Chapter 31: Building a New Army (Part 1) (Please read! Please recommend!)
Chapter 31: Forming a New Army (Part 1) As a traveler from another world, Bruno is well aware of the truth that "the man is innocent unless he is in possession of a treasure."
Since the profits from sugar and sea salt can make the butler, Old Ford, ecstatic, once the news leaks out, it will naturally make other nobles jealous.
In this case, one must have enough power to protect one's own interests and ensure one's own safety.
After all, the Norman Empire was an imperial regime with relatively decentralized power composed of countless noble lords. In this environment where viscounts were everywhere and barons were as numerous as dogs, if there was a small-scale conflict or even a small territorial war between the nobles, the royal family and the Regency Council would be too lazy to intervene.
As for the so-called aristocratic decency and chivalry in this world, to be honest, Bruno never believed in them. He only believed in one sentence: political power comes from the barrel of a gun.
In the long run, Bruno's vision that transcends the times enables him to clearly see the ills of this corrupt empire. In his view, the current prosperity of the Norman Empire is nothing more than the last afterglow before its decline.
As more and more civilians lose the land on which they depend for survival, and as more and more serfs suffer oppression, one day, a spark will spread across the continent.
If we only focus on the present, the dispute between Idar County and the Earldom of Soren in the north over the ownership of the Grand Highlands has never stopped, and small-scale conflicts break out between the private armies of the two nobles every year. (Note: There are hand-drawn maps in the book friend circle)
Therefore, the army owned by Idar is undoubtedly the most important reliance for ensuring Bruno's safety.
The Norman Empire did not impose clear restrictions on the number of troops that nobles could have, because the output of a territory was only a small amount, and it was extremely difficult for an ordinary noble to maintain a large number of troops.
So far, the army of Idar is mainly divided into three parts. The first is Bruno's personal guards, which are about one hundred people; the second is the Idar city defense force stationed in the north of Idar City, mainly to guard against the threat from the Earldom of Soren in the north, with about two hundred people; the third is the newly formed salt field guards, a total of fifty people.
In other words, the total number of soldiers in Idar County on paper is currently around 350.
However, apart from the guards and saltworks guards, the Idar City Defense Force, which had the largest number of soldiers, was not satisfactory, because most of the soldiers in the Idar City Defense Force were part-timers...
This is somewhat similar to the Fubing system of the Tang Dynasty, where soldiers work as farmers in peacetime and serve as soldiers in wartime. Two hundred soldiers take turns on duty, and only about forty to fifty soldiers are actually on duty each month.
In addition, it was winter and the weather was relatively cold, so the possibility of a small-scale conflict was small, so there were probably no more than thirty or forty soldiers on duty.
Bruno was not very fond of this military system, so he decided to make some changes during the winter and implement a conscription system in Idar to build a more combat-effective professional army.
It was for this reason that Bruno ordered the SS commander Sam Layton to summon all members of the Idar city defense force and personally came to the military camp outside the city.
only……
Looking at the team in front of him, Bruno found it difficult to connect them with the army.
It would be more appropriate to call it a Beggars' Gang rather than an army.
The two hundred soldiers did not have uniform clothing. Some wore old cotton jackets, some wore tattered shorts, and even worse, some were barefoot. It was winter.
As for weapons, some people were holding spears, some were holding hoes, and some were holding daggers. Although it looked a bit weird, it was acceptable. However... what the hell was that guy holding a piece of black bread?
Although the coarse and hard black bread can be used as a weapon at times, it is too much to take a piece of black bread to the battlefield! No, it cannot be said to be a battlefield. The conflict between Idar Territory and Soren City can only be regarded as a fight or a group fight between two villages. Everyone rushed forward without any rules and the outcome was almost decided.
Bruno couldn't believe that this was the legendary army that belonged to him. He felt that his expectations were a little too high.
As if he saw the regret in Bruno's eyes, Sam Layton, the captain of the guards and commander of the city defense army, said, "Sir, even though they don't look good, they are still very capable in a fight."
indeed!
Bruno could imagine two hundred soldiers in shabby clothes charging with black bread in their hands! The scene was too beautiful to imagine! He turned around and looked at his guards. Each of them had a short sword. Although their clothes were not very good, they were at least neat. These guards, who were barely acceptable to Bruno before, were now extremely heroic and extraordinary in comparison.
Sure enough, everything needs comparison.
"In fact, you don't need to pay too much attention to these soldiers. If a conflict really occurs, you still have to rely mainly on the guards."
Bruno looked at Sam deeply and said nothing more.
In fact, Sam's view is also the view of most people in this world. The so-called Idar city defense force serves more as cannon fodder.
After all, the Idar City Defense Force is an army composed of civilians, while the Idar Guard is an army composed entirely of knights!
Although in Idar, knights were not worth much due to the lavish rewards bestowed by the original owner, they were still the lowest class of nobles.
Although Sam Layton, the commander of the Royal Guard, is a simpleton, he is a real baron and owns his own land.
However, Bruno knew that only an army from the people had unlimited potential! The civilians of the Norman Empire were extremely poor and had a hard life, but that was why only a few gold coins were needed to transform a poor civilian into the most loyal soldier! They would roar and march forward, and the reason for all this might just be because you could fill their stomachs and feed their families.
After trying hard to calm his mind, Bruno cleared his throat and stood on the platform in the center of the military camp: "Soldiers, I am your lord, Count Idar, Bruno Stuart!"
After saying that, he looked at a soldier under the platform and asked, "Are you a serf or a civilian?"
"Civilians! Master Bruno, every soldier here... is a civilian."
"Well, what I need are civilians. No matter what your previous fighting and training methods were, from today on, the Idar City Defense Force will no longer exist, and will be replaced by the Idar Regular Army's First Battalion!" Bruno announced loudly.
(End of this chapter)
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