It was reasonable for Lady Hakon to give him an IOU, and for him to give IOUs to the soldiers.
Arthur planned to offer them an adjustment that would not deviate from the current situation in Westeros, would not be radical, and would greatly stimulate the peasants' enthusiasm and combat effectiveness.
In the world of Westeros, there were only serfs; they rented the lord's land, paid heavy taxes, and submitted to military conscription.
There were no free men; only the Wildlings called themselves free men.
They had no enthusiasm or combat effectiveness when participating in war, and the lords could only truly rely on the knight class, who were detached from production.
Arthur intended to establish a stable tax system anchored to the acreage, eliminating the head tax and various other complicated taxes that Westeros imposed on the serfs.
Currently, the simple temporary system is divided into three levels.
Serfs: Adult males within the territory must separate from their original families; the lord allocates public land for cultivation, striving to ensure that tillers have their land.
For each mu of public land, a tax of five-tenths of the harvest is collected, and the land cannot be inherited or reclaimed.
Arthur considered that a tax of five-tenths seemed heavy, but in Westeros, seven-tenths was common, and there were other exorbitant taxes, even on passage and marriage.
Therefore, his five-tenths tax was not difficult at all and could also stimulate the peasants' willingness to go to the battlefield.
Farmers: Serfs become farmers by earning military merits through serving the lord on the battlefield, acquiring "private land" that only he, Arthur, recognizes in Westeros.
Each mu of private land is taxed at only three-tenths of the harvest; upon the father's death, the son inherits, while other sons are demoted to serfs and receive public land.
These individuals would be the grassroots soldiers in the army, and it was necessary to lighten their burden so they could afford better equipment.
Especially the private land inherited from father to son, its temptation was undoubtedly immense.
In the minds of the people of Westeros, those who owned their own land were nobles; only knight lords could acquire their own land.
Landowners: Farmers become landowners by earning military merits through serving the lord on the battlefield, acquiring "private land" that only he, Arthur, recognizes in Westeros.
Each mu of private land is taxed at only two-tenths of the harvest; they can choose to divide the inheritance equally, with the land being equally divided and each son becoming a farmer, or they can choose father-to-son inheritance.
They can hire serfs and farmers to cultivate the land, but there is no personal dependency with the hired personnel, and they need to pay four-tenths of the land per mu as remuneration, which means that each mu can still only yield half a harvest.
They can hire one servant, which is enough to make them independent of production.
These individuals would be the main force in the army.
Hiring servants would allow them to be completely free from production and afford better heavy equipment.
Hiring serfs and farmers would allow serfs and farmers to rent their land after cultivating their own, increasing their income and providing an additional source of income for the lower class, forming a virtuous economic cycle.
Military merit land cannot be resold, and those who become farmers or higher ranks cannot engage in commerce.
Land is the hardest currency in Westeros, and he firmly holds the ownership of the land in his own hands.
With this, he would establish a military noble system completely loyal to him, whose members, from serfs to landowners, would deeply understand from whose grace their status and land originated, and who alone would maintain and recognize their private property rights.
This would establish a stable ruling class, tax system, and upward mobility.
He would remain the sole collector of land taxes, and supporting a group of landowners would be much cheaper than supporting a single knight, essentially transforming one knightly noble into many smaller nobles.
Arthur deeply understood how terrifying the influence of a clear upward channel was for the people of Westeros.
The core of this system lies in military merit land grants, providing the people of Westeros with a stable upward channel, a farming and combat system based on battlefield merits, which is very suitable for the Riverlands' sparsely populated and surrounded-by-enemies geographical environment.
Arthur's gaze fell upon the bewildered soldiers below.
Originally, he had not intended to implement it now, and strictly speaking, he had already fulfilled his promise to give them military spoils.
However, he was unsure what might happen with the armed reclamation of disputed land.
Therefore, he must now tie their interests together and demarcate their private land on the new territory!
Arthur's hand pointed at them, his voice rising, "You have followed me, from Dreadfort to Deep Valley City, shedding blood for me, fighting for me.
Now, it is time for me to fulfill my oath."
"From today onwards, every soldier present will own five mu of private military merit land belonging to him on the new territory!"
"This land will only require you to pay me three-tenths of the harvest as tax each year; the rest is all yours!"
"Moreover, this land can be inherited by your descendants!"
The entire assembly ground instantly fell into a deathly silence; the soldiers were stunned, their eyes wide, as if they couldn't believe their ears.
In Westeros, they were serfs; they had no property, toiled their entire lives with little to show for it.
They and their property were the lord's property, and land was something they never dared to dream of.
But to own their own land, which could be passed down from father to son, even if it was only five mu, meant that they would no longer be serfs at the mercy of others, but rather minor nobles under Arthur, who could stand tall, masters of their own land!
"Lord Arthur... are you saying... you will grant us our own land?" a soldier asked, his voice trembling with disbelief.
"That's right! Your own land!" Arthur looked at him and affirmed.
Then he swept his hand across the entire assembly, emphasizing the words he was about to speak: "This! Land! You can pass it on to your children! And your children's! Children!"
Incredible gasps erupted from the crowd; some even knelt down in excitement, tears streaming down their faces.
What a generous lord!
The land was not yet in hand; he was making huge promises.
Arthur raised his hand, signaling them to be quiet.
"Hakon!" Arthur roared!
Hakon came forward, leading two goats.
"Let the blood out!"
A sharp knife sliced across the goats' necks, and warm blood gushed out, collected into a wooden barrel that had been prepared earlier.
The barrel contained red pigment, and the goat's blood mixed into it, making the red even more vivid and striking.
Arthur stepped down from the platform and approached the wooden barrel.
He picked up a quill pen and then a thin wooden board suitable for writing.
Parchment was too expensive; he would consider it once he became wealthy.
"Now! Come forward one by one! Take your blood pacts!"
The soldiers' bodies trembled violently with excitement, then they lined up and walked over one by one.
Arthur dipped the quill pen into the pigment mixed with goat's blood in the basin, asked the soldier in front of him for his name, and wrote the soldier's name on the thin wooden board, along with the promise of private land.
He signed his name, pressed his finger, stained with the pigment from the wooden barrel, to make a crimson fingerprint, and then solemnly affixed his seal.
He handed this blood-scented document to the soldier, who, with trembling hands and tears in his eyes, received it, as if it were not a thin wooden board, but the most precious treasure in the world.
He knelt on the ground, looking at the words "In the name of Arthur" written at the bottom of the wooden board, and deeply kowtowed to Arthur.
Arthur watched him in silence, saying nothing.
"In the name of Arthur!!!!" The soldier tightly hugged the wooden board, slowly stood up, raised his arm, and his voice echoed through the sky.
"In the name of Arthur!!!!!!!" Over three hundred soldiers shouted in unison. "In the name of Arthur!!!!!!!"
Their voices shook the wilderness!
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