Since his financial situation allowed, Marin planned to increase the number of attendants from five to six.
This was because, while Kohler was intelligent, he was physically weak and better suited for roles like quartermaster, rather than direct combat where he was lacking.
Therefore, Marin decided to find another attendant with decent combat skills to replace Kohler, though Kohler would continue to follow him in the roles of quartermaster and steward.
Soon after hearing the news that the French were advancing into Italy, Marin asked Old Hoffman to help him select a new attendant from the manor.
However, upon hearing that Marin intended to go to war, Old Hoffman was not happy.
Why?
Because Marin had shown such talent for management that Old Hoffman felt he could live well without risking his life in battle.
Previously, Old Hoffman had sent Marin to the military out of concern for his survival, but now, with Marin being so capable, it was clear that he no longer needed to take such risks.
Both Old Hoffman and Mrs.
Mary were reluctant to let Marin go to war again.
But this time, Marin was resolute.
He knew that with his abilities, becoming wealthy in the future wouldn’t be difficult.
However, in the Middle Ages, a time when nobles ruled everything, even a rich man couldn’t control his own destiny.
Adler would inherit the Hoffman manor and become a fief knight, while Marin and his two brothers would remain commoners without noble titles.
To gain the power to control his own fate in such a dark era, Marin had no choice but to take the risks of war.
Besides, the success of Wallenstein and Tilly had always motivated him.
Thus, Marin was determined to pledge himself to the emperor and fight for him.
In fact, Marin’s determination stemmed not only from his desire to gain fame but also from the fact that he knew France would lose the First Italian War.
Following the side that was bound to win ensured he’d earn military merit.
Moreover, this war was essentially the Holy Roman Empire joining forces with Venice, the Papal States, the Duchy of Milan, and other Italian principalities to gang up on France and its small ally, Piedmont (Savoy).
It could be said that Emperor Maximilian I was not fighting alone.
When the French army aggressively advanced into the Italian peninsula, neither the Holy Roman Empire nor the Italian princes made any immediate move to stop them.
Even the Papal States held back initially, and only Naples sent troops to intervene, but they were quickly defeated.
Marin believed that the Holy Roman Empire and the Italian princes had made the right choice, even if it wasn’t what they truly wanted.
With a French and Piedmontese army numbering 60,000 (37,000 French and 23,000 Piedmontese), such a large force was rare in the Middle Ages.
Anyone who resisted would have been annihilated.
Even the Neapolitan army fled in the face of the overwhelming French force.
It wasn’t until the French army reached the Kingdom of Naples that the Italian princes, led by Venice and the Papal States, gathered forces and invited the Holy Roman Empire to join.
After all, Italy was fragmented and lacked the strength to fight against the French on its own.
At the time, Venice was the wealthiest power in Italy, and as the dominant Mediterranean trading power, its financial resources were comparable to, if not greater than, France’s.
In the age of mercenaries, as long as you had money, you could recruit a sizable army.
So, wealthy Venice was the most powerful among the Italian states.
Only the Papal States, with their strong influence, could rival Venice.
Marin suspected that Venice would contribute to the costs of the Holy Roman Empire’s army, but that would likely happen after the formation of the Holy League in March of the following year.
However, Marin didn’t want to wait until then, because Emperor Maximilian I would still be able to raise some war funds this year.
If nothing else, he could levy war taxes from his own territories in Austria and Burgundy.
Marin aimed to join the emperor’s army as early as possible to build up some military experience.
Furthermore, the emperor would likely value those who joined early and possibly train them as officers.
By contrast, the troops recruited next year with Venice’s “sponsorship” would likely be untrained cannon fodder, hastily thrown into battle.
Seeing Marin’s resolve, Old Hoffman ultimately relented.
He understood that titles and fiefdoms were earned on the battlefield.
In the end, Old Hoffman decided to support Marin by helping him select new attendants.
Old Hoffman gathered the young men from the manor and the laborers from the serfs’ families for Marin to choose from.
Marin had high standards for his attendants.
He didn’t want mere servants who were obedient but warriors who could fight alongside him.
Like Kahn, who, despite eating a lot, was brave and loyal.
Unfortunately, not everyone was as brave as Kahn.
When Marin tested the young men by having them wrestle with Kahn, none could defeat him.
Left with no choice, Marin lowered his standards and stopped using Kahn as the benchmark.
After a thorough selection process, Marin finally picked three sturdy, brave, and obedient young men. This story is hosted at g.com.
He had originally intended to select four, but the others were either too weak, too cowardly, or too cunning to meet his requirements.
In Marin’s eyes, his attendants were essentially his human shields.
In dangerous situations, they needed to protect him and fight by his side.
Weak attendants would easily get killed, cowards would flee, and cunning ones might abandon him in a crisis.
So, Marin would rather have fewer attendants than compromise on quality.
Just as Marin was troubled over finding more attendants, one of the selected attendants, named Shaw, spoke up:
“Master Marin, are you looking for a brave and reliable attendant?”
“Huh?” Marin was momentarily stunned but answered, “Yes.”
“I know someone like that. I met him while working as a laborer in Bochum. His name is Schwarz. He’s a very strong laborer, with great strength, and he’s very loyal.” Shaw had gone to Bochum to earn money as a laborer because of his family’s financial burdens.
The friends he made there were also laborers.
“What’s his background?”
“He’s actually the descendant of a knight, but his grandfather didn’t inherit any land, so the family left the manor and moved to Bochum to do business. However, his father wasn’t good at business and ended up in debt. So, when Schwarz grew up, he had no choice but to become a laborer to help pay off the family’s debts.”
“A noble descendant, huh?”
“Yes, Schwarz is very strong, about the same size as Kahn. And he knows a bit of knightly combat.”
“If that’s the case, why hasn’t he become a wandering knight and joined some lord’s service?”
“Master, becoming a knight requires a horse and armor. Given his family’s situation, how could they afford that?”
“Ah, that makes sense…”
“Also, because his family owes a lot of money, the creditors won’t allow them to leave Bochum to avoid running away from their debts…”
“I see. Shaw, can you ride a horse? If so, lead the way. I’d like to meet this Schwarz in person.”
“I can ride a little…”
“Master, he’s just a laborer. Why don’t you just summon him? Why go to him in person?” Kahn asked, puzzled.
“You idiot, didn’t you hear Shaw say that his creditors won’t allow him to leave Bochum?” Marin retorted.
“Oh…” Kahn scratched the back of his head in embarrassment, leaving Marin speechless at his intelligence…
Afterward, Marin, Kahn, and Shaw rode to Bochum.
At a grain warehouse in the city, they saw Schwarz carrying bags of rye.
Schwarz, a tall, muscular man with black hair, stood about 6 feet tall (1.83 meters).
He was casually carrying two large sacks of rye on his shoulders.
Other laborers at the warehouse struggled to carry just one bag, each weighing at least 100 pounds.
But Schwarz carried two bags with ease.
“Not bad, strong indeed!” Kahn couldn’t help but admire.
After Schwarz finished his work, Shaw invited him to a nearby tavern for a conversation with Marin.
“Is there something I can help you with?” Schwarz asked politely after introducing himself to Marin at the tavern.
“Mr. Lange, I heard you are a noble descendant?” Schwarz had a surname, Lange, which indicated noble lineage in the Middle Ages.
Only nobles and people of status had surnames, while commoners, like Kahn and Shaw, only had first names.
“Yes, my great-grandfather was a fief knight, but my grandfather wasn’t the heir. Our branch of the family has since fallen into decline. As you can see, I’m just a laborer now,” Schwarz said, a hint of sadness in his voice.
Marin, pretending not to know, asked, “I heard you have some knightly skills. Why don’t you become a knight?”
“Mr. Hoffman, you know our family’s current situation. Can I afford a warhorse and armor? In fact, I can’t even afford a draft horse, let alone a warhorse. As for my combat skills, they are mostly some inherited foot combat skills from my ancestors. I’ve only studied theoretical horseback combat skills, but I’ve never had the chance to practice them because I don’t have a horse. Strictly speaking, I’m not even good at horse riding yet,” Schwarz replied seriously.
“Uh…” Marin was a bit stunned by Schwarz’s honesty.
In modern times, Marin has been to many job interviews and has interviewed others as well.
People usually exaggerate their strengths, not expose their weaknesses.
Schwarz’s straightforwardness made Marin slightly uncomfortable.
But soon, he was overjoyed.
Wasn’t an honest person exactly what he wanted?
“I want to hire you as my squire. Are you willing?”
Schwarz stayed silent, not answering immediately.
“Considering you have some combat skills, I’ll pay you 4 pfennigs per day, and you’ll have food and drink covered by me,” Marin offered.
Schwarz remained silent, seemingly deep in thought.
“Master, why do I get only 3 pfennigs a day while you’re offering him 4?” Kahn grumbled discontentedly.
“You dare to complain? You eat three times as much as others. Your food expenses alone are much higher than others. If you ate the same as everyone else, I’d pay you 4 pfennigs too!” Hearing this, Kahn fell silent.
“Mr. Hoffman, your offer is tempting, but my family owes a lot of money, and the creditors won’t allow any family member to leave Bochum…” Schwarz said helplessly.
“How much does your family owe?” Marin asked curiously.
50 marks, equivalent to 8,000 pfennigs, wasn’t much for a landowner but was a huge amount for a poor family.
Schwarz, working as a laborer, was earning 4 pfennigs a day, even though he worked twice as hard as others.
And he had to cover his own food expenses.
Though he didn’t eat as much as Kahn, he still ate more than average.
Moreover, in his family, his father had fallen ill after a business failure, leaving just him and his mother to earn money.
Besides his bedridden father, Schwarz had two younger brothers.
His mother earned even less, sewing clothes for others.
The debt of 50 marks was practically crushing his family.
“I see… Mr. Lange, would you mind wrestling with my squire for a bit?”
“Uh… alright…” Schwarz stood up and went outside the tavern, with Marin and the others following.
In the open space beside the tavern, Kahn and Schwarz faced each other, ready to wrestle.
“Ah—” Kahn roared and lunged forward, trying to grab Schwarz and throw him down.
Schwarz was cautious, avoiding direct contact and instead testing Kahn’s strength by grabbing his arm.
Kahn, though a glutton, had not grown strong for nothing.
His strength was indeed greater than Schwarz’s.
Realizing this, Schwarz decided not to engage in a brute force struggle and instead used his combat skills to avoid Kahn’s attacks.
The match dragged on, with Kahn launching repeated powerful charges, while Schwarz carefully dodged and avoided direct clashes.
Marin noticed that Kahn, who wasn’t conserving his energy, would eventually tire himself out.
Sure enough, after a long time, Kahn was breathing heavily.
Seeing an opportunity, Schwarz sidestepped one of Kahn’s charges, then used a clever technique to trip Kahn, throwing him to the ground.
“Not bad, strong and smart…” Marin was quite satisfied.
After the match, Marin extended his right hand and said, “Welcome, Mr. Lange. I need a strong squire like you!”
“But… Mr. Hoffman, I can’t leave Bochum…” Schwarz said, looking downcast.
He knew following a knight might be dangerous but was also a rare opportunity.
He was confident that, with his skills, he could carve out a future.
As a descendant of a knight, he didn’t want to remain a lowly laborer forever.
“Don’t worry. If you swear loyalty to me, I’ll pay off your debt!” Marin said without hesitation.
“That’s 50 marks…” Kahn was dumbfounded.
Schwarz was also stunned, but he didn’t answer immediately.
Instead, he went home to discuss it with his father.
The next day, Schwarz arrived at Marin’s inn and formally agreed to become his squire.
He swore allegiance and signed a contract.
Marin then returned home, brought 50 marks, and paid off Schwarz’s family debt.
Moreover, Marin arranged for Schwarz’s parents and two younger brothers to live at Hoffman Manor, helping to manage the coal mine.
Schwarz’s father, Konny Lange, being a literate noble descendant, knew how to read and do calculations.
Although he wasn’t good at business, he was capable of bookkeeping.
Konny’s health had deteriorated due to the stress of debt, but once at Hoffman Manor, where he saw hope, his health quickly improved.
His new job was at the entrance to the coal mine, tallying the coal the miners dug up.
Hoffman Coal Mine had a rule—miners (excluding new ones) would receive a bonus of half a pfennig for each Charlton of coal they mined over ten Charltons in a day.
This required someone who could read and write to keep track.
Previously, Old Hoffman had handled this himself, but as a landowner, it wasn’t fitting for him to do such work.
For a fallen noble like Konny, it was perfect.
The job wasn’t physically demanding either; he could sit in a shelter at the mine entrance.
Even if there was a gas explosion or cave-in below, those on the surface wouldn’t be affected.
In addition, Marin promised Schwarz that his two younger brothers could learn combat skills and horse riding alongside Marin’s two younger brothers, Simon and Albert.
When they grew up, they would become squires and assistants to Simon and Albert.
Schwarz was deeply moved by this gesture and expressed his willingness to serve Marin loyally.
Thus, Marin finally gained a capable subordinate (unlike Kahn, who was more of a brave bodyguard, like Dian Wei).