In early spring, the weather is warm and cold.

In Kitsby, a major northern trading town at the foot of Mount Carmel, in the north of Provence, Arte had just come out of the clerk's office, and he paid ten copper fennigs in exchange for a document that allowed the recruitment of caravan guards outside the city.

Art ordered the four Otto who were waiting outside the foyer: "You take the paperwork and go around the city wall to tell the refugees about our recruitment, and repeat a few words: This afternoon the northern city will recruit caravan guards, and those who make it to the primaries will be given two pounds of barley, and the warriors who are finally selected to be the guards will be given food, shelter, and salary. ”

After receiving the order, several people rushed to the gates of each city, and spread the word about recruiting caravan guards along the shacks of the city walls.

…………

In the afternoon of the same day, several large bags of grain were piled up on a wooden platform used for beheading outside the north gate of the city. Otto stood on the wooden platform and looked at the black figure in front of him, estimated to be more than a hundred people, and there was a steady stream of people from other places converging towards the north gate.

Otto glanced at Art, who nodded and signaled that he could begin.

With experience in recruiting displaced people in Tignac, Otto was familiar with the road and said loudly to the crowd in a lingua franca with a slight Northland accent: "Everyone~Quiet~Quiet!" ”

After the crowd quieted down, he continued: "Everyone must have heard that we are recruiting caravan guards, but this time there are conditions for recruiting guards. ”

Otto paused slightly.

"First, our caravan escort is going to the Count of Burgundy in the north, and it may be desperate to fight bandits and robbers. Second, it is better to be a young man under the age of thirty. Thirdly, the caravan guards were not allowed to drag mud and water, so unless they were really brave, they would not recruit anyone with a family. If you meet these conditions, you can come up and try it, and if you can pass my level, you can take two pounds of barley, and if you can pass the pass of the brothers next to me, you can take ten pounds of barley. Those who have passed the two levels of me and my brother will stay and compete with each other, and those who lose will take the ten pounds of grain they deserve and leave, and those who win can go to my lord to choose an alternate guard; If you are finally chosen by our master, you can go with us, and we guarantee that you will be fed and clothed, and that you will be paid at least ten fennigs a week, and if you have merit in the future, you will also have a reward. Everyone, if you want to come and receive free food, hurry up. ”

There was a lot of discussion in the crowd, and most of the people who gathered here to watch were young and strong, and those old and weak gave up when they heard that they were recruiting caravan guards.

Seeing that everyone was just waiting and no one came forward, Odo continued: "You may not believe it, but these brothers and I were still a group of laborers and homeless people a few months ago, what do you think of us now? Eat and dress warmly every day, do you look at our burqa and cape, is it majestic or not? ”

Otto glanced at Ron, who also stood on the wooden platform and said loudly to the audience in a pure Provençal accent: "What this brother said just now is true, I was originally the son of a farmer in the suburbs of Vilno, and in the early autumn of this year our family fled to the northern country of Burgundy, and almost starved to death on the way, but fortunately my lord saved us by kindness, and I became my lord's attendant." Since I followed the master, there has never been a shortage of food every day, and I can still eat bread and drink broth when I see the sky~ And the master also paid me a salary on time in the future, and our whole family survived and lived a very nourishing life. ”

When everyone in the audience heard Ron's familiar native voice, they looked at the young man in a mighty black burqa and cloak, and imagined the life he described, and couldn't help but yearn for it.

Ron continued to add fuel to the fire: "Especially the brothers who are single, what do you have left?" If you want to eat or drink here, there is only one rotten life left, so it is better to take out some men's blood and courage to follow us to gamble. Our master only recruits ten people, and if you hesitate like a woman again, you won't have your share. ”

The crowd was in a commotion for a moment, and a man in the back pushed everyone away and squeezed in, saying, "I'll try it, I still have this food today." ”

The man jumped on the wooden platform, stood in front of Otto and said, "This brother, can you show me if I can be selected?" ”

Otto looked at the person's appearance, it was estimated that he was over thirty years old, but his physique was quite strong, he reached out and pinched the man's waist, abdomen, shoulders and arms, the bones were thick and the skin was thick, and the physique was quite qualified. Otto asked the man if there were any other burdens in the family, and the man replied that he was alone, and Otto felt that this person was strong and had no philistine and ** spirit, and met Art's selection criteria, so he got out of the way and let him enter the next level.

Ron, who was sitting behind a broken table, said to the man: "Among the three of us, you can choose a similar body to try to wrestle your wrist, if you can hold on to thirty numbers without being knocked down, or if you can knock down the opponent, you will win." ”

The man compared in front of several people and picked the strongest Bath.

Bas rolled up his cuffs, put his stout right arm on the table, and said to the man, "Come on, like a man." ”

The man glanced at everyone in the audience, turned his head and sat down opposite Bass, picked up the cuffs of the rags, and put his right hand against Bass's arm......

"One~two~three~four~... Fifteen~sixteen," Ron said aloud on the side.

"Twenty-three~"

Smack~ Buzz slammed the man's right hand on the table with a fierce force.

Bas raised his hand and patted the man opposite him on the shoulder, and said, "Brother, go get the food and go home." ”

Ron scooped two large bowls of hulled barley from the barrel and put them on the man's pocketed clothes, and the man stepped off the stage with regret on his face.

Seeing that the first man really got food, a young man also stepped forward and jumped on the wooden platform and successfully passed the first level of Odo.

In the second level, he chose Ron, who was similar in size, as the target of the challenge. He didn't use his brute strength at the beginning as recklessly as the man just now, but fought with Ron for a while, and then slowly fought with Ron for time, locking Ron to hold on to thirty numbers, although he was finally knocked down, but he still passed the second level smoothly.

The young man came to Art, and he knew that this was the master who nodded and counted, so he bowed.

Art looked up and down at the young man, who was less than twenty years old, lean and with sunken eye sockets.

"What's your name? What was it used for? Art asked.

"Back to the master, my name is Jason Fleming, seventeen years old, the son of a hunter at the foot of the southern Lamel Mountains, my father and I were taken to Vilno to guard the city by the knight lord of the village last year, but ~ my father was killed, and I escaped from the city alone."

"And you will use a bow and arrows?"

"I learned it when I was a child, but my father said that being a hunter was a beast all his life, so he sent me to the knight's house as a servant, and I never used a bow and arrow again."

"We're going to fight the bandits, do you dare to fight with me?"

"As long as you let me eat enough and pay me on time, I will dare!" Jason replied.

"Okay, you can go to the side and rest for a while, and then make the final competition when everyone is together."

With Art's permission, Jason stepped down from the wooden platform and stood beside the carriage and waited patiently......

The two-tiered selection lasted for half an afternoon, and the four of Otto took turns guarding the two passes, and by the time the sun went down on the hill, there was already a large group of strong lone men standing beside the carriage.

The initial recruitment test has ended, and nearly 70 people have taken the stage to apply for the recruitment in half an afternoon, about 50 people have passed the first level, and the recruitment has ended after passing the second level of 20 people. Art only intended to select ten of the twenty men as patrol soldiers, and Art deliberately avoided recruiting too many soldiers in the same place.

The crowd of onlookers has not yet dispersed, and in this season when the remnants of winter have not yet disappeared, this is a rare entertainment scene.

In order to allow the remaining twenty people to play their respective strengths in the next competition, Art asked Ron to take out some rye bread baked from the bakery in Kitsby City for everyone to eat and drink.

After the twenty strong men in front of the carriage had eaten and drunk, Art stood in front of them and said loudly: "You are all the elites I have selected from many men, and you are undoubtedly suitable candidates to fight bandits with me, but I only need the best ten of you." So next, you're going to test each other, and each of you chooses an opponent of similar height and size to wrestle, and finally the person standing will follow me. ”

So until it was dark, the open space outside the northern city was filled with the sound of strong men wrestling and shouting and cheering in the crowd, and even the guards guarding the city were alarmed.

After learning that the Artists were recruiting caravan guards and seeing the lacquered documents issued by the clerk, the guards left.

In the end, the result of the duel came out, and ten young strong men won the wrestling wrestling, among them were noble slaves, miners, laborers, peasants, as well as deserters and urban tramps (hooligans), but in the first level, those who looked like ** and cunning were eliminated, so those who remained were considered pure people.

Art came to the ten strong men who were about to take the food and leave, and said to them: "Ladies and gentlemen, although you have been defeated by them and lost the wrestling, but you are also a group of good men, I am here to give you another chance to live, I have a fertile land in the south of the Count of Burgundy that needs to be cultivated, if you are willing to go north with me, I can give you land to rent, and I will not only provide you with food and lodging until the harvest, but also promise not to collect any taxes for the first year...... If you want to serve as a soldier in the future, you will have a chance......"

The rest of the people were strong, lonely, and most of them were able to survive here on their own, except for three men who had been farmers and were more honest and willing to go north with Art to cultivate the wasteland.

Retaining the losers, Yate turned to the winning ten and said, "Brothers, you are my people from now on, as long as you listen to me and work hard for me, I will ensure that you have no worries about food and clothing, and pay your salary on time." Now you will come with us into the city, and tonight I will invite you to eat bread and drink broth......"

The crowd cheered.

After a sumptuous dinner and a night's rest in the open square of Kitsby, Art set out on his return journey with his newly recruited young men the next morning......