Chapter 835: The Prosperous Loot Market
Looking up, Thierry and the others could see the tall church tower in the center of Tinsmith Ferry.

According to the measurements of the Holy League, the highest spire of this Gothic church is thirty meters high.

On the gentle slope next to the church is a knight’s mansion, and you can also see a barn and a slowly turning mill waterwheel.

There are three intersections around the church and the knight’s residence, and the closely arranged timber-framed pointed-roof houses form the most classic town of a thousand people in the Thousand River Valley.

As the name suggests, this place is famous for its tinsmiths and there are a large number of tinware workshops.

Ordinary farmers used wooden bowls and earthenware pots, while nobles used silver and porcelain.

The armed peasants, small landlords and citizens mostly used tin pots and tin plates.

However, there were not many tinsmiths in the Tinsmith Ferry at the moment. Instead, there were many Holy League soldiers wearing black woolen jackets.

After all, this place was chosen as the main camp, so it is normal to see so many Holy Alliance soldiers.

“Lord Thierry?” Abaz saw Thierry staring at the church in a daze and reminded him gently.

“Oh.” Thierry lowered his gaze and smiled, “I was distracted. Let’s go.”

The previous battles had given Thierry a great shock, but he had already recovered from his depressed mood.

One reason is because of the pride of the Franks. The smart Franks will quickly learn the tricks of the people of Qianhe Valley.

Second, he also realized that the Holy Alliance’s army was not omnipotent.

For example, in the end, the Wild Wolf Vanguard Regiment was unable to save the burned bridge in time.

Unfortunately, this new bridge was burned down by the Leia people less than half a year after it was built with funds raised by nearby residents.

After inspecting the turbulent river, which was about ten meters wide, Jeshka, the commander of the regiment, ordered the soldiers to collect boats and rafts to build a pontoon bridge.

It is estimated that it will take three days to repair the floating bridge. After all, the bridge needs to be made as wide as possible because the Chongxin Legion will need it later.

The Wild Wolf Regiment settled down with the nearby Tinsmith Ferry as its center, and each legion either camped in the wild or lived in the empty houses of the refugees.

These three days were just the right time for the soldiers to take a break and deal with the spoils.

Starting from the intersection, the closer you get to the central square in front of the church, the louder the noise and the denser the crowds.

Before we got closer, we could see birch frames and tarpaulin-topped sheds set up on the street.

The air began to be filled with the combined smell of sheep dung and pollen.

As the members of the observation group approached, they could hear the unique noise of minstrels, hawking and livestock in the market.

“… Dusk soaks the oak forest, and the blacksmith god knocks the war clouds…”

“What—”

“The anvil is 90% new and is for my own use. The sound is more beautiful than that of a lute!”

“…Victor raised the City Burning Sword, and Dreta wielded the Mountain Scythe…”

“Dagger, ten dinars! Scythe, two dinars!”

“… Suddenly, I heard the sound of horses’ hooves on the moonlight. Chapter Master Das rode on the saddle, riding the wind, holding the Sky Punishment Falcon Cannon under his arm, and threw a blast of frost-breaking steel over his head…”

“In any case, the Silver Scale Breastplate is five gold pounds a piece!”

“…Are you looking for trouble?!”

Walking around the minstrels and peddlers rolling on the ground, looking at the crowded market, Thierry couldn’t help but sigh at the vitality of the merchants.

This is the front line. Where did these warmongers come from?

“These small merchants are like hyenas following a lion to eat carrion.” Venise pinched his nose, “They surrounded us as soon as they smelled the slightest smell of blood.”

Abaz looked around and said, “They are not just buying and selling spoils. If there is no time to clean up the battlefield, they will also help the army eat up the remaining spoils like hyenas.”

After all, for many refugees, being a war profiteer is the fastest way to make a fortune.

As long as you are not afraid of death, you can become rich instantly by picking a gold ring from a dead knight.

Moreover, these spoils are bought at no cost, and the prices are 30% to 40% lower than the market price.

Especially for bulk commodities, a single sale can bring in thousands of dinars in profit.

Even if there is a possibility of being affected, these war merchants will still follow the army closely.

On the one hand, they provide various services to the army, such as catering, entertainment and even women’s technical services.

On the other hand, they would eat the army’s leftovers, and even sell and leak intelligence. This situation was difficult to stop in both the Empire and the Holy League.

Walking under the wooden sheds, you can see caravans of all sizes buying and selling spoils.

Mules, horses, livestock, bedding and weapons, gold candlesticks, silver tableware, silk, jewelry, potions, holy oils… everything is available.

Although we were fighting at home, we got a lot of spoils.

Going out to fight is not like traveling on a budget, where you can just pack a bag and go out.

Behind the Leia warriors, there were at least three times as many civilians carrying a large amount of supplies, including clothing, cloaks, weapons, and rations.

After all, the nobles also need to be paid, especially the extraordinary knights who participate in the war.

Basically, you can take away dozens to hundreds of gold pounds worth of loot from every extraordinary knight.

The nobles themselves were even more particular about appearances, and would even bring their own high-end furniture and artworks when going out to fight.

At that time, Jeshka obtained spoils worth tens of thousands of gold pounds from the Duke of Norn.

Almost every soldier can get 1 gold pound in cash.

However, many soldiers would choose to divide the spoils and send them to the regiment’s quartermaster for storage or send them back to their hometown.

Not far away, Venise was bargaining with a Holy League soldier over a jewelry box.

Abaz squatted on the ground, writing the price with a quill pen, preparing to participate in the auction to buy an ivory carving.

Standing under the notice board, Thierry looked up at the announcement in front of him.

That is the distribution destination of the spoils announced in the regiment’s documents. If you have any doubts or want to report something, you can report it to the military police and military judge at any time.

Looking at the densely packed items, Thierry frowned. Although they were made public, which soldier could understand them?

Shaking his head to clear the thoughts, he couldn’t help but look to the west.

At first he was not sure about the direction of attack, but after arriving at Tinsmith Ferry, he understood.

Starting from Kenke Town, they were heading for Suimi Town.

After taking over Suimi Town, we will have a landing port, and only with a landing port can we transport troops on a large scale and quickly.

This is the rhythm of trying to regain Xia Lucheng.

If the 8th Infantry Regiment that Thierry is following now is the vanguard regiment, then the entire Wild Wolf Regiment is the vanguard regiment.

It is responsible for clearing obstacles in the front, while the rear and surrounding areas will be cleaned up by the subsequent Chongxin regiment.

After taking over Suimi Town and ensuring smooth shipping and land transportation from Kenke Town to Suimi Town, a large number of Holy Alliance troops will land.

But there are still ten imperial command companies around Xialu City. Can the Wild Wolf Regiment alone really defend the bridgehead of Suimi Town?

…………

“It’s a pity that the coastal defense clockwork cannons of Xialu City are gone, otherwise how could the Leia warships cruise near Suimi Town!”

“If the coastal defense guns were still there, we could have just taken the boat there instead of attacking the Tinsmith Ferry first?”

“I heard that the Xialu fever plague has not yet dissipated, and a batch of bird-beak masks have been shipped to the rear!”

In the library on the second floor of the Tinsmith Ferry Church, Chapter Master Jeshka, the legion clerk and chief priest, as well as eight infantry commanders were all present.

Jeshka lowered his head and took sips of wine, while the captains around him were still whispering and shouting loudly.

But many times, the Wild Wolf Regiment’s combat strategies were formulated in these quarrelsome shouting sessions.

Jeshka said nothing, his eyes fixed on several marked points on the map.

“You also found something wrong?”

Bernardo, who was accompanying us, adjusted his glasses and said, “They clearly have more troops than us, but they didn’t take the initiative to surround us, but instead divided their forces to intercept us. This is really unusual.”

“The broken bridge doesn’t seem to be blocking us in sections, but rather it seems to be stopping us.” Jeshka also felt something was wrong.

At this time, the eight infantry commanders all fell silent, listening to Jessica and Bernardo’s analysis. One of them couldn’t help but ask, “What about us?”

“Send more rangers and leave more clockwork cannons to guard the pontoon bridge. The attack plan remains unchanged, but we need to be more careful. Do you understand?”

(End of this chapter)