Chapter 289: The People's Congress
Perhaps because he hadn't eaten meat for a long time, Grosien's stomach started to growl immediately after he finished the potato root and pea stew.

Grosien was taken to the toilet by the waiter and defecated for half a day. When he came out, the afternoon believers' meeting had already begun.

When he returned to Victory Square and took his seat again, he found that the originally warm atmosphere was now filled with a hint of worry.

Then, expressions of confusion and fear appeared on the faces of the representatives who were originally active.

"What's going on? Has the Holy Land Edict been read out? I didn't hear it." Grosien walked through the crowded crowd, sat down on the edge of the table, and shook off a lot of dust from his body.

"He talked about something related to the division of land, saying that usury was prohibited... I fell asleep after dinner and didn't hear it clearly. Let's wait for the Pope to come and explain it to us."

Not long after, Grosien saw Horn, who had finished his meal, walking up the wooden platform with the help of a cane.

"Ahem." Horn cleared his throat and held onto the scriber stand that served as a makeshift podium, "Just now, our friars from the Holy Fathers have read out the specific contents of the edict to you.

I know that although we have read the relevant edict, it is a bit complicated after all, and you may not understand it very well, so I will simplify it and read it to you again. "

"Be quiet."

"Listen carefully, and stop fiddling with your needlework."

There was no need for the night watchman to participate this time, and the representatives present maintained order spontaneously.

Horn smiled slightly and turned over a piece of paper on the podium:

“The Holy Land Bull is the first golden bull issued by the sinner Horn, who disgraced himself as the Pope. Its main contents are as follows:

First, all land ownership was returned to the Holy Father, and as compensation, the actual cultivators were granted the right to use the land and the status of fellow monks.

Second, the identity system was abolished and the principle of "land to the tiller" was implemented, whereby the ownership of land could be inferred from the taxes and tributes paid in the previous three years.

Third, all usury before 1445 was exempted, and the annual interest rate of private loans after 1445 should not exceed 20%, and the interest income should not exceed the principal.

Fourth, implement the 100-household district reform, with every ten households forming a group of ten, and ten groups of ten households forming a group of 100, as the lowest administrative unit.

Fifth, abolish the Labor Law, exempt everyone from taxes for one year, and allow land to be legally and freely bought and sold.

Sixth, open up the lords' mountains, forests, and lakes for use by farmers, recompile household registers, and determine the conscription population.

Seventh, the Holy Fathers are allowed to preach.

As for the scope of implementation, it is divided into two.

One is the Pious District directly under the jurisdiction of the Pope, which includes five towns, 5 manors and the Daze Township in the area from Jeanne d'Arc to the Wild Spider Forest, and enforces all laws.

The other is the Holy War Zone directly under the jurisdiction of the Saint, which includes three towns from Sour Melon Town to Ibe Plain and 3 manors, and only implements items 112 to . "

After speaking, Horn paused for a few seconds to give the representatives some time to think.

"If you have any questions, you can ask now." After several wizards from the White Mountain Hermitage stood still, Horn looked at them with a smile and said.

The representatives looked at each other in bewilderment. They were afraid to ask questions to such a big shot. The biggest shot they had ever seen was the bishop.

There is a Pope standing here!
After a while, an armed peasant representative wearing a tight-fitting long coat stood up first and waved to Horn.

The monk who was pronounced as a natural priest and written as a wizard walked up to the side of the armed peasant representative, making his voice clearly ring in everyone's ears.

"Your Majesty, I want to ask, what does it mean that the ownership belongs to the Holy Father? Does it mean that these fields no longer belong to us?"

"Do those lands originally belong to you?" Horn opened his arms as if embracing someone, "You should know that this world was created by the Holy Father. Everything belongs to the Holy Father, including the land and even yourselves!
Why do you think you can own land?

Only the Holy Father can own land and people. All ownership of land and ownership of other people’s persons is a theft of the Holy Father’s authority. Only the devil would do this.

We, the Salvation Army, demand equality and freedom in order to return the authority that originally belongs to the Holy Father!
We killed all the lords so that you can face the real lord, the Holy Father."

"So, we are still the ones who cultivate and harvest the land, but the lord has become the holy father in heaven?" The armed farmer asked with a blink.

Horn snapped his fingers and said, "You can understand it this way. Unless the Holy Father and the Holy Lord unanimously decide to take it back, it will still be up to you to cultivate and harvest."

Horn immediately heard a long sigh of relief. They thought the Salvation Army was going to take away all their land. As a noble father, he would definitely make a fair judgment. The only reason for the land to be taken back was probably because they were really guilty.

Seeing that the armed peasant's speech had been answered, the citizen representative wearing a dark yellow woolen puff-sleeved jacket bravely stood up:

"Your Majesty, what does this fellow monk status mean?"

"To put it simply, although fellow monks are not monks, they enjoy some of the benefits of monks, such as not having to kneel, and tax exemptions for agricultural and sideline products and other industries."

This is also to prepare for future national identity.

The people of Qianhe Valley are not a suitable imagined community, so "monks" might be a good choice.

Isn't a Papal State where all the monks are more pious than the Holy See?
The shepherd villager representative, wearing a hood, stood up with his sheep-herding crutch and asked the question that everyone was most concerned about:
"How is the land divided according to the principle of 'land to the tiller'? Besides, if the lord dies, who will own his land, or the right to use the land?"

Horn stretched out his right hand and shook his fingers: "Well, this is a good question. The purpose of this move is to return the land to the hands of those who cultivate it, rather than having it occupied by those who don't cultivate it.

Let’s take an example to illustrate this.

For example, if you paid 90 pounds of grain as tithe to the church, according to the tithe ratio, you should have 10 acres of land.

If you paid 180 pounds in tribute, you should have 20 acres of land, so you have the right to use 30 acres of land in total. "

According to this calculation, farmers benefited greatly because Horn included other levies and taxes into the tithe.

Most farmers paid more taxes, so in return they could get more when the land was distributed this time.

For example, armed peasants and small landlords evade taxes. If you pay less tax, you will definitely have less land.

So not only will you not get the land, you may even have to give away a lot of it.

If you don't want to share, then just pay the previously owed tax grain. This grain will serve as the start-up capital for Horn's work-for-relief program.

The biggest purpose of doing this is to maximize the development and utilization of the land and to support as many self-employed farmers as possible rather than landlords who sit back and enjoy the fruits of their labor.

“As for the ownership of the lord’s land, it is different in the two regions.

In the Pious District, the lord's land will be used as part of the distribution of land, and if there is any surplus, it will be managed by the Papal States.

In the Jihad Zone, the land is either operated directly by the Legion or sold to finance the military.”

The representative dressed as a priest raised his hand and asked: "Will there be no land distribution in the Jihad Special Zone?"

"The Jihad Zone faces the Knight Demons to the west and south, so only military dependents can get land." With his elbows on the podium, Horn said seriously, "The Jihad Zone needs order and stability, not chaos."

In fact, even if Horn wanted to divide the land in the Jihad Special Zone, he could not do it.

Because ordinary villagers were unable to complete the land distribution, Horn did not have the manpower to guide them.

The group that can carry out the land distribution is precisely these armed farmers who have the time, energy and knowledge.

Ultimately, if special areas are to be allocated for jihad, the executors will become the victims.

Given their awareness, Horn didn't believe they could carry it out well.

In order to restore order and unite forces to fight against the Ibe Knights in the south, the only thing they had to do was to win over and reform this group of people.

To be honest, even in the Pious Special Zone, it is quite difficult to divide the fields.

10 people, 89 estates, an estimated one million acres of real estate division, grassroots reconstruction, and limited manpower will inevitably be accompanied by fierce small-scale armed struggles.

It is even possible that he had to fight with the Ibe Knights in the south while also presiding over the land distribution work.

Horn expected to complete the land distribution work for 100,000 people within half a year, and then advance southward to take over the remaining half of Langsander County.

Only when it borders the Black Snake Bay and completely gets rid of the predicament of being attacked from all sides, will it be time for the Jihad Special Zone to be transformed into a pious parish.

(End of this chapter)