The robber Louis laughed freely, wiped his soiled forehead with his sleeve, revealing a face that was not handsome and handsome, but unusually resolute, and replied in a provocative tone: "I should die on the battlefield with honor, and not be humiliated by you face to face without any glory, if I were the devil, then what are you parasites who are grandiose and build on the throne of thousands of dry bones?" ”

It seems that he is an angry young man who is unwilling to be lonely, I disdainfully raised the corners of my mouth, patted Louis on the shoulder and replied: "You are right to be angry, but you chose the wrong direction to vent, if you rob and destroy the family, all of them are so-called parasites, then our current position will definitely be reversed, so you are destined to be a clown who is inconsistent with words and deeds, and become a stepping stone on the road to my glorious achievements." ”

"Rest assured, you will not be forgotten, your head will be stuck in a spear, and you will be heralded to all the robbers who dare to do mischief, and they will be reminded of the price of gathering in the mountains and forests, and your body will be thrown into the pigsty, where you will be trampled and degraded endlessly, and will eventually rot along with pig dung."

After listening to my words, Louie laughed out loud and said, "Hahaha, yes, this is exactly the way I like to do things!" ”

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"Do I really need to put myself in this tight, funny pocket and dress up like a street clown begging?"

The bull grumbled at me for the umpteenth time, reaching out to tear off the cloak that was so impractical and uncomfortable to his neck that wasted fabric, and wrinkled his newly made leggings to look more like what he called a clown.

"If you insist on doing this, I'm afraid you will have to live with the soldiers, huddle in the tents outside the castle, drink and gamble, enjoy the limited-time service of the cheapest and ugly prostitutes, and miss the wonderful knightly games."

I have lost the patience to continue to reason with him, and I will not tell him again and again that the tight trousers have become the most popular aristocratic fashion in recent years, and this kind of trousers, which first became popular throughout Christendom from the Duchy of Aquitaine in France, and after being condemned and forbidden by the monasteries, they are still in full swing to become the mainstream of aristocratic clothing.

The exaggerated long cloak that covers half of the body is the standard dress of the knights of this era, with short hair cut almost bald, and a clean chin without stubble, which is also regarded as the hometown of fashion, the latest trend spread by Aquitaine, although Leonardo is a little older, but his grasp of the pulse of fashion is far more avant-garde than those of us who are in the poor countryside and fight all day long.

Kohler still did not speak, staring at the bull with disdain from top to bottom, and now he learned to despise a person with his eyes, rather than direct verbal attack, which would make him appear as uneducated as the despised, and the eyes could show more effective aggression than words, vicious and vicious, so that people had nothing to say.

I stared at the two of them as they made eye contact, happily watching the excitement, Kohler's adaptability to his new identity was significantly stronger than that of a fierce bull, probably due to the effects of long hours of underground work, although he was always sneakily tugging at his belt and fiddling with uncomfortable leggings.

The contempt of the two of them for the aristocracy is the same, but the three days of arguing and bickering with each other can only show that the competitive mentality prevails, but it also contributes to the lifeless atmosphere after the sneak attack on Nijmegen.

"The quality of your court members is very questionable, but it is undeniable that they are all warriors with a hundred, but when it comes to how to govern the country, they are not as knowledgeable as a lowly businessman like me."

Leonardo was not as heartless as me, he rode up to me on horseback and reminded worriedly: "Raising loyal warriors is the inevitable practice of every lord who wants to establish long-term peace and stability, but now your court needs at least one clerk who is proficient in rhetoric, and a palace minister who is familiar with diplomatic etiquette, I don't mean that prosperity is bad." God, it's a mouthful, it must have been derived from the old Saxon dialect, you know, I was to Britannia once, and the people there spoke very funny. ”

"I'm sorry to digress, Wangcai is careful and loyal enough...... It's barely math-committed, but then again, you'll need a tax officer to help you sort through the messy accounts. ”

I looked at Leonardo, who was familiar with me and regarded himself as a member of Nijmegen, and teased the old man very scoundrelly: "Aren't the people you just said yourself in?" You've already done it all, so why bother spending more time and energy looking for it? Besides, you have to pay some more commissions, which is not cost-effective! ”

Leonardo rolled his eyes and protested with a silent silence, perhaps even he himself could not laugh or cry, the errands just mentioned did indeed fall on his head now, perhaps the difference was nothing more than an official appointment letter from the earl, or a real knighthood.

The robber Louis was a man in a sense, he accepted the fate of being captured without crying, making trouble, looking for death, hanging, honestly tied up with hemp rope, and calmly followed the army back to Nijmegen.

Leonardo had already prepared for the aftermath of the victory, and sent an envoy to report the victory to the Count of Flanders, although the news had been transmitted back to their respective courts by the spies of various countries who were lurking, but the high-sounding official act was still a necessary procedure.

The Count of Flanders entertained the messenger who brought the news of the victory, and in celebration decided to convene the nobles for a huge knightly tournament, inviting knights from all countries eager for glory and flowers to participate in the tournament, and the robber Louis would be beheaded before the tournament began.

Leonardo, who has always been speculative in business, naturally refused to miss such a good opportunity, and he immediately recruited his own tailors, using the most exquisite fabrics for everyone attending the event, tailoring the most fashionable outfits, and sewing his own trademark in the most conspicuous position, which is equivalent to using a few of us as models to do free advertising.

The special products in the territory and the precious timber transferred from the interior of Germany were packed and loaded on the car early and shipped to Antwerp, because the gathering of the nobles was often also the stage of fierce competition among the merchants, and whoever got the news first and arrived first could occupy the largest market share, so as to rely on their own rhetoric to deceive the arrogant and stupid aristocrats to easily sign two large supply orders and make profits exponentially.

"I'm going to split fifty-fifty of the money I earn this time!"

When I set off, I was sorting out the suit that was as uncomfortable as a plaster cast, and at the same time I held out five fingers at the old man viciously: "I won't do it even if I don't have a dime!" ”

Leonardo ignored me at all, rode on his horse without squinting, and asked me in a tone that made him want to smoke him: "Then how do you calculate the money for this dress?" Your money cellar is cleaner than your face! ”

Whenever I am at such a time, I pound my chest and get angry, why did I not seriously study the secular law of the Middle Ages, despise the rights of the lords, and sarcastically mock the nobles, can I directly peel the skin and go to the gallows without any interrogation?

A large group of people swaggered on the road, even when the weather is good, the so-called road conditions are not so optimistic, so the old guy abandoned the carriage and chose to ride the horse, because that will cause a lot of trouble to travel, the front wheel just out of the ditch and the rear wheel will sink in, unless someone in front of the smooth and hardened road, otherwise this is not a very long journey, absolutely have to start a month in advance to arrive on time.

The arrest of the robber Louis is self-evident to the bandits hiding in the depths of the forest, it is said that there have been many bandit gangs that have gathered in the mountains and forests for many years, and the rest have also waved white flags to surrender to us, choosing to cooperate obediently and benefactorily.

The Vikings swept across the coast of Europe like a storm, and it is said that the Saracen port in the far East was also harassed by the Odin warriors who roared in the dragon warships, and the coast of Western Europe was like the land that had been ploughed deeply, and the densely populated and prosperous Flanders region bore the brunt.

Tall blonde warriors with horned helmets and huge battle axes on wheels sailed up the river from the mouth of the sea, raiding towns and villages and aristocratic castles along the way, robbing everything of value, including the woman who could give birth.

Since Rollo, the leader of the Norsemen, succeeded in gaining control of Normandy from the French king Charles III the Fool, these fearsome warriors who believed in pagan gods and their dragon ships settled down and no longer brought the shadow of death and destruction to the panicked people of all Europe.

From the ruined ruins, Flanders regained its thriving wool textile business, and gradually became an unruly hound in the eyes of the trembling little king of the Île-de-France, forgetting that his ancestors were nothing more than an ordinary soldier who had been stationed here to defend the border.

Baudouin, the bearded prince of Flanders, decided to hold the knightly tournament on the outskirts of Antwerp, and the nobles and knights who had received the news rushed to this prosperous city with easy access by land and water, where the Earl's family had a hunting palace surrounded by strong stone walls, enough to accommodate everyone who came to the event.

Although I have seen the majesty of the Eternal City of Rome, the exuberance of Antwerp and the shops that can be found everywhere in the streets still arouse my curiosity, those simple slab houses that can be used as shops, or tents selling all kinds of novelty goods, blacksmiths, goldsmiths, tailors and groceries are intermingled, and everyone has become accustomed to trading in money instead of barter, which is common in other regions, and the circulation of goods is large enough to be called trade. It's not like the merchants, who fight and sell between various closed areas.

Wealthy merchants formed a united chamber of commerce to govern the town, paying a large tax each year to their nominal ruler, the Earl of Flanders, although employing private armies to defeat any petty thief who dared to encroach on their personal interests.

(End of chapter)