Chapter 458 War and Justice

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In terms of social status, mercenaries belong to the middle-middle class, similar to master craftsmen who possess irreplaceable skills. Save this site┏Ⅹ④③⑨⑨┛

They are just below the upper nobility, and the upper-middle class magicians, knight officials without titles, and indispensable artists of high society. They surpass the lower-middle class servants, craftsmen, workers, merchants, rats, and the serfs at the bottom of society. These mercenaries are mostly fallen knights.

In the Sapphire Duchy, there are no mercenary groups, hence no mercenaries.

But on the continent, mercenary groups are a widespread and common phenomenon, often established under the guise of protecting trade, hunting magical beasts, and capturing spirit bugs. However, behind the scenes, mercenary groups are the most direct participants in the slave trade, often playing the roles of bandits and robbers.

Liszt did not know how mercenary groups originated to develop into their current state.

But after a conversation with the Count, his understanding of mercenary groups gradually became clear—mercenary groups are actually like rats, extensions of noble power—if rats play the role of intelligence organizations, then mercenaries play the role of more dynamic social organizations.

One of the drawbacks of the feudal system is that there is no hierarchical relationship between the various territories, but rather a great deal of competitiveness.

Many lords even have various personal grudges and cannot directly send their knight groups to plunder each other, so mercenary groups can play a very good role. Moreover, mercenary groups are also a huge source of profit. The continent is not short of population, and during each war, the slave trade is a lucrative business.

Even many local lords look forward to the Sapphire Duchy coming to plunder—as long as they do not plunder their own territories.

At this time, they will frantically cooperate with the invading knight groups to trade, using serfs who can be captured everywhere to trade for the supplies that the invading knight groups have plundered from other places. Every time the Kingdom of the Eagle and the Kingdom of Steel Ridge go to war, it is the most active time for mercenary groups.

These mercenary groups dare not invade the castles of the territories, but they can come and go like the wind when plundering serfs.

"It can be said that when we invade the Sardine Bay area, apart from the lords within this area who will resist, the lords and mercenary groups in the surrounding areas will only wave their utensils and share the wealth of the Sardine Bay area with us," the Count said eloquently. "This is also the confidence we have to attack the Kingdom of the Eagle every year."

He looked at Liszt, who was listening attentively.

Finally feeling the sense of a father teaching his son, he continued to expound: "Moreover, some lords in the Sardine Bay area, we can even sit down and talk business with them at night after fighting during the day."

Liszt was puzzled: "Why?"

The Count asked in return: "How do you think nobles rule their territories, or what do we rely on to live? Living a life thousands of times more comfortable than commoners?"

"Nobles rule their territories by relying on mana cultivation."

"Where does mana cultivation come from?"

"From... the land."

"Exactly, you are very smart and can see the essence of the problem," the Count praised, then said, "Nobles rely on the land, all resources are extracted from the land. Either from their own land, or from others' land, either by relying on serfs to farm, or by relying on knights to plunder."

"What does this have to do with the lords of Sardine Bay, who are at war with us and trading at the same time?"

"Since war is inevitable, some lords will naturally find opportunities to stop losses. Big lords can transfer their losses to small lords by trading with us, small lords can transfer them to commoners, or to other lords... It cannot be denied that they have lost the noble qualities of knights."

...

Do knights have noble qualities?

Liszt was already confused.

After a conversation with the Count and understanding the background of mercenary groups, he vaguely felt the similarity of history. Although this world is completely different from Earth, the country he is in has no connection with Earth. But observing from the essence, the relationship between the Sapphire Duchy and the Kingdom of the Eagle.

Is it not an otherworldly version of the Ming Dynasty's Wokou chaos?

During the Ming Dynasty, Wokou originated from Japan and frequently invaded the southeastern coastal areas of China. However, by the middle and late stages of the Wokou chaos, real Wokou were already rare. According to historical records, real Wokou only accounted for three-tenths, the rest were fake Wokou, that is, Ming Dynasty rebels.

After all, the Japanese ronin who formed the early Wokou were unfamiliar with the southeastern coastal areas and could not form any combat effectiveness. Only by colluding with the locals could they land and plunder everywhere.

In the Ming Dynasty's professional anti-Wokou book "Chou Hai Tu Bian," the leaders of the fourteen Wokou groups were all Ming people.

The root cause was the Ming Dynasty's maritime prohibition, which made coastal residents unable to rely on the sea for their livelihood, forcing them to become bandits. Additionally, merchants, driven by profit, were sea traders when the maritime prohibition was relaxed and pirates when it was strict. Even the gentry and wealthy families secretly colluded, leading to centuries of Wokou chaos.

This world filled with magic power.

The Sapphire Duchy's expansion decree shares similarities with the Wokou chaos.

"Although we can plunder many resources from the Kingdom of the Eagle, the wealth truly created from the land is still taken by the lords of the Kingdom of the Eagle... We probably just grab some minerals, buy some serfs, and the rest of the resources are all transferred by the local nobles."

In the end.

It echoes a line from Yuan drama—prosperity, the people suffer; decline, the people suffer.

The expansion decree's constant fighting ultimately plunders the hardworking commoners and serfs. Liszt even thought, "Is the annual war between the Kingdom of Steel Ridge and the Kingdom of the Eagle somewhat like the Hundred Years' War between England and France on Earth?" During the Middle Ages, England and France engaged in a war that lasted over a hundred years.

Nobles, for the sake of profit, launched knight wars.

Ultimately, it was the commoners who suffered.

As he pondered the war, Liszt suddenly felt disheartened, even though his soul came from Earth and had no connection to this world.

But soon he rallied.

"If I do nothing, the commoners will still be oppressed by the nobles; if I strive hard and succeed in riding a dragon in the future, I might bring a new order to this world."

He clenched his fist.

His gaze became more determined: "As long as I hold justice in my heart and can bring a better life to the commoners in the future, then my participation in the war is a just act!" This self-analysis, while somewhat justifying war for profit, also reflected his inner thoughts.

The commoners under his rule would undoubtedly live far better than those in other territories.

His goal was to ride a dragon and explore this wondrous world, not to pose as a saint, but neither would he become a cold-blooded, profit-driven noble.

While striving for the great cause of riding a dragon, why not bring some good to the world along the way?

With his beliefs clarified.

He returned to his usual calm demeanor, standing at the ship's bow, holding a glass of juice, admiring the blue sky, white clouds, and rippling waves. Four days passed in a flash, and the fleet smoothly arrived at Iron Hoof Island's Oxhorn City.

Here, they would make their final supply preparations.

In six days, they would set their sights on the mainland!