King of German Mercenaries

Within days of Prince John's arrival, Columbus' fleet appeared south of the Canary Islands. As it happened, they were blocked by two of Marin's boats.

"Captain Kidd? Are you here specifically to wait for me?" After the two fleets met, Columbus, who was in trouble, encountered a formation of 250 led by Kidd who was waiting for him.

"Not only that, the count also came in person, in Las Palmas."

"Lord Earl?" Columbus was a little puzzled. Marin was still a baron when he set off.

"Oh, I almost forgot, Lord Marin has already conquered the Counties of East Friesland and is now the Count of East Friesland."

"Huh?" Columbus was a little surprised. From baron to earl, that is not an ordinary breakthrough, but a chasm. Unexpectedly, his miraculous young master, so easily crossed... But that's okay, Marin became an earl, and the title of Columbus that can be conferred on him is even higher. Unlike the baron before, at most Columbus can be awarded a knight...

When Columbus's fleet, guided by a formation of 250, docked at the port of Las Palmas, Marin was taking his men, and Prince John's men, to play football on the beach.

Prince John was very interested in the football games played by Marlin's men, so he also asked a tailor to make dozens of sets of short-sleeved T-shirts and large pants, so that his men could also play football on the beach. Not to mention, the Spaniards seem to be quite artistic, kicking more artistically than the Germans under Marin. Although it's just starting to kick, it looks a little more beautiful.

Prince John is very proud and thinks that his players are more capable of playing football, so he finds Marin and seeks a game. Prince John also named his team "Royal Toledo". Marrington felt a pity, because the Spanish capital is currently Toledo, not Madrid. Otherwise, Real Madrid would have appeared hundreds of years in advance. Seeing that Prince John had named the team, Marin did too, the Counts of Friesland. In fact, Marin also really wants to call his team Royal Aurich, but unfortunately, he does not have the throne and is not qualified to be called Royal. Therefore, it can only be named the Earl team...

Although the name of the team is not as strong as Prince John's, the team's play does not look as beautiful. However, in the real game, Prince John was dumbfounded.

It turned out that although Marin's Counts team didn't look good, Prince John's Toledo team wasn't much better either. It's just that the Spaniards try to look good when dealing with the ball, so it seems that the Spaniards' skills are very good, but they are actually quite average. And Marin's team, the viewing degree is not as good as the Spaniards, but they are relatively simple and practical.

And, most importantly, Marin understands tactics...

Prince John's Royal Toledo team attacked like a tide, with the exception of the goalkeeper, who basically ran to the half of Marin's Earls. And this was caused by Marin deliberately shrinking the defense line first.

When the Toledo team's request for help went to the Earl's half, Marin immediately signaled the team's fast horses to fight back... Then, the Royal Toledo team was poured 4-0. This is also the reason why Marin's gang members are so stinky with their feet, and they often play handjobs. If there is a bit of the ability of future professional players, it is estimated that it can be poured into a dozen to zero...

On August 10, the Toledo team once again challenged the Earl team. Marin and Prince John's team were playing happily on the beach when they suddenly heard the news that Marin and the other team had returned...

Marin immediately ignored the game and left. Although Prince John wanted to make a comeback, out of curiosity, he followed. As for the game, it was immediately stopped. They play every day now, not bad for this one.

At the residence, Marin saw the dusty Columbus. Of course, Columbus was wearing a Zorro mask, and Marin couldn't see his face, but he was definitely tired.

After finally landing, Columbus is also very happy.

If he hadn't waited to meet Marin and report to work, he would have threw himself on the velvet quilt and rested.

"Welcome back, Christopher!" Marin stepped forward and hugged Columbus.

"Thank you for your concern, Baron... oh no, Lord Earl!"

"Haha, Christopher, I am now an earl. According to your credit this time, you can be directly named a baron!"

"From the Baron?" Columbus was a little puzzled. Because, at this time in Europe, there is no such title.

"Oh, it's a new title. I have a three-baron system in East Friesland, from a baron to a third, but it's also hereditary and has fiefs."

"Oh..." Columbus didn't care much. In fact, the Spaniards have made him a formal baron before (haven't had time to add a higher title, because the two kings of Spain have not seen the spices and gold from "India", but the two kings can't see the rabbit and don't throw the eagle. the master). It's just that the Spaniard turned his face and it was cancelled.

Seeing the expression that Columbus didn't care about, Marin knew that Columbus was a little too low. So he added:

"In addition, your eldest son inherits your title, and the younger son can also be named a hereditary knight..."

"Hereditary knight?" Columbus had never heard of this title.

"Well, a title established by East Frisian, the highest ranking among knights, can be hereditary by males..."

Columbus's eyes moved, obviously delighted. For the younger son, he also knew that it was difficult to obtain hereditary noble status. But now, Marin immediately gave a hereditary title. Although they are only knights, they can also become nobles hereditary. But what makes him more happy is still behind:

"In addition, I have decided to reward you with 20,000 ducats in view of your outstanding performance in the voyage!"

This is really a big deal. Generally, the king has never rewarded his ministers with so much money. 20,000 ducats, according to the gold and silver exchange ratio of 1 to 12, are equivalent to 42.7 grams of silver, equivalent to 1.14 taels of silver. In other words, it is equivalent to 22,800 taels of silver. In ancient China, if an emperor with a huge empire gave a minister 10,000 taels of silver, he would be envied to death.

Columbus's eyes also burst into golden light. As a Genoese who advocates business, Columbus is of course eager for benefits. Wasn't the reason why he engaged in great voyages just for the title and wealth?

Moreover, Columbus himself was a greedy man. Originally, he was arrested and returned to Spain in 1500 because of corruption. And, before that, Columbus had offered to share 10% of the sailing's earnings.

Therefore, although Columbus was a great navigator, he was a very greedy person. Therefore, these 20,000 gold coins moved him more than the title of baron.

Although it is said that Columbus also made a 10% profit agreement with Spain before. However, his previous two voyages had made no profit at all. Because what he found was just some indigenous islands, what valuable things could he bring back? So, Columbus had to bring some Indian sweet potatoes back to fool the Spanish royal family - look, this is something that Indians eat, isn't it rare? It's rare... Compared with this one-time profit of more than one million gold coins, the significance of his first two voyages in the future is far greater than the reality.

The reward of 20,000 gold coins is definitely more than 1% of the income of this voyage, even close to 2%. This is not one percent of tens of thousands of gold coins, but one percent of more than one million gold coins. Anyway, before Columbus in Spain, he had only a few thousand gold coins in total, most of which were given by the royal family and finally confiscated. Moreover, among these thousands of gold coins, the mansion as real estate accounted for the bulk. The cash in Columbus's hand is basically not much...

However, the surprises continued:

"Well, your fief will be assigned to Lyle County, where agriculture is the most developed, and 1,000 Eugrams of fertile arable land will be sealed. In addition, the cost of building your baron's castle will also be paid by the state treasury..."

Marin waved his big hand - yes, the cost of building the castle several thousand gold coins was saved again, and Columbus's eyes once again glowed with golden light...

For a greedy navigator, what could make him happier than saving a few thousand gold coins...

"Christopher, do your best, follow me, and I will never treat you badly. I will let you live a rich life that is unimaginable for ordinary people!"

"Well, I will, Lord Count!" Columbus nodded heavily. Thinking of the benefits of 20,000 gold coins and free help to build the castle from Marin, as well as the fertile farmland of 1,000 Ugrams without paying taxes, Columbus, a greedy guy, was so excited that he forgot to rest because he was so excited that he couldn't sleep. ...