6kv Chapter 73 Cheap Serfs
Chapter 73 Cheap Serfs
The wine has a mellow aroma.
But it couldn't suppress the heaviness in Richard's heart.
In the world of Huanxing, in order to ensure a stable supply of food, lords treated serfs like livestock, making them absolute private property and squeezing them dry.
Apart from their basic food rations, they would take everything else they could.
in other words.
The serf class was even deprived of their right to reproduce independently; they were not even allowed to marry and had no partners of their own.
Every year in early autumn, a birthing ceremony is held in all territories.
During the ceremony, tens of thousands of male and female serfs would be randomly paired up and made to live together for a week before being forcibly separated.
At other times, if male and female serfs had private contact, they would be severely punished if discovered.
The purpose of this was to force the male serfs, who had been holding back for a whole year, to release their pent-up desires and to maximize the chances of female serfs becoming pregnant.
If a female serf conceives in early autumn, she can give birth to offspring the following spring.
In this way, the survival rate of newborns can be guaranteed, and the female serfs can avoid giving birth during the busy summer planting and autumn harvest season, which would delay agricultural work.
After all.
This was nothing more than a cruel system devised by the lord to maximize the demographic dividend.
Newborn babies are sent to an orphanage for care, where they are raised by specialists to ensure they do not die.
Just like mass-producing agricultural tools, only so that they can be used in the future.
otherwise.
When female serfs were left to raise their own children, the infant mortality rate reached an alarming level.
After they turn eight, these children will leave the orphanage and go to work in the fields, becoming new serfs and repeating the fate of their parents.
This means...
The serfs didn't even know who their parents were or where their children were. The serfs were brothers and sisters to each other.
Their entire lives were merely tools of the lord, tools for labor and reproduction.
When Celia suddenly advanced to the transcendent realm and Richard planned to release her, she hesitated and felt lost because she didn't know where to go after leaving Chiffon Territory.
—Because she has no home.
and so.
That's why she tearfully begged Richard to let her stay, saying that as long as she stayed by the lord's side, she could avoid becoming an endless breeding machine.
Although the serf system had other, even more cruel aspects, Richard believed that this system of restricting births was utterly inhumane.
Many female serfs had to give birth almost every year from a very young age, until their bodies collapsed and they died.
In addition to years of malnutrition, their average lifespan was much shorter than that of male serfs, and they would usually die in their thirties.
This is hardly living.
It's like using a dull knife to cut a piece of flesh off them year after year, torturing and destroying their already pitiful lives.
The reason serfs were so cheap, costing only one silver coin each, was that those available for sale were mostly women around thirty years old and men around forty years old.
It's the kind of car that will be "scrapped" after a few more years of use. Cars that are between 10 and 25 years old are not priced like this, and they are generally not sold in territories, so there is no uniform standard price.
The hundred serfs that Benlang provided to Richard were all chosen by the eldest brother, so most of them were young.
As for the phenomenon of impoverished free citizens patronizing female serfs, it was ultimately a very small minority, and in the face of the enormous number of tens of thousands of serfs, it couldn't cause any significant disturbance.
However, the number of serfs in Benlang has exceeded the limit in recent years, so in order to save on the expenses of the orphanage, the forced mating system has been temporarily suspended.
Lina and her group of younger female serfs were fortunate enough to avoid this suffering.
If they were in another territory, they would probably have given birth to five or six babies by now.
This is also the biggest difference between serfs and free people. From birth, they are treated as tools, have no identity, and will not resist until they starve to death.
They are using their own lives to nurture life-giving food for others to enjoy.
Every civilization goes through a period of ignorance and folly, and Richard doesn't want to criticize anything.
But his basic human conscience made it impossible for him to look directly into the eyes of some of the female serfs in his territory.
He felt that as a lord, it was normal and reasonable to exploit and oppress the labor of serfs.
People at the bottom of society in any world will face exploitation, only the methods and degrees of exploitation will differ.
Being at the bottom of the pyramid means you are born to bear the weight from above.
But to treat one's fellow human beings like pigs and dogs, to deprive them of their dignity, and to breed them on a regular basis like livestock, is going too far.
So he wanted to change this situation.
of course.
Chiffon cake only.
He didn't care what the other territories did, nor could he care.
When Xueyue learned that he wanted to hold a bonfire party to celebrate the completion of the wall, she told him that when the Snow Rabbit tribe found a place to settle down and no longer had to worry about food, they would also celebrate by singing and dancing.
Under the moonlight, eligible men and women will perform a courtship dance to find their ideal partner and continue the bloodline of the Snow Rabbit clan.
Richard agreed.
He not only agreed, but also wanted to take this opportunity to announce a new policy.
He wanted to grant the serfs of Chiffon Territory the right to marry, and to return to them the emotions that are inherent to human beings.
Serfs remain serfs; that has not changed.
only...
One must first be a complete human being before one can be a serf.
Only by adopting a gentler method of exploitation can he enjoy the fruits of his labor without feeling guilty or burdened.
and.
Without the concept of home, even if these serfs become free people in the future and develop a sense of belonging to chiffon, it will be extremely limited.
Like a bubble.
It shatters with a single poke.
Only when they form families, have their own children, and have something to rely on, will they have the will to persevere.
Only then will they truly consider chiffon cake their roots, and only then will they be willing to give everything for this land.
...
The camp was completely silent.
All the serfs, militia, and guards stared intently at their lord in the main seat.
They wanted to know how this lord, who was always kind yet unfathomable, would deal with the pair of snow rabbits that violated the serfs' breeding tradition.
The thirty-odd snow rabbits finally realized that something was wrong, and they looked at each other in silence.
Richard put down his wine glass, slowly stood up, and without looking at anyone, stared at the flickering flames in the distant campfire.
No punishment is needed.
"Chiffon will not practice a serf breeding system; everyone will have the right to marry and the right to reproduce independently."
"You can voluntarily choose your life partner, form your own family, and raise your own children."
"The orphanage will remain, but newborns will no longer be forcibly taken away. It will only serve as a support facility to help raise them and reduce the infant mortality rate."
He did not explain why he did so, because no explanation was needed; the lord's will was the greatest law in this land.
He said yes.
Yes, it is possible.
After saying that, he didn't look at anyone, turned around and entered the lord's mansion, his figure disappearing into the night.
Only a group of people, still stunned and unable to react, remained standing there, as if time had stood still at that moment.
No one knows how much time passed until the campfire crackled and popped, finally waking someone up as if from a dream.
A female serf suddenly collapsed to the ground, her legs giving way beneath her. She covered her pregnant belly with one hand and her mouth with the other, her shoulders trembling violently.
The suppressed sobs and whimpers were like a fuse that ignited a fire, making all the female serfs unable to hold back their tears.
Some of them squatted on the ground, screaming in agony, venting their unbearable pain from the past.
Some of them seemed to have gone mad, running around the camp like the snow hares chasing each other during courtship.
Others knelt before the brightly lit lord's mansion, their faces devout, murmuring something under their breath, tears streaming down their faces.
...
Just then...
A silver dragon suddenly tore through the night sky with a violent force!
Boom!
The thunder roared, illuminating the dark night as if it were daytime!
Heaven has changed.
A belated late spring rain poured down.
Splash!
Large raindrops pounded on the campfire.
On the fence.
On the land.
It's on my mind.
Rainwater mixed with tears washed over the earth, cleansing away the filth and dirt that had accumulated over countless years.
The campfire has gone out.
The fire in my heart has been ignited.