At the end of the Tang Dynasty, it was a feudal town, but in Western Europe

"I'm sure you've heard what His Excellency Belvshka said." Feng Sen didn't say much nonsense, "I recently encountered some small difficulties in business. Regarding King Offa of Mercia, I am an ordinary and honest duke. I do a small business in an ordinary way, but I have been repeatedly made things difficult by him. Honest people also have tempers. Tell me, don't you?"

"Yeah yeah."

"Bullying people, my fleet is doing wool business, and it's not easy to do it recently."

"I'm not hiding it, just say it. I want to tell King Offa that I'm not easy to bully, and the method is very simple. I'm not a villain. Give him a little punishment and plunder some towns." Feng Sen picked up a barrel of wine and pierced the eye with a knife, and the purple wine flowed from the oak barrel into the copper cup.

Under the arrangement of the maid, these wines were handed out one by one to Danish Jarre present.

"As for our special military operation to punish Austrian law, I don't want to make a lot of fanfare, and I need some people who are familiar with looting and Britain. In my opinion, the twelve here are very qualified." Feng Sen raised his glass, "Please."

The Danish Jarres raised their glasses together and took a sip. This wine comes from Bordeaux in Gascogne, and it was produced in 782, which is rare.

"Everyone is considered capable." Feng Sen stretched his sleeves, "However, I appeal to everyone to unite. If you rob each other, not only will you be easily caught, but the spoils will also be difficult to sell, and you will not be able to exchange for what you need. thing.

I hope that everyone can cooperate to cook the pork knuckle soup in Britain together, and share the money of the Offa King. Our Offa King is very rich hahaha. "

After drinking the wine, the maid served milk dessert and beer in turn. The sweet smell made the Yars move their index fingers. With Feng Sen's approval, the Yars put down their pretentious aristocratic restraint and grabbed it with their big hands. While eating, he continued to listen to Feng Sen.

Taking a sip of the wine, Feng Sen held out a finger to the Yars:

"I propose a plan, I contribute money, you contribute, and jointly plunder Britain. Every time you sail to rob, what you lack is nothing more than ships and weapons. I will provide you with thirty dragon warships and corresponding weapons. I will also give you You are equipped with flags to guard the ship.

My West Britain Company will help you sell the trophies you have robbed. If you need anything, our West Britain Company can help you buy it everywhere. However, I will take [-]% of the trophies you robbed.

Don’t think that I get too much. Without my help, you won’t get [-]% of it, and the loot you grab may not be able to be exchanged for what you want. At the end of each year, I will also take out part of the money and warships to reward those battle groups that have done a good job. In fact, we split the bill [-]-[-]. "

Sitting on the chair, Feng Sen's hawk-like eyes swept over those Jarres:

"After I finish speaking, who approves and who opposes?"

Chapter 3 The Byzantine Fleet in Northern Italy

When Feng Sen signs the contract with the Yars, the future of the English Channel is estimated to be uneven.

At the same moment, the Adriatic Sea in the east of the Apennine Peninsula was not very peaceful at this moment.

The blue sky is the same blue as the Adriatic Sea, the salty moisture is accompanied by the smell of blood and rust on the beach, and there is a touch of red in the clear water.

Charlie frowned, and his eyes wandered on the beach. Frank soldiers in chain mail and Frank knights charging back and forth on horseback faced Lombard noble knights and soldiers with spears, as well as Greek soldiers from Byzantium. with Bulgar mercenaries.

The blood seeped into the sand, dyeing the pure white shells red. The cries of seagulls were mixed with the sound of war roars and metal friction, and a fleet was rising and falling with the sea under the blue sky and white clouds.

On the leading warship was a middle-aged man wearing a crown. Although they couldn't see each other, the two looked at each other as if telepathic.

It was the Byzantine fleet, and the leader's name was Adalgis, a name Charlie was very familiar with. He was only 23 years old when he saw this brother-in-law in the palace of King Desiderius of Lombardy.

At that time, the brother-in-law was standing beside a not-so-beautiful woman, Desiderata, who was Charlie's real first wife.

But only a year later, Charles divorced the daughter of the Lombard duke and married Hildegard of Swabia, who was only 13 years old at the time.

Another major event that happened in the same year was the death of Charles' younger brother Carloman I.

Charles acted quickly, claimed the throne of his younger brother Carloman I, marched quickly, and "inherited" the throne, making the divided Franks unite, while his brother Carloman I's widow and children fled to Lombardy, under the protection of this brother-in-law.

Then, when he was 26 years old, taking advantage of the internal chaos in Frank, the Lombard king brazenly launched an attack on Rome. The next thing was that Charles defeated the Lombard king Desiderius, and Adalgis took a boat to Constantinople and was protected by Constantine V.

It has been 15 years since these things, but he still remembers them vividly.

The memory is over, and the battle on the beach is coming to an end. In the blue waves, the soldiers boarded the warship, with long oars like centipedes, undulating in the waves, and left quickly.

"Your Highness, the remaining soldiers have already surrendered, what should we do?" With the sound of horseshoes, Eric chased after Charlie from behind.

Charlie frowned: "Exile Villetti, those knights and domestic slaves, as well as his soldiers and family, are all exiled to Villetti, and only freemen and serfs are allowed to stay."

Eric noticed the soldiers picking up the loot on the beach below: "Adalgis is not easy to deal with, his fleet is elusive, and I can even replenish and overhaul in Venice."

"Not only Venice, but even the Duke of Benevento are secretly helping them." Charlie's voice was not loud, but it seemed to be roaring, which made Eric a little scared.

"These despicable and cunning Greeks!" Charlie cursed heavily, "I am even willing to marry my lovely daughter Rotrude to those insidious Greeks, but I still can't stop their ambitions and tell Alcuin that I will tear up my engagement with the Eastern Empire, goug out the eyes of that damned eunuch, and send him back to me!"

It is no wonder that Charlie was angry. His reformation in Lombardy was not as smooth as before. Of course, the Lombard nobles were unwilling to migrate to the cold north, even though they came from there.

Overtly and secretly, the nobles of Lombardy were resisting Charlie's actions, and even turned into direct rebellion. The priests were attacked by "bandits" many times, and Charlie didn't believe it was a coincidence.

Already in a state of desperation, the news of the dispatch of troops from Byzantium added fuel to Charlie's anger.

Charlie's actions in Lombardy and Romagna will naturally not escape the eyes and ears of Tarassios.

Adhering to the policy of strategic balance that cannot be attacked by both sides, Empress Irina decided to send a fleet led by Adalgis who had taken refuge to retake the former Lombardy Kingdom at the suggestion of Talasios.

In real history, this incident should not have happened until the end of 788, and the target of their attack was not northern Italy, but Benevento in southern Italy.

But the situation is different now. Now that Northern Italy is in chaos, it is better to start directly from Northern Italy. As for the Benevento nobles who had stood with Charlie in history, this time they are on the side of Adalgis.

The reason is very simple. The nobles of Benevento are also Lombards, and their lips and teeth are cold. However, they dare not directly support these Lombard nobles, so they can only secretly send them some food and weapons.

"It's still a little too hasty." Charlie suppressed the irritability in his heart and regained some reason. "We were all dazzled by the success at the beginning."

"Maybe we should stop temporarily?" Eric asked tentatively, "Consolidate what we have gained first, so that if the Lombard Kingdom is re-established, we can still mobilize a large army to suppress them. At this time, no one will say you You have killed your subjects."

"Let them be independent?" Charlie shook his head slowly. He looked up at the castle on the cliff. "No, if we let them be independent, what should we do if we want to continue to move the town to the earl in the future? It will be a mess by then."

At this moment, Diodorf came out from nowhere on his horse: "Your Highness, I'm about to tell you these things. I've been wandering around the barracks recently. Many of these soldiers have complained. Although they won't slander you, they still need to be careful."

In April, spring plowing was supposed to take place, but it turned out that it was still fighting and suppressing the rebellion, and the nobles and soldiers were full of complaints.

"Of course I know that." Charlie snorted coldly, "They are complaining a lot, not because the spring plowing is going to fight, but because they don't have their share of the land that has been landed."

In fact, Charlie still didn't say a word. If it weren't for his prestige, the nobles would have made trouble by now.

Diodorf took out a pamphlet: "Your Highness, in recent years, our food and taxes have increased a lot, and the Pope has also supported a tax rebate. We can use this money and food to ease the mood of the nobles."

Charlie thought for a while: "This can at most be delayed for a while, we still have to give some land, otherwise they won't give up."

This is not because the nobles look down on money and food, but because it involves an existing internal conflict in Frank.

Due to the lack of hard currency, Frank is actually using real estate such as land as compensation, and the real estate at this time is real real estate, because Frank prohibits the sale of land.

Because of the low means of transportation and low productivity, Charles was inefficient in maintaining the rule of the kingdom.

In order to rule effectively, the plan given by the Carolingian Dynasty is to create a standard earldom and then spread it out, so that even without central control, the place can operate consistently.

But there was a problem. Due to low productivity, backward agriculture and the lack of hard currency in Western Europe at this time, Charlie could not afford money and movable property, so he could only use real estate, land and spoils of war to maintain the loyalty of his subordinates.

This is the reason why Charles has been touring and fighting in the history books. It looks like he is fighting, but in fact he is collecting taxes and handling government affairs. Charles in the early stage of succession is not so much an emperor as a military leader.

In order to maintain his rule, he must constantly expand new lands, but the more noble lands, the greater the power, the higher the asking price.

Charlie can foresee that if this continues, as long as the descendants have one or two consecutive generations and cannot maintain military expansion and prestige, only a small fuse is needed, and Frank will split again.

This is the main reason for Charlie's reforms.

A political system that maintains a vast territory and never disintegrates is Charlie's greatest pursuit, and it is also the reason why he can tolerate Feng Sen's messing around.

"I heard that the Principality of Bavaria has an alliance with the Avars?" Charlie asked suddenly.

Eric understood, and continued: "Yes, Your Highness, when Thuringia rebelled, Hadrad also sent a letter to the Duke of Bavaria asking for help."

"Well, I see. When you get back, call the nobles and discuss it."

Chapter 361 This perfume costs more than 3 solidars

Just as the skirmishes between Frank and Byzantium intensified, Charlie took the time to convene a small meeting of nobles and priests to determine the targets for next year's crusade.

It's been too long since we've fought a war, and all the spoils have been spent, and everyone is waiting to be fed.

At the small meeting, the priests took out their claim to the Principality of Bavaria, on the pretext that the Principality of Bavaria, as a vassal of Frank, had not fulfilled its due military obligations.

However, this document has not been brought out for the time being after the completion of the production, until Charlie resolves the dispute on the Italian peninsula.

Before that, the letters and orders to the big and small lords in various places can already be prepared, and the transportation of grain and grass can also start.

Thanks to Charlie's measures to dredge the river and repair the road this year, the mobilization of food and troops is much faster than before.

This also provided a lot of convenience for business and the merchants of Feng Sen's West Britain Company. Although the circulation of business was hated by the church and priests, many nobles were happy to see it.

For example, a Frisian nobleman from Zutphen used to only drink ordinary Groot beer. Although he had heard of wine, he couldn't drink it even if he had money, because the wine could not be transported at all.

Similarly, the advanced agricultural technology from Saxony brought higher food income to nobles, large and small.

But compared to the immediate effect of repairing roads and paying off robbers, the proportion of income brought by agriculture is not large. After all, many current lords do not like to earn income from farming, and robbery is more in line with their tradition and personality.

So far, these aristocrats still regard honest farmers as objects of contempt, and merchants engaged in transportation are in the same row under the influence of the Heavenly Father.

This can explain the complex attitudes of the nobles towards Feng Sen. On the one hand, he comes from the mysterious and luxurious East, with a clear pedigree, a long history, and powerful military force. On the other hand, he likes to engage in agriculture and business, and he always licks Charlie's stinky feet.

No matter what the nobles think, Feng Sen has always been what you say yours, and I do mine, and continues to preside over the business and land reclamation and agricultural improvement actions of the West Britain Company until the arrival of Ruben Abbey at the end of May.

"Thank you for your interview, Your Excellency the Duke." Reuben Abby saluted Feng Sen respectfully, touching his chest with his right hand.

"I welcome you anytime, Ruben." Feng Sen sat on a solid wooden chair, with a well-trimmed beard still on his face.

"I heard that there was a heavy rain today, but as soon as I arrived at the door of your study, the sky was cloudless, hahaha."

"This humble study of mine still has such great power?"

"Although your study is plain, it can imply the fragrance of knowledge!" Ruben said firmly.

"Why are you arrogant and then respectful? Ruben Abby." Feng Sen ticked the list of Tianmu, and said to Ruben with a smile, "You and I are old friends, let's not talk about empty words, tell me, what news did you bring me this time?"

"Your Excellency, I have talked with other Abbies." Ruben coughed lightly, "Abbies are very interested in your assumptions about His Highness Charles and the Jewish State."

"That is to say, our new round of cooperation can start?" Feng Sen put down the pen in his hand, motioned Wei Xunzhi to go out, and closed the door of the study.

Ruben nodded: "We can try to cooperate first, but before that, please allow me to make a request to you, that is, can I clarify the doubts for Abby from other communities, they want to know, your trade Where does the profit of the route come from?"

"A trade route on the Volga River is enough to make the Slavic lords eat a lot, why not trade on the Danube River?" Feng Sen asked rhetorically.

Ruben replied: "Your Excellency, the trade on the Volga River has specialties such as beeswax, fur, and amber that Byzantium cannot produce, and the trade volume is not as large as you imagined.

And what we mean is, if you are a businessman, of course there is no problem doing this, but if you are a lord, the consequence of doing this is that the merchants in your territory will bring a large amount of gold coins to Constantinople.

Even if you make a decree prohibiting trade, it will only breed smuggling, and in the end, there will be fewer and fewer coins in your territory.

I don't believe that you can't discover this, and all the Abis don't believe it. Since you are confident that this trade route can bring you benefits, there must be something we couldn't think of. "

Feng Sen touched the beard on his cheeks: "Jews, you are very smart. After the white paper and beer, Hamburg does have a new specialty, and I have already placed this new specialty in this room."

"Where is it? Why didn't I see it?" Ruben scanned the desk and the window sill with puzzlement in his eyes.

A smug smile appeared on Feng Sen's face: "Of course you can't see it, but it's here, right in front of your eyes. As long as you find it, I'll tell you what it is."

Ruben looked the whole room up and down, but still didn't find anything special. He opened his mouth to speak, but stopped suddenly.

"This, this scent..." Ruben sniffed his nose twice, "Is it spice?"

"Wrong, it's a sachet." Feng Sen took out a small cloth bag the size of a palm from the drawer. It was embroidered with a delicate rose and surrounded by gold threads, which was very delicate.

Ruben took the sachet from Feng Sen and sniffed it lightly: "Your Excellency, in fact, the Eastern Empire and Arabia can already produce perfume. How is your perfume different?"

"I once sent someone to buy their perfume from Byzantium, and conducted an experiment." Feng Sen raised a finger, "Those perfumes, after being applied evenly on the body, can last at most an hour, or even only a quarter of an hour. , it will disperse, and this sachet, worn on the body, can last for half a day."

"But in this way, will there be a piece of incense on the body, and a piece of smell?"

"The sachet contains creamy essential oil perfume, and we also have bottled liquid perfume. Although it can only last for an hour, at least it can keep the body odor consistent." Feng Sen smiled.

Before those Taoist priests worked out gunpowder, they didn't expect them to work out perfume first. In addition, they also researched peppermint oil and psychedelic pills.

The Taoist priests claimed that it was a elixir for promoting blood circulation and removing blood stasis to stimulate courage, but it was still banned by Feng Sen. Can the poisonous mushrooms used by the Vikings be played around?

The production method of this kind of perfume is very simple, that is, use lemon, sage, rose, tulip, egg yolk and other substances, use about 60 degrees of alcohol to extract and distill, and then use mint to make essential oil, and then it is a whole thing that Feng Sen can't see. A dizzying mix of churning and re-extraction and re-distillation and fermenting resulted in these rose waters.

"Can this be sold?" Ruben gently shook the sachet in his hand.

"Have you ever sold perfume?"

"No."

"Come on, let me teach you. First of all, you have to name it cleverly. Is this a perfume from Saxony? No, it's a perfume from Siris. One or two perfumes are the concentration of 99 roses. Look at this embroidery and smell this light fragrance. Fragrance." Feng Sen said with a chuckle, "And if you want to buy it, sorry, I can't buy it, the production is too small, you have to order first, and then wait, it will take ten days and a half months to get it.

Don't feel procrastinated, you can buy it elsewhere, can you buy mine?That little shows that it is precious, and this is because it is small, which shows that the people who use it have taste.

At that time, several noble councilors from all of you will sit together. I use saris incense, he also uses saris incense, and you use Egyptian incense. I think you are not qualified to participate in the parliament.

You see, the shipping cost from Seris is more than 5 Solidas, and a sachet is about one tael (Tang Liang 37 grams). I sell 10 Solidas, isn’t it too much?Too conscientious, okay? "

"Is 10 solididas expensive? The equivalent weight of gold is only 8 solididas."

"Expensive? This is the price for contractors, and the selling price is more than that. As for the nobles of the Eastern Empire...hmph, don't worry, they will buy it. I have already sent people to Constantinople to make preparations in advance."

The old god Feng Sen sat on the chair and took a sip of mint water, "And what you have to do is to build a few trading posts that can connect to the Crimea Peninsula to prove that it comes from Seris. Then, use your sales network and relationships to sell them."