King of German Mercenaries

"Yes, this unfortunate earl was left behind by Charles VIII, and then surrounded by us and the Venetians. He saw that the situation was over, and he surrendered..."

"That's really unfortunate..." You know, an earl is enough to be the commander-in-chief of an army. The army commander of the Shinra Empire was Frederick II, the Count of Hohenzollern. But this unfortunate Frenchman was captured as a prisoner by a 17-year-old hairy knight. Presumably, he has no face in the future...

"Your Majesty, what did you say? The imperial general who captured me is only 17 years old?" After meeting with the emperor, Count Flair of Toulouse learned of this shameful news...

"Yes, the Marlin Knight is a 17-year-old young man. Moreover, he is only a phalanx commander." Maximilian I said proudly.

"What? The knights...the phalanx commander...Impossible, there is definitely more than one phalanx of the army besieging us, there must be several thousand people...there must be an army..." Flair did not want to admit that he was attacked by a square. Array defeated. There are 5,000 people under him. 5000 knights were defeated by a phalanx of infantry, and he could find a belt and hang himself. Not only him, even his men who were captured together would never admit it. Otherwise, they won't have to come out and mix in the future.

"He is indeed the leader of the phalanx, but to defeat you, he not only used a phalanx, but also united with the Venetian army. There are more than 4,000 people in total. Otherwise, there are not that many people." The emperor is an honest man, but Don't even bother to lie. But he didn't know that the news he knew was itself a lie...

"I see..." Count Flair felt a little better when he heard the emperor say that.

...

After sending Fryer away, Marin came to the Emperor again to discuss the disposal of the spoils...

"How many spoils are there in total?" asked the emperor.

"There are 1,000 war horses, 3,000 sets of plate armor, 3,000 two-handed swords and several oak lances..." reported Marin Hui. In fact, there are 3,600 very good draw horses hidden by Marin.

"This... so much?" The emperor stammered after hearing this. Although he had expected it, he was stuttered with excitement when he heard that there were so many spoils of war.

"certainly……"

"Then are you hiding something?" The emperor suddenly swept over with sharp eyes.

"Well, I hid some horses, and all the horses were handed in. Your Majesty, the minister also wants to make money, doesn't he?" Marin said naturally. During this year, mercenaries began to rise. The biggest characteristic of mercenaries is greed. Since Maximilian I began to use mercenaries, he was already mentally prepared to let the mercenaries greedy for some property. Of course, for important military supplies, he will never tolerate greed.

"Horse? You can swear you didn't hide a horse?"

"I swear in the name of God that I have not hidden a single war horse. Otherwise, I will fall into hell after death!" Marin solemnly swore.

In fact, he did not hide the war horse. Because, the other 1,000 war horses, he did not hide them, but sold them directly to the Venetians...

The emperor didn't care about pulling horses because it had no military value. And Marin said he had kept "some" privately, but he didn't have an intuitive feeling. If he knew that Marin had 3,600 draw horses, he might have turned his face.

"What are your plans?" the emperor asked Marin.

"Your Majesty, as far as I know. These prisoners can be exchanged for at least one million Italian ducats with the French. A war horse is said to be worth at least a hundred gold coins. A set of armor is also worth dozens of pieces. gold……"

"Stop, what do you want to say?"

"What this minister wants to say is that the value of these captives and trophies is too high... I wonder what title Your Majesty intends to confer on me?"

"A title?" Maximilian I was caught off guard by Marin's sudden turn.

"Of course, the French were captured by 4,000 knights, which is absolutely a great shame. And the minister, it is also considered a great contribution to the country, and you have earned the boss's face for your majesty. These prisoners' equipment is estimated to be worth millions of gold coins. I can directly buy a large earldom. I dedicate them all to Your Majesty, you see..."

"Hehe..." Maximilian I laughed. He is not afraid that his subordinates will ask for something, but he is afraid that his subordinates will not ask for it. If they want something, he can win over and control them with conditions.

"what do you want?"

"Title, hereditary title, and territory!"

"Then what kind of title do you think you want, and where is the territory?"

Just as Marin said, he has made such a big contribution, and he is indeed qualified to be knighted and gain territory. Therefore, the emperor can not be stingy. Otherwise, no one will work for him.

Why was the Swabian League loyal to the emperor? In fact, they also want to pass the emperor, promote the title, and gain more territory. For example, in the county of Württemberg, because of its strong support for the emperor, its lord, Eberhard V, Count of Württemberg, was promoted to Duke of Württemberg by the emperor on July 4, during the emperor's stay in Worms. Named Eberhard I. Therefore, the emperor did not mind giving his subordinates a title. However, the emperor was a little reluctant to want territory...

"The Netherlands is a very good place..." Marlin Lion said loudly. Anyway, he didn't expect the emperor to agree to any conditions, but waited for a bargain. The Western emperor was not as authoritative as the Eastern Emperor, and in private, Marin could still put forward conditions without worrying about being pushed out of the Meridian Gate and beheaded.

"Don't dream, that's what I value most..."

"But I like the sea very much..." Marin said innocently.

In fact, Marin really wanted to participate in the big voyage. The Netherlands is an important area in the Age of Navigation, where commerce and shipping are very developed.

"Don't think about it, count, the deputy count (viscount) is also a little tall..."

"Why? Is the minister's exploits not enough? There are still trophies worth one hundred thousand gold coins..." Marin was a little excited. He is willing to hand over these spoils, isn't it just the title of the picture? The earl won't give us recognition, the viscount won't give it, good or bad...

"Marlin Knight, calm down first. Have you thought about your identity? You are only 17 years old, and you are still a wandering knight from a little knight family. Although, you have made a lot of credit for this battle. But, have you thought about it? No? You are only a knight now, or I was promoted temporarily before the war. If I suddenly make you an earl, what will you make other nobles think?"

"Also, you only caught one earl. You can't. If you catch an earl, I'll make you an earl, right? If you catch Charles VIII, I'll make you an earl. No one has any opinion, but you don't. do..."

Marin rolled his eyes, you bastard, I want to catch Charles VIII, but I don't have enough people...

And what Maximilian I said also made sense. If Marin won a battle, he would be made an earl from a knight immediately. If he won a few more battles, wouldn't he want to be a king? is it possible? Moreover, this is Marin's first battle. If Marin helped the emperor fight a few more battles, how should the emperor seal him?

Marin calmed down, knowing that he was thinking too easily. The reason why the Earl of Tilly was named an earl was that he had served for the Holy Roman Empire for many years, fighting against Turkey and against Protestant princes, and many of them fought beautiful battles such as the "Battle of the White Mountains". And Wallenstein was named a duke because he appeared in front of the emperor as a savior when the emperor was about to die. The emperor could only rely on Wallenstein at that time, so he could only use a high position like the Duke to win over the only Wallenstein he could rely on.

But now, Maximilian I has not reached the end of the road, and he has only helped the emperor to win one battle. Although the victory is brilliant, it is not enough to be named an earl all of a sudden.

"I feel that it is too much of a disadvantage to not make an earl. You must know that the Teutonic Knights spent 19,000 Cologne marks (1 Cologne mark = 2.67 ducats in gold coins, and 19,000 marks is equivalent to 50,000 ducats) before buying the Principality of Estonia from Denmark. .But considering that the silver content of the Cologne mark in 1346 was full, twice as much as it is now, so it is equivalent to 100,000 ducats today)..."

"Ha, you're right, young man. The Teutonic Knights did buy the Principality of Estonia for only 19,000 Cologne Marks. But, have you ever thought about it? The Teutonic Knights themselves are a powerful country, and they have enough status and identity to buy territory and protect territory.”

"And you, Marlin Knight, even if you have so much money, do you have the corresponding title and status to rule such a large territory? Without status, other nobles can blatantly annex your territory. Therefore, the title itself is very important. Valuable existence...and, Marlin Knight, you are holding the salary I gave you. Most of these spoils should belong to me..."

"Okay... Then, Your Majesty, what kind of title should you give me, and where do you seal me?" Marin said in frustration. Marin admitted that he thought too simple.

In later generations, he did sales, selling a house, and the commission was no more than 5/1000. If he sells a house for 5 million, the company will give him 5 million, and the boss will earn a P... Before, as a traveler, he took himself too much, and always felt that he and the emperor were inseparable. Status is equal trade relations. It wasn't until now that Marin remembered that he was just a wage earner under the emperor...

"I've thought about it, let's make you a baron first. Since you like the sea so much. Then, how about I seal you here?" Maximilian I took out a sheepskin map and pointed to the edge of the Netherlands an island of...

"Texel Island?" Marin recognized it at a glance. Marin had studied the Netherlands and knew that there was an island of Texel in the Dutch province of the Netherlands. This island, known as the "miniature of the Netherlands", is a tourist area with beautiful scenery. Moreover, Marin was a rich second-generation friend in his previous life, and he also took his sister to this island for a tour. Then, he showed off his photos on Weibo, and wrote a detailed introduction to show off to Marin and other poor people. Therefore, Marin also paid attention to this small island in his previous life.

"You know this place?" Maximilian I was a little surprised. After all, the island of Texel in the Netherlands is just a backcountry place. At most, the fishing industry is prosperous there.

At the moment, the great voyages are only emerging in Spain and Portugal. As for Holland, the winds of great sailing have not yet blown there. Therefore, the seaside site is not paid much attention.

"Well, I have seen the map of the Netherlands, and I was thinking about where His Majesty the Emperor would seal me..."

"Haha, then I'll make you Baron Texel!" The emperor was very happy. This business, he is extremely cost-effective, he got more than one million gold coins, but only needs to pay for a small island that is not valued.

"Do I need to pay taxes?"

"You want to evade taxes?"

"Your Majesty, I have given you more than one million gold coins, and you still want me to pay taxes? God knows that it will take hundreds of years or even thousands of years to pay taxes of one million gold coins on this broken island!" Marin cried out in grievance. .

"Okay, tax-free, autonomous, head office!" Maximilian I really didn't pay attention to such a remote island. God knows if the island has a tax of 100 gold coins every year. Even if Marin was exempted from tax, he didn't feel anything. Moreover, he took the benefit of millions of gold coins, which was more than his annual financial income. He was very happy, and he didn't bother with Marin about those tedious details.

Besides, the entire Netherlands, currently Flanders (northern Belgium), is the most economically developed area in the Netherlands because of the developed wool textile industry, and it is also one of the most important sources of taxation for the emperor. The maritime trade in the Netherlands has not yet arisen. It will not start to develop until the Portuguese choose to sell Indian spices in Antwerp in 1500. That is to say, in the current Netherlands, except for the more developed Flanders, other places are not conspicuous...

It was because of this idea that the emperor later regretted it. Because, at that time, Texel Island had become an extremely prosperous island, which made the emperor very jealous. However, the emperor could not get a pfennig tax from Texel. Just because Marin specifically asked the emperor to indicate "permanent tax exemption" on the appointment letter...

Then, because of his outstanding military exploits, Marin was canonized by the emperor as the Baron of Texel, and the fief Texel Island was granted the status of a tax-exempt Imperial Baron Dominion. The Imperial Parliament did not respond to this. Because, the emperor entrusted his own family territory of the Netherlands, and did not harm the interests of other nobles in the empire.

Although the local parliament in the Netherlands was dissatisfied, the emperor's canonization was not a treasured place like The Hague or Amsterdam, but a small island. After expressing their dissatisfaction with the emperor, they said nothing. After all, in everyone's eyes, Texel Island is nothing unusual, just a slightly larger island.

On this island, there is only a small half-abandoned castle in Dengbo, and in the rest of the area, there are only a few villages, and most of them are fishing villages...

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