Blue Sword

"Be a knight?" Ask was a little surprised.

After the two of them finished sparring, Ludwig walked into the training ground, chatted with the two for a while, and suddenly made an offer.

"Yes." Ludwig said with a smile, "Our Weisbach family has always been hungry for talents. Since Captain Asker has such strength, he is certainly qualified for the position of knight."

"Hey, brother, what are you doing!" Eleanor said dissatisfied, "He is my captain, and you want to be his lord, so aren't you my big leader?"

Who is interested in being your leader, sister? Ludwig was speechless. Isn’t this just for you two? As long as he becomes my vassal, my father will have no way to attack him. You don't understand my good intentions!

"Thank you for your kindness, Your Majesty the Viscount." Ask said, "But after all, I am the leader of the mercenary group..."

"That's no problem. If you don't have time to stay in the territory, you can leave the relevant matters to my cabinet staff." Ludwig explained with a smile, "As for the territory, it is tentatively decided to be Berg Village, which is a The small village on the shore of Lake Steinberg has extremely beautiful scenery.”

"That place is very close to Mingxing City." Eleanor added, "If I remember correctly, many nobles in the principality have private estates there."

"That's right." Ludwig thought, sister, you finally understand, and continued, "So, as the lord of Berg Village, the monthly fief tax alone is a large amount of wealth, and you can also add more with other nobles. It is also very helpful for you to make contacts in the upper class."

"That's weird." Eleanor squinted at him and said, "Are you really willing to seal off that piece of land? That's not like you, brother!"

Ludwig was speechless. If this wasn't a dowry for you, how could I have sealed it out?

Through the sparring he just watched, Ludwig also realized that the strength of Captain Asker was probably not just that of the leader of an ordinary mercenary group. Judging from the swordsmanship he showed, being a knight lord is indeed more than enough.

However, becoming a lord requires not only one's own strength, but also connections, prestige, and relationship with the lord.

If we follow the normal path, the leader of Asker needs to first become a landless knight, then accumulate military merit through wars, win the recognition of other vassals and the appreciation of the lord, and then he can obtain a piece of land after the war. manor.

The first fiefdom is unlikely to be good land like Berg Village. It is usually located at the junction of the Principality of Bavaria and other principalities, or in the small mountain villages at the foot of the Alps with inconvenient transportation and extreme poverty.

Then run the fief, slowly accumulate wealth through taxation and trade, and spread the wealth through parties and social interactions. Only then can you win a better reputation and connections in the upper class society of the principality, and then you will be qualified to change the fief.

Of course, it is just a qualification. In fact, you have to wait until there are vacancies in other fiefdoms, which is the so-called "one carrot and one pit". The other lords died without heirs, or they rebelled and were deprived of power by the lord. It's your turn to top.

The promotion cycle of a lord is so long. How else can we say that marriage is the fastest way to leapfrog?

At this time, Ludwig granted the village of Berg to Asker in order to quickly improve his status. Otherwise, he would have to wait until he could slowly climb up to the position where he could ask the Duke of Bavaria to marry Eleanor. Wait until the year of the monkey and the month of the horse go!

"Thank you, Your Excellency Viscount, for your appreciation." Asker muttered, "I..."

"Since it's in name, then just go ahead." Eleanor blinked, "Anyway, you don't need to handle government affairs personally, right?"

Ask smiled bitterly. Indeed, the work of noble lords in this world is extremely difficult, and it is easier than the landlords of more than a dozen apartments in Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou and Shenzhen in the real world - the latter has to collect rent one by one every month, while the former has its own professional tax officer to help him Collect money and take care of it.

"Okay, it's my honor." Asik finally agreed. Anyway, he already had a lot of nicknames, and having more "Lords of Berg Village" wouldn't hurt.

"How about a canonization ceremony?" Eleanor excitedly pulled out her sword.

"No need, what's the point of my family engaging in such complicated etiquette?" Ludwig waved his hand.

Eleanor:? ? ?

Asker:? ? ?

What does own family mean?

Ludwig didn't hold the canonization ceremony, so naturally he had his own agenda. Without a formal ceremony, there would be no relevant enfeoffment contract. If Asker wanted to do the work of a lord in Berg Village, he could only entrust Ludwig's cabinet staff to help.

This is tantamount to saying that he only has an empty title of lord, which is not justified, and the actual power of the territory is still in Ludwig's hands.

If he and his sister break up one day in the future, Ludwig can naturally deprive him of his lordship, and he will have no power to resist. If the two really establish a relationship, and Aske is ready to propose, Ludwig can add another enfeoffment contract and immediately convert Aske from a virtual title to a formal lord, thereby qualifying him to propose to the Duke of Bavaria for his daughter. .

This is a trick that belongs to the aristocratic class, and everyone can play it. Of course Eleanor wouldn't understand if she didn't have experience as a lord. As for Asker... even if he understood, so what? The false title of lord is also a title!

Ludwig was quite confident about this, although he had not actually guessed that Aske didn't care about this noble title at all.

"Lord of Berg Village, does that count as entering the nobility system?" Eleanor said thoughtfully, "Can the leader have a title?"

"No." Ludwig explained to his sister, "I am Viscount Gauting. From the title point of view, I am the deputy of my father, the Duke of Bavaria. The viscount cannot be assigned other titles. So Mr. Asker became the Berg After becoming a village lord, his position is considered to be that of a knight, as my vassal, and the governance of the fiefdom cannot be hereditary."

"If my father recognizes him in the future, he may be given the title of baron, and then the title and fiefdom will be hereditary." Ludwig winked at his sister, meaning "Understand? The key is Will you marry him?"

Eleanor frowned. Not only did she understand the superficial meaning of Ludwig's explanation, she was also keenly aware that the "approval" he said seemed to have some special meaning...

Could it be that my brother has discovered that the leader is a transcendent? Eleanor was horrified.

If this is the case, it would be completely reasonable for my brother to suddenly abandon such a hot fiefdom as Berg Village.

With the leader's unfathomable terrifying strength, let alone becoming a village chief, even if his brother's title of Viscount Gaoting is given to him, it would be completely worth it for the family!

In other words, after father comes back and confirms his strength with his own eyes, he will come up with more favorable conditions to completely win the leader into our Weisbach family?

If this is the case, then as an extraordinary person second only to the group leader, am I more entitled to obtain my own fiefdom and title?

"I understand." Eleanor clasped her hands and said slowly, "Asker, I firmly believe that my father will recognize you. Before that, I will let you be the lord of Berg Village."

"Oh." Asik frowned.

I always feel like there is something in the words of these two people. Is it my imagination?