The Rise of the European Emperor

After leaving the yard where Simon pretended to be sick, Marin went to arrange for the spy to go to France. After Kohler's screening, a spy named John was finally selected and asked to go to France to present a "name certificate" in exchange for a title.

John was one of Kohler's spies in Münster, and his apparent occupation was also in line with Marin's requirements—the big wine seller in Münster.

Because of the agency and sale of high-end wines from Burgundy, John was very popular with the church leaders in Münster and became a guest of Bishop Conrad. After all, in the Bishopric of Münster, the richest must be bishops and other senior church leaders. And these church bosses usually don't drink beer, but like to drink red wine. They call drinking red wine "drinking holy blood", which is very religious.

Moreover, these church executives are very wealthy and naturally pursue high-end wines. As it happens, John is the agent and salesperson of high-end Burgundy wines. In order to open up sales and take the opportunity to get close to those high-ranking church leaders to obtain information, John often used high-end aged wine as a gift to those church leaders. Then, Bishop Conrad, who likes to drink high-end red wine, invited him as a guest and often invited him to Münster Cathedral to chat and brag. And John is also very sensible. Every time he goes, he brings a bottle of high-end aged red wine, which is naturally very popular with Bishop Conrad. Before Bishop Conrad burped, John had already crushed several other competitors with the support of Bishop Conrad and became the largest wine merchant in Munster City.

Although John did not hold an official position in the South Munster area, he often went in and out of Münster Cathedral and bragged with Bishop Conrad. This is known to many people in Münster City and can withstand investigation.

Moreover, John's status as a wine merchant helped him acquire Chateau Lafite. After all, if someone who has nothing to do with the wine industry suddenly wants to buy a winery, it will definitely lead to suspicion.

In addition, there is a very important reason for choosing John - John speaks French because he often goes to the wineries in the Burgundy region to buy goods. And this is very beneficial for him to integrate into the French aristocracy.

"Is this guy reliable?" Marin asked Kohler before making a decision.

"Absolutely reliable! He was one of my earliest spies, and he was loyal. Also, his family gave me hostages."

"Then he can't go to France alone, can he?"

"It's okay, the person who pretended to be his wife and son was also my spy!" Kohler said to himself.

Marlin was instantly convinced - Nima, his wife and children are fake, and they are all spies.

In this way, Brother John took his wife and children disguised as spies, and took advantage of the opportunity of the chaos in Munster after the death of Bishop Conrad, quietly left Munster and went to Paris, France...

...

"What did you say? A vintner named John asked to see me? A businessman who wants to see me can see me? No!" Louis XII waved his hand impatiently. He is the king of the strongest French kingdom in Europe. Who would meet him?

But the guard continued:

"He said he was from Munster,

Knowing the reasons why several princes attacked the Grand Duchy of Beihai, and willing to offer this secret in exchange for His Majesty's reward! "

"Confidential? It's not because of the civil strife in the Beihai Kingdom. Several princes want to take advantage of this opportunity to get a bargain? Well, I suddenly became interested, let him come in!"

So John was taken into the palace, while his nominal wife and children waited outside the palace.

"See Your Majesty!" After seeing King Louis XII of France, John directly gave a big gift of kneeling down on one knee.

Louis XII looked at him with interest and said:

"You're not my vassal, why do you kneel down like me?" In Europe, citizens don't need to kneel when they see the king, they just take off their hats and bow.

"Because I am here to serve you, Your Majesty!" John said in a very serious tone.

"Serve me? But what I need is a knight with a military role, not a businessman." Louis XII disdainfully said. He is the king of France, not everyone, cats and dogs.

"I know, but the secret I'm going to talk about will give you a lot of money, Your Majesty. So, does it have a military effect? ​​After all, war requires a lot of money."

"As far as I know, France has the largest population and the largest population in Europe. If it weren't for the lack of money and food, His Majesty would have been able to use hundreds of thousands of troops. But because of the lack of sufficient food, every time there is a war, there will be no more than 30,000 or 40,000 people at most! ' John said confidently.

When Louis XII heard this, he was silent for a while. He had to admit that John was right.

France's population of 15 million is five times that of the United Kingdom and twice that of Spain. However, although France has a lot of arable land, its food production is very low. Even King Louis XII did not have much food in his hands.

In particular, the French knights, who are proud of the French, consume more food. Because the food consumption of war horses is five or six times that of humans. And each plate knight must take two horses to the expedition. Therefore, a knight in plate armor, including his two horses, consumes at least 11 people's food every day during wartime (when there is no war in peacetime, the warhorse consumes less physical strength and does not consume so much food, and some fodder can be added. But wartime horses To carry knights in plate armor, the physical strength is very high, and it cannot be sustained without food).

Then, France dispatches 10,000 plate armor knights, and the daily consumption of food alone can reach the standard of 110,000 people...

Therefore, there are so many plate knights in France, but they cannot be dispatched often. Because that food consumption can make the Dharma King poor. After all, European food prices are too expensive...

Marin chose to use Cossack cavalry and Eastern European Mongolian horses for the same reason. Mongolian horses are resistant to rough feeding. Even if they are charged with cavalry in wartime, they consume a lot of physical strength. They do not need to be fed with concentrate, but mainly eat grass, and then add some fried soybeans or other supplementary nutrients. Therefore, during the Anti-Japanese War, even if the poor people could not afford to wear new clothes, they could pull in a lot of cavalry. After all, Mongolian horses are easy to feed. If it was like a delicate European horse that could only be fed with concentrate, the Eighth Route Army would never be able to support it.

But the French knights can't save food. The tall horses of the French knights are big food consumers. Without enough food, the cavalry could not be drawn out to fight. Like the eight thousand knights of the French King Charles VIII, the reason why the northern Italian infantry was stopped in the Battle of Fornovo was because Charles VIII had previously sent troops to snatch food, which delayed the time. Otherwise, how could the two legs of an Italian mercenary outrun the four legs of a French cavalry horse?

...

Louis XII was clearly not a fool, he also knew the importance of food. If there is enough food, the French knights can traverse Europe. So he asked in a deep voice:

"Can you really let me increase my money? One-time or long-term?"

"In the long run, the food production will double!" John said calmly.

"Come here, clear the field, and do not allow idle people to approach!" Louis XII immediately stood up and ordered his cronies to clear the field. All non-confidantes were expelled from the hall. Outside the hall, guards were also placed.

Then, he said to John with a serious face:

"I hope you don't lie to me, or you will end up dead!"

John nodded and said:

"Of course, you are the king of the most powerful country in Europe. However, if I do offer a way to double the food production, what will you reward me, Your Majesty?"

Louis XII thought for a while and asked:

"what do you want?"

"I want Chateau Lafite and a large fief. I wonder what title His Majesty can give me?"

Louis XII thought about it and said:

"Chateau Lafite? I remember it was a winery in Bordeaux? I remember the red wine produced there is of good quality, but not as famous as Burgundy... As for the title... I can only give you a baron. After all, you are a foreign country. Merchant, if you give you too high a title, the nobles will not accept it."

"Can't the Viscount? After all, that's the secret to doubling the grain output!" John asked reluctantly. By the way, France has viscounts.

"No, it's the limit of being a baron who can be hereditary. After all, you were not even a noble before! However, I can give you more fiefs! I can also buy Chateau Lafite for you. As for the baron title , let's call him Baron Lafite!"

...

"Thank you, Your Majesty, but I have another request!"

"you say!"

"I hope Chateau Lafite can get a big order from the palace in the future. Anyway, the consumption of palace wine is very large, and Lafite red wine is of good quality. Why not give Lafite red wine a chance?"

Louis XII thought for a while and said:

"Yes, I can give you some orders! After all, I also have to take care of the emotions of Burgundy!" Burgundy was snatched from Maximilian I by the French royal family. In order to appease that side, Louis XII had to take care of that side a little more. Moreover, Burgundy wines are indeed of good quality.

"At least a third!" John offered.

"No problem, can you talk now?"

Seeing that Louis XII agreed to his terms, John finally spoke about the so-called "secret"...