The baronial territory that Chen Mo took over covers an area of less than 10,000 acres, with a radius of only six to seven kilometers. The number of residents is about three to four thousand. Without affecting the normal operation of the territory, it can only support a few hundred people at most.
Number of soldiers.
In the Middle Ages, people's livelihood in Europe was poor, materials were scarce, and the burden of supporting the army was heavy. The noble lords usually only kept a small number of standing troops, and then temporarily recruited them from the civilian population when fighting.
The wars of this era relied on knights as the main fighting force. The number of knights in the hands of a lord determined his military strength.
Knights equipped with war horses, heavy armor and long swords had an overwhelming advantage in battles against infantry.
But at the same time, well-equipped knights also cost the lord a lot of money to support them. Although the knights' equipment is all equipped by themselves, the cost of maintaining a knight's daily expenses is also extremely staggering, even if
He was a noble lord who owned a large area of land and serfs, but he could not afford to support too many knights.
Well-equipped and powerful knights were the strongest combat force on the European battlefield in the Middle Ages, and they were also the most valuable assets of noble lords.
The richer a noble is, the more knights he can support and the more powerful he is.
Many small nobles have limited financial resources and cannot afford the huge cost of supporting knights. They can only rely on infantry to fight. Once they are attacked by noble troops with knights, they can only retreat and defend. Pure infantry and knight troops fight head-on. The final outcome is usually
All were disastrous failures.
As for the barony occupied by Chen Mo, there were originally a total of eight knights, who were already considered relatively strong among the nearby lords. However, they all died in the battle with the invading werewolf tribe.
Count Valen, the most powerful man in the area, has as many as fifty knights under his command, plus nearly a hundred squire knights and thousands of elite infantry, which is enough to deal with a general-scale werewolf invasion.
The status of knights is second only to the nobles. To a certain extent, they can be regarded as the lowest level of the noble class. As full-time soldiers, they fight for the lords they are loyal to.
Some knights with outstanding achievements will receive land granted by the lord and become a small lord with a fief.
This is also the only way for ordinary civilians to become nobles.
But becoming a knight is not an easy task. All knights' equipment, including horses, armor, swords, shields and spears, all need to be equipped by themselves. In medieval Europe, an era of extremely backward productivity, these
The value of the equipment is extremely expensive. The price of a war horse alone is as high as twelve gold coins, which is equivalent to the value of six strong bulls.
The price of iron tools is also very high. A long sword is worth seven gold coins, and a complete set of armor, including helmet, breastplate, and leggings, is worth up to twenty-four gold coins, which is equivalent to two war horses.
Including some other equipment, the cost of arming a knight is close to fifty gold coins, which can buy more than twenty bulls.
For ordinary European families, this is simply an astronomical figure. Many farmers cannot even afford to buy a cow. This amount of money is equivalent to their income for decades.
Such a huge expense, not to mention common people, even many small nobles cannot afford it.
Therefore, the number of knights is actually not large. It is difficult for ordinary civilians to have the opportunity to become knights. Most of the knights are descendants of knight families or nobles who have no inheritance rights. They receive knight training from an early age and are matched by their families when they reach adulthood.
Get all the equipment.
Fortunately for wealthy aristocratic families, the average knight family usually only has one set of ancestral equipment, which is passed down from father to son. If two sons are born and the family does not have enough financial resources to purchase another set of equipment, then the younger son will have no choice.
Become a knight.
Andrew, whom Chen Mo rescued, came from such an ordinary knight family.
As the youngest son, although he had been trained as a knight by his father since he was a child, due to the family's inability to purchase a set of expensive knight equipment for him, Andrew had a strong military force, but he could only join the lord's army as an ordinary soldier.
The army hopes to achieve military exploits through battles, obtain rewards from the Baron, and one day become a true knight.
It's a pity that more than ten years have passed. Although he has killed countless enemies on the battlefield and even killed more than one werewolf with his own hands, he is still an ordinary soldier without any change, except for the countless scars on his body and the gradual appearance of facial expressions.
The wrinkles of vicissitudes of life.
The powerful knight, the magnificent life, the beautiful noble lady, are all so far away from him.
Frustrated, Andrew left his hometown and the army he had fought for for many years and came to this village.
He planned to succumb to fate, give up his long-standing ideals, just be a civilian honestly, and spend his life in an ordinary way.
But now, he who had already given up seemed to see hope in Chen Mo to realize his ideal.
He had seen with his own eyes how powerful Chen Mo was. Now that Chen Mo had become their new lord and entrusted him with important tasks, he was extremely excited and secretly vowed to be loyal to Chen Mo to the death, not only to repay Chen Mo for his life-saving and enlightenment.
The favor is also to realize his dream of becoming a powerful knight.
And his ideal was soon half realized.
All eight original knights in the territory died in the previous werewolf invasion, and together with the baron who also died, a total of nine sets of somewhat damaged knight armor and weapons were left behind.
Chen Mo didn't pay attention to these valuable knight equipment at all, and directly gave them to Andrew and other nine people who were saved by him.
They were rescued from a wolf by Chen Mo in a desperate situation. As their savior and new lord, they had no problem with their loyalty to Chen Mo.
Of course, they are not yet considered knights. Except for Andre, who has the powerful force necessary for a knight, although the others do not lack the courage to fight werewolves, they are still far behind in terms of strength.
You must know that real knights have received systematic knight training since childhood, including physical fitness, riding skills, swordsmanship, and fighting. A qualified knight can kill a wild boar with bare hands without wearing any armor. It is not just anyone who can wear it.
A knight's equipment can be called knight's.
Of course, the other eight people except Andrew were not useless. When the werewolves invaded the village, most of them panicked, even cried in despair, without any intention of resisting.
However, they dared to face the werewolf and fought back bravely. Under the command of Andrew, they blocked the werewolf's attack with simple weapons and geographical advantages. From this point of view, they still have the potential to become knights, and this is what Chen Mo
What matters.
According to Chen Mo's observation, these people are very loyal to him and have certain fighting talents. This is enough for Chen Mo. As for their strength, they can be cultivated slowly.
Moreover, there are still many good things in Chen Mo’s space that he has not yet brought out.