King of German Mercenaries

After Marin signed the agreement, he had planned to return to the Wadden Islands. Because he hasn't gone back for months. Seeing that the New Year is coming, he plans to rush back to spend his old age.

However, Prince Philip held him back and asked him to give some more advice. For example, how to build the economy of the Teutonic Knights...

For the military, Prince Philip is not worried. Because, he intends to ask the two brothers for help and ask them to support a group of officers to help him take charge of the army. However, when it comes to building the economy, the three Prince Philip brothers have nothing to do. But along the way, Prince Philip found that Marin was a very thoughtful person, so he asked Marin for advice.

You know, Prince Philip once knew that Marin's territory, Texel Island, was originally a backcountry where birds don't shit, but after Marin passed, it only took one or two years to build Texel Island into a He had acquired a very wealthy territory, and he could even come up with more than 80,000 gold coins to support him as the head of the regiment. Therefore, Prince Philip admires Marin very much for his ability to engage in the economy, and even has some admiration.

Marin didn't answer him immediately, but thought for a long time and asked the prince to send someone to check the information...

Through the internal information of the Teutonic Knights, Marin learned that the Teutonic Knights currently only have 36,000 square kilometers of land and a population of 300,000. You know, the data also shows that in 1402, the land area of ​​the Teutonic Knights was 170,000 square kilometers, and the population was as high as 1 million.

However, after the Battle of Tannenberg, the Teutonic Knights lost a lot of territory, and the Livonian Knights became self-governing and broke away from the control of the Knights. So, it's just getting to where it is now.

However, 36,000 square kilometers of land is not a lot. At least, this data makes Marin envious. Moreover, the data shows that there are about 200,000 people in the country's 300,000 population, all of which are concentrated in the four major Hanseatic cities, as well as the towns and villages near the four cities. In other places, it is a little more sparsely populated.

The climate here, Marin knew, was somewhere between a temperate oceanic climate and a cold temperate continental climate. Winter here is much colder than in Western Europe. At least, Western Europe has warmed the North Atlantic Current, and the average winter temperature is not below zero. And here, because there is no warming effect like the North Atlantic warm current, and the western Siberia area blows cold air from the eastern European steppe from time to time. Therefore, the temperature in winter here is generally around minus nine degrees, which is colder than that in Western Europe at the same latitude.

However, this cold is not too cold, at least, compared with the northeast of China, this cold is far worse than the old nose. Moreover, the temperature in summer here is also ok, with an average of 17 degrees and a maximum of 20 degrees. Of course, the temperature in summer here cannot keep up with the average temperature in HLJ Harbin in July, which can reach 23 degrees.

Therefore, crops such as rice, wheat and other crops that need to be stimulated by high temperature can be grown in Northeast China in summer, but not here. Because the accumulated temperature in summer is not enough.

Therefore, the crops suitable for planting here are only cold-resistant rye, potatoes, sugar beets, flax, etc. However, the soil here does not seem to be fertile enough, and the harvest does not seem to be as good as that of the Hoffman Manor. Approximately, the soil is not fertile enough.

Marin, however, was not happy to ask Philip to reveal his manure skills. So he started to think elsewhere...

In this era, European trade was relatively bulky, that is, grain, salt, fur, wood, spices, livestock, and textiles...

Among these things, textiles have the highest added value. Because, it is made of wool, which contains labor. Also, the sale is lucrative.

However, the wool textile industry is currently mainly concentrated in the Flemish region of the Netherlands, and the United Kingdom. However, the British wool textile industry has just started, and the most developed is Flanders. However, most of the wool textile industry in Western Europe initially imported wool from England. Therefore, the profit of raising sheep is quite good.

Also, with the UK halting wool exports, wool prices have risen in Western European markets. Even in the UK, wool itself is somewhat in short supply. In Flanders, many textile factories have also closed down because the British stopped exporting wool. So, in recent years, the Flanders themselves have started raising sheep.

However, the Flanders region is small and has a large population. Also, there is a lot of farmland in the area. Therefore, it is difficult for the sheep farming industry in Flanders to develop.

But the demand for wool is so great. Therefore, the British later used their brains and started a "enclosure movement". Although, the enclosure movement harmed the interests of many poor farmers. However, it has invigorated the British economy and brought a lot of taxation to the British government. Because, whether it is the trade of wool or the export of textiles, it can bring a lot of pounds and export taxes to the British government. Therefore, the British economy has gradually risen, and the British government has also had the money to engage in large sailings...

The Teutonic Knights owned so many open spaces that the area was suitable for raising sheep. Of course, if you want to raise sheep in Eastern Europe, you must solve a very important problem - that is, the problem of winter feed for livestock.

Due to the lack of wintering feed, many European herders had to slaughter a large number of livestock and pickle them with salt before wintering. Otherwise, the winter feed is not enough...

Of course, if it is a grassland area, there is no such problem. Because, in European farming areas, there is a lack of forage, and in winter, even hay is very scarce. Unless, in grassland areas, there is enough forage.

As it happens, the Teutonic Knights have a large area of ​​unowned grassland. However, only many areas near the coast and near the big rivers were put on horses, cattle and sheep. In many inland areas, no one has developed...

Thinking of this, Marin suggested that Prince Philip should vigorously develop the breeding of wool sheep in the Teutonic Knights. Because, at the moment, the market for European wool is very good.

"Raising sheep? I know this, but I heard that it is difficult to get feed for sheep in winter. As soon as winter arrives, many farmers start to slaughter sheep and salt them..." Prince Philip also knew about the lower class people. life, but know a lot.

"His Royal Highness, it was in the Rhine River region. There was little land and many people, and there was not enough fodder. But in the inner Teutonic region, there are so many barren grasslands..."

"How are the sheep doing in winter?"

"Build a hay house, let the farmers harvest the hay before winter, pile it into the hay house, and when winter comes, take it out to feed the sheep..."

"Grass has to be harvested for reserves?" Prince Philip was a little surprised. In Europe, people in the Middle Ages were not yet used to stockpiling pasture. When winter comes, I like to slaughter sheep and marinate...

"Of course, what if the sheep starve to death in winter? Not only do we need to store fodder, but we also need to build a simple sheep shed to prevent the cold. Otherwise, in the cold winter in Eastern Europe, the sheep will freeze to death with long hair..."

"Okay, I've learned a lot. But is raising sheep really promising?"

"Of course, you can send someone to Flanders to ask if there is a shortage of wool there..."

"Uh...I really want to hear about the lack of wool in Flanders..."

"Isn't that what it is?"

"How to promote sheep farming?"

"It's very simple, enclosure!"

Then, with a little diabolical smile, Marin explained to Prince Philip how to enclosure...

However, Marin's enclosure method is very different from the British enclosure, and it is also much gentler.

The British enclosure is the forced occupation of the peasants' farmland by the nobles. The enclosure Marin said was to encourage the Teutonic knights to enclose those uninhabited public wastelands.

In addition, Marin suggested that those areas with relatively poor land and low food production should also be circled. Only the more fertile land near the river is reserved for cultivation. Growing food on barren land yields poor returns. But it's no problem to herd sheep.

In other words, Marin asked Prince Philip to take all the public wasteland and some barren farmland of the Teutonic Knights, and let the Teutonic Knights enclose them, transform them into pastures, and raise sheep on a large scale.

Sheep can provide not only wool, but also meat and batches, which is very economical. Moreover, management is also more convenient. At most, some labor is required when shearing and delivering ewes, and when harvesting pasture reserves. Usually, it is enough to send serfs to drive the sheep to graze. Even the shepherd dogs commonly used by the British can be introduced to help herd sheep and be vigilant.

And with the rising price of wool in the market today, the profit of raising sheep is very high...

At the same time, allowing those Teutonic knights to enclose the territory will also allow these Teutonic knights to gain a lot of benefits, making them more supportive and loyal to Prince Philip.

Also, the Teutonic Knights were different from other European countries. In the Teutonic state, nobles and knights were also taxed. Therefore, the more enclosures, the higher the Teutonic state's fiscal revenue. This is also beneficial to the economic development of the Teutonic state, as well as allowing the Teutonic state to spend more money to hire Swiss mercenaries...

In fact, Marin originally intended to raise sheep on his own territory. However, his territory is too small and the population is small. Now, his territory adds up to more than 300 square kilometers, which is not as big as a fraction of the Teutonic State. And Marin, as a visionary, also hopes to develop industry. The most basic industry of the industry is the textile industry. The development of the textile industry can promote the invention of machines. With machines, society will have greater progress.

Moreover, the taxes brought by the textile industry are also very considerable...

Marin found in the information provided by Prince Philip that although the Teutonic Knights had shrunk a lot in size, nearly half of the country had not yet been developed. If it can be used to herd sheep, I don’t know how many sheep can be raised...

If Marin develops the textile industry in the future, instead of raising sheep by himself, he can import wool from the Teutonic Knights, and then produce woolen textiles to sell to other countries and regions. As you come and go, you can also collect a lot of import and export taxes, and you can also provide jobs for a large number of people and solve their living problems...

In a word, encouraging the Teutonic state to raise sheep in enclosures is not only beneficial to the Teutonic state, but also beneficial to Marin's future development of the textile industry in his own territory and to promote economic development...

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