The Last Frontier of Fire and Sword

General Robert Douglas stood on the bank of the Daugava River.

The banks of the river were surrounded by smoke and melted into the surface of the water.

Vaguely, Robert Douglas could see several black wooden boats looming on the river. These are the fishing boats of nearby fishermen. The hull of this kind of ship is long and narrow, with thick reeds on both sides of the ship. Some boats sailed along the water and were driven by the rapids. Other boats sailed up against the current, and the boatmen still had to sway and paddle vigorously.

One such ship drew on the shore, and the owner got on and off from the ship. He held a fish basket in his hand, which was full of freshly caught live fish.

"General Douglas, here are some of the new live fish caught this morning." The owner raised the fish basket to his chest and said to Robert Douglas.

The fish in the fish basket were alive and kicking, splashing a few drops of water from time to time, splashing on Robert Douglas's armor.

Robert Douglas likes to eat fish. If it is normal, he would definitely pick a few good fishes and take them back to make fish soup at night, but today, he is full of thoughts and is not in this mood.

Robert Douglas motioned to the owner to go away. He once again stared at the Daugava River.

The owner of the ship was taken aback when he saw that the old patrons on weekdays were not interested in his own fish today. Then put the fish basket on the ground.

He is going to give the fish to Robert Douglas.

The owner is also a savvy man. He knows that his fishing boat can sail freely on the Daugava River without being blackmailed by Swedish soldiers and mercenaries, relying on his patron to be this general from Scotland.

Everyone knew that General Robert Douglas would buy fish from him every day, so no one dared to rob his fishing boat.

After the owner of the ship left, Robert Douglas still didn't cast a glance at the basket of live fish. He just looked at the upper reaches of the river and said to himself occasionally, "Why haven't they arrived?"

After about three hours, the smoke on the Daugava River gradually dissipated. At this time, Robert Douglas saw several huge shadows appear at the end of the river.

"Here," Robert Douglas muttered to himself.

As they traveled downstream, the shadows came quickly, and they moved forward like sharks in the sea. The fishing boats on the river fled like frightened fish.

After a while, the whole picture of the shadow was clearly visible-it was a few giant transport ships with the flag of the Laziweu family flying on it-the flag was the coat of arms and the motto of the Laziweu family: one The black eagle has a shield on the chest of the black eagle, and there are three "Trumby coat of arms" on the shield; under the coat of arms is written "We accept God's advice."

A cannon sounded from the bank of the river. Robert Douglas’ adjutant came to the general’s side and asked, "General, they are here. Do we have a routine inspection?"

The ships going to and from the Daugava River had to be checked one by one, and none of them was allowed to be missed. This is because many merchant ships from France and Britain smuggled gunpowder, guns and armor to countries that are enemies of Sweden for huge profits and ulterior purposes. The adjutant will suddenly ask for instructions this time, because King Yukal X has issued an order to release the Laziviu family boats from Miatelsk Fort and give them convenience in everything until they reach Riga.

These ships transported mercenaries hired by the Laziwiwu family, and the Kingdom of Sweden and the Laziwiwu family are now in a strange state of no war.

The patriarch of the Laziviu family, Prince Boguslav and Karl X, were allies, but the prince was taken prisoner. It is said that after being escorted to Warsaw, he confessed his mistake to King Jan Kazimierz and obtained the king’s favor. Forgiveness; if so, the prince should be the enemy of the Kingdom of Sweden, but even if Karl X’s army failed to make a sneak attack, the private army of the 20,000 Laziviu family in Miadersk was still fighting in Sweden and Poland. When I was sitting on the wall and watching, there was no intention of helping Lubao Macki at all.

In this case, Karl X, who has already gained an advantage, is of course happy that the private army of the Laziviu family will continue the "sitting war".

And when Prince Boguslav’s steward Ostrow came to meet Robert Douglas, who was armed along the river, claiming that his master Prince Boguslav could not continue his employment because of King Jan Kazimierz’s order and must disband Miatelsk. When the mercenaries in the Fort hoped that the general would let go of the waterway and allow him to send them away, Robert Douglas immediately agreed.

In a letter to Karl X on the front line, Robert Douglas explained his motives in this way: He stated that Prince Boguslav was not an enemy of His Majesty at this time. dissatisfied. In order not to force the Laziviu family into the enemy of the Kingdom of Sweden~www.readwn.com~ the mercenaries of Boguslav should still be treated with tenderness; and, the contract of these mercenaries has not expired, in fact They must also play for the Laziviu family for a month. In order to respect the spirit of the contract, the various mercenary officers also refused to accept anyone's employment before the expiration of the contract.

General Robert Douglas finally asked in his letter whether he could let these mercenaries land in Riga and wait until the expiration of the contract for his own use.

Because Robert Douglas’s statement is reasonable, and the more important reason is that Karl X and his army have to wait until winter and spring, the ice and snow melt, and the scorching sun to dry the snow on the ground before they can continue to fight. It has no effect, not only cannot increase combat power, but also consumes a small amount of frontline supplies.

So for Robert Douglas's opinions and suggestions, Karl X expressed his agreement and appreciation. However, he is determined to win this large number of mercenaries with rich combat experience. So Karl X wrote a letter and told Robert Douglas to make an agreement with Ostrow. All mercenaries will stay in Riga for one month until the contract with the Laziviu family expires. Karl X Be hired.

Ostrow naturally agreed.

This seems to have the best of both worlds.

At least, Ostrow and some people are extremely satisfied.

The adjutant saw that the general looked at the river without saying a word. He was waiting to leave and stop letting go, but as soon as he turned around, Robert Douglas suddenly said, "No, routine inspection."

As a result, three cannons sounded again on the bank of the river. Then, a small boat approached the leading troop carrier and motioned them to stop for inspection.

The sails dropped and the troop carrier stopped in the middle of the river.