open sea

Chapter 983 Mercenaries

Northern Spain, Port of Bilbao.

This is Spain's fourth largest port after Barcelona, ​​Valencia, and Seville in Gibraltar in the Mediterranean Sea. It is the center of Spain's wool export to England and France. It is located in the western Pyrenees and the northern coastline of the Iberian Peninsula. On the sea, it has an extraordinary prosperous sea trade and a complex geographical environment.

There are a large number of names here, Basque named after the remnants of the ancient inhabitants, and Navarre named after the kingdom, all of which are geographical names.

In the past, there was a relatively large Navarre kingdom here, but part of it was merged into the Spanish Habsburgs, and the other part was merged into France. France was in the middle of a religious war, and Henry of Navarre was the leader of the Protestant Church.

Because of this, Philip of Madrid was willing to lend this prosperous commercial port to the Ming army garrison. At least Fei Laoer believed that they had a common enemy—the French Protestants.

"I don't care about Protestants or old believers. It's useless to say that. You six mercenary regiments are hired by me and temporarily organized as the Xiguoyong Battalion of the Daming Dongyang Military Mansion. There are two ways of salary. One is two infantry regiments per month. Half taels, four and a half taels for cavalry."

Chen Jiujing crossed his arms and spoke in Spanish on the stage of the new camp on the outskirts of the port. The mercenaries gathered under the stage were in an uproar. The six mercenary leaders who led the crowd had different mentalities and did not speak. , someone behind the mercenary shouted impatiently: "It's too low!"

"Or pay with silk and satin." Chen Jiujing turned his head as he spoke, and a sergeant of the Baishan Battalion was holding a Ming-made colored satin beside him, and then said: "Four feet for infantry and eight feet for cavalry every month."

The mercenary couldn't see the price, and hissed loudly again, but the leader of the mercenary in front said: "If this payment is not enough, we need to add more."

"The salary is so much, how can I choose you to go back and discuss it? The purchase price of silk like this in Seville is forty and a half yuan. Your cavalry can earn as much as four months with me." so much."

High-quality silk and porcelain are sold at a serious premium in Spain. Spanish merchants can only buy one piece of Tong Bao bought from the Mexican border at a price of 18 taels of silver. Selling well.

Such a price seemed strange to Chen Jiujing and Li Dan, but there was something even more surprising to them.

Some nobles would buy the silk and satin at a high price, and then hire another captain to bring the silk and satin back to Asia, and go to the border to ask Changsheng tailor to make several sets of clothes according to their own size.

The cost of hiring a captain is far more expensive than the already expensive silk and satin.

It's as if the Spaniards are spending money for the sake of spending it.

Hearing the price mentioned by Chen Jiujing, the mercenaries in the audience were even more in an uproar. They who were far away in the north of Spain did not believe that silk and satin could be sold so expensively in Seville. A group of veterans lost their minds and looked at their leader.

Chen Jiujing looked at the reaction of the mercenaries with satisfaction. Although there were only a dozen veterans and six leaders in the audience, they represented twelve Spanish companies with 600 troops.

He said: "Not only that, these salaries will not be paid in one lump sum. After signing a one-year contract, I will pay two months' salary first, then one month's salary every two months, and the last month. Half a year's salary."

"Yes, one year of employment, but I will give you fourteen months' salary, and the extra two months as a bonus."

"You only need to fight for me for one year, and you don't need to touch weapons in your life." Chen Jiujing said no more, raised his left arm and spread his palms: "Go back and think about it. It's okay if you don't want to accept employment."

Chen Jiujing was not worried that such generous treatment would lead to a shortage of soldiers. At this time, there was no shortage of mercenaries in Europe.

The mercenaries dispersed with their respective leaders. When Chen Jiujing walked to the barracks, a Spaniard wearing a black plate armor and holding a helmet walked out of the tent quickly and asked, "General, how are these mercenaries doing? There are also seven mercenary company commanders from Italy and the Low Countries."

His name is Carlos, and he was born in a declining knight family. He served as the captain of a cavalry company in the Spanish army for nine years. Ship, met Li Dan in Seville, and was hired to join Chen Jiujing's army.

Chen Jiujing nodded and said, "I'll let them go back and consider it. If they want to join, they will come to me again like the previous Eryongying."

"As long as you can afford the salary, there is no fear that no one will apply for such a generous reward." Carlos said with a smile, "Proper delay in wage arrears is helpful to avoid desertion, but don't betray the soldiers, the consequences of betraying soldiers are very serious. "

Carlos's mercenary regiment has 800 people, including two companies of Spanish veterans who left the army three years ago.

The reason they were hired by Li Dan was that they fought for Alva in the Netherlands.

Chen Mu's old friend Alva led 1 garrisons in the Netherlands a few years ago. After deciding to use mercenaries to make up for the lack of military strength, the number of troops expanded to [-] in just a few months. Of course, the consequences were extremely serious—because Chen Mu cut off the Manila galleon and huge military expenditures made Philip declare Spain bankrupt.

As Carlos said, the kingdom's occasional delay in paying soldiers' salaries is not only harmless to combat effectiveness, but sometimes has a positive effect on avoiding deserters, but being unable to pay is another matter.

Carlos and his comrades left the army after enraged legionnaires sacked Antwerp in the Netherlands.

Carlos, who had seen that situation, said to Chen Jiujing: "They will loot towns, maybe the general doesn't care about French towns, but that will make many people leave the army."

"Speaking of looting the town, Carlos." Chen Jiujing and Carlos walked towards the tent side by side, and suddenly stopped and half turned around and asked, "Did you leave the Spanish army because of the atrocities that ransacked the town?"

"Me? Of course not."

Carlos seemed to be laughed at by Chen Jiujing. He turned his head and looked at the sergeant who was taking a bath in a large wooden barrel under the shade of a tree in the distance. The New World has been explored, so why stay in the army and get that meager salary and the royal family won’t pay it.”

"You know what happened later. Our three ships have not been delivered by the shipyard yet. There has been news that you, the Ming Empire and Spain are at war in the New World. At that time, I still wanted to go to war with you. The ship was just delivered and the news was defeated. Just send it back to Seville."

"But Carlos is never short of work. Before I was hired by you, I just met the Kingdom's recruiter in Toledo, but Mr. Li Dan's salary is more generous."

After speaking, the two had entered the camp. Carlos put down his helmet and looked at the map on the table, and asked Chen Jiujing carefully: "General, please forgive me. This is the western coast of France. What is our goal?"

Chen Jiujing turned his head and glanced at the map on the table, pondered for a moment before uttering a syllable.

"Bordeaux."

(End of this chapter)