There were quite a lot of things seized this time. Little Klein led the packhorse and carriage back and forth twice before transporting all the loot in the center of the camp to the village tent.
By this time, it was already dark, and some peasants and soldiers were talking happily about how Simon would reward them; some peasants and soldiers were confused, as if they had not yet emerged from the cruel battlefield and the shadow of murder.
The two women looked at their husband's body that was carried back by the carriage, rushed over, lay on the body and cried loudly.
"Hey, now we have to take care of their broken family." Simon sighed as he passed by.
In fact, as a lord, Simon did not have the obligation to provide compensation to the families of peasants and soldiers who died in the war, but he still could not change some modern thinking. He believed that this would inspire soldiers' fighting spirit and wartime morale.
"Master Simon, I just re-counted and confirmed the loot captured this time." The village chief stood at the door of the counting house, holding a roll of yellowed parchment, and said to Simon who was walking towards him.
"Let's talk about it roughly." Simon took off his helmet, wiped his sweat, walked quickly into the tent, and sat on the wolfskin armchair.
"Okay, sir, let me take a look. We seized four damaged leather ring armors, one cotton armor, one tattered chainmail and leather shawl, three pointed helmets, and five pairs of leather gloves," Village Chang licked his dry lips, "As for the weapons, there are three iron swords, five short curved spears, seven short hammers and short axes, six two-handed firewood splitting axes, one long battle axe, twelve daggers, nine There were wooden shields with varying degrees of damage, three hunting bows, and more than fifty arrows.”
"That's not bad. Send the damaged equipment to the armorers and blacksmiths in Dorstenburg for repair. You can save a lot of money on buying weapons when you expand the army in the future." The corners of Simon's mouth rose slightly.
"Yes, sir. In addition, we also seized a large amount of coins." The village chief walked to the candle on the table next to Simon, squinted his eyes and looked at the parchment in the weak firelight, "We About sixty Denier silver coins of varying qualities and nearly four hundred copper coins were seized.”
It must be mentioned that in this chaotic era, many powerful dukes and counts would cast Denier silver coins and copper coins that were only for local circulation, and their value depended on their fineness and weight. One denier silver coin of good quality and heavy weight can even be equivalent to five denier silver coins of poor quality and light weight.
"I also found this on the bandit leader." Simon took out a gold coin and placed it on the table in front of the village chief. Under the candlelight, this gold coin reflects a charming light.
"Oh, my God, that guy actually still has the gold coin of Tremisis! I wonder which poor businessman was so unlucky that he was robbed." The village chief couldn't help but sigh.
In the Earldom of Berg where Simon is located, one Tremisis gold coin can be exchanged for twelve Denier silver coins of good quality, while one Denier silver coin of medium fineness and weight can be exchanged for twenty-four local copper coins. .
"I really made a fortune this time." Simon smiled, picked up two wooden cups from the table, scooped two cups of malt liquor into the large wooden barrel on the wall, and drank heavily while pouring the other cup into the bucket. Hand it to the village chief.
"It's not over yet, sir," the village chief smacked his lips, raised his wooden cup and took a sip of bitter ale. "In addition to money and some brewing tools, we also seized three barrels of malt wine, one barrel of wine, and three barrels of wine this time. A bag of flour, a small bag of spices, a large jar of olive oil, two bolts of dyed cloth, twenty-three candles, a bag of pickled fish and cured meats, and half a bag of salt.”
"It seems that after these bandits robbed the few traveling merchants mentioned by the priest, they haven't had time to sell the stolen goods." Simon drank the ale in one gulp and stood up. "Wait until the storage room and granary in the wooden castle are built." Once it's ready, move all these things in. It's really unsafe to have so many supplies piled up in a room with only a locked wooden door."
"Of course, my lord. As our territory becomes richer, there will be more people secretly coveting it." The village chief nodded.
"Let's go eat first. In the evening we will think about how to reward the soldiers who have made meritorious service in this battle and support the families of the soldiers who died in the battle." Simon said and walked out of the door of the tent.
The sound of horse hooves could be heard from the dirt road in the distance.
After a while, the fat man rode the beautiful chestnut horse into the village of Verde, facing the setting sun.
"Master, the priest of Xinkser Village congratulated us on our victory over those damn gangsters, and at the same time expressed regret for the death of the two brothers." The fat man stepped on the stirrups and got off the horse, "He said he was going to invite Dole The priest of the Sternberg church came to the village of Verde early three days later to hold funerals for the two brothers."
In this era, there was usually a three-day wake before the deceased was buried.
"Okay. I can take this opportunity to give pensions to the two unfortunate widows in front of everyone, and reward the soldiers who have made meritorious service in battle." Simon twirled his beard and thought about it.
"Paid!?" The fat man scratched his head strangely, as if he had heard this word for the first time.
………
In the past few days, Simon still led the soldiers to continue building wooden forts and training battle formations. While Simon promised to reward those who had meritorious service in the battle in three days, he also solicited several free farmers who had family members who could take care of their fields.
These militiamen can no longer be called recruits. After seeing blood, they have a completely different feeling from before.
………
Early in the morning on the third day, a priest dressed in white came to the village of Verde carrying a small silver oil can and a silver bowl filled with water.
The sky was covered with dark clouds, and there was a strong wind blowing from time to time.
Along with summer comes summer rain. And Xia Yu chose to approach the small Verde Village on such a special day.
Accompanying the priest to the village of Verde was a middle-aged man wearing a wide black hood, a black short robe, and black tights. He is the gravedigger of the village of Hinkse.
On this solemn morning, not only Simon and the family members of the war dead, but almost all the villagers gathered in the open space beside the village.
"God bless you." The pastor couldn't help but shudder when he saw the horrific wounds on the young man's naked body.
Generally speaking, the family members of the deceased will cover the body with a white shroud, or dress the body in beggars' clothing similar to that of pilgrims.
But these two families are really too poor. They could only clean the two soldiers from head to toe, then pick at their orifices with the wool they borrowed from the old shepherd, and then laboriously break the corpse's hands into a praying look.
In the fierce wind, the gravedigger was digging a grave in the clearing near the forest in the distance, while the priest opened the silver pot, anointed the back of the corpse's hands and said mass.
At this time, the priest took two pieces of bread with patterns on them from the village baker and placed them on the chests of the two corpses.
"Master, that's the Eucharist bread that the two widows asked the baker to make for them to borrow money from. It is said that just the pattern of the crucifix on the bread took the baker a whole day's work." The fat man said to Simon Er. Bian Xiu said.
Originally, the Eucharistic bread was meant for those who were dying to receive it in person. But the two soldiers died directly on the battlefield, so they could only be replaced at the funeral.
The two widows did not cry loudly like that afternoon, but there were tears on their faces and they kept wiping them with their hands. This is an act that both makes her pain known and keeps her moral.
"Do these two poor young men still have unpaid debts during their lifetimes?" the priest shouted to the crowd after finishing mass.
"No, it's all paid off, it's all paid off!" The two widows were shocked and said quickly.
You must know that in this ignorant age, if the deceased did not pay off his debts during his lifetime and did not designate relatives to continue to pay off his debts after his death, people thought that this guy would definitely go to purgatory to pay off his debts, and his relatives would also be considered The ghost possessed him and he was arrested and imprisoned by the people.
"The digging is complete, respected pastor." The gravedigger wiped his sweat with his hood and walked to the pastor's side.
"Very good. Now here are three people to help carry their bodies to the cemetery." The priest said, and three serfs who had a good relationship with the deceased came out of the crowd. Together with the gravediggers, they carried the bodies to the cemetery in the distance. Walk to the grave.
Simon raised his legs to follow the crowd of mourners. However, he noticed that the two widows did not come forward, but just squatted there covering their faces and crying.
"Aren't they going to send their husbands on their last journey?" Simon asked the fat man a little strangely.
"Master, women are not allowed to attend funerals." The fat man whispered.
People followed the priest to the cemetery, and four people carefully placed the two corpses into the two grave pits.
At this time, there was a slight drizzle falling in the sky. A flash of lightning flashed across the sky. Half a minute later, a distant sound of rolling thunder reached everyone's ears.
"A storm is coming." Simon looked at the increasingly dark sky.
"Today, the priest of Dorstenberg Church was supposed to come to hold the funeral. The day before yesterday, I went to Dorstenberg as soon as I received the news. However, I learned that the priest had something to do and he was not here for the past few days, so I had to do it for him. Held." The strong wind lifted the priest's white hood, and he had to hold the bowl with one hand and hold down the flying hood with the other.
"But don't worry, I brought back a bowl of holy water from Dorstenberg Church that the priest blessed on Sunday." As he said, the priest raised the bowl and sprinkled three lines of holy water on the two corpses. Chanting psalms on his lips.
"The deceased has passed away. I hope you will not be overly sad. Gravedigger Balk, bury the grave and erect the cross tombstone." The priest pointed to two oak cross tombstones on the ground on one side with the name of the deceased engraved on them.
Simon asked the soldiers to make the tombstone, and the name was carved by the village chief himself.
At this point, the funeral is over.
Most people have turned around and are getting ready to go about their own business.
"Wait, don't leave in a hurry, I have something to announce!" Simon stepped forward and said loudly.
