Just as the king was looking forward to it, Fukai and Colbert's messenger came to him on the same day. They brought good news. Fukai not only bought wheat weighing about a thousand Marto (about 500 liters per Marto), but also managed to smuggle artillery and muskets from the Sicilians. The king immediately summoned Fredrich Schaumberg, who was summoned by Bishop Mazaran and led about a thousand infantry to protect the king's general. He was born in Heidelberg and was a Protestant. Therefore, the Queen Mother Anne never slandered him. Fortunately, he did not have much contact with the noble lady - he obeyed the king's arrangements.

Although when he came, the Bishop said that he could obey the king's orders besides marching and fighting, General Schaumberg was a little confused, because the king was underage and was just a child, and it was said that he had been in exile at the age when he should have studied, and had not received an orthodox and coherent education. He was ready to welcome a irritable and innocent child, but the reality was much easier than he thought - the king was very tolerant of him and had hardly interfered in any decisions in his military operations. For those refugees who followed the king's lord, although His Majesty had his ideas, he still discussed it with him at the first time.

Regarding the king's decision - Shaumberg said that it was not to drive away, but to contain it. From the standpoint of the general, he agreed with it, for no other reason. Here we should mention the strange recruitment system of Europe.

As we all know, the number of state standing corps should be matched with the national strength of a country to ensure the supply and salary of the army, as well as the inevitable consumption of equipment, horses and camps. But we can also note that France is a microcosm of the whole Europe. Each country is fighting with another or several countries, sometimes for prestige, sometimes for status, sometimes for money and territory, and more for defending oneself and his family. The chaos in the inheritance law has aggravated this situation, so even the smallest country will have a huge army that is completely inconsistent with its size.

, In order to meet the needs of soldiers and officers and reduce their burdens, from a long time ago, there have been state-to-state mercenary transactions, that is, one country rents its own legions and equipment to another country for use. The most famous one is Italy, but the Holy Roman Empire, England or the former France is no exception. So if someone comes to the battlefield of this era, he will be surprised to see that a general of the Holy Roman Empire, his artillery comes from Italy, his musketeers come from France, his infantry comes from Denmark or other Germanic countries, and perhaps cavalry from the pagan areas.

Schaumberg's army was no exception. Because the time was delayed too long, some soldiers had fallen behind or fled. He urgently needed to replenish his troops. In his opinion, those refugees who had to abandon their homes due to famine and followed the king's throne were the best targets.

First: They are almost all young men - hunger is the cruelest and best screening machine, children and the elderly are always the first to fall, while women even prefer to starve to death than to leave the village or town because they know very well what they will encounter.

Second: These people only need a loaf of bread to be recruited into the military camp without temptation of salary or violent force, and they will not escape easily. Although staying in the military camp is likely to die on the battlefield, leaving the military camp will inevitably starve to death.

Third: Compared with the soldiers of the Holy Roman Empire, these French peasants certainly would rather believe in their kings, otherwise they would not have followed the king's carriage with their tired legs as soon as possible.

But Schumberg also knew very well that, just as Queen Mother Anne strongly opposed (even had a big fight with the king), tolerating these people means that they had to have something to eat. Now France is full of famine, and although they have enough Jin Lui, they may not be able to exchange for a large amount of food. By then, these thousands of people will become their threats. What is particularly annoying is that the places they passed by, the lords, not only did not offer food for the king and his entourage according to the law and tradition, but also instructed the merchants to raise the price of food to a terrible level.

But - Schumberg would laugh when he thought about this. Even the Bishop or the Queen Mother probably wouldn't have thought that the first battle he came here and many battles were not first fought with the rebels' army, but with the hoarding, unethical and loyal merchants. Although some merchants also hired guards, these guards were okay to deal with some poor and unarmed people, and they had no power to fight against these soldiers who had experienced thirty years of war.

This is what the king asked Schumberg to do.

At first, Schumberg was a little hesitant, but he soon found that this kind of thing was really interesting and enjoyable, especially when some hopeless lords dared to shout and ask the king to make decisions for them - the king's first attendant Bonton opened his eyes wide and asked them curiously that they were still mourning to the king before, saying that only wheat bran was left in the castle, so where did the wheat they were talking about now come from? If they were asking for merchants, France had laws and courts, please go to Paris and complain to the judges of the High Court. I think these respectable adults would give them justice.

How dare these lords and merchants go? Everyone knows that in Paris, both the judges of the High Court and Gaston, the Duke of Orleans, are all making money frantically. When they enter Paris, they will not be able to get out even if they are not peeled off.

Unfortunately, such behavior can be repeated, but not in the third place. Especially afterwards, the Lord and the merchants became obedient. Although they could not fully support this huge team to supplement all the supplies, they could at least make the right attitude. The problem is that in this way, the wheat like mountains continued to flow out like a river.

However, as soon as the general entered the room and saw the king's happy face, he knew that the two people they had valued were worthy of their trust. He quickly took off his hat and saluted the king deeply. Then, after getting permission, he walked forward and took the letter that had been opened. He first read Fukai's letter, and his smile never disappeared from beginning to end, while still inhaling deeply, as if he could smell the fragrance of wheat from the lines.

"Those cannons, muskets?"

"It's up to you." The king said that no one could understand his army more than Schumberg. According to Bontang's return, the general was very dedicated to his soldiers, so even if the employment period had passed and the harvest period was also in the army, the newly recruited soldiers Schumberg also saw them one by one, and appointed his most trusted officer to guide and train.

"I already have an idea," Shomberg said excitedly.

"And this one is Colbert." The king signaled Bonton to hand over the second letter to Saumbig. Saumbig opened it and read it. Colebert's harvest was even bigger than Fukai, but there was a ship of one of them, which was about ten Martos' cargo, and he couldn't understand it. "Please forgive me, Your Majesty, what is this 'Pombos'?"

It's potatoes.

But Louis couldn't say that directly, because the first discovery of potatoes was the Spanish in America, but they ate potatoes raw, of course, not only astringent but also poisonous; the Scots refused from the beginning because potatoes were not mentioned in the Bible, and they were buried underground, like devil's apples; as for the French, they took a different approach and tasted the berries produced by potatoes, it can be imagined that the sour taste was simply not something humans could tolerate.

There are also potatoes that are blue and directly killed, and the cut potatoes are black, so they are considered to be related to leprosy. Let’s not talk about it. Anyway, potatoes have become the most disgusting plant for Europeans since then. Only some noble people have grown some in the courtyard because their flowers are pretty beautiful.

Colbert's potatoes were obtained from America. He was an idea and courageous man. In his letter to the king, he said that he had roasted and cooked some potatoes according to the indigenous methods. No accident happened. He was also energetic and quick-witted. Moreover, the fruit could be eaten with a small piece, and the cooking method was simpler than wheat. Even if it was not washed, it could be cooked directly into the bonfire.

"A novel food," said Louis, "but it will be very delicious." He smiled at the still confused general, and had decided that when the potatoes were delivered here, the royal family would lead by example, and given people's curiosity, they might be willing to try such tubers that can save them from hunger now and in the future.

———————

They were at this time at Hetel, which was located on a high ground on the right bank of the Aene River. It was an important military fortress since the tenth century. The city walls were thick and the artillery was sharp. Fortunately, the Lord here was an absolute royalist party. As soon as he saw the king's envoy, he followed the envoys to meet the king and the queen mother. He was also very thoughtful in serving the royal family and his entourage. It was not a problem to organize a kitchen that satisfies the king.

What about potatoes - it is a kind of thing that can be used as a staple food, snacks, and dishes. The king's first servant Bang Tang took out a very careful and hard-cover recipe that made the kitchen hold their breath and calm down, and they dared not even say a word of extra - they washed the stuff that looked like a ball of mud according to the order that Bang Tang read out loudly, peeled the lumps of skin, then cut it into pieces, cut it into pieces, cut it into shreds... Roasted with chicken, cooked with pork, put it in the goose's belly or grilled with cheese, and then luxuriously prepared a large pot of oil, put the potato strips soaked in salt water and fry it...

The golden fried potato bars were first brought out. Of course, it was first sent to the king. Everyone stared at the king. Seeing him pick up a small pinch of salt, sprinkled it carefully and evenly, and flipped it slightly with a fork, then pinched them with his fingers and chewed them happily.

The rich fragrance made people's index fingers tremble. When their portion was put on the plate, everyone who participated in the banquet imitated the king, sprinkled salt, flipped it with a fork, and took their fingers - some anxious people grabbed it with their hands, but they were burned. Fortunately, almost everyone was immersed in the crispy and soft taste inside the fried potato strips, and the sweetness brought by the starch. Few people noticed that they were ugly.

Then there were potato roast chicken, pork stewed potatoes, cheese roasted potatoes... The new delicacy made people speculate, and some people guessed sweet potatoes similar to potatoes - interestingly, sweet potatoes are almost no different from potatoes, but sweet potatoes entered the European royal family decades ago and were popular, but potatoes have a ill-fated fate.
Chapter completed!