Chapter 164 Tea Party
The city of Karak is not large, and the area of the platform that supports the city is very limited.
Therefore, even the wealthy people in the upper city do not have much space for their extravagance.
Most of them just own their own mansions and cannot afford a large area for gardens.
In a rather Arabic-style reception room, several parliamentarians who had participated in the meeting during the day gathered together.
They drank wine, ate some preserves from time to time, and reclined on comfortable cushions.
The sense of leisure and laziness displayed by these people did not look like they were being besieged by a large army.
"Well, we can only eat some candied fruits. Life is really not as good as before. Those Adil's troops have made it so difficult that we can't even eat any fresh fruits."
The long-bearded congressman complained during the day.
The other congressmen on the side also complained.
There are many manors in the valleys surrounding Karak City, and those manors are famous for growing citrus, grapes and other fruit trees.
In addition, this plateau has a large temperature difference between day and night, so fruits tend to accumulate sugar, so the quality of the fruits is quite good.
This means that the city of Karak can not only produce wine, but also a lot of candied fruits, and the wealthy families in the city can easily eat the fruits of the season.
"If you ask me, just vote as soon as possible. Fighting with Saladin is not an option."
"Now that the kingdom's main army has been defeated, what kind of army can we really expect from Isabella? It's enough to deceive the people below."
Another congressman, while talking, took a cup of Shabat from the low coffee table and started drinking.
"No matter how hard we fight, we still have to do business. If Saladin and his gang of Saracens don't do business with us, who else can we do business with?"
"I think the conditions and requirements given by Adil are acceptable and there are no problems."
After drinking such a sip of refreshing sweet water, the middle-aged congressman expressed his opinion.
Sabat is made with sugar cane juice as a base, mixed with pomegranate juice and lemonade, and rose petals are rubbed and squeezed to release their fragrance. It is particularly cool because it is stored in a deep well.
Nowadays, the raw materials of Shabat are used less and less in the city. If we live for a few days, we will not be able to drink a sip, and we will have to live a hard life!
Listening to the words of the middle-aged congressman, several other congressmen who came to have a tea party also nodded.
Now, all the council members in the city who are willing to surrender have actually gathered here.
Others who were more vacillating, or who really didn't want to surrender, didn't receive their secret meeting invitation.
At this time, the member with a long beard said: "Since we have the same opinion, in fact, as long as we convince those people with vague attitudes, we can get more than half of the votes in the parliament, and that old woman Stephanie will not interfere with us. ”
"That stupid woman feels sorry for her stupid son and has long wanted to vote. It's just that Bishop Amedei has been standing there and is not happy."
The middle-aged councilman spoke again: "It's not just Bishop Amedai, but now there's also Garris. That guy doesn't look like an easy guy to deal with. By the way, do you know anything about that guy?"
While these congressmen were chatting, the door of the reception room was pushed open, and the owner of the mansion walked in. He was also the convener of this secret meeting.
"Hey! Etienne, you called us over, why did you come so late!" Many members of Congress greeted the host enthusiastically.
Facing the greetings from everyone present, Etienne waved his hand in response.
"Why are you so listless?" Under the bright kerosene lamp, many members of Congress noticed that Etienne's complexion was not good.
"As for Garris's identity, I've almost done the investigation here." Etienne said coldly.
"So fast?"
"It's not too difficult. That guy Garris is indeed a knight. Just like Amedeh said, he is a descendant of a noble family. His father's generation has a relationship with the royal family, so he was trained as a knight in the palace. After a little inquiry, it will become clear."< br>
"But that's not the point. The point is that I learned some rumors, and those rumors are not good for us."
After saying this, Etienne took a deep breath and sat on the cushion beside him.
"What's wrong?"
Facing everyone's questions, Etienne continued: "Have you heard of the Arnon Valley?"
"Not long ago, Leonard ceded all the land north of the Arnon Valley to Isabella, but the real owner of that territory is actually Gellis. Of course, this is not critical." "The key is Gellis. That guy killed all the tax-paying families in the territory! He didn’t even leave any dogs alive, and even the eggs were shaken!”
"Not only the Saracen tax-farmer families, but also the manors south of the river valley, such as Labrete Manor, were also occupied by that guy."
"The original housekeepers were basically replaced or executed, and the Muslim serfs were also declared freed. They were no longer bound to the land and could move freely or get allotments."
As soon as Etienne said these words, the atmosphere in the living room suddenly changed from leisurely to dead silence.
No matter how many mud-legged people died, they, the congressmen, would not care. However, the tax collector family was executed by the whole family, which made them feel quite sad that the rabbit died and the fox died.
Because this means that Garris is a rule-breaker, not a person who respects tradition. A guy who can destroy the tradition of tax collectors in the Kingdom of Jerusalem will naturally destroy their tradition of self-governance by the Karak City Council.
And the subsequent liberation of Muslim serfs made them, the congressmen, feel even more uncomfortable in their hearts.
Because many of these councilors are minor nobles and own some small estates near Karak City.
Of course, the serfs in the manor would not be Franks, but must be Muslim serfs.
Even if Adil came, he would still have to recognize the power of these councilors to control the Muslim serfs.
After all, serfs were not slaves.
But what kind of evil thing did Gareth do?
He actually freed the Muslim serfs and gave them land?
If Garris follows suit and does this in the manor near Karak City, won't their manor properties all be scrapped? !
Without the serfs in the manor, farm the land for them. How could they, rich people and minor aristocrats, eat sweet fruits, drink refreshing Sabat, hold tea parties here, and hold maids in their arms?
Suddenly, Adil outside the city of Gallisby looked even more hateful.
"Suppose, suppose Isabella really brings the army to rescue the city, do you think Isabella will leave? Wouldn't that guy Garis take advantage of the situation and annex Karak City?"
"When the time comes, what happened at Labrete Manor will be imitated by the serfs in the manor!"
After some discussion, everyone present actually came to a conclusion in their minds.
If Garris takes power, their ending may be even more tragic than that of Adil.
Because Adil respects tradition and is willing to maintain their manor property.
Gareth is destroying tradition!
As a noble knight, that guy actually got together with the Mud Legs, which made them even more disgusted.
"What should we do now? Garris has become the city defense officer and has removed all our people from the city wall. Even if we want to surrender, we have no chance to reach the city gate!" said the man with a long beard. The MP said so.
At this time, I heard Etienne showing a sinister expression: "We can send people to assassinate him! As long as that guy is dead, everything will be easy."
Etienne's words shocked everyone around him, but once he thought about it, he felt that it was particularly feasible.
During the day, Garris in the council chamber seemed to be quite capable of fighting, but he was just a mortal body, and he could always kill him if he was caught off guard.
"But, do you have any dead soldiers?"
"No."
The congressmen on the side replied angrily: "Then you can't let us go if you say assassination or not!"
"Although we don't have dead soldiers, we have money! As long as we have money, there will definitely be people willing to do this work."
"Those mud-legged people in Xiacheng District live there day after day. Aren't they all caused by lack of money?"
"As long as you have enough money, someone will definitely come and do this without risking your life!"
Etienne said confidently, and the congressmen on the side also thought it was okay.
To be honest, as ordinary nobles and wealthy businessmen, they were not very familiar with the matter of hiring murderers. After all, the political turmoil in the kingdom had little to do with them.
Most of them are just "easy to be rich" guys.
Fourth update, the monthly pass is 300, and the monthly pass of 400 has been paid back. Currently, there is still a chapter of 500 monthly pass that has not been paid back.
(End of chapter)