In terms of social status, mercenaries belonged to the middle and middle class, similar to those master craftsmen who mastered irreplaceable skills.
They were second only to the upper nobles, the middle and upper magicians, the non-titled Knight officials, and the indispensable artists of the upper class. They surpassed the middle and lower class servants, craftsmen, workers, merchants, Rats, and the serfs at the bottom of society. Most of these mercenaries were poor Knight.
There were no mercenary groups in the Grand Duchy of Sapphire, so there were no mercenaries.
But in the countries on the continent, mercenary groups were a widespread and common phenomenon, often established in the name of guard trade, World of Warcraft hunting, capturing elves, and so on. But secretly, mercenary groups were the most direct participants in the slave trade movement, often playing the role of robbers and robbers.
Liszt did not know how mercenary groups originated and how they developed to this extent.
But after talking with the Earl, he gradually understood the mercenary group. The mercenary group was actually the same as the Rats, an extension of the power of the nobles. If the Rats played the role of an intelligence organization, then the role of the mercenary group was more like a dynamic social organization.
One of the disadvantages of the feudal system was that there was no governing relationship between the territories, and on the contrary, there was great competition.
Many lords even had various personal grudges, so it was not good to directly send Orders of Chivalry to plunder each other, so mercenary groups could play a good role. And mercenary groups were also a huge source of profit. There was no shortage of people on the continent. Every time there was a war, the slave trade was a profitable business.
Even many local lords looked forward to the Grand Duchy of Sapphire to plunder, as long as they did not plunder their own territories.
At this time, they would frantically cooperate with the invading Orders of Chivalry to trade with the serfs that could be caught anywhere in exchange for the materials that the invading Orders of Chivalry looted from other places. Every time there was a war between the Eagle Kingdom and the Iron and Steel Ridge Kingdom, the mercenary groups were the most active.
These mercenary groups did not dare to invade the castle of the territory, but they could come and go like the wind by plundering the serfs.
"It can be said that when we invade the area of Sardinia Bay, except for the lords in this area who will resist, the lords and mercenary groups in the surrounding areas will only wave their cutlery and share the wealth of the Sardinia Bay area with us," the Count said with fervor and assurance, "This is also the reason why we dare to attack the Eagle Kingdom every year."
He looked at Liszt, who was listening attentively.
He finally found the feeling of a father teaching his son. He continued, "Also, for some suzerains in Sardinia Bay, we can even sit down and discuss business at night while we fight during the day."
Liszt was puzzled. "Why?"
The Count asked, "How do you think the nobles rule their territories, or what do we rely on to live? Living a life thousands of times better than that of ordinary people? "
"Nobles rule over their territories by relying on their cultivation of qi."
"Where does Dou Qi cultivation come from?"
"From … the land."
"That's right. You're very smart. You can see the essence of the problem clearly." The Count praised, and then said, "The aristocracy relies on the land, and all resources are obtained from the land. You either get it from your own land, or from someone else's land, or rely on the serfs to farm, or rely on the Knight to plunder. "
"What does this have to do with the suzerains of Sardinia Bay and us fighting wars and trading at the same time?"
"Since war is inevitable, some suzerains will certainly look for opportunities to reduce losses. The greater suzerains can transfer their losses to the lesser suzerains through trading with us, and the lesser suzerains can transfer their losses to the civilians, or to other suzerains … It's undeniable that they have lost the noble qualities of a Knight."
…
Did a Knight have noble qualities?
Liszt was at a loss.
After talking with the Count and understanding the background of the mercenary corps, he vaguely felt the similarities in history. Although this world was completely different from Earth, and the country he was in had nothing to do with Earth. But observing the essence, the relationship between the Grand Duchy of Sapphire and the Kingdom of Eagle.
Wasn't it a different world's version of the Wokou Rebellion of the Ming Dynasty?
During the Ming Dynasty, the Wokou originated from Japan and often attacked the coastal areas in the southeast of China. However, in the middle and late stages of the Wokou Rebellion, there were very few real Wokou pirates. According to historical records, only three out of ten real Wokou pirates were real, and the rest were fake Wokou pirates, who were rebels of the Ming Dynasty.
After all, the Japanese Ronin, who formed the early Wokou pirates, were unfamiliar with the southeast coast and could not form a fighting force at all. Only by colluding with the local people could they go ashore and plunder.
In the Ming Dynasty's professional anti-Japanese book, the leaders of the fourteen groups of Wokou pirates were all from the Ming Dynasty.
The root cause was the Ming Dynasty's implementation of the sea ban, so that coastal residents could not rely on the sea to survive, and could only become bandits. In addition, for the sake of profit, when the sea ban was relaxed, they were sea merchants, and when the sea ban was strict, they were pirates. Even the aristocratic families secretly colluded with each other, thus causing the Wokou Rebellion for hundreds of years.
This world was full of magic.
The Grand Duchy of Sapphire's pioneering order was similar to the Wokou Rebellion.
"Although we can rob a lot of resources from the Kingdom of Eagle, the real wealth created on the land is also robbed by the suzerains of the Kingdom of Eagle … We probably just rob some mines, buy some serfs, and the rest of the resources are all transferred by the local nobles."
In the final analysis.
There was a saying in the Yuan Song: prosperity, the people suffer; death, the people suffer.
After the pioneering order was issued, the ones who were really robbed were the hard-working civilians and serfs. Liszt even thought: "Is the annual war between the Iron and Steel Ridge Kingdom and the Kingdom of Eagle a bit like the Hundred Years War between England and France on Earth?" In the Middle Ages, England and France had a war that lasted for more than a hundred years.
The nobles launched the Knight's War for profit.
In the end, it was naturally the civilians who suffered.
As he thought about the war, Liszt suddenly felt dispirited, even though his soul came from Earth and had nothing to do with this world.
But soon he cheered up.
"I don't do anything, but the civilians are still being oppressed by the nobles. If I work hard and succeed in riding a dragon in the future, I may be able to bring a new structure to this world."
He clenched his fists.
His eyes became more determined: "As long as I have justice in my heart and can bring a better life to the civilians in the future, then my participation in the war is an act of justice!" This self-analysis, of course, whitewashed the act of waging war for profit, but it was also a portrayal of his heart.
The living standards of the civilians under the rule of the territory were definitely far higher than that of the civilians in other territories.
His goal was to ride a dragon and explore this wonderful world. He did not intend to be a saint, but he also would not become a mercenary cold-blooded nobleman.
While fighting for the great cause of riding a dragon, he would also bring beauty to the world. Why not?
The faith in his heart was wiped clean.
He regained his usual indifference, standing at the bow of the ship, holding a glass of juice, admiring the blue sky, white clouds, and rippling blue waves. Four days passed in a flash, and the fleet had successfully arrived at the Iron Hoof Island, Oxfoot City.
They would make the last supplies here.
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