Chapter 20 Part-time Quartermaster
The market in Changhe Town.
Even though it was already evening, the market was still bustling with activity.
Unlike the Fog City, the merchants here basically don't shout out their wares to solicit business.
Because the market in Changhe Town is very large, the stores are not street stalls like those in other cities.
Basically every shop here is a caravan camp, and the shops are all sales areas surrounded by horse-drawn carriages.
It's a bit like a supermarket and a bit like a wholesale market.
The caravan that brought Anson and his companions here was engaged in the business of selling coconut wine and artworks.
Yes, wine and art are two commodities with completely different natures.
Because this is a group of traveling merchants, traveling between Changhe Town and Wulong City.
In the market of Changhe Town, coconut wine is sold and handicrafts are purchased. In Wulong City, handicrafts are sold and coconut wine is purchased.
The mercenaries in Changhe Town consume a lot of alcohol, and coconut wine from the west coast is very popular.
The ocean-going merchant ships on the west coast like the exquisite handicrafts made by the Noldor elves, which can only be obtained in the Long River Forest.
This is the trade route that can earn the highest profits on both ends.
But despite the huge profits, there are still not many caravans willing to do so - this is almost equivalent to crossing the entire continent, the journey is too long and too dangerous; and coconut wine is not easy to preserve in this era and will turn sour in a few days; Noldor handicrafts are also difficult to receive.
When Li Ang arrived in front of the caravan, his dozen or so big men were lying in the caravan camp, each holding a can of coconut wine.
No wonder they are willing to escort people without charging any money...
Leon thought that these Mettenheim mercenaries were inspired by Anson and began to abandon their vulgar tastes and have noble sentiments, but it turned out that they were doing it for drinking...
The leaders of the caravan were a brother and sister, and they came from Buckley.
This made the communication between Le Ang and them much smoother. After all, he was a fellow countryman with this body - although Le Ang himself had never seen what Barkley looked like.
The sister's name is Leslie. She is a very beautiful businesswoman in the eyes of Europeans and Americans. She has some freckles on her face and is cheerful and lively. After knowing that Leon is the leader of this group, she became very enthusiastic.
"Sir Leon, do you really not need a drink? Thanks to you, the coconut wine has not changed its taste at all!"
Li Ang waved his hand. He drank a lot of coconut wine when he was in the Fog City. The natural coconut wine just collected tasted good, but this kind of coconut wine after being packaged and added with all kinds of seasonings was completely unappealing to him.
"Thank you for your kindness, Miss Leslie. I just came to see these bastards... and buy some food."
"Please don't punish them. They helped me a lot... procurement, but where is your quartermaster, Sir Leon?"
Quartermaster?
Isn't it because we haven't found the right people... Those people from Mettenheim are obviously not cut out for this job. Anson and Sarah are both educated, but they are not good at logistics.
Li Ang sighed: "It seems that no one in the team can do logistics work except me... and I will leave for the border battle the day after tomorrow, so I don't have time to find the right person."
Leslie nodded sympathetically. "Logistics is a very tedious job... I didn't expect you to handle it yourself."
But then, her eyes lit up again: "Is your team planning to enter the Changhe Forest? You know, I'm buying Noldor's handicrafts..."
Li Ang shook his head. "I'm sorry, I'm going to suppress bandits, not to look for the Noldor elves... However, if I come across Noldor goods, I will bring them to you. But right now, my headache is the logistics support for my team."
Leon looked at the shy boy , and then his eyes returned to Leslie: "Your caravan can reach Changhe Town from Wulong City within a week. This is a rare ability - I have never heard of a caravan or army with such a speed. I think I can learn something from you?"
Leslie looked at Leon with a smile: "You are completely different from those high and mighty lords I have met... But you will be leaving the day after tomorrow, so you won't be able to learn much in such a short time, Lord Leon."
Li Ang himself knew that many things required the accumulation of experience, so he nodded and kicked the drunk Klose with his toes, preparing to leave.
But Leslie stopped him and said, "Sir Leon, if you are willing, I can indeed help you temporarily. For example, purchasing supplies, preparing military supplies, preparing food and daily necessities, vehicles and baggage, and handling spoils of war... Of course, I will take a cut of it."
"That's great, Miss Leslie. I'll write you a list of the members of my team..."
Li Ang called up the team list and started copying it.
When he saw the solitary group of the 'Great Swordsman of Mettenheim', he decided to test his idea.
So he kicked Klose awake and said, "Klose, stand at attention! I now appoint you as the assault team leader! Go and wake up your men!"
Although Klose was a little confused, he still subconsciously stood at attention: "Yes, sir!"
Then, the list really changed...
Anson, doctor;
Sarah, Foreign Service Officer;
Klose, the assault captain;
Mercenary crossbowmen, 22/23;
farmers, 2/2;
Mettenheim Infantry, 1/12.
The number before the slash indicates the number of people who are currently capable of fighting, and the number after it indicates the total number of people - the tough guys have almost been wiped out after drinking...
Li Ang remembered that when these tough guys first joined the team, they were "Mettenheim Adventurers", which was a polite name for new recruits. After retrieving their equipment from the pirate camp, they became "Mettenheim Infantry".
This means that in order to upgrade soldiers, not only do they have to rely on their accumulated skills and experience, but they also have to be equipped with new equipment... This group of people were already skilled infantrymen, but during the period when they were shirtless, they were counted as new recruits by the system because they had no equipment.
The amount of dinars that will be spent in the future will be enormous.
The road ahead is long...
To be honest, the logistics of supporting dozens of people is not too complicated, but it is indeed very tedious.
Food supply, weapons consumption, material transportation, welfare distribution, spoils handling...all kinds of trivial things.
Leslie will be staying in Changhe Town for some time to purchase Noldor handicrafts. During this time, she will become a part-time quartermaster and can help solve these matters. She can also help cash in the spoils.
Moreover, she could provide vehicles for delivery. Even if Leon's team was stationed outside, as long as there was a need, she could let the guys in the caravan deliver the goods to the door - according to Leslie, "they were idle anyway, so they could earn as much as they could."
What a qualified businessman.
Although she had to take a commission on every sale, and door-to-door delivery also required an additional fee, the service was obviously of high quality, especially since Leon lacked a quartermaster.
However, half of the gold coins in Leon's hand were gone - Leslie took away 300 dinars for shopping.
The money I had was only enough to last for about 20 days.
Fortunately, the next day, bearded Ralph delivered the crossbows and building materials that Leon requested without any discount, even twenty carpenters.
But these carpenters were temporarily seconded, and according to Ralph - they had to be returned after their use.
It seems that Ralph is indeed loyal to Count Oden.
Of course, it is also possible that he really cares about the position in Changhe Town. It must be very difficult for a civilian to become the commander of the garrison in Changhe Town...
Everything was ready. On the morning of the third day, Leon led his team to Fletcher Village, the border of the kingdom.
