In October, the summer heat subsided, and a gentle breeze blew in Tyniec, a border fortress city on the southern border of the County of Burgundy.
Although the weather has become slightly cooler, the county town of Tyniec is as hot as midsummer.
From the palace's recruitment order (Note) in early July to the beginning of October, recruits began to gather from all directions in Tynets County. In just ten days, more than 600 recruits were accommodated in the temporary camp of the Eastern Legion outside the city of Tynets County. People came to sign up day by day, and the temporary camp was expanded again and again. Recruitment officers wiped the sweat from their foreheads to register and sign contracts for the recruits, and organized them into various teams according to their specialties. (Note: Recruitment mainly involves paying money to recruit professional soldiers, which is different from conscription for military service. Recruitment is usually provided by the government with food and salary, and the recruits are mostly free fighters who provide their own weapons and armor.)
However, there are two waves of people busier than the recruiting officers. One wave is the security team and county garrison (county soldiers) responsible for maintaining security in Tyniec County and surrounding areas. Most of the "freedom fighters" who came to recruit at the legion camp outside the city came smelling the stench of blood and the aroma of silver coins. These guys with weapons and armor in their hands are not good people. Maybe yesterday they They are still bandits who make a living by blocking roads with swords, hammers and axes...
In order to prevent the recruits from disturbing the stability of the county and surrounding areas, Viscount Pierre sent the entire security team and half of the county guards to the camp and nearby areas to maintain security or organize inspections of surrounding country estates, and was busy all day long without touching the ground.
Another type of busy people are naturally small traders and working women. They are another major component of the camp, their number is close to two hundred, and their number is still increasing. Wherever there are people, there are transactions. The palace will not provide food and supplies to these recruits until the Eastern Legion is officially assembled into an army, so the recruits must support themselves out of their own pockets. The poorer "freedom fighters" would buy grain, bacon, vegetables and fruits from the city or small traders and make fires to cook in the camp; most people would pay a few copper coins in exchange for a large bowl of wheat porridge with minced meat and water in the sheds built by the small traders with tattered felt cloth. Professional mercenaries with bigger pockets would also spend a few more copper coins to let the small traders bring out a few glasses of home-brewed low-quality ale and a plate of apple-stewed pork chops.
Not to mention career women, as long as there are places where single men gather, their presence is indispensable. They hand over two copper coins, pick up the plump fat woman who is happy, find a suitable "battlefield", work and sweat with intense ups and downs while others turn a blind eye or watch enthusiastically, and then pick up their pants and leave straight away...
Art and his party do not like this scene. Putting aside the chaotic scene, the smell produced by nearly a thousand people excreting feces and urine was enough to bear. This is not Besançon, and no one has considered the problem of urban epidemics at all, so there will be no one to manage the food, drink and urination of everyone in the camp before the army gathers. These rude guys poop and urinate everywhere, not caring whether there is a lot of feces on their pillows.
“God, this stinks! Can’t these bastards go a little further to deal with their excrement and urine? They have to be like a herd of animals!” Felix covered his nose and looked at the huge assembly camp, and couldn’t help complaining.
Matt didn't want to stay for a while. People in this era just didn't have the slightest habit of being particular. The crowds were sparse on weekdays. Even though everyone dumped feces at will, the stench could still be blown away by the breeze. As long as you didn't mind your shoes being stained with feces, you could tolerate it. But when such people gather, the filthy stench becomes a lingering devil.
"Okay, let's not enter the camp. Tell Spencer that we will find a cleaner open space to camp tonight." Art ordered a soldier beside him.
“Basi and Ron took the soldiers and the baggage team to set up camp. The sentry team let their horses drink water by themselves, and the crossbow team was responsible for guarding the sentry.”
"Odo, Angus, you two follow me into the city, let's go see if the group of nobles leading the army has arrived in Tyniec."
Said Art, lightly tucked the horse's belly and walked towards the city of Tyniec...
………< br/>
"I knew you would smell the smell of blood and come to join the army going south. How can a restless guy like you stay quietly in your own knight's fief and be a down-to-earth lord." Viscount Pierre took time out of his busy schedule to meet with Art in the official office of the Lord's Hall in the city of Tyniec.
"Lord Pierre, do you seem to have some misunderstanding about me?" Art took out two fine pearls from his arms and placed them on Viscount Pierre's official desk.
Pierre fiddled with the "precious gifts" on the table twice, picked up one of the shiniest pearls with his fingers, raised it to his forehead and looked at the window carefully for a while, and said with a smile: "I accepted the things, but don't expect to use these things to stop the unpleasant words from my mouth."
Matt replied wisely: "Of course, I am willing to listen to your well-intentioned advice."
Pierre put two pearls into a wooden box on the table, stared at Matt seriously and said: "Some things can only be said in front of you. It doesn't sound good, but you have to listen."
"The first thing is about the dispute between you and the Dean family. I don't want to get into who is right or wrong in this matter. I only care about the outcome. The two knights you two were awarded together actually started fighting among themselves in less than a year, and many people died. The Marquis has nothing to do with you two. None of them are very satisfied. Now is the time when the country needs soldiers to strengthen its army. You two knights who were personally conferred by the Marquis are actually busy fighting among themselves. These three people cannot accept it. Regardless of your final victory or defeat, I don't want this to happen to you again. "
Matt didn't take it seriously after hearing this. Anyway, he has done it now and has not suffered any loss. As for the Marquis's anger, it is not directed at the two inconspicuous little knights. The internal fighting between the two counts Baldwin and Bernard is the trouble that gives the critically ill Marquis a headache.
"The second thing is about the number of your army. A knight has close to a hundred standing soldiers. Even a baron with more territory may not be able to maintain such a large army, let alone a small knight. What do you want to do by overstepping your authority and raising private soldiers?"
"I I know you want to say that your soldiers do not take up a cent of the palace and county's food and salary, and the size of the army in your hands has nothing to do with others. But Art, let me tell you, you have aroused the fear of others, and some people have reported to the palace that you want to raise private soldiers to annex other people's territories, and there are even rumors that your ambition is not small~~~"
After hearing this, Art was a little excited and retorted: "My lord, in the name of God, my loyalty to the Marquis and the palace is obvious to all. The palace needs me to guard the border, and I will be there when called; the palace needs me to maintain it." In order to maintain public security, I worked hard to suppress bandits; when the court needed me to go south to fight, I did not hesitate at all. Twice, "Art, if things in the world are as you think, God doesn't need to cleanse the sins of the world. As far as I know, your opponents have already begun to collect your accusations."
Pierre felt a little unhappy when he saw that Art was still pretending to be confused. He stood up and walked to Art, and said slowly: "You still have a shady team in the dense forest of the valley, right?"
Pierre wanted to stand up and defend himself. Pierre I waved my hand to stop him, "Sir Art, while I was watching these little tricks at the court, you were still learning how to straddle a horse in Lombardy. So don't treat everyone like a fool, okay?"
Art was silent and denied it.
Pierre saw that Art was unmoved and listed them one by one.
"In May, Leval Village. As soon as you left, the few wealthy households who had contradicted you that night were sneaked in and killed by bandits, and the property was looted."
"In July, Lane Manor was captured by a group of bandits with unknown origins. After emptying the manor of its belongings, the bandits were driven away by your troops who unexpectedly appeared. This was a coincidence."
"In August, At the critical moment when your Border Knight fief was besieged by the Dean family's troops, a group of bandits who ran out of the dense valleys of the southwest mountains captured the Dean family's farm. I guess this group of bandits came to this critical moment just by coincidence. "In September, a group of bandits attacked a wealthy manor in the county. Just when the bandits captured the manor and took away their belongings, you were about to flee into the mountains. The army came out unexpectedly and annihilated the bandits. This may also be a coincidence. A thin layer of sweat began to form on Art's forehead, sitting in the armchair, and he could not sit still.
Pierre lowered his voice and continued: "Sir Art, just because no one cares about something doesn't mean that no one knows about it. Some people always think that they can do things perfectly and can blind all the eyes and block all the mouths, but they don't expect that God is always watching."
"Sir Art, now do you dare to say that other lords in the county dare to sleep beside you? Do you still dare to say that the court and I don't need to be afraid of you?" Pierre stopped pacing and stared at Art.
After a brief panic, Art regained some composure, and said slowly: "I think since you have told me so many things, you will not be afraid of me. Lord Pierre, maybe I am not as bad as you heard and saw."
Pierre stared at Art's eyes for a long time, and Art simply faced Pierre's sharp eyes without flinching.
"Okay!"
Pierre finally withdrew his eyes, "I hope you are not as bad as I heard and heard. Sir Art, please don't let me regret recommending you as a trainee knight, and I really hope that you will become a knight loyal to God and the Marquis."
· "As you wish." Art stood up and bowed his head slightly.
Pierre exhaled heavily, took another deep breath, and said meaningfully, "Art, the Marquis has authorized me to guard this small southern county. I have been the county magistrate in Tyniec for four years, and I can return to the palace in less than a year. I don't expect to achieve great achievements in a territory that does not belong to me. I just hope that there will be no major turmoil during my term. Can you understand what I say?"
Matt nodded heavily, "Thank you, sir, I understand."
"Okay, you can go back. In three days, the legion will start south from Tyniec, so be prepared. God bless you."