During my stay in Berlin for a few more days, I visited some of the most prominent nobles in the north, and in various ways brought me closer to them and the large families behind them.

If you like money, you will stuff money, if you like women, you will send girls, and if you like pomp, you will have a hunting banquet.

After this series of diplomatic activities, I gained a certain amount of popularity in the northern aristocratic circle radiating from Berlin, and everyone gave me a new nickname:

Pistachios in Nijmegen!

After taking care of the relations between the top and bottom of Berlin, I set out on the return journey with the supplies and men I had ordered my men to procure, and along the way I heard that we were going back to Nijmegen, and the caravan that came to join us was again snowballing in size, and they took advantage of the protection of the lord's army to avoid the robbers, and then while they were resting and camping, they offered the best delicacies to the sergeants, and I was happy to save supplies, and I did not take advantage of the cheap given in vain.

The bad road conditions along the way once again aroused the idea of building roads, but in the feudal era, everyone had to stick to their own power, and at the same time, they could not trample on the rights of others at will, even if His Majesty the Emperor took the lead in building a transportation network throughout Germany, they had to obtain the consent of every feudal lord who passed through the territory along the way, otherwise they had to face a war to defend their sovereignty, no matter how different the identities of the two sides were, in short, it was very troublesome.

"The imperial power is weak, and the princes everywhere support their own troops and fight endlessly, how can it be so similar to the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period? Even if it is your direct vassal, as long as the feudal monarch's strength is not good, he will still command and move, and he will be defeated one after another! ”

I have been riding on the horse for many days and my back injury has basically healed, and at this moment I am shaking my eyes closed and sighing: "No wonder the young emperor has been committed to unifying the separate states all his life and establishing a feudal empire similar to the great unification of the East. ”

On the way back, it was the rainy season, and our group was stuck in the mud, walking and stopping, and everywhere was an endless reckless jungle, shrouded in cold air.

Many people fell ill, and even the horses drooped their heads, but as soon as they got out of the forest and found a sheltered farmstead or castle, they immediately stirred up their spirits and rushed over to stay in two steps, and the desire for dry clothes and hot meals was overwhelming, even a cowshed full of moldy hay was a paradise of luxury.

After twenty days of crawling at the speed of a snail, we finally returned to Herusbeck Castle after a long absence, and we were greeted by a thriving and busy scene.

The newly sown oats have sprouted delicate buds, and the farmers with vegetables on their faces finally have a happy smile on their faces, and they no longer have to worry about the rations for this year's winter.

The war-torn village beneath the castle has expanded into a small town, and merchants from all over the world occupy almost all the newly built houses on both sides of the main road in front of the castle, especially taverns and weapons shops.

Because we recruit a large number of mercenaries to defend the territory, and the salary is never in arrears, so those big men who get their hard-earned money have become idiot patrons that merchants compete for.

Almost every mercenary who has just received his salary will become poor again and return to his post listlessly in less than two days after he enters the tavern and gambles with a romantic gambling.

"The tertiary industry is very active, I guess the bull and Kohler's brains can't come up with such a clever idea, it's probably the old guy's method."

I looked at the flags at the doors of several shops in a row, all of which had the same emblem, and guessed that these gold caves may be the old guy's industry, and how to give this kind of money out and how to get it back is a bad way for him to come up with after decades of ups and downs in the business world.

On the one hand, it is equivalent to doing things in an infinite cycle with limited money, and on the other hand, it grasps the lifeblood that the mercenaries rely on for survival, so that they have no way to leave, so they can only work wholeheartedly, and finally become the standing soldiers of the castle and settle down here.

"Welcome home, my lord!"

The retainers headed by Wangcai stood outside the castle gate to welcome my return, and after many days of not seeing a few people, they were no longer as thin and thin as they were today, and it seemed that all the recent work was on the right track, and everyone's minds were gradually broadened, and their bodies were gradually enriched.

"Excuse me, your life has been good lately, the bull's little belly is bulging, pity me for sleeping in the open for so long, as a lord, you must bow down, it's really cheap for you......" I have not seen my relatives for a long time, I jokingly ridiculed a few people, making them show embarrassed looks on their faces, and they were embarrassed to laugh haha.

"Your room has been rearranged, please rest well after lunch, and we will report on our respective responsibilities in detail later."

Wangcai sideways out of the way, the bull came up and grabbed the reins of the horse, Kohler served me to dismount, Jensen was still weak, but insisted on standing aside the whole time to accompany him, I nodded at him to show that I was concerned about his injury, Jensen smiled heartily.

I looked around and didn't find the old guy, Wangcai saw my doubt, came over and said: "Lord Leonardo said that there was something, and he went to Flender with his caravan, but most of the shops on the street in front of the castle were invested and established by his chamber of commerce, and they were overcrowded every day, and the benefits were so good that they exploded, and his earning power greatly exceeded all of our expectations. ”

"He's just an old fox, charging into battle in another world, and we're no match for him."

While looking at the crowd of people coming in and out of the store with satisfaction, I said to a few people around me: "There are many invisible battlefields in the world, and real swords and real guns are the ultimate means to reach a consensus after all problems cannot be solved. ”

A few people nodded as if they didn't understand, maybe my expectations were too high, a little bit of a seedling to help grow, people with poor foundations and weak foundations need to make unimaginable efforts to reach such heights, but the reality forces them to do this, if you don't grow, you will be eaten by stronger people, and there are no bones left.

After a hearty, but above all, hot lunch, and a good night's sleep in the large bed covered with soft flannel, I woke up near sunset, and the little squire had prepared his clean clothes and stood by the door waiting.

I rubbed my sleepy eyes, stretched my full waist, and said to the little attendant with a respectful expression: "Put the clothes here, I'll just wear them myself, you go out and tell Gong Xiang Wangcai that they will go directly to the hall and wait for me." ”

The little squire bent down and put his clothes on the side of the bed, and was just about to leave, when I looked at his chin that began to grow thin and hairy, and suddenly asked, "You have been with me for so long that you are an adult, and tomorrow you will go to Lord Bull's cavalry to get an errand." I give you an official name, which will henceforth be called Erwin, and I hope that you will not forget the teachings you have listened to by my side, and that you will be loyal from all your heart, and may God bless you! ”

As I spoke, I lovingly rubbed his neatly combed hair.

Unexpectedly, Erwin burst into tears of excitement, you must know that he was originally from a humble background, and it was already God's grace to be able to become the attendant of the lord, and now he can still have his own name, and join the cavalry team that many people dream of, happiness came so suddenly that he felt a little stunned, and he couldn't say anything except tears kept pouring out, and he could only kiss my exposed instep vigorously, and I was so disgusted that I almost took back my life.

"Strange etiquette!"

Looking at Erwin's back staggering in a dream, I shook my head and muttered to myself, picking up the clothes next to the bed and putting them on.

"It's nice to be home!" I said to myself.

I sat down in my own chair, and the waiter brought the chef's elaborate supper, and I looked at a few hungry wolves staring at the food in front of me, and reluctantly ordered the kitchen to send a few more for everyone to taste together.

Speaking of which, my influence is still quite large, many upper-class people in the territory, changed the meal system to three meals a day, and imperceptibly spread and promoted to most of the wealthy businessmen and peasant families, which has also become an important reason for word of mouth to attract outsiders in Nijmegen. And so it was with Canaan with honey.

"My lord, your cash-for-work program has been implemented very smoothly, many homeless people have been given food to make ends meet, and the life of the family has settled down, and at the same time, it has also attracted more retail households who have no fixed place to move here, continue to replenish our population, a large amount of land has been developed, and new farmers often cooperate with several families to work together, and now except for the forest land that is not allowed to be colonized, almost all the land that can be used is sown with fast-growing oats, even if the castle does not provide relief in winter, Food for the majority of the population is also guaranteed. ”

Wangcai flipped through his notebook full of crosses and circles, because he didn't have much literacy, some things still relied on symbols to record, so he often scratched his ears and cheeks and thought for a long time to tell the general idea of things, which was really a bit difficult for the old man's memory.

(End of chapter)