"So, why do we buy captives? What good is it for Venice?" asked a member of Parliament doubtfully.
"Good question, that's what I wanted to ask too."
"I think I know how to answer..." Agostino Barbarigo, Doge of Venice, said slowly.
"I would like to hear from the Governor..."
"Venice is rich, everyone knows..."
"Hahaha..." Everyone present laughed heartily.
"But we lack fame and prestige. Many people and forces regard us as fat sheep..."
Everyone present was a little silent, Agostino's words were indeed very reasonable.
"So, I plan to buy a group of French prisoners of war with this greedy head of the Shinra Empire, claiming that they were jointly captured by Venice and the Shinra Empire..."
"How to ensure that the secrets are not leaked? The commander of the legion can control his subordinates, but he can't control the French. They will expose this matter after they return home."
"This is a problem. I will personally go to the west to talk to the legion commander, and the two sides will agree on their rhetoric..."
The next day, the governor of Venice, Agostino Barbarigo, quietly took 50 escort knights to Marin's residence...
"My lord governor, are you worried about being exposed? It's simple, I'll tell the French that half of the army I lead is Venetian..."
"Is this okay?" Agostino Barbarigo hesitated.
"No problem, leave it to me. At that time, I will send 1,000 men who participated in that battle to go back with you, and they are all Italians."
"Really?" Agostino Barbarigo was a little surprised.
"certainly!"
In fact, Marin was talking about the group of Italian farmers near Fornovo who were first expropriated. They did go to war, though to frighten the French.
And the French did regard them as reinforcements... Until now, Earl Fryer thought they were reinforcements sent by the Italians...
After solving this headache, Agostino Barbarigo quickly discussed the conditions with Marin enthusiastically. In fact, Marin had only 2,000 captives outside. The other 2,000 people were hidden by him in another resident.
Moreover, the Venetian business is not at a loss. Because what Marin wants is cash. The Venetians want fame. Moreover, the Venetians can also ask the French for the ransom if they get this captive, so it is not a loss. At most, they can afford the food expenses of some prisoners, but compared with the fame, this little money is nothing but drizzle.
After negotiations, Agostino Barbarigo and Marin reached an agreement of 500 gold coins per captive. But Doge Agostino Barbarigo demands more...
"Marlin Army Commander, please tell me honestly, how many prisoners do you have?"
"Uh... 4000..."
"Then why are you only willing to sell 1,000 people? Don't you know that your poor emperor won't give you some money? If the captives are in his hands, will you still have your share of the ransom?" Agostino. Barbarigo was a little angry.
"Uh, actually, I want to exchange a title with His Majesty the Emperor. I'm not even a Baron now..."
"This..." Agostino Barbarigo was also speechless. As the emperor, Maximilian I had the most advantage over others in that he could confer titles on others. In this regard, as the governor of the Republic of Venice, Agostino Barbarigo could not catch up with Maximilian I. Although there are nobles in the Republic of Venice, they are all titles handed down a long time ago. Now, the republic generally no longer grants new titles.
"Okay, you sell me another 1,000 people. I don't want nobles, but ordinary knights."
"That's a total of 1 million gold coins, my lord governor! Do you have that much cash?"
"Hmph, Commander Marin, don't underestimate Venice's financial resources. Venice is not short of money!" Agostino Barbarigo's shoehorn face was full of arrogance, as if he was wearing a handbag Uncle Motoyama who leads...
"Uh...deal!" Marin also went all out for 1 million gold coins...
"By the way, Governor, I still have a batch of captured French horses and plate armor..."
"How much?" Governor Agostino Barbarigo turned back suddenly, his eyes fixed on Marin.
He almost forgot that Marin captured French knights, everyone with horses, armor and weapons...
The Republic of Venice is a very ambitious country, plus they are not short of money. So, they are also ambitious. The French invasion of Naples had shown him the weakness of the Italian states. Therefore, they are also a little around the corner. Otherwise, the Cambrai League War 13 years later would not have occurred. That war was due to Venice's desire to expand, which led to a backlash from the nations, and Venice, which was just about to expand, was beaten by a group.
Venice had no shortage of money, sailors, or infantry. But they are seriously short of cavalry, because after all, Venice is a country that started from the water and has always attached importance to the sea.
But if you want to participate in the land hegemony, you must have a large number of cavalry. Otherwise, it is hard to say that infantry is strong.
Now, Marin said that he has a lot of horses and armor, and Agostino Barbarigo was immediately tempted...
"Give it to me, I want it all!" Agostino Barbarigo's eyes turned red.
"Governor, I can't give you all, otherwise, I can't explain to His Majesty the Emperor..." Marin dared not agree to Agostino Barbarigo. Otherwise, his reputation in the Shenluo Empire will immediately drop to hatred. In that case, Marin might not be able to get along in Germany.
"Okay, I want half!"
"Governor, horses and armor are also very expensive!" Marin reminded kindly.
"How many horses and armor do you have?"
"2000 horses, 6000 sets of plate armor..."
"Hiss..." Agostino Barbarigo gasped in fright, he was frightened.
War horses and war horses are also different. The load capacity of knights' war horses is much stronger than that of irregular light cavalry horses. Among other things, the full set of plate armor alone weighs 50 catties, and with the horse armor, it weighs about 100 catties. Therefore, the load-carrying capacity of knights' war horses is much better than that of hussars' war horses. At least, in terms of load, it is hundreds of catties more than the horses of the light cavalry.
"1,000 horses, 3,000 sets of armor..." Gritting his teeth, Agostino Barbarigo decided to bleed.
"Then the price..."
"Your Excellency Marin, I can't give you too high a price. The French will pay for those captives. I don't know the opinions of those congressmen for these horses and armor. Therefore, my proposal is that the horses cost 100 ducats each." , a set of plate armor 50 ducats... "
The price given by Agostino Barbarigo was not high, probably the reserve price. Because, the heavy war horses used by knights generally cost more than this price. But, as he said, he didn't know if the armor would fall in his hands.
After the talk, Agostino Barbarigo hurried back to the city of Venice through the well-developed post roads in Venice, and discussed the deal with the councilors.
"What? So many horses and armors? Take it, Your Excellency, this will make Venice's combat power soar!" An army general shouted excitedly. With this batch of horses and armor, Venice will have an extra "tank unit" fully armored, which can attack the enemy's formation head-on on the battlefield. Except for the Swiss spear formation, there are very few armies that can withstand the charge of thousands of heavily armored knights.
"There are so many armors, why not, my lord governor, we robbed him?" A certain sly-eyed congressman suggested.
"I'm afraid it's not right. They have 4,000 soldiers and horses, and they are strong and strong. They can defeat 8,000 French heavy cavalry. Can we beat them? Moreover, if the matter is revealed, we will turn against the Holy Roman Empire." The Venetian army went up before 10,000 people can't defeat 4,000 Swiss mercenaries. And Marin is also "4000 people", and he can defeat 8000 French knights, which is not easy to mess with. In addition, the Shenluo Empire also has tens of thousands of troops in Venice. Once the German army was provoked, Venice could be sacked. Therefore, the Venetians cannot afford to gamble.
"Okay, then I agree, but the price of the horse and armor has to be suppressed..."
Then, Agostino Barbarigo rushed back to bargain with Marin...
In the end, Marin sold 2,000 ordinary captives to Venice at a discount of 1 million ducats. In addition, 1,000 war horses with horse armor were sold at a discount of 100,000 ducats, and the money for the horse armor was included, so Marin suffered a bit of a loss. But Marin is also eager to "sell the stolen goods", and he can't control so much. As for the plate armor, at the par price of 50 ducats, 3,000 sets were sold to Venice, with a discount of 150,000 ducats...
In this way, Marin instantly earned 1.25 million ducats... However, he immediately remembered the three nails that the emperor and the earl had placed in his army...
In order to keep the secret, Marin wanted to silence the three of them. Anyway, it is a time of war, and a few people can be reported as dead... But considering their 15 subordinates, if they are all eradicated, it will definitely alarm the emperor and the earl. …
As for the others, they were basically illiterate serfs, and they didn't quite understand the meaning of Marin's series of actions. In addition, they were used to obeying Marin's orders, so they didn't worry about their big mouths. Just those 3 knights and their squires, a bit tricky to deal with.
Agostino Barbarigo knew about Marin's worries, and laughed, saying that it was not a problem at all...
"What should I do?" Marin had a headache.
"It's easy. We, Venice, will pay each of the three people a large sum of money as a hush money..."
"Such a rich man..."
That night, Agostino Barbarigo went out in person and gave the three of them 30,000 gold coins each. So, these three people knelt down... As for their followers, the master knelt down, and the followers didn't kneel with them
You know, these three knights, the family's territory, can earn up to two to three thousand ducats a year, and it is still in a good harvest year. 30,000 ducats are enough for their manor income for more than ten years. Therefore, all three of them signed a non-disclosure agreement, swore a poisonous oath with the Bible in their hands, and received benefits that exceeded the output of their estate for more than 10 years. As for the poor emperor, can he give so much money? Even now, the emperor still owes them part of their salary...
Moreover, Marin knew how to do things properly, and left half of the spoils for the emperor, which was enough to explain. That's where their confidence lies...
However, Marin had a headache about how to take away so many gold coins. Because, the weight of 1.25 million gold coins alone reached more than 4 tons. If people find out that he is carrying more than 4 tons of gold on the road, it is estimated that many people will join forces to rob him...
In the end, Marin decided to believe in the Venetian's business reputation and only asked for 500,000 gold coins in cash. The remaining 750,000 gold coins were temporarily stored in the bank of Venice, and a bill was issued to be withdrawn later.
Then, Marin took out 100,000 gold coins and distributed them to 1,100 of his brothers. On average, each of them got 80 or 90 gold coins, which made these guys very happy.
You know, the group of dudes who got off their horses and picked up gold coins in Mandova and Milan each picked up an average of twenty or thirty gold coins, which is far behind them...
As for the group of Italian farmers who were caught as a facade, they were not treated so well. After all, they are "temporary workers" and have no relevant "welfare" treatment...