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Spring, April. At night in Gene Town, a young man knocked on a wooden door with a piece of pork and a bottle of wine. "Mother, I'm back."
"Raymond, you're back?" The old mother opened the door, dressed in animal skin clothes.
This was a huge wooden building, which was divided into many small rooms. The escaped slaves were arranged to live in this big house. When they had no place to live, they could live in this huge wooden building and pay a small amount of rent to the count.
The escaped slaves didn't treat this place as their home. They hoped to build their own house in the village, or even buy one in the town.
"Mother, I'm back." Spring, the night was as cold as water. A cold wind blew into the house, and Raymond appeared with a tired face. The young man looked very tired, but he was still in good spirits. "I'm exhausted."
"Brother, brother!" His younger brother Thomas ran out of the room. The boy was still very thin, but his complexion was much better. The child drooled when he saw the piece of pork in Raymond's hand.
"Aiya, Raymond! Why did you buy so much meat? " The old mother immediately complained. "It wasn't easy for us to gain a foothold here. You only earn ten copper coins a day. Isn't it better to save it?"
Raymond smiled as he walked into the room. The wooden floor was swept very clean, and a fire was lit in the middle of the room. The atmosphere in the room was quiet and peaceful.
"It's not much. A pound of pork is about forty copper coins, mother." Raymond handed the pork to the old mother. The young serf smiled and said, "We've been working here for more than a month. I think we should eat some meat."
"Aiya, if your father knew you were spending money like this, he would definitely hang you up and beat you!" The old mother said with a little unease. She seemed to be terrified that her son had bought a pound of pork.
Soon, the aroma of pork stew wafted through the house. The old mother cut the pork into small pieces, added some salt, and put them into the stew that was originally boiling. The aroma of pork wafted through the house. Just one piece of pork cost Raymond four days of his salary, but this was already a miracle for a serf.
This wasn't a rare thing in Glamorgan's territory. After five years of development, the serfs could occasionally eat meat, and the freemen's table had become even more plentiful.
"The cheapest meat in the market is rabbit and some birds. The cheapest is only twenty copper coins a pound." Raymond put down his tools and sat on a wooden chair in the house.
Raymond was recruited to work in the dwarven carpentry workshop. He worked ten hours a day and was paid twelve copper coins a day, which was settled once a week. Apart from Sunday, he had one or two days off every ten days, or he didn't have to rest at all.
Raymond chose not to rest. Or rather, he didn't know what to do when he rested.
Rabbit meat and bird meat were not unfamiliar to the serfs because they could often eat the meat of these creatures. Rabbits and birds were a great threat to food crops, so the lord allowed the serfs to catch and eat these meat by themselves.
The old mother took on some needlework in the city. She earned thirty to forty copper coins a week, and the family's life was much better. They were now full of hope for life. Raymond wanted to earn more money and find a way to build a house. He wanted to get rid of his current status of living under someone else's roof.
In the quiet house, the family held bowls and shared black bread and pork stew. Thomas was drooling. "Mother, I want to eat meat."
"Okay, okay, okay." The old mother lovingly scooped a bowl of stew with a big wooden spoon, then picked out a big piece of fatty meat and put it in Thomas's bowl.
Poor people loved to eat fatty meat.
The child was very ignorant about many things. He chewed the fatty pork in small bites, so happy that his eyes narrowed. Raymond was eating the stew and the black bread soaked in the stew, and then tasting a cup of barley wine. This cup of barley wine was bought by Raymond from a tavern in the town for a few copper coins.
The Empire was the best at brewing dark beer and all kinds of ale. The Empire's ale and beer were famous all over the world. They were widely drunk by the people of the Old World. Other than the wine from Avey, most of the other wines were sour, bitter, and hard to swallow.
"This wine must have been brewed by the Empire."
— Brittany joke, hinting that the wine was disgusting and hard to swallow.
Brittany was the best at brewing all kinds of wine, especially Winford and Bordeaux, which was famous all over the world. It was an indispensable part of the table of the great nobles. The ale and beer they brewed was very bitter and bitter, and had a sour taste.
"Now I know this must have been brewed by the Brittany."
— Empire joke, hinting that the ale was so bad that it couldn't be drunk.
The barley wine was foamy. It was the cheapest kind of wine, and it always had a strong smell of sawdust and barley residue. It was the only kind of wine that the serfs could drink often. The biggest hobby of the serfs was to go to the tavern to drink a cup of barley wine after working for the lord. The old mother looked at Raymond frowning and drinking barley wine and sighed. "Raymond, I feel like I'm in a dream. I hope I never wake up from this dream."
"Mother." Raymond's eyes were also filled with tears as he drank the stew. He said softly, "The count is different from other lords. He understands the hardship of the serfs. We will live a good life. Choosing to be a runaway slave was the right choice. Today, the soldiers issued an order. They said that the count has reached an agreement with His Majesty. As long as we work hard, we can really stay here!"
"That's great!" The old mother couldn't help but wipe her tears. "If your father was still alive, he would be very happy."
"Mother …" Raymond put down the bowl and wiped his tears. "Mother, as a new recruit today, I participated in the recruit training. The count said that he wants to recruit 400 people into the halberd battalion. This battalion is open to all the people in the territory. I also want to try. The dwarf master, Mr. Dylon, said that this troop will be equipped with a full set of dwarf breastplates and halberds. It is said that we can eat meat once every three days!"
"Ah?! Is … is there such a good thing? "The old mother was obviously shocked." Then you will become the count's soldier? "
"Not yet. First, everyone will take turns to train. The knights and soldiers will pick out the most suitable ones among us … Mom, it's already too late for me to be a carpenter at this age. I'm already seventeen, almost eighteen. It'll be hard for me to improve in the future. I … I want to send Thomas to be an apprentice to a dwarf master. I want to join the army!" Raymond hesitated and told his old mother his plan.
"Oh …"
… …
"I need to recruit a troop of halberd soldiers from the serfs and free people. The number of soldiers is estimated to be 300 to 500. These people will be trained three days a week. The other three days will be set aside for farming or rest. They will be given half of their salary during normal times and the full salary during wartime. They can eat meat once a week and enjoy a ration of beer once a week."
At the same time, in the meeting room of the count's castle, Laing was also discussing the formation of the halberd battalion with his courtiers and knights. His courtiers and knights were sitting around a long table, discussing the formation of a new troop with the count.
"At most 350 people, my count," Gasparton hurriedly said. Gasparton, the tax official, hurriedly said to Leon, "Any more and the finances won't be able to support it."
"Then 300 people." Laing nodded. "The serfs have proven that they are not very useful. For the knights, it is just a matter of charging. We need an army like this."
The knight of the Grail, Armand, nodded. The Sword of Aquitaine was shining on his waist. The flag bearer was thinking. Armand was thinking about the pros and cons of Laing's idea.
Ever since he came to Laing's territory, Armand felt that the atmosphere had changed. There was a kind of vitality here, a kind of vitality that had not been seen in the Knight King for a long time.
Laing had injected vitality into this stagnant pool. The servants of Chaos were slaughtered in the forest. The long-dead settlements were rebuilt. Large tracts of farmland were reclaimed. The serfs were more motivated. The knights were intoxicated by Count Laing's achievements and could not help but imitate his every move.
"My count, of course, it is not a problem to train 300 halberd soldiers. But with this money, why don't we recruit more knights?" Olivier said. "Knights are the foundation of war."
"Yes! Knights are the foundation of war. "
"My count, infantrymen will not be able to solve the problem."
"My count, there is still a vacancy of more than 30 knights in our territory!"
The knights at the meeting all talked at once. Compared to building a halberd infantry battalion, they preferred to build and recruit more knights.
"Knights are the most important fighting force in war, but they are not everything, gentlemen." Laing smiled. "When the knights charge on the battlefield, we need an army to cover our cannoneers and crossbowmen. So, in my opinion, building a halberd army like this is imperative," Laing said calmly.
In fact, whether it was the Empire or the Brittany, the final deciding factor of victory was the charge of the knights. However, the cavalry was dynamic. He needed an excellent infantry regiment to withstand the enemy's charge. Only then could he ensure that his long-range troops had enough space to attack.
"My lord, do you mean … this is the request of the dwarves?" The knights seemed to have misunderstood something. Xhex asked first.
This knight from Le-Angoulan was already 30 years old this year. His aura was becoming more and more stable. Many of the troops in the count's territory were trained by him.
Xhex supported Laing's decision to build a halberd unit.
As Count Glamorgan, Laing could create three baronies under his command. However, he had not created a single one so far. This meant that he was still directly in charge of his territory.
Everyone was envious of the three baronies, including Xhex. He had always believed that if his family wanted to revive, they would have to regain a title.
However, he could not bring it up directly. First, it was not in line with the interests of the knights. Second, Laing's attitude was also important.
Barons were nobles with military achievements. In order to become a baron, bloodline was secondary. The first requirement was to be able to fight and be more courageous than others.
So the question was, was there anyone in the territory who could fight better than Laing? Even Laing's brother, Angoulan, was only a royal knight. How could the knights of the kingdom have the guts to ask for a baron title?
Xhex thought for a moment. He knew that he needed to find an entry point.
That was the dwarves.
Everyone fell into deep thought after hearing Hex's words. The addition of the dwarves had brought about an immediate change in the equipment and weapons of the knights. The dwarves' fine armor and all kinds of excellent weapons were produced quickly and well. They were cheap and of high quality. The knights loved them deeply.
"If that's the case, we should indeed send people to protect our dwarven friends and their cannons," Lopes said. This knight from the Kingdom of Nords was the first to agree with Laing's suggestion. "I think it's feasible."
"I think so too," Xhex said. The royal knight nodded. "I can train these soldiers. Just lower them a bit according to the standards of squires."
"Alright." Olivier didn't insist after hearing that the troops were to be used to protect the dwarves.
Laing was a bit surprised by the knights' focus, but since everyone agreed, he had achieved his goal. The count turned to his steward, Katsenberg, and said, "Then … let's do it according to this condition. The new troops will be well-nourished and well-trained. Our dwarven friends will equip them with halberds, swords, and shields, as well as iron breastplates and helmets."
"Understood, Count." Katsenberg bowed. The tall steward nodded.
"As for the training, I'll leave it to my brother and Xhex," Laing said to Angoulan and Xhex.
Both Angoulan and Xhex nodded. Xhex would definitely be in charge of the training. As for Angoulan, he could provide guidance. In fact, Angoulan had been involved in the training of the knights for a while.
The meeting continued. This was a semi-professional army. It was completely different from the infantry regiment from before. Everyone was still discussing the specific arrangements. For the Brittany knights, this was the first time something like this had happened.
"By the way, Count Katzenberg, the 50 horses you purchased have arrived. We can choose some of them to become rangers," Katzenberg said.
"Very good." Laing nodded. He wanted to say something else, but the door of the meeting room was suddenly pushed open.
Lucian, a knight-errant from Vanford, rushed in from the door. "Count, something bad has happened!"
"What's wrong?" Laing looked up.
"Something big happened in the north. The serfs who were suppressed before in Lyonnesse gathered together and started a rebellion. They killed the lord of Barrimont Castle and publicly declared their independence! They even issued a slogan, 'The harvest belongs to whoever planted the land!' "
"What?!"
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