King of Mercenaries

Chapter 20: Choose a servant

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Because of financial resources, Marin plans to increase the number of attendants from 5 to 6. Because although Kohler has a good brain, his body is too thin. He can be a quartermaster or something. In terms of combat effectiveness, he is very scumbag.

Therefore, Marin felt that it was better to find another one with good combat effectiveness to replace Kohler. But Kohler continued to follow him, serving as quartermaster and steward.

So, shortly after the news of the French marching into Italy, Marin asked the old Hoffman to help him choose an attendant in the manor!

Hearing that Marin was going to the battlefield, the old Hoffman was not happy at this time. why? Because of his second son's business talent, the old Hoffman felt that even if he didn't work hard to fight, Marin could live well. Before, he drove Marin out of the house to join the army for the sake of his son's survival. But now, with Marin's ability so strong, it is obvious that he does not need to work hard anymore. Therefore, neither the old Hoffman nor Mrs. Mary was willing to let Marin take another risk.

However, this time Marin's attitude was very firm. He knew very well that with his own ability, it would not be difficult to become a rich man in the future. However, in the Middle Ages, when the aristocrats took everything, the rich could not control their own destiny. Adler will inherit the Hoffman Manor in the future and become a fief knight. Marin and his two younger brothers will become ordinary people without noble status. In order to have the ability to control his own destiny in this dark age, Marin had to take risks on the battlefield. Besides, the success of Wallenstein and Tilly has always stimulated him.

Therefore, Marin resolutely asked to defect to the emperor and fight for the emperor...

In fact, Marin was so determined that apart from his own fame, there was another important factor—he knew that France would lose the first round of the Italian War. Follow the side that is sure to win, are you afraid that you won't have any achievements in battle

Moreover, this battlefield is actually the Holy Roman Empire united with Italian princes such as Venice, the Papal State, the Duchy of Milan, and Florence to gang up on France and France's younger brother Piedmont (Savoy). It can be said that Maximilian I was not fighting alone.

Moreover, when the French army aggressively marched into the Italian peninsula, Shinra did not send troops to stop it at first. Even the Italian princes and the Papal State did not stop them at the beginning. Only Naples sent troops to stop them and was defeated.

In Marin's view, although the initial choices of the Shenluo Empire and the Italian princes were not what they wanted, they were extremely correct.

After all, at the beginning, there were as many as 60,000 French and Piedmontese combined forces (37,000 French and 23,000 Piedmontese). Such a huge army was extremely rare in the Middle Ages. At that time, whoever resisted would definitely kill himself. Even though Naples sent troops to stop them, they were scared away when they saw that the French army was too strong.

When the French army reached the Kingdom of Naples, the Italian princes gathered under the call of Venice and the Papal State and invited the Holy Roman Empire to participate. After all, Italy is divided and does not have enough strength to fight against the French army.

Venice was the number one local tyrant in Italy at the time. As the commercial overlord of the Mediterranean, Venice’s financial revenue was not lower than that of France, and even higher.

And in the era when mercenaries began to rise, as long as you have money, you can recruit enough troops. Therefore, the rich Venice is the most powerful prince in Italy. Only a force with a particularly strong appeal like the Papal State can compare with Venice.

Marin estimated that in order to win over the Holy Roman Empire to send troops, Venice might pay part of the bill. However, that will not be until the establishment of the Holy Alliance in March next year.

But Marin didn't want to wait until then, because Emperor Maximilian I would definitely be able to raise part of the military expenses this year. Among other things, his own territories Austria and Burgundy can also collect some war taxes.

As for myself, I have to strive to enter the emperor's army as soon as possible, and get some seniority or something. In addition, the emperor must have paid more attention to those who "introduced" early, and they might be trained as military officers. It is estimated that the army that will be temporarily recruited after Venice's "sponsored" next year will be mostly cannon fodder. Because, that batch of mercenaries probably don't have much training time, and they are about to go to the battlefield.

Seeing that Marin was so determined, the old Hoffman didn't say anything in the end. After all, he also knew that titles and fiefdoms were won on the battlefield. So, in the end, the old Hoffman decided to cooperate with Marin and choose the attendants.

For this reason, the old Hoffman summoned all the young men in the manor, as well as the young men who worked as coolies in the serf's house, for Marin to choose.

Marin has very high requirements for his attendants. What he wants is not a submissive servant, but a warrior who can cooperate with him in combat. Stupid and bold like Kahn, although he eats a bit too much, he is brave and loyal.

Unfortunately, not everyone is as brave as Kahn. When Marin selected his attendants, he asked the boys to challenge Kahn and wrestle with him. As a result, none of them were Kahn's opponents.

In desperation, Marin had to lower his requirements, and no longer took Kahn as his standard. After selecting from left to right, Marin finally selected only 3 young men who were strong, brave, and obedient.

Originally, he wanted to choose 4 of them. However, except for the three selected people, the others were either too thin, too timid, or too cunning to meet the requirements.

You know, in Marin's view, his attendants are basically his own meat shields. In times of danger, servants should protect themselves and fight with them. Therefore, those with too low combat effectiveness will not do it, they will be easily killed; the cowardly ones will not do it, they will easily abandon themselves and run away; Therefore, Marin would rather lack than abuse.

Just when Marin was having a headache for the attendant, a selected attendant named Sauer suddenly said:

"Master Marin, are you looking for a brave and reliable follower?"

"Huh?" Marin froze for a moment, but still replied:

"Yes!"

"I know such a person. I met him when I was a coolie in Bochum. His name is Schwartz. He is a very strong coolie with great strength and a very loyal personality." Sauer, because of the heavy burden at home, The year before last, he went to work as a coolie in Bochum to earn money, and the friends he knew were also coolies.

"What is the source?"

"He is actually a descendant of a knight, but his grandfather did not have the right to inherit the land, so he left the manor and went to Bochum to do business. However, his father was not good at running the business, and he lost money in business and owed a lot of money. In desperation, Schwartz had no choice but to work as a coolie when he became an adult, helping people carry things to earn money to support his family and pay off debts."

"Still a nobleman?"

"Well, Schwartz is physically strong and tall, probably as strong as Kahn. Moreover, he seems to know a little about knight martial arts."

"In that case, why didn't he become a wandering knight and join a certain lord?"

"Master, you need horses and armor to be a knight. With Schwartz's current family situation, can you afford it?"

"Uh... also..."

"Besides, because their family owes a lot of money, the creditor does not allow their family members to leave Bochum City, so as to prevent them from running away..."

"So that's it, so, Saul, can you ride a horse? If you can, lead the way. I want to meet this Schwartz in person."

"Only a little… "

"Master, it's just a coolie, you just ask him to come over, why go to see him in person!" Kahn said puzzled.

"Stupid, didn't you hear that Sauer said that his family's creditors did not allow his family to leave Bochum?"

"Oh..." Kahn touched the back of his head in embarrassment. This IQ made Marin speechless...

Then, Marin, Kahn, and Sauer rode horses to Bochum City. At the door of a granary in Bochum, they saw Schwartz carrying rye.

I saw a black-haired, 1.83-meter-tall, muscular man carrying two sacks of rye with ease...

At the door of the warehouse, other coolies carried a sack of rye every time. This sack of rye weighed at least 100 pounds. Schwartz, on the other hand, carried a bag on his left shoulder and a bag on his right shoulder, and he looked relaxed...

"The strength is really not small!" Kahn couldn't help but exclaimed.

After Schwartz's labor was over, Marin asked Sauer to invite him to a beer hall to discuss matters.

"Excuse me, do you have anything to do with me?" After Schwartz came to the beer hall, he first introduced himself to Marin, and then asked politely.

"Mr. Lange, I heard that you are a descendant of an aristocrat?" Schwartz has a surname, Lange. In the Middle Ages, only nobles and people of status had surnames. However, ordinary serfs, such as Kahn and Sauer, only had first names and no surnames. Some senior nobles will add the word "Feng" in the middle of their surnames.

"Yes, my great-grandfather was a fief knight, but my grandfather was not the heir. Besides, our branch is considered to be in decline. As you can see, I am now a coolie!" Schwartz looked melancholy replied.

"I heard that you know some knight martial arts, why don't you become a knight?" Marin asked knowingly.

"Mr. Hoffman, you also know that our family's current situation, can I afford war horses and armor? In fact, let alone war horses, even draft horses, our family does not have one. As for my martial arts, it is basically inherited from my ancestors." As for horse martial arts, because I don’t have horses, I don’t have the opportunity to practice at all, I only learned some theories. Strictly speaking, until now, I’m not very good at riding a horse…” Schwartz replied seriously.

"Uh..." Marin was taken aback by Schwartz's honesty. In later generations, Marin participated in many interviews and interviewed others. All along, there are only people who praise themselves vigorously, not those who reveal their shortcomings. Schwartz's sincerity made Marin a little uncomfortable. However, Marin turned overjoyed. Isn't such an honest person exactly what he wanted

"I want to hire you as my knight attendant, are you willing?"

Schwartz was silent and did not answer immediately.

"Since you have certain martial arts skills, your salary is 4 Finneys per day, and all food and drink are mine." Marin offered the conditions.

Schwartz remained silent, seemingly thinking.

"Master, why do I only have 3 Finneys a day, but you give him 4 Finneys?" Kahn muttered dissatisfied.

"You still have the nerve to say that you eat three people's meals alone. Your food expenses alone are much more than others. If you eat as much as others, I will also open you for 4 pence a day!" Speaking of this , Kahn stopped talking.

"Mr. Hoffman, I am very tempted by the conditions you offered, but our family owes a lot of money to others, and the creditor does not allow members of our family to leave Bochum..." Schwartz said helplessly.

"How much does your family owe others?" Marin asked curiously.

"50 marks..." Schwartz said helplessly.

50 marks, equivalent to 8,000 pfennigs, may not be much for a manor owner, but for a poor family, it is a huge sum of money. You know, Schwartz works as a coolie, and his daily labor is twice that of others, and he only earns 4 pfennigs a day. Moreover, the money for meals has to be paid for by oneself. Although his appetite is not as good as Kahn's, it is still much more than normal people. Moreover, in the Schwartz family, the father had already fallen ill due to business failure. Of the family members, Schwartz, now an adult, and her mother make money. But in addition to the father lying on the bed, there are two younger brothers in the family. Schwartz made little money as a coolie, and his mother made even less mending clothes. Therefore, the debt of 50 marks almost crushed his family.

"Well...Mr. Lange, would you mind wrestling with my attendant?"

"Uh... well..." Schwartz stood up and went outside the beer hall, and the three of Marin followed.

In the open space next to the beer hall, Kahn and Schwartz both stood and started wrestling...

"Ah—" Kahn roared, and rushed forward, trying to grab Schwartz and throw him down.

Schwartz was very cautious, he did not immediately hit the earth with Kahn Mars, but dodged away. Then, he grabbed Kahn's arm and began to test Kahn's strength.

Although Kahn is a rice bucket, his rice is not free. His strength is naturally great, and he is even bigger than Schwartz...

Schwartz tried it out and found that Kahn was stronger than himself. If you fight hard with it, you may suffer a loss. So, he started to use some combat skills to avoid Kahn's collision head-on.

The duel between the two lasted for a long time, usually Kahn was fighting and charging, while Schwartz tried to avoid direct collision. Seeing this, Marin knew that if this dragged on, Kahn would definitely suffer. Because Kahn didn't know how to save energy, and he used too much force in front of him, which consumed too much.

Sure enough, after a long time, Kahn was a little out of breath. After a while, Kahn didn't seem to be so aggressive at first. Then, taking advantage of Kahn's chance to catch his breath, Schwartz evaded Kahn's frontal charge, exerted force suddenly, and tripped Kahn to the ground...

"That's right, he's physically strong, and he's more intelligent..." Marin was very satisfied.

After the competition, Marin stretched out his right hand:

"Welcome, Mr. Lange, I need a powerful servant like you!"

"But...Mr. Hoffmann, I can't leave Bochum..." Schwartz said dejectedly. He knew that following a knight might be dangerous, but it was also a rare opportunity. Because, he is confident that with his own skills, he can create a world. As a descendant of a knight, he is not willing to be a humble coolie forever.

"It's okay, as long as you swear allegiance to me, I will help you pay off the debt!" Marin said indifferently.

"That's 50 marks..." Sauer was a little dazed.

Schwartz was also a little dazed, but he didn't reply immediately. Instead, he went home and discussed with his father first. The next day, Schwartz rushed to the hotel where Marin was staying, and formally replied to Marin, expressing his willingness to become Marin's attendant, and swore and signed the contract on the spot.

And Marin also went home and took 50 marks to help the Schwartz family pay off their debts. Moreover, Marin also arranged for Schwartz's parents and two younger brothers to live in Hoffman Manor to help manage the coal mine.

Schwartz's father, Quinny Lange, was a descendant of an aristocrat, but he was literate and knew how to calculate. Although he has no talent for business, he can still settle accounts.

Moreover, although old Quinny was in poor health, he was actually crushed by the mental pressure of debt. After arriving at Hoffman Manor, he saw hope, and his health immediately began to improve.

His new job is actually to count the amount of coal dug by the miners at the ground entrance of the coal mine. Because there is such a rule in the Hoffman Coal Mine that if coal miners (except newcomers) dig more than 10 chartrons of coal every day, they will get half a Finney bonus for every extra chartron they dig. And these need to be counted by someone who can count and write.

Before, this matter was done by the old Hoffman himself. However, as a manor owner, it is inevitable that he will lose his status by doing this in person. For a down-and-out aristocratic descendant like Old Quinny, it was just right to do this. Moreover, the work is not heavy and can be done sitting in a shed above the mine. Even if there is a gas explosion or landslide below the mine, it will not affect the people above the mine.

Not only that, but Marin also promised Schwartz to allow Schwartz's two underage brothers to practice martial arts and equestrianism with Marin's two younger brothers, Simon and Albert. In the future, when they grow up, they will become the attendants and assistants of Simon and Albert.

Schwartz was naturally very moved by this kind of wooing, and expressed his willingness to smear the ground for Marin. As a result, Marin finally had a general under his command (Kahn can only be regarded as a brave bodyguard, Dian Wei and the like)...