King of German Mercenaries

Outside Denburg Castle, spring ploughing is unfolding vigorously. After applying the curved plough, plus Marin, there are 1,000 draught horses. Therefore, the speed of reclamation is relatively fast.

During the plowing time, Marin reclaimed 2,200 Ugrams of new arable land, applied manure, and sowed rye seeds. Of course, for the purpose of raising horses, 200 of them are oats. Because, the horse consumes a lot of oats (Note: Europe does not have soybeans that are more suitable for feeding horses at this time). You know, that's 1030 horses. During this time, it cost Marin a lot of money just to buy oats. Fortunately, Marin has enough money to avoid bankruptcy. If it were replaced by the average small estate owner, the feed for 1000 horses would be able to make it bankrupt.

Under Kohler's operation, family members of soldiers came one after another. The adobe house is practical, and living in a family is not a problem. You know, many European serfs now live in grass and wooden houses that collapse when the wind blows or leak when it rains. Poor families cannot afford masonry, nor can they afford lumber. In fact, many poor people's houses are simply built with firewood and dry grass, with a little dirt on the outside. This kind of broken house is much worse than the regular adobe house built by Marin.

However, the adobe house looks ordinary, more earthy, and looks like it lives in a poor family. The look and feel is much better only if the exterior is brushed with lime.

But Marin's idea is that in addition to the practicality of adobe houses, there are also factors that are low cost and fast construction. If we were to build brick houses seriously, we would have to send people to the mainland to buy bricks and hire a large number of masons, which would be expensive and time-consuming.

As for Marin himself, living in the castle was actually not comfortable at all. The castle is different from the villa. The villa has good lighting, large windows and a lot of glass. The castle, for security reasons, has very small windows, similar to lookout holes and shooting holes.

So, the light in the castle is very dark and it feels very uncomfortable. In some places inside the castle, lights or torches should be lit during the daytime, otherwise it will be difficult to see.

Fortunately, the room on the south side of the third floor of the main building in the center of the castle has good light and the windows are quite large. But what makes Marin weird is that the glass windows are weird...

Why is it weird? It turned out that the glass windows and doors are indeed glass, but the glass looks very uneven. Because this glass window and door is made of pieces of small glass. Each piece of glass is about the size of several palms.

When I asked the reason, it turned out that in this era, glass utensils were all blown by craftsmen. Craftsmen, you can't blow a glass plate with a large area... In Marin's heart, the technique of making large flat glass, the "rolling method", suddenly emerged... However, he has no plans to make glass for the time being, nor does he Relevant technical talents, this idea just flashed by...

Marin had promised to distribute land to his brethren. So, one morning after the spring ploughing, Marin asked Schwartz to gather all his brothers...

"Brothers, before, I promised to allocate land to you. Now that the spring ploughing is over, it's time to fulfill the promise!"

Hearing this, the eyes of the big-headed soldiers began to look eager. However, because of strict discipline and habits, they did not make noise.

"However, as you all know, there is not much land on the island. Even the baron, I spent a lot of money to redeem it, and only got 800 Eugrams of arable land. In addition to the newly cultivated land, the total is only 3000 Eugrams... …”

"After thinking about it, I plan to give 2,000 Eugrams to the brothers. On average, each family will be 5 Eugrams. Do you have any opinions?" Marin asked.

The soldiers were given the password to "take a break" and could answer, and they all shook their heads, expressing no objection. Just kidding, Marin only has 3,000 Eugrams in total, and if he takes out 2,000 Eugrams, what else can I say? In this year, nobles who are willing to share the spoils of war with soldiers are considered good people.

What's more, Marin took out two-thirds of the total arable land and divided it among his subordinates, what else could he say? This is the Middle Ages, not the modern age. The nobles distribute things to the commoners. That is a "gift" and not something that should be given.

5 Eugram, is 10 acres, equivalent to 60 acres of land. If you think about it, it's definitely a lot. Don't dare to say anything else, it's absolutely fine to keep the family from starving to death.

You know, Marin promised in public that the 5 Eugram lands were privately owned by the soldier's family. Moreover, during the service of the soldiers, there is no taxation at all. Of course, church tithes need to be paid by themselves.

Even after retirement, Marin will only collect 10% of the tax. In other words, 80% of its income belongs to itself. This is completely unimaginable in current Europe.

You know, in Europe at the moment, the taxes on serfs and yeomen are very high. Needless to say, serfs, most of the proceeds were taken by the serf owners, leaving only basic rations and scarce materials. Even yeoman farmers need to bear at least 40% of the land rent (see "German Peasant War"). This is not to mention, the lords (non-serf owners) sometimes apportion some exorbitant taxes and other taxes. Fishing and hunting have to pay taxes, and they pay heavy taxes. Therefore, the hunters in the Middle Ages are actually very difficult. Before, Marin's hunting behavior in the Black Forest was actually poaching. However, they came and went without a trace on their horses, and they left early even when the local lord got news that they were after them to collect taxes. Moreover, Marin brought a few younger brothers, and he looked like a knight. Ordinary little lords don't dare to provoke them casually. Annoying the wandering knight will hurt people. Those little lords are also bullying.

With 60 mu of land, even if the yield of rye per mu is 150 catties, it can harvest 9,000 catties of rye, which is about 10,000 pounds. Eighty percent left, or 8,000 pounds of rye. 8,000 pounds of rye! How many people are enough to eat? At the end of the day, how many people in a family will eat a few pounds of rye, right? According to a family of five, even if all five of them are strong men with big stomachs, each person will eat at most 2 pounds of rye, right? In fact, it is impossible, because the black bread of poor families is mixed with many strange things. For example, wild vegetables and weeds, and even soil and sawdust...

Therefore, the average family consumes a few pounds of rye a day to make bread basically enough, and there are a lot of other adulterants in it. Only a few hundred pounds of rye are consumed 365 days a year. Eight or nine thousand pounds of rye left, how much would it cost?

Those old and rough soldiers, one after another, opened their fingers to calculate, and as a result, the more they calculated, the happier they became. As if they saw an infinitely bright future.

"Don't be too happy, soldiers. The land of 5 Eugrams is yours only if you serve me wholeheartedly. If you run away on the battlefield, this land will be recovered..."

Hearing this, everyone froze in their hearts. If you want land, you can't run away in future wars. However, when they came out to work for their lives, weren't they just for a better life for their families? If the land is taken back, how will the family live?

"Boss, what if I die? What about the land?" a soldier asked.

"If you die in battle, or become disabled because of fighting for your lord, then this land will belong to your family forever. Moreover, the lord tax will be exempted for 20 years. After 20 years, the tax will continue to be 10% of the tax. , never overcharge, no miscellaneous taxes. As for the tithe of the church, that is not within my jurisdiction. However, if you die in battle and your family cannot pay the tithe in a short time, I will help to pay it in advance... "

"This...the conditions are very good..." Many people were very excited. In fact, those who came out to be mercenaries were already prepared to die and were not afraid of death. They are just afraid that when they die, no one in their family will take care of them. Marin's commitment clearly solved their worries.

"Boss, there is a problem..." a soldier raised his hand and said.

"Say……"

"It doesn't really matter if I die in battle, it's just... just..."

"Just what? Just talk!"

"It's just that I haven't married a wife yet, and I haven't left any descendants..." The young man said with a blushing face.

"Hahahaha..." Everyone laughed. However, the soldier said it well. When Marin selected soldiers, they were all poor young men who were not married, or could not afford to get married. Everyone's situation was similar...

"This is no problem. I promised you to help you find wives. Well, when I'm done with this time, I'll find a way to see how to help you find wives..."

"Okay, long live the boss|!"

"Stop talking nonsense, come and come, let's draw lots!" Marin took out a box, which was full of numbered notes, representing the marked land...

UU Reading Books welcomes all book lovers to come and read, the latest, fastest and most popular serial works are all in UU Reading Books! Mobile users, please read.