In the various countries of the current Pan-Huaxia cultural sphere, except for Kingdom of Quinn to the west and Kingdom of Church to the south, warfare is still a kind of gentleman’s war—meaning both sides agree on a location and then engage in battle.

If you don’t want to fight anymore, surrendering means you only lose half.

Nobles who are captured will receive the treatment befitting their status, and can ransom themselves by paying a fee.

Unless it’s a war of annihilation or a siege, wars generally keep women away, and free men or slaves basically have no right to participate.

However, free men and slaves still have to bear the pain of defeat.

For example, increased taxes, or having their property looted, or even being taken as spoils of war; slaves might be given as compensation to the victors.

Of course, Kingdom of Church doesn’t consider itself part of the Huaxia cultural sphere anymore—they proudly call themselves barbarians.

Ethan Clark picked up on these “common sense” facts of the era through indirect hints from Elder, and once again felt lucky that his soul had transmigrated into a noble.

Even if only a minor noble.

The sun rose and set, and another night passed, spent being bitten by mosquitoes in his sleep.

The first thing Ethan Clark did upon waking was scratch the itchy spot, and when he opened his eyes, he saw the thatched roof above him.

Washing up?

Teeth are cleaned using tough plant leaves (usually willow twigs) and hands.

If you want to use salt to clean your mouth, not just any salt will do.

Toothpaste simply doesn’t exist.

Splash some clean water on your face, wipe it with ramie cloth, and that’s the whole washing-up routine.

Now that he knew that, besides paying taxes, he also needed to send warriors to war, Ethan Clark felt it necessary to find out how many warriors his family had.

He still didn’t know that, in fact, nobles’ taxes were just levies—meaning providing manpower, including going in person to obey orders, not paying money or grain.

He hadn’t specifically looked into this before, though he had seen one or two warriors, but didn’t know exactly how many the family had.

This time, instead of beating around the bush, he asked Elder directly during breakfast.

Elder wasn’t suspicious at all, and was even pleased that Ethan Clark asked. He answered directly, “Master, there are eight usable warriors, three of whom are veteran soldiers, the rest are light infantry.”

So-called veteran soldiers are infantry who have already participated in war; they usually have their own weapons.

Light infantry refers to those who can’t provide their own armor and weapons—it’s not a specific troop type.

They are people attached to the Ethan Clark family, similar to what would be called knights in the West.

Ethan Clark was a bit unsettled to hear that some warriors didn’t even have weapons.

He asked, “According to custom, how many warriors must be sent?”

Elder replied, “Fifteen.”

Four words flashed through Ethan Clark’s mind: What the fuck?!

So, the family doesn’t even have enough warriors to meet the conscription requirement?

He wanted to ask a lot of questions, but held back.

Half a month is enough to observe many things.

Whatever the family was like before, it was clearly still declining in Ethan Clark’s generation.

Having already received hints from higher-ranking nobles, Grandmother had been worried lately, obviously trying to find a solution.

Ethan Clark first thought of picking from among the servants, but then felt it wasn’t quite appropriate.

After all, if the servants were suitable, Grandmother would have thought of it already.

Elder hesitantly said, “Master, perhaps we could transport pottery to the neighboring village to sell.”

Ethan Clark knew about the Spring and Autumn period, but only in terms of famous people and major historical events.

Social customs, laws, interpersonal dealings, how nobles should socialize—all of that still needed to be learned.

Thus, he didn’t know that if you wanted to sell something, you couldn’t just go and do it.

For example, Elder’s suggestion to take pottery to the neighboring village to sell—if that village was the fief of another noble, doing so without negotiation would infringe on that noble’s rights; with negotiation, you’d have to pay a price.

From Elder’s suggestion, Ethan Clark confirmed one thing: Grandmother was so short on money that she was getting desperate.

And the reason Grandmother urgently needed money, judging by the current situation, was to hire warriors.

Some families had declined so much that they couldn’t support their warriors, so those warriors would leave and become masterless.

At the same time, some warriors, having lost their family’s support and everything else, would become wandering warriors.

Both types of warriors were very willing to be hired for short-term work, and if a noble—especially a great noble—wanted to take them in, they would be eager for the opportunity.

After reaching this conclusion, Ethan Clark gained a new understanding.

It’s not that the nobles of this era—or at least those of Kingdom of Jennings—are especially self-disciplined; it’s just that the cost of sending people in a perfunctory way is very high.

After finishing his conversation with Elder, Ethan Clark decided to go to the back residence area.

The rise and fall of a family can be seen in many ways.

There were ways to enjoy life even in the Spring and Autumn period: where you lived, what you ate, how many servants you had—all these things reflected a family’s real situation.

Ethan Clark hadn’t paid much attention to the family’s large livestock before.

This time, when he went to the back residence area, he made a point to observe.

First of all, the two horses in the stable were clearly of poor quality, and not well cared for.