Mercenaries and Adventurers

Knight Crowe once again used his hunting sword to point the way from the militia camp to the bandit's lair: "The others will start preparing for the attack tomorrow, and they will be ready before dawn. Clerks?"

"Master Knight." The clerks stroked their chests and bowed.

"You have to arrange the food and drinking water you need tomorrow morning. In addition, after the militiamen went to suppress the attacking bandits, you asked the auxiliary assistants to cut down the surrounding wood and simply make some simple large wooden shields that can withstand thrown weapons. Make a good one , just go to the front line to support one. Do you understand?" the knight asked.

All the clerks replied in unison: "Complete your order."

After that, Knight Crowe arranged the order of attack and how to fight on the battlefield for the spear militia who will need to be the main attack force tomorrow. In fact, it was all the content of the previous training outside Kendall City. It was nothing more than arraying and moving, and listening to the signals he sent out. If he couldn't do it, he would shout out loudly at that time.

There are also some small details and regulations when fighting.

For example, try not to move alone on the battlefield, but must act together. There is also the fear that fighting will be locked up. Although he will not be severely punished on the spot, Kendall will have a series of follow-up punishments.

Knight Crowe called a clerk and asked the clerk to tell the small captains of the militia about a series of punishments for deserters.

Of course, compared to punishment, after the militiamen defeat the bandits, they can directly record their military exploits with him if they bring the bandits' heads. Once they reach the Bingxun pass, they can directly distribute rewards.

Each bandit's head can be exchanged for one silver coin in cash, and each militia leader needs to maintain the order of the team during the battle, and serious fights for credit cannot happen.

Once it happens, the team leader will also be punished.

Knight Crowe didn't say any punishment, leaving a suspense, but it happened that this kind of suspense made the militia captains who were about to move just now seemed to break through a cold water.

Some clerks muttered in a low voice that this year's action by the militiamen to clear up the bandits was quite different from previous years. Immediately, other clerks suggested that it might be because they were small-scale bandit gangs in previous years, and they were all simple camps and old lairs established in the woods. They were not as numerous as the bandits in the pocket hole, and they had an easy-to-reach gang. The lair of the cave that is difficult to attack.

The pre-war meeting was over, and everyone went to eat and explain various things.

Keir also ate in rotation with the guard guarding the gate. Kiel saw that many young militiamen were either excited or worried. Some of them couldn't eat at all, while others finished their meal in threes and fives, and then pulled their partners to discuss how to fight tomorrow.

Keel, who came back from the meal, saw Knight Crowe standing in front of the board he drew with food, so he went over to ask about something he had discovered before.

"My lord knight, I found out before that when the militiamen were training, I mean when the militiamen were training outside Kendall City, didn't the eldest son of Baron Kendall also participated in the training, but when I got here, I wasn't there See him or his tent in the camp?"

Knight Crowe wiped the soup from the corner of his mouth with a fine cloth, then pointed to the direction of Bingxun Pass in the east: "A monarch should not go to a dangerous place in person. This is an imperial proverb."

"So that one is staying in Ice Flood Pass, waiting for the good news from you? I always feel that something is wrong in Ice Flood Pass, it doesn't seem like a safe place." Keel helped Knight Crowe move the big plank Moved into his tent, leaning against a relatively empty place to arrange.

The two found a place to sit and talk in the tent.

Regarding Keir's statement, Knight Crowe gave his opinion: "It's not as easy as you think. He should have received my letter at this time, and he should have already started to raise the second batch of supplies on the spot. Of course, Bingxun Pass is not a peaceful place, and it is not an exaggeration to say that it is a dragon's pond and a tiger's den, and every big businessman who colludes with local officials is ten times more hateful than the bandits in the mountains."

Kiel didn't understand why Knight Crowe felt that those big businessmen were so hateful. Besides, if they were so hateful, wouldn't it be enough to deal with them in the same way as dealing with bandits?

Knowing that Keir didn't know much about this aspect, he explained: "You may know that Bingyuguan is my territory."

Kiel nodded, he still knew that.

The knight lowered his voice and said: "Oh, but you must not know that the actual control of Bingxun Pass is actually not in my hands."

"I know that. The soldiers and officials in the checkpoint don't seem to mention you very much." Kiel told what he knew.

The knight nodded: "They are all Earl Polk's subordinates."

"Earl Polk?"

"Earl Polk. He is the lord of the province where Kendall County is located, and he is a great nobleman. How could a place with concentrated wealth like Bingxun Pass, as a great nobleman, be handed over to a low-level nobleman like Baron Kendall? You Think about it more, the above two are competing for checkpoint revenue, and as a local lord, I’m actually mostly just a name.”

Keel pursed his lips. Sure enough, he could imagine that in order to suppress the development of the local nobles' strength, the upper class nobles would find ways to win over the interests that originally belonged to the local nobles into their own hands.

Thinking a little deeper, did so many bandits near Bingxun Pass really gather here naturally?

Will there be other nobles intervening in order to limit the trade and the number of immigrants in Kendall County, so that the overall slow and indirect slow down the development of Kendall County?

After thinking about it for a while, Keir still told Knight Crowe about these guesses.

"It can't be said that there is no reason for this." Crow Knight said with a smile.

"Could that be arranged by that Earl Polk?" Kiel asked speculatively.

The knight shook his head: "This is unnecessary. The upper-class nobles look down on these oblique methods. Think about it, compared to secretly prodding nearby bandits to gather at Bingxun Pass, restricting the development of Kendall County. Wouldn’t it be better for the Lord Earl to find a way to send more troops to Bingxun Pass? Moreover, a large amount of tax money from Bingxun Pass will flow to him, so he doesn’t need to make things difficult for himself.”

After a pause, the knight went on to say: "In my opinion, most of the nearby nobles envy Kendall, so they often encourage those people in the bandit circle. Or, they can organize some people who wander in the dark, specially Advertise the wealth and vulnerability of Bingyuguan here.”

After talking for a while, the two talked about the eldest son of Baron Kendall in Bingyu Pass.

"Kiel, the battlefield of battle is not limited to the frontal battlefield. For example, in a level with sufficient supplies, obtaining supplies from there is also a difficult battle." Knight Crowe said, and then he went from From the pouch on the belt, he took out a few coins and flicked them with his fingers.

There are gold coins, silver coins, copper coins and iron coins. Coins of different materials and denominations make different vibrating sounds. The knight continued: "Listen, do these coins make a sound like the sharp collision of swords and swords? The **** killing inside , no less than here.”

Keir looked at the coins that were thrown into the air by the knight, then fell and was bounced again, and the sound of metal tremors echoed in his ears. He diverted his thinking, thinking that far away from here, the eldest son of Baron Kendall At this time, he was dealing with the officials at the checkpoint and the big merchants.

"It seems that there is indeed a faint feeling of confrontation and battle." Keel feels that such a task is not easy, at least he can't do it now, but if it is the eldest son of Baron Kendall, who has an important status, he may be able to do it without too much effort. .

----

At the same time, the Bingyu Pass.

The guards of Knight Crowe asked the young hunter who was traveling with him to stay in the hotel first, and he was going out to do some errands.

He put on a thick cloth cloak to protect against the cold, put the letter handed to him by Knight Crowe in his inner pocket, and pushed open the door of the hotel. They chose a hotel close to the church. The cost of these hotels is not lower than that of the hotels on the central street of the checkpoint. The main purpose is to provide passengers with a good and safe living experience.

Compared to other places where fish and dragons are mixed together, at least no one here dares to mess around. After all, the Church of the God of Wealth is the most powerful in Bingfengguan. Compared with the Church of the God of Wealth in Kendall City, it is no problem that this is the main concentration of wealth in Kendall County.

If someone messed around near the church, the priests would find the fools who committed the crime without waiting until the next day, and punish them in public.

After going out, the guard wrapped the cold-proof cloak tightly and pulled up the hem of the cloak. Although all kinds of filth on the ground were frozen hard, he still couldn't bear the appearance of other towns except Kendall.

In his opinion, compared with Kendall City, other places, no matter how much wealth is gathered, are nothing but things that grow out of filthy places.

Carefully avoiding some suspicious objects frozen by the cold weather along the way, he soon arrived at the luxury hotel in the center of Bingxun Pass where the eldest son of Baron Kendall stayed.

The hotel is huge and divided into many different areas. Many wealthy and prestigious merchants from other places lived here, they lived here, they communicated here, they struck deals here, and they entertained here.

There is no need to go out here at all, and they can complete everything they need without touching the chaotic Bingyu Pass outside.

In addition to these businessmen from all over the world, several powerful officials from Bingxun Pass also live here. They were all affairs officers under the earl, and they were not locals at all, so they naturally had no interest in finding a house to live in this chaotic place despite the abundance of wealth.

Anyway, for those who have lived here for a long time, all expenses can be settled with management fees. They dare not refuse to repay the hotel or not pay the money. After all, they are high-ranking officials in the eyes of ordinary people, but in the eyes of the owner behind this hotel, they are just ordinary people.

The eldest son of Baron Kendall, Lonzos-Kendall, and his melee militiamen live in a separate small building here. The militiamen were guarding all over the small building at this time, and inside, Long Suos was talking with several people who came to discuss the bandits.

"Thank you again for your support on this matter!" Lonzos raised the silver cup and drank a little of the wine inside.

Several other people also raised their glasses, and simply took a small sip.

"This bandit gang named Luobagdong is really hateful. My caravan was robbed before, and I never knew what happened. If he hadn't fled back with those people, I would have been kept in the dark. Hey , I have not paid much attention to the law and order of banditry before, which caused us to suffer heavy losses. It seems that we still need a safe environment so that we businessmen can operate well." A man with a big belly is not very interested Looking at the red wine in the glass, he said.

The other man present was not happy. He was strong and looked tall and mighty, but everyone who knew him knew that this guy was just good-looking and imposing. He also hooked up with many immigrant young women from outside. This man has already been hollowed out. Although he is the captain of the soldier group responsible for the security of Bingxunguan, he has never cut off the neck of a bandit himself.

The soldiers and thugs in Bingxun pass called him 'Reversed Spear', using this ironic nickname to humiliate this man. Of course, no one would dare to call this name in person, otherwise it would be the result of being locked up in a black prison until death.

The man drank the wine in the silver cup in one gulp, grinned and retorted to the potbellied merchant opposite: "Hey, as you said, only if the merchants have enough support, our soldiers will send the ice flood Only by keeping the law and order of the pass well can you teach the bandits a hard lesson, and your caravan will not be robbed and attacked by bandits. So, who would rather call more mercenary guards than pay the security tax. "

He then held the glass and reached out to the maid beside him. When the maid poured him wine, he even touched the back of the maid's smooth hand.

"Hey." He smiled at the shy maid.

Another man present ignored the man opposite him. He stopped the fat businessman who was about to say something, glanced at the others, and said: "Everyone knows the strength and quality of the soldiers at Bingxun Pass, so I won't What can I say more. My people were also robbed by the robbers in the pocket hole. If he escaped with him, I would not be able to explain to his family. Anyway, the bandits in the pocket hole must be eliminated. I think everyone here understands this clearly.”

"Fortunately, Mr. Crow Knight has led a large number of militiamen over there. Everyone has seen the militiamen guarding inside and outside the house, and I believe that there is no problem about whether they can defeat the bandit gang. And Lord Kendall called everyone here today, and I I believe it is not to repeat the meaningless things before, but to discuss the follow-up supplies of the militia."

Lonzos cleared his throat: "Everyone, we have information on the lucky people who escaped from the bandits before, and we basically know how big the bandit gang called the Drop Bag Hole Bandits has become. In addition, they must not I will sit and wait for death, and it is expected that Knight Crowe will lead the newly trained militia to clear them in winter, so there will definitely be actions."

The lecherous man put his full drink to his mouth and said, "It's not about absorbing those scattered small gangs of bandits. I told Mr. Crow Knight about this. He has a prediction, and he will definitely deal with it."

Long Suos knew the relationship behind this person, so he could not offend the Earl's people instead of his father, so he couldn't say anything about the lecherous man's interjection.

Fortunately, there were still other people who dared to refute and offend this person at the scene. The merchants didn't care about the earl behind this person at all. After all, even the earl had to take care of big businessmen like them. Compared with their own dogs, they were still their own. Money is more important.

The relatively calm male businessman said: "You can't just rely on the knight's prediction and contingency. Those who have been doing business all the year round know that it is the best way to save money by making sufficient preparations before setting off for business. So we The knight and his militia have to be given enough follow-up materials to support him in eliminating this large bandit gang. If the knight did not accept the participation of the mercenary guards I hired, I would like to spend a sum of money to clear the checkpoint. Those thugs who have nothing to do all day long in the winter are hired to deal with the bandits together."

The fat businessman next to him added: "It's okay to invite a few priests and friends from the Great God of Wealth to fight bandits together." Jean then muttered in a low voice: "Although it will cost a lot of money."

Several other officials who were called and businessmen dealing in bulk supplies also expressed their opinions.

The officials were divided into two groups. One group felt that since the merchants had such a high willingness, they could let them raise supplies spontaneously, and that they were responsible for transporting people. They "guaranteeed" that the materials they raised would not be withheld.

Another group of people think that merchants should be excluded from the material preparation. They only need to provide a lot of 'special' security tax, and the subsequent material preparation and material transfer can be handed over to them. After all, they also did the same in previous years, and the militiamen cleared up the bandits in previous years without any problems.

Of course, if the merchants are willing to pay such a 'special' security tax every year, they can even let the soldiers of Bingxun pass go out of the city to pay off the bandits who robbed the caravan every quarter.

They didn't do this before, mainly because the income taxes of Bingxun Pass were insufficient. Many merchants never paid the taxes for various applications and soldier expenses. They would rather spend more money to hire amateurs such as guards and thugs , and are unwilling to hand them over to recruit more soldiers.

For this kind of rhetoric, the merchants looked distrustful. If it weren't for the presence of Baron Kendall's eldest son, Lonzos Kendall, they would have left long ago.

Only ghosts believe the words of these Bingxunguan officials. The merchants are all well-informed, and they know that there are a lot of taxes in Bingxun Pass every year, but they have never been actually applied to the management of Bingxun Pass.

The salaries of the soldiers are often in arrears, and it is even necessary for the soldiers to follow the tax officer to collect additional miscellaneous taxes, so that they can barely make ends meet. Many of the escorts of the merchants were left by the soldiers to join them after they could no longer work.

So I don't believe the words of the officials at all.

And before they came, they also did some investigations, and these guys had also asked for a lot of money for supplies in previous years. If it wasn't because the money and supplies didn't go through the hands of Crow Knight, the other party didn't know The twists and turns inside thought that there were only so many supplies for the militia every time. If the knights really knew the truth, they would probably cause troubles and end badly.

Therefore, the merchants insisted that they raise supplies by themselves. Perhaps the help of Bingyu Pass was needed for transshipment, but their own people had to be involved.

They all made promises to their subordinates in their own chamber of commerce that they would not let the bandits in the bag hole survive this winter~www.readwn.com~ They kept their word. When they came out to do business, they relied on the trust of the men in charge. If the gang of bandits who slaughtered their caravan were not wiped out, how would anyone dare to follow them?

The officials of Bingxunguan also did not back down, insisting that the bottom line is that they are solely responsible for the transshipment, and they are trying to get merchants to provide special taxes, and they are also responsible for purchasing and raising materials.

However, several businessmen responsible for local bulk supplies hesitated.

Supporting the officials here, they can add two to one with the officials, and eat this extra material transaction together. After all, they asked the merchants present, those bandits are huddled in the cave, and there are a lot of them, it doesn’t sound good deal with. The longer the militiamen fight, the more supplies they will need. This business has potential to be tapped.

Supporting fellow merchants here, they can agree with other merchants, and they will also have a sympathy in other subsequent transactions. These big merchants are all very powerful, and Bingxun Pass is only a part of their business scope. Most of the entire trade route starting from Kendall County has the participation of these merchants. It's not good to offend these people.

While the two parties were arguing, a melee militiaman walked up behind Long Suos who had been helplessly watching these people arguing.

"Captain, a guard next to Knight Crowe is here. He brought a letter from Knight Crowe." The militiaman whispered.

Lonzos coughed lightly, attracting the attention of the others present, and he said loudly, "The guards of Knight Crowe are here, everyone, let's see what news he brought. Militiamen, go and invite him in. "

"Yes, Captain." The militiamen should go down last.

Then, Crow Knight Guard, who had been waiting at the door for a while, came in.