At noon on the second day, Art took Ron's sentry team and a group of five people left the wooden castle in the valley and ran north.
Yat was not in a hurry to go directly to Tyniec. Instead, he turned around the pile of boulders and headed south to first look at the checkpoint on the northern border of Provence.
In the past, the mound beside the stream has been surrounded by a circle of logs about sixty feet long and wide and ten feet high with the top sharpened. Within the wooden wall, there is a wooden house that can accommodate eight people, a simple cooking shed, and a There is a small stone warehouse and a stable; a thirty-foot-high wooden tower is built on the top of the mound. The wooden tower is supported by four huge logs. There is a thatched platform that can accommodate four people on it. A wooden ladder connects the upper and lower parts. The wooden tower is both a sentry tower and an arrow tower. The gate of the checkpoint wall opens to the commercial road, and a small shed is built outside the gate to provide shelter from the rain. The tax collector who collects commercial taxes can use the small shed as an official office.
When Art arrived at the border checkpoint, it was already close to noon the next day. The construction work of the checkpoint was nearing completion. Bud was directing several prisoners of war to splice the repaired wood into two blocking horses. By then, only two blocking horses would be needed to block or open the north-south trade route.
Bad is directing several prisoners of war to splice the trimmed wood into two Juma and place them across the middle of the trade road. At that time, the two moveable Juma will be the "gates" that control the north-south trade road.
A peasant soldier from the fort defense team on the wooden tower spotted the cavalry running from the north and immediately alerted the busy people around the checkpoint. So the busy people around the checkpoint immediately dropped their work, picked up their tools, huddled in the outpost and closed the door tightly...
……………………
“Simon, I’ll give you a credit. I didn’t expect you to build this outpost in such a short time.” Accompanied by Simon, Art entered the gate of the outpost. The outpost is different from the military station, so it can only accommodate seven or eight sentries. All the buildings in the outpost are relatively short and simple, but they can ensure the normal life of the sentries stationed here.
Simon is a veteran who was seriously injured and retired from the patrol combat team. He thought he would be abandoned by the patrol or even driven out of the valley to fend for himself, but he did not expect that Art would give him an important task after he recovered from his injury, so he worked extra hard to prove his worth.
Sir, since we started building the outpost, we have been working almost nonstop day and night, and we have been working with torches at night. During this period, I also learned your method and used two meals of wheat porridge to recruit a group of passing refugees to help cut down wood, collect stones, and excavate the footings. "
"Have the enemies harassed you during this period?"
"There has been no enemy harassment, but a few cavalrymen came from the south a week ago, said to be the guardians of the northern border of Provence. They asked us across the bridge about our identities and the purpose of building the outpost. I told them that we were the southern border security patrol of the Count of Burgundy, and that the outpost was built to maintain border security and collect entry fees. Those people observed for a while and then left. "
out together offole out together out． out of their minds; br/>
Without waiting for Art's reply, Ron couldn't wait to take over the conversation: "My master is going to Tyniec this time to be awarded the title of trainee knight. I am concerned about the construction progress of the outpost, so I came around to see you."
Simon's face was full of excitement: "Is it true? Your Excellency, you are going to obtain the title of knight?"
Matt said calmly, "It is an apprentice knight. It has no title, no fief, and cannot be hereditary. However, if you can achieve military exploits, you may be able to remove the "apprentice" and become a formal knight. "
"Congratulations, my lord, now you have an official title." Simon still had a smile on his face, and with every success, Art's status increased, and naturally the people behind him also increased.
Att told Simon in detail the letter from Viscount Pierre and his own plan.
"Simon, I don't know when I will be able to come back from this battle. I now appoint you as the commander of the border outpost, enjoying the salary of a team leader; Benjamin (the soldier with injured eyes) will stay as your deputy, enjoying the salary of the combat team leader. In addition to the two of you, the outpost will be equipped with four more soldiers, and the two most reliable ones will be selected from the prisoners of war who built the outpost to regain their free status. The defense team will temporarily leave two peasant soldiers to assist you. All four soldiers are The salary is the same as that of the patrol team soldiers. In a few days, Otto will send you a full set of weapons and equipment and a military horse, and he will bring the people who built the outpost back to the valley. In the future, your food will also be sent regularly. If necessary, you can temporarily recruit refugees from the past to supplement the manpower, but you must carefully identify them and report to me afterwards. "
"Yes, thank you, sir." Simon agreed.
Matt asked Ron to call the one-eyed Benjamin to the cabin.
"Simon, Benjamin, you two remember that the outpost needs to do three things in the next period of time. The first is to let the outpost gain a firm foothold on the border and be wary of possible enemy attacks. The second is to try to collect some business taxes. The amount collected temporarily should be small. Only caravans with carriages are charged a trade tax, and a carriage is charged a ten pfennier trade tax, so that merchants can gradually get used to paying business tax here. The third is to recruit refugees and soldiers through outposts, and all kinds of craftsmen, especially blacksmiths and weaponsmiths. If you recruit a group, you will notify the wooden castle to pick up a group. "
"You two are from my patrol team. You are brothers who have fought and shed blood with me. I will hand over the outpost to you two." Art said to the two people in the room sincerely. He did not have extra manpower to spare now. These two soldiers who had fought for him were the ones he could trust at the moment.
At noon, everyone had lunch in the outpost. Art gave rewards ranging from ten pfennigs to fifty pfennigs to everyone who participated in the construction of the outpost. Naturally, everyone was in high spirits.
After lunch, the five men from Ate mounted their horses that were full of water and grass and galloped towards the north.
………
In the afternoon of the second day after leaving the outpost, a group of five cavalry arrived in the city of Tyniec. Viscount Pierre met Art in the official room.
Pierre invited Art to sit down, and the attendant poured a glass of wine for the two of them. Pierre raised the wine glass and said to Art: "You are finally here. I heard that you have four cavalry, which is amazing!"
"Yes, Lord Pierre, I improvised a few cavalry. Didn't you make it clear in your letter? You must bring thirty soldiers or five cavalry to choose to be a trainee knight."
h "Alternative? Art, that's for other people. In fact, as long as you can come, I will canonize you."
Pierre paused and said: "When the palace asks me to recruit soldiers again When I saw you, I thought of you first. Your soldiers in black impressed me deeply, but why didn’t your patrol soldiers follow? "
"Sir, they are training at the station."
Pierre took a sip of wine and said: "Speaking of the station, the messenger came back and told me that they couldn't find where your so-called station is? Is your patrol stationed underground?"
Art knew that Pierre would not have the idea of stationing the patrol, but he didn't plan to let anyone know about the wooden castle in the valley, at least not yet.
"Sir, the place where the messenger arrived is our station, but it is just a little bit off."
Pierre did not continue to ask, "Okay Art, since you are here, go to the Tinets Church tomorrow to participate in the canonization with the other four people."
"The other four people?"
"Yes, although the title of trainee knight is small, it is not an ordinary one. If the palace is not eager to summon the army, how can it be so generous? So of course there are many people who come to choose. I have selected four a few days ago. I guess you will come, so I have reserved a place for you."
"Thank you, sir"
"Alright Art, go find my secretary, he will take you to prepare for the canonization tomorrow. Although everything for the canonization is simple this time, and the requirements for knight equipment have been reduced, the basic ceremony cannot be omitted."
Att left Pierre's official office and found the scribe. The scribe took Att to a room in the Lord's Hall for a bath, wrote down Att's name, the motto he was given, took away his knight's sword, and then took Att holding the armor to a small closed room in the Tinets Church to vigil and pray with the other four people waiting for canonization.
The other four people have been waiting in Tyniec for two days. This guy named Art has never arrived. Everyone is a little annoyed, but they will be canonized tomorrow, and they have no intention of causing trouble to Art at this juncture.
The five people spent a boring night in the hut guarding their armor.
At noon on the second day, the canonization ceremony of the trainee knights officially began in the temple of the Tynets Church. The canonization ceremony was personally presided over by Viscount Pierre, who represented the Marquis Ivrea Raymond, the ruler of the County of Burgundy. The canonization ceremony was attended by two barons and five knights summoned by Viscount Pierre to the city of Tynets to witness it, as well as some idle nobles in Tynets County and the family members of the recipients.
Several other people kneeling in the church are the uninherited second sons of various noble lords in Tyniec County or the sons of wealthy businessmen who have the financial resources to recruit soldiers and purchase weapons and equipment. Most of them are wealthy, so the weapons and armor used in their canonization ceremony are relatively luxurious.
And Art didn't make much preparation for this apprentice knight's canonization ceremony. He just wore a full-body chainmail that his father had left behind, a black cape, and a cowhide belt around his waist. This armor looked a little shabby compared to the shiny iron scale armor and plate and chain armor of the four people around him.
The bishop of the church personally said mass to the five people kneeling in front of the icon, and anointed their heads with holy oil.
After all preparations were made, Viscount Pierre stood in front of the five people. After speaking to the five people about knight's honor, knight's faith, and knight's obligations, he then led the five people kneeling on the ground to swear an oath -
I will be friendly to the weak
I will face the strong bravely
I will fight with those who have done wrong.
I will fight for those who cannot fight
I will help those who ask me to help
I will treat my comrades as brothers
I will serve my lord faithfully
I will declare that from now on From now on, you will officially become the trainee knights of the Count of Burgundy. You will have your own heraldic flag, and you will lead your own army to fulfill the inherent combat mission of a knight." Viscount Pierre patted the shoulders of the five people one by one with a knight's sword, presented them with a knight's sword and a message, and officially announced that the five of them had become trainee knights loyal to the Marquis of Burgundy.
The simple ceremony was over, and Art officially became an apprentice knight of the County of Burgundy.