The stone houses next to the castle are very tall, and the houses become simpler as you go further out to the periphery, until the outermost areas are just huts.
It was still very cold outside at night. There was a fire in the fireplace, and Lu Ming was talking to a middle-aged man with brown hair.
It turns out that there is also an ethnic group here whose faces are more similar to the Griffinni people. They also speak Griffinni, but their intonation is weird and some vocabulary is different, but communication is no problem.
However, the Griffinni were a class of serfs.
The social structure here is that of a small kingdom. There are seventy-two castles like the one here, which are hereditary and the population is the same as here, tens of thousands.
The castle lord is similar to a duke. After the old king dies, these dukes will elect a new king. Any ducal family can run for king.
Moreover, if the king acts unfairly or behaves seriously misconduct during his tenure, the Dukes' Round Table can also depose the king.
This castle is called Snow Dragon Castle. There are more than a dozen similar frontline castle territories that fight against the barbarians.
Other castles were obliged to provide supplies and even a certain number of serfs to these castles every year, similar to protection fees.
In this castle, the castle lord, Duke Snow Dragon, is the largest slave owner here. In addition, there are small slave owners (warriors) who own a small number of serfs, as well as craftsmen, free people, etc. The rest are serfs.
However, the serfs in this world all signed contracts at a very young age and had various rights and obligations stipulated in the "Code of the Throne". Their personal protection was much better than that of the serfs in their previous lives.
Moreover, here they have the fruits of that strange tree as their basic food, so the serfs don't have to work that hard.
Each castle has a throne court with five judges, who are also five clergymen. They are inherited from the family. The five judge families will only select the most outstanding next generation as successor, and the rest will become free people.
The man who was explaining the situation here to Lu Ming was called Fedoro. Because he had saved a warrior at all costs when barbarians attacked more than ten years ago, and had injured a ferocious beast with the warrior's weapon, he was awarded the honor mentioned in the "Code of the Throne". As a result, his serfdom contract ended, he became a free man, and was allocated ten red fruit trees, so he could basically be self-sufficient.
"Sir, where are you from?" Fedoro asked curiously.
He had never seen someone with black hair and black eyes like Lu Ming in the Kingdom before.
There was a knock on the door. It was the old man that Lu Ming rescued.
Fedoro acted as an interpreter, and the old man expressed his gratitude and brought ten gold coins as a reward.
In this world, the number of gold coins is fixed, and their value is increasing. One gold coin can buy a set of refined armor and weapons, but only the aristocracy can afford and maintain armor and weapons.
The old man was called Gu Di, and he was one of the five judges of the King's Court. The other captives were serfs who had just been sent from the north.
The old man was supposed to receive the package halfway as a witness, and his signature was also required.
As a result, a barbarian hunting party appeared, a dozen warriors were killed, and the rest were abducted.
Lu Ming recalled that when he was in the barbarian tribe and said he could only take a few children with him, the children were actually serfs, and the old man did not raise any objections. He felt that this old judge had a really good character.
At this time, the old man was mumbling something with a slightly serious expression.
Fedoro said, "Judge Gudi said that he has guaranteed your identity and origin, but the Duke wants to kill all your beasts and seek the opinions of the judges. Three judges agree. Judge Gudi believes that this is not in line with the throne code because it is your private property and outsiders have no right to decide how to deal with it. Now he is trying to persuade the Duke and other judges, but please be prepared. After all, these beasts are the nightmare of everyone here, and it is understandable that they don't want to see them."
Lu Ming thought for a moment and said to the old man, "If you finally decide to kill my sheep, I will take them away."
Judge Gu Di was slightly startled and asked, "Going back to the north?"
Lu Ming nodded and said, "Based on what I know about the situation here, I'm afraid it will be difficult for us to intervene in the war between you and the barbarians you see."
Judge Gu Di's eyes lit up. "So you really are from the legendary northern continent. There has always been a legend that there are humans in the distant northern continent, but our expedition team has never returned, and later, we no longer sent out expedition teams."
Lu Ming smiled and said, "By the way, if you want to dispose of my property, according to your throne code, don't you need me to accept questioning? Do you need to listen to the opinions of me, the person involved?"
I really cannot tolerate these sheep being killed, but if I bring them back to the New World, I am afraid I will not have the power to decide their fate. It is better to keep them here for the time being.
In addition, the red fruit tree is a good thing. The ripe ones can be ground into flour, and when they are still crispy, they can be directly fed to livestock.
If he could bring back saplings or seeds and transplant them successfully, then the significance would be greater than the discovery of corn and potatoes from North America on Earth in the previous life, and it could almost bring about a subversive change in the kingdom's agriculture.
Over there, Gu Di thought for a moment and said, "According to the Throne Code, if you are a foreigner, you can use the laws of the foreign land to defend some of your actions. If the laws of the foreign land are more reasonable, we will also accept these clauses."
Lu Ming smiled and said, "Okay, then I hope the King's Court will hold a hearing to hear what I, the client, think."
Judge Gu Di nodded slightly: "I will arrange it."
Lu Ming said again: "Judge Gu Di, I wonder if there are any local technicians who can help with the cultivation and maintenance of red fruit trees? I have some questions to ask you."
Judge Gu Di said, "I know there are such people." Then he looked at Lu Ming in confusion, "Are there no red fruit trees in the northern continent?"
Lu Ming did not hide it, "Yes, the yield of our food crops in the north is not as efficient as the red fruit tree, so if it is possible to transplant, I hope to bring some seeds or saplings back."
Judge Gu Di nodded slightly: "Things that are commonplace here are not found everywhere." He glanced at Lu Ming: "I'll pretend I haven't heard you say that."
Fedro translated, and Judge Gudi said something to him again. Fedro said to Lu Ming: "I didn't hear what you said just now either."
Judge Gu Di added: "However, I will try my best to help you with what you want to do."
Lu Ming understood what Judge Gu Di meant. If the castle lord and others knew that the red fruit tree he wanted to introduce might be extremely important to his continent, they would definitely put forward many harsh conditions.
Lu Ming nodded: "I just want to be open with you, so I won't hide anything from you. In addition, if I can help you in any way, I will help you. Actually, have you negotiated with the barbarians before?"
Judge Gu Di smiled bitterly: "How can they negotiate with us? You can see that in their eyes, we are just food." He then asked: "Can people from your continent communicate with ferocious beasts?"
Lu Ming said: "That's not true. To be honest, if the people from the Northern Continent find you, it may not be a good thing."
If the United Unified Enterprises discovered these humans and barbarians, it is hard to say how the top management would deal with them.
Judge Gu Di was startled, then nodded silently and said, "Mr. Lu, don't underestimate the barbarians. As far as we know, the tribes bordering us on the front line are all low-level tribes of the barbarians. In the heartland of the barbarians, they have royal families, are very intelligent, live in a paradise-like area, and disdain to deal with us humans. Otherwise, we would have been destroyed long ago. So, if you think that you can use your special ability to communicate with ferocious beasts to force the barbarians to negotiate with us, it is unlikely."
Lu Ming nodded and said nothing more.