This time, when Art came to Lucerne, he brought Ron and Kazak to stay in a hotel near the commercial street district.
After visiting Bishop Olov, Art took the two back to the hotel for food and rest.
After lunch, Kazak asked Art for leave and returned to the labor shanties outside Lucerne. He wanted to go home to visit his old father, who was entrusted to the care of his labor brothers, and also to bring the military pay he had saved over the past few months to that labor brother.
As Kazak was about to leave, Art called out to him and asked, "Kazak, how much money do you have on you?"
Kazak took out the money pouch from his waist and counted. His military pay for three months was 180 fenny, plus 90 fenny in military rewards from the Wincheston battle. He didn't spend money on daily food and clothing. Apart from spending 50 fenny in Tinietz and Andermatt Fortress to buy things, drink, and find women, he still had 220 fenny left in his money pouch.
This money was originally enough for Kazak's father to live well for more than half a year, but considering that he still needed to spend money on medical treatment and give some hard-earned money to the labor brother who was taking care of his father, the money he had was a bit insufficient.
After listening, Art calculated for a while, then took out ten small silver coins from his waist pouch, placed them in Kazak's hand, and said, "This is 120 fenny. Take it to your father.
We don't know when we will be able to come to Lucerne next time, so leave more for your father."
Kazak was about to refuse, but Art interrupted, "This money is considered an advance from your Ars堡 military reward.
Ron, go get Kazak's horse and let him ride back."
Kazak looked at Art gratefully, accepted the silver coins, and then went with Ron to the hotel stable to get the horse.
When Kazak, dressed in splendid clothes and riding a fine horse, returned to the labor shanties outside Lucerne, it caused quite a stir.
The laborers found it hard to believe that Red-head Ghost Kazak, who had been carrying bags and doing heavy labor at construction sites and warehouses with them just half a year ago to support his family, had actually returned wearing a black hooded robe, a cloak, and a tight suit, with a short sword at his waist, astride a fine horse.
At this moment, Odo's shanty, where Kazak's elderly father was being cared for, was already packed with people.
Kazak sat on a wooden stool in the center, spitting excitedly, "...That's how we recaptured Ars堡 from the bandits, but three of our brothers died in Ars堡, and many more were injured.
I myself was cut once while fighting the bandits after breaking into the Fort gate, and half of my finger was cut off."
As he spoke, Kazak rolled up his sleeve, revealing several recently healed and scabbed knife wounds on his arm and his right hand, which had half of its pinky finger missing.
"Now I am a Squad Leader in the Court's Southern Border Patrol Team, Bas is also a Squad Leader, and Brother Odo has become a Deputy Captain.
Odo is the highest-ranking officer in the Patrol Team, second only to our Patrol Officer adult."
Everyone in the shanty listened intently to Kazak's embellished and exciting narration, as if they were there themselves.
They somewhat envied the three who had followed that Patrol Officer south at the time.
They knew Kazak was usually a bit glib, but the armor, weapons on his body, and the unhealed knife wounds were the most powerful proof.
Finally, Kazak even took out twenty fenny and had someone go into the city to buy half a side of lamb.
He set up an iron pot in front of the shanty and stewed a large pot full of fragrant lamb, inviting some of his good labor brothers from the shanty to eat the meat, saying it was to thank them for helping him take care of his bedridden old father.
While everyone went out to build a fire, set up the pot, and cook the lamb, Kazak called the labor brother who was helping him take care of his old father into the shanty alone.
"Babu, thank you for helping me take care of my father.
He still can't get out of bed and walk on his own, so I still need your help to take care of him.
This is the money I'm leaving for his food and medicine for the next half year or so."
After speaking, he took fifteen small silver coins from his money pouch and handed them to Babu.
"This is for your hard work in helping me take care of my father."
He then took out four more small silver coins from his money pouch and handed them over.
The laborer named Babu accepted the money for food and medicine that Kazak handed over, but he absolutely refused to accept the payment for his hard work that Kazak offered.
"Brother Kazak, you, Odo, and Bas didn't take care of me any less in the past.
If it weren't for your help, I, with my family, would have been driven out by those ruffians long ago."
Under Kazak's insistence, Babu finally accepted the payment for his hard work that Kazak gave him and promised to take good care of Kazak's father, allowing Kazak to work for the Patrol Officer with peace of mind.
After Babu left, Kazak went to his father, who was half-lying on the wooden bed.
Kazak's old father was originally happy about his son's return, but after hearing Kazak recount the various dangerous experiences of the past six months, he became worried for his son.
"Son, why don't you go back to Lucerne and honestly work as a laborer?
Don't risk your life."
Kazak sat by the bed, tucked in a patchwork fur blanket draped over his father, and comforted him, "Father, it's alright.
Am I not standing here alive in front of you?
Following adult Art, I have food, drink, and lodging every day, and I can receive military pay on time.
If I were to return to Lucerne, I probably wouldn't even be able to support myself, so how could I give you a good life?"
Kazak's father also knew that a laborer's life was difficult, so he said no more, only urging Kazak to live well.
Kazak handed all the remaining thirty-odd fenny in his money pouch to his old father...
While Kazak was "feasting" his labor brothers in the shanty, Art was coming out of a silversmith's shop with Ron.
Lucerne is a commercial city, with many types of businesses and shops.
Art and Ron brought the golden cups, silver plates, and jewels taken from the Ars堡 stable to various businesses and shops to exchange them for six small gold cakes and twenty silver marks, totaling over 13,000 fenny.
If Art could sell these valuable goods to nobles and wealthy merchants, he would definitely get more fenny, but he didn't have the time, energy, or channels, so he could only let those businesses and shops earn a profit from it.
In the evening, Ron, under Art's instruction, arranged a lavish table of food and drinks in the hotel, because Kazak had brought five more labor brothers who wanted to join Art.
Two of them were single men who wanted to join the Patrol Team as Soldiers, and the other three were bankrupt farmers.
Although they had families, their children were already in their teens, meeting Art's basic conditions for recruiting fort residents.
It turned out that during the "feast" outside Kazak's shanty, some labor brothers who had heard Kazak's stories about the Patrol Team's treatment and life in Valley Wood Fort expressed their desire for Kazak to introduce them to join the Patrol Team or move their whole families to Valley Wood Fort to farm land.
Kazak, knowing Art's conditions for recruiting Soldiers and vagrants, conducted an initial selection in the shanty area, and these five were the ones he initially selected.
Kazak knew that Art needed to recruit people, but he couldn't guarantee that these five would definitely be selected, and he wouldn't overstep his authority in such matters, so he simply brought all five of them before Art for selection.
After hearing Kazak's report, Art personally questioned several of them and directly decided to accept all five.
However, Art still explained the potential dangers, especially to the two single men who wanted to join the Patrol Team, and the requirement to be honest, dutiful, and obey him.
All five resolutely agreed.
So Art told them to go back and prepare for the journey south, and to meet at the south gate of the city on the morning of two days later.
Inside the hotel, everyone was singing and laughing.
The next day, after Kazak, who had returned and stayed overnight in the shanty, came back, Art rode with the two of them to a quarry three miles north of Lucerne.
Yesterday, when he learned from William that Selanke Fu Monastery also had a quarry that was about to change ownership, Art decided to recruit a group of Soldiers from the miners there to supplement the Patrol Team.
Art knew that the miners in these quarries were constantly engaged in heavy labor, so their bodies were naturally strong.
Moreover, quarrying stones was different from farming.
Miners needed to swing hammers and lift stones together under the foreman's command, requiring coordination and cooperation among themselves, possessing a certain sense of teamwork, and being more likely to follow orders.
In short, miners were definitely excellent military recruits.
"Adult, can we just go to the quarry and recruit Soldiers like this?
Most of the miners in the Monastery's quarry are slaves, prisoners of war, and convicts.
More of them are mine slaves; they cannot leave the quarry at will without the mine owner's permission.
We haven't received Bishop Olov's consent, and those foremen and stewards are not easy to deal with.
They won't let us take those miners away.
And most of the free miners also work as stonemasons; their status and wages are not low, so they probably won't come with us either."
Kazak had contact with those miners in Lucerne, so he naturally had some understanding of the quarry's situation.
Art replied confidently, "If we were to go there and take those miners away during normal times, the foremen and stewards would, of course, not agree.
But now the quarry is about to change owners, and the new owner will definitely not use the original foremen and stewards.
Since they won't be able to continue their positions anyway, as long as we give them some benefits, they won't care if someone comes to take their miners away."
Kazak thought carefully after hearing this and felt that it made some sense.
...
The Selanke Fu Monastery's quarry is located in a small town called Ston, north of Lucerne.
Most of the people living in this town, with a population of less than a hundred, are the wives, children, and families of the quarry foremen and free miners.
The town had a small tavern.
The several men tied up their horses and entered the tavern, calling the owner over and asking, "Fellow, do you know if the quarry steward adult is home?"
The owner saw that Art and the others were dressed in tight suits with swords, definitely not ordinary commoners, and respectfully replied, "My lord, the steward adult has gone to the quarry now.
He'll be back in a while."
"Good, then please prepare more meat, bread, and beer, and then go to the quarry to invite the steward adult for us.
Just say that people sent by Bishop Olov are here."
Art said, then took out fifteen copper fenny from his money pouch and handed them to the owner.
The owner, clutching the copper coins, smiled broadly and agreed, then turned to instruct the bartender to prepare food and drinks, while he himself ran all the way to the quarry north of the town.
After a short while, the quarry steward arrived at the small tavern, led by the owner.
Upon entering the wooden door of the small tavern, the quarry steward saw that the people sitting around the wooden table were all strangers, and he paused before entering.
Art saw the owner leading in a middle-aged man dressed in a tight outer garment with an open chest and a shawl, wearing long socks and boots, and a small sheepskin hat.
He stood up to greet him.
The quarry steward quickly removed his hat in salute and took a seat with Art.
The steward stared at Art and asked, "Sir, I have never seen any of you.
You are not from Selanke Fu Monastery, are you?"
"I was Bishop Olov's former religious guard.
I'm here to ask a favor of you."
"Religious guard? Asking a favor of me?" The quarry steward looked puzzled.
Art didn't rush to answer, but instead picked up the wine jug on the wooden table and poured a full cup of beer into the quarry steward's cup, then filled his own cup, and slowly said, "Steward adult, I heard that this quarry is about to be sold to a noble from the Court, is that right?"
"Sir, just state what you want directly.
I don't like beating around the bush."
Art raised his cup, took a sip, and said, "Steward adult, I want to buy people from you."
The steward was puzzled, "Buy people? Sir, do you want to buy miners?
Do you also have a quarry?"
"To be frank, I am currently the Southern Border Patrol Officer of the Court, responsible for maintaining public order in the Southern Border.
I need to recruit a group of people who are not afraid of death and will absolutely obey me to go south with me to clear out mountain bandits and roving bandits."
The steward relaxed.
He had thought it was the Monastery sending people to audit the quarry's accounts.
If it was to buy people, he didn't care.
Anyway, he already knew that he couldn't continue to manage the quarry, and as long as there wasn't a large-scale escape, the loss of a few miners wouldn't be a concern to those above.
"Patrol Officer adult, you certainly know how to find people.
However, the Monastery entrusted me with the management of the quarry, and I have a duty to hand it over completely to the new owner."
The steward said, emptying his cup of wine in one gulp.
Art clinked his wooden cup against the steward's wooden cup and continued, "The quarry's new owner won't reward you for having all the miners, but I will thank you for having fewer miners...
"With everything out in the open, things became much easier.
Art, under the pretext of organizing a merchant caravan for Bishop Olov to procure materials for church renovations in the south, temporarily selected a group of miners from the quarry to serve as laborers and guards.
For each miner taken, he paid the steward fifty fenny.
As for how the steward would explain it to the quarry's new owner in the future, that was up to the steward himself to resolve.
