Two golden dragons?
Absolutely true!
Moving a log from the city gate to the main gate of the fortress earned me two golden dragons as a reward.
No one would believe that such a good thing could exist in the world if they told others.
However, under the watchful eyes of everyone, this matter is absolutely true.
Even the Bulls themselves were a bit confused.
Count Damon was taken aback for a moment, then burst into laughter.
He enjoyed watching The Mountain's irrational behavior.
Count Gavin and Count Leo did not expect that the Mountain would add another gold dragon to the reward.
There's absolutely no need for these lowly people to behave like this.
Jenny was also taken aback, and the soldiers, knights, Leonard, and others were all somewhat incredulous.
One gold dragon coin is enough to pay three sergeants a month's wages. Sergeants are not ordinary soldiers; those qualified to become captains or centurions must first be sergeants.
The soldiers of the Westerling family were paid nothing compared to the Mountain's Royal Guard; they were simply not on the same level.
Two gold dragons are a huge sum of money for any citizen. Converted to silver deer, that's sixty coins, which would require a medium-sized money bag to hold.
People watched as the golden dragon rolled on the ground, and whoever it rolled to would instinctively move aside.
Finally, the gold coin fell over, leaving a large empty space around it.
Leonard said, "Girl, Sir Gregor praises your courage and bravery. He has awarded you a golden dragon in his personal honor. Go and pick it up; both golden dragons are yours."
The bull glanced at Bernie, whose eyes gleamed with a cat-like green light, signaling the bull to quickly pick up the gold coins.
Two gold coins! Oh no, I mean gold dragons. The obverse features King Robert's portrait, and the reverse bears the Targaryen coat of arms: a three-headed dragon.
The bull picked up two golden dragons.
The Mountain clapped his hands twice, drawing the attention of everyone present. Bull looked up at him too. This enormous man, the demon from hell Bernie had described, would rape and kill her repeatedly? Bull didn't believe Bernie. Bernie's attempt to get her to go with him was just a tactic to intimidate her.
The Mountain said, "Now, in the honor of House Westerling, in the honor of House Clegane, in the name of the old and new gods, and in the name of the Seven Gods of the South, I issue a new decree to all my subjects. The first decree is the Military Service Decree."
The entire room fell silent, as if everyone had stopped breathing.
It's finally here. Of all the rumors, the conscription order was the most talked about, and now it's true. The rumors were actually true; Westerling really did send his son-in-law, the Mountain, here to conscript soldiers to serve him. After the conscription order comes the taxation. Whichever family's son goes to war, that family has to pay money and food, and they'll also have to pay additional taxes.
This is fucking damn good!
Count Damon burst into laughter, which was extremely impolite and unbecoming of a nobleman. But Count Damon didn't care at all.
The Mountain was unaffected by Count Damon; in his eyes, Count Damon was nothing but trash. The vast majority of nobles in this era were trash.
Compared to Count Damon, who was several levels above the level of civilization, the Mountain was like an elephant. An elephant would not argue with small animals like rabbits and foxes!
Mo Shan remained calm and composed, saying, "The conscription order is based on the principle of voluntary participation; there will be no forced conscription. Please rest assured, my subjects."
The thousands of citizens in the audience looked at each other in bewilderment.
Voluntary military service? That's unheard of. When a nobleman wants to conscript soldiers, it's just a matter of a word, and all the people within his territory, regardless of who they are, must obey completely and unconditionally.
Earl Gavin, Earl Damon, Earl Leo, and the others were all taken aback. Jenny was also greatly surprised, looking at the Mountain with astonishment and suspicion.
Voluntarily enlisting in the army?
Who would be willing to do that?
Nobody wants to!
These were conscripts, not professional soldiers. They had low status, had to provide their own weapons and armor, and weren't even provided with a proper burial if they died. If they won, they were dismissed and sent home to continue farming. To make money in battle, one had to kill and rob; otherwise, there was no way to get rich, but one could risk their life at any moment.
The people had all heard the rumors that the Demon Mountain was coming to recruit soldiers in order to take them away to make money as mercenaries.
Being a mercenary is very risky; you'll be facing ruthless gangs, pirates, and other vicious individuals.
The Demon Mountain scanned the entire crowd and slowly said, "All those who have come to join the army are professional soldiers. The first benefit is that if one person joins the army, the whole family is exempt from half of their taxes; if two people join the army, the whole family is exempt from all taxes. This year, the Earl's land will be given to the soldiers' families to cultivate, and no taxes will be levied."
Earl Gavin's head exploded with a bang. He looked at the Mountain, only to find the Mountain's face swaying and unrecognizable. The Mountain was still saying something, but Earl Gavin couldn't hear him at all. He quickly reached out to grab the railing to steady himself.
Lady Hibel, who was in the hall, was stunned when she heard this. Her face was full of disbelief, and she wondered if she had misheard.
Count Gavin and Count Leo both doubted their ears. What was the Mountain doing? Had this guy lost his mind?
Everyone except the Mountain himself thought they had misheard, including his thousands of subjects.
Both of them joined the army, and their whole family was exempt from taxes. And they weren't those damned conscripts, but professional soldiers.
Being a professional soldier is the most desirable job for most people in peacetime—because they don't have to pay for their own food, clothing, and lodging, and they receive a decent monthly military pay. Moreover, it brings status and honor; serving as a professional soldier for an earl's family makes one's family stand out in the village and earn respect.
Looking at the thousands of people in the audience, the Mountain said in a deep voice, "The new decree issued by me, the Mountain, on behalf of the Westerling family, is issued in the honor of the Westerling and Clegane families, as well as the reputation of the old and new gods. Therefore, every word of the new decree I have spoken is true."
A warm breeze blew across the square; the weather in June was very comfortable. July, however, would become unbearably hot, and the spoilage of milk, breeding deadly bacteria, would begin in July, often sweeping across the country and even causing plagues.
These people didn't know that the illness was caused by the milk not being properly sterilized; they believed it was a punishment from the Stranger among the Seven Gods.
Lady Hibel was the first to recover from her shock. She immediately rushed from the hall to the Mountain's side to stop his nonsense. However, the mad knight behind the Mountain suddenly stepped forward, entered the hall, and stared at her with a twitching, neurotic smile on his face and hooked eyes.
Mrs. Hibern stopped immediately, a mixture of anger and fear rising within her.
"In the second year, the tax will be calculated based on the first year's harvest. If someone in your family is serving in the military, you will only be taxed 20% of your family's total grain harvest," Mo Shan continued.
Two percent?
The nobles levied a grain tax on their subjects, ranging from 30% to 50%. In cases of exceptionally fertile land with a bumper harvest, the tax was 50% of the grain. The nobles and subjects each received half.
A tax of 20% of the total harvest is very, very low.
The Demon Mountain must be insane.
However, even if he weren't crazy, he wouldn't be the Mountain!
Count Damon understood this, smiled slightly, and was secretly overjoyed.
Even without his retaliation, the Westerling and Clegane families will soon be destroyed by the Mountain himself.
This is not wartime, where the Demon Mountain can issue a decree today and amend it tomorrow.
In times of war, there will be emergency requisition orders, nationwide in the Westerlands, issued by Lord Tywin Lannister, with local nobles having some discretion. The Mountain's 20% tax is only for peacetime; there is currently no war. In times of war, 50% to 80% of the people's total grain harvest must be handed over to the army.
The Mountain wants to rescind the decree he just issued, unless there's a pretext of war. But it's peacetime now, there's no war at all, hahaha!
Count Damon was in a very good mood.
Except for a few, the vast majority of people were extremely happy. In the great parade ground below the main fortress, the thousands of citizens were even happier.
The Mountain came here to bring good news to the Westerling family, not disaster!
But that's not all!
As Lord Gavin struggled to breathe, the Mountain announced another decree that utterly devastated both Lord Gavin and Jenny: "My subjects, if a milk disease breaks out this year and all the milk has to be dumped into the gutter, do not do it. Rocksteady will purchase it at one-third of the usual price, prioritizing milk from the families of soldiers; then, it will purchase milk from other subjects at one-quarter of the price. The Westerling family will strive to ensure the livelihood of its subjects, and if any losses are incurred by the subjects within its territory, Rocksteady and Clegane will share the burden."
This decree is insane! If the milk becomes undrinkable due to the heat of July, all the milk from the cows owned by the Westerling family must be thrown away!