King of Mercenaries

"Yeah, this unlucky count was left behind by Charles VIII, and then surrounded by us and the Venetian. When he saw that the situation had gone, he surrendered ..."

"That's really good luck ..." You know, an earl is enough to be the leader of an army. The head leader of the Empire was Frederick II, Count Hohenzollern. But this unlucky man in France was captured by a 17-year-old hairy knight. Presumably, he will not face anyone in the future ...

"Your Majesty, what are you talking about? The captain of the empire is only 17 years old?" After meeting with the emperor, Earl of Toulouse, he heard the news that made him very faceless ...

"Yes, the Marin Knight is a 17-year-old young man. And, he is just a Phalanx commander." Maximilian I said proudly.

"What? The knight ... the long formation ... impossible. The army that besieged us must have more than one square formation. There must be thousands of people ... there must be a legion ..." Fryer did not want to admit that he was defeated by a square formation. There are 5,000 people under his command. The 5000 knight was defeated by an infantry formation. He could go to a belt and hang himself. Not only him, but even his captives who have been captured together will never admit it. Otherwise, they won't have to come out and mix up later.

"He is indeed a Phalanx, but he defeated you not only by using a Phalanx, but also by the Venetian army, a total of more than 4,000 people. Otherwise, there are not so many people." The emperor was honest, and would not disdain or lie. But he didn't know that the news he knew was a lie in itself.

"So it is ..." Count Fryer felt better when he heard the Emperor say so.

　　...

Fryer was sent away, and Marin came to the emperor to discuss the disposal of the spoils ...

"How many spoils are there?" The emperor asked.

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

"This ... so much?" The emperor stuttered after hearing it. Although he had anticipated it, he was a little stammered when he heard that there were so many loot.

"of course..."

"Then do you hide it?" The emperor suddenly swept over with sharp eyes.

"Well, some horses have been hidden, and the rest of the horses have been turned in. Your Majesty, isn't it also necessary for this knight to make money?" Marin said naturally. During this year, mercenaries began to rise. The biggest characteristic of mercenaries is greed. Maximilian I, from the beginning of using mercenaries, has long been mentally prepared to let mercenaries greet some of his belongings. Of course, he absolutely does not tolerate greed for important military supplies.

"Do you dare to swear that you haven't kept a warhorse in private?"

"This knight swears in the name of God that he did not hide a warhorse. Otherwise, he will fall into hell after death!"

In fact, he did not have a private horse. Because, instead of hiding another 1,000 war horses, he sold them directly to the Venetian ...

The emperor didn't care about pulling the horse because it had no military value. And Marin said he hid "some" and he didn't feel it intuitively. If he knew that Marin had 3,600 horses, he might have turned his face.

"What's your plan?" The emperor asked Marin.

"His Majesty, as far as this knight knows. These captives can at least exchange one million Italian Ducat gold coins with the French. And the war horse is said to be worth at least one hundred gold coins. And the armor set is worth dozens gold..."

"Stop, what do you want to say?"

"What the minister wants to say is that these captives and spoils are too high in value ... I wonder what title your Majesty is going to seal me?"

"Title?" Maximilian I was also taken aback by Marin's sudden turn.

"Of course, the capture of the 4,000 knights by the French is absolutely a great disgrace. And there's the honor of your Majesty has earned. These captive equipment is estimated to be worth millions of gold coins. I can buy a large earl seal directly. This knight dedicated all of them to His Majesty, and you see ... "

"Oh ..." Maximilian I laughed. He wasn't afraid of what he wanted, but he didn't want it. As needed, he can use conditions to win over and control them.

"what do you want?"

"Knighthood, hereditary knighthood, and territory!"

"So what kind of knighthood do you think, and where are the territories divided?"

Just as Marin said, he did indeed deserve so much credit that he was indeed eligible for title and land. Therefore, the emperor cannot be stingy. Otherwise, no one will play for him.

Why is the Swabian League loyal to the Emperor? In fact, they also wanted to improve the title and gain more territories through the emperor. For example, the Württemberg kingdom, because of its strong support for the emperor, its lord Earlhard V, Earl of Wurttemberg, was promoted to the Duke of Wurttemberg by the emperor during the stay of the Emperor on Worms on July 4. Called Eberhard I. Therefore, the emperor did not mind mentioning the title to his men. However, the emperor was reluctant to want territory ...

"Nederland is a great place ..." said Marin. Anyway, he didn't expect the Emperor to agree on any conditions, but waited for a bargain. The western emperor has less authority than the eastern emperor. Privately, Marin can still raise conditions without worrying about being beheaded by the Wumen Gate.

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

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

In fact, Marin really wanted to participate in the great voyage. The Dutch region was an important area in the era of great sailing, and both commerce and shipping were well developed.

"Count, don't even think about it, the deputy (viscount) is also a bit tall ..."

"Why? Isn't the minister's merit enough? There are still trophies worth a few hundred thousand ducats ..." Marin was a little excited. He is willing to turn in these trophies, not the title of the map? The count did not recognize us, neither did the viscount, good or bad ...

"Knight Marin, calm down first. Have you ever thought about your identity? You are only 17 years old, or a homeless knight from a little knight family. Although you have made a great deal of this battle. But you have thought No? Are you a knight now, or was you temporarily promoted before the war? If you now make you an earl, what do you want other nobles to think? "

"And you only caught one earl. You can't. You arrest an earl, and I'll seal you earl? If you seize Charles VIII, I will earlize (don't know if it's English) you. "

Marlin rolled his eyes, you, I want to catch Charles VIII, but I don't have enough hands.

And Maximilian I also made sense. If Marin fought a victory, he was immediately named Earl from knight. If he won a few more battles, would he not be king? is it possible? And this is Marin's first fight. If Marin fought the emperor for a few more battles, how could the emperor seal him?

Marin calmed down, he knew that he thought too simple. The reason why Count Tilly was named Earl was that he played for the Holy Roman Empire for many years, fighting against Turkey, and against Protestant princes, and many of them played beautiful battles such as the "Battle of the Mountains". Wallenstein was named Duke because it appeared to 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 draw the only Wallenstein that he could rely on.

But now, Maximilian I did not reach the end of the end, and he himself only helped the emperor win one battle. Although the result is brilliant, it is not enough to be Earl at once.

"If you don't seal me count, I feels too bad. You know, before the Teutonic Knights bought the Principality of Estonia from Denmark, it only cost 19,000 Cologne (1 Cologne = 2.67 Ducat gold coins, and 19,000 Cologne is equivalent to 50,000 Ducat . But considering that the Cologne Mark silver content in 1346 is sufficient, it is twice the current silver content, so it is equivalent to the current 100,000 ducats) ... "

"Ha, you're right, young people. The Teutonic Knights did buy the Principality of Estonia for only 19,000 Cologne. But have you thought about it? The Teutonic Knights are themselves a powerful country, they have enough Status and identity to buy territory and protect territory. "

"And you, the Marin Knight, even if you have so much money, do you have the corresponding title and identity to rule such a large territory? Without identity, other nobles can openly annex your territory. So, the title itself is very Valuable existence ... And, Marin Knight, you are holding the salaries paid by the puppet. These spoils should belong to most of them ... "

"Okay ... then, Your Majesty, what title do you count for, and where do you keep me?" Marin said discouragedly. Marin admitted that he thought too simple.

In later generations, he did sales and sold a house with a commission of no more than five thousandths. If he sells a 5 million house, the company will give him 5 million, then the boss earns nothing. Before, as a traveler, he regarded himself as a stalk too much, always felt that he and the emperor's Status is an equal trade relationship. Until now, Marin remembered that he was just a wage earner under the emperor ...

"I think so, let's make you a baron first. Since you like the sea so much. So how about I keep you here?" Maximilian I took out a map of sheepskin and pointed to the side of the Netherlands An island ...

"Texel?" Marin recognized it at a glance. Marin had studied the Netherlands and knew that the Dutch province of the Netherlands had a Texel island. This island, known as "the epitome of the Netherlands", is a beautiful tourist area. Moreover, Marin had a rich second-generation friend in his last life, and he took his sister to travel to this island. Then, he showed the photos on Weibo, and wrote a detailed introduction to show off to Marin and others. Therefore, Marin also paid attention to this island in his previous life.

"You know this place?" Maximilian I was a little surprised. After all, Texel Island is just a backcountry in the Netherlands. At most, fishery is booming there.

Right now, great voyages are only emerging in Spain and Portugal. As for the Netherlands, the wind of the great voyage has not yet reached there. Therefore, the seaside sites are not given much attention.

"Well, I've seen the map of the Netherlands. I was still thinking about where the Her Majesty would seal me ..."

"Haha, then I will call you Baron Texel!" The emperor was very happy. This business was extremely cost-effective. He got more than a million gold coins, but he only needed to pay an unobserved island.

"Do you need to pay taxes?"

"You want to evade taxes?"

"Your Majesty, the minister gave you more than one million gold coins, and you still want me to pay taxes? This broken island, I know it will take hundreds of years or even thousands of years to pay the tax of one million gold coins!" stand up.

"Okay, duty-free, self-government, head office!" Maximilian I really didn't pay much attention to such a remote island. God knew that the island had 100 gold coins in taxes every year. Even if Marin is exempt from tax, he doesn't think anything. In addition, he took the benefits of millions of gold coins, more than his one-year financial income, and was very happy, so he did not care about the tedious details with Marin.

Besides, the entire Netherlands, which is now the Flanders (Northern Belgium), has a developed wool industry and is the most economically developed region in the Netherlands. It is also one of the most important sources of taxation for the emperor. The maritime trade in the Netherlands has not yet arisen. It will not begin until the Portuguese chooses to sell Indian spices in Antwerp in 1500. In other words, except for the Flanders region, which is more developed in the Netherlands, it is not conspicuous ...

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

Then, Marin was sealed by the emperor as Baron Texel, and the island of Texel was granted tax-exempt baron status. The Imperial Parliament did not respond to this. Because the emperor sealed off his family territory in the Netherlands and did not harm the interests of other nobles in the empire.

Although the local council in the Netherlands was dissatisfied, the emperor's size was not a treasure land such as The Hague and Amsterdam, but an island. After expressing their dissatisfaction with the emperor, they said nothing. After all, it seems to everyone that Texel is nothing new, just a slightly larger island.

On this island, there is only a small deserted castle in Denborg. In the rest, there are only a few villages, and most of them are fishing villages.