A few days after returning to the valley, Art began to expand the cavalry regiment.
In the lord's hall on the first floor of the wooden castle in the valley, Art, Angus, Lusignan and Jafar were sitting around the table.
… I'm sure you all know that I've called you here today."
At the top of the table, Art has one hand on the table and the other hand is holding a glass full of wine.
Lusignan and Jafar, who were sitting on both sides of the long table, looked at each other and understood.
A few days ago, Angus had already revealed the good news to the two of them that the legion planned to gradually expand the cavalry. After learning the news, the two were really excited.
Especially Jafar, Art intended for him to assist Lusignan in forming and training the cavalry. This means that Jafar, who was previously a mercenary, has the opportunity to become a high-ranking officer of the legion and gradually join the ranks of the nobility.
"The sergeant major had previously suggested to me to form a cavalry regiment of five hundred people based on the original cavalry. The suggestion was good, but it did not take into account the actual situation in Wales."
At took a sip of wine, put down the glass, and wiped the remaining juice from the corner of his mouth.
"Lunicion, you are a cavalryman. According to your opinion, how much does it cost us to spend on a cavalryman?" Art turned his attention to this cavalry captain with excellent combat skills.
"Sir, cavalry is also divided into levels. There are light cavalry and heavy cavalry, and the equipment and horses of the two cavalry are very different. Take the light cavalry, which is the weakest, a inferior war horse costs at least three to four thousand pfennigs. Adding in the equipment of the cavalry, it is estimated that one cavalry will cost six to seven thousand pfennigs. This does not include the miscellaneous expenses of feeding the horses in the later period. A heavy cavalry will cost at least ten thousand pfennigs."
After listening to Lunicion’s words, everyone took a breath of cold air. I was surprised that it cost such a huge amount of money to train a cavalry. Although Art had been mentally prepared and knew about the money needed to train a cavalry, he was still shocked.
"You have also heard that it costs six to seven thousand pfennigs to train an ordinary cavalry. If you add more than three hundred light and heavy cavalry, it will cost two to three million pfennigs. This is equivalent to decades of tax revenue in Tyniec County~"
Comparing the cost of training cavalry with decades of tax revenue in the county, Angus and others opened their eyes wide.
"However," Art paused slightly, glanced at a few people, and continued: "We did make a lot of money during the Battle of the Successor. The caravan also made a lot of money in the process of delivering supplies to the Liberation Army. But you We also know that the top priority in Wells Province is to build the territory and restore production. Just recruiting refugees and paying them requires tens of thousands of Fenni every week."
Ate put forward the current predicament.
"Even so, I still plan to spend one million pfennigs to add a hundred cavalry first. After everything gets on track in the future, I will continue to expand and form a cavalry regiment."
At last made a decision. Angus and others had rare smiles on their faces.
"Now, I order~"
Several people stood up immediately.
"In view of the current size of the cavalry, a cavalry company will be established on the original basis. Lusignan is appointed as the captain of the cavalry company of the Welsh Army, and Jafar is appointed as the deputy commander of the company, responsible for assisting the company captain in recruiting and training cavalry. The two of you are temporarily under the jurisdiction of Angus."
"Yes, my lord."
"In addition, before the horses and equipment are available, you should immediately start selecting cavalry seedlings from each legion. First, teach the theoretical knowledge of cavalry, and start training immediately after the horses and equipment are obtained!" He was asked to detach two hundred people from the Construction Department to the grassland west of Fort Andermatt and give them three months to build and deliver the cavalry company's training camp as scheduled.
At the same time, Art Flying Pigeon notified Salt who was heading to the Northland. He was ordered to go to the residence of Chancellor of the Exchequer Galvin immediately after arriving at Besançon, and entrust Galvin to use the convenience of the Finance Office to purchase hundreds of high-quality war horses for the Welsh Army in the North. In return, Art would pay a tax of 50,000 pfennigs in another form to the Palace Finance Office through the European trading houses. Compared to the tens of thousands of pfennig that a war horse can cost, these tens of thousands of pfennig are nothing at all.
In addition, the Valley Weapons Workshop also received a batch of orders from the army. The cavalry equipment that the valley can produce by itself is produced by the weapons workshop, which can save some expenses.
………
Besançon, the capital of the Burgundy Kingdom, walking on the street, you can vaguely see the walls blackened by fire on both sides of the street. Some of the buildings that were burned down during the war and destroyed by trebuchets are still being repaired, and some walls have been painted with a new layer of clay after the buildings were repaired.
After the war, many residents who had previously lived in Besançon embarked on the journey back home again. At this time, although the cold in Northland remained unabated, pedestrians were coming and going on the streets. Almost all the shops on both sides have reopened, and southern goods from Provence and other places are still very popular. This is not only due to the European trading firm of Art, but also inseparable from the painstaking efforts of Flanders, the ruler of Burgundy in recent months.
In the inner court where the Marquis of Besancon is located, Galvin, currently the Finance Minister of the Kingdom of Burgundy and Count of the Côte d'Or, is reporting to Flanders on the taxation situation in various parts of the Kingdom in recent months.
After taking the parchment, Flanders read it carefully.
Looking at the data on the parchment, Flanders suddenly frowned.
"Uncle, in addition to the fact that the province of Wales, where Art is located, did not pay its share of taxes, why did the Prime Minister also not pay the full amount?"
"This~"
Galvin found it difficult to speak.
Last night, Galvin's officials who were responsible for collecting taxes in various provinces were summoned to the Finance Office. The Longchal Territory, Côte d'Or, Lucesene Provinces in the Burgundy Kingdom, as well as the territories directly under the Marquis of Flanders' name, all paid taxes in full. The province of Wales under the jurisdiction of Art had previously received tax concessions from the palace and had no arrears except for the taxes that should be paid. Only the province of Yona, where Prime Minister Baldwin is located, fails to pay taxes in full every month. So far, eight hundred thousand pfennigs were owed in taxes.
After learning about it, Galvin sent people to call for payment many times, but Baldwin sent them back for various reasons. Due to Baldwin's power in the princely state, Galvin never dared to have a head-on conflict with Baldwin. If Flanders hadn't suddenly mentioned that he wanted to check the tax situation in recent months, this matter would not have reached Flanders's ears.
"Uncle, you are the finance minister of the palace, and it is your duty to collect the taxes payable by each province in full. Why do you allow the province of Jonah under the name of the palace minister to owe so much tax, but you allow him to default on it!"
Flender's tone was a bit reproachful, and his deep eyes stared directly at Galvin who bowed his head and said nothing.
Galvin hesitated.
"Uncle, could it be that Baldwin's status in your eyes is higher than that of me, the Marquis?"
Flanders asked.
"No, no! Lord Marquis, I didn't mean that."
Galvin hurriedly explained, his body trembling slightly.
"Then what do you mean?"
Flender raised his voice.
"My lord, the Marquis, I have sent people to the Province of Yona many times to call for taxes, but the Prime Minister always found various excuses and refused to pay. Yesterday, the tax official who returned from the Province of Jonah came to complain to me, saying that he had asked Count Baldwin to pay the taxes. When he was making a gift, he was severely beaten by his men and was immediately kicked out of the mansion. He had to lead the people all the way back in embarrassment~"
"What!"
Flanders squeezed the wine glass in his hand and gritted his teeth. As the ruler of the Burgundian kingdom, Baldwin was challenging his authority.
"Calm down, Lord Marquis~"
Galvin quickly stood up from his seat and encouraged Flanders.
"Your Majesty, Lord Marquis, Baldwin is an old-school powerful official, and his influence is not small in this battle for succession. The country is still weak at present, and it still needs to rely on him and his people. Now is not the time to fall out with him~"
Galvin explained the powerful relationship in this.
"Uncle, sit down. I'm too impulsive."
Flanders raised his hand to signal Galvin to sit down.
After Flanders calmed down his anger, Galvin continued: "Although Baldwin paid 800,000 pfennigs less in taxes, the Continental Trading Company under Art's name paid an extra 200,000 pfennigs in taxes to the palace this month."
With a smile on his face, Galvin stroked his beard on his chin.
Flender's brows relaxed slightly.
"Yat?" With nothing left to do, he should give 200,000 pfennigs from the profits of the business to the Finance Office to restore production. Art is in his current position thanks to your kindness, and this is what he should do."
Galvin looked proud of his wise son-in-law.
"Uncle, it's not easy for your son-in-law to know that I am a Marquis. If the earls in each province can share my worries and solve my problems like Art and you, the Burgundy Kingdom will have no hope of recovery!"
Flanders sighed lightly.
………
A few days later, the general manager of the European trading company arranged the southern goods shipped to Besancon from Provence and other places to the warehouse, and then came to Galvin's mansion with gold coins worth 50,000 pfennigs.
… Tell me, Salt, is there anything else that Art needs to do for you to come to me?”
After Galvin saw Salt, he glanced lightly and raised the corners of his mouth slightly.
After Salter sat down, he said: "My lord sent me here specifically this time because he wants to purchase a hundred high-quality war horses and corresponding cavalry equipment through the Palace Finance Office under your jurisdiction."
"Buy war horses?"
Galvin looked puzzled. His son-in-law's thoughts are always hard to keep up with.
"Yes, Lord Earl. In the near future, my lord plans to expand the size of the cavalry, and specially ordered me to go to the Northland to buy high-quality war horses. But you also know that a war horse costs at least six to seven thousand pfennigs, and a slightly better one costs tens of thousands of pfennigs. And The cavalry equipment is also valuable. If my lord were to buy it privately, it would probably cost a lot of money~"
"So you thought of me."
Galvin interrupted Salt before he finished speaking.
Sart nodded repeatedly.
Galvin stood up and paced back and forth in the room, thinking about the big bundle that Art had given him.
"Okay, leave the purchase of horse equipment to me."
After a moment, Galvin said.
Sart was delighted and kept thanking him.
Galvin stopped and turned to Salt.
"I wonder what difficulties the Earl still has?"
"Purchasing horse equipment in the name of the palace will definitely require a lot of planning~"
Sart immediately understood what Galvin meant. He turned around and placed the gold coins worth fifty thousand pfennigs on the table.
"It's Art's thoughtfulness~"
"My lord, the earl, thanked you. My lord asked me to hand over these gold coins to you, saying that you must understand what he meant."
Galvin smiled slightly, extremely satisfied with his son-in-law.
The next day, Galvin ordered his men to get started on the matter. Salter arranged for people from the trading company to contact Lord Galvin at any time. Once the horse supplies are in place, they will be handed over to the European trading company for them to retrieve on their own.
………
Back to the south, the Welsh Army’s Beiguan Military Fort garrison. After receiving Art's appointment, Lunicion and Jafar began to select alternative cavalry from the legion.
On the training ground, soldiers without combat preparation tasks gathered in a circle. Lunicion, standing in the middle of the crowd, was promoting to everyone the expansion of the legion's cavalry into a cavalry company.
"...If you feel that you are worthy of the cavalry job, then go to Chief Jafar to register first. Then we will select you according to the cavalry standards. Once you enter the cavalry company, your status will definitely be different from now. Those who are popular and drink spicy food every day will definitely receive much higher military pay than others ~"
The soldiers are eager to try.
Lunicion planned to use the high cavalry salary as a weight to induce these guys to participate in the selection of the cavalry company.
After speaking for a long time, only about 20 people signed up, and most of the others gathered around to watch the fun.
As we all know, cavalry is different from infantry. Infantry only requires individual combat skills and teamwork. In addition to these two items, the cavalry also needs to control horses. Most of the soldiers in the legion were from peasant backgrounds and had not had much exposure to war horses since they were children. It is indeed difficult to suddenly transform them from infantry to cavalry.
Under normal circumstances, if an ordinary person wants to master a horse, he needs at least two or three months of learning under the guidance of a dedicated person. In addition, coupled with riding on horseback and fighting with other cavalry, it will take at least half a year to truly become a capable cavalry. To become an officer with outstanding combat capabilities like Lunicion and Jafar, it takes at least several years of training.
Like this for several days, the two men responsible for recruiting cavalry were able to recruit more than thirty people. It is still far from the goal of 100 people.