After leaving Simon's yard where he was sick and resting, Marin arranged for the spy to go to France. After Kohler's screening, he finally chose a spy named John and asked him to go to France to offer a "vote letter" in exchange for a title.
John Ben was one of the spies Kohler arranged in Munster City, and his apparent profession also meets Marin's requirements - a large wine seller in Munster City.
Because he is a proxy and sells high-end wines produced in Burgundy, John is very popular among the church tycoons of Munster City and becomes a guest of honor for Bishop Conrad. After all, in the Bishop of Munster, the richest ones must be the bishops and other church leaders. These church tycoons usually don’t drink beer, but like to drink red wine. They call drinking red wine "drinking the Holy Blood", which is very religious.
Moreover, these church leaders are very rich and naturally pursue high-end wines. Just so happens that John is an agent and sales of high-end Burgundy wines. In order to open up sales and take the opportunity to get close to those church leaders to obtain information, John often uses high-end aged wine as a gift to the church bosses. Then, Bishop Conrad, who likes to drink high-end red wine, attracts him as a guest of honor and often invites him to chat and brag about the game at Munster Cathedral. John is also very sensible and brings a bottle of high-end aged red wine every time he goes, which is naturally very pleased by Bishop Conrad. Before Bishop Conrad burps, John had already squeezed out several other competitors with the support of Bishop Conrad and became the largest wine merchant in Munster City.
Although John did not hold an official position in the South Münster area, he often went to and from Münster Cathedral to brag about it with Bishop Conrad. Many people in Münster City knew about this and could withstand investigation.
Moreover, John's identity as a wine merchant is also very helpful for his acquisition of Lafite Winery. After all, it would be doubtful if a person who has nothing to do with the wine industry suddenly wants to acquire a winery.
In addition, one of the important reasons for choosing John is that John often goes to wineries in Burgundy to purchase goods, so he speaks French. This is very beneficial for his integration into the French aristocratic circle.
"Is this guy reliable?" Marin asked Kohler before making the decision.
"Absolutely reliable! He was one of the earliest spies with me, and he was loyal. Moreover, his family also gave me hostage."
"Then he can't go there alone when he goes to France, right?"
"It's okay, the one who pretends to be his wife and son is also my spy!" Kohler said confidently.
Marin was immediately convinced - Damn, his wife and children are fake, they are all spies, and they can't make a fuss...
In this way, Brother John took his wife and children pretending to be a spy and took advantage of the chaos in the city of Münster after Bishop Conrad's death and quietly left Münster and went to Paris, France...
...
"What did you say? A wine merchant named John asked to see me? A mere merchant could see me if he wanted to see me? No!" Louis XII waved impatiently. He was the king of the strongest French kingdom in Europe. Who could see me if he wanted to see me?
But the guard continued:
"He said he was from Munster City, and knew the reasons why several princes attacked the Grand Duchy of the North Sea, and was willing to present this secret in exchange for His Majesty's reward!"
"Confidential? It's not because of civil strife in the Beihai Army that several princes wanted to take the opportunity to get a bargain? Well, I suddenly became interested, so I'll ask him to come in!"
So John was taken to the palace, and his nominal wife and children were waiting outside the palace.
"See Your Majesty!" After seeing King Louis XII of the Dharma, John gave a big gift of kneeling down on one knee.
Louis XII looked at him with interest and said:
"You are not my vassal, why do you kneel like me?" In Europe, citizens do not have to kneel down when they see the king, but they will take off their hats and bow down.
"Because I am here to serve you!" John said in a very serious tone.
"Self-fight for me? But what I need is a knight with military power, not a merchant." Louis XII said disdainfully. He is the king of France, not everyone, cat or dog.
"I know, but the secret I want to say can make you increase your money and food. Is this considered a military role? After all, war requires a lot of money and food."
"As far as I know, France has a large population and is the best in Europe. If it weren't for the lack of money and food, His Majesty would have to use more than 100,000 troops. But because the food is not enough, every time he fights, he will only have 30,000 or 40,000 people at most!" John said confidently.
Louis XII heard this and was silent for a while. He had to admit that what John said made sense.
France's population reached 15 million, five times that of Britain and twice that of Spain. However, although France has a lot of arable land, its grain output is very low. Even King Louis XII did not have much food in his hands.
In particular, the French knights, who were proud of the French, consumed more food. Because the food consumed by war horses was five or six times that of humans. Each plate-armored knight had to take two horses to war. Therefore, a plate-armored knight, including his two horses, consumed at least 11 people's food every day during war (when you don't fight, the war horses consumed less physical strength and could not consume so much food, and you could also add some grass. However, during war horses had to carry knights wearing plate-armored knights, which consumed a lot of physical strength and could not hold on without eating food).
Then, France dispatched 10,000 Plate Armored Knights, and every day, the food consumption alone could reach the standard of 110,000 people...
Therefore, France had so many plate-armored knights, but they could not be dispatched frequently. Because the food consumption could make the Dharma King poor. After all, the food price in Europe was too expensive...
This is the same reason for Marin's choice to use Cossack cavalry and Eastern European Mongolian horses. Mongolian horses are resistant to rough feeding. Even if they carry cavalry charges during the war, they consume a lot of physical strength and do not need to feed them all. Instead, they mainly eat grass and then use some fried soybeans to supplement their nutrition. Therefore, during the War of Resistance Against Japan, even if they can't afford new clothes, they can still bring in many cavalry. After all, Mongolian horses are easy to support. If they can only feed essence like delicate European horses, the Eighth Route Army will definitely not be able to support them.
This chapter is not over, please click on the next page to continue reading! But the French knights cannot save food. The tall and big horses of the French knights are the big food consumers. Without enough food, the cavalry cannot be taken out to fight. For example, the 8,000 knights of King Charles VIII stopped the Italian infantry in the Battle of Fornovo because Charles VIII sent troops to grab food separately before, which wasted time. Otherwise, how could the two legs of the Italian mercenary run better than the four legs of the French cavalry horse?
...
Louis XII was obviously not a fool, and he also knew the importance of food. If there was enough food, the French Knight could roam Europe. So he asked in a deep voice:
"Can you really make me increase my money? One-time or long-term?"
"For a long time, the grain production will double!" John calmly said.
"Come, clear the ground, and no idle people are allowed to approach!" Louis XII immediately stood up and ordered his confidants to clear the ground. All those who were not trusted were driven out of the hall. Guards were also placed outside the hall.
Then, he said to John with a serious face:
"I hope you don't lie to me, otherwise you will die!"
John nodded and said:
"Of course, you are the king of the most powerful country in Europe. But if I really provide a way to double the grain output, what will you reward me?"
Louis XII thought for a while and asked:
"What do you want?"
"I want Lafite Winery and a large fiefdom. I wonder what title your Majesty can give me?"
Louis XII thought for a while and said:
"Rafi winery? I remember it's a winery in Bordeaux, right? I remember the red wine produced there is good quality, but it is not as famous as Burgundy wine... As for the title... I can only give you the baron. After all, if you are a foreign businessman, you will be too high in title, and the nobles will not accept it."
"Is the viscount not OK? After all, that's the secret to double the grain output!" John asked unwillingly. By the way, France has a viscount.
"No, it's already the limit to be able to give a baron who can be hereditary. After all, you were not even aristocrats before! But I can give you more fiefdoms! I can also buy Lafite winery to give you. As for the baron, just call it Lafite Baron!"
...
"Thank you, but I have another request!"
"you say!"
"I hope Lafite winery can get a large order from the palace in the future. Anyway, the royal wine consumes a lot, and Lafite wine is of good quality, so why not give Lafite wine a chance?"
Louis XII thought for a while and said:
"Yes, I can give you some orders! After all, I have to take care of the mood of Burgundy!" Burgundy was stolen from Maximilian I by the French royal family. In order to appease the other side, Louis XII had to take care of the other side. Moreover, the Burgundy wine is indeed of excellent quality.
"At least one third!" John offered.
"No problem, you can say it now, right?"
Chapter completed!