Medieval: Kingdom Come: Deliverance

June 24, night.

Peter conducted a battle debriefing and summary, rewarded those who had distinguished themselves, and promoted all reserve members of the combat team to full-fledged positions. Others who had distinguished themselves also received monetary or material rewards. Funerals were held for the six combat team members and nine militia comrades who had died in battle.

Almost everyone in the combat team was injured, but they were recovering rapidly thanks to the medicine Peter gave them and the bandages applied by Bojina and others.

Then, the camp held a bonfire party to celebrate the great victory.

Barrels of undiluted liquor were pushed to the square for the soldiers to drink freely; bottles of sweet wine were also distributed to women and children to savor the joy of victory; several captured fat pigs were roasted over a fire, and the falling fat sparked in the flames.

The crowd sang and danced, drank heartily, and ate large chunks of meat. Some even broke into a bohemian tap dance around the campfire, and some of the energetic young men even had their feet bruised by the girls' feet!

The more than four hundred captured militiamen were crammed into the sheepfold, where a few strong women brought them some water and hard bread; the mercenaries and the lord's guards were tied up and thrown into the dungeon, listening to the revelry outside and swallowing their saliva at the aroma wafting over.

After the great battle, a relaxing activity was needed to ease the tension in everyone's nerves at the camp. Peter sipped his wine, occasionally returning the toasts to those who raised their glasses.

Suddenly, the sentry in charge of perimeter security reported that someone outside the mountain was requesting an audience.

Peter left quietly and met Captain Thomas, who was traveling light.

"Thanks for your previous intelligence, Thomas."

Peter warmly shook hands with Thomas.

It turned out that after Thomas was defeated and injured by Peter, he was ruthlessly abandoned by the young master of Borgo. Not only was he stripped of his captaincy, but he was also frequently abused by his sister Diana under the guise of drunkenness. The siblings had relied on each other for survival and served the Borgo family for so many years, only to be treated like this. Finally, they could no longer endure it. Just then, the handsome Charles, disguised as a wandering knight, sneaked into the castle and quickly won the favor of many noble ladies and young girls, including Diana.

Handsome Charlie, wielding his influence, recruited Thomas into his public relations team. The intelligence regarding Count Borgo's authorization letter a week prior was leaked through their joint efforts.

"I am at your service, Lord Peter." Thomas bowed respectfully.

Perhaps it was the trauma of Peter's five-man victory over thirteen others that left such a deep impression on Thomas. Or perhaps Thomas transformed his hatred for the young lord of Porgo into loyalty to Peter, which explains why his favorability rating was surprisingly high.

"Ding! Thomas's favorability has reached 60. He is willing to join your ranks. Do you agree? Open the character panel."

"agree."

Peter patted Thomas on the shoulder and led him to his chieftain's cabin.

Checking Thomas's stats, I found his loyalty was a whopping 72, and all his attributes were quite good. His riding skill was even at an advanced level, and his swordsmanship was also very strong. If he hadn't encountered Old Martin, who possessed both golden talent and extraordinary swordsmanship, in the last battle, Thomas wouldn't have suffered such a crushing defeat. It wasn't that he was weak, but rather that his opponent was too strong.

After everyone was seated inside, Peter said, "The Griffin family always rewards merit. I remember your and Charlie's contributions. For now, you still need to remain in hiding, so it's not convenient to give a grand celebration. Here are three small crosses that I carved myself. Take these and give one to Charlie and one to your sister Diana. Wearing them will keep you healthy."

The money isn't much, but the emotional value needs to be maximized.

"Thank you for your kindness."

Thomas held the small, slightly rough cross, about the length of three fingers, carefully in his hands. Handsome Charlie had been boasting to him about Lord Peter's miraculous blessing abilities, and this cross might just be the key prop.

Peter continued, "Charlie has already received my family crest and been blessed. I will not forget you either. Now, kneel down!"

"Thump!"

Thomas knelt on one knee, straightened his upper body, and lowered his head slightly.

Peter drew his sword and tapped the man's shoulder twice. "Recite the Griffin family motto after me: Fear not the mighty, nor bully the weak. Repay kindness, pay debts."

Peter took the opportunity to open Thomas's panel and added half of his remaining points.

"We are not afraid of the powerful, nor do we bully the weak. We repay kindness and debts!"

Thomas was reciting solemnly when he suddenly felt a surge of heat coursing through his body, rushing from his heels to the top of his head. The sensation was so pleasant that he almost lost control of his kneeling posture.

Is this Lord Griffin's blessing? Thomas was overjoyed. Charlie hadn't lied to him after all; Lord Peter was indeed a knight of God, blessed by the divine!

He also had the good fortune to gain some luck, and his physical stats increased significantly. His swordsmanship, horsemanship, and archery skills became much easier to master. He felt like he could beat three of his previous selves!

"Thomas will serve the Griffin family forever!"

Thomas announced loudly. Looking at the three slightly rough little crosses again, they suddenly seemed quite presentable.

"Ding! Thomas's loyalty +10"

......

Peter nodded in satisfaction, helped the man up, and said, "I don't need you to die; I want you to live well. Tell me, what brings you here this time?"

"That old dog Ulrich wants to redeem Janpolgaard."

Thomas stated bluntly, "I have a plan. I can pretend to ransom that fool and his gang of guards, who will actually be warriors from our camp in disguise. Once they enter the gates of Trossky Castle, we can quickly take control of the castle and thus the entire territory!"

"Oh, tell me more about it."

Seeing that Thomas seemed very interested and eager to talk, Peter knew that it would be difficult for him to keep it bottled up, so he encouraged him to share his plan.

"Yes, sir, it is like this, and so on..."

Thomas was very familiar with the castle; he knew the personnel arrangement, shift changes, and watchtower arrow emplacements by heart. He had mentally rehearsed the entire operation many times, and he was confident that he could capture the castle with just twenty warriors. He proceeded to explain with great enthusiasm, spittle flying everywhere.

Peter smiled and poured him a glass of wine. "To soothe your throat, my warrior. Your plan is perfect, but not now. The time is not yet ripe."

"Timing? You mean Count von Polgár, who is about to return from Prague?"

Thomas paused his incessant chatter, took a sip of wine, and pondered the meaning behind Peter's words. He wasn't a fool; he had received a systematic military education and served as captain of the castle guard for several years. He immediately connected the dots to the wealthy and powerful count. The count possessed more than just Troschi; he commanded numerous vassals and soldiers. His experience far surpassed that of the inexperienced young lord of Borgo.

Peter explained, "The castle is there, it can't be moved, it doesn't matter whether it's sooner or later. The old count's troops are the real threat. Otherwise, even if I captured the castle, I would only be besieged by their army. The natural barrier of the camp is more effective in protecting me."

"So, you're plotting against the approaching earls' armies?"

Thomas immediately understood the meaning behind Peter's words.

"Thomas, you're very smart. That's why I need you and Charlie to continue your undercover work, because I might need you."

Peter admired this captain who had received systematic military training, a rare type in his current team.

"Yes, sir, I understand. I will obey your orders completely. Will young Master Borgo still be redeemed?"

Thomas suppressed his hatred for the young master of Borgo and chose to accept the order.

"Yamporg is a piece of trash. Keeping him in my hands is like keeping a parasite tied to a dungeon. Only when he's back where he can be useful will he continue to be a piece of trash. So, the ransom is negotiable, but it has to be a high price. What's your suggestion?"

Just as the Eight-Nation Alliance kept the old witch, Yugoslavia kept old Hamed, and the Ottoman Empire kept King Gigi, only by letting these useless people who are good at internal strife but kneel to Wang Jingwei in power can we maximize our interests.

Thomas meticulously analyzed, "The Troskii territory has over two thousand inhabitants, 3000 hectares of arable land, one mine, one quarry, and six horse ranches and sheep pens. The annual poll tax is around 2000 groschen, and the income from produce is around 3000 groschen. Combined, this provides the castle with 5000 groschen annually. Generally, the ransom for a captured noble is one to two times their annual income. Therefore, your demand for 5000 to 10,000 groschen is a reasonable request. However, that miser Ulrich clearly looks down on you and has only agreed to a ransom of 2000 groschen. Anything exceeding that will have to wait until the Count's army arrives."

Based on the calculation that an ordinary citizen earns 1 pfennig per day, a soldier earns 3 pfennig, a craftsman earns 5 pfennig, and a mercenary earns 1 groshen, 2000 groshens is a considerable sum.

But for a lord, this amount of money is only enough to hire 100 mercenaries, which is only enough for 20 days' wages. Isn't that a lot?

Skaritz's territory was not as large as Trossky's, but he owned a silver mine and earned around 50,000 groschen a year; in the game's storyline, Henry and his gang robbed 500,000 groschen from the Kutenberg silver vault.

Compared to that, 2000 Grossen is really a small amount of money.

"Ha, so you're saying that the old butler treated me like an ignorant beggar? He tried to fob me off with two thousand groschen?"

Peter shook his head and sneered.

"That's not surprising, sir. Ulshiri has controlled all the affairs of the castle for many years, treating the land and property as his own, and embezzling a great deal of it. He's unwilling to pay that much money, partly to deceive you, and partly because he's afraid that if he pays too much, Polgar will discover his embezzlement."

Those on the inside know the situation best.

"The more the enemy doesn't want to do something, the more we should make it happen. This is also an important step in regaining Yangpolgao's trust and laying the groundwork for our next plan." Peter pondered for a moment and said, "Talk to him a few more times, pull him along, and then ransom the young master before the old count returns. Go, meet the young master, give him some sweetness, let him know Ulrich's sinister intentions, and your unwavering loyalty."

"What is the amount of the ransom?"

"Haha, tell that young master the actual income of the territory, and he will accurately assess his own worth. We should trust the self-awareness of a fool."

"Yes, I understand what to do."

Thomas smirked, eager to see the pathetic state of his once arrogant young master.