After a simple lunch, the territorial meeting began again. The next discussion was mainly about the army. Several army commanders showed some excitement, but the civil affairs officials who already knew their positions continued to sit at the wooden table with the mentality of watching the fun.
Matt picked up the water glass on the table, took a sip, and said: "The army has always been the core of the valley. In troubled times, a sharp broad sword is more useful than a flexible mouth. I have discussed the development of the army with several army commanders. Everyone The officers and the soldiers below have also discussed that our army is definitely not strong at present. As the sergeant major said, the soldiers in our army can only be regarded as ordinary soldiers of the legion. Therefore, the army reorganization issues discussed today will be adjusted in the future based on actual combat needs. "
“Okay, let’s let Odo give you a brief introduction to the current situation of the army.” Art nodded towards Odo.
Odo sat upright, picked up a piece of birch bark with dots in place of words (Odo was not very literate), and said in a slightly magnetic voice: "Sir, everyone, let me briefly introduce the situation of the army. First of all, the personnel of the army: When we were recruited to go north to Besançon last summer, we brought thirty soldiers with us. In the garrison tower During the Fort Tarburg period, we lost eight soldiers, including two combat group leaders. After we withdrew from Tarburg, another combat group leader was injured and retired. Currently, the two retired group leaders and two soldiers who are unable to fight normally have been resettled in the valley. The injured one has returned to the army. Now there are still 23 former patrol officers and soldiers left in the army. "
“Before evacuating Tal Fort, the caravan accompanying the army also brought 17 young and strong warriors. After completing the training, the army had 48 officers and soldiers. In Tal Fort, we did not mix the new recruits and veterans into mixed formations, but transferred eight outstanding recruits to make up for the vacancies in the original several squadrons. The recruits formed separate squads. The first to fourth squads of soldiers and the sentinel team remained unchanged for the time being; the recruits formed three squads, and the squad leaders are currently the outstanding peasant soldiers and freed prisoners of war. The captain of the first squad of soldiers, Bas, is also the leader of the first group. , Colin, the leader of the second team; Kazak, the leader of the second team, and the leader of the first team, and Weitz, the leader of the second team; I am the captain of the third team, Pats, the leader of the first team, and Bangda, the leader of the second team; Tuba, the leader of the fourth team, is also the leader of the first team, and the leader of the second team, Credo. Captain Andrew, captain of the second squadron (former veteran of the border patrol), captain of the second squadron Walker (formerly veteran of the border patrol), the captain of the sentry squad, and the baggage manager Spencer, are in charge of five military outposts and a garrison of five.
"This time the caravan has brought back twelve young men. We are undergoing ten days of basic training for new recruits. These new recruits are strong and strong, and they are all high-quality combatants. Among them, the two new guys named Lusignan and Klaus are very powerful. Bass and I can't beat them together." Odo was very impressed by the two new mercenaries and mentioned it specifically.
"As of now, the army has a total of sixty-five officers and soldiers and five military servicemen, a total of seventy people. The injured and retired soldiers have been handed over to the old housekeeper for placement."
“The second is the weapons and equipment of the army. The first is armor and weapons. After successive allocations, battle acquisitions and purchases, the total of what the army has equipped and what is retained in the arsenal is as follows - armor includes: iron armor (including iron scale armor, plate and chain armor, chain armor, including some hoods, protection Throat and arm armor, greaves, skirts and other accessories), six sets of leather armor (including iron-inlaid leather armor, double-layer leather armor, single-layer leather armor), twenty-one sets of cotton armor (robe cotton armor, armed clothing, short robe cotton armor); three barrel helmets, eight nose-guard iron helmets, and seventeen domed iron helmets; There are eight iron-plated round shields, twenty-seven leather round shields, thirty homemade wooden shields, and six cavalry kite shields. The weapons include: three lances, twelve spears, forty-five short spears, ten throwing spears, seventeen long swords, twenty-five short swords, thirty-nine short daggers, and chain hammers. There are sixteen battle axes (hand axes, throwing axes), fifteen bows and arrows (riding bows, foot bows), eight crossbows, and more than two thousand three hundred arrows of various types... Of course, many of these weapons and armors are damaged and need to be repaired by craftsmen before they can continue to be used..."
He usually doesn’t pay too much attention to the army’s arsenal and equipment. Looking at the birch bark in Odo’s hand next to him, which is densely packed with pictures and numbers, even Art himself was a little surprised...
“The war comes faster!” Sitting at the table and listening to Odo reading the details of the weapons and armor in his hands, Kazak couldn’t help but whisper to Bas next to him.
Odo's voice continued, "The second is army war horse supplies. The army currently has fifteen war horses (including saddle fittings), five of which can be used as war horses, and the rest can only be used as riding horses and pack horses; four-wheeled Three iron-clad carriages, eight large and small military tents, fifty sets of robes, cloaks, uniforms and boots, three sets of cooking utensils such as barrels and pots, and the scattered items distributed to the soldiers have not yet been counted. The army's food and grass have been handed over to the wooden castle, and the army does not keep food separately. "
"Finally, there is the issue of military pay consumption. Since the implementation of wartime pay during the northern expedition, the army has successively distributed military pay and military rewards and the money for purchasing weapons and armor has exceeded 35,000 pfennigs, leaving a large amount of military pay in the hands of the army officers and soldiers. After returning to the valley, the army resumed its usual military pay. New recruits were paid seven pfennigs, soldiers ten pfennigs, team leaders twelve pfennigs, squad leaders fifteen pfennigs, and adjutants eighteen pfennigs. . The military servants are not paid, but food and accommodation are provided by the army. "
"In addition, let me talk about the implementation of military law in the army. From the beginning of the army's northern expedition last summer to the present, the army has punished a total of nine soldiers. Among them, two people were punished with sticks for retreating from the battlefield, four were imprisoned for fighting in private, two were punished with sticks for private fights in the army, and one was executed for fleeing from the battle (a peasant soldier recruited from the palace).
“Sir, everyone, this is the current brief situation of the army.” Odo put down the birch bark in his hand, picked up the wooden cup in front of him and took a sip of water.
"Okay, next Simon will talk about the situation at the border outpost." Art skipped several commanders of the army and looked directly at Simon and said.
Simon was very surprised. As the leader of a combat team who had been discharged and resettled, Art gave him an important position when he was most desperate. Although he could not fight in battle like those soldiers, he had always done his best at the border outpost.
"Sir, we started building the border outpost in the early summer of last year, and it was all completed by the autumn harvest. Including Benjamin and I, there are currently five guards in the outpost, one guard tower, two houses, one warehouse, one stable, and one military horse."
"When the outpost was basically completed, we began to collect entry taxes from passing caravan vendors, but most of the people passing through the outpost were refugees from Provence and small traders from the north carrying groceries to sell south. Therefore, in the past six months, excluding the daily purchase of food supplies and payment of salaries at the outpost, we only had a balance of 2,300 pfennigs in tax coins."
"Every month, Benjamin and I take turns returning to the wooden castle in the valley to pay tribute to the old man. When the steward pays the tax coins, he will give the old steward the reports on the war situation and important events in the north and south that the outpost is responsible for, and the old steward will also record them in a book. In addition, except for a few refugees who tried to snatch the food in the outpost and were killed by us at the beginning of winter, the outpost has not been under any major threats. This is the general situation at the border outpost, sir." Simon stood up and bowed lightly to Art, then sat back on the wooden chair.
Matt took over Simon's words and said: "Well, Cooper has shown me the information you collected from the outpost. In the next time, you should pay attention to collecting information about the war situation in Provence in the south and the border with Swabia in the north. The issue of taxation is not urgent for the time being. There is war in the north and south, and the trade routes are not yet open. When the war subsides, there will gradually be more business travelers passing by the border, and the tax coins at the outpost will also increase."
Matt thought for a moment and said to Simon: "Simon, now I will add another responsibility to the border post. I will gradually increase the garrison strength of the border post and send officials to act as tax collectors. In the future, in addition to collecting entry taxes, I will also In addition, the outpost is also responsible for purchasing and hoarding southern goods shipped from the south. The lower the price, the better. The maximum price cannot exceed the market price of southern goods in Tyniec City, excluding transportation waste. The purchased southern goods are hoarded in the outpost, and the caravan will determine the price. Anyone who comes to pick up the goods and pay the deposit during the period, and who is willing to buy one-tenth of the goods in hand to the outpost at the market price, will be exempted from paying entry tax. In addition, the previous method of collecting tax on a per-car basis will no longer apply to the amount of entry tax. In the future, it will be unified on a carry-on basis. A tax of thirty percent of the price of the goods will be collected. After the incoming business travelers pay the tax, they will be issued a stamped tax payment document. I will have the army set up checkpoints on the way to Tyniec to investigate those business travelers who do not pay the full amount of tax. "
Simon nodded in agreement.
Matt looked around solemnly at the main commanders of the army, took out a piece of birch bark with writing on it from the table in front of him, and said to everyone: "Everyone, yesterday afternoon I discussed various issues of the army with Odo and Angus. During dinner, I also talked with several squad commanders and the newly arrived Lusignan, Klaus and others. I adopted your good ideas and sorted out the temporary standing supplies of the army. The number of people, soldier formation, armed assembly, soldier training, military pay and other ideas are "temporary" because I found in recent discussions with everyone that everyone's opinions are reasonable, and I also have my own ideas. I can't say which idea is the best at the moment. These ideas that have been sorted out need to be tested in the training and combat of the army. Of course, we will continue to adjust and improve according to the combat needs of the army in the future. "
"Now, let me first talk about the standing number of the army and the formation of soldiers."
h "From now on, the entire Valley Knights' army is divided into four parts, namely the legion, the patrol team, the outpost garrison, and the valley guard."
h "The legion is the core of the entire Valley Knights' army. The legion is organized as follows -
A battle There are three fighting groups, and one non-officer leader;
The two combat groups are a squad, and there is an officer squad leader, who is also the leader of the first group, and a squad has a total of six people;
The Sentinel Cavalry (Light Cavalry) consists of one Sentinel Cavalry Captain, one deputy captain, and four cavalrymen, a total of six people. All Sentinel Cavalry are strictly selected. Ordinary cavalry are treated as combat team leaders, and the Sentinel Cavalry deputy captain is treated as a squad leader. Long press the squadron leader's treatment;
The baggage team has one standing baggage officer and the team leader's treatment; one doctor and clerk each and the team leader's treatment; and six miscellaneous transport soldiers (non-combat soldiers, equipped with short knives and daggers, low salaries). The baggage corps is mainly responsible for managing military resources and salaries, transporting supplies, food and accommodation for soldiers, building forts, and treating wounded soldiers.
The recruit team does not have permanent officers. The captain of the recruit team is held by three squadron captains in rotation. The squad leader or outstanding soldiers serve as instructors in rotation. The recruit team mainly recruits and trains newly joined young men. After completing basic training and passing the test, the recruits can be included in the legion and treated as combat soldiers.
Three squadrons plus sentries and baggage trains form a corps. The legion has one commander and two adjutants. The two adjutants govern the lower-level armies and are responsible for military resources, military pay, military law, military intelligence, medical care, recruitment, training, security, etc. respectively.
Except for laborers, recruits, and medical staff who are not combat soldiers, the rest of the officers and soldiers in the legion are combat soldiers.
In view of the combat skills of our army soldiers and the many problems of supporting the army, the legion is currently only fully equipped with the first and second squadrons, and the third squadron only has one stand. After this meeting, the army will lay off a group of soldiers and enter patrol teams, outposts, valley guards, and even directly eliminate them as farmers and fort residents. I will make special arrangements for this later.
The military pay for officers and soldiers at all levels of the legion was changed from weekly pay to monthly pay, and the treatment is as follows: monthly pay for carriage and miscellaneous personnel is 20 pfennigs, recruits are 30 pfennigs, ordinary soldiers are 70 pfennigs, team leaders are 80 pfennigs, squad leaders are 100 pfennigs, squadron leaders are 110 pfennigs, and corps adjutants are 120 pfennigs. The food, accommodation, clothing, weapons and armor of all legion officers and soldiers shall be provided by the legion. ”
Ate paused and continued: "Let me talk about the temporary weapons and armor equipment of the legion. The weapons and armor of the legionnaires are equipped according to recruits - light infantry - heavy infantry - light cavalry - heavy cavalry."
"Light infantry are all ordinary soldiers of the legion. They are equipped with a set of cotton armor (armored clothing or single-layer leather armor), a semicircular iron helmet, an iron spear, a short sword, and a round shield. Those soldiers who can use bows and crossbows can be equipped with crossbows and considered training as crossbowmen;"
loguedie or a set of iron-lined leather armor or armor inlaid with iron . "The light cavalry is a sentry horse, equipped with a war horse, a set of cotton-lined armor (armored clothes) covered with half-mail or double-layered leather armor with iron, a hood lining, a throat guard, and an iron helmet with a nose guard. The weapons are a throwing spear (javelin), a riding sword, a short-handled battle ax (throwing axe), a hammer, and a kite shield. If the cavalry has weapons that they are good at, they can also configure them by themselves."
"I, Angus, Ron, and Lusignan are heavy cavalry, equipped with heavy armor."
"I won't list other small items such as daggers, daggers, and water bags. We don't have so much stock of the above weapons and armor in our arsenal, and we will give priority to the veterans for the time being. Soldiers, wait until enough weapons and armor are purchased or captured before equipping them with all the troops."
After Art finished speaking, he paused for a while and looked around at the people who were discussing in low voices. This equipment of weapons and armor has been discussed and thought about for many times, and it can basically get everyone's basic approval.
Ate lightly knocked on the table and said, "Okay, I will announce the appointment of officers at all levels of the legion."
As soon as Ate spoke, the room suddenly became quiet.
"Travelling Corps: Captain Spencer, doctors and civil servants are temporarily absent, and the labor service of the baggage troops has been transferred from the original military service."
"Carriage Corps: Captain Ron, who also serves as my bodyguard, the deputy captain is temporarily vacant. The Sentinel Cavalry is strictly selected among the legion, and it is better to be temporarily absent than to make do with it."
"Odo, the adjutant of the legion command, is in charge of the first squadron of the legion, the baggage team, and the new recruits team, and is responsible for the valley guard. He is responsible for military supplies, military pay, medical treatment, recruitment, and the training of new recruits, and assists in the training of combat soldiers;"
"Angus, the adjutant of the legion command, is responsible for the second squadron and the sentry team of the legion. He is responsible for military law, enemy situation, security, and is in charge of combat soldiers and cavalry training."
No one is surprised by the appointment and division of labor of Art, Odo and Angus. This pattern has basically been formed in the past six months. What they are concerned about is the next appointment.
"Legion 1st Squadron. Squadron Captain Bas; First Squadron Captain Colin, Second Squadron Captain Credo."
"Legion 2nd Squadron. Squadron Captain Kazak; First Squadron Captain Weitz, Second Squadron Captain Paters."
"Legion's Third Squadron Temporarily The captain of the first squadron, Bangeda, and the captain of the second squadron are currently vacant. The third squadron currently has no soldiers, and Tuba and Bangeda are responsible for the training of the new recruits. "
"The former recruit squad captains Andrew and Walker will be transferred to the corps combat team leaders. The remaining team leaders will be selected by each squadron leader for my approval."
Everyone is not surprised by this appointment, but they may be confused about the two vacant positions.
Ate saw everyone's doubts and explained: "The positions of deputy captain of the Sentinels and second team leader of the 3rd Squadron are reserved for the two newcomers, provided that they can successfully complete the ten-day recruit training and pass my test."
Everyone was relieved.
Att twisted his sitting position and continued: "According to the above arrangement, in addition to the legion commander, three squadrons and a sentry team only need less than forty soldiers. But we currently have more than 60 soldiers, so we have to eliminate a group of soldiers, and the better ones among these eliminated soldiers will be sent to the patrol team and sentry team. They will be stationed at the station or join the caravan as escort drivers, and those who are slightly worse will be sent to the recruit team for another three months of training. After three months, the better-trained soldiers will be added to various places, and those who are no longer suitable to be soldiers will be handed over to the civil affairs department for resettlement. This matter is more complicated and will take time to do. "
"The outpost guards belong to the army. They are treated at the squad level and are stationed at the border outpost. There are two permanent commanders, one deputy, one deputy and four guards, and one additional tax collector. Their main responsibilities are stationed at the border to maintain border security, collect entry taxes, collect information, and purchase southern goods. The outpost commander Simon and the adjutant Benjamin will retain one of the original garrison soldiers, and I will dispatch the remaining three. The tax collector is temporarily vacant and will be recruited by the caravan in the future."
"There is also a security patrol in the southern border of the Tyniec Palace, which belongs to the army. It is treated as a squad and is stationed in a huge pile of rocks. It has a permanent captain and three soldiers. Obote is the patrol captain, and the soldiers are dispatched by the army. The main responsibilities are: They inspect passing merchant travelers, collect enemy information, warn of banditry, and maintain law and order. Of course, the additional patrol team is no longer the main force in eradicating bandits. The patrol team only needs to report on Pegasus when there is banditry, and I will lead the troops to eliminate it. "
"Another Valley Guard was transferred from the original fort guard team and was under the joint jurisdiction of the civil affairs and the army. It has one captain, two captains and one instructor. Scott is the captain, Lawrence and Linn are the deputy captains, and Geer is the instructor. The soldiers of the guard come from two sources - soldiers who are injured or retired from the army but can barely fight, and young and strong citizens selected from the territory. In emergencies, Prisoners who perform well in the state can also be recruited into the guard team to fight, and those who have made military exploits can be restored to free civilian status. The Valley Guard has two main responsibilities. One is to guard the stability of the valley, including external defense and internal security. The second is to train the young and strong people in the valley during their spare time. In the future, the army's combat soldiers will mainly come from the valley knights. , so we must train the young and strong citizens, at least let them know how to pick up weapons and follow me on the battlefield. The three captains and one instructor of the Valley Guard no longer receive separate salaries. The ordinary soldiers of the Guard are only paid two pfennigs a day when participating in training or performing tasks. The weapons and equipment of the several commanders of the Guard are always a short sword, a wooden shield, and A set of cotton armor. Ordinary soldiers do not always have weapons and armor. The weapons and armor eliminated by the army are given to the Valley Guard and stored in the wooden fort. They are distributed to the assembled ordinary peasant soldiers during training and execution of tasks. I reiterate that the Valley Guard is mainly under the jurisdiction of the civil administration but is also dispatched by the army. In the future, it will be said that the villagers have organized themselves to prevent wild beast attacks, so as not to arouse suspicion.
Matt closed the parchment in his hand, stood up, and said loudly: "The above is the military and civil structure and personnel appointments of the Knights of the Valley. Similarly, I will adjust and formally appoint you based on your performance in three months."
Everyone in the room stood up...