King of German Mercenaries

"Then why do we buy captives? What's in it for Venice?" asked a congressman in confusion.

"Good question, that's what I want 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, many forces, regard us Venice as a fat sheep..."

Everyone present was silent, and Agostino's words were indeed reasonable.

"So, I plan to buy a batch of French prisoners of war with this greedy Shinra Empire Corps commander, claiming that they were jointly captured by Venice and the Shinra Empire..."

"How to ensure that the secret is not leaked? That army commander can control his subordinates, but he can't control the French. When they return to China, they will reveal the matter."

"This is a question. I will go to the west and talk to the army commander in person, and the two sides will make a unified statement..."

The next day, the Doge of Venice, Agostino Barbarigo, quietly took 50 escort knights to Marin's station...

"Lord Governor, are you worried about being exposed? It's simple, I'll tell those French people that half of the troops I lead are Venetians..."

"Is that okay?" Agostino Barbarigo hesitated.

"No problem, wrap it on me. At that time, I will send 1,000 men who participated in that battle back with you, and they are all Italians."

"Really?" Agostino Barbarigo was somewhat surprised.

"certainly!"

In fact, Marin was referring to the group of Italian peasants near Fornovo who were first drafted. They did go to war, albeit to scare the French.

And the French did take them as reinforcements... Until now, Count Flair thought they were reinforcements sent by the Italians...

After solving this headache, Agostino Barbarigo quickly and enthusiastically discussed the conditions with Marin. In fact, only 2,000 prisoners were placed outside by Marin. Another 2,000 people were hidden by him in another station.

Moreover, the Venetian business is actually not at a loss. Because Marlin wants cash. The Venetians want fame. Moreover, when the Venetians got this captive, they could also ask the French for a ransom, so it was not a loss. At most, it can cover the food expenses of some prisoners, but compared with the fame, this amount of money is simply a drizzle.

After negotiation, Agostino Barbarigo and Marin reached an agreement of 500 gold coins per captive. But Governor Agostino Barbarigo asked for more...

"Commander of the Marine Corps, please tell me honestly, how many prisoners do you have in your hands?"

"Uh...4000..."

"Then why are you only willing to sell 1,000 people? Don't you know that your poor ghost emperor won't give you some money? If it is captured in his hands, will you still have your share of the ransom?" Barbarigo was a little angry.

"Uh, actually, I want to exchange a title with His Majesty the Emperor. Now, I'm not even a baron..."

"This..." Agostino Barbarigo was also speechless. As an emperor, Maximilian I had the most advantage over others, which was that he could confer titles to others. In this regard, as the governor of the Republic of Venice, Agostino Barbarigo couldn't catch up with Maximilian I. Although there are nobles in the Republic of Venice, they are all titles that have been handed down long ago. Now, republics generally no longer grant new titles.

"Okay, you sell me another 1,000 people. I don't want nobles, but ordinary knights.

"

"That's a total of one million gold coins, Lord Governor! Do you have that much cash?"

"Hmph, Commander of the Marine Corps, don't underestimate Venice's financial resources. Venice, it's not bad!" Agostino Barbarigo's shoehorn face was full of arrogance, as if he was carrying his clothes behind his back. Uncle Benshan, the leader...

"Uh...the deal!" Marin sacrificed himself for 1 million gold coins...

"By the way, Lord Governor, I still have a group of captured French excellent warhorses, and plate armor..."

"How much?" Governor Agostino Barbarigo turned back suddenly, his eyes fixed on Marin.

He almost forgot that Marin's captives were French knights, everyone with horses, armor and weapons...

The Republic of Venice is a very ambitious country, plus they are not short on money. So, they are also ambitious. The French invasion of Naples showed him the weakness of the Italian states. So, they are also a little bit around the corner. Otherwise, the War of the League of Cambrai 13 years later would not have occurred. That war was because Venice wanted to expand, and as a result, it attracted a backlash from the states, and as a result, Venice, which just wanted to expand, was beaten by the group.

Venice has no shortage of money, no shortage of sailors, and no shortage of infantry. But they seriously lacked cavalry, because, after all, Venice was a country that started on the water, and it 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 difficult to say that the infantry is strong.

Now, Marin said that he has a large number of war horses and armors, and Agostino Barbarigo was immediately tempted...

"Give it to me, I want it all!" Agostino Barbarigo's eyes were a little red.

"Lord Governor, I can't give you all, otherwise, I can't explain to His Majesty the Emperor..." Marin didn't dare to promise Agostino Barbarigo. Otherwise, his reputation in the Shinra Empire would immediately drop to hatred. In that case, Marin may not be able to get along in Germany.

"Okay, I want half!"

"Lord Governor, war horses and armor are also very expensive!" Marin reminded kindly.

"How many horses and armor do you have?"

"2,000 war horses, 6,000 sets of plate armor..."

"Hi..." Agostino Barbarigo gasped in fright, he was frightened.

War horses are also different from war horses. A knight's war horse has a much stronger load capacity than an irregular light cavalry's war horse. If nothing else, the full set of plate armor alone weighs 50 pounds, and with horse armor, it weighs about 100 pounds. Therefore, the load-carrying capacity of the knight's warhorse is much better than that of the light cavalry's warhorse. At least, in terms of load, it is hundreds of kilograms more than the light cavalry's warhorse.

"1,000 war horses, 3,000 sets of armor..." Gritting his teeth, Agostino Barbarigo decided to bleed.

"The price..."

"Mr. Marin, I can't give you a high price. Those prisoners, the French will pay for them. And these war horses and armors, I don't know the opinions of those councillors. So, my proposal is that war horses are 100 ducats each. , a set of plate armor 50 ducats..."

The price given by Agostino Barbarigo is not high, probably the reserve price. Because, the heavy horses used by knights are generally more than this price. However, as he said, he didn't know if the armor would fall into his hands.

After the talk, Agostino Barbarigo immediately rushed back to Venice through the well-developed post road in Venice to discuss the business with the lawmakers.

"What? So many war horses and armor? Come on, Lord Doge, this will make Venice's combat power soar!" an army general shouted excitedly. With this batch of war horses and armor, Venice will have an additional "tank unit" that is fully armored, which can attack the enemy formation frontally on the battlefield. Except for the Swiss Spear Array, few troops could withstand the charge of thousands of heavily armored knights.

"With so much armor, how about, Lord Governor, we robbed him?" suggested a squeamish congressman.

"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 and the Holy Roman Empire will turn against each other." Ten thousand people can't beat 4,000 Swiss mercenaries. And Marin is also "4000 people", can beat 8000 French knights, it is not easy to mess with. In addition, the Shinra Empire also had tens of thousands of troops in Venice. Venice could be sacked once the German army was provoked. Therefore, the Venetians cannot afford to gamble.

"Okay, then promise, but the price of war horses and armors will be lower..."

Then, Agostino Barbarigo came back and bargained with Marin...

In the end, Marin sold 2,000 ordinary captives to Venice for 1 million ducats. In addition, after selling 1,000 war horses with horse armor at a discount of 100,000 ducats, including the money for the horse armor, 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, 3,000 sets were sold to Venice at a price of 50 ducats a piece, at a discount of 150,000 ducats...

In this way, Marin earned 1.25 million ducats in an instant... However, he immediately remembered the three nails that the emperor and the count had placed in his army...

In order to keep the secret, Marin wanted to silence the three of them. Anyway, it was a time of war, and any number of people who died could be reported to be killed in battle... But considering their 15 subordinates, if they were to eradicate all of them, the emperor and the earl would definitely be alarmed. of……

As for the others, they were basically illiterate serfs, and they didn't quite understand the meaning of Marin's series of actions, and they were used to obeying Marin's orders, so they didn't worry about their big mouths. With only those 3 knights and their squires, it was a bit difficult to handle.

Agostino Barbarigo knew about Marin's worries and laughed, saying that it wasn't a problem at all...

"What should I do?" Marin said with a headache.

"It's easy, we Venice will pay, and give each of the three a large sum of money as a hush money..."

"So rich..."

That night, Agostino Barbarigo personally went out and gave the three of them a bonus of 30,000 gold coins each. So, these three knelt down... As for their entourage, the master has all knelt down, and the entourage is not kneeling with him?

You must know that these three knights, the family's territory, can earn up to two or three thousand ducats per year, which is still in the case of a bumper year. 30,000 ducats, enough for their more than ten years of manor income. Therefore, all three signed a non-disclosure agreement, swore a poisonous oath with a Bible, and received more than 10 years of benefits that exceeded the output of their manor. As for the poor ghost of the emperor, can he give so much money? Even now, the emperor still owes them part of their salary...

Moreover, Marin also knows how to do things, and left half of the spoils for the emperor, which is enough to explain. This is where their confidence lies...

However, Marin had a headache about how to take away so many gold coins. Because, 1.25 million gold coins, the weight alone is more than 4 tons. If it is known that he is on the road with more than 4 tons of gold, it is estimated that many people will come together to rob him...

In the end, Marin decided to trust the Venetian's business reputation and only needed 500,000 gold coins in cash. The remaining 750,000 gold coins are temporarily stored in the bank in Venice, and a bill is issued, which can be withdrawn later.

Then, Marin took out 100,000 gold coins and distributed them to his 1,100 brothers. On average, each of them received 80 or 90 gold coins, which made these guys extremely happy.

You must know that the second people in Mandova and Milan who dismounted to pick up gold coins, each picked up an average of twenty or thirty gold coins, which is far worse than them...

As for the group of Italian peasants who were caught as their prestige, they did not receive such good treatment. After all, it is a "temporary worker", and there is no relevant "welfare" treatment...

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