Gertrude asked her father to attend school, and Viscount Braine responded by hiring a governess to teach her Latin, grammar, and rhetoric.
Gertrude complained to the Palatinate for a long time about this matter. She wanted to see what the school was like now, but she never expected that she would still study at home, and she would still learn these subjects. In her own words: "I don't think grammar, rhetoric and Latin are useless. These are good things that can improve my status and allow me to marry into a good family. But I still want to know, the science here To what extent has it developed?"
The Palatinate was amused by the way she quoted Viscount Braine's words, and gave her some popular science. Nowadays, most of them are church schools, which are a way for some lower-class people to advance their class. As for the science she wants to learn about, she may have to go to college, where arithmetic, geometry, and astronomy are taught.
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As the familiarity between the two increased, Gertrude spoke more and more casually to the Palatinate, and Rhine could see that she had many dissatisfaction with the world. Although she belongs to the aristocratic class and her life is much better than that of many people from the middle and lower classes, she is still deeply dissatisfied. Material superiority does not bring her happiness, and spiritual inequality makes her extremely painful. These letters of hers are letters that cannot be circulated at all. Once others see them, her eccentric reputation among the nobility will be further reduced, and she will not necessarily be regarded as a shame and heresy.
Gertrude seemed to completely trust the Palatinate, venting her emotions wantonly in her letters, leaving her life and death in the hands of the Palatinate.
Rhine saw something else in it. Rather than deep trust, what Gertrude did was more like a bold gamble. If the Palatinate could accept her deviance, she would have some solace in this depressing world. If even the Palatinate cannot accept her thoughts, I'm afraid she won't be able to find anyone who can understand her. Then even if she is treated as a shame, treated as a heretic, and dies without the care of her family, it doesn't matter to her. Maybe she was still secretly looking forward to dying and returning to the living world, but she didn't have the willpower to try directly, so she adopted this roundabout way, craving for the last bit of hope while trying to embrace death.
Fortunately, she met the Palatinate, and the two people's identical mysophobic attitudes toward relationships made them good friends. He had irresponsible parents in the Palatinate, and the so-called nobility of the nobility was not instilled in his mind through systematic education. Because of his compassionate nature, he was often depressed by seeing others suffering. Palatinate may be shy and timid, but he is a very tolerant and good person.
Although as a nobleman, he could not fully agree with many of Gertrude's views that he considered to be quite extreme, but he vaguely felt that she was right, so he worked hard to protect this weird person. Noble lady.
Seeing this, Rhine sighed. Reading these past letters after already knowing the ending of the two people was like watching them die in front of him. He put away the remaining letters and kept them for next time. Through these letters, the images of Gertrude and the Palatinate became more and more vivid in his mind. Just like the two friends, he now did not want to read all the letters at once, but wanted to keep the two friends for a while. .
After that inspection of farmland, Rhine made an appointment with Hillier to inspect several other places. The entire Cannor belongs to Rhine, and it is not easy to inspect the past one by one, but Rhine still insists on doing so. After a few times, even as a knight, Hillier couldn't bear it. But seeing that Rhine was still in good spirits, Hillier couldn't say anything about his pain. As a knight, he gets tired more easily than the thin earl. Speaking of which, people will think that he is exhausted by wine and sex, but in fact, because of the earl, he has not seen those beautiful and lovely ladies for a while. .
Rhine and Hillier once again went out for inspection.
Palatinate is not a person who likes to go out. As a noble, he has nothing to do personally. Everything can be done by stewards, servants and knights. He even has an army.
While the nobles often passed the time in various pursuits, the Palatinate preferred reading. Over the years, his body became thin and fair, turning him into a frail noble.
After Rhine arrived, he went out frequently, which made the housekeeper Joseph worry about his abnormality. It could be seen that his health was getting better day by day, and his expression became more determined, so he kept it secret. After all, everyone in the castle is well aware of Miss Gertrude's influence on the Earl. Although that lady's behavior was very inconsistent with the code of conduct of a noble, how many of the servants she really cared about would really hate such a lady? No matter what goal Rhine set to cheer up, as long as he did not get involved in dangerous things, Joseph would not easily dissuade his master from his behavior.
The entire Cannuo region is flat and suitable for farming. In recent years, the harvest has not been high, not only due to the solar terms, but also due to poor farming methods. Not to mention the overly detailed things like watering and fertilizing, the entire Cannuo still uses the simplest rotational cultivation system. A piece of farmland is divided into two halves. One half of the land is planted with grains in a year, and the other half is left fallow without planting anything. Livestock such as cattle and sheep are raised in it, allowing them to feed on the remaining stalks left after last year's harvest. The feces produced As fertilizer for the land. This method of planting can preserve soil fertility better than the previous round-the-clock cultivation, but the utilization rate of the land is limited, and only half of the land is cultivated every year.
Rhine already had a way to improve it in his mind, but he did not propose it rashly. He still inspected the territory and then repeatedly deleted and revised the plan in his mind.
He naturally saw Hillier's tiredness, but still insisted on keeping him by his side. Firstly, he was too lazy to re-contact a knight with unknown details, and secondly, he wanted to evaluate Hillier's character and ability.
He has a handsome face that is loved by the upper class nobles, but he is from the lower class. He was promoted through military merit, and finally received the honor of a knight. He wandered around the upper class as a non-upper class person, trying to find a man with a large amount of wealth. A nearby young lady or widow is considered as the marriage partner.
There is no doubt that Hillier yearned for the glory of the nobility, and unconsciously imitated what a noble should look like in his words and deeds. As for his own background, he has low self-esteem. Although he has a positive face and is a very cheerful person, he will always show some unnaturalness inadvertently when it comes to related things.
Even so, Rhine didn't feel like giving up on him because of this. Hillier is just a microcosm of this era, and the slightly hypocritical traits in him are public traits. On this basis, Hillier was hard-working and not too self-assertive. He was also a rare friend in the Palatinate and knew Gertrude. These few points alone were enough for Rhine to keep him.
What Rhine did these few times also caused a change in Hillier's heart. Hillier unconsciously became more respectful of this once weak Earl. Although the words were still addressed directly by name, Hillier couldn't help but go through every word he said in his mind, so as not to offend the earl. The Earl is not as soft-spoken and talkative as before. He has his own opinions on many things and is firm in his ideas.
"Rhine, what do you want to do when you inspect these lands recently? Do you really want to reduce the rent again? Or is this something related to the Holy See?"
Rhine already knew what Gertrude did in the Palatinate on the day of execution. This was probably the bravest moment in the life of the timid nobleman, but it was a pity that it was in vain. If Palatinate hadn't been a count, I'm afraid Rhine wouldn't be able to stand here well now.
No wonder Hillier repeatedly asked about this matter, he was really afraid that Rhine would provoke the Holy See again.
Rhine said: "Hillier, I'm not afraid to tell you that sooner or later I will take action against the Holy See."
Although Hillier had been prepared, his heart skipped a beat after hearing these words. Rhine's tone was too serious. Although he was an earl, he was only an earl. Even several emperors in the past had failed to win arm wrestling with the Holy See. What could an earl do
Rhine continued: "But don't worry, it's not this time, not this moment. I just want everyone to fill their stomachs now. What does it matter how the Holy See sees me and how the nobles see me? Farmers are the ones who cultivate the land for me. Those who weave clothes for me are craftsmen. Those who bring me all kinds of goods are merchants on merchant ships. My life is maintained by the people in my territory. I don’t care about their lives, but I want to Do you care about what those nobles who worry about maintaining their dignity all day long think of me? Hillier, you may have always yearned for the life of a noble, so you cannot understand what I am saying now, nor can you understand my determination to fight against the Holy See. If When that day comes, I will not use the so-called knight's loyalty and honor to bind you. I will set you free and lift you from the oath of allegiance I made. But now, I need your help."
Hillier's throat rolled, and he didn't know whether he should believe it or not.
Care about his people
A count wanting to care for his people
This thing even made him feel a little ridiculous. After all, when he was young and hungry, no nobles cared about whether he had enough to eat. My father and mother worked hard every day, but when it came time to turn in the food, they were still very worried, not knowing how they would survive in the next year. It is precisely because of this that he yearns to become a knight and would rather risk his life than live in the dirty and poor lower class.
Hillier didn't believe it, but he still spoke: "I am willing to serve you, my lord."
After Rhine returned to Blandings Castle, he wrote down all the methods he could think of in this era. After thinking about it again and again, and deleting and correcting it several times on the paper, Rhine handed the things to the butler.
Joseph has always been the person responsible for the external affairs of the Palatinate. In the past, rent and tax collection were left to Joseph. Now it is most appropriate to leave this matter to him.
It didn't take long for the entire Cannor area to receive the news. The earl gave all farmers who rented land two options: 1. Adopt the new farming method proposed by the earl and get rent-free this year. 2. If you refuse to adopt new farming methods and the contract is terminated the year after next, the earl will take back the land and no longer rent it to these farmers who are unwilling to change, but give them one year to prepare.