Due to some deviations between this world and the history that Otto knew well, Otto was not sure that the king of Lotharingia, Lothair II, would die within this year, as he knew.

In case of early or delay, it is very possible.

Thus, after the Aargau Collar had consolidated his authority, Otto had been preparing for the turmoil caused by the death of King Lothair II.

Relying on the large amount of revenue brought in by the commercial tax, in addition to providing for the construction of the Eagle Castle and the daily expenses of the territory, Otto invested almost all of it in armaments.

Among them, the largest expenditure is undoubtedly the purchase of horses.

Switzerland as a whole is not a producing region, and horses are almost exclusively imported from France, mainly from France and Eastern Europe.

In the Middle Ages, where horses were a strategic resource, the price of a horse was not low even in the producing areas, let alone in Switzerland.

Whenever he saw Otto buy expensive horses from merchants without blinking his eyes, even Bard, who was insensitive to numbers and wealth, was terrified.

How profitable can a horse be transported from Eastern Europe to the mountains of Switzerland? A drunken businessman once proudly revealed, more than ten times!

The demand for horses in the Aargau collar was so strong that it even became an extremely lucrative trade route for a time. Horses were bought at low prices from Eastern Europe, sold to Otto at high prices, and then bought Lafite at low prices in Otto's hands, and shipped back to Eastern Europe.

This back and forth, after deducting the expenses along the way, is enough to get a return of more than 20 times the principal.

Such a huge profit naturally attracted countless merchants to form caravans to take this trade route.

However, this situation did not last long.

Even though Otto's demand for horses was endless, the financial pressure of reality caused him to stop large-scale acquisitions after he bought nearly two hundred war horses.

Horses have always been relatively delicate animals, and war horses are even more so. The cost of raising a war horse is enough to feed one or two ordinary peasant families.

Two hundred war horses eat and drink Lazar every day, which is all money, even if there is a lot of business tax income, even if Lafite is very popular, Otto is a little unbearable, and even once let the calm Jura Mountains make trouble several times.

Every appearance of the mountain bandits is actually an act of killing chickens and eggs, and no matter how unwilling Otto is, he can only maintain the scale of two hundred horsemen.

In comparison, the cost of matching personnel and equipment for these two hundred war horses is not worth mentioning.

In those years, there were a large number of "would-be knights" or knightly squires who had received military education, and who could not find work when they reached adulthood, and who only needed to take care of food and provide equipment to work for Otto.

As for weapons and equipment, there are still quite a few of them in the treasury of the big head armor Algao collar, although many of them have been damaged and depreciated, but the cost of repairing them and the cost of creating new armor are naturally not comparable.

What's more, the craftsmen who settled in the town of Eagle Castle had a very good feeling for Young Master Otto, and they were willing to repair Otto's armor without charging money and materials, so they naturally saved a lot.

Otto also thought about opening up new sources of money, such as finding a lot of craftsmen to see if he could burn glass, even if the quality was worse. In this period, glass was comparable to the luxury of jewelry.

It's a pity that Otto's attempt to make glass was far less fortunate than the good luck of the wine-making period, and after more than a year of tossing, the shadow of the glass was not seen.

Otto had no other way than to let the craftsmen keep groping, and he regretted that he couldn't remember the formula of glass when he first read the novel, which was a good helper for the traveler to make a fortune.

What's the use of remembering a piece of gunpowder, I don't dare to take it out under normal circumstances, especially when Otto's strength is still very weak, and taking it out is just to make a wedding dress for others.

"Master Otto, there may be progress in what you asked me to inquire about. A group of merchants has just entered the territory, they have passed through the Bal region, would you like to meet them in person? ”

It can be said that in this world, in addition to the relatives of King Lothair II, the person who cares most about his body is Otto.

It can even be said that Otto is more concerned about his health than Lothair II's relatives, after all, Lothair II's brothers and heirs may be looking forward to his death.

Otto was so excited when he heard Gint's report that he jumped up from his chair in an instant.

"The merchant of Ballai? Where are the people, take me to them! ”

Gint didn't understand why Otto was so excited, just a few businessmen, the young master was willing to see them to give them face, and he went to see them in person, did he pay too much attention to it, even if it was a horse merchant from Eastern Europe before, the young master had never been so excited.

"Young master, those merchants are now doing business in the bazaar of the new castle, and it is estimated that they will stay for a few days. If you meet, I'll just bring someone here, and the young master will go to see you in person, it's a bit inappropriate. Gint admonished tactfully.

Otto is also aware of the problem, although he has been in power for a long time, he still has not been able to fully adapt to his aristocratic status, accustomed to the style of the nobles, and retains some habits of the past, which will show clues from time to time, such as the gaffe at the moment.

"Hmm." Otto returned to normal, suppressed the excitement in his heart and nodded. "Then go and call the merchants over to me."

Naturally, Ginter couldn't understand Otto's inner feelings, how difficult it was to know what was going on in another place in this age of closed news.

Although there is no Eastern hukou system in Europe, the peasants are also firmly tied to the land and do not easily move. As a result, there is a lack of movement and communication between regions.

Even if Otto wants to send someone to find out the news, he has to consider whether he will be caught as a bandit by the lord on the way. No, let Otto go to find out about Lothair with great fanfare, it would attract the attention of those who care.

His advantage over other nobles in this era, that is, he knows some historical events in advance, and he really competes in comprehensive ability, and I am afraid that he is not much better than the nobles of this era.

The previous scattered news about King Lothair II was that the other party was still in good health and could not see any signs of imminent death, which made Otto quite worried.

If Lothair II can't die in the next few years, then Otto's expansion plan will also have to make some adjustments, and he can't just wait for the other party to die violently.

Hopefully, those businessmen from Barr can bring good news to themselves.

I also hope that although this world has deviated a little from the world that Otto is familiar with in history, there is not much difference, just like the general trend of the fall of the Roman Empire and the establishment of the Carolingian dynasty before it.

In his heart, Otto silently prayed to the gods and Buddhas of the heavens.