At noon on the second day after the Tarburg dinner, Art summoned the three stewards of the caravan accompanying the army.
"You three have done a good job in dealing with the guild. I also know that the people in the guild are not that easy to deal with. Since the trade route to Besancon is temporarily unavailable, the army caravan will not go to Besancon to trade southern goods for the time being. You can rest in the Tarburg for a few days."
"You need to do three things in the next period of time. The first and most important thing is to bring the materials from Tal Fort to the valley together with our captured craftsmen, rescued innocent prisoners, and prisoners of war who are willing to surrender; the second thing is to send people along the edge of the northern war zone to recruit a group of refugees who have been affected by the war and have lost their homes, and bring them back to the valley to open up wasteland for farming. If you encounter If there are craftsmen who are willing to go to the valley, they can give them higher wages. The third thing is to recruit a group of half-year-old orphans. We don’t need too many for the time being, just fourteen or five. We can recruit more in the future. There are many such orphans in churches and monasteries in various places. You can select them in the name of the caravan’s charity. The selection criteria are only three-boys, with strong bodies and flexible minds."
After hearing this, Lawrence asked curiously: "Sir, what do you want these half-grown orphans to do? They can neither cultivate the land to produce food nor hold a spear or sword on the battlefield. They are also very edible if they are not used. It takes too much money and food to raise most of these children. It is better to just buy mature slaves. Besides, where is the war now? You can recruit young and strong refugees to farm and even march for you to fight. "
Matt picked up the wooden bowl filled with water on the table and took a sip. He replied with a smile: "I have no intention of letting these half-grown boys plow the fields, and I don't expect them to fight in the battle for the time being."
“Then what are you planning to do~?” Lawrence asked, and Cooper and Salt also listened attentively.
“I plan to let them learn common language in the valley, teach them combat skills and tactics, teach them arithmetic and medicine, and let them have faith in the Holy Spirit.” Art explained his purpose of recruiting orphans in one sentence.
"You want to raise a group of boys who are like knights and squires?" Salt somewhat understood what Art meant.
"That's what I mean, but it won't be as complicated as the training of knights and attendants. I just want them to become the backbone of my future army and territory." Art said calmly.
· Several people stopped talking. Lawrence might not understand it very well, but Cooper and Salt understood Art's profound meaning. They knew that Art wanted to "forge" a batch of "weapons" that he had trained since childhood. In a few years, these "weapons" would become his sharpest swords in troubled times...
"Well, by the way, there is one more thing."
At's voice interrupted several people's contemplation, and several people came back to listen to Art's arrangements.
"In the process of completing these things, you will also take Kazak's bedridden old father and Andrew's family members back to the valley. Ask them about the specific place. Kazak's father is supported and treated by Mubao. In the future, he can be given an easy job of looking after the warehouse, and Andrew's family can also give priority to allocating land in the valley. If there are other relatives who want to take it to the valley, you can take it to the valley together. Let Odo help you deal with this matter."
“Okay!” Several people responded.
"When these things are done, you can stay in the south temporarily and do some simple trade. As for what to buy and sell, it is up to you. If you really feel that there is no way out, go to Sapp and ask Baron Galvin for help." Art said to several stewards of the caravan accompanying the army.
Several people took note of Art's arrangements.
Sart nodded after hearing this, and then said with a worried face: "Sir, if you want to support the army through trade, we must get involved in the southern goods trade. No goods along the commercial journey can make as much money as the southern goods trade, and the money comes in quickly."
Att picked up the account book of the army's caravan on the table and glanced at it. A caravan with thirteen carriages could earn a net profit of 24,000 pfennigs in less than a month from trading goods with the South. This money can sustain the wartime salary and food consumption of Att's army for four months. In normal times, it can even support the daily expenses of an army of forty people for less than half a year (excluding weapons and armor). This was something that could be earned during times of war when southern goods were difficult to purchase and were expensive. If they could seize the southern goods trade route before the end of the war and form a larger caravan, the money earned from the caravan would allow them to expand their army several times.
"Sart, I understand what you said. After I finish my military service stationed in Talburg and am officially knighted, I will personally remove the obstacles on this trade road." Art said calmly, but with murderous intent in his eyes.
Sart knew that Art had his own arrangements, so he said no more and prepared to continue reporting to Art the accounts of the caravan and the incoming and outgoing goods.
"Sart, I won't listen to these trivial things. Since I dare to hand over the caravan to you, then I can rest assured that you can do it yourself." Art only cares about the major affairs of the caravan and does not want to get involved in the details, and he does not have much energy to care about these.
………
Three days later, the army caravan left Tarburg with more than a dozen carriages loaded with supplies and more than thirty attendants (laborers, prisoners, craftsmen, and prisoners of war, etc.) escorted by sixteen armed guards (also coachmen). It passed through the county of Glaru and crossed the southern mountainous road from Andermatt Castle back to the wooden castle in the valley. Cooper will then leave the army caravan and return to the valley. , because the most important winter wheat sowing season in the valley is coming soon, and Art has given Cooper a task of expanding the soldier barracks in the wooden fort and building new shacks and residences in the valley, because after the garrison mission of Tal Fort is over, Art will soon return to the valley with the expanded army, and people will continue to join the valley in the coming time. Therefore, Cooper must go back to take charge of the wooden castle in the valley and everything in the valley to prepare for Art's subsequent expansion.
……………
This side of Talburg.
On the first day of November, Baron Jeffrey of Biltenburg sent his captain of the guard to Talburg with 46,000 pfennigs of coins and two horses. Art was not a person without credibility. He took the coins sent by the envoy, took away the horses, and then handed over the only son of Baron Jeffrey, who was fat and fat, to the envoy and took him back to Biltenburg.
In the following time, there was a tacit peace between Talburg and Biltenburg. The defenders of Talburg did not cross the edge of the mountainous area, and the army of Biltenburg did not take a step into the mountainous area.
………
When he entered Tarburg, Art brought thirty soldiers plus ten prisoners of war for labor and fifty peasant soldiers dispatched by Count Baldwin.
During these months of sneak attacks, plundering and defensive battles, the soldiers and peasants stationed at Talburg suffered more than twenty battle deaths and injuries, of which five soldiers alone were killed (including a combat team leader and a sentry cavalry), and many were seriously injured. Three people were able to fight again (including a combat team leader), and eight people were healed from minor injuries (including two squad leaders); five peasants and soldiers who were transferred were killed in the battle, two were seriously injured, and one was slightly injured; even laborers, two died and one was slightly injured in the battle to defend the city.
Yate arranged a simple and solemn funeral for all those who died in the battle, whether they were soldiers, peasants, or peasants. He also paid a consolation fee of one hundred pfennigs to each of the dead and injured peasants, soldiers, and peasants who had been transferred to the Yate army and had families. Let the travelers take them back to their families. Ate believes that the money spent is worth it, because this group of peasants, soldiers and laborers returning home will spread the heroic achievements of Ate's army against the enemy in the southeastern border area and the kindness and fraternity of Commander Ate.
Two of the soldiers who died in the battle had relatives in the wooden fort in the valley. Art specifically asked Cooper to give these two families a consolation fee of two hundred pfennigs each after returning to the valley. In addition, Art also decided to allocate an acre of land to each family from the land reclaimed in the valley as a permanent land for the families of the fallen heroes. This acre of land will never be taxed.
Those soldiers who are seriously injured and can no longer fight will make other arrangements based on their recovery status after the army returns to the valley. If they can no longer fight for the army, the valley wooden castle will also pay comfort fees based on their military positions and military exploits and allocate one to three acres of land for them to cultivate. These cultivated lands will not have to pay any taxes for ten years.
Other non-combatants who participated in the war also enjoyed the preferential treatment of the wooden castle in the valley to varying degrees.
Yat's series of actions have been unanimously praised by the army, because they no longer have to worry about their own or their family's livelihood after being killed and wounded in battle. Of course, Art also explained to everyone that the prerequisite for this kind of preferential treatment to be implemented is that he can successfully obtain the land in the valley in the future, but everyone at least has one hope.
There are reductions and increases in staff.
Before the defense of Tarburg, Art got a group of prisoners and craftsmen in Bülten. After the defense of Tarburg, the army caravan also brought seventeen young warriors. After the army caravan and the transferred peasants and soldiers left for labor, they were removed and placed in the city of Glaru County. There were still twenty-two combat soldiers, twenty-six new recruits (including remaining peasant soldiers and prisoners of war selected as soldiers), five remaining servants, and several enemy prisoners of war who were difficult to deal with in the dungeon of the inner fort.
In the following time, Art trained his army while guarding against enemies in the east.
Time quickly entered December. After the training of new recruits was completed, in order to facilitate the coordinated command of the army, Art organized all the soldiers in Tal Fort into a temporary formation.
After completing the training, there were forty-eight soldiers (including commanders) in Tal Fort. In order to maintain the combat effectiveness of the army and prepare for possible enemy situations, Art did not temporarily mix the new recruits and veterans into mixed formations. Instead, he transferred eight outstanding recruits to make up for the missing members of the original several soldier squads, and then temporarily formed the remaining recruits into a new squad, temporarily called the recruit squad (the original squad was called the combat squad).
The first to fourth squadrons of soldiers and the sentries will remain with their original commanders for the time being. The remaining recruits formed three squads. The temporary commanders of the three recruit squads were selected by Art and Odo Angus after discussion with several peasants and soldiers with combat experience or outstanding recruits in training. The salary of the officers of the recruit squad was temporarily one level lower than that of the commander of the combat squad; the weekly salary of ordinary soldiers in the recruit squad was fifteen pfennigs, which was also lower than that of combat soldiers.