If Otto was dissatisfied with the aristocratic life these past few months, then food was undoubtedly the top priority.
Not to mention the monotony of medieval European cooking methods and the lack of ingredients, the lack of so many condiments made Otto, who was accustomed to modern life, feel a little uncomfortable every time he faced food.
In the Middle Ages, not only sugar and spices were luxuries, but even the price of basic condiments such as salt was very low. Therefore, people in the Middle Ages generally had a light taste. It was not that they paid attention to health, but simply could not afford salt.
For people who have lived like this since birth, they may not feel anything wrong, but this is a hardship for Otto. Even though I specifically warned the servants many times, the food in my mouth still tasted a bit off.
Fortunately, there is no need to consider this issue for breakfast. The combination of exquisite white bread and milk is very light in itself.
"Did those wandering knights say anything useful?" Otto broke the bread into small pieces and put it into his mouth while staring at Wade.
"No." Wade held the white bread in his hand and shook his head slowly. “They insisted that they were just passing through the territory and wanted to find a noble to work for them, and they refused to admit anything else.
Master Otto, do you want to continue the interrogation? "
"No need, I didn't expect to find out anything.
If you don't want to cooperate, let's treat him like a bandit.
It just so happens that the territory is ready to clear out bandits, so treat them like slaves these days, send them to build the castle, and then farm the land after building the castle, so that the bandits who covet the territory will be afraid. "
"Ok, I see."
"After breakfast later, you follow me to recruit soldiers. There are quite a lot of things going on recently. Judging from your state, you slept very late last night. Why don't you let others follow me? You can go well first Get some sleep."
Otto noticed Wade's tired expression and bloodshot eyes, and was a little worried about the other person's condition.
"Master, don't worry, I'm fine. Just go to bed early at night and you'll be fine."
Wade smiled at Otto and said he was fine.
"It's better that I accompany the young master. Without me by my side, I don't worry about the young master's safety."
How to select excellent soldiers, Qi Jiguang, a famous general in ancient China, gave the answer to this question.
To put it simply, the poorer the place, the stronger the folk customs, and the closer to the inland, the more obedient the people are.
Therefore, when selecting soldiers, try to select them in poor areas close to the interior.
Such conditions are not a problem for Otto.
Even though Allgäu is a fertile area in Switzerland, the oppression of serfs in this era was too heavy. The vast majority of farmers in this era were serfs. They cultivated land that did not belong to them and paid huge taxes. , I go out early and come back late every day, working hard, but it is still difficult to save a little money.
Taking France as an example, the taxes that serfs need to bear are as follows:
Two shillings for military expenses, and two barrels of wine need to be sent to the owner in order to raise pigs in the woods. Every three years he should hand over 100 planks of wood and 50 meters of fence. Every winter, he should plow the land, hand over 3 chicks and 15 eggs, and participate in labor when necessary. In addition, he should hand over two shillings to get half of the mill (right to use).
It can be said that compared with the taxes in medieval Europe, the same period in the East was completely benevolent and caring for the people.
Serfs, to put it bluntly, aren’t they just slaves bound to the farmland?
Therefore, when Otto saw these young and middle-aged men in front of him who were thin and weak due to poor nutrition, he couldn't help but frown.
As for the peasants who can't hold these weapons steadily, let alone professional knights, Otto thinks that a normal modern person with sharp weapons and well-dressed armor can fight hundreds of them while riding a horse. Farmers are completely scum with zero combat effectiveness.
Therefore, a regular knight with extraordinary strength can still only defeat a few hundred soldiers, which is not a big deal.
"No, no, no, Master Otto, I think you may have misunderstood. Regular knights can have hundreds of soldiers. I don't mean these peasants with weapons, but at least like professional mercenaries, or, like Gint. Knight's retinue.
Can these farmers with weapons also be counted as soldiers? "
Hearing Otto's doubts, Knight Wade smiled and explained to Otto with pride in his tone.
Knight retinues or mercenaries are the off-duty soldiers of this era, especially knight retinues. The difference between a knight's retinue and a knight is often just a matter of status and wealth. The knight needs to prepare his own equipment at his own expense.
As for the knights' retinue, their equipment is provided by those who are loyal to them. In the Middle Ages, the price of a complete set of equipment such as weapons, armor and horses was enough to match the wealth of a well-off family in modern times.
That’s why there were so many professional mercenaries and wandering knights in the Middle Ages. Many of them also received military training from childhood, but could not find a lord to pay for them. They could only piece together some inferior equipment and rely on their own Use martial arts to fight for wealth.
Regular knights can defeat hundreds of such enemies, even if there is a gap in equipment, which is enough to prove the power of this extraordinary power. Seeing Knight Wade's proud expression, Otto guessed that when the other party made calculations, he was definitely measuring them according to the same equipment.
At this point, Otto silently calculated his combat power in his mind. Good guy, what kind of humanoid Gundam is this regular knight with extraordinary abilities?
Thinking about the knight's combat prowess and looking at the peasants in front of him, Otto felt more and more uncomfortable.
In the Middle Ages with extraordinary abilities, no matter how many ordinary soldiers there were, there were not enough knights to kill them. No wonder I haven't heard of any large-scale peasant uprisings. There are only bandits running around. If farmers want to rebel, they must have the strength.
However, this problem is not impossible to change. Ordinary soldiers cannot defeat knights. The most important reason is the weapons. Your weapons cannot cause damage to knights, so they can naturally hit you casually.
But what if the soldiers were equipped with long spears and heavy crossbows? The armor of this era only has the same protection against heavy crossbows. Historically, why did the nobility and the church ban crossbows in the Middle Ages? It was not because crossbows could threaten the lives of nobility, mainly knights, making knights worthless.
In this world, Otto seems to have not heard of forbidden crossbows so far. This may be due to the influence of extraordinary power. After watching Wade easily chip away at wood that was thicker than an adult's thigh, Otto felt that crossbows might not pose much of a threat to knights with extraordinary abilities.
It is also possible that the world has not yet invented a powerful crossbow. Historically, crossbows were only banned after the crossbow appeared. Hand crossbows still pose some threat to heavy armor.
However, it doesn't matter even if there is no crossbow now. The knights can block crossbow arrows, but the horses they ride cannot also block crossbow arrows. A knight who loses mobility is not that big of a threat.
"Choose two hundred able-bodied men to train hard, and spread the news that I am recruiting knights and squires. In two days, we will build the Eagle Castle again! This time, I will build a bigger and better one!"
