In order to prevent being robbed by the enemy or allies, Marin was very troubled. You know, his team of 1,100 people, with thousands of horses and thousands of sets of armor, is absolutely blinding people.
This is not counting the ransom of the 4,000 French knights. Kohler calculated the accounts and thought that the 4,000 captives could be exchanged for at least 2 million ducats.
Knights are not cheaper than horses. War horses are easy to train, and they will pay off in three to five years. But to train a knight, it takes more than ten years of effort, and the investment is huge.
Therefore, the ransom for a knight needs at least 500 gold coins. 4,000 knights, at least 2 million gold coins, this is not counting the "premium" of those nobles...
"My dear, 2 million gold coins!" Marin only had money in his eyes!
"However, young master, if you take all these captives back, His Majesty the Emperor will definitely not give you that much money. Because the Emperor himself is very poor!" Kohler said.
"What?" Marin was angry. However, he was right when he thought about it, the emperor couldn't possibly give him that much money. Because he originally fought for the emperor, and the spoils of war should be handed over to the emperor.
However, if he wanted to exchange for the title, he had to take a large number of prisoners. Especially those noble captives. After thinking for a long time, Marin decided to compromise. Because what he needs most is the title.
As for those horse armors, Marin decided to keep some of them privately so that they could be exchanged for money.
However, this wealth is too huge, and he has no confidence to protect it. So, he decided to expand the army...
"Army expansion?" Schwartz didn't quite understand.
"It's only temporary. I can't afford to raise too many troops. I want to recruit some soldiers. In fact, I just want to scare others so that they won't be robbed by others..."
Now Schwartz understood, it turned out to be a bluff...
How much will it expand
"3,000 people... Schwartz, you take people to the Italian villages to catch the strong people, and make an agreement with them. After arriving in Venice, let them come back. In addition, by the way, 'borrow' some food from those manor owners..."
The so-called "borrowing grain" actually means grabbing grain. Marin originally had only 1,100 people to solve the ration problem. But now there are 4,000 more captives and 1,000 Italian civilians, and there is not enough food.
Fortunately, before leaving in the valley, some butcher-born mercenaries slaughtered the dead and injured horses and took them on the road. Otherwise, there would be absolutely not enough food to eat.
However, these horse meats tend to go bad in summer. In desperation, Marin sent troops to rob several towns near Piacenza, and grabbed a lot of salt to marinate the horse meat.
Ten days later, Marin's team has expanded to more than 8,000 people, which is extremely spectacular. Schwartz did grab 3,000 Italians to make up the numbers. However, the Minzhuang rioted that night and 1,000 people ran away. As a result, Marin only had 3,000 Italian minzhuangs to give him appearances, including the previous 1,000 minzhuangs.
Marin stopped for a few days in a remote area in the Principality of Milan. By the way, the 3000 Italian people were trained briefly. At least, let them learn to distinguish left and right, and march in formation. Moreover, Marin also made a simple black cross and white vest for them. People who didn't know looked at it and thought that these 3,000 people were also soldiers. At least, they seem to line up neatly...
As for the weapons of this group of people, Marin directly issued wooden sticks with sharpened wooden gun heads on them. They were painted with the stolen paint. They looked like metal gun heads, but they were actually wooden...
Then, Marin swaggered with 4,000 "army", escorted 4,000 French prisoners, and walked all the way to the Imperial Legion station in Venice...
At the same time, the Italian coalition forces were still chasing the remaining 3,000 Swiss mercenaries. It's a pity that the Italians were terrified of being beaten by the Swiss, so they only dared to hang the Swiss from a distance and did not dare to attack. Moreover, they don't know where the 8,000 French knights went.
Last night they also heard some sounds of fighting here, but they dare not send troops in the middle of the night. Because they have never had the experience of fighting in the middle of the night. Not to mention them, even the 3,000 Swiss mercenaries did not dare to send troops in the middle of the night. Only Marin's men dared to fight at night after training.
The Swiss retreated along the Roman road by the river instead of the mountain road. When they retreated, the river embankment that Marin dug before had almost flowed, and a lot of water soaked into the fields.
Swiss mountain people are very wild and are not afraid to wade in water. They took off their shoes and waded barefoot across the flooded road. The Italian coalition forces are not as hardworking as the Swiss. The Duke of Mandoba first went to recruit farmers and blocked the embankment. The coalition forces did not pass through this section until the water receded the next day. Then, keep hanging behind the Swiss...
After Marin brought the army into Venice, he originally planned to do business with the Italians. At first, he planned to send someone to contact the Italian coalition forces. After all, if he brought people into the Shenluo Empire army station, the right to dispose of those captives would not belong to him.
However, he is also afraid that the Italians will be blacked out. Therefore, instead of sending people to find the coalition forces, he directly sent people to Venice to find the Republic of Venice and negotiate with them...
"What? You said that an officer of the Holy Roman Empire captured 1,000 French knights?" The Governor of Venice was stunned. Then, he urgently summoned the bigwigs of the Republic of Venice for consultations...
"What does this person mean? Why did you tell us this news?" Someone was puzzled.
"Do you need to ask? Want to exchange money with us..." A certain nobleman in business explained Marin's motives in one sentence.
"Exchanging money?"
"Yes, the ransom for a knight is at least 500 ducats. This guy is here to do business with us..."
"Then why didn't he ask the French himself?"
"Stupid, Tony, he is just a middle-level officer of Shinra, who seems to be a legion commander (Marin bragging). The captives in his hands must be handed over to Emperor Shinra. What is Maximilian I People? That is a poor devil emperor. The captives are in his hands, what about the ransom and that officer?" the Venetian councilor said venomously.
"Hahaha..." Everyone laughed, and when they thought about it, the Holy Roman Emperor seemed really poor...