flstandardbreds Chapter 139 Reinforcements
Chapter 139 Reinforcements
Summer 1447 Headquarters of the Western Midland Garrison
The establishment of a garrison was a policy established by the first King of Midlan. The King of Midlan at that time believed that although it was cost-effective to summon nobles from all over the country to fight, such a conscription method would take a long time, and as time went on, the royal family's control over the local areas would gradually weaken. So he divided the entire kingdom into three parts: west, middle, and east, and established a 10,000-man army in each of them to manage the security of the royal territories in the area while deterring nearby nobles.
This policy was good in the beginning. Although it came at a certain cost, it also reduced the royal family's management burden on Midland. At the same time, the hereditary legion recruitment system also created local supporters of the royal family and strengthened the royal family's influence on the country.
The policy has its advantages, but also its disadvantages. The long-term hereditary system has caused a serious decline in the quality of the soldiers in the original legions. The Eastern Legion is still acceptable because it has been on the front line of the Hundred Years' War for many years. However, the Western Legion, which has been in a peaceful environment for a long time, is almost dead in name only.
Since there was no war to fight, the soldiers could only go out to fight bandits and robbers. Often, they could beat the rabble and make them flee in all directions with just one encounter. With the growing power of local lords and their infighting in recent years, often the robbers caught by soldiers in one lord's territory were actually soldiers of another lord in disguise.
If no one needs you, why bother going? Over time, the attendance rate of these legion soldiers dropped rapidly, and some soldiers even used their saved money to buy a manor and a few acres of land in the countryside. Every time they checked people, they would send the tenant farmers on the land to sign in at the barracks and that was it.
Of course, this is not going to work in the long run, so a very popular profession emerged in the western part of Midland: substitute soldier.
The so-called substitute soldiers are soldiers who will pay to hire some tall and mighty men to participate in the inspection on their behalf when the king may come to inspect. After becoming substitute soldiers, the original owners will order someone to send them to the barracks to hand over to their superiors. After a period of training, they can be inspected. Since this position is short in time and high in pay, there is no shortage of people. Those who have been mercenaries before are often more popular because their murderous appearance will leave a better impression on the king and thus obtain more military funds.
It wasn't always so safe and sound. Thirty years ago, the former King of Mitlan led this army of substitute soldiers to fight against the natives. At that time, the natives had similar equipment to the Mitlan soldiers. One was fighting for life while the other for money, and the difference in fighting spirit was immediately apparent. The Western Army was almost disbanded by the natives, and it was only thanks to the rescue of other lords that it was able to retain some of its strength.
As for why the lords helped these royal legions, a big reason was that the Western Legion did not interfere in the affairs of local nobles for a long time. If the Western Legion was wiped out, the king would definitely choose to rebuild the legion or replace it with a more efficient department to manage it, which would weaken the influence of the local nobles and even expose their shameful secrets.
Under the bright sunshine, the Western Legion Headquarters was as deserted as before. The soldiers were enjoying themselves outside, the officers were out having fun, and those who were on guard were all temporarily recruited. In addition to these temporary workers, there were also some grooms looking after the horses and a small number of officials with nothing to do in the entire headquarters.
In the office, the corps commander was playing cards and gambling with several officers. This corps commander didn't have any hobbies except playing cards. He would play cards with a group of people every few days. Although they didn't fight many battles, they had become good at playing cards.
Just when the few of them were having fun, the temporary worker standing outside the door said:
"Sir, there is a messenger seeking to see you."
"Hmm? What a bummer! Let him in." The legion commander muttered in dissatisfaction and ordered the messenger to come in.
Just as he finished speaking, the messenger outside the door came up to the legion commander breathlessly and slammed a letter on the table, which scared the legion commander.
Without waiting for the legion commander to react, the messenger shouted:
"Sir, there is an urgent report of war in the north. The natives are rebelling!"
"What's the fuss? Do we still need to fight those natives? Can't those nobles handle it themselves?" The legion commander picked up the letter with dissatisfaction and was about to glance at it before continuing to play cards. However, his eyes widened after reading just a few lines. The more he read, the more nervous he became, so much so that he broke out in a cold sweat.
"Something bad has happened." said the legion commander after reading the letter.
The officer next to him took the letter and read it and said in disbelief:
"This, this, this... How is this possible!?"
"Tens of thousands of natives went out and slaughtered Count Waze and his nobles, and burned down the city of Waze. How come these nobles have become so useless now?" The legion commander was thinking about this and suddenly thought of a terrible thing.
"The king must have known about this by now. As the closest royal army, he will definitely let us go first."
"The key is where do we get the soldiers now." The legion commander thought with tears in his eyes. Should he rely on those soldiers who have never fought in a war or those substitute soldiers who are just for show?
Obviously, neither of these two options is feasible. If he were to do so, his career as the legion commander would be over.
"Give the order to have all the soldiers in the legion come. Tell them to come quickly if they still want to be paid by the legion!"
The temptation of military pay was endless. Before sunset, almost all the legionnaires had arrived at the camp. Looking at the soldiers around him, the legionnaire shouted loudly:
"Brothers, the natives rebelled. The king ordered us to fight on the front line. These natives defeated Count Oise's army of more than 10,000 people and burned the entire city of Oise!"
Hearing this, the soldiers looked at each other in bewilderment. If they couldn't even deal with the soldiers of the nobles, then those of them who were preparing for retirement would certainly not be able to do so.
"If we don't go this time, His Majesty the King will definitely punish us. If we go, we will probably be wiped out by the natives. So I beg you all here, those who have money can help the legion commander. Donate some money for our happy tomorrow so that I can recruit some mercenaries to fight in our place. Then even if we are defeated, His Majesty the King will not blame us."
The content was easy to understand and the soldiers could accept it. After all, between a temporary loss and generations of comfort, they would definitely choose the latter. The soldiers immediately went back to raise money to support the legion commander. By the afternoon of the next day, the legion commander had raised about 10,000 gold coins for recruiting soldiers.
After getting the money, the legion commander began to think about which mercenary groups to recruit.
Originally, he had a lot of choices. As long as a mercenary group was established in his area, most of them would report to him to prevent the soldiers from capturing them and seeking credit. However, as the Hundred Years' War intensified, most of the mercenary groups with strong combat effectiveness went to the front line to fight. After all, there were many markets there. Some of them fought for the nobles locally, and the rest were small in scale and only did things like escorting caravans and clearing out bandits.
"Who should I recruit?" The legion leader grabbed his hair and thought about which mercenary group was more cost-effective. At this moment, he suddenly remembered a scene a few months ago, when a group of outsiders who claimed to be the Black Watch Mercenary Group visited him and gave him a flyer. At that time, he did not take it seriously and just sent them away like other mercenary groups.
Thinking of this, the legion commander opened the drawer and eagerly searched for the leaflet, and finally found the wrinkled paper at the bottom.
"The Black Watch Mercenary Group was founded in the Forest Territory in 1444. All members of this mercenary group have undergone military training by Count John, known as the Spear of Midland, and are soldiers of one year's service age. The mercenary group has long participated in the Hundred Years' War between Midland and Yoda, participated in hundreds of battles, and helped the Midland army repel the invasion of Yoda people many times."
"This mercenary group undertakes a series of operations that comply with the laws of Midland and various regions, such as personal protection, caravan protection, bandit suppression, and commercial performances. We have branches in major cities in the central and eastern parts of Midland. You are welcome to choose the Black Watch Mercenary Group."
Below is John's family seal, and the eagle on it proves that what was said before is true. After all, no one dares to touch the nobility.
"Come on, prepare the horses!" Seeing this, the legion commander hurriedly ordered people to prepare the horses.
"Where are you going, sir?" asked a subordinate beside him.
"To Saint-Rémy."