Three miles southeast of Lane Manor, in a very secluded clearing in a mountain den, dozens of bandits are busy transporting valuable goods such as grain, cloth, horses and cattle, exquisite utensils, salt and spices to a cave in the mountain den. There were several beaten-up guys tied to a tree trunk near the entrance of the cave.
A row of burning torches illuminated the cave very brightly. In a small guarded cave, three bandit leaders were surrounding a man wearing a caravan leader's attire and carrying a long-handled battle ax, counting the plundered proceeds of the past few days one by one.
Angus locked a large iron box filled with shiny gold and silver coins and said to Redoan beside him: "The total is 135,800 pfennigs. I have written them all down. If there is one copper coin missing when I bring it here, I will not let you go."
Redoan quickly asked the second and third leaders around him to put the large iron box that Angus had counted into the deep pit that had been dug long ago and bury it in the old soil disguise. Then he smiled and said, "Don't worry, I have always been loyal to you and your lord."
"I'm at ease with you, but you have to be more careful with your people. If Rigg hadn't noticed this time, those guys would have stolen six thousand penny." Angus was referring to the tied guys at the entrance of the cave.
In yesterday's "borrowing" operation, these guys were in charge of a small estate. The little boss had long been greedy. He led his five men to kill everyone in the small manor, plundered all the money in the manor, and planned to flee with the money. However, the bandit leader Rigg (one of the informants) had long noticed the anomaly of these guys, and specially sent one of his men to follow them and capture the bandits who were about to defect.
Redoan broke out in cold sweat on his forehead. Normally, he was not very harsh on his subordinates. After all, they were bandits with him and they were eating decapitation food. They should not be too harsh. "What do you think is the right way to deal with these guys? How about not chopping off their fingers?"
"Sir~ Sir~" Redoan said weakly.
"Ledoan, you are about to be reorganized and officially become a team under the lord. Do you think it is better to wait for the lord to get rid of these things for you in the future, or is it better for you to clean them up now? I have always been leading you, and I have to remind you that it is best not to have people in your team who are disgusting to the lord, especially those who have different intentions. It is best to deal with them as soon as possible. "
“Yes. I know how to do it. Their heads will be hanging at the entrance of the cave tonight~” Redoan stopped talking.
Angus then said to the other two leaders in the small cave: "My lord told me that you will become a patrol team under the patrol officer. The long commercial road from the southern border post to the northern town of Tynets County will be handed over to you for patrolling. From now on, you will be the patrols recognized by the palace. You should get rid of your original bandit habits as soon as possible."
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"After becoming a patrolman, you no longer have to fear the army's raids, let alone the prying eyes of other bandits. You will become officers of this team and enjoy sufficient supplies and generous military pay. Your wives and children will also live with their heads held high in the paradise land of the valley. In the future, your sons will not have to grow up with the bad reputation of bandits."
“In the name of God, be loyal to you!” the second leader of the bandits said, raising his fist.
"Loyal to your lord. Loyal to your lord!" Redoan and the three leaders also expressed their loyalty.
After the three of them stopped, Angus softened his expression and showed a rare smile, "Brothers have been working hard these days. I took the decision to pick out a pig and three sheep from the "borrowed" supplies and slaughter them. I will hold a celebration banquet for the guys in the evening. Well, I will also slaughter some of the chickens and ducks. One roast chicken and duck for two people, and enough wine!" "
The three of them were naturally happy, and the second and third leaders immediately went down to arrange a celebration banquet.
After the two left, Angus said meaningfully to Redoan: "Tonight at the celebration banquet, you can make it clear to the guys that you want to lead them to surrender to the adults. If there are people who don't want to follow you, you can leave without forcing them."
Redoan was surprised after hearing this. Looking at Angus, "Sir~?"
Angus added as expected, "I will send Rigg to lead people to kill the people who left quietly!"
"Huh?"
"Nothing, no, just do it!" Angus' tone did not allow any doubt.
Angus reminded me again, "From now on, call me Sergeant Major or Sir Angus. We can only have one "Lord" in our hearts, and that is Baron Artwood Wells. "
“Yes, yes, Sir Angus.” Redoan finally couldn’t help but lift up his sleeves to wipe the cold sweat from his forehead...
You burst into tears and cried: "...Sir Viscount, our Dean family will never be so heartless. This is obviously someone behind the scenes to frame my master and the jazz master. You are a friend of the Dean family, and you have to clear up the grievances of my master and master."
Pierre glanced at the wooden box placed next to the butler and waved his hand, "What can I do? The patrol officer is a direct official of the Palace Minister of Security, and I have no authority to control it. He has already informed the police about the crime. The letter has been sent to Besançon. If your master really wants to clear his grievances, he should go to the court to intercede. "
"My Lord Viscount, although Baron Art is a patrol officer, he is even more important. The Border Baron is under the jurisdiction of the Sheriff. As the Sheriff and the Marquis' agent, you can tell him not to act rashly..."
"Okay, go back with your things. Others don't know how useful I am as the Sheriff. Don't you, the Dean family, know it? Are there not many nobles in the county who don't obey the orders of the Sheriff?"
The steward was speechless.
"If Mr. Dean really wants to settle the matter, he should go to Baron Art in person. Some things can only be said clearly in person." .
In front of the gate of the garrison camp in Jushi Town, five or six patrol teams wearing cotton armor and robes and holding short spears tightly surrounded a four-wheeled carriage. After a while, a sentry led the patrol team captain Obote out of the gate.
"Master Dean, this is the captain of the patrol team under the patrol officer and the knight's squire, Chief Obote." The sentry said to the carriage.
The old man sitting in the carriage saw the steward coming, put down his dignity and stepped out of the carriage on the servant's back. He bowed slightly to Obote and said, "Lord Obote, I am the father of the palace guard knight Dean. I have something important to discuss with Lord Art, Baron Art, and please allow us to go." Old Dean's attitude was very humble, without any of the gestures of a wealthy businessman.
"Old Mr. Dean, I am just a knight's squire. I dare not call you "sir". Your Excellency, just call me Obote. "Obot has no good impression of the Dean family, so he doesn't accept old Dean's flattery.
"As for what you said about going in to find my lord, I guess you just came here to say that there is a group of bandits who have been plundering under the banner of the Dean family recently. I hope that my lord will not listen to the evil people's conspiracy."
Old Dean nodded, "It is for this matter, but Mr. Obote only guessed half of it right. I am visiting the Baron in person this time mainly to discuss the matter of supporting the military expenses for the Baron." Those bandits really have nothing to do with each other. As long as the baron can put aside the past grievances, we are willing to donate 120,000 pfennigs to Lord Art and his army. This time I brought 20,000 pfennigs. If the baron is willing to discuss it in detail, I will have the remaining 100,000 pfennigs sent to the baron immediately. "Since you are here to sue for peace, you must show sincerity, not to mention that the other party is a life and death enemy.
Obote showed a trace of hesitation. After a while, he calmed down and replied to Old Dean: "Master Dean, this matter is too big for me to make the decision. Please return first. I will send someone to convey your wishes to my family in detail. If you are interested, we will come to your manor to discuss it with you."
Old Dean's face was slightly embarrassed for a moment, but he soon regained his composure. If he were to let him in like this, he would have to be more cautious, "Okay, I'll wait for Mr. Obote's message."
Old Dean patted the box and said politely to Obote: "In this wooden box are gold coins and silver marks worth 20,000 pfennigs. Please pass it to the Baron. Just say that this is a small sincerity from the Dean family. I hope the Baron can accept it with ease."
Old Dean winked at another servant again, and the servant He quickly moved two large barrels of wine from the back of the carriage and piled them at the entrance of the village. "Brothers from the patrol team, thank you for your hard work. This is a little bit of my gratitude to you, and I also ask Lord Obote to accept it."
Old Dean didn't bother anymore, got on the carriage and turned around to leave.
Looking at the carriage going further and further away, Benson, the deputy captain of the patrol team, asked Obote in front of him: "Sir Angus guessed right, Dean's old wolf can actually wag his tail."
Obote looked into the distance coldly, "My lord once said that no matter how much he wag his tail, he is still an old wolf with a thirst for blood and meat."
"What to do with these things?"
"Let the gangsters in the prison taste the wine before distributing it to the brothers. Leave the money intact and send someone to send it back to the valley immediately."
...