Sixty-seven surrendered mercenaries were eating on the empty ground in front of the castle. Their food was simple, consisting of two pieces of black bread and a bowl of meat soup. However, there was a large bucket of meat soup, and anyone who wanted more after finishing their bowl would have to go to the bucket.
When Lorist and Josk walked over, two mercenaries came up to them.
Josk introduced them, "The older one is Husky, and the one with the golden beard is Jim. They're the leaders of these mercenaries now."
Husky and Jim came up to greet Lorist and Josk. Lorist waved his hand, "Forget it. You two follow us into the castle, and we'll talk about what to do with you mercenaries."
After entering the castle, Laurist found a room nearby and brought the two mercenaries in. After everyone was seated, Laurist didn't stand on ceremony and went straight to the point. "Although you mercenaries surrendered on your own accord, I'm actually quite troubled about how to deal with you. It's not right to kill you, and if you don't kill us, we'll have to waste manpower to watch over you. After all, you've all awakened fighting aura, and you're at least Iron-rank. If you say you'll join us, we can't trust your loyalty. Otherwise, you wouldn't have surrendered so easily … "
The two mercenaries' faces turned red, but they couldn't say anything. What Lorist said was the truth.
"I can't kill you, and I'm not willing to let you go. Who knows, you might be hired by our enemies in less than two days, and you'll want to fight us again. Wouldn't that be asking for trouble? I don't have enough manpower to watch over you if I lock you up. After thinking about it, I think it's better to hire you myself … "Lorist said.
The two mercenary leaders raised their heads in surprise. "My, my lord, you want to hire us? “
Lorist nodded, "But don't worry, I'm not hiring you to go against your old employer. I believe you won't have the face to do that, and you won't be willing either. If I force you, you won't put in the effort, and I'll have to worry about whether you'll turn against me. "
The two mercenary leaders lowered their heads in embarrassment. It was obvious that Lorist had spoken their minds. Husky, who was older and had more experience, quickly raised his head and asked, "Sir, what do you want us to do by hiring us?"
"Someone, bring me a map of the territory," Laurist shouted.
Laurist placed the map of the territory on the table and gestured for the two mercenary leaders to take a look. "This is our family's manor and castle, and this is Northfield Town. We are going to build a new town here, on the Poplar Beach, where there is a little river. I believe all of you know that the Mountain Barbarians often cause trouble in the Northern Lands. Those savages like to descend the mountains and plunder. In order to prevent us from being attacked by the Mountain Barbarians when we are building the new city, I have decided to set up a military fort here, at the mountain pass where the two mountain ridges meet. It will be the first line of defense against the Mountain Barbarians. "
"The reason why I hired you is to guard this stronghold. Of course, I won't ask you to do something you can't do. If there are too many mountain barbarians, you can just defend the stronghold and light the fire beacon to send a message to us. We will send reinforcements. If the Mountain Barbarians are few in number, then you can directly exterminate them. With your Silver and Iron qi rank, it should be more than enough to deal with these savages. Of course, I won't let you do this for free. For a living Mountain Barbarian, we will offer a gold coin for the head of an old man from the empire. If they are dead, then we will only offer 50 silver coins. "
The two mercenary leaders looked at each other. Husky asked, "Can we first go to the mountain pass to take a look at the terrain? Also, what kind of stronghold do you want to build, my lord? "
"Of course we can take a look at the terrain. You can also decide on the location of the stronghold. As for the appearance of the stronghold, you don't have to worry. We won't fool you. We want to make it sturdy and durable. The 100 barrels of rubber vine juice that came with the caravan are prepared to be used in the construction of this stronghold." Laurist said.
"Alright, we will take this job." Husky said, "But my lord, what about our pay?"
Laurist smiled. "Don't worry, I am more generous than Viscount Cummes. For Silver rank, one gold coin for the head of an old man from the empire. For Iron rank, fifty silver coins per month. If we capture or kill a Mountain Barbarian, the reward will be given separately. We will sign this employment contract for a year first. After a year, you can choose to renew the contract or leave. In addition, the construction of the stronghold is not urgent. It will take about ten days. We also need to prepare labor and supplies. However, if you sign the contract today, then the pay will start from this month. "
Husky and Jim jumped up from their chairs. "My lord, we are at your service."
"Well, since that's the case, I will call someone to sign the contract with you. After signing, the two of you will bring the mercenaries to Poplar Hill to set up camp. I will have someone bring you there. The supplies will also be sent, "Laurist said.
"But, my lord, we need weapons, equipment, and horses …" Husky stuttered.
Laurist slapped his forehead. How could he have forgotten that these mercenaries were his captives? Other than the clothes they were wearing, everything else had been confiscated. "How about this: after you sign the contract, you can choose the weapons you're good at. In addition, I'll provide you with thirty sets of chain armor, fifty sets of leather armor, fifty mounts, and four large carriages. You can pay with your spoils of war and captives. We will also give you the clothes, bedding, tents, and other miscellaneous items for free. What do you think? "
Husky and Jim were overjoyed. They bowed deeply to Laurist. "My lord, your kindness and generosity are like the sun in the sky, warming the bodies and souls of us lowly mercenaries …"
"Get lost! If you don't know how to flatter me, shut up. Do you think I can't tell if you changed a few words from Ode to Higwa? Manager Hansk, come and take these two bastards away. I will have to trouble you to sign the contract with the mercenaries. After signing the contract, ask Manager Spear to give them weapons and equipment … "
After the two mercenary leaders left, Laurist let out a sigh of relief. "Finally done. Let's go, Joe. I will take you to see Manager Clancy. "
… …
That night, in the study, Laurist was drinking the family's precious wine with Josk as he talked about some of the problems the family was facing. Of course, Laurist couldn't help but complain a little. Some things were normal in Morent City, but in the family's territory, they were deviant. Laurist was not used to this, and he felt very uncomfortable.
"Sometimes, I really don't understand. Our family has fallen to this point, yet we still cling to our traditions. Didn't you see it when we went to see the old butler today? The old butler even reprimanded me for letting so many servants and employees have the opportunity to learn how to awaken their Dou Qi. He said that the family used to reward loyal servants and employees by sending people to teach them to awaken combat power and raise their status. For me to teach all servants and employees to awaken Dou Qi without discrimination is subverting tradition. In fact, I can't wait for even the maidservants to awaken combat power. Otherwise, how can we improve the family's strength? Rewarding two or three servants and employees every year to learn how to awaken combat power is hard to say. What's the use of that … "
Laurist seemed to have drunk a little too much, and his words were a little rough.
There was a knock on the door, and Laurist said, "Come in."
Pat came in and said, "Sir, Manager Spear and Manager Hansk are here."
Laurist rubbed his face hard to sober himself up. "Let them in."
Laurist didn't think that Manager Spear and Manager Hansk were here to protest. The reason was because Laurist had generously allocated 30 sets of chain armor to the mercenaries today. This made the two managers' hearts ache.
"Sir, the chain armor is too precious in the Northern Metro. Many families treasure it and don't want to use it easily. Even if we have 170 sets, you are too generous and wasteful to allocate 30 sets to the mercenaries. Sir, can you see if you can get those Iron Chain Armors back? "Steward Spear said reluctantly.
Laurist and Josk looked at each other and couldn't help but laugh out loud. Especially Laurist, who was rocking back and forth from laughing so hard that the two managers didn't know what to make of it.
When he finally stopped laughing, Laurist said, "Alright, this matter ends here. Don't bring it up again. Manager Spear, you have to understand that these armor are the most common equipment. If you go to the construction site of the castle in the Morgan Hills, you will see that the guards there are wearing two sets of armor — chain armor on the inside and chain armor on the outside. To our family, the lives of these guards are precious, not these armors. "
"By the way, these armors are all manufactured by us because we have a master armorsmith. Right now, the only thing that bothers us is that we haven't found any iron mines in our family's territory. Otherwise, we would have an endless supply of armors, and in less than a year, we would be able to fill up all your warehouses. At that time, you will be troubled that there will not be more people to wear these armors."
Spear and Hansk looked at each other. Never in their wildest dreams would they have thought that these armors were made by themselves. Furthermore, Laurist said that the family already had an armorsmith master. This was beyond their expectations. This was great news.
"Right, Manager Spear, how many sets of armor did our family have in the past?" Laurist asked.
"Sir, there are 17 sets of armor in the family warehouse. Two of them are full body armor for knights. These two full body armors were used by the old master and the young master in the past. In addition, there are four chain armors, seven chain armors, two scale armors, one plate armor, and one iron chain armor. "Manager Spear was very familiar with the family's collection. She reported the number and types of armor without hesitation.
"How about this — bring six chain armors and two scale armors tomorrow. My eight guards should also change their equipment. The six bronze-rank guards will wear chain armors and leather armor. Moses and Acie, the two iron-rank guards, will wear scale armors. Also, Steward Spear, inform Knight Pacico to pick out a piece of armor from the warehouse. Oh, and Pat, he should pick one as well. Of the 170 sets of chainmail that arrived today, after allocating 30 sets to the mercenaries, there are still 140 sets left. I'm preparing to use them to equip the newly formed guard squad of 120 people in the manor castle. Tomorrow, you can distribute the chainmail to them. The remaining 20 sets of iron chain armors will be stored in the warehouse for now. In a few days, more iron chain armors will be shipped from the construction site of the castle in the Morgen Hills. I will reward the veterans who are over 40 and are currently working as instructors with one set each. This is to commend them for standing up during the family's most difficult time. "Laurist stood up and said as he paced back and forth in the study.
Manager Spear lowered her head. "Yes, sir. I will arrange it according to your wishes."
"Also, didn't we ship 700 sets of leather armor today? Tonight, pick out four hundred sets of similar designs and prepare another four hundred spears. Also, prepare four thousand eight hundred imperial silver coins for the boxes. Then, load them all into the carriage. Joe, come with me to Northern Field Town tomorrow. I have to urge them to send the people over as soon as possible. We can't dawdle or make excuses to avoid any accidents. "Laurist rubbed his chin as he thought.
"Sir, isn't it too easy to give these weapons and equipment to the guards of Northern Field Town?" Manager Hansk asked.
"If we don't do this, they won't feel at ease. It's like fishing, you have to put bait. These weapons and equipment are the bait to lure the guards. Once they take the bait, we have ways to manipulate them. For now, we can only bear with it. Don't worry, I will make them spit out the benefits with interest. Besides, our family soldiers are all equipped with iron armor. These leather armors are useless. Let's use them to appease the guards. "Laurist said.
"Alright, sir. As you say."
…
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