The day after Nicole's departure, Victor gathered a group of men in the manor to discuss the Free Folk caravans and mercenary groups.

"My lord, the average caravan has more than a hundred people, dozens of carts, and two to three mercenary groups, a total of almost two hundred people. The caravan traveled during the day and camped at night, and the mercenaries were responsible for opening the way, guarding the left and right flanks of the convoy, and breaking the rear. When camping, the mercenaries are responsible for keeping watch on the perimeter. We hardly approached the convoy, and the food was delivered by the caravan men.

Caravanserai mercenary groups are definitely going to go the way of the wilderness, so our main enemies are the gnolls and bandits. At night, the gnolls become bold and ferocious, and will also drive goblins, kobolds, and coyotes. The goblins and dogheads threw stones at us with a kind of bow, and often bruised our noses and faces, and if anyone dared to take revenge on the wretch, they would surely be dragged away by the gnolls. To tell the truth, if you want to pass through the territory of the gnolls, without 3 mercenary groups, our war bears will not be lived, and the remuneration will be doubled! Alas, despite our numbers, there will always be some rookie mercenaries who will be eaten by the gnolls.

During the day, we mainly deal with bandits, who are actually mountain people, or maybe freemen。。。。。。 Anyway, as long as we see people, whether they are men, women, or children, we will kill them, and we will not be left alive! As long as one of them escapes, the mission will be considered a failure, and then it will be our turn to flee for our lives. ”

Perhaps remembering the mercenary career of licking blood with a knife head, Old John's pupils shrank into the tip of a needle, and his vicious temperament was like a ferocious old wolf. Victor frowned, he knew that the War Bear mercenaries were not good people, but he didn't expect that they would kill people when they were on escort missions, which was even more ferocious than bandits.

"Why do you say that if you run away from a single mouth, you will have to flee for your life? Could it be that the strength of the mountain people is strong enough to wipe you out?"

Nelson explained, "My lord, the strength of the mountain people is indeed good, but it is not as good as us, and the caravan guards are stronger than us, and there will be at least a few apprentice knights among them. We are not afraid of the mountain people, but of the people behind them. The caravan hired mercenaries and took the remote road entirely to avoid interception by rival families. As long as you get out of the way, a large group of people will soon catch up, although they are all bandits, and there may be knights among them. If you don't run at this time, then wait to be killed. ”

"I see. Victor nodded, and asked curiously, "Since you have all run away, what can you do if the mission fails?"

"The money is gone!" Nelson said depressedly: "When the mercenary group receives the task, they must first take out a large amount of money to the employer as a deposit, and if the mission fails, not only is it not paid, but even the deposit is gone." ”

Victor glanced at Nelson sympathetically, the War Bear Mercenary Group was so poor that they had no food to eat, but they were afraid that it was because they did not have a deposit to take on the mission. However, it is precisely because of this that Victor has gained a group of men who can be trusted, otherwise he would have completely fallen into the control of Sylvia, who had arranged a group of men for him in the first place.

"Iron Hammer, you are from the mountains. Let's tell us about the mountain people. ”

The stout and stocky hammer said in a loud voice: "My lord, we mountain people have lived in the mountains and forests for generations, and we have chosen places that are easy to defend and difficult to attack to build camps. We would use herbs, hides, tendons, amber, honey, nuts, dried mushrooms, etc., to exchange food, ironware, salt, linen, sheepskins, and other daily necessities with the outside villages, as well as weapons and leather armor.

The village outside has a lot of influence on the mountain people, and we have to listen to them. Otherwise, they will be flattened by the army, or attacked by other mountain people, or they will be cut off from salt and food. After I joined the War Bears, I learned that those villages were actually trading with us at the behest of the vassal lord.

The mountain people have found monsters and must report them to the village, and then we must cooperate with the lord's army to rid them of them. Sometimes, the village chiefs would also ask the mountain people to intercept the caravans. In fact, without the request of the village chief, we will rob strangers when we find them, and sell the things we have grabbed to the village chief. If there are many people on the other side, we will join forces with other mountain people to rob, and if we can't beat them, we can also get a reward by handing the news to the village outside. ”

"The laws of the Black Forest!"

Victor shook his head and sighed, the lord built cities, towns, and villages near water sources and ore veins, and used these settlements as the center to control an area within a radius of 15 kilometers, enforce laws, and maintain order. The rest of the area has become lawless, and the laws of the Black Forest are exercised by mountain dwellers and freedmen alike. The lord used daily necessities and force to control the mountain people, allowing them to collect mountain goods for their families, spy on monsters, and plunder caravans, and exercise the same laws of the Black Forest.

Victor had to admit that although the lord's control of the mountain people was cold-blooded and ruthless, it was the most efficient and least costly approach. However, because of this, the unruly mountain people did not have the slightest loyalty to the lord, and this was precisely the breakthrough point of the Free Folk Merchant Order's plan.

"What is the scale of the mountain villages, how big is the scope of control, who is the biggest opponent, and what is the relationship between the villages?"

Hammer answered Victor's questions one by one: "The small mountain village has about 50 people, and the large ones will not exceed 300 people. The larger the village, the greater the control range, like a village of 300 people, the hunter goes out to hunt for 15 days is the control range of the village. The mountain people are most afraid of groups of jackals and ferocious animals, but the lord will help the mountain people solve the gnolls, as for the ferocious animals, try not to provoke it, if you can't avoid it, you can only migrate, or join other cottages, or rob other cottages. Therefore, the biggest opponent of the mountain people is the mountain people who have lost their hunting grounds. The cottages marry each other's daughters, but the women can't speak, and it is the hunting ground that determines the relationship between the cottages. ”

Victor nodded, turned to War Bear Commander Barrett and asked, "You have been studying for so long, what is the plan for the mercenary group?"

Barrett cleared his throat and said, "My lord, according to your request, the free folk caravan must first deal with the mountain people, and they will take mountain roads, woodlands and wilderness, and there is no way to control the carriage due to the limited terrain, and without the carriage, supply will become a problem. Therefore, caravans and mercenary groups cannot be large, but small. We don't think the Freedmen and mercenaries can add up to 40 people. For security reasons, five vendors, thirty-five mercenaries, and seven carts were the configuration of the Free Folk caravan.

In addition, the equipment provided by the adults is too sophisticated, it is not the equipment of mercenaries, but the equipment of elite soldiers. I suggest that the mercenaries use old weapons and armor, otherwise the mountain people will find out who we are and pass the news to the villages they trade with, and the lord may be able to tolerate the mercenary group passing by, but will not let the soldiers of other families come near their territory. ”

Speaking of this, Barrett stopped talking, and Victor smiled: "If you have anything to say, just say it." ”

"My lord, the supplies are not enough, I can't bring too many people, and I can't use good equipment in order to hide my identity. The night in the wild is quite dangerous, no one knows how many gnolls, how many ferocious animals, and even fierce gnolls will be encountered, and the mountain people are not good at stubble, and you have to subdue them before dealing with them. My lord, safety is really a big problem!"

"Go on. ”

"My lord, don't bring the vendor with you this time. Those freeman merchants are dragging their feet, and they don't even have the courage to flee for their lives in the face of danger, and most importantly, we can't carry much cargo without a carriage. In my opinion, it is better to replace the vendor with a warrior. Anyway, when dealing with mountain people, they recognize swords and crossbows, not traders. Barrett said.

Victor and Nelson looked at each other, stood up and said, "You can see very clearly, gnolls, goblins, kobolds, beasts, bandits, mountain people, ferocious animals, and maybe the lord's guards, and even knights, these are the enemies that 30 mercenaries will face. It's a question of security, it's a non-stop fight, it's stepping on blood and corpses all the way through! So, what are we fighting, what are we killing, why are we shedding blood?"

More than a dozen war bear mercenaries looked at each other, and Victor continued: "For the sake of trade! We are going to use strong bows, crossbows, spears and swords to fight a trade route! You are good at fighting, you can't do business! Free folk merchants, you can't fight, you are very good at business." ”

"Whether it is a village or a free private land, they are all inextricably linked to the lord, but they have no loyalty to the lord. So, taking down the mountain people is the first step in our dealings with other lords. In addition, I want to make the village of the mountain people a base for caravans, where mercenary groups and caravans can rest, get supplies, and recruit men. If you want to do this, you can't rely on force alone, and if you push the mountain people into a hurry, the lord will come forward. The mercenary group wants to beat the bandits into mountain people, and the traders want to turn the mountain people into mercenaries!"

"Don't look down on the freedmen traders, today we protect them, tomorrow they will protect us. Because there is another behemoth behind the freeman traders: the Glorious Church! These traders are sleek and sophisticated, shrewd and capable, so that they can deal with the lord's village through the mountain people, and then hug the church's thigh, and the lord can only turn a blind eye. Eventually, we will sell our jaggery and buy back the specialties of the lords of various places. By that time, all of you will sit at home and do nothing, and Kinsol will flow like water into your pockets. By that time, the mercenaries who will obey our orders will not be hundreds, thousands, but thousands!"

Everyone was thrilled by the stimulus of the future depicted by Victor, and they wanted to immediately lead the mercenary group to fight their way out for trade.

Victor took two steps back and forth with his hands behind his back: "This ice-breaking journey must be foolproof. To be on the safe side, I have staffed the mercenary group with 25 elite marksmen and 10 elite warriors, all of whom are as strong as Shaq and Renault. ”

Except for Nelson, everyone gasped, they knew that Victor had many elite soldiers on his hands, but they didn't expect that there would be so many fighters who could be compared to Renault, you must know that Renault can be comparable to Nelson in the early years, and they are all strong men who surpass the trainee knights.

"My lord, that's no problem!"

Victor waved his hand, motioned for Barrett to sit down, and said, "In addition, I also equipped the mercenary group with 10 dust falcons. The equipment can't be broken, after all, weapons and armor are the advantages of our human beings, of course, I will send someone to deal with it to ensure that there are no flaws. The wheelbarrow prepares the crosses, and those warriors act as coolies. He also brought ten free folk traders, plus one and two deputies and three regimental commanders, a total of 48 people. You will inform me of the specific candidates after you decide. ”

"My lord, where are we going this time?" Barrett asked.

Victor walked over to the huge map, frowned and pondered, and finally his gaze fell on the location of the Neville Kingdom: "Go to Neville." ”

The mountains of Neville are densely forested, the land is barren, there is a lack of food and cloth, and the locals are poor and strong, making them good hunters and good mercenaries. In addition, Neville is rich in iron and elemental crystals, and Victor needs more flame crystals, so he decides to open up a trade route to Neville first.

Victor thought for a moment and then said, "The journey to Neville is long, and it is not only difficult but also dangerous. When a mercenary encounters a strong enemy, will he sacrifice some of his companions to block the enemy's rear?"

Nelson muttered, "It can't be avoided. ”

Victor pondered for a moment and said: "If this happens, saving your lives is the most important thing, followed by the free folk traders, as for those soldiers, don't worry about them, it is their mission to protect you." ”

"My lord, this ......," exclaimed Nelson in surprise.

Victor glared at him fiercely and said to the stunned old mercenaries, "You may not be as strong as them, but you are much more important than them, I need you to come back alive!"

"I am willing to die for my lord!" the mercenaries shouted in unison.

Victor smiled: "You are worthless when you die." Everyone burst into laughter, and after a while Victor continued, "I will send a secret force to protect you secretly, and it will be difficult for you to die! ”

Nelson's eyes flickered, and then calmed down, he knew that the secret force sent by Victor must be a war mastiff, although he didn't know how many would be sent, but with these guys secretly accompanying him, the mercenary group would not have to worry about being attacked by jackals and ferocious animals.

"This time I went to Neville, it doesn't matter whether I make money or not, it's the key to open up trade routes. In particular, the mountain villages and free private lands along the route should be used by us as nodes of trade routes. I've got 10,000 gold soles for you, whether you hit or buy them, I'll just see the results. ”

Victor's trade system was very different from traditional caravans, which were peer-to-peer trade, avoiding rival families along the way and trading only with fixed lords. And Victor's free folk merchant group does business with all the lords, goes all the way, buys and sells all the way, whether you are hostile or allied, as long as you pass by, all the unified network is exhausted. The profits and influence of this free trade are immeasurable, and only the status of a free man can achieve it. Victor wants to use freeman traders to infiltrate the mountain people, use the mountain people to infiltrate the village, and use the village to infiltrate the town, and finally pull the lord into Victor's trade system. In order to achieve this goal, losing some money in the early stage is really nothing.

"My lord, the mountain people hardly use Kinsor. Hammer stood up and reminded Victor.

A smile appeared on Victor's face, and he said, "Ten trolleys really can't hold much goods, not even much food." In addition to grain, salt, and cloth, do the mountain people like arrowheads?"

"Arrows?" Hammer was stunned for a moment, and grinned, "I like it to death!"

"Haha!" Victor laughed for a while, and said, "That's right! Of course, the arrows I prepared will not satisfy all the mountain people, so it will be up to the freemen traders to do their best." ”

"Balor, have you chosen the Freefolk Traders?"

Balor bowed deeply to Victor: "My lord, it's already chosen. My people are convincing them. ”