Centralization

Getting married required money, having children required money, and even praying in church or grinding flour at the mill required money.

The reason why this aspect of exploitation wasn't particularly notorious was purely because medieval lords were uneducated, and would often find themselves at a disadvantage when outsmarted by their clever subjects.

Although they held significant power to oppress the people, their primary concern was not to enlarge the pie but rather to seize the entire pie for themselves.

Medieval people faced additional difficulties due to the prohibition of forest access. All forests, swamps, and lakes on the territory were the lord's property.

If the subjects wanted to interfere in these areas, whether to fish, collect firewood, settle or reclaim land, they all had to pay. And even paying didn't always guarantee these rights.

The issues brought by population growth, such as land and food shortages, were always challenging to resolve.

Since Damian couldn't temporarily improve the deep technical black hole of agriculture, he considered removing many restrictions on peasants, allowing them to reclaim land and create new homes as they wished.

This could be seen as a form of burden relief.

However, Damian's words left many knights unable to understand.

Allowing peasants to move freely seemed like an extremely immoral and chaotic act to the knights.

Peasants should be under the lord's supervision, paying for every right they enjoyed to ensure their safety.

"It can be discussed, but how do we account for the new lands reclaimed by the peasants?" Baron Kenan, being old and experienced, roughly guessed Damian's intentions. But he also had many concerns.

If the new land reclaimed by the peasants didn't belong to the old lord they were attached to, wouldn't that be a loss?

"Temporarily managed by the lord, and after a few years, we re-establish a new contract like today," Damian said with a slight smile, offering a more substantial benefit.

Thus, the knights reluctantly agreed but continued to discuss it privately.

What if the reclamation failed? Who would bear the cost?

Only Bishop Matt, who was listening in from the hall, felt that Damian had ulterior motives.

He wanted to periodically renew the feudal contracts with his subordinates, a condition that the knights, worried about their peasants, surprisingly considered a benefit!

Upon closer inspection, it became clear that if the feudal contracts were renewed every few years, wouldn't the knights have to hand over some of them to their lords when they gain new assets each time?

In this way, the lord's control over the knights would be unprecedentedly strengthened.

Bishop Matt He let out a cold laugh, preparing to expose Damian's plot at the formal investiture ceremony the next day.

…

The knight's investiture, although lacking a complete set of procedures, had many customary rules.

The day before being invested as a baron, Damian had to wash and fast, cleansing his body and soul like in Islam and Buddhism.

Then Damian would dress in red and white ceremonial robes. In Christianity, white symbolizes purity, and red symbolizes fighting for Christ.

With everything ready, Damian would take his sword and armor and pray overnight in the church. Until dawn, the bishop would come to officiate the mass, inspiring the knights' faith in the Lord.

Of course, the bishop also blessed the knights' swords and armor, serving as a spiritual encouragement. This tradition appeared early, with records from as early as 950 in the monastery of Mainz, Germany.

After all the preparations, the core part of the ceremony was the sword-giving ritual.

After Damian sleeping… praying all night, The sword-conferring ceremony officially began at five o'clock in the morning.

Damian, dressed in red and white robes, stood below the stage.

Conosa, dressed in luxurious and solemn attire, sat on the stage.

Bishop Matt stood by her side.

Conosa held the sword in her hand, hesitating whether to shake hands with Damian, as it represented the ceremony of loyalty.

The Countess, having studied these customs in the capital of Nancy, knew feudal etiquette better than Damian.

Establishing a feudal contract and personal allegiance actually were two different ceremonies. Just because the two ceremonies are often held together, sometimes it can be a bit difficult to distinguish clearly.

But as Damian approached the stage, Bishop Matt stepped forward first.

Holding Damian's sword, Bishop Matt solemnly and hastily said, "Young Damian, you have shown your extraordinary talents to the surrounding knights. Are you ready with your oath?"

"Of course."

Damian bypassed the bishop and walked towards the Countess, kneeling on one knee.

Knights' oaths of allegiance to their lords were often poetic, expressing their aspirations in eloquent terms. More ornate oaths were more admired and favored by their lords.

Damian had prepared an exceptionally magnificent one: "I swear to treat the weak mercifully… to be honest with my friends… and finally…"

After reciting his oath, Damian suddenly added, "I will be sincere and faithful to my love."

Conosa finally breathed a sigh of relief.

Damian hadn't messed up.

But just as everyone was preparing to applaud and celebrate Damian, Bishop Matt suddenly stopped him, sharply questioning, "Are you sure you will be honest with your friends? Then yesterday you…"

Damian immediately realized that Bishop Matt intended to embarrass him at his investiture ceremony.

Fortunately, he had anticipated this.

So Damian loudly interrupted Bishop Matt and pretended to pick up a letter from beside Matt's feet, then loudly read, "My dear Lisa, our son…"

This letter was found in Scoke's treasure trove. It contained detailed arrangements for Bishop Matt's illegitimate child and their correspondence.

Matt turned pale with shock.

"How could it be in your hands!" he knew well that Damian had taken the letter from his sleeve.

Matt had intended to reveal Damian's Intrigue, but Damian had already targeted Bishop Matt's life, ready to eliminate him with one blow.

The surrounding knights began to gossip.

Someone said, "What? The son of that guy from the neighboring county is Bishop Matt's illegitimate child? So he's been raising someone else's kid all this time…"

Upon hearing Damian read the letter, everyone immediately believed it. After all, Bishop Matt already had a poor reputation in this area.

When he tried to explain and prevent the situation from escalating, Damian stopped him, loudly shouting, "Bishop? Don't seek death, Bishop. We must get to the bottom of this! If someone is framing you, then…"

Damian, pretending to be concerned, stopped Matt, giving him no chance to explain.

Eventually, under the increasingly disdainful and resentful gazes of the crowd, Bishop Matt fainted from anger and frustration.

"Um... he fainted by himself, right?" Damian turned to ask Conorsa innocently.

…

With the farce concluded, Gothingen County had also preliminarily tallied its new group of knights.

A total of 147 knights, capable of forming an army of nearly a thousand men, increasing their strength by more than 50% compared to before.

All of these knights were purchased by Damian, so—

The power, was concentrated in his hands naturally.