"Poland, Zaporozhye, Tsarist Russia. , "After listening to Uncle Pedro's description of the war situation {basically approximating the conversation between Franco and Feodor Obuhovich}, Tcherchen crossed his fingers and mumbled a few times before raising his head and asking, "Uncle Pedro, then we should join over there"

    "Uh-huh."

    Pedro was just about to speak when several of his companions, who had been lying lazily nestled in their beds a moment before, straightened up early and shouted their opinions.

    "Poland, of course, aren't we going to Smolensk to deliver this cargo just in time to throw in the army."

    Here's what one of them had to say.

    "Are you stupid, didn't you hear that Czarist Russia and Zaporozhye's Cossacks are getting ready to fight their way through? Two against one, and it's a death to go to Smolensk."

    No sooner had the man finished speaking than a man next to him retorted.

    The first man who spoke choked on his words for a moment.

    "According to me it's better to go to the army of Czarist Russia. I've heard they pay their mercenaries in furs, and that's worth more than spices in India."

    The crowd spoke, no one could convince anyone, and the room became a pot of noise.

    "Stop." Finally, Pedro rěn, he shouted, putting an end to the endless bickering.

    "Chechen, what do you think which side we join." Pedro said to his young nephew in a pleasant manner. Just now, Chechen was the only one who hadn't expressed an opinion.

    "Uncle, I... I think," Chetchen hesitated a little.

    "It's okay, speak your mind boldly." Pedro encouraged.

    Feeling the encouragement in his uncle's gaze, Chechen said boldly.

    "I think we should join the side of justice."

    Chechen's voice wasn't loud, but in such a small room, every word was clearly heard by everyone.

    Spinning around, there was a deathly silence.

    Everyone was stunned.

    "Ahahahahaha." I don't know who was the first to react and let out a sky-shaking laugh. Then all of them laughed, one after another.

    In this situation, Chechen was a bit at a loss for words. He didn't know what was so funny about his words, was it wrong to join the side of justice?

    Seeing that Chechen was dumbfounded, Pedro, who had nearly gone off the deep end in laughter a moment ago, had to round off the conversation.

    "Well, well. What Chechen said is also right. Justice will prevail. Of course we should join the winning side. My Chechen is well-read and speaks euphemistically."

    After saying that, Pedro grabbed Chechen's hair with his bushy hand and shook his head. Waking him up from his dumbfounded state.

    But in his heart, Pedro felt that he brought Chechen out is not a kind of mistake, from a young age to receive chivalry education Chechen if he stayed in Spain, although there is no inheritance, but still can be peaceful life; and as a mercenary, the biggest danger is not more than this worthless sense of justice, it is more than the sword also want to people's lives.

    However, the thought passed through Pedro's mind for only a moment. It was the matter at hand that was more realistic for him to deal with.

    "So which side do you say we should join" the mercenaries kicked this ball back to Pedrona.

    It wasn't that one felt that Pedro had much prestige. It's really that in this unfamiliar place, no one is sure enough to make the right decision about the three major forces that might be mixing up soon.

    "We'll go to Smolensk and join Poland." Pedro voiced his decision.

    "See, I told you to join Poland." The mercenary who was the first to say he'd join Poland yelled excitedly when he saw Pedro say the same thing.

    "Why" is more of a skeptical voice.

    "Because the lord of the city there is stupid enough."

    It was an unexpected answer for all of them, and Czerny believed that his uncle had never been to Smolensk and had never met the lord of the city, and now Uncle Pedro was saying that the lord of the city was a "fool".

    "More can be gained by working for a stupid man than for a shrewd one." Pedro continued, his words and his certainty, which did not match his looks, actually inspired trust.

    "There are too few of us, even if we go, we won't be able to get a high hiring fee." The original mercenary who was clamoring to go to Czarist Russia said. Although he was still questioning it, it had changed from the original where to go to how to do it.

    Piedro obviously noticed this as well, he patted his chest and said with growing confidence, "No problem, a few of us will make up our minds and wait until tomorrow to convince the others. As long as we get a squad together, leave the bargaining to me."

    The few mercenaries looked at each other and finally nodded in unison.

    "I'll trust you on this one. But no less than 20 Taylors a month."

    "No problem."

    Just like that, his own uncle Piedro had become the leader of these people just like that, straight to Chechen's dumbfounded look.

    In the days that followed, Piedro worked as a tandem in the cabins where the various mercenaries lived, room by room convincing other mercenaries to join his group. While doing this, Pedro didn't bring Chechen with him. Therefore, Tetsu didn't know exactly how many people his uncle had convinced. But in these few days, Chechen didn't do nothing, he had been thinking and looking for an answer, and that answer was how Uncle Pedro knew that the Lord of Smolensk was a fool.

    On the fourth day of our stay in Zamoshye, the snow finally stopped. The caravan was ready to continue its journey to Smolensk. The news of the impending war seemed to have no effect on the caravan. What made the leader so bold was perhaps the fact that it was a Swedish caravan and did not belong to a belligerent country.

    Although the snow had stopped, the roads were all flooded with snow. As a last resort, the leader of the caravan approached the mayor of Mikhail's village to rent a couple of sleds, the most suitable means of transportation for traveling in Eastern Europe during the winter.

    "The sled is there, but"

    When the team leader asked the mayor of Mikhail's village, the old goateed, felt-hatted mayor said that the sledges were available, but he kept stumbling over the words "but".

    "We don't use them for nothing, one Taylor a day." The leader had traveled a lot and seen a lot. Seeing the Mayor of Mikhail's village stammering, he knew it was a matter of money then he offered a price.

    Truth be told, the price was fair enough. The price of hiring mercenaries for this trip was only ten thalers a person.

    But Mayor Mikhail waved his hand repeatedly, saying that it was not a matter of money, he and the people of the village regarded the merchant caravan as a friend, and a friend who had a favor to do was bound to help, but.

    At this, the leader came back to his senses. It wasn't a matter of money, Mikhail had something for the caravan to help with.

    It turned out that a group of robbers came out from the vicinity of the village of Zamoshye and often robbed the villagers traveling to Smolensk, not only robbing them of their belongings, but also killing them. The lord of Smolensk city and the major, one by one, hiding in the castle, to the villagers of the pleas do not care. Seeing that the army does not care, those robbers even more arrogant even directly into the village. There is no other way, the mayor of Mikhail village had to turn to the caravan. He was interested in the caravan's team of mercenaries.

    This "friend's" request gave the leader a headache. The mercenaries had the duty to protect the caravan, but they did not have the power to order the mercenaries to fight the bandits, unless the bandits had robbed them of their own accord.

    So the leader took the mayor of Mikhail and called all the mercenaries to the village church and threw the question to the mercenaries to decide for themselves.

    This was also the first meeting of the predecessor of the X Mercenary Corps, which became famous on the continent afterward.