Food was obtained from the neighbouring dwellings, and thanks to the scraping supplies of the Count of Oz, these things became invaluable.

But Bran also ate it, and three large quantities of this batch of easy-to-write paper had been produced, and after deducting all expenses, it had brought Bran quite a lot of profits.

Seventy percent of the debt to Albert has been paid off.

Now I have more money on hand.

But there are also many places to spend money, and more money needs to be earned in order to expand the mercenary group, and Bran's goal is to expand the size of the mercenary group to more than 2,000 people.

With such an independent army, he is the existence of independent princes on the peninsula.

At the end of October, the printing press began to photocopy books, and within a year it was expected that Bran would be able to save a sum of money to bridge the dots.

He had previously sent four beautifully printed Bibles to the cardinal of Rome, as well as to Luyo II, who, in Pope, began to enter the upper circle of Rome.

Bran ate slowly, his way of eating also affected others, and he didn't dare to gobble it up.

The value is high, so the more than 20 subordinates in front of them are all rewarded, the master has meat to eat, they have soup to drink, and they eat very happily.

During the meal, Simon and Desley sat on the left and right sides of Bran.

Simon's tendency to get fat became more and more serious, and as for Desley, he didn't seem to have changed much, and maintained the habit of being silent during meals.

Last time, his grandfather, Howard, arranged for Desley to have a Persian woman, and he heard that she was pregnant.

Thanks to this, the indifferent North African warrior of the soon-to-be father became much softer.

When training, the start is not so ruthless.

While Bran was eating, he also got a small glass of wine, and raised his glass to the other members, taking a sip each time.

The group gulped until the barrels were empty.

That night, Bran slept comfortably until it was white.

The next day, a local lord knight led four knights to visit him.

"Lord Bran, long time no see."

"Your Excellency Ambu, are you alright?"

Your Excellency or Your Excellency is also a commonly used aristocratic title, referring to nobles below the duke.

Ambu dismounted, took off his helmet and took off his humbled attitude, and then walked with Bran towards the surrounding open field, followed by the bodyguards.

After a conversation, Ambu didn't want people to hear, so he waved his hand, but the servants he brought obeyed, but the people led by Desley did not respond, Ambu coughed in embarrassment, Bran gave a look, and his subordinates obeyed.

The two talked as they walked, and at noon, Bran did not eat, and took four horsemen to follow Ambu away.

Two days later, Bran returned to Oz Castle.

The castle was surrounded by fences and moats, as well as various fortifications.

Rumors swirled.

When the gate was opened, the blacksmith shop in the city was blazing with fire, and it did not stop even in the middle of the night.

When he entered a few months ago, Bran had brought a few hundred men to participate in the battle to destroy the village, and it had not been a long time, so many people still knew Bran as a young nobleman.

Bran dismounted and politely declined the servant's request to bring him clean.

Count Oz received the news of Bran's arrival and waited solemnly in the hall.

When Bran saw him, his heart sank, and Oz's eyes were red, his hair and beard were untrimmed, and his voice was hoarse.

Looking extremely depressed and dangerous, Bran admonished himself to be careful

。

"Are you here to be a lobbyist for Duke Nefer? Do you want my territory, haha......"

Burst laughter.

Oz then pointed to a man next to him, who said, "Just yesterday, the Assassins broke into the palace and all of them were hanged. ”

The tone was fierce, and Bran didn't say anything and continued to listen.

"Whoever wants this position, wants my Earl Wolf Ring, which can only be obtained with fire and sword, come on, I'm not afraid of you!"

Bran instantly understood that Oz was too scared, almost insane.

When Oz stood up and walked back and forth, Bran noticed that he was lame, limping, presumably from the last fight.

Bran sat down in the chair closest to him and said, "Everyone go out, I have a way to keep your territory." ”

Hearing this, Oz sobered up a little, stared at Bran, and saw that the latter did not look like a lie, so he cleared the room.

When there are only two people left.

"Your Excellency, surrender."

Bran made his voice sound steady, sounding more sincere.

"What did you say!"

Oz's fierce eyes had taken Bran as prey, and Bran said slowly.

"After more than forty years of territorial autonomy, the time has come for the county to return to the 'embrace of God.'"

"God...... You mean!"

"That's right, recognize the Holy See as your rightful master, surrender the ruling papers, and become a vassal of Northern Italy in the Papal State, so that no matter how much money Duke Never spends, it is impossible for you to be excommunicated, clergy like faith, merchants like gold coins, but everyone loves to take it, Nefer can't offer a better price. Cardinal in Rome, I'm in charge of running it for you, and I'll pay for the funds first, and you just have to pay it off slowly. ”

This is a good approach, but once you become a vassal of the Pope, you can't issue the laws of the realm so arbitrarily, and according to today's Papal tax law, at least one-third of the net income of the fief will be withdrawn.

Oz turned from a lion into a frustrated rooster, motionless, for a long time, sighed and said, "By those gray bamboos? Can I pay off my debts? ”

"Not only that, we can have more cooperation, the peninsula is not Nefer's land, we can't let him expand, but you can close this level first."

"You're Albert's subordinate, and Albert is Never's son-in-law, so why help me!"

"Your Excellency, please correct your wording, I am only loyal to myself, to the Chaman family."

In fact, Bran didn't say it thoroughly, based on the debt signed by Oz about Florence, if Albert really declared war on the debt issue, it would be difficult to bypass it even if he defected to the Holy See, but the Holy See could drag it to the negotiating table and buy some time.

After the beginning of spring next year, Bran will first expand the number of mercenaries and increase the force of chips, and in another year or two, the Charman family will begin to regain its glory.

After a day at Oz's castle, Bran returned to Simon's place, took two servants with him before leaving, and instructed Simon to start privately drawing a map of Oz's territory.

After leaving Oz territory, Bran chose to return to the family estate first and tell his grandfather the information.

Through the hills, forests, and the familiar smell of the sea blow into your mouth and nose, you will have half a day left to meet at the estate.

In order to facilitate the transportation of supplies, Florence built and widened a road to the north, starting from the main center and a trade route to the northern Italian region, a total of more than 70 kilometers, setting up inns and post stations for delivering letters, and also sent soldiers to guard them.

There were even official outlets for borrowing or exchanging supplies, providing travelers with funds.

As a result, there are more foreigners coming and going to Florence.

The most common ones are probably merchant groups from Asia Minor.