Chapter 166 Asking for Help

Time flies by like a white horse, just in a hurry.

Ten days have passed since the day of the public trial.

During these ten days, Lothar's life rhythm tended to be gentle.

He asked Jeanne for lessons on riding and swordsmanship, studied blood magic with Fringilla, and wrote the second part of The Song of Winter and Summer with Prajna.

Occasionally, they will get together to play cards, which is a good pastime. As long as the strength of the deck is controlled, the competition is still there.

The card drawing reward for the new week is a stable.

The effect is: greatly reducing the chance of horse disease and increasing the success rate of horse breeding. Lothar placed it directly outside the city in a pasture managed by Stablemaster Ryan.

The plate armor produced by the blacksmith workshop, as expected, caused a craze in Jerusalem. The pre-orders from some wealthy lords soared to more than 30 sets in a short period of time, and all of them were refined plate armor.

This part of the returned funds was continued to be invested by Lothar in expanding production capacity and increasing the output of iron farm tools.

As for the grape-purple clothes, they received a cold reception just as the butler Coors expected.

People in this era prefer bright colors to bland and restrained colors. They would rather dress themselves up in colorful colors, like a wandering warbler.

The dye workshop has begun to reduce its production capacity. Although it is a small loss, this money is really nothing compared to Lothar's huge expenses.

As for the follow-up, whether Coors can "create demand" and make clothes of this color popular is his own business.

A letter has come from His Majesty the King.

In the letter, Baldwin IV was half-serious and angry: "Losa, you want the knights of the kingdom to stop going to the training ground from today on and gather in the shade to play cards and gamble for money, right?"

Seeing Lothar's embarrassed expression, the messenger smiled and said: "Sir, in every tavern in Jerusalem today, you can see a group of people gathering together to play cards, even all night long, but the number of fights has indeed been reduced a lot, the priests Everyone agrees that Gwent is a good pastime."

What do the priests think?

Lothar laughed secretly. It must have been Coors who spent money to make these priests support Gwent, right?

"Mr. Messenger, please wait a moment. I have to write a reply to His Majesty."

Judging from the joking tone of Baldwin IV, this matter is not serious, but the culture of gambling should not be so publicized, at least it should be explicitly prohibited.

This reply is not finished yet.

The messenger sent by Count Raymond arrived again.

After taking it apart, it was found that Count Raymond was dissatisfied with him for printing the count's portrait on the cards for the entertainment of civilians.

Lothar couldn't help laughing and said: "Sir Raymond's words are obviously dissatisfied that his card effects are not as strong as mine."

Although they are all cards that destroy the opponent's melee column.

Lothar can destroy the one with the highest points, but Raymond can only destroy the first one on the left, which puts him in a better position.

Raymond obviously didn't mean what he said. His heroic image was printed on the card and spread, which is much better than people giving the monarch nicknames such as "dwarf", "lame", "fat" and "bald".

Before this, only the most loyal vassals would hang the portraits of their lords in the castle hall.

Now, a large number of civilians cherish their portraits, which obviously helps to enhance their prestige.

"Dear Lord Tiberius, I know your will. Next time I will launch a more powerful Raymond card, such as - Raymond the Wise, amplifying all siege engines?"

Pick up the pen.

Finished writing the reply.

Lothar let out a sigh of relief. His behavior of giving up when he was ready obviously did not cause too much trouble among the nobles. Otherwise, these two light letters would not have come.

Although he did not open various workshops in his own name, anyone with a little knowledge would know who the masters behind these workshops are.

Hebron is changing too.

A large number of iron farm tools were continuously produced from blacksmith workshops, distributed to local manors, and then reached the hands of tenants and farmers through leasing.

The excrement produced in public toilets is collected for composting and transported to the fields.

The division of fields greatly liberated people's enthusiasm for labor. The knights assigned to the local areas were also entrusted by Lothar and began to call on the people to build irrigation canals.

It is foreseeable that this year will be a good harvest year.

It's just that this change will take at least a quarter to see results.

In addition, research and development of gunpowder was also underway.

Saltpeter can be produced next to the public toilet. Although the quantity is scarce, it is enough for experiments.

However, it seems that due to the rules of this world, gunpowder cannot exert its power at all. Even people like Jeana who are familiar with gunpowder formulas cannot prepare gunpowder with sufficient power.

At best, it's just fireworks.

Lothar simply stopped this research, leaving only a few people to try to prepare a usable "fertilizer" using local methods.

Grain production during this period was really too low.

At noon, the sun is shining brightly.

Lothar set up a small stove under the newly built pavilion in his own manor, and grilled sliced ​​beef and mutton on it.

In the snow-like white porcelain dish next to it, there were various spices and white fine salt, which were extremely valuable in this era.

Jeanne picked up the barbecue, took a mouthful of meat, took a mouthful of wine, and her lips were covered with grease.

She said with some emotion: "It's a pity that there is no chili."

The origin of chili peppers is the New World.

And the pioneer of new routes.

The kingdoms of Castile and Portugal were still at war with the Umayyads on the Iberian Peninsula.

Both sides fought under the banner of "recovering lost territory" on the Iberian Peninsula, which is covered with mountains, hills and grasslands.

This is because before the Umayyad Dynasty conquered the Iberian Peninsula, the rulers here were the Visigothic Kingdom (who believed in Christianity) who had eaten away at the remains of the Western Empire.

"Fu Lin, Prajna, are you two really not going to give it a try?"

Both declined.

Their attitude towards human food is often acceptable, but not required.

Sheriff Model trotted in: "My lord, there is a knight outside who wants to see you. He said he is Baron Fulk from Longuedoc."

"Let him in."

The knight, who was covered in blood, strode into the manor. As soon as he saw Lothar's face, he knelt on one knee and said with a sad face:

"Sir, our wife has been attacked by infidels. They claim to be the lords of Dahab and Ella Port - Zain Aladdin's team. They want you to pay a ransom and send them to Ella Port for replacement before tomorrow. .”

Lothar frowned: "Don't worry, Baron Fulk, please explain first which lady you are loyal to?"

"My lord, my wife is Lady Eleanor of Longuedoc."

"Eleanor?"

Lothar frowned.

Isn't this Leonard's recent marriage partner? Want me to pay a ransom? Are you trying to kill someone with a borrowed knife and provoke a conflict between me and Leonard?

Lothar also heard about this Eleanor.

She is a branch of the Anjou or Plantagenet family in Langedoch. Although she is also called Eleanor, she is not the same person as the Grand Duchess Eleanor of Aquitaine.

She was a devout pilgrim and had lived in the Holy Land for a long time. She thought she had hooked up with Leonard a long time ago.

After all, if Leonard wanted to expand his strength through marriage, choosing a local female noble would be the best choice.

Lothar said thoughtfully: "Knight, you must have come directly from Gaul, right?"

If they were local nobles, they would definitely know that the relationship between him and Leonard was far from harmonious, and Zahn Aladdin's intentions were also very clear.

Fulk was a little confused, but he still nodded and said: "Yes, sir."

"It's a good opportunity. Zahn Aladdin thought that I, the new lord, had very few troops and was extremely weak. He provoked me many times and I fought back. Isn't that considered a breach of the peace treaty?"

Lothar did not want to be nicknamed "The Contract Breaker" if necessary.

"Send someone to summon all the knights and armored sergeants under my command. It's time to retake Port Ella and the city of Alandre."

Fulk said excitedly: "Sir, thank you for your assistance. You are indeed the most kind and generous lord in the Kingdom of Jerusalem."

He secretly looked at Lothar's profile and thought to himself, this gentleman is indeed as handsome as the one pictured on the card.

Lothar smiled and waved his hand: "Go and recuperate, Baron Fulk. I appreciate you as a loyal knight. When you wake up, the lady you are loyal to will appear here safe and sound."

After Lothar finished speaking, he stood up and prepared to summon the order knights and hussars who were assigned to various manors and villages.