On the morning of the seventieth day of their garrison duty at Talburg, Lawrence returned to Talburg with a detachment from the Quartermaster Corps, bringing three carriages: two carrying fresh meat, vegetables, and other food supplies, and one carrying arrows, lamp oil, and other siege defense equipment.
Thanks to the plunder after the occupation of Biertun Fort, Talburg's food reserves were still sufficient, but fresh fruits and vegetables were extremely scarce because these perishable goods were directly ignored during the plunder of Biertun Fort.
Furthermore, small vendors of fresh fruits and vegetables from Glarus County dared not bring such fresh goods to Talburg for trade, so the few carriages of supplies brought by the Quartermaster Corps this time greatly pleased the defenders of Talburg.
Accompanying the detachment were seventeen young men recruited by the Quartermaster Corps to garrison Talburg, and a private letter from Olov to Art.
The food supplies were stored in Talburg's storeroom, and the young men were handed over to Odo and Angus for training arrangements.
At this moment, Art was reading Bishop Olov's private letter.
In his letter, Bishop Olov praised Art's brave fighting during his border garrison duty and promised to request the Court to commend Art.
Bishop Olov also emphasized in the letter that Art's army must maintain reverence for God: first, they must not disturb sacred church grounds, and second, they must not wantonly kill innocent civilians.
Lawrence was sitting on a wooden stool opposite Art, reporting on the Quartermaster Corps' affairs.
"Earl, Old Butler and Steward Sartre are currently in Zurich.
The southern goods trade for this Quartermaster Corps has encountered a big problem."
Art's heart tightened upon hearing this, and he quickly asked, "What big problem?"
"Because we brought too many southern goods this time, the Southern Goods Trade Guild in Zurich has been making things difficult for us.
They said that the selling price of the southern goods we brought into Zurich was too low, severely disrupting the southern goods market in Zurich, and ordered that our goods must be increased in price.
They also demanded that all southern goods transported into Zurich must either pay a tax of fifteen percent to the guild or pay a guild fee of 10,000 fenni to join the guild as a member of the Zurich Trade Guild; otherwise, they will impound all our goods."
"Earl, those dozen or so carriages of southern goods are worth nearly 50,000 fenni!" Lawrence's voice was filled with uncontrollable anxiety.
Art tried to calm himself down after hearing this and asked, "Didn't you show them the sealed document from Tinietz County for transporting military supplies?"
"We showed it to them at first.
They said that most of these southern goods were not military supplies, so they refused to acknowledge it.
They even threatened that we were misappropriating military Quartermaster Corps to privately carry goods and would send us to the Court for severe punishment." Lawrence's face was filled with indignation.
"Then did you try to establish connections with the guild?"
"It was useless.
Old Butler and Steward Sartre later sought out several guild leaders, attempting to offer them some valuables to settle the matter, but they refused to accept anything.
Now the Quartermaster Corps is being watched by the guild's armed forces, and our goods simply cannot leave Zurich.
If we follow the prices set by the guild for those goods, we simply cannot compete with the local southern goods merchants."
"Old Butler and Steward Sartre are currently trying to contact southern goods shops in the city to see if they can sell the southern goods after the price increase."
"Sartre also told me that after the Quartermaster Corps expanded, it would definitely encounter exclusion from large merchants and guilds in various places.
But now, with the ongoing war, north-south trade is basically cut off, and Zurich indeed needs goods from the south.
Why would the guild suddenly stand up and make things difficult for the southern goods Quartermaster Corps at this time?" Art recalled Sartre's past explanations about the power of guilds.
"Lawrence, have you encountered difficulties in other places?" Art asked Lawrence.
"No, the goods we brought from Talburg were also sold at very low prices, but no one cared, and everything went smoothly in other places.
It was only after we returned to Zurich shortly after purchasing southern goods from the south that the guild members found us as soon as we found a place to stay." Lawrence recalled carefully.
"That's strange~ Why? It doesn't make sense~" Art lowered his head and thought for a long time but couldn't figure out the crux of the problem.
After a while, Lawrence tentatively asked, "Earl, could you write a letter to Vice Minister, asking if he can help us?"
Art shook his head and said, "Earl Baldwin is currently swamped with the eastern war, so how could he bother with our small matters?
Besides, given our relationship with Earl Baldwin, he might not even be willing to help."
Art thought for a moment longer, then said, "You've reminded me.
Bishop Olov is now the Bishop of Lusesen Diocese.
He must know some influential officials and nobles in Zurich, and he might have some influence within the guild.
Now we can only ask Bishop Olov for help."
With that, Art turned around and pulled out the wooden box from under his bed, took out a set of quill pens and carbon ink paper, and began writing a letter to Bishop Olov.
In the letter, Art explained that the purpose of the Quartermaster Corps was to support the huge expenses of the Talburg garrison and described the difficulties the Quartermaster Corps was currently facing.
Finally, he hoped that Bishop Olov could step forward to help coordinate, with all resulting expenses borne by the Quartermaster Corps itself.
"Lawrence, I must stay in Talburg now and cannot personally go to see Bishop Olov.
Tomorrow, you will take the Quartermaster Corps detachment and this private letter back to Zurich and, together with Cooper Sartre, go to Lucerne to find Bishop Olov, and please ask him to help us overcome this difficulty."
"Tell Cooper and Sartre to stay firm.
Those guild fellows always bully the weak and fear the strong.
We will definitely deal with these people again in the future, and if we show weakness now, we won't be able to be tough later," Art instructed.
Lawrence took the wax-sealed private letter, carefully placed it into his waist pouch after it dried, and looked up at Art, replying, "Earl, there's no need to wait until tomorrow.
I'll set off with the convoy after lunch.
The sooner the matter is resolved, the less loss the Quartermaster Corps will incur."
"Good, have Spencer prepare some delicious food for you all." Art greatly admired Lawrence's drive.
After Lawrence left, Art still sat by the wooden table, contemplating how to solve the problems encountered by the Quartermaster Corps.
For future development, the Quartermaster Corps would continue to expand, and in this process, it would certainly encounter many similar problems.
If he couldn't think about how to solve them in advance, it would be even more difficult to deal with these problems after the war ended.
While Art was still deep in thought, Angus walked in.
Seeing that Art was completely unresponsive, he gently tapped the edge of the table in front of Art.
"Earl Art, so engrossed.
Could it be that you're thinking of your Miss Lottie?"
Art snapped out of his thoughts, smiled at Angus, and then his face became serious as he said, "How can I have the mind to think about such things now?
Sergeant, our Quartermaster Corps has encountered trouble in Zurich.
The Zurich Trade Guild has impounded our goods." Art explained in detail to Angus the difficulties the Quartermaster Corps had encountered in Zurich.
Angus scratched his hair and said, "This is going to be difficult.
I grew up in Zurich and am accustomed to the faces of those guild fellows, especially the Trade Guild.
Their members are all wealthy and influential big merchants, not only deeply intertwined with powerful officials and nobles in the Court, but the Trade Guild also has a well-equipped guild guard under its command, and many ruffians and scoundrels in Zurich also work for the guild.
These people are ruthless and unscrupulous, stopping at nothing for personal gain, making them difficult to deal with."
Art covered his face with both hands and wiped it, "I didn't expect the guild people to come so quickly.
I have already sent Lawrence with a letter to Bishop Olov in Lucerne, requesting Bishop Olov to step forward and help resolve the issue."
"Hmm, right now, only the church people can make those guild fellows hesitate.
Earl Art, you certainly know how to find a backer," Angus said with a smile.
"I can't leave now.
The Quartermaster Corps' difficulties can only be resolved by Cooper and Sartre themselves with the help of Bishop Olov."
"By the way, Sergeant, what was the result of your scouting mission in Bilton?" Art decided to temporarily put aside the Quartermaster Corps' affairs and focus his energy on the area around Talburg.
Angus straightened his body and replied seriously, "I came to tell you about this.
Yesterday, I took Roan to scout around Bilton.
The city walls of Biertun Fort are now guarded and patrolled by dozens of elite Soldiers, with very tight defenses.
The surrounding villages, manors, and settlements of all sizes have all closed their gates, and travelers on all roads have ceased.
The entire Bilton jurisdiction is in a state of alarm.
It seems that fellow Geoffrey has been scared out of his wits.
He's still worried that we might take advantage of the situation to reoccupy Bilton or lead troops to plunder the surrounding villages and manors."
"Baron Geoffrey won't be coming out for now, but we still need to guard against enemy troops from Teblen City.
Have Roan's Sentry Cavalry continue to monitor the border movements, and report immediately if there's any abnormality."
Art swallowed, then continued, "The army has been fighting continuously for two months.
Taking advantage of this peaceful period, I plan to let the army rest and train.
There were considerable Soldier casualties recently, and all small teams have vacancies.
This time, Lawrence brought another batch of young men.
Along with those captive laborers who have regained their free status, they will all be incorporated into the new recruit team.
You and Odo should quickly conduct basic training for the new recruits, and then reassign them to Soldier squads.
Odo will be primarily responsible for new recruit training, and you will assist.
Additionally, see if there are any Soldiers in Talburg suitable for cavalry.
If there are such Soldiers, select them and have them train separately with you, accompanying the Sentry Cavalry."
"By the way, how are Earl Baldwin's conscripted peasant Soldiers and laborers doing now?"
"Odo is trying to keep some peasant Soldiers with Soldier potential.
Currently, four unattached men have decided to join us; it's hard to say about the others," Angus replied.
"Hmm, keep all those who are willing to be Soldiers.
As long as the number isn't too large, I'll just report them as battle deaths to Earl Baldwin.
If others are determined to leave, give them some food and money to go home.
After all, they've served overtime for so long, and now the pressure of the war in Talburg isn't great, and most of them have families and land, so we can't force them to stay."
After Angus took his leave, Art sat quietly for a while, then thought of the difficulties encountered by the Quartermaster Corps again, and couldn't help but murmur, "The trade routes are difficult to navigate~"
In the public office of the Zurich Trade Guild, Dean, a squire dressed in brocade and luxurious clothes, was clinking glasses with the guild leader, John George.
"Uncle John, I toast this drink to you on behalf of my father, thanking you for upholding justice for our family." Dean raised his silver goblet, lightly clinked it against the guild leader's goblet, and then drained it.
The guild leader also took a large gulp, patted his protruding belly, and replied, "Your father is a good friend of mine.
We've been doing business together for many years, so how could I stand by and do nothing about his affairs?
Moreover, the southern goods trade route from Tinietz to Zurich has always been controlled by your family.
That commoner, having just fortuitously been promoted to squire, now presumes to meddle in north-south trade during wartime, truly believing that he rules the world.
He's still a bit naive.
Go back and tell your father to rest assured.
I will definitely let those commoners who snatch food from the tiger's mouth know what it means for trade routes to be difficult to navigate!!!"
The guild leader uttered a few harsh words, then touched the bulging money bag on the table and laughed loudly.
Dean also chuckled a few times in accompaniment.
After laughing for a while, the guild leader remembered another matter and quietly asked Dean, "Dean, you are now responsible for escorting military supplies for Vice Minister.
How did that matter I spoke to you about last time turn out?"
Dean looked around furtively, and after confirming no one was present, he leaned into the guild leader's ear and whispered, "I've already swapped that batch of newly requisitioned military grain for the aged grain from your warehouse and transported it to the eastern front.
That batch of military grain will be delivered to your grain store tomorrow~ According to our old rules, I'll take three parts of the profit."
The guild leader's smile grew even wider upon hearing this...
