The Rise of the European Emperor

At the end of March, because 20,000 new cattle were purchased from Poland, and there were already many cattle and draught horses in the country, the animal power in East Frisian counties was extremely surplus, and the use of curved ploughs, so spring ploughing was carried out early. ended. At this time, the spring ploughing in other European countries was only halfway through.

Spring is the season for sowing, and at the same time, spring is also the most difficult season in famine areas. Although the seeds have been sown, it will take several months to grow into food. If in May and June, vegetables are on the market, the famine can be alleviated. The early spring season is the most difficult, and the price of food at this time is also the most expensive.

In the inland areas of southern Germany, because of the famine, many young people are too hungry to stand. After Schwartz left, Kohler took over and set up offices to recruit victims in disaster areas such as Hesse and Baden.

The situation is better than expected, and many farmers are willing to emigrate. When selecting immigrants, Kohler naturally favored young men and women who were married. That way, after they immigrated, Marin didn't have to worry about their marriage. You must know that the American immigrants in the early years, because of the serious lack of women, later led to the birth of gay men, and even started to attack cows... Marin knew this black history, so he tried his best to ask for immigration in pairs...

However, for those married young men and women, the local serf owners would not let them go easily. Because, the one who can afford to marry is either the eldest son in the family or the expert at work, and is very appreciated by those manor owners. Therefore, the manor owners will not let them leave.

On the other hand, the non-eldest sons of serf families are often not welcomed by the owners of the manor because they are beyond the "population plan" of the manor. Moreover, leaving these people, the serf owners have to bear their food, how can they be willing?

For those manors with more young men, those extra children of serfs are definitely a burden. Therefore, the serf owners were often more inclined to drive these people out of the manor and let them fend for themselves in order to lighten their burdens. To this end, the serf owners did not hesitate to give up their ownership and make them freemen.

But being such a free citizen is not necessarily a good thing. If you leave the manor, you will lose your security. You can't even eat black bread mixed with a lot of soil. Therefore, many of these free people have chosen to be thieves and robbers, becoming a danger to society. Of course, luckily, they left their hometown and found a job, but such people are few and far between. Many honest young people who were turned from serfs to freemen would even starve to death... With the rise of the mercenary industry in Germany, many young people who could not afford to eat found that perhaps becoming a soldier is a very good choice. ... Although being a mercenary is precarious, at least you can eat enough every day before you die in battle. Moreover, not only can I have enough to eat, but I can also eat meat from time to time, and I have money to buy wine and drink, so I don't live too well...

As a result, in Germany, especially in some very poor or disaster-stricken areas, mercenaries became a very popular occupation. Otherwise, the German mercenaries would not have risen, and remained popular until the early 19th century.

However, not every noble has the money to hire so many mercenaries. The market price of a mercenary is 3 pfennig a day's salary. After a year, the salary alone will cost 18.25 gold coins. Usually, employers also provide some food to support these mercenaries. It must come down to the cost of hiring a mercenary a year, at least 25 gold coins. If you support an army of 10,000 people, the annual cost is not less than 250,000 gold coins. Of course, if you have enough food, that's another story. For example, Marin now has unfinished food in his hands, so he can naturally save a lot of money.

250,000 gold coins a year, many dukes and earls with feudal kingdoms, not necessarily so much tax in a year. Therefore, the princes who can afford a standing army of 10,000 are very rare.

However, the princes are not without countermeasures. Some cunning princes, when the war breaks out, will pay some deposits first and recruit mercenaries first.

They would then promise to allow these mercenaries to loot freely once they have penetrated their opponent's territory. In this way, he saves most of the commission. And mercenaries, with any luck, may be able to earn more than the commission's worth by looting in hostile countries. Many of the cuts on the clothes of early mercenaries were not fashion at all, but makeshift pockets used by mercenaries to hide treasures on their bodies.

However, relying on robbery to make a profit is a game of luck. If you win, you can grab it at will. But if you lose, let alone robbery, your life may not be guaranteed.

Therefore, young people who want to be mercenaries are not fools. For those generals who are good at winning battles to recruit troops, they naturally rush forward. Just like Schwartz came to recruit troops on behalf of Marin, and it was heard that Marin, who was "invincible", wanted to recruit troops, everyone naturally signed up. You let the Duke of Saxony, who just suffered a defeat, try it... er, I almost forgot, the Duke of Saxony is dead, and the current Duke of Saxony is George who is even less capable...

Since it was difficult to get married couples to immigrate, Kohler had to accept those young bachelors who were too poor to marry a wife, and planned to immigrate them to the Americas.

These young bachelors who are dying of starvation are not picky, they can go wherever they want, as long as there is enough bread...

In this way, in April, Kohler had transported 2,000 young bachelors by carriage to the port of Emden...

Coincidentally, the work of transporting 9,000 mercenaries to the Teutonic state also ended. As a result, 10 newly bought Kirk sailboats are also empty. Together with the two Class 250 armed merchant ships for the exclusive use of Amerigo, Marin now has a total of 12 free ships that can be used for immigration work.

According to the scale that one ship can carry about a hundred people, these 12 ships can carry more than one thousand people at a time. However, Marin considered that since it is an immigrant, it must not only transport people. For example, more food should be shipped. After all, the colony was newly developed and there was no food supply, and the settlers needed spare food to survive until the next season of crops grew.

Marin isn't worried about immigrants to North America's Twin Islands and Cape Breton. Because the fishery resources of these two places are very rich. Needless to say, the two islands in North America, Nantucket Island (Americo Island) was originally an important whaling base for later generations. Since it is a whaling base, there must be many whales nearby. Where there are many whales, the fishery resources must be rich, otherwise the whales with great appetite cannot be supported. Whether it is fishing or whaling, Marin now has no shortage of such talents.

So just send the 30 Frisian fishermen who have mastered the whaling skills to Nantucket at the same time as the immigration. These fishermen only need to kill a few larger whales, enough for the fishermen to eat whale meat for a long time, and they can comfortably support the next season's grain maturity.

As for Cape Breton Island, don't worry, sending some fishermen along can also solve the problem. After all, Cape Breton Island is very close to Newfoundland. And where is Newfoundland? It was one of the four famous fishing grounds in later generations. In this era, there have not been so many large trawlers fishing here repeatedly, and there are so many fish in the sea. As long as a few fishing boats are randomly dispatched, the people on Cape Breton Island will eat fish and support themselves...

Therefore, whether it is the North American Twin Islands or Cape Breton Island, as long as they are sent to fishermen and fishing boats, the migrants there will not have to worry about food and drink.

Only Grenada is more troublesome, not because there are no fish in the waters of Grenada and it is not suitable for fishing, but because there are more warlike and cruel Caribbean people in the Caribbean waters.

In the Caribbean Sea, the Caribs rode huge canoes and were adept at using spears and javelins. If the fishermen go out to fish, if they are targeted by the canoes of the Caribs, they will be easily besieged and killed. With the urine of the Caribbean, none of the male fishermen caught by them would survive.

So, fishing in the Caribbean Sea is dangerous. And the fishermen have no fighting power, and they risk their lives when they go out to sea to fish. Unlike the North American waters, the Bimei Indians rely on hunting in the forests on land, which is enough to solve the problem of food and clothing, and do not have to go to the sea to make a living. The Caribbean has the largest number of islands, and the canoes of the Caribbean people are rampant on the sea, and it is very dangerous for unarmed fishermen to go to sea...

And, even on land, Grenada needs some defensive capabilities. Because, the Caribs have attacked Grenada before. The immigration this time is not easy, not only to cultivate wasteland, but also to guard against the attack of the Caribbean...

To this end, among these 2,000 people, Marin selected 300 brave people and set up the Grenada Colonial Guard specially to protect Grenada from being invaded. In order to train these 300 people, Marin also specially dispatched 10 experienced squad leaders to accompany them to Grenada as officers of the unit.

Not only that, Marin also specially allocated a ship of cement and bricks to the Grenada colony for use. After all, they needed to fend off the Caribs and build a fortress to keep them safe. However, if the stone is quarried locally and ground into stone, the time required is too long, and it is not as fast as cement bricks.

In addition to the need to carry building materials such as cement and bricks, Marin also let the migrant ships load a lot of food and other living materials. Of course, that's not enough...

Because, to reclaim wasteland in the colony, it takes cattle and a lot of farm implements. Farming tools are easy to handle, just let the smithy build a batch of ships. But farming cattle is very troublesome.

Not to mention, the cattle that Marin bought from Poland were all oxen that were accustomed to staying on land, and they were all "land ducks". When Marin sent people to load the cattle on the boat, they found that most of the cattle were seasick...

Marin didn't know whether to laugh or cry, so he had to try every cow on a boat, and then selected 100 scalpers that were not seasick. But these scalpers are not honest, rampage on the boat, very dangerous. In order to be safe, Marin had to order the blacksmith to build 100 huge cages and put them on the deck to control the oxen's violent behavior. At the same time, because it is an iron cage, the cattlemen can also use a broom to pass through the cage every day to clean the cow dung and pour it into the sea, so as to avoid the stench on the ship and the disease.

Thinking of the problem of disease, Marin selected a few students who were good at learning from among the disciples of the Mongolian doctor Batel, and went to the colony with the fleet to treat the people of the colony.

At the same time, Marin also specially selected three of the 20 priests who were good at flicking out of the 20 priests who were taught by Taylor who stayed in the country. They went to Grenada, North American Twin Islands and Cape Breton Island to build churches and help local people. Evangelism and sermons, and brainwashing by the way, so that the colonies will not come out of the idea of ​​self-reliance...

After everything was prepared, 12 ships, carrying 800 immigrants, 100 cattle, and a large amount of food and living supplies, went to Grenada, North American Twin Islands and Cape Breton Island in two separate routes.

Although there are three colonies, the North American Twin Islands and Cape Breton Island are all the same. The two islands are also relatively close, and the boats that go there are on the North Atlantic route, which is the road when Amerigo came back.

On the other side of Grenada, it is a single route, the route that Columbus explored before. That is to say, first go south along the Canary Cold Current, arrive at the Canary Islands for a little supply, then continue southward, and then follow the equatorial compensation current and east wind, all the way westward, to reach the Windward Islands.

Moreover, in the Canary Islands, Marin had already sent people to buy a lot of sugarcane seedlings there, and bought a group of Moorish slaves who were originally controlled by the Spaniards to work in sugarcane plantations.

When these Moorish slaves who knew how to grow sugar cane arrived in Grenada, with the help of immigrants, they would reclaim wasteland and plant those sugar cane seedlings. Then, Marin can wait for Grenada to become a sugar producer...

In addition, Marin also asked immigrants from Grenada and immigrants from North America to bring a bag of soybeans and try to plant them in the past. These soybeans were purchased in India before Columbus and Draka. Grenada has a hot climate, similar to India, so there is no problem in growing soybeans. However, the North American twin-island Marin is not guaranteed. After all, this is an Indian soybean variety that is suited to tropical climates, not necessarily North American climates. But if the planting in the North American Twin Islands is successful, it will be a great surprise.

After all, North America is vast and very close to Europe. If the soybean origin is in North America, it will be very convenient to transport it back to Europe. If the soybeans were from Grenada, the transit time would be too long...

You know, soybeans are the standard horse feed for modern cavalry. In modern cavalry, basically every war horse has a shackle on its neck, which contains 10 to 20 catties of fried soybeans. Whenever the horse is tired from running, the cavalry will grab a handful of fried soybeans to make up for the horse...

Malin was determined to build a huge cavalry unit, so he naturally had to pay attention to the cultivation of fodder for his war horses. It is a pity that the high latitude of Europe, the low summer temperature, and the "Little Ice Age" are not suitable for soybean cultivation (southern Europe is suitable). Even in later generations, the United Kingdom and Germany do not grow soybeans and basically import them from the United States.

The latitude of the two islands in North America is about the same as the Beijing-Tianjin area, which is suitable for soybean cultivation. I just hope that the soybeans of Indian varieties are more resistant to cold... In addition, there are many oak trees on the island, which are very suitable for shipbuilding...

Cape Breton Island seems to be suitable for growing cold-hardy crops such as rye, but Marin is a little unsure about soybeans. In fact, although Cape Breton Island is close to Harbin (the damn area is alphabetized), because it is on the seaside, the temperature in summer is not as high as that of Harbin. In the future, it may be suitable to grow soybeans, but because it is in the "Little Ice Age", the temperature is a degree or two lower than normal. So, Marin reckons, Cape Breton Island may not be suitable for soybean cultivation at this time.

However, Cape Breton Island also has its advantages. First of all, it has coal and forest resources, which are very suitable for the development of papermaking. Secondly, its area is large enough, 10,000 square kilometers. You know, the two islands in North America add up to only 500 square kilometers.

With such a large land area, Marin could raise sheep and horses on a large scale on Cape Breton Island. Just cut down the trees and plant some alfalfa grass on the ground, and a large grazing meadow will appear.

Although the temperature of Cape Breton Island is not high in summer, due to the influence of the North Atlantic warm current, the temperature in winter is not low, and it will never be tens of degrees below zero like the northeast of the same latitude. A dozen degrees below zero is very scary. But there is a lot of wood here, and the cost of building a barn is also low.

East Friesland itself is too small to have many places to keep horses. Therefore, Marin needs a horse-raising field, and raises enough horses for him to supply the cavalry needs. However, raising horses on land in North America is dangerous. If the horses are obtained by the Indians, it is easy to cause the terrifying uh Indian cavalry to appear in advance. Therefore, it is a good choice to raise horses on an island separated from the mainland. After all, the horses originally obtained by the Indians were lost by the Spaniards. On Cape Breton Island, if the horses get lost again, they are still on the island, and they won't swim to the mainland by themselves...

When the three American colonies developed, Grenada provided sugar and spices; Cape Breton Island provided paper and warhorses; North American Twin Islands provided soybeans and warships, and acted as a springboard for the invasion of the North American continent...

Facing a bright future, Marin is looking forward to...