Chapter 217 Slaves of the Levant
Another killing, nothing to say. Walter asked these people to hand over 18 people, essentially inducing these people to attack him.
After all, these Saracen slave traders actually killed slaves to disguise the scene of the attack.
This is a naked provocation, using the lower limits of human beings to penetrate Walter's cognition.
He never felt tender in the past, but this time he became angry with embarrassment.
"In short, from this moment on, you are free." Walter addressed the women and children who were shocked by the new killings.
"I will take you to the towns controlled by the Kingdom of Jerusalem, where the kingdom will settle you and provide you with assistance."
After Walt finished speaking, he received some responses. The coldness, or perhaps his words, were so unbelievable that the survivors felt like they were dreaming.
......
When a living person is hung up with a wooden sign and the price is written on it, he is no longer a complete person. He is written on the skills he has mastered and is recorded. The value of the product is placed on the shelf as a product in the store, waiting for customers to come to the door.
In this era, whether Aleppo, Damascus, Alexandria or Cairo, these densely populated large cities, there were always fixed places for the slave trade.
Slaves are like lubricants that nourish the operation of the Muslim world, and the use of slaves is regarded as a legitimate behavior.
The sources of slaves are actually diverse, but in recent days, most of them appear because of the war in the Levant.
The war in 1187 caused the number of slaves in the Levant to skyrocket, and the overall slave price also showed a downward trend.
Some families who could not afford slaves began to consider purchasing talking animals for themselves.
In the territory of Torun, this territory was originally supposed to be the fiefdom of Humphrey IV, but with Saladin's invasion, this territory easily fell.
But with the brief ceasefire between Saladin and the Kingdom of Jerusalem, this became the first line of border between the Second Kingdom of Jerusalem and Saladin's forces.
The forces of both sides are intertwined in this land. I am among you, and you are among me.
Like other Levant regions, the main residents here are mainly Muslims. In such a territory, many villages cannot actually tell whether they belong to the Second Kingdom or the Second Kingdom at this moment. Ayyubid dynasty.
The previous armistice agreement was only a temporary ceasefire agreement without clear demarcation of boundaries.
After the reform plan of the Second Kingdom came out in 1188, the abolition of the poll tax and the reduction of agricultural taxes were added.
Many Muslim villages have also begun to claim that they are under the Second Kingdom.
You must know that even Ibn Jubeir, a geographer and traveler who was hostile to the Franks, wrote these words in his text:
[At dawn on Monday, We set out from Torun (Humphrey's territory) - may Allah destroy it! 】
【Going through a road, passing by a manor where Muslims lived, they lived well under the rule of the Franks - may Allah protect us from this temptation! 】
[The regulations imposed on them were to hand over half of their grain harvest at harvest and to pay a poll tax of one gold dinar and seven kilat, as well as a small tax on their fruit trees. 】
【Muslims own their own houses and rule themselves in their own way. This was how the estates and villages in Frankish territory were organized. 】
【Many Muslims want to settle here because life under Muslim rule is very miserable. 】
【They praise the behavior of the Franks, and they can always rely on the justice of the Franks. 】
When a 50% tax is collected, farmers under the rule of Muslim lords will want to make money in the Torun territory.
And now that Isabella and the others have announced the 30% tax and abolished the original tax collector system, the choice has become very clear in the minds of many people.
Begg Village is on the junction line between Torun Territory and Tire Territory. It is an ordinary small village, less than thirty miles away from Tire City.
If there is any need on weekdays, many villagers will choose to take a short half-day journey directly to Tire City to purchase.
Therefore, even though they live in a remote corner, the villagers are not unfamiliar with the various changes in the Kingdom of New Jerusalem.
At first, they treated it as if they were watching a play, watching the Tire town council being dissolved, watching the first census of the Kingdom of Jerusalem, and hearing that the kingdom decided to give Muslims more political rights...
Most villagers, especially those honest people who deal with the land all day long, feel that these policies are just a trick played by city people and have nothing to do with them.
Although the literacy rate among the Muslim community is not low, the villagers also think: Is it possible that the Kingdom of Jerusalem can still let the Saracens be the masters of the Franks? Even if you think about it with your butt, you know this is impossible.
In this case, there is nothing more to say.
But among those things, there is one thing that makes the villagers of Beig Village very concerned.
I heard that the head tax was abolished in the Kingdom of Jerusalem after it was transformed into a second kingdom? And you only have to pay 30% of the land tax?
This was something serious. Mogel, the leader of Beg Village, after asking about the neighboring villages belonging to the Kingdom of Jerusalem, got a positive answer.
Moreover, he also heard that the kingdom sent preachers to each village to promote the new policy, persuade villagers to pay taxes according to the law, and encourage literate people to participate in elections and elect members of parliament who represent the interests of the Saracens.
Mogel personally listened to two lectures. He was not very interested in the content about the election, but he was moved by the fact that he only had to pay 30% of the tax.
For farmers, paying less taxes means being able to feed more people.
So his mind became active: Saladin had not asked the village to swear allegiance, so it stands to reason that their Beg village could still be regarded as loyal subjects of the Kingdom of Jerusalem.
Mogel couldn't tell how things would develop in the future, but now that he had to pay less than half of the land tax, it meant that the village might not be able to raise more children this year.
The next day, Moger took the lead in convening a village meeting in Beig Village. Men from every household were brought to the meeting. Hundreds of people gathered together, and it was very lively for a while.
“I have called everyone here today to ask what you think.”
“Now the kingdom only collects 30% of the tax per year, and Master Saladin has ignored us during this time. , how about we just continue to recognize the kingdom as our master?"
As soon as this was said, the situation exploded. The villagers were talking a lot and had different attitudes.
In the past, they actually knew that the rule under the Kingdom of Jerusalem was actually much better than that under other Muslim lords. Now, Lord Saladin is here, saying that he wants to make Muslims the masters of the Holy Land.
But what does Master Saladin say about Muslims being the masters of the Holy Land and them, the villagers? Don't they still have to pay taxes?
What's more, I heard that their Torun Territory was about to be enfeoffed by Iqta again, which frightened many villages.
For Muslims to "become the masters of their own country", to put it bluntly, they are allowing Muslims from other places to be their homes and their masters? Someone in the village echoed: "Those horse-riding gentlemen do not collect taxes, but also rob money and plunder women. God is the greatest, why don't they fall into Hell!"
Immediately, the big guys in the village began to accuse the various tyrannies under Saladin's rule.
The Levant region has a prosperous commodity trade, and a large number of caravans pass through various places. Although Berg Village is only a small village, they are actually quite well-informed.
The more informed you are, the more you know what the nomadic tribes under Saladin’s command are like now.
So they started to curse, not only the tribes that snatched money today, but also the Crusader lords in the past. However, they did not dare to curse Master Saladin, they just used yin and yang in a roundabout way.
But no matter how much they scolded them, no matter how secretly they expressed their annoyance, the most unanimous view among them was that they did not want to be "the masters" of the nomadic tribes.
Although farmers in this era are fat sheep waiting to be slaughtered no matter where they are, at least the Second Kingdom is only planning to cut the wool.
But under the Ayyubid dynasty, sheep were killed directly for meat.
However, even though the big guy said a lot, there was not no objection. Just when Mogel, the head of the village, was about to make a decision on this matter.
Someone opened his mouth and said loudly: "Master Saladin has confiscated our taxes, and you are in a hurry to surrender to the pagans. You are simply humiliating yourself!"
The words were unpleasant, but they were spoken. It was Milad ibn Abu Naib, a large landowner in the village.
Although Milad is a big landowner in the village, there are so many people present, and they are not afraid of Milad together.
“Sir Saladin hasn’t asked for taxes yet, but those Kurdish lords, do you think they won’t come?”
“Don’t think that we are all blind, you didn’t just a few days ago Did you just marry your daughter to their tribe’s son? Be a concubine.”
“If you don’t come today, you will definitely come tomorrow! How big is the Tollon Territory?” One hundred square kilometers, no matter which direction you walk, it's only half a day's journey.
Saladin may not know the specific location of Beg Village, but there is no chance that the nomadic tribes who will be entrusted here in the future can't find it.
What's more, this Milad has obviously made a bet with the Kurds, waiting to rely on those Kurdish masters in the future to dominate the village of Beig, and together they can "take charge of the family." host".
"They are infidels! Infidels!" Milad shouted hysterically, with a tone of uncontrollable excitement.
His violent reaction was in sharp contrast to his usual easy-going demeanor when drinking, so that many people were confused.
Someone sneered and said: "Millard, are you afraid that the dozen slaves you bought will be released by the kingdom? Or are you afraid that the dowry will be too much and you will get it in your hands?"< br>
Since 1187, the number of Christian slaves in the Levant has increased significantly, and the oversupply has caused prices to fall.
Milad took the opportunity to buy a dozen slaves, intending to turn them into field laborers, imitating the feudal lords' manors to create a serfdom model, so as to collect more food.
But now this second kingdom has made it clear that all slaves in the territory must be liberated.
It made Milad very uncomfortable: he finally took advantage of the collapse of the kingdom to get a group of Christian slaves and drove the tenants out of their fields.
If the Kingdom of Jerusalem really "counterattacks", he, a big landowner who bought Christian slaves, might even be burned on the stake.
In order to protect his own interests, Milad had early scouted out the tribes that might move into the Toron Territory in the future, and acted quickly to send his daughter there along with a generous dowry in exchange for protection.
He believes that these Kurdish lords will help him keep these "legal properties" in the future.
A good village meeting turned into endless quarrels. Those whose families had bought slaves or were related to Milad were reluctant to continue to submit to the Second Kingdom.
But there are not many people who can afford slaves, so in general, Mogel has the advantage.
After returning home, Milad gathered his family members under the dim kerosene lamp, his face as gloomy as a pressing cloud.
"You all understand what happened today," he said, with a hint of anger in his tone.
The Milad family participated in the quarrel during the day, and they knew in their hearts that once the kingdom regained control of Berg Village, their interests would suffer heavy losses.
For the Millard family, it was not just a matter of slaves. The reason why they turned to Saladin was because they were aiming for a position as a tax collector.
“Being a tax collector is much easier than paying taxes.”
Millard sneered twice.
"Our tradition is not bound to any feudal contract, you can play with it as you please."
He then gritted his teeth and said: "Those traitors, we must not be soft-hearted! We must strike hard! Mogel and the others not only want to harm We still want to bring shame to the village!"
"What should we do? Just kill that guy Mogel?" Milad's son, Ashid Ibn Milad, Make a suggestion.
"No, we will try to persuade them tomorrow. If those guys are really evil, we will have no choice but to ignore the friendship of our fellow villagers."
Milad said fiercely.
However, the next day, when Milad said some stupid words, he was knocked to the ground with two punches. Ashid led others to help his father, and the conflict between the two sides was about to break out. A fight broke out.
Although no one was injured, there was no room for maneuver in this matter.
Among them, Milad's faction was obviously insufficient in numbers, so they naturally suffered a lot.
Even when Milad walked back, he was limping a little.
When he returned home, Milad asked his son to bring some gifts to find the tribe that occupied Toronburg.
"Those guys don't care about the friendship of the same village, so we don't have to care. Whoever gets killed will be blamed on their own bad luck!"
In the summer of 1188, there were destined to be many people, Nourish the land with your own blood.
It is not just a fight between Christians and Muslims, but also a fight between Muslims and Muslims, and between Christians and Christians.
(End of this chapter)