Two days later, Southern Serbia, Dragases territory.
The current lord is Uroš, who is similar in age to Grgur. When he was a teenager, Uroš served as a servant at Court, and his relationship with Grgur was acceptable. However, as the two inherited the family business, their past friendship gradually dissipated.
In the castle, Uroš was writing a letter in the study, and the housekeeper came in and reported:
"Sir, you have not paid the newly established Agricultural Tax. I presume that Court's Official is already on the way. How are you going to reply?"
Come again? Grgur Don't you find it annoying?
Uroš put down the quill, walked to the window and looked at the empty wilderness in the north, his face gloomy.
"We have never had to pay taxes. Why do we have to endure his breaking of rules when Grgur is in power? Grain, war horses, silver coins... Haha, let Grgur dream. The master doesn't even pay a hair!"
He asked the housekeeper to find a group of beggars, pester Court Official, and force the guy to quit.
"Sir, are you sure you want to do this?"
The butler's persuasion was ineffective, so he went to a village near the castle and found five refugees warming themselves by a fire in a ruins.
After a short period of bargaining, the steward bought them with a small barrel of ale and a basket of bread, and twenty silver coins as a reward.
Soon, the five of them staggered onto the road, tipsy and burping.
"For these drunkards, luckily the ale is not high in alcohol content."
The housekeeper changed into civilian clothes, then covered himself with a thick black woolen cloak, and followed the refugees far behind.
The cold wind howled by, and the housekeeper subconsciously shrank his neck, tightened the collar of his cloak, and walked forward on the soft and wet dirt road.
To the side and in front of the road is the Beech forest. Under the violent torn by the wind, those golden leaves with slightly curled edges can no longer hang on the branches. Large swaths of leaves leave the canopy, collide and rotate in the wind, like a group of panicked yellow moths.
The housekeeper raised his head, and a leaf fell on his face, bringing a cool autumn feeling.
"Is the climate still so cold this autumn and winter?"
The housekeeper sighed and realized that the five refugees in the distance were about to disappear from sight, so he quickened his pace to catch up. He accidentally fell down and was covered in black mud, making him look like a real old country man.
In the afternoon, the group came to the northernmost village in the territory and stayed for two days before finally waiting for a well-dressed rider.
The other party's robe is painted with a white double-headed eagle, and the horse's left hip is branded with the mark Court. At first glance, he is someone from the palace.
When the rider dismounted from his horse to rest, five refugees swarmed up and entangled him, begging the noble lord to give him some property and help the poor man. The rider yelled and cursed:
"If you can't afford food, you can go to the Greece people in the south. They have been recruiting refugees. Let go and don't pull my burqa! If you keep nagging me, I will be rude to you."
This was what the refugees were waiting for. The leader immediately lay down on the muddy ground, holding the rider's left foot and crying:
"Come and see, His Majesty's Official is beating someone. Holy Mother, how can there be such a cruel monarch in the world? Don't you care?"
The remaining four people made noise together, humming some tunes about the tyranny of the king and the fleeing peasants. At first they just pretended to cry, but as they sang, some people were affected by the emotion, and burst into tears, and began to wipe their cheeks with Official's cloak.
This farce attracted nearby villagers, who gathered around to watch the fun and comment on the embarrassed Official.
"Your Majesty is so evil. He even levied an additional 20% tax. This will not give us a way to survive at all. After paying the tax, what will we eat in the winter? Are we going to eat the grain for next spring?"
"I also heard that Grgur will use the money to expand the palace to accommodate more and more mistresses and maids. This guy is young and has not learned well. When Vitus was his age, he had already gone to Italy to work and make money."
Hearing these rebellious remarks, Official was so angry that he beat these blind beggars.
By the time he reacted, the two refugees were already vomiting blood and rolling on the ground holding their wounds. The remaining three refugees hurriedly fled into the church, shouting Official to kill someone.
This atrocity aroused the anger of the people, and several bold villagers approached with pitchforks and sickles. The priest watched all this coldly, did not say anything to stop it, and allowed the villagers around him to make noises.
"Capture him and bring him to the castle to be dealt with by the lord."
"Grgur is not our king!"
Official stopped staying, hurriedly got on his horse, turned around and fled.
After a long time, the three refugees left the church, supported their injured companion and walked to the south of the village, asking the steward to give him more salary because some people were injured.
"You have sinned Despot, but you are still in the mood to ask for money?"
The butler changed his expression and threw twenty silver coins on the ground. "Take the money and go to the south immediately. Don't let me see you again."
In the afternoon, the butler returned to the castle to resume his duties.
Uroš covered her nose and listened to him finish talking about Official's ugly behavior, laughing so hard, "Haha, that's what you should do. Hey, hurry up and change into clean clothes. What does it smell like on you? It stinks!"
After driving away Official, Uroš was drinking leisurely in the study, and ordered his subordinates to spread rumors about Grgur, saying that he wanted to collect more taxes.
"Wait until the nobles and common people become angry and see how you end it."
November At the beginning of the year, Uroš received an invitation from our neighbor in the north.
Banquets are the most important way for nobles to socialize. In the past two years, Uroš has been busy holding banquets or attending other people's banquets, gradually becoming the leader of the southern nobles.
This time, he must persuade his neighbors to stand firm and prevent some people from being weak-willed and taking the lead in surrendering to the monarch.
After traveling on the road for most of the day, Uroš arrived at Kovács Castle in the north.
"There is smoke in the woods on the west side. Is this charcoal burning?"
By allowing the people to cut down trees and burn charcoal, the lords could earn extra money at the expense of destroying the forest environment and affecting future hunting.
Uroš muttered a few words and entered the castle with four followers. There were a large number of mounts stored in the stables on the right side of the courtyard. Their horse clothes reflected the identity of their owners. Uroš's eyes swept over them briefly and found that almost all the nobles nearby were there.
"Dragases Master."
The castle steward greeted him cordially, Uroš nodded slightly to him, and then walked into the castle hall.
Two months ago, Uroš came to Kovac as a guest, and the place was still the same as before. The fireplaces on both sides were lit with blazing fires, and the flames flickered, illuminating the entire hall. There were two long dining tables in the middle, and more than thirty guests were making a lot of noise.
The next moment, the guests stopped making noise and stood up one after another to say hello.
"Uroš, I bought two falcons and we will hunt together when we have time."
"Hey, I heard that you played a trick on Court Official last time. This is a good idea."
"What do Uroš, Palaiologos think of us? Are there any plans to attack?"
Uroš took off his cloak and handed it to the servant, greeting these nobles one by one, responding to various questions, or chatting with them about trivial matters.
The guests with the highest status entered the banquet and the banquet was officially held. Today's main course was a roasted deer with various condiments smeared on the surface.
Uroš cut off a piece of deer steak, chewed it in small mouths, and patiently identified the types of spices, "Pepper, nutmeg, truffle..."
He observed the various dishes served by the maids and the high-end wine imported from the Eastern Roman Empire, and guessed that the owner spent 30% to 40% more than usual.
This guy used to be a sexist, but now he has finally changed his gender.
Uroš stopped being polite, grabbed a roasted quail, and tore off the quail wings with his right hand. The hot oil dripped down his fingertips, which further aroused his appetite.
"Well, the cooking is good. Where did you find the new chef?"
He quickly ate the quail, leaving a small pile of broken bones. He stretched out his hand and licked his oily thumb. "Enjoyed!" He picked up the wine glass and drank the wine and asked the maid to fill it up.
Then, Uroš's eyes fell on a piece of sausage not far away. Some white fat could be seen on the cut surface. He grabbed it and took a bite, feeling the rich aroma of meat and smoke.
"No, I almost missed it. The bacon sausage should be made of apple wood to give the food a sweet, fruity aroma. You used Oak to smoke the meat. The smoke smell is too strong and masks the taste of the food itself."
Hearing the guest's comments, the host smiled and replied, "When it comes to eating, you do know better. I'll ask the chef to come over later. Can you give me a few words?"
The nearby guests followed suit, trying to please this cousin of Vitus.
With his drunkenness rising, Uroš began to tap the wine glass on the table, "Grgur is getting more and more excessive. He wants to change hundreds of years of rules with just one word. Why?"
I'm not afraid of the Grgur family. They are all worthless things. What threat can they pose? No matter what you think, Dragases will never pay new taxes. If you agree this time, who knows what new demands he will make in the future?"
His statement dispelled the worries of some nobles.
Under the influence of alcohol, the nobles yelled and cursed Grgur, Irene, Imperial Council members, as well as some civilians who suddenly climbed to high positions.
Uroš scooped up Fish Soup with a spoon and thought to himself, "As long as the nobles in the south stabilize their position, the nobles in the west will not give in easily. Grgur's New Army has a lot of expenses. When he can't pay his salary next year, let's see how he begs us.
Well, Fish Soup's taste is good, most of the dishes at the banquet are of top quality, the new chef's skills are really good, only Blachernae Palace's chef can keep him under control."
Bang!
The door opened, and a figure stumbled into the hall, half of his body stained red with blood. Just as he was about to say something, the soldier behind him slashed his neck with a sword.
"Why do you want to kill my attendant!" A certain nobleman drew his sword and stared outside with vigilance.
After everyone stopped making noise, shouts of death and screams from the courtyard outside poured into the hall. The remaining nobles knew that the situation was not good and drew their weapons one after another.
Suddenly, the castle owner turned around and ran up the stairs, asking the soldiers hidden on the second and third floors to take action.
A noble shouted, "We have been betrayed! This treacherous villain (the castle owner) has taken refuge in Despot!"
Under the leadership of someone, most of the nobles rushed out of the courtyard and fought with the soldiers outside.
However, the tradition of guests attending banquets is that they can wear swords but not armor, so their combat effectiveness is not as good as these plate armor soldiers. Some soldiers' plate armor is covered with a robe with a white double-headed eagle, proving that they are from Court.
"Whoever surrenders will avoid death!"
Hearing the shouts of the guards, the fifteen nobles dropped their swords. The remaining few survivors were unwilling to surrender and cursed Despot for being shameless and using such despicable methods to trap and kill the guests.
Court The guard captain's eyes were full of mockery and teasing, and he ordered, "They are all small characters, there is nothing to worry about, shoot!"
After a burst of gunfire, the battle in the vestibule subsided, and blood gurgled from the wounds and gathered in the low-lying areas to form pools of blood.
Musketeers pointed their guns at the surrendering nobles and ordered them to go to the corner and wait for the monarch's orders.
The fight in the backyard is still going on.
A soldier wearing Plate Armor slashed at him with a sword. Uroš blocked the opponent's attack, then took a step forward, pulled out a dagger with his left hand and stabbed the opponent's eye socket fiercely.
After stirring for a few times, the enemy's screams stopped and his body fell limply to the ground.
The melee continues until now. Uroš has killed four enemies in total. He received a wound on his left shoulder and suffered severe physical exhaustion.
"Grgur this shameless scum."
He picked up his sword and chased after his escaping companions. Before he had taken a few steps, the shouts of killing suddenly became fierce in front of him, mixed with two gunshots.
Uroš went to the corner to observe and saw six nobles and three attendants being surrounded by more than twenty soldiers. The battle was one-sided.
"If it's broken, they won't survive."
He abandoned this route and returned to the work shed not far away, pulling on a dirty woolen cloak. The previous cloak was left in the hall, and he could only wear this cloak temporarily to keep out the cold.
The shouts of killing gradually subsided. Uroš stepped on the pile of firewood next to him and climbed to the top of the work shed, and then climbed up the city wall from the top of the work shed.
"Now that the matter has come to this, we can only take a gamble."
He prayed softly, then jumped out of the crenel and rolled around on the ground several times before getting up and escaping to the forest to the east.
Huh, huh.
As the body ran, the pain in the wound on his left shoulder intensified. Uroš stuffed the long sword back into the scabbard, covered his shoulder with his right hand and continued to move forward. He gasped for breath, and the cold air was poured into his lungs. When he exhaled, there was a sweet smell. There was a dull pain in his left ankle. He must have twisted it when he jumped off the ground.
Suddenly, a small amount of dust splashed up from the ground in front of him. Uroš looked over in confusion. Before he could see clearly what the object was, he was suddenly pushed on his back, and his body fell forward into the cold gray-brown soil.
The next moment, more than ten lead bullets fell into this area, most of them missed, and two lead bullets hit Uroš.
He struggled to crawl forward for half a step, raised his head, looked unwillingly at the nearby woods, cursed in a low voice, and then fell silent. The withered yellow leaves slowly fell in the wind, and a raven landed on the bare treetops, excitedly calling for his companions to come and eat.
Soon, two soldiers came over from the castle. The first one turned the body over on its back and exclaimed:
"He is a nobleman, and this sword belongs to me."
The companion did not speak, but silently found a wallet from the corpse, then took off his gold Cross Pendant and the ring on his finger... Within a moment, the two stripped the corpse of its belongings and left with satisfaction.