Chapter 44: I will keep my word
"Swords, women, sell to me. Thieves, borders, smuggling."
The warlord did not dwell on this simple question; the origin of the sword had no impact on his tribe.
Ralph explained, "It seems that a thief sold it to him. This is actually very common in Changhe Town, sir. If the thieves get weapons, they will definitely find a way to sell them to the Jatu people as long as there is a way. Because they will not be tracked and can sell them at the best price - the Jatu people do not know how to smelt. Although it is considered aiding the enemy, Duke Alma has done this many times..."
Li Ang smiled strangely, as if joking: "Did Earl Oden also do that..."
Ralph looked around and saw that everyone was busy cleaning up the battlefield. He whispered, "Sometimes there will be discarded tattered equipment... Anyway, everyone will sell it. Brothers have to make some money, and they also have to use it to exchange for Jatu people's horses for breeding..."
Li Ang really didn't expect this to happen. It turns out that the strength of the Jatu people was also nurtured by everyone...
No wonder this group of warlords, who did not produce anything but plundered, remained locked up in the grassland for hundreds of years without turning into savages.
The so-called never doing business with any force actually means never doing official business.
I thought it was so mysterious...
"Can you find the woman?"
Li Ang poked the dazed warlord.
"No, thief, in the mountains, can't be found."
"Okay... Did you gather the army this time just to provide cover for Duke Alma? How much did you pay him?"
Li Ang also wanted to satisfy his curiosity.
But faced with this kind of problem, the Jatu warlord stopped talking: "Kill me!"
What a pity to kill him...
Li Ang thought of the warlord's outstanding horse, the warhorse that remained standing even after being wounded by an arrow.
"I said I wouldn't kill you... Fine, I won't ask you anything about your tribe or the army, but other small talk should be okay, right? What's your name?"
The Jatu warlord looked at Leon suspiciously: "Drashi."
"Those horses outside are my spoils of war. I need someone to feed them, otherwise their only fate will be to become hot pot..."
Drash looked at Leon with hatred.
"Don't look at me like that. I can't help it. All my men are infantrymen, and no one knows how to raise horses..."
Drash looked at the mercenaries cleaning up the battlefield outside, sighed, and his eyes dimmed: "You don't keep your word!"
"Don't talk nonsense! I mean what I say! ... Uh? Don't understand? I mean what I say... Well, let me get this straight. I plan to let you take care of these horses, otherwise my men will definitely eat them!"
Li Ang pointed at the iron pot, then waved his hand at the big men.
Klose, who was in the distance, saw Leon waving at him and ran over happily: "Sir, are we having horse meat for lunch?"
Li Ang really wanted to give him a hundred thumbs up. This guy didn't hear anything and was able to cooperate so well just by relying on his foodie instinct!
Drash finally broke down: "You! Can't! Eat horses!"
Thus, there was one more row in Li Ang's team list .
'Drasch, the stable-hand'.
The friendliness level is definitely not high, but that’s okay – this guy truly loves horses, and all he needs to do is take good care of them.
Anyway, as long as you can enter the team list, there will be no problem. Although this system is not perfect, it can at least identify whether you have joined sincerely.
…
After a day of reorganization, Leon planned to lead his team away. He wanted to find another place to establish a territory and send the remains of the mercenaries who died in the battle to their hometowns.
The lord really keeps his word when it comes to his promises to his subordinates.
Leslie's caravan guards and the two Mettenheim men who died in the battle were also found in a valley not far away. They were brought back by the rangers.
The Jatu, eager to return to the grasslands, simply destroyed the caravan without looting its equipment.
As before, the remains of the Mettenheimers were given to Klose for safekeeping.
Mettenheim Infantry, 2/10.
Four mercenary crossbowmen were killed and one was disabled. The current team list is "Mercedes-Crossbowmen, 6/18".
The two refugees were safe and sound.
But everyone else, including Li Ang, was injured. Except for the carpenter who did not officially join the team, there were no more than ten people in the entire team who could still maintain combat effectiveness.
This is a tragic loss, but this is the battlefield, and if the horn had not called the Rangers to arrive in time, the casualties would have been much greater.
Li Ang did not give any morale-boosting speech this time; he just silently fulfilled his promise.
Fulfilling your promise without compromise is far more effective than any incentive.
The spoils have been distributed according to the gains, but without exception, everyone asked for bonuses after the spoils were converted into cash.
It's not because the subordinates suddenly became noble and felt sorry for the lord's poverty and were willing to let him act as a middleman to make a profit, but because no one wanted to carry a lot of chain mail, nomadic shields, scimitars and other things to increase their burden...
They are all injured... they can't carry it.
But this made the lord quite troubled - this pile of broken stuff was not easy to deal with. If he handled it carelessly, not only would he not make any profit, he might even have to lose money!
Looking at Leslie who had mostly recovered her composure, Leon moved over.
"Leslie, um... do you want to rebuild your caravan?"
The lord was a little cautious, he didn't want to stimulate the poor girl.
"No, sir, thank you for your kindness... I can't rebuild the caravan, I have lost everything..."
Leslie's eyes were dim, and she was fiddling with a dagger in her hand, which looked like it might have been her brother's.
"But I don't think you'd want to live on the streets, Leslie. Your brother risked his life to get you out, but he didn't do that to keep you homeless - you have to have a job to support yourself."
Li Ang's words were not polite, but his voice was soft, full of the magnetism that a great philanthropist should have.
Anson was a little reluctant: "Sir, we should take Leslie with us."
Sarah next to him dragged Anson away: "Come, help me take a look at my hand. Lately it has been wanting to hit people uncontrollably..."
Sarah was so smart. She had already seen a familiar look in Leon's eyes when he looked at Leslie. It was roughly the same look that a capitalist would have when signing a contract to sell his employees.
This was the same look that Leon gave Sarah in the tavern.
Sarah swore that she would never forget it for the rest of her life. She had never met such a nobleman before. Faced with her obvious temptation and beauty, this guy actually only wanted her to do odd jobs for him!
"Leslie, you know, my team is short of a quartermaster—the salary is pretty good."
"Lord Leon, if you really want to comfort me, why don't you have a couple of drinks with me?"
"Well, okay then..."
Two hours later, the Lord fell headfirst into the carriage, spinning like a top, his clothes disheveled and his face flushed: "Another drink..."
The beer in his hand spilled all over the floor.
"Lord Leon, I will be a good quartermaster."
Leslie clinked the wine glass in her hand with the empty glass that Leon had dropped beside her and spoke calmly.
'Leslie has joined your party.'
By the time the half-drunk Leon woke up again, Leslie had even sorted out all the things.
Still dizzy, Leon pounded his aching head unwillingly. He thought he was just careless... How could he be drunk by Leslie?
I didn't do anything stupid, did I?
Only Klose looked at Li Ang with sympathy: "Sir, that day, more than a dozen of us were no match for her... But who is the girl No. 88 you are talking about?"
Anson brought over a bowl of hangover soup. "My Lord, Miss Sarah is beating up the prisoners again... Even Mr. Ralph can't stop her... It's tragic..."
…
With a group of wounded subordinates, Li Ang set out on the journey south.
Ralph, the local boss, told him a good place - an ownerless village that had just been plundered by the Jatu people.
There might be a good place for a pioneer lord to develop smoothly.
