Drawing Cards in the Middle Ages to Rise in Ranks-Chapter 631 - 403: Public Sentiment
"What are they doing?"
Pulo pointed at the bustling crowd in the town center square.
The banner flying high was inscribed in the Coptic language.
But neither Pulo nor his companions could read it.
Curiosity drove them to squeeze into the crowd and look.
"Seems like they're Coptic priests."
"Are you blind? Those people are clearly Franks! Our Coptic cross is different from theirs."
"Well… alright, that's true. But they seem to be distributing food."
"Can anyone go and collect it?"
Pulo became excited but then suspiciously pondered, "Why would the Franks be so kind?"
Someone nearby sneered, "Otherwise, do you expect the Saracen lords to be kind-hearted? When Governor Mahri was in charge, he never gave us a single grain of wheat, only greedily took everything we had."
At that moment.
A man who seemed to have suffered from a chronic illness appeared to be cured by the solemn priest.
He shouted excitedly, "Praise the Heavenly Father, praise you, Lord Urding. I have had this headache for more than ten years, and neither Jewish physicians nor Saracen doctors could help. How can I repay you?"
Urding shook his head, "The Heavenly Father granted me power to save the world. It's the work of the Heavenly Father, not mine. I don't need your repayment."
For a moment, the onlookers were moved by the noble deeds of this virtuous person.
"What exactly is going on?"
Pulo felt a bit puzzled.
Are these still the fierce Franks?
The nearby tavern owner commented with a sigh, "They are monks from the Saint Lazarus Order. These days, led by Bishop Urding, they've been distributing herbs to the common people, holding free clinics, and many poor people with stubborn ailments have received effective treatment. Today, they even received a batch of food from the Duke to distribute for free to the starving poor."
"Duke?"
Pulo keenly caught on to this key word, "Which Duke? Could it be the de..."
The tavern owner hastily interrupted, "Please don't say that prefix again. Anyone who knows a bit about this Duke's character will know that names like 'butcher,' 'demon,' or 'kill-freak' are purely baseless rumors."
"It's simply... unbelievable."
Not only Pulo but nearly all the residents of Semanud City felt the same way.
...
The Governor's Mansion.
Losa and Hans stood by the lake, holding a copper basin filled with fish food, occasionally tossing handfuls into the water, causing the fish to frolic and leap as if trying to jump onto the shore.
"Sir, honestly, I don't quite understand. This Saman gentleman is quite the figure. Why don't you consider recruiting him?"
After listening to Hans' report, he smiled, placing the fish food basin aside, and said:
"Didn't Julia tell you? This Saman gentleman maintains a private army of three hundred men, has two Merchant Fleets ready to play the role of pirates, and has funded a pirate crew along the Cyrenaica coast, frequently raiding villages and capturing slaves."
"Do you think I should recruit a slave trader?"
Though the European serf system is not much better than slavery, at least serfs have a tiny bit of human rights.
At the very least, the Eira Port Chamber of Commerce doesn't engage in the slave trade, merely acting as a transit for Nubian folks.
Hans shook his head, "Of course not, I just feel..."
Losa laughed, "I understand what you mean. Indeed, a moral model might not make an outstanding monarch. As a monarch, one can't let sand into their eyes; acting on impulse is not considered a virtue."
Hans quickly said, "I wouldn't dare."
"Hans, do you know how many people in Semanud City hate this Saman gentleman to the core? This Saman gentleman isn't a Fire Worshiper, so he can openly and grandly do many things that Governor Mahri and the others couldn't."
It's conceivable how much he is resented.
He wants to meet me, just thinking I will use him like Governor Mahri did.
But unfortunately, I think pretending to cooperate with him first, then using up his value, and finally bringing him out for a public trial and execution is in our best interest."
"I understand, sir. But didn't you promise that as long as he agrees to your demands, his safety will be guaranteed?"
Losa frowned, "Do you think I need to keep a vow with a slave trader?"
Hans shook his head, "I just think that dealing with such a scoundrel shouldn't harm your honor, even in the slightest. I request, sir, that you allow me to handle this matter."
"No need."
Losa waved his hand, "I'm not so protective of my reputation. Besides, this Saman gentleman won't just obediently accept fate either."
He paused for a moment, then smiled, "Hans, do you think it's better to win over the peasants or someone like Saman, a city noble?"
Hans was silent for a moment, then said helplessly, "The noble, sir."
"Yes, the noble..."
The smile on Losa's face gradually faded as he sighed softly.
"But for long-term stability, the majority peasants must be appeased."
The feudal fiefdom system, granting lands to Knights and lower Lords, doesn't mean it's a one-off. Many Knights and Lords without family support find it hard to deal with uprisings from the lower classes.
Gaining the hearts of the people, therefore, isn't unnecessary at all.
"It's just that most of the Lords in this era probably don't care about long-term peace. Their vision isn't that broad, or rather, they'd rather extract all the wealth from the lands they receive, convert it into an army, and gain new territories rather than develop their own lands."
"Even if peasants rebel, they can completely suppress them with the army, and while easily crushing them, the soldiers can also make a fortune—the poor peasant can't provide much loot, but peasant rebels are different. They'd coerce, rob other poor people, and wealthy households, essentially a process of wealth re-concentration and redistribution."
In the history of Losa's previous life, the uproarious Germanic Peasants' War affected two-thirds of the peasants nationwide, yet they were still suppressed by the noble coalition army.
"Hans, you're a German, was there a German Peasants' War in your world?"
Hans nodded.
"After the war, the peasants' lives didn't improve; rather, most of them became serfs, and the nobility and monks grew more lavish and decadent, enslaving the working masses. Such a society, in my view, was like stagnant water, devoid of life."
