bestfiction Chapter 131 Freedom to Love
Chapter 131 Freedom to Love
In the spring of 1447, John led his army towards Franche-Comté. After all, he did not find a suitable partner in Vendam to accompany him for life.
"But come to think of it, those nobles of Wendam certainly don't want their girls to go to an unknown border earldom." John, sitting in the carriage, could only passively let it go when he thought of this. What else could he do if he didn't let it go? Waste his energy? Besides, if he didn't leave, no one would take care of the work in the territory.
Just as John's carriage entered Count Milo's territory, he suddenly thought of his father and mother. Perhaps they could give him some experience in this regard. Thinking of this, John opened the curtain of the carriage, stretched out his hand and waved a few times, and immediately the cavalrymen rode closer.
"Sir, what's the matter?"
"Tell the soldiers in front to march to the left at the next fork in the road and reach the Hohenzollern Territory."
As the order was given, the entire army changed direction and headed towards the Hohenzollern territory.
After a bumpy ride, the outline of the Hohenzollern village in the distance gradually became clear. The name of the Hohenzollern family is so simple. The village is called Hohenzollern Village and the castle is called Hohenzollern Castle. If there is another village, it should be judged by a number, or simply add the word "new" in front of it.
Between the fields, many farmers were busy working. They used a tool called a wheel plow. A person, oxen or horse pulled the plow forward in front, and someone came from the back to hold the plow and keep it fixed in a route. This way, the plowed land would not be crooked.
The villagers of Hohenzollern started using this tool to plow the fields in John's grandfather's generation. As an old knight who had been traveling for many years and was knowledgeable, John's grandfather had seen the lands of those wealthy lords. Farmers used this plow and two people could do the work of five or six people, which greatly saved manpower and enabled the lords to mobilize more conscripts to gain more benefits for themselves.
So after returning to his hometown, my grandfather used his savings to buy some wheel plows for the villagers and taught them how to use them. He also reclaimed more arable land the following year. Then, by selling surplus grain to other territories, the Hohenzollern family earned their first pot of gold after the reform.
He then promulgated more new laws, and planned to build some mills, blacksmith shops and other facilities to improve the living standards of the villagers and self-sufficiency in the territory, but all these required money, so my grandfather had to put aside his status and borrow money from some merchants. However, it would take several years to generate profits from the construction of these facilities and laws, so my grandparents lived in great difficulty with my father, who had just learned to run around, and my uncles. In the most difficult year, they even rented their castle to merchants to hold a banquet on Hanukkah, and they took their family to a farmhouse in the village in the cold winter to eat a salted fish and a few pieces of bread.
Fortunately, all these paid off. After the most difficult year, the Hohenzollern family began to usher in rapid development of their business after achieving the miracle of zero neonatal mortality. The surplus population either went to reclaim more wasteland, or went to bakeries, blacksmith shops and other places to become skilled technicians. After achieving self-sufficiency in food, grandpa also encouraged the villagers to grow vegetables and raise livestock.
When John's father came of age, his grandfather spent a lot of money to send his uncles to study at the University of Windham. Before that, he did all the studying himself and found a wife for his father. His father also took advantage of the situation and allowed merchants to set up chambers of commerce in the territory, thereby exempting some interest and collecting some rent and purchasing the necessary salt and spices.
My grandfather has great ideals. He hopes to build a clinic in the village to treat sick babies and reduce the infant mortality rate, build a school so that all children can learn to read, and build a refugee shelter on the border to accommodate homeless refugees and increase the labor force in the territory.
However, these ideals were not realized before his grandfather passed away. When John was five years old, his grandfather died of illness. His father did not let John go, saying that he was afraid of scaring the child. The next time John saw his grandfather, it was in the family cemetery.
When John first met his grandfather, he just thought he was a conservative old man with a white beard, who wandered around here and there every day, and was busy in the study like his father. It was not until John learned to read and went to the study to find his grandfather's notes and saw the pages of engineering drawings with various annotations that John realized that his grandfather was not an ordinary person.
Thoughts return to the present. When John arrived in the village, the village official immediately reported to his father who worked in the castle. John once again entered the castle of his childhood and after many twists and turns, he arrived at the room where his father worked.
It was still the same dim study room, and the same old man writing something on the table. When John came over, the old man immediately put down his work, looked at John and asked:
"I guess there must be something going on when you come back this time."
When John explained the matter of marriage to his father, his father first thought about it carefully with his hands on the table, and then said:
"John, I know that you have bigger dreams, far more than becoming a knight or an earl. Ever since you came to my study to read when you were a child and you chose to join the army at the age of 16, I realized that you had some grander and broader plans that far exceeded my expectations of you."
"It's good to have goals, but if you can't achieve them, don't force yourself to do it. I roughly know what you mean by marriage. You are in a dilemma between choosing a girl who is compatible with you but may not have much benefit and choosing the daughter of a powerful noble for marriage. But I am only a knight and I am old. I don't know what your standards for choosing a spouse are."
"However, as a person who has been through this and the leader of a family, I hope that my family can be united and prosperous in the future. Of course, the most important thing is peace. Many families have staged internal wars due to inheritance issues. Perhaps our family's territory is too small, so it does not cause the above problems. But you are different. You have a vast territory. If you choose a powerful noble daughter whom you don't like as your marriage partner, it will be harmful to you and the entire family if you can't control it well."
"So, choose a girl you like, who loves you and who is willing to sacrifice for you, no matter if she is rich or poor. As long as you work together, no matter how big the difficulties are in the future, they will not be able to crush the Hohenzollern. This is what your grandfather told me. Now I pass this sentence to you, and I hope you remember it firmly."
"John, it's time for dinner." At this time, my mother's voice came from outside the door. My father looked at John and said:
"Come on, stay with your mother. You haven't been back for a long time. When you fought with the Yoda people, your mother was almost scared to death."
"Okay. I'll stay here for dinner today." John said, then turned and walked out the door.