vstars Chapter 274 Mercenaries or Army?
Chapter 274 Mercenaries or Army?
In the early morning, the port of Bernas was bustling as usual, with ships constantly entering or leaving the port. At the urging of the foreman, the dock workers moved the cargo from the ships to the ground, and then transported it to the warehouses of major chambers of commerce via horse-drawn carriages.
Suddenly, the sound of bells echoed in the ears of everyone in the port. According to past practice, this meant that a Midland warship was about to dock.
"There are warships docking, three-masted sailing ships, prepare a large port!"
Soon a warship was guided into the port. It was a three-masted sailing ship. From a distance, its huge hull was almost one level higher than the other ships, and the dozens of trapdoors on it for artillery firing were deterring all lawless elements in this sea area. Of course, the most important thing was the blue Midland flag logo printed on the sail.
While the port manager was waiting, two men in Midland naval officer uniforms came down and immediately said after meeting him:
"We are here under the order of Lord Saint Hill, the commander-in-chief of the Midland Sea Fleet, to assist Governor John in his military mission. We now require your port to provide a harbor for three three-masted sailing ships, five brigantine ships, and ten sloops."
Upon hearing these requests, the official at the Bernas port was a little confused, because he had not received any notification of the warship docking. However, his doubts were soon dispelled by a document signed by Saint Hill and with the seal of the West Sea Fleet Headquarters, the seal of the Bernas office at the headquarters, and the family seal of Saint Hill.
It's just that the higher-ups only need to issue tasks, while port managers have to consider a lot, and if more berthing spaces are to be vacated, it will lead to a sharp drop in the port's tax revenue on merchant ships.
"Can you please make some concessions? There are still many merchant ships unloading cargo. How about cleaning up the port in a few days?"
"Stop talking nonsense. The above-mentioned warships will arrive at Bernas in three days. If you fail to complete the specified tasks, I will have no choice but to take you to the headquarters for punishment."
After hearing this, the port officials knew that this matter had to be dealt with quickly, so after calming down the naval officers, a group of people began to clean up the port in a hurry.
While the port was busy, the Black Watch mercenary company stationed in Bernas was also busy. Since the local city hall was slightly short of staff, the mercenaries were hired to collect taxes. Although it seemed that the city hall had paid John an extra fee.
"859 gold coins plus 500 silver coins, registered, put into storage!"
Carriages loaded with taxes kept coming into the mercenary company. After the civil servants had counted them, the mercenaries took the boxes of taxes into the warehouse. Tomorrow, the transport convoy from Mondemarsan would take all the taxes away.
Looking at the busy scene outside the window, the person in charge of the Black Watch branch in Bernas, who was also the captain of this thousand-man mercenary team, nodded while sitting in the office. Although this branch has been open for less than two months, it has now received such a big job. The commission can not only pay the wages, but also expand the construction of the branch. At the same time, relying on the advantages of the port, the mercenary business here in the future may no longer be limited to the army, but may develop Black Watch's first mercenary warship and accept escort missions from the sea.
Just as he was thinking about the future development of the branch, there was a knock on the door. After being allowed to enter, a girl in a black dress walked into the office. The captain quickly recognized her identity. She was a staff member who had just been recruited as the front desk clerk.
"Sir, the branch president of the Andrew Chamber of Commerce is causing trouble again. This time he brought a lot of people with him and wants to drive our guests away."
"Don't worry, I'll go see him." The centurion waved his hand and was led by the front desk to the company's lobby. As soon as he came in, he found that there were more than a dozen people surrounded by fully armed mercenaries, and outside the door there was a group of people suspected to be gang members who were blocked by mercenaries. However, these people did not look like they were looking for trouble, so the centurion ignored them and walked directly towards the group of people surrounded by mercenaries in the lobby.
"Isn't this the branch president of the Andrew Chamber of Commerce? What's the matter? Do you need any mercenary services?" The centurion said politely with a smile on his face.
Although the branch president looked like a biological man, he had a belly that looked like he was pregnant for several months and asked:
"Are you really confused or just pretending to be confused? Don't you know why I'm here? Let me ask you, who gave you the guts to collect taxes from our Andrew Chamber of Commerce? Our Andrew Chamber of Commerce enjoys tax exemption in Bernas, how dare you be qualified to pay me a tax bill!"
Listening to the branch president's explanation, the centurion explained directly:
"Due to the king's order, the taxation of Bernas has been transferred from the local municipal government to Lord John, so your Chamber of Commerce also needs to reassess the taxation."
However, the branch president scoffed at the centurion's words, and continued to threaten:
"Let me tell you, now there are people from our Andrew Chamber of Commerce in every department of Bernas. If you forcefully collect taxes from our Andrew Chamber of Commerce, do you believe that your Black Watch will be driven out of Bernas tomorrow?"
The centurion ignored his threat and walked straight to a wall where hung the profile portraits of Charlie and John, the commander-in-chief of Blackwatch.
"Before I make my final response to your threat, I would like to let you know a little about the history of the Black Watch Mercenary Company and some of its characteristics."
"Eight years ago, Governor John founded a mercenary company based on an army to solve the army's funding problem. In the following years, through perfect service and commission completion rate, Black Watch stood out from the competition of many mercenary groups and became the largest mercenary group in Midland."
"But I also want to remind you that Black Watch was founded on the basis of the army, so it is not a business team, but an army that is completing the business mission assigned by Lord John."
"That is to say, if anyone dares to block Blackwatch's business mission or when Lord John needs it, all mercenaries will no longer abide by any business rules, but will assemble as an army and go to the battlefield to fight the enemy. The battlefield here can be a wilderness or a city, and the enemies here can be the Yoda people, the Lana people, or the Mitlan people."
"So I have a question for you."
After the centurion finished speaking, he grabbed the Andrew Chamber of Commerce branch president by the neck, lifted him up and asked:
"Who gave you such courage, a fool, to actually dare to obstruct the mission issued by Lord John!"