King of Mercenaries

Chapter 52: Lord Texel

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"That's right, this unlucky earl was left behind by Charles VIII, and then he was surrounded by us and the Venetians. Seeing that the situation was over, he surrendered..."

"That's really unlucky..." You know, an earl is enough to be the commander of an army. The army commander of the Shinra Empire is Frederick II, Earl of Hohenzollern. But this unlucky guy in France was caught as a prisoner by a 17-year-old hairy knight. Presumably, he will have no face to face anyone in the future...

"Your Majesty, what did you say? The imperial general who captured me was only 17 years old?" After meeting with the emperor, Earl Fryer of Toulouse learned the news that made him very ashamed...

"Yes, Marin Knight is a 17-year-old young man. Moreover, he is only a phalanx leader." Maximilian I said proudly.

"What? Knights...the leader of the phalanx...Impossible, the army besieging us must be more than one phalanx, there must be thousands of people... There must be a legion..." Fryer didn't want to admit that he was defeated by a phalanx. There are 5,000 people under him. 5000 knights were defeated by a phalanx of infantry, he could find a belt and hang himself. Not only him, even his subordinates who were captured together will never admit this. Otherwise, they won't have to come out to mess around in the future.

"He is indeed the leader of the phalanx. However, he not only used a phalanx to defeat you, but also united with the Venetian army. There are more than 4,000 people in total. Otherwise, there are not so many people." The emperor is an honest man, but I don't even bother to lie. But he didn't know, the news he knew was itself a lie...

"I see..." Earl Fryer felt a little better when he heard the emperor say that.

After sending Fryer away, Marin came to the emperor again to discuss the disposal of the loot...

"How many spoils are there in all?" asked the emperor.

"A total of 1,000 war horses, 3,000 sets of plate armor, 3,000 two-handed swords and several oak wooden lances..." Marin Hui reported. In fact, there are still 3,600 very good draft horses hidden by Marin.

"This... so much?" The emperor also stuttered after hearing this. Although he had expected it a long time ago, when he heard that there were so many spoils of war, he stuttered with excitement.

"certainly… "

"Then do you have any secrets?" The emperor suddenly swept over with sharp eyes.

"Well, I hid some horses, and all the horses were handed in. Your Majesty, the minister also wants to make money, doesn't he?" Marin said naturally. In this year, mercenaries began to rise. The biggest characteristic of mercenaries is greed. Since Maximilian I began to use mercenaries, he was already mentally prepared to let mercenaries greedy for some property. Of course, he absolutely does not tolerate corruption of important military supplies.

"Horse horse? How dare you swear you didn't hide a war horse?"

"I swear in the name of God that I have not hidden a war horse. Otherwise, I will fall into hell after death!" Marin swore solemnly.

In fact, he did not have a war horse in his possession. Because, the other 1,000 war horses, he did not keep them privately, but sold them directly to the Venetians...

The emperor didn't care about the draft horse because it had no military value. And Marin said that he had hidden "some" privately, and he didn't have an intuitive feeling. If he knew that Marin had 3,600 horses, he might turn his face.

"What are your plans?" the emperor asked Marin.

"Your Majesty, as far as I know, these captives can be exchanged with the French for at least a million Italian ducats. It is said that the war horses are worth at least a hundred gold coins each. And a set of armor is also worth dozens of dollars." Gold coins..."

"Stop, what do you want to say?"

"What I want to say is that the value of these captives and spoils is too high... I don't know what title Your Majesty intends to confer on me?"

"The title?" Maximilian I was caught off guard by Marin's sudden turn.

"Of course, the capture of 4,000 knights by the French is definitely a great shame. And the minister, you have made great contributions to the country, and you have earned the boss's face for your majesty. These captured equipment are estimated to be worth millions of gold coins. I can directly buy a large earldom. I dedicate them all to His Majesty, you see... "

"Hehe..." Maximilian I laughed. He is not afraid that his subordinates will ask for something, but he is afraid that his subordinates will not ask for it. If he wants something, he can use conditions to win over and control them.

"what do you want?"

"Nobility, hereditary title, and territory!"

"Then what kind of title do you think you want, and where is the territory divided?"

As Marin said, he has made such a great contribution, and he is indeed eligible to be knighted and obtain the territory. Therefore, the emperor cannot be stingy. Otherwise, no one will work for him.

Why is the Swabian League loyal to the emperor? In fact, they also want to use the emperor to enhance their titles and obtain more territories. For example, the Earl of Württemberg, because of its strong support for the emperor, its lord, Count Eberhard V of Württemberg, was promoted to Duke of Württemberg by the emperor on July 4th during his stay in Worms. Called Eberhard I. Therefore, the emperor didn't mind mentioning titles to his subordinates. However, the emperor was a bit reluctant to want the territory...

"The Netherlands is a very good place..." Marin Lion said loudly. Anyway, he didn't expect the emperor to agree to any conditions, but waited to bargain. The Western emperor is not as authoritative as the Eastern emperor. In private, Marin can still raise conditions without worrying about being pushed out of the Meridian Gate and beheaded.

"Don't dream, that's what I value most..."

"But I like the sea very much..." Marin said innocently.

In fact, Marin did hope to participate in the great voyage. The Netherlands area is an important area in the Age of Discovery, with well-developed commerce and shipping.

"Don't even think about it, Earl, the Vice Earl (Viscount) is also a little tall..."

"Why? Is the minister's combat achievements not enough? There are also spoils worth one million or hundreds of thousands of gold coins..." Marin was a little excited. He is willing to hand over these trophies, isn't it just for the title? The earl won't give us any recognition, and the viscount won't give it to us, good or bad...

"Marlin Knight, calm down first. Have you thought about your identity? You are only 17 years old, and you are still a wandering knight from a little knight family. Although, you have contributed a lot to this battle. But, have you thought about it? No? You are a knight now, or I temporarily promoted you before the war, if I make you an earl all of a sudden, what do you make other nobles think?"

"Besides, you only captured one earl. You can't. If you capture an earl, I'll make you an earl, right? If you capture Charles VIII, I'll make you an earl. No one has any objections, but you didn't make it…”

Marin rolled his eyes, damn it, I want to catch Charles VIII, but I don't have enough people...

What Maximilian I said also made sense. If Marin won a battle, he would immediately be made an earl from a knight. If he won a few more battles, wouldn't he be king? is it possible? Moreover, this is Marin's first battle. If Marin helped the emperor fight more battles, how should the emperor seal him

Marin calmed down, he knew that his thinking was too simple. The reason why Earl Tilly was named an earl was that he had served the Holy Roman Empire for many years, fighting against Turkey and Protestant princes, and many of them fought such beautiful battles as the "Battle of White Mountain". And Wallenstein was made a duke because he appeared in front of the emperor as a savior when the emperor was about to die. The emperor could only rely on Wallenstein at that time, so he could only use the high position of the duke to win over the only one he could rely on, Wallenstein.

But now, Maximilian I has not reached the end of the road, and he has only helped the emperor win one battle. Although the results of the battle are brilliant, it is not enough to be named earl all at once.

"If you don't become an earl, I think it's too much of a disadvantage. You know, before the Teutonic Knights bought the Principality of Estonia from Denmark, it only cost 19,000 Cologne marks (1 Cologne mark = 2.67 ducats, 19,000 marks are equivalent to 50,000 ducats) .But considering that the silver content of the Cologne mark in 1346 was sufficient, which is twice the current silver content, so it is equivalent to 100,000 ducats now)... "

"Ha, you are right, young man. The Teutonic Knights did buy the Principality of Estonia for only 19,000 Cologne marks. But, have you ever thought about it? The Teutonic Knights are a powerful country in their own right, and they have enough status and identity to buy territory and defend territory.”

"And you, Marlin Knight, even if you have so much money, do you have the corresponding title and status to rule such a large territory? Without status, other nobles can annex your territory blatantly. Therefore, the title itself is very important. Valuable existence... And, Marlin Knight, you are receiving the salary I pay you. Most of these spoils should belong to me... "

"Okay... so, Your Majesty, what kind of title do you want to give me, and where do you seal me?" Marin said discouragedly. Marin admitted that he thought too simply.

In later generations, he did sales, selling a house, and the commission was no more than five thousandths. If he sells a five million house, the company will give him five million, and the boss earns a P... Before, as a time traveler, he took himself too much, and always felt that he and the emperor's status It is an equal trade relationship. It wasn't until now that Marin remembered that he was just a wage earner under the emperor...

"I've thought about it, let's make you a baron first. Since you like the sea so much, how about I seal you here?" Maximilian I took out a sheepskin map and pointed to the side of the Netherlands. an island of…

"Texel Island?" Marin recognized it at a glance. Marin has studied the Netherlands and knows that there is an island of Texel in the Dutch province of the Netherlands. This island, known as "the epitome of Holland", is a tourist area with beautiful scenery. Moreover, Marin was a rich second-generation friend in his previous life, and he took his sister to travel to this island. Then, he showed off the photos on Weibo and wrote a detailed introduction to show off to Marin and other poor people. Therefore, Marin paid attention to this small island in his previous life.

"You know this place?" Maximilian I was a little surprised. After all, Texel is just a remote place in the Netherlands. At most, the fishing industry over there is more prosperous.

At the moment, great voyages are only taking off in Spain and Portugal. As for Holland, the winds of the great voyage had not yet blown there. Therefore, the site by the sea is not taken seriously.

"Well, I've seen the map of the Netherlands, and I was still thinking about where His Majesty the Emperor will seal me up..."

"Haha, then I will make you Baron Texel!" the emperor was very happy. This business is extremely cost-effective for him. He got more than one million gold coins, but he only needs to pay for a small island that is not valued.

"Do you need to pay taxes?"

"You want to evade taxes?"

"Your Majesty, I have given you more than one million gold coins, and you still want me to pay taxes? God knows that it will take hundreds or even thousands of years for this broken island to pay a tax of one million gold coins!" Marin exclaimed aggrievedly .

"Okay, tax exemption, self-government, let's go to the head office!" Maximilian I really didn't pay much attention to such a remote island. God knows if the island has a tax of 100 gold coins every year. Even if he gave Marin a tax exemption, he didn't feel anything. Moreover, the benefit of taking millions of gold coins was more than his annual financial income, and he was very happy, so he didn't care about those tedious details with Marin.

Besides, the entire Netherlands region, which is currently the Flanders region (northern Belgium), is the most economically developed region in the Netherlands region because of the developed wool textile industry, and it is also one of the most important sources of taxation for the emperor. The maritime trade in the Netherlands has not yet risen, and the maritime trade here will not begin to develop until the Portuguese choose to sell Indian spices in Antwerp in 1500. In other words, in the current Netherlands, except for the more developed Flanders, other places are not conspicuous...

It was precisely because of this idea that the emperor later regretted it. Because, at that time, Texel Island had become an extremely prosperous island, which made the emperor very jealous. However, the emperor could not get a pfennig tax from Texel. Just because Marin specifically asked the emperor to indicate "permanent tax exemption" on the letter of appointment...

Then, because of his outstanding military exploits, Marin was conferred the title of Baron Texel by the emperor, and the fief of Texel Island was granted the status of a tax-free Imperial Baron Dominion. The Reichstag did not respond to this. Because, the emperor divided the family territory of his own Netherlands, and did not harm the interests of other nobles in the empire.

Although the local parliament of the Netherlands was dissatisfied, the emperor conferred the title of land not on the Hague and Amsterdam, but on a small island. After expressing their dissatisfaction to the emperor, they didn't say anything. After all, in everyone's eyes, Texel Island is not unusual, it is just a slightly larger island.

On this island, there is only a small, semi-abandoned castle in Den Burg, and in the rest of the area, there are only a few villages, most of which are fishing villages...