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

Or Feng Sen's caravan.

So the grain sold by the manor owners turned into beer, and then they got back the money for buying grain from the manor owners at a high price.

But in this process, no one was harmed except those merchants who were hoarding. Originally, due to the teachings of the heavenly father, the manor owners did not like to have too much contact with merchants. cheated.

Grain cannot be left to rot in the warehouse. Since someone like the Duke of Saxony came to reward gold and silver gifts, then I will also give grain and grass in return. Isn’t that more pious?

In the end, the manor owner got tools, new fields, new houses, and beer, and Feng Sen got money, food, and people. Everyone basically lost nothing, but got everything. Only the merchants sold the hoarded grain at a low price with blood and tears.

When the social atmosphere and the overall economy are developing, people are willing to consume once they have surplus money in their hands. Consumption drives the economy. When the cake is made bigger, people will have more surplus money in their hands, thus forming a continuous trend. Forward cycle.

In this way, the whole of Saxony inexplicably prospered, and the rivers and roads were crowded with ships.

On the other hand, due to the large amount of felling of forests required for infrastructure construction and land reclamation, what to do with the excess wood can only be exported.

Therefore, Feng Sen single-handedly lowered the price of timber in the entire Mediterranean market by [-]%. As timber was used as a construction material, the price drop caused churches and noble manor owners near Saxony to start construction, and even the price of bricks and tiles also rose.

The foreign merchants who sold the hoarded food with blood and tears were surprised to find that as long as they bought a batch of wood and paper with the money, they could almost double the profit.

Especially paper, whose price even reached a magically high price of 180 deniers for a roll, and merchants hoarded it again, trying to make back all the money lost in Feng Sen's territory.

But it doesn't matter, Charlie will shoot.

The high price of Siris paper had not lasted for two days, but it was suppressed by Charlemagne to 110 deniers by force and violence. Merchants who sold it at a price higher than 110 deniers would get a seven-day tour of the dungeon as a gift from Charlie. Even family property had to be confiscated.

Except for those merchants who left first, a large number of hoarding merchants sold the Siris paper again with blood and tears, hating themselves for not leaving earlier. Although they made money now, it was definitely not as much as before.

Although they lost money this time, the thirty or fifty Desnel earned enough money for them to make a trip. As the most well-informed group in the Middle Ages, the magical Siris and Saxony have also entered the ears of people everywhere.

The way of information exchange in this era is to yell. When every merchant enters a village, he can rely on stories and information to obtain the right to stay overnight. This is an old tradition left over from Rome.

Soon, phrases such as "no military service for five years", "no military service for three years", "no tax payment for three years in Xintian", "[-] per mu yield" and other words hovered over the land of Frank, Italy, and even Thuringian Bavaria like migratory birds on a southern tour.

Even the lowest level of civilians will not be complete fools, at least they still have the most animalistic instinct - seeking profit.

Therefore, what we can know is that, at least for a short period of time in the future, Saxony will once again influx a large number of immigrants from all over Frankland, and Feng Sen's leisurely life will not last long.

Chapter 224 Feng Sen's Southern Tour

In mid-May, the weather has gradually warmed up, but it is still cool, and the maximum temperature does not exceed 20 degrees Celsius every day.

Hamburg City, Xingyefang.

The ironworks and blacksmith shop adopted the mode of forging before forging and then forging. While the furnace was emitting green smoke and sparks, a dozen shirtless men were also waving hammers in their hands in the high temperature.

Standing in front of the furnace that was close to the height of two people, Feng Sen, with his hands behind his back, watched the two craftsmen standing on the scaffold, carefully taking out pieces of bright black sponge iron from the furnace with iron pliers.

These iron ingots from which impurities have been removed from the iron ore have countless holes inside like honeycombs. These sponge irons need to be reheated in a blacksmith's shop, forged and quenched before they can become iron ingots for normal use.

This kind of technology is actually quite backward. Feng Sen asked about it. There are two melting furnaces here. Under the condition of saturated iron ore input, the monthly output is only 1000 catties. The red molten iron flowing out of the iron furnace as he remembers is not visible at all, and the reason for the inability to flow molten iron is also very simple.

The melting point of iron is as high as 1538 degrees Celsius. In this era, it is actually difficult to reach this furnace temperature. So in fact, in the process of smelting iron, it is turned into iron-carbon alloy by doping carbon into it, and iron-carbon alloy The melting point will drop further, so there will be molten iron in a molten state.

So how much does the melting point of iron-carbon alloy drop?Answer 300 degrees Celsius, only need 1200 degrees Celsius to make cast iron, is it very cost-effective?

This temperature is basically the limit that the ancient furnace temperature can reach, but what is difficult is that Feng Sen's furnace can't even reach this temperature, so even if the process steps are done one by one, the smelted sponge iron is still the same.

Among the craftsmen that Feng Sen recruited before, Lei Jun knows forging or blacksmithing. As the saying goes, he has a specialization in art. Lei Jun only has a superficial understanding of iron smelting and refining. It has taken a lot of effort for him to build this usable furnace. son.

At the same time, a furnace with a monthly output of 500 jin of pig iron was considered a good output. This was based on the fact that Feng Sen had very high-quality coal resources and wood resources, as well as a relatively advanced level of technology.

But this is not enough, it is far from enough. Feng Sen has done the calculations. To build an army based on the Tang-style army composition, with his current army, even a small village needs 12 catties of iron.

In an ideal situation, Feng Sen spends 3 catties of weapons and equipment every year, and it will take at least [-] years to make up for this gap. But this is an ideal situation. He has to pay for iron ore. When the price of iron ore changes, there may not even be a surplus of [-] catties of iron that year.

If you can't produce independently, you will always be choked by others. At that time, you will be strategically passive. In Feng Sen's memory, there are mines in Saxony, the most famous of which is the Rammelsberg mine in Grassell. However, the comprehensive mine produces gold, silver and lead, but it does not produce iron.

Feng Sen himself has a basic understanding of the output of various parts of Europe because he often plays P agency games, but it has not reached the level where he knows where there are iron mines.

Moreover, putting iron into farm tools and production tools can transform productivity and increase output, but what about putting in weapons?If you don't use it, it won't hold its value, and it will decline every year due to rust and wear. Building weapons and armor is really a loss-making business...

But there is one situation where these weapons appreciate in value.

"War..." Looking at the busy craftsmen in front of him, Feng Sen said to himself with a sigh, "It seems that it's time to go south."

The sea of ​​clouds in the sky came at high tide and went away at low tide. As the sun passed, time hurriedly flowed to the end of May in 784.

On the last day of May, Feng Sen started his journey southward along the Elbe River with [-] Xuanjiafang cavalry and [-] nominal guard cavalry.

Walking on the rammed earth road in the forest, the sun shines on the body through the gaps in the mottled branches and leaves, coating the army with a light golden yellow, which makes people feel warm.

The weather in North Germany has always been cloudy and cloudy, and it can even compete with the British Peninsula. Rain and sunshine can appear alternately in the same day. Sometimes the blue sky pushes away the clouds to reveal half a shy face, and sometimes black clouds gather angrily in the sun. stand behind.

Holding the reins with both hands, Feng Sen's body undulated with the ups and downs of the flying mane under him, observing the dirt road under his feet with interest.

This route was the same as Feng Sen's previous march. The only difference was that during the five months, countless refugees, Saxon slaves, and prisoners of war marched step by step, felling down trees bit by bit, and opened up this 20-mile-long road in the forest.

On both sides of this road, a small ditch one cubit deep was paved with stones, and the entire dirt road was built by ramming three layers of fried sandy soil, and deliberately planted on both sides of the road. A number of herbaceous plants are used to absorb water and strengthen the soil.

Although there are unsatisfactory parts, Feng Sen is already very satisfied.

He turned around with a smile and asked Gisela, "Gisela, is this road much easier than before?"

Gisela was also riding on the horse, and she nodded with a smile: "It is indeed much better than before."

Feng Sen quickly noticed Gisela's absent-mindedness, and he slowed down his horse to be level with Gisela, while the guards around him also moved a little further away wisely.

"What's wrong? Are you still nervous?"

After hesitating for a while, Gisela finally nodded. Since the last time Feng Sen made out of nothing, her attitude towards Feng Sen has softened a lot, or she has let go a lot, and she no longer keeps things in her heart like before.

But what made Feng Sen feel helpless was that apart from love, Gisela's eyes showed a bit of religious obsession, as if he was the microphone between her and the heavenly father.

"Don't worry." Feng Sen said to Gisela with a smile, "Those tribal leaders either met your father, or paid homage to King Charles during the previous war.

No matter how bad it is, they have heard about the deeds of my defeating more than 2 rebels in Uda in World War I. Many of these leaders were defeated by me. We came here this time just to ask them to obey the law and reiterate my authority. You don’t even need to say too much. "

"Yeah." The dark cloud between Gisela's eyebrows dissipated a lot.

Gisela has been entangled for a long time because of her status as a nun and the princess of Saxony. Feng Sen knew that she had to give her some time, and turned to look forward, but the smile on Feng Sen's face gradually disappeared.

If divided by sphere of influence, the part of Saxony's Atlantic coast is basically Feng Sen's sphere of influence, including Stade, Bremen, and Schleswig.

Then there is the area around the Weser River, as the territory closest to the Franks and the place where the Franks immigrated most.

Finally, there is the area around the Elbe River, which is dominated by the leaders of the Saxon tribes. There are also many fief cavalry and nobles who were canonized by Charlemagne, but they are just a name.

And Feng Sen's arrival this time is to make those names real, make them truly obedient subjects, win over the clan leaders, and then it will be the turn of the Westphalian Frankish nobles.

Two years, he will use two years to completely subdue these nobles, let Marshal Feng's tentacles go deep into every aspect of the Saxon subjects, and really completely control them from top to bottom!

Chapter 225 What Do You Know About Birth?

Lune was one of Feng Sen's ruling cores, and the nearby clans were basically beaten by Feng Sen. The influx of Frankish immigrants also diluted their clan colors. Feng Sen only briefly inspected the mines that were still under development and set off.

Down the Elbe River, we arrived at Dannenberg.

Although this area is called Dannenberg, the real Dannenberg County in history was not officially established by Henry the Lion until the 12th century.

In this era, there are large tracts of forest in this area, only on a flat land near the river, there is a small settlement of Dannenberg with less than 100 people.

However, due to the appearance of Feng Sen, things have changed. In the original Dannenberg settlement, the new Dannenberg Thousand Households has been established, which is Kryon of the Saxon Banner, one of the eight Thousand Households.

Standing at the gate of the Qianhusuo, he looked up at the crooked plaque that said Tang Na Qianhusuo, Feng Sen lowered his head, and Kryon was standing at the door, standing upright in a daze to welcome him, seeing Gisela's figure, he jumped up happily and waved his hands vigorously.

Kryon was a friend of Abramovich. Later, he led the prisoners of war to attack the enemy in the Battle of the Weser River, and killed three fleeing leaders of the war regiment in one go. In fact, many people had much higher merit than him. His only advantage is The most important thing is that he is related to Abu, Gisela's distant cousin.

Feng Sen has a good impression of this young man, although he looks silly (the tribal people of this era either have a rough face or a silly face), but he is rough but fine. Among Gisela's group of unreliable cousins, he is considered smarter.

"Long time no see, Kryon." Feng Sen got off his horse, walked forward, and gave a big hug to Kryon who had changed into a leather robe.

But what I didn't expect was that the first thing my brother-in-law Kryon did when he came up was to complain to Feng Sen, "Brother-in-law, you have to avenge me, those beasts and savages in the woods are too much!"

Feng Sen laughed and said, "You're not even afraid of those Vikings with giant axes, but are you afraid of those savages?"

"It would be great if they had the guts to fight me head-on." Kryon poured out his stomach full of bitterness. After several times of questioning, Feng Sen finally found out what happened.

There are a large number of scattered hunters and small tribes living in the forest of Dannenberg, living a primitive life of fishing and hunting. Originally, the two sides did not interfere with each other, but those small tribes did not know why they were crazy. They said that outsiders like Kryon would anger the gods in the forest and not let them cut down trees here.

Trees must be cut down for the construction of the House of Thousand Households. Of course Kryon refused. There were a few small conflicts between the two sides. In the forest, the bannermen might not be the opponents of such tribes who were good at hiding and throwing spears.

After fighting twice, the small tribe was about to be scared, but unfortunately, in a conflict, Kryon decided to kill and surrender, killed more than 20 young people, and hung their heads on a tree.

This angered the public. Originally, only a small group of tribes opposed it, but now all the tribes opposed it. They came out at night and did not fight the banners, but kept harassing them.

As soon as the bannermen went out to fight, they all fled back to the forest. The terrain in the forest was complicated, and there were swamps and traps everywhere. Kryon didn't dare to pursue after suffering two losses. In retaliation, Kryon no longer accepted prisoners. Yes, kill them all if they are caught, and leave none behind.

From time to time, Kryon secretly explored the road, and when he found a small village in the forest, he killed all the men, and brought all the old and weak women and children back to the thousand households to marry the soldiers.

In this way, the two sides hurt each other for more than a month, and finally they couldn't bear it anymore. The frequency of small tribe attacks decreased, and Kryon also had to recruit manpower to cultivate, so this issue was temporarily put on hold.

"But it can't go on like this forever, can it?" Kryon complained as he led his cousin's horse and walked side by side with Feng Sen, "Now when our bannerman wants to take a piss when cutting a tree, several people have to go together, for fear of being attacked by surprise. These days are too sad."

Listening to his brother-in-law's narration, Feng Sen began to think about it.

Today, Dannenberg’s forest area has reached more than 80% compared to later generations. Feng Sen estimated that according to Kryon’s description, this Dannenberg forest hides at least 3000 to [-] people.

Life in the forest is no better than outside. I would rather live in the muddy forest swamp with wild boars and wild wolves, than come out. It is really a tyrannical government than a tiger.

However, although the forest is a natural protective shield, it will also bring disadvantages that cannot be eliminated while isolating the inside and outside.

Feng Sen asked Kryon while walking, "How do they live their daily lives? Do they communicate with outsiders?"

Kryon thought about it carefully for a while, then narrowed his eyes and recalled: "It should be to communicate with people from the outside world. The forest does not produce salt or iron, and sometimes they even trade furs for food. They must be trading with merchants."

Feng Sen spread his hands: "That's easy to handle. Later, I will issue a Dannenberg decree. Unless you have a certificate issued by my signature, um, it's called an edict. Otherwise, merchants are not allowed to trade with them. Once Caught by me, he was punished for smuggling, his property was confiscated, and he was demoted to slavery."

"Good idea, let's see if they dare to harass us again." Kryon clapped his hands, "But why don't they simply ban their trade? What are you doing with this edict?"

"Don't worry." Feng Sen shook his head. "Using this method to force them to surrender, either they will harbor resentment and submit on the surface, or they will break the can and smash it. If they dare to rebel, they will still create a lot of hidden dangers."

Facing his brother-in-law's strange expression, Feng Sen patted him on the shoulder and smiled, "Ah Tang, remember what I said, don't let them treat us as enemies, let them treat themselves as enemies, if you hit them, they will become us, do you know what I mean?"

His eyes lit up, the brother-in-law slapped his forehead, paused for five seconds, and finally replied honestly: "I don't know."

"Stupid!" Feng Sen shook his head, "Go back to Magdeburg or come to Hamburg more, I will find someone to give you lectures, about the Spring and Autumn Period, what I mean is, I will send you a few imperial orders, you first cut off their trade for two or three months, and then find a few tribes that do not have a bad relationship with you, and send them the imperial orders.

Will these tribes be able to do business by relying on imperial edicts, and will other tribes have to look at their faces?Because other tribes must go through them to do business.

I don’t know what you think, but if I were in that tribe, I would definitely have to be a middleman to earn the difference, but the edict is issued once a year, in order to maintain their own status, so they have to ask you?Will it become your dog?

The remaining tribes have only two options, first, to be a dog for your dog, and second, to be a dog for you.When the time comes, you will ask the rest of the tribes to take the names of the tribes you didn't deal with before... Do you know what to do about the rest? "

"Ah!" The brother-in-law slapped his head, and in Feng Sen's expectant eyes, he finally smiled embarrassingly, "I still don't understand."

Feng Sen was completely speechless now, he took a deep breath, and said kindly to his brother-in-law: "From next month, you have to go to Magdeburg or Hamburg for ten days of classes every month, don't you understand? If you don’t understand, teach me!”

"what?!"

Chapter 226 Continue to go south

During the two days he lived in Dannenberg, Feng Sen visited all the eight hundred households under the Qianhusuo. At present, five of the eight hundred households under the Dannen Thousand Households are still working in the Thousand Households.

They were suffocated by the forest tribe and couldn't get out at all.

After agreeing to their request to bring them some Slavic women next time, Feng Sen hit the road again, heading towards Stendal.

Going to Stendal was not as simple as going from Lüne to Dannenberg. Feng Sen had to follow the river, because there was no passable road in the forest, and even if there was, they would not take that road for safety reasons.

Going upstream along the Elbe River, under the escort of the dragon-headed long boat, Feng Sen successfully reached Stendal on a sunny day.

Unlike Kryon, there were chiefs from several large tribes near Stendahl who appeared at the gate of the Qianhu House together with Stendal Qianhu Shiliang.

"Greetings to Marshal Jie!" Unlike his brother-in-law Kryon who behaved intimately, as a native of Hamburg, Shi Liang had a sense of propriety. He was one of the first batch of thousands of households to receive Feng Sen's fast-track training in the barracks, but he had personally seen Feng Sen smashing a hapless guy's thigh with a whip with a smile.

Seeing the mighty Shi Liangqianhu bowing their hands in salute, the rest of the chiefs also bowed their hands and said, "See you, Marshal Jie."

By this time, Feng Sen was not as kind as before. He glanced indifferently at the crowd in front of him. Although he was smiling, his voice was a bit terrifyingly majestic: "Don't be too polite."

Shi Liang respectfully stepped aside, and introduced to Feng Sen: "These four are representatives of public opinion recommended by the wild people nearby, and they are also the chiefs of the largest tribes nearby. They all came to see you."

"Great to meet you, great Saxon chieftain."

The leaders of those Saxon tribes looked at the sharp swords and black armor reflecting in the sun, and their calves even trembled a little. Many tribesmen who escaped from the war described in detail those terrifying black armored cavalry.

Those Saxon tribal leaders originally thought it was just an excuse to cover up their defeat, but looking at it now and comparing it with this strong Saxon chief, it seemed that what they said seemed to be reality again.

"Hahaha, I'm husband and wife with Gisela, the daughter of the former Saxony chieftain. Since you are relatives of Gisela, you don't have to be so cautious." Feng Sen said with a bold smile, "But today I have to inspect the situation of Qianhu House with Shi Qianhu, and we will go out to hunt together tomorrow and the day after tomorrow.

Hey, by the way, does any of you have girls of the right age in your family?Many of the knights behind me don’t have any family members who can take care of them. If there are any, bring them here, and I’ll be a matchmaker for you. "

"It's easy to say." Those chiefs were overjoyed. Marriage is a very important bond in Saxon blood clan society. The marriage between the two clans means that they recognize each other's status. It is really Qin Shihuang peeing in the mirror—a win-win situation.