Simon didn't know that the Duke of Cologne had already fueled his plans behind his back. He has been focusing on the construction of his own territory these days, especially the reinforcement of the castle walls and the improvement of the new crossbow.

Lange's marriage made Simon's sense of crisis become stronger and stronger. Only by constantly investing in his own territory and improving his strength can he gain a sense of security.

Unlike the busyness some time ago, the territory now is no longer the territory that I took over two years ago, and Simon no longer does everything himself.

His daily life was quite leisurely, and his daily swordsmanship and riding skills were not over. He usually went to the carpenter shop and blacksmith shop in Kooth Village to talk about the golden ideas in his heart and communicated with the craftsmen.

Thanks to the fact that Ryan has a smart mind and natural sensitivity to numbers. After he was appointed as the chief financial officer by Simon, he would have a well-organized account book placed at the lord's table every quarter, which saved Simon a lot of trouble. Of course, Simon is a generous person, and his rewards are indispensable.

It is worth mentioning that Simon doesn't think that his soldiers are militia now.

To be honest, these strong and well-equipped soldiers now do not look like militia. Except for the newly enlisted young men who lack combat experience, Miller and Hann, who were responsible for training them, dared to swear to God that these soldiers can fight back and forth with the Count's personal guards.

Currently, Simon has seventy armored infantry, ten armored light cavalry, twelve longbowmen, and six crossbowmen.

Only a few of them survived the last battle as Simon's standing guard, while the rest were in a semi-productive state. In addition to training, they had to spend half of their time working in the fields to ensure the territory's grain harvest in the coming year.

When the war comes, these soldiers are Simon's most elite force. In addition, when Simon's vassals gather for the war, they will also bring a certain number of recruits from their territory according to feudal obligations.

Fortunately, Simon left many tattered leather armor in the last war, armed clothing and curved weapons in his armory. When the recruits were assembled, Simon was able to provide these unprotected farmers with some basic armor and weapons to improve their battlefield survival rate.

After all, labor is also one of the lord's precious assets, and allowing it to survive on the battlefield is tantamount to pushing its territory to bankruptcy.

However, Simon was not generous and kind to the point of being selfless. The things that were lent to the recruits would be counted, and after the war they had to return the borrowed weapons and armor in full.

Although it is a bit troublesome, the benefits are obvious - armor and weapons give the recruits more confidence, and the fear of war will be diluted, and they can exert greater power.

"My old friend, the spy whom Sir Julian stayed seemed very interested in our carpenters," Ludwig hurried into the hall of the lords like a shadow, and came to Simon's throne, attached to his ear, "He seemed to be looking for opportunities to steal something from it in the evening."

Simon's carpenter lives in the village of Cooser, where his shop and warehouse are located on a gentle slope by the river. When night falls, the carpenter who has been busy for a day will store the tools and crossbows sold in the store into the locked warehouse behind the store, and then go to the bungalow next to the warehouse to rest.

Although the carpenter shop is the focus of the soldiers guarding the night patrol, Simon did not want any possible accidents because the carpenter's warehouse had an unfinished winch crossbow, which Simon directed the carpenter and blacksmith to create one small piece after another to assemble it.

"Then let others evaporate. Remember, be clean and neat, don't drag it on, don't leave any traces." Simon's eyes became cold.

If the spy had stolen the soon-to-be-finished winch crossbow, it would not be a matter of in vain for Simon and the craftsmen's efforts over the past few months.

At this time, the spy who was left by Julian was not aware of the coming danger.

His name is Carus. Judging from his honest and honest appearance, no one would doubt that he is an honest businessman.

During the day, he used his identity as a cover to sell some gadgets to the residents of Kooth Village and secretly collected various information and intelligence.

And when night falls, he will sneak out of the tavern's guest room and wander silently like a ghost in the village, looking for opportunities to obtain information.

Tonight seems to be a little different from before. The thick clouds were driven away by the strong night wind in a short while. The bright moonlight hung in the starry sky like a hot and bright oil lamp, providing a faint light to the dark earth.

Carus took off the cowhide horny hat on his head from the guest room of the Maizi Tavern, took off the blue wool robe on his body, changed into a dark linen, gently closed the door, tiptoed down the stairs of the tavern, and slipped out from the unattended back door of the tavern.

There is a torch inserted in every few houses on the street. Even so, many places in the village are shrouded in the darkness of the invisible fingers. These places can only be illuminated by the guards who are patrolling the night.

Carus was both excited and nervous. He carefully took off a well-maintained hunting bow from behind, and then pulled out a light arrow from the calfskin quiver around his waist and placed it on the bowstring. In the past few days, he had figured out the habits and rules of the night patrol soldiers, so he decided to do it tonight.

When he was a child, Carus was afraid of the darkness. Whenever he poked his head out of his house at night and looked out the window, he felt that there were hideous devils and monsters feeding on children in the bottomless darkness outside.

And now the other way around, when he avoided the night patrol soldiers in the darkness as sensitively as a light feather, he found himself in love with the feeling of being bathed in the darkness.

"This is the carpenter's shop," Carus, who was squatting under the eaves of a dark back of a house, murmured to himself, "You must not miss this ticket. Lord Julian promised me that if I could make something valuable, he would reward me with at least ten Denell silver coins."

Carus' eyes focused on the reflection of the flames at the entrance of the alley ahead. As the shadow of the fully armed Night Patrol soldier grew longer and further and his steps were getting farther and farther away, Carus licked his dry lips, pressed his steps, and moved forward silently.

In the darkness, Carus touched the fence of the carpenter's backyard. He raised his head and peeked at the carpenter's backyard, and his eyes were locked on the locked warehouse - for him, there was a swan that could only lay golden eggs hidden in the warehouse.

Just as he was about to open the fence, a pair of thick calloused hands covered his nose and mouth from behind. Carus opened his eyes wide, and the suffocation swelled like a tide that flooded him.

At the same time, the other hands tied his hands and feet with strong ropes like cold iron pliers.

Perhaps because he was afraid that Carus would be suffocated to death by being covered by him, the calloused hands moved down a little, allowing Carus' nose to regain oxygen. Suddenly, a heavy and rapid breathing sounded in the alley.

"Bundled." A low low voice came from the darkness.

Immediately afterwards, the hands left Carus' mouth, but before he could react, a large ball of fishy and smelly linen was stuffed into his mouth, making him unable to make any sound, and even fainted by the strong smell.

The two carried Carus toward the old mill in the north of the village. It was the mill that originally belonged to Koliff, leaning against a large forest that extended to the northern Principality of Flanders.

When they came along the path to the old mill, an armed soldier holding a donkey had been waiting there for a long time, and was pacing back and forth impatiently.

The three of them worked together to put Carus on the donkey's back, and then led the donkey toward the dense forest.

Under a thick fur beech in the forest, a long large pit has been dug during the day. It will not take long before it will be refilled, and the fur beech will also get a new nutrient rich in nutrients.

"Simon, they succeeded," Ludwig walked into the lord's hall. Without his surprise, Simon was sitting by the fireplace and napping. "The mouse, as you wish, has evaporated from the world. In addition, we found this thing in his guest room."

As he said that, Ludwig handed Simon a parchment, and the handwriting on it was crooked, making Simon's eyes blurred.

"The above mainly records the names of the nobles who had been with you during this period, the number of soldiers and equipment, and the main defense locations in the territory. Fortunately, we strangled him into the cradle before he collected more information." Ludwig swallowed.

"Very good, my old friend," Simon slapped the roll into the fireplace, and the flames of Xiong's eyes quickly swallowed it. "Beautiful job, go to Leanna tomorrow to get five Denell silver coins, and treat yourself, and your men."
Chapter completed!