Chapter 15 The team expands
Five days later, at the camp outside the castle.

Rhodes looked out the castle window at the queue below.

Compared to the sixty-seven people when he came, the number of people gathered here now has increased sixfold.

Nearly four hundred people gathered here, including men and women, old and young, and they were gathered together according to family and kinship relationships.

Many people looked around, some were afraid, but more were confused.

Rhodes looked at them.

In addition to his soldiers, these people included more than two hundred village serfs, eighty village villagers who were willing to follow him, and twenty-three captured thieves.

Unlike conscription in cities, suburban villages lack a safe environment.

After losing the main labor force in the family, it is difficult for women and children to survive on their own.

Therefore, basically everyone came here with their family.

Fortunately, there were no elderly people who were too old to walk, so Rhodes did not refuse them.

Although it is not convenient for women and children to participate in the war, they can help the team with logistics, laundry, cooking, clothing repair and other tasks, allowing soldiers to have more time for training.

Later on, you can become the first residents of the territory.

The conditions were not there before, so the soldiers had to work harder and do everything themselves.

But now with the sponsorship of the enthusiastic Sir Joseph, Rhodes has the funds and population to build a logistics team to make the pioneering journey smoother.

In addition to the population, Rhodes also commissioned the Ice Valley where Viscount Dennis was to transport it.

The soldiers' equipment was updated and they stayed in the village for three more days.

Today, soldiers' shield spears have been replaced with higher-quality steel shield spears, which can better pierce the enemy's armor and shields.

The leather armor on his body was also replaced with chain mail with stronger defensive performance.

A set of steel shield, spear and chain mail costs 75 silver coins, and 39 soldiers cost a total of gold coins.

Rhodes also bought a lance for each of the twelve knight attendants, spending a total of 2 gold and 40 silver.

In addition, more draft horses and carriages, emergency food reserves, batches of warm cotton-padded clothes, axes, machetes and other tools for serfs and villagers, needles and fabrics for mending clothes, etc. are needed.

After Rhodes counted everything and sold the thief's pile of scrap metal, he had a total of 73 gold coins, but was left with only 18 gold coins.

Prisoners and children received no salary, serfs received 5 copper coins per day, women received 8 copper coins, and young and middle-aged men received 10 copper coins. The monthly salary of these people was 3 gold and 50 silver.

Including 7 gold and 50 silver for the knight's squires and soldiers, the total monthly salary expenditure is 11 gold coins.

Rhodes patted his head.

He had just extorted some money from another noble, but after he finished the calculation, he felt that he had become even poorer and could hardly pay his salary.

Fortunately, they are about to enter the Northern Frost Principality.

Due to various historical issues, chaos has never stopped in the Principality, with small-scale bandit gangs and armed rebellions everywhere.

This could not be a more difficult environment for merchant groups traveling to the Principality to do business.

But Rhodes is different. As long as he has violence, these people are nothing but mobile funds.

After collecting the experimental materials in the castle, he went downstairs.

Leaving the castle, Rhodes entered the camp.

At this time, all the villagers were in a state of confusion about the future and had not yet realized his arrival.

Suddenly, the group of soldiers in front of them stood up straight.

The sound of orderly and solemn footsteps echoed throughout the camp.

The solemnity and oppressive feeling of the army's unified appearance made the villagers and serfs instantly nervous.

I held my breath involuntarily and stood there not daring to breathe heavily.

After realizing this status gap, the young men's originally confused eyes began to light up.

They looked at the soldiers with envy.

He longs for a soldier's weapon and a soldier's status.

Rhodes could feel that under the gaze of the villagers, the soldiers' mental state became noticeably more vigorous, and their movements instantly became much more orderly.

The expansion of the team brought in audiences and competition, which gave the soldiers greater motivation, which was not a bad thing.

After counting the number of people and making sure no one was left out, Rhodes mounted his horse and came to the front.

"Let's go!" One month later, in the territory of Beishuang Principality.

Beside the river in the suburbs, a group of people were busy building a temporary camp, with tents being set up one after another.

There was broth stewing in the hanging stove next to it, and the fresh fish just caught from the river bank was roughly cut into pieces and poured into the broth without removing the scales.

By the river bank, women were washing the team's changed clothes and looking after the children.

The shouts of soldiers training could be heard not far away. The rumbling sound not only did not scare the women and children here, but instead made them smile cheerfully.

It was the protection of these soldiers that kept them safe from several bandit attacks.

And when their husbands and sons joined the militia that was subsequently formed, more income and changes in their lives made smiling gradually become the norm.

As the militia training ended, the arrival of the men made the camp lively.

Amidst the laughter and joy, there are exceptions.

Luke, the former village chief of Pine Cone Village, and his family who later chose to follow the team, were somewhat sad.

After finishing the militia training, Luke sat down with the help of his wife, holding his waist and couldn't help sighing.

He has passed the most energetic period of his youth and entered the decadent middle age.

I really can't keep up with the pace of those young guys in training.

But he had no son, so in order to give his family a better life in this team, he had to join the militia himself.

When the news that their neighbor Bill's family had colluded with thieves to attack the village was exposed, the villagers' anger reached its peak.

As the village chief, he has a close relationship with the other party.

Under the wrath of the people, Luke knew that he might not be able to stay in the village.

So he chose to accept his fate and follow the unique knight away.

It turned out that his vision was correct, strong soldiers protected them at all times, and benevolent knights were responsible for everyone's lives and also magically paid their salaries.

The only problem is himself, Luke sighed.

He is old now and is no longer the young and strong man he was twenty years ago.

"Why don't we quit the militia? Didn't the knight say that old and weak people can quit?" His wife patted his back with concern.

"It's okay, I'm fine." Luke waved his hand in disagreement.

He knew very well that there were status gaps everywhere.

Although there will be no bullying under the management of soldiers.

But people always have two different attitudes depending on whether there is a man in the family in the army or not.

Seeing his daughter Lily coming back from the river, Luke noticed her messy hair and wet skirt.

"Are you not hurt?" he asked worriedly.

"No, I was just splashed with water by them." Lily picked up the towel and wiped her hair, responding nonchalantly, "It's okay, I splashed water on them too, I took down all five of them by myself."

She said proudly and ran into the small tent to change her clothes.

But when he was alone away from his parents, his face instantly fell.

Staring blankly at the tent.

She recalled how she hid in her bed and cried alone after being verbally insulted by a friend she grew up with.

She remembered the girls from the same village who had young brothers training in the militia and who had thrown water at her and mocked her.

I think of the difficulties my father faced in the militia.

Finally, the face of the knight in the castle appeared in her mind, and she couldn't help biting her lip.

"Why are those princesses in stories always comforted by knights over trivial matters, but I can only hide and cry by myself?"

She was so unwilling that she finally made a decision in her heart and clenched her fists, "I don't care, I must make you responsible for me!"

After changing her clothes, she took out the things she had secretly bought when passing through the city and ran out.

"Lily, where are you going?" Luke was puzzled when he saw her in a hurry.

But as soon as he said this, Lily disappeared.

(End of this chapter)