Luc brought along Andre from Alsace, Robert from Provence, Gilles from Burgundy, and even Hoffmann's wife from Bavaria to identify their accents.

Yes, Hoffman's family has finally moved in.

Therefore, Luc personally went to greet them and even bestowed upon them the land that Hans had once owned.

This flattered Hoffman's wife and children.

Hoffman wisely kept his previous relationship with Luc a secret from his wife, after all, Luc's previous misfortune was a thing of the past, and he was now a genuine knight and manor lord!
Moreover, Hoffmann was now working for Luc, so he only told his wife that the other party was a high-ranking nobleman—well, a knight who could defeat a baron already deserved the title of high-ranking nobleman. Although Luc didn't think so.

With these people joining, and Raoul assisting them, some people with slightly unspeakable secrets could no longer lie and could only honestly tell their origins.

The screening of refugees went relatively smoothly, but the pilgrims were a real problem.

These guys are mostly independent and have eccentric personalities—there are very few people with normal personalities who would go to great lengths to travel on foot through the Middle Ages just to see so-called miracles.

You could say they're a group of Peters.

Of course, he wasn't as knowledgeable as Peter.

Upon hearing that they would be inspected, the pilgrims were filled with righteous indignation, repeatedly asking why God's followers were being inspected. Some of the more fanatical ones even knelt down, holding up crosses as if to prove their loyalty with their lives. The commotion was quite significant.

In the end, it was Luke and Lynn who, under the guise of being saints, holy knights, and captains of the pilgrim guard, told them that there were heretics trying to sabotage the miracle, which was why they were conducting the inspection, and managed to calm these guys down.

Looking at these members with a headache, which were even more complicated, including some pilgrims from Milan, it took a lot of effort to confirm that these people posed no threat.

"Damn it, every cloud has a silver lining. This pilgrimage route has brought us a lot of fame, but it has also allowed a lot of strangers to come and go as they please."

Luc rubbed his temples. From this perspective, the Riverside Manor incident might not be a bad thing; at least it served as a wake-up call.

We need to think of a good way.

While farming and the census were in full swing, something astonishing was happening at the riverside estate on the other side.

"Hey! I say, now that I've acquired this land, why should I plant flax? Let me tell you, not only do I not know how to plant it, I'm going to plant rye!"

On a vast, empty land, a group of serfs whispered among themselves, gazing at the newcomer, a free peasant.

"I've said it so many times, free farmers don't need to grow flax on their land, don't you understand?"

Byrne wore chainmail, his longsword gleaming coldly, but his eyes were colder than the blade as he stared intently at the man before him, speaking in an unfriendly tone.

"How am I supposed to know whether to plant it or not? Honestly, I really regret buying this land. If I had known I was going to grow some damn flax, I would have left long ago! And I also heard that the previous owner of this land, some guy named York, was killed because he didn't want to grow flax!"

Byrne frowned upon hearing the last sentence, but quickly relaxed, saying calmly, "York was killed by bandits." "Oh? Where are the bandits? I didn't see them?"

The new freelance farmer, looking down on everyone who was staring at him like he was an idiot, stretched out his arm and said, "Alright, give me my money back. I'm going to buy a house somewhere else."

Byrne looked at the person in front of him and stood up abruptly, a move that startled the onlookers, who involuntarily took a few steps back.

Especially Fat Susan. The night York went out, it was this widow who had an affair with him who told Byrne that something was wrong with York. Of course, she was rewarded, but she didn't expect York to die. She thought that York would at most be beaten up and stripped of his land so that she could buy it back. Who would have thought that York would actually die!
Although Byrne claimed that York had colluded with bandits and was killed by them, Susan always felt that Byrne was the one who killed him.

That's what everyone in the manor actually thinks.

Seeing Byrne's increasingly grim expression, Fat Susan glanced at the free farmer named Bauer ahead of her, who seemed to be mentally challenged, and muttered to herself, "Poor fellow, looks like you'll end up like York."

However, to Susan and the others' surprise, Byrne did not stab Bauer to death directly, but instead grinned maliciously:
“One pfennig, if you want to go back, I can only give you one pfennig.”

"Damn it, you're extorting me!" Bauer exclaimed, about to say something more, but was interrupted by the fat man's shout.

"How dare you insult my lord!"

The burly yet agile fat man strode over and punched Bauer in the stomach, causing Bauer to vomit a mouthful of acid.

Seeing Bauer lying on the ground in pain, the fat man whipped him several more times until Byrne waved his hand, at which point the fat man stopped.

Seeing Bauer groaning, Byrne sneered, "Throw him into the mill, give him a penny, and if he wants it, he can take the penny and get out of here!"

"I'll say it again, free farmers don't need to grow flax on their land! Anyone who makes a fuss again, don't blame me for being impolite!"

Byrne's words silenced the other free farmers. After Bauer was dragged away like a dead dog, the other serfs went back to planting flax.

"What a brutal fellow."

"Stop talking, at least the bread we're eating now is pretty good."

The serfs murmured and left, but Byrne stood there, gazing at the distant forest, and waited a while before slowly departing.

Peter, too, stood in the former tax collector's cabin, coldly watching down through the window.

The day passed quickly, and night gradually fell. Lying in the mill, covered in wounds, Bauer glared at the Riverside Manor with a venomous look before finally limping out of the manor.

After walking about a hundred meters, I was suddenly tripped by a rope.

Before Bauer could utter a sound, a strong hand pressed down hard on his mouth, and a low growl was whispered in broken Burgundy:
"Shut up if you don't want to die!"

Bauer's struggles gradually lessened, and seeing that he had become much more docile, the other party paused, then said in a seductive tone:

"So, my friend, how about making a fortune?"

"Shall we settle scores from today?"

(End of this chapter)