living in 16th century england

Chapter 12 Laura De Pie
Matthew coughed: "I am Matthew Hawkins from Plymouth. My family owns multiple industries. My father, Andrew Hawkins, is a member of the Plymouth Council. Please tell me your name."

This is to use background to strengthen authority and make the other party feel scruples.Very effective no matter the era.

The can opened its mask, and there was actually a young man inside: "I am Cohen Pearl. My father is a knight promoted by Richard III. Nice to meet you."

Matthew and Robert have weird expressions, are they the remnants of the previous dynasty?
However, it is common for European lords and knights to change families, and no one cares about Lu Bu per capita.

Matthew: "I swear before God that I will hire Knight Cohen Pearl for £5 a month... as a security consultant for a tentative period of one year."

This is the age of vows.Until World War II, there were still people in Europe who took the oath as a contract.write?That depends on how illiterate there are.

As for whether it is useful... Didn't you see that everyone used paper to write?For Matthew, God is shit, no pressure.

For those who are capable, it may not be appropriate to use words such as bodyguard or guard.Of course, the security consultant is a little taller.The young knight tasted it, and immediately felt comfortable.

Cohen's horse dies, and Matthew puts him on a packhorse.The things are distributed to the other animals.The poor little donkey's legs were weak under the weight of luggage.Everyone had to bear a little share.

Cohen: "What's on that pack horse??"

Matthew: "It's a gift for the king. Its safety is also very important."

Cohen nodded slightly, it seems that the employer did not just talk about it.

That night, the group spent the night at the farm where Cohen lived.

Outsiders don't know, but Cohen and the people in the farm know it very well.Cohen's father died last year.The most important thing is that he can no longer inherit this fiefdom.

His father is actually a remnant of feudalism.Because the Tudors loved mercenaries.The so-called feudal military service system became a mercenary system.The original knight allegiance suddenly became less important.In fact, including Plymouth, some knights were converted into "merchant knights", some were poor, and some became farmers.There are also many who became mercenaries and went to sea to become adventurers.

At the beginning of the fiefdom system, no one could be hereditary, and any one of the vassals and vassals died, they would be taken back.Later, the taste changed, and with the arduous and unremitting efforts of the nobles, it became hereditary.But obviously, the stupefied young Cohen is not among them.

Matthew felt that this kid probably didn't understand anything except fighting.Unexpectedly, the rabbit still eats the grass beside the nest.

Robert squinted: "Is there any mistake? You are a robber for the first time, right? You actually eat grass beside the nest?"

Cohen was still brooding: "The defeated man, the shameless man, even killed my horse...don't talk to me."

Robert said angrily: "You have a strong armor, if you have the ability to take it off, I will teach you a lesson with my fist."

Cohen grinned: "I've wanted to do this for a long time, I have the guts to go out and fight."

Matthew: "Eileen, don't stand there stupidly... hurry up and eat."

Irene said: "Matthew..., I am now a maid."

Matthew: "There are no outsiders now, um...just like when I was a child."

Erin suddenly came alive: "Okay...hehe."

Matthew smiled and said, "Come... sit down and watch the show."

Contrary to Matthew's expectations, Robert used his rich experience to lock the young and strong Cohen immobilized.However, the young attendant believed that it was Cohen who locked up Robert.The middle-aged attendants felt that they had caused this situation because they acted too lightly.Otherwise, how could the strange shape come from digging eyes and kicking crotch?

Obviously, Robert was born on the street.Cohen was trained by a well-behaved knight.Inexperienced with this rogue style of play.

In the end, it was Matthew who yelled and deducted wages if he didn't stop.Only then separated the two.

This is the first time for Matthew to come to Exeter, although Plymouth is only about 70 kilometers away from here.Because Devon County is not big, only more than 2000 square kilometers, you can regard it as a county in the east of a large oriental country.

Erin wanted to see the famous Exes Cathedral, but Matthew wanted to see the port of Exes.So several people stayed here for a day.

The wool trade was more prosperous in Essex than in Plymouth, and apparently a new class of landowners and merchants flourished, and it was difficult to distinguish between them, the merchants owning the land and the landowners trading.Even the yeoman owns some means of production.

Now the tax rate for exporting wool is much higher than that of woolen wool. Although customs officials will turn a blind eye to it, they will not be lenient in collecting money.Although the king lost money, it also played a role in curbing exports.

Human beings are the largest, most important, most unpredictable and most important variable in human society.

Matthew was in a daze for a while, and Robert came to say that he had met a familiar captain who happened to be going to Plymouth.Ask whether to write a letter home?

Of course Matthew had to write.In this era, once you travel far away, it is normal to have no news at all.Why don't you report your safety if you have a chance?
The captain is not young, and Matthew also knows him, and has pulled wool from their family.It was natural to start a conversation, which was one of the ways for him to get information.

The conversation was okay, just rambling.Then something happened that stunned Matthew. The old captain took out a box, and there were some loudspeakers neatly inside.

"Would you like to try this, Mr Hawkins Jr?"

tobacco?

Matthew took it immediately, and asked knowingly, "What is this?"

The old captain smiled: "You will know later."

Matthew and the old captain searched for a fire with a megaphone in their mouths, and finally went to a grocery store to light it.

Matches still have to wait another 200 years.The scythe requires high carbon steel, which is a bit expensive.Flint knocking is a common way for the poor.So it's important to keep the tinder alive.In places where people live together, everyone borrows fire from each other, which is a very common social content.

Matthew lit it and took a sip, and suddenly coughed involuntarily.The taste of tobacco that has not been processed is very different from that of later generations.

"what is this?"

The old captain was smoky: "The unique plant in the New World, we call it tobacco, will make you... wandering too far, ho ho ho ho... There are also people who chew tobacco leaves and smoke leaf powder with their noses... But I like to light it up and smoke it. "

Matthew silently took another sip, but this time he was extremely skilled.

"How much of this do you have left? I'd like to buy some."

Matthew thought of going into the tobacco business, but he immediately dismissed the idea.Not many people in Europe smoked at this time.Poor people have no money to buy cigarettes.

It takes time to form a market, and it is estimated that it will take decades.

The captain was a little surprised. Was this kid addicted to smoking for the first time?But he still had a lot of tobacco leaves on board, and Matthew paid a few shillings, and soon got his wish.

This outrageous price... Matthew corrected his thinking again, tobacco is a luxury.The target audience should be rich people.

However, the UK does not seem to be suitable for growing tobacco.

By the way, have corn and potatoes from America been shipped back now?The importance of these high-yielding crops cannot be overstated.But Matthew didn't ask the captain any questions.

Exeter is an estuary.One side faces the mountain and the other side faces the river.It is said that the Romans built a city here in Roman times, but Matthew didn't see it.On the other side is a mudflat swamp.

"If I were from Exeter, I would definitely build a dam over there. As long as it blocks the tide of the sea, it's good land, and I can park my boat."

This is just casually saying that in this era, the local tycoons are the local masters.Outsiders cannot intervene in such affairs at all.

The old captain smiled and said, "I have good eyesight. When I first came here, I thought so too."

Of course, there were taverns in small port towns in the 16th century. The taverns and hotels were often not separated from each other. The accommodation conditions were not to mention a group of people who did not know each other sleeping together, and there were many large bunks on the floor.In order to cope with various situations, everyone chooses to sleep with their clothes on.

Until the beginning of the 20th century, the low-end hotels in the United States followed this model. At most, the bunk was gone and it became a single bed.You can see this scene in Chaplin's movies.

Matthew had a small single room with only two single beds, about the width of his shoulders, and they might fall off when he turned over.

Cohen touched the purse again, feeling particularly good.He is on vigil.

Neither horses, donkeys, nor luggage can be lost.

In order to avoid being attacked, he sat in the shadow of the corner of the yard.Because there's a fire in the backyard.Anyone who gets close can see it at a glance.

For a long time in Europe, anyone who walks at night without lighting a torch may be regarded as a thief.The night watchman arranged by the locality can search directly.If you still hold or pull out a weapon, it will be terrible, and the thief may die on the spot.

The middle-aged entourage didn't sleep either. There are all kinds of people in the [-]s here, who knows what will happen.In some early novels, people from the same country and acquaintances often go together, which is the reason.

Of course Matthew adapted. For many years, his living conditions were not as good as this.He has fallen asleep.

Erin couldn't sleep, she was very nervous.In this era, there are many people who get married at the age of sixteen or seventeen, and girls are more precocious.It's a pity that Matthew's snoring sounded soon, which made her feel relieved.

That's great, at least Matthew didn't let her sleep outside in the Chase bunk.

Now you know why in many antique novels, the protagonists are willing to sleep in the woodshed, right?
Times are complicated, especially with religion.Protestantism did not fall from the sky. In the fourteenth century, a man named Wycliffe and his supporters began to translate the Latin Bible into English.

This means breaking the Catholic Church's right to interpret the Bible, which is very popular with the British.

One of the most important differences between Protestantism and Catholicism is that everyone can read the Bible.

Later, some low-level monks and supporters interpreted these English Bibles, known as the Laurad faction.Because of those self-contradictions with the Catholic nonsense, they were later classified as heretics by the Catholic Church.

This had little to do with Matthew.But remember there is a Catholic cathedral here?Catching heretics is their natural behavior.

The monks are not polite at all, they basically know how to wield swords.Many people were descendants of nobles who lost their inheritance rights before becoming monks.This is why monasteries are so powerful.

(End of this chapter)