There is no doubt that Poland was a serfdom country.

When Gaumo and others rode through the Polish countryside, they saw many aristocratic estates and their farmlands. It is recorded that at the beginning of the century, on average, each Polish peasant had to serve one day of labor per week on the land of the lord, but now this has increased to 4-5 days. They had little time to take care of their share of land, and even some nobles forbade them to leave the village where they lived, and the peasants lost their personal freedom, were basically tied to the land, and became serfs.

Moreover, the Polish aristocracy accounted for as much as 20% of the country's population, and the land and wealth were greatly dispersed, which further stifled the possibility of the emergence of capitalism in Poland. While the countries of Western Europe were developing rapidly after the Renaissance, Poland was still operating as a medieval serfdom state. A large number of handicrafts, metallurgy, and mining were controlled by the local aristocracy, who were unable and unwilling to expand production, and the rate of urbanization was extremely slow, and the social development of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, composed of 10 million people, seemed to have stagnated.

Gaumore and the others soon arrived at their destination, a manor house of the Valleglevsky family in the Danzig countryside. Even in a region as much as Danzig, where the commercial atmosphere was strong, the vast countryside was still dotted with aristocratic estates. Poor Polish serfs worked hard to cultivate the land and graze their livestock, and the fruits of their labor were shipped via the Vistula River to the port of Danzig, where they were transported by Dutch merchant ships to Western Europe for sale. There are also people who are not willing to be serfs for the rest of their lives, so it is obvious that this person has no choice but to become a soldier and eat food.

Conrad. Valleglevski stood at the gate of the manor in brightly colored Polish national costume. When I saw Gao Mo and others who came on horseback. Immediately stepped forward and said in fluent Spanish: "Dear friend. Welcome to your arrival. ”

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Your Excellency." Since he did not know the etiquette of the Poles, Gaumo greeted the other in his own way. He noticed that the young nobleman, who called himself Conrad, seemed to be dressed in clothes cut from the finest dyed cloth of the East Coast, for such bright colors could not be fooled, and neither the Dutch nor the English had such dyeing techniques. Could it be that the other party is dressed like this on purpose? Probably not! In that case, their posture would be too humble.

The two sides then introduced each other to their retinue. Gomo introduced Zheng Yong and Schneider, while Conrad introduced his sister Veronica and his butler Peter. After some pleasantries, the two went to the manor and sat down.

The Valleglevsky family's estate is a typical medieval castle manor, thick and sturdy but dark and damp. It's not so comfortable to live in, but these Poles are clearly used to it. Years of war have given them a strong sense of crisis, and perhaps subconsciously they will not feel safe if they do not build the manor on which they live strongly.

The roots of the Valleglevski family are in Krakow, the old capital of Poland. The current capital, Warsaw, was moved by the Poles after they seized the fine port of Danzig from the Teutonic Knights. Poland's economy was very dependent on this one of the best ports in the Baltic Sea, and timber, grain, livestock, and flax from the vast Polish plains were transported to this port through the Vistula, Oder and other rivers in the territory, and then handed over to the Dutch and British for sale. Today, Western Europe is mired in war and the order of production has been seriously damaged. The growing demand for Polish goods, especially grain, in Central and Western Europe stimulated the abnormal development of the manor-style serf economy in Poland on the other hand.

However, the East Coasters did not come to Poland to negotiate a grain trade with them. There is no shortage of food for people on the east coast, and the port itself is still exporting a large amount of grain every year. The main purpose of his visit to Poland was to negotiate the trade of army weapons between the two countries, as well as a possible trade in naval vessels, which of course would have to go to Warsaw. Before leaving for Warsaw, however, he did not mind a short stay in Danzig, where he could consult with the Valleglevski family, who had some trade ties with the East Coasters in Riga, to see if there was any possibility of cooperation in other areas.

"Your Excellency Valleglevsky......" Gaumo said in Spanish, clearing his throat.

"Please call me Conrad." Conrad interrupted Gaumore with a smile and said.

"Well, Conrad, I heard that your family is an old family in Krakow, so I think there may be some possibility of cooperation between the two of us, such as lead, sulfur, and other materials that are urgently needed in our country." Gaumore said.

"As you mentioned, the Valleglevsky family has a long history, dating back to the time of Grand Duke Kazmirz IV of Jagiello two hundred years ago, when my ancestor was a member of the Grand Duke's bodyguard." Conrad spoke slowly, with a gentle and reserved smile on his face, and his sister Veronica sat quietly on the side, quietly listening to her brother tell the family history.

"As for lead mines, my family has a lot of them in Arkush's territory. However, as you know, food prices have risen all the way over the years, and now the family's main focus has shifted to farming. To this end, the family even abandoned two lumber yards, a salt mine, and a sulfur mine. As for the lead mines, there are indeed some in operation, but the annual output is limited, probably less than 300 quintals. Conrad seems to be involved in the family business to some extent, so he's familiar with the data, and he can talk about it.

Gao Mo was a little disappointed when he heard this. 300 quintals are only 30 tons, how can such a little be enough. 10,000 troops would consume more than 8 tons of lead for 20 rounds of live ammunition training every month, and more than 100 tons per year. This is still normal training, if war breaks out, the consumption will be huge, and sometimes a battle will consume the amount of training for the whole year. According to statistics, the East Coast Army (including militia, military academy, and corps fort) consumed a total of about 220 tons of lead last year (43 years); Not counting the small amount of lead bullet used in the naval and army artillery and some other industrial consumption, it is more than 300 tons when you count it.

Now that the war in Europe is in the ascendant, countries have increased their procurement of strategic materials such as sulfur, lead, and arquebus, so that people on the east coast have to work hard to buy some lead. The more than 300 tons were obtained from multiple channels in many places, and the money was not a problem, but the main reason was that there were too few purchase channels and it was too troublesome. Therefore, if there is a stable supply point, then even if the price is more expensive than some East Coasters, it will be recognized. After all, a major war may break out in the Far East this year and next, and for this reason almost all of the country's stocks have been moved, and it is not known whether there will be enough of them. How to purchase it next is still a headache.

Poland is rich in both sulfur and lead, and if we can cooperate with these local nobles and let them expand their production capacity, it is best to expand the annual output to several hundred or even a thousand tons a year, so that even if the other party asks for a high price, then the people on the east coast will not hesitate to eat it. The same is true for sulfur, the navy and army on the east coast now have more than 800 guns of all sizes, nearly 3,000 gunners (including a large number of indigenous gunners), and the annual consumption of sulfur alone is dozens of tons, plus the production of sulfuric acid and some other aspects of consumption, a total of about 200 tons of sulfur was consumed in the country last year. If these materials can be imported from here, it will save the people on the east coast to collect them vigorously.

However, sulfur and lead, while important, are not the first priority, and the most urgent import "goods" of the East Coast people are still women. And when the two sides talked about this topic, Veronica, who had been sitting quietly on the side, coughed lightly, and then invited the young Zheng Yong to go out for a walk with her. As soon as the ladies left, the undisciplined men immediately began a lively discussion on the subject.

Strictly speaking, although the Polish aristocracy controlled a large number of serfs, they were not the personal slaves of the nobles, but they were artificially bound to the land. If you look at it from a legal point of view alone, they are still free. Therefore, if you want to import "women" from Poland, you must not buy them directly, you still have to rely on saying that they are willing to go to the east coast, and then the east coast can find a way to transport them away by ship. Of course, you have to get the consent of these nobles before that, because in the eyes of these feudal lords, young women are not very valuable, they can have children, and at the same time they can work, but they are not objects that can be easily abandoned.

This is especially true in Poland, where manor farming is predominant, and people on the East Coast have to hemorrhage if they want to attract a large number of women from Poland, which has a population of 10 million. But in the eyes of the people of the East Coast, anything that can be solved with money is not a thing! Therefore, Gaumo's trip was to take advantage of the good relations between Poland and the East Coast to finalize these matters first. For example, on Conrad's side, Gao Mo is ready to persuade him to "let out" some school-age girls in the village, and the people on the east coast will give him a "referral fee" ranging from 60 to 80 yuan per person.

A woman can be worth one to two tons of grain, which is not low, after all, these people are not their personal slaves. Every year, by introducing 50 girls to the East Coast, you can harvest dozens or hundreds of tons of grain, which can be worth the harvest of dozens of hectares of farmland. Moreover, now that the flames of war in many parts of Europe have gradually been extinguished and the order of production has been restored, their demand for grain in Poland will certainly not be as strong as it is now, and the fall in food prices will be inevitable.

By then, will there be so many people needed to farm the farm? If you give those hillbillies some more money and encourage them to have more children, won't this business be able to last? Well, although this will damage your aristocratic face, but what are these in front of the lovely silver coins!

Seeing that Conrad was lost in thought, Gomo smiled and did not speak. Next, not only the Valleglevsky family, but also other Polish nobles and lords he knew, large and small, were ready to talk one by one, and try to attract as many such people who were willing to cooperate with the East Coasters. For this reason, he is ready to be a fortune boy and spend money to open the way! (To be continued......)