It’s very interesting that the Knights Templar learned how to leverage fiat currency. However, they also had their numbers, lots of sharp objects, pack animals, possibly other truck like wagons available to kind of throw their weight around. They kind of were like a modern day mob protection racket where if they came to your shire, ahh umm, it would be ashamed should something happen to your nice little village… as it might displease the great one, blah blah blah….

If I were a peasant in those days and knew these knights were coming through, and had any of the sense left I was born with, I’d try to be out of town.