The Germans are still black, and the Black Forest, the Black Cross and the Black Military Uniform are all standard for the Germans. Therefore, the 500 guards cavalry newly selected by Marin, the rhinoceros leather armor they wore were all painted black.

In fact, black lacquer was not only admired by the Germans, but it was also cheap. Unlike red paint and blue paint, although it is bright and beautiful, but in this year, it is really expensive!

Originally, Marin also wanted his cavalry to wear red uniforms similar to those of lobster soldiers, because they were more handsome. However, red paint is too expensive. Moreover, if the ratio is too high-profile, it is easy to be prioritized on the battlefield...... Marin counted on this group of cavalry guards to protect his own lives, and if they were killed by the fire first, his own life would be lost. Therefore, wearing black armor makes it look more heavy and calm, and at the same time, it is also low-key and introverted, so as not to be prioritized......

Even Marin himself, in order to avoid being sniped by enemy marksmen when he was on the march, wore black armor. Only on major ceremonies will armor painted with gold paint be worn to show identity.

Of course, Marin wouldn't be stupid enough to actually wear heavy metal armor. The metal armor is shiny, but it's really heavy! What he could gain by putting on a real set of gold armor Marin didn't know, but he knew that doing so would definitely exhaust him......

After all, gold is more than 2.4 times denser than steel, and if you really want to wear a set of gold armor, you don't need enemies to hit you, and you have to die of exhaustion first.

Therefore, since he had rhinoceros skin resources, Marin no longer wore steel armor, but asked people to help him create a luxurious version of rhinoceros leather armor. His rhinoceros leather armor is different from ordinary rhinoceros leather armor, not only more beautiful and generous, but also has many small "pockets" attached.

Of course, this is not a small pocket, but a place for inserting steel plates. After all, the ability of rhinoceros leather armor to resist bullets is insufficient, and it can only be inferior to cold weapons. Therefore, when charging, it is best to learn from the plug-in plate body armor of later generations, inserting some steel plates or something.

For example, in the "small pocket" outside the Marin leather armor, there is a steel sheet of high manganese steel. Each steel sheet is not large, but there are many "pockets" on the Marlin armor, and a lot of high-manganese steel steel pieces can be inserted to protect the heart and mind. At the level of muskets of this era, it is still difficult to penetrate rhinoceros leather armor interspersed with high manganese steel sheets.

However, for the sake of secrecy, Marin did not declare that it was rhinoceros leather armor, but falsely claimed that it was "refined premium multi-layer cowhide armor". Because there has been no major war in the near future, the superiority of the rhinoceros leather armor of the North Sea State has not been revealed. Therefore, everyone did not pay much attention. Otherwise, how would the Portuguese allow Marin to be preoccupied?

You know, Africa, the origin of rhinos, is in the hands of the Portuguese. They wanted rhinoceros skin, which was much more convenient than Marlin. Moreover, it is also convenient to cut off the supply of rhino hides from Marin Africa. After all, the Senegalese side was also the legal "sphere of influence" of the Portuguese.

But Senegal is too small after all, and the hunting team has already crisscrossed the West African savannah in Senegal, but in a few years, the supply of rhino skins is only enough to make 13,000 sets of rhinoceros leather armor. But the North Sea has tens of thousands of troops, which is not enough at all!

Moreover, rhinoceros leather armor is also worn. Like body armor, rhinoceros leather armor that has been attacked is actually scrapped. Although it can be used for repair, the repaired rhinoceros leather armor not only reduces its protection, but also becomes very ugly. Therefore, rhinoceros leather armor is a consumable. If a war breaks out, it is estimated that after a big battle, at least two or three thousand sets of rhinoceros leather armor will be scrapped. Not to mention, it's completely useless, but it will definitely have to go through major repairs before it can be used. Moreover, the effect will be reduced.

Unless, Marlin has a steady supply of rhino hide, which makes it very easy for armor craftsmen to change the rhino leather pieces on their armor. In this way, there is no fear of attrition during combat.

However, Senegal is such a big place, and there are really no rhinos!

In the beginning, Royce's hunting party of 100 musketeers had a great harvest, hunting two or three thousand rhinos in a year, and being able to make more than seven thousand pairs of armor. However, it was difficult for them to encounter rhinos in the future......

After all, rhinos are solitary animals with a large territorial range, and each rhinoceros covers a territory of about 10 square kilometers. Hunting two or three thousand rhinos is equivalent to sweeping a rhinoceros within 20,000 or 30,000 square kilometers. But how big is Senegal?

Moreover, the territory of the rhinoceros is not connected, but scattered and separated from each other. Therefore, killing two or three thousand rhinos has covered an area of tens of thousands of square kilometers.

In addition, there is a large number of humans in the Senegal region. Although the local area is also a "remote area" in the declining Mali Empire, there are many human beings living there, and there is also a strong strength. In human settlements and nearby areas, rhinos are generally absent.

Therefore, for several years, Royce only managed to get enough rhinoceros skins to make more than 13,000 sets of armor, that is, killed two or three thousand rhinos.

And these more than 13,000 sets of rhinoceros leather armor, Marin did not distribute all of them, but only issued 10,000 sets, and only to officers and the most elite veterans. To some extent, in the Beihai Army, rhinoceros leather armor became a status symbol.

But Marlin obviously doesn't want to have just a little bit of rhinoceros leather armor! You know, if there is a real war, rhinoceros leather armor must consume a lot. If there were a few more battles, the rhinoceros leather armor of those officers would be scrapped, and he would not be able to replace them.

Therefore, Marlin was keen to get more rhino skins in order to make more rhino leather armor.

However, how to hide from the Portuguese and get a better understanding of rhinoceros skin?

For now, it seems that it is better to send your own reliable hunting teams to hunt rhinos in the African savannah. As long as you carry a high-powered arquebus and use steel ball bullets produced in the North Sea, you can easily kill a rhinoceros and get rhinoceros skin. Among other things, the power of Mushket's musket alone was enough to hunt rhinos.

But the problem is that Marín has tried his best and can only rely on the Duke of Coimbra, Jorge. Morality. Lencestre's forces have obtained permission to hunt rhinos in the Senegalese region.

Can Jorge. Morality. Rencastree himself failed to compete with Manuel I for the throne that year, and although he was a duke, he was in a very bad situation in Portuguese politics.

As a loser in the struggle for the throne, in ancient China, the iron nail was to be cut down and eradicated. Even if the situation in Europe was much better, it was not immune to the targeting and suppression of the victor Manuel I.

So, even if he is the son of the previous king of Portugal, even if he is the duke of Portugal, Jorge. Morality. Lencastre's ability is actually limited, and it is already rare to help Marin get the right to run a small place in Senegal.

Moreover, as a big nobleman and a former contender for the throne, the other party is obviously not a fool. If it weren't for Marin handing over all the rhino horns he hunted to the other party and making him make a lot of money, he might not be willing to cooperate with Marin.

But not with Jorge. Morality. Who can Marin work with? You know, Africa is the territory that the Holy See has assigned to Portugal. Of course, he can use strong means to force Portugal to comply, or simply send people to do it without informing Portugal. But the consequences of breaking the rules are serious, and if he takes the lead in violating the rules of the Holy See, he will not only lose the support of the Holy See, but also find an excuse to covet the American colonies that he values most......

But the big war is coming, and Marin really wants more rhinoceros skins! If the soldiers had more Rhino Leather Armor equipment and replacement, their combat effectiveness would increase a lot. Not to mention whether the armor has been improved, but in terms of weight, it can allow the soldiers to save a lot of physical strength while maintaining high protection, which can be used in battle. It's not like wearing plate armor, let's not talk about anything else. , the weight is extremely physically demanding......

How can I get more rhino skin? For this, Magellan, who has not been under Marin for a long time, gave very good advice - to cooperate with the former ministers of João II......

The so-called former ministers of João II refer to the Portuguese nobles of the faction of the previous Portuguese king, João II. They had been loyal to João II and later supported João II's son, the Duke of Coimbra, Jorge. Morality. Lencastree succeeded to the Portuguese throne.

But Jorge. Morality. Lencastree was ultimately defeated, and in the end it was Manuel I who succeeded to the throne......

Originally, this group of Portuguese nobles who failed and lost power were supposed to continue to unite with João II's son, Jorge. Morality. Lencastre's side. However, Jorge. Morality. Lencastre himself was suppressed by Manuel I, and could only protect himself and could not afford to support so many people. Therefore, except for some of those who took refuge in Manuel I early when they saw the opportunity, most of the former ministers of João II lost their power and lost their original official positions after Manuel I ascended the throne. They became almost nothing except to bless the title of a nobleman......