It was already dark, and the young busboy from the tavern quietly came to the longhouse under the cover of darkness and told Simon the news that Julian and his men would be staying in the tavern tonight.
"I understand, continue to monitor them. In addition, you go to Ludwig and tell him that I need our spies in the Kempen Valley and Dorstenburg to report the food reserves and the number of private soldiers in these two territories. , the number of households and the list of nobles who visited Lange were collected."
"Okay, sir." The handyman nodded, put on his brown hood again, wrapped his clothes tightly, and disappeared into the darkness beyond the light of the torch.
Ludwig, the illegitimate son of a duke with half-noble blood, has been living a life of a wandering bard after escaping from the monastery.
He lived in the village of Fold for a while, but left shortly after Simon's victory over the Vikings. He also spread the poems he composed for Simon against the pagan invasion far and wide. After all, he was one of those who personally experienced that war. The battle to defend Fort Fold was something he would never forget. Broken limbs, blood, screams... everything was still vivid in his mind.
However, just a few months ago, he returned.
Unlike the last time when he was attacked by bandits and was in a ragged and scarred state, this time he was well-dressed and followed the caravan to the village of Kooser.
Simon entertained his old friend warmly and asked Klein to arrange a guest room for him in Castle Esbai.
During that time, in addition to drinking wine with Simon and talking about his travels, Ludwig would also travel around Simon's territory during the day.
In the past three years, Ludwig was surprised by the changes here. The only things that have not changed are the clean village streets without any excrement, the sacred pits scattered among the crop fields, and the crops that are much plumper and luxuriant than those in the fields elsewhere.
Compared with the filthy, cramped, depressing environment and malnourished and numb villagers in other villages, it is obvious that Simon's territory is full of vitality.
This is because the increased production brought about by farmyard manure means that villagers never have to worry about hunger. These people were accustomed to living a life of one meal and no next meal, so they cherished their hard-won life even more.
When people no longer put survival first, they can focus on other things.
Even the poorest serfs in Simon's territory, after paying taxes every quarter, can have some food leftover besides rations, which they can exchange with merchants for some gadgets to take home.
This undoubtedly touched Ludwig's heart deeply.
He once made a pilgrimage to the Vatican, but what he saw was a little different from what he imagined. Even the fief of the pope, God’s spokesman on earth, the anointed country where all people worship and where there is plenty, there are farmers who don’t have enough to eat and are struggling with hunger.
Ludwig thought that this should be the ideal place to settle down that he had worked so hard to find. Perhaps he would never encounter a more suitable place than here. So, on the third day of his stay, he and Simon revealed their ideas - to settle down in Simon's territory.
At first, Simon rubbed his eyes in disbelief when he heard that Ludwig wanted to settle down.
Although Ludwig has gone through many vicissitudes and is not young anymore, it is time to find a place to settle down and start a family of his own, but how will he make a living as a bard? Simon had no intention of hiring a bard permanently.
But soon, Simon came up with a brilliant idea - to let Ludwig become his sealmaster, handle foreign affairs, and also serve as his spy chief.
Ludwig has been to many places and has very rich experience. He has a eloquent mouth, whether he is dealing with nobles or common people, he is always at ease.
In addition, he met many interesting travelers and tavern owners from various places during his journey. If he can use these relationships to weave a huge spy network for himself, it will definitely be a rare thing!
Therefore, Simon granted Ludwig a large field and pasture outside the village of Kooser, as well as six families of serfs who worked specifically for him. This was the fief where Ludwig settled.
And Ludwig did not disappoint Simon. In addition to taking care of the affairs in the territory in an orderly manner, he also planted spies in the duke's court in Dusseldorf Castle and in the taverns in the holy city of Cologne within a month, and continuously sent back information to Simon. News and intelligence.
Now, Ludwig has two main tasks - to win over the other five barons in the duchy who are directly affiliated with the Duke of Cologne to establish an alliance and to strengthen surveillance of Lange's every move.
As for the gift to Lange, whether from a cost perspective or to prepare for future contingencies, Simon finally decided to let the leather workshop in the village of Coosse weave a large wolf skin carpet.
After all, the most indispensable thing in his territory besides food is animal skins.
It’s also worth mentioning that Simon finally has his spring in food.
When a blacksmith named Herrick was sold as a slave to Simon at a high price by an East Frisian quartermaster, Simon took him directly to the blacksmith shop left by the previous blacksmith in Esbaiburg.
The blacksmith shop played no role at all in the hands of that dull apprentice, which has always made Simon heartbroken. Now, it has a real blacksmith, and the dull apprentice is happy to start working again.
However, what surprised blacksmith Herrick was that unlike other lords, the first iron tool Simon asked him to make was neither a weapon nor a farm tool, but a strange-shaped iron pot.
In fact, this is not difficult to do. Herrick once took over an order from a one-eyed mercenary with a broken helmet. His pot-shaped helmet is somewhat similar to what Simon requested. Just make it more rounded, control the arc, and add a pot handle.
As a result, Simon soon got his dream wok.
That night, Simon asked Klein to bring the lard and salt shakers from the warehouse, and asked the kitchen to cut a fresh tenderloin into slices, and then stir-fry it in the pan.
Soon, a scent that was a bit richer than bean stew aroused the greed of all the servants in the tower.
Although this piece of tenderloin comes from an uncastrated boar and has a strong smell of mutton, it is at least much more delicious than the stews and barbecues Simon eats every day.
Simon asked little Klein to taste it, and to Simon's surprise, he was full of praise for it.
Little Klein wiped the oil on his mouth and said to Simon that maybe he could ask the blacksmith to make an extra pot and let the cook sell various dishes stir-fried with oil in the newly opened tavern in Keoser Village. He promised Businessmen who are used to stewed meat will definitely fall in love with this new cooking method.
It turns out that Klein Jr. was right.
Now Julian is sitting in the wheat tavern in the village of Kooser, eating the white bread in his hand and the plate of fried venison in front of him. The delicious food almost made him forget all the unpleasantness just now. No wonder some people say that food can soothe people's soul.
The few wooden tables near Julian were almost full of businessmen and travelers, and people all expressed their admiration for this novel cooking dish.
Of course, some people have also questioned whether such delicious dishes were made by wizards using evil ingredients and black magic. However, he was obviously overly worried. The kitchen of the tavern can be seen from the counter, and there is only Fresh game meat, lard, butter jars, salt jars, and a somewhat unique pot on the stove.
In the past few months, the wheat tavern's revenue from food sales has equaled that of alcohol sales, which is incredible for a tavern.
Generally speaking, the majority of a tavern's revenue comes from drinks. After all, not every customer has food needs. However, the food in the Maizi Tavern is an exception. Whether it is local residents or passing businessmen, they can't help but become addicted to it. .
Simon was considering whether he should buy a shop in Cologne and sell the malt wine and dishes brewed in his territory in Cologne.
After all, stir-frying and pan-frying are more acceptable than things like the "Shen Sheng Pit". What he did was just an innovation in cooking tools and methods. Even the most conservative priests couldn't fault him. Trouble comes.
Maybe the monks will also happily accept this new way of cooking. As long as herring meat is fried in butter during fasting days, such food will be delicious and will not violate the rules of fasting. Maybe there will be many monks who support this new way of cooking.
Simon thought that he could open taverns selling stir-fried and fried vegetables to major nearby towns, so that he could not only make money but also have a stable eye in the local area.
Fighting against the two counts not only requires courage, but also a lot of money. This is undoubtedly a good way to make money.
You are a genius, remember in one second: Red Oasis:
