NOVEL ONLINE FREE Chapter 26
As a result of rolling up soldiers who were mercenaries everywhere, I was able to gather around 2,000 serfs as a standing army.
Our Count’s population, excluding slaves, is about 100,000, so if I include the soldiers and knights I have hired for maintaining public order and defending the territory…
About 3% of the population are soldiers; this number surpasses the number of maintainable soldiers in most countries.
Of course, since I am copying food and money as if by sugar and secret production methods, I can easily handle this much.
Especially regarding food, as long as I have consumed and sold internally up to this year, now I only need to sell the surplus food entirely to Hamburg.
By suitably providing meals and wages, I need to turn the soldiers into an internal economic strength and help the village below Croilet Castle develop into a ‘city’ level.
While I was overseeing my duties in the office, planning various matters, Balt burst in through the door with a bang.
“Your Excellency, I have gathered all the soldiers at the training ground outside the castle.”
“Balt, keep it down. Behave in a manner befitting your position. What would Helmut say if he saw this?”
Balt seemed to recall what Helmut would say to him, and he spoke with a serious expression.
“Please don’t tell that guy. If he catches me, he would make a fuss about how concerned the noble young master would be if a gentleman who received the title of Knight lives like this…”
“I’ll consider it. Let’s go.”
**
When we arrived at the training ground outside the castle, there was a tremendous amount of weapons and armor piled up, and in front of them stood many recruits in formation.
“Hey, look at those weapons.”
“… Do they give those to you after you train to become a soldier?”
“Fool, they mean to use them in the army. Can’t you understand that?”
“I might not understand. Zach, why are you so talkative?”
As Helmut, who was supervising the training of the soldiers, and Weiss, the chief of the training camp, stood in front of the recruits, all the trainees fell silent.
As Weiss stood behind Helmut, Helmut smirked wickedly and said,
“I welcome you to take the first step towards becoming soldiers! I am Helmut, the chief of this training camp and a knight of Count Croilet! From today, I will personally take upon myself the heavy burden of turning you, who cannot even match your steps, into a soldier who walks in step and learns the art of spear fighting!”
Hearing those words, the serfs who had enlisted as soldiers chuckled quietly among themselves.
“No way… Could it be that we can’t even match our steps?”
“Even if I’m completely clueless, I know when to lift my left foot if you say left and my right foot if you say right… heh.”
“Surely, there can’t be such an idiot?”
Leaving the chattering soldiers for a moment, Helmut planted the halberd he was holding into the ground.
With a loud ‘thud’, the chatting serfs fell silent.
Confirming that, Helmut smiled and spoke.
“I understand why you would think that. I, too, didn’t understand why walking in step was so difficult during my rookie days! Alright, if you can walk in step on your first try during the drill training conducted by the instructors, I will exempt you from training for one week starting tomorrow by my authority! And I guarantee you meat daily for my honor.”
Upon hearing that, the expressions of the serfs brightened, and the sergeants, who had once experienced the notorious drill training, felt pity for the soldiers.
“Then, we will form the ‘squad’ that will train together from now on. And you will set up your camp! Since it’s summer, you won’t die sleeping outside for a few months! Begin!!”
Even though it was the first day, watching Helmut, I felt he would be able to train the soldiers well.
Seeing the serfs, who still hadn’t even received military training, hesitating yet moving well according to Helmut’s words made me feel relieved.
In this situation, if I stayed behind and tried to micromanage, it would only serve as the opinion of an armchair expert.
“Balt, let’s go inside. Now, I need to negotiate with the nobles. Even though I silenced their mouths with money, it’s still insufficient.”
“Yes, young master.”
**
After observing the training, we moved to the conference room located in the Count’s mansion.
As I opened the door and entered, I saw a room structured around a chair where the lord sat, with knights who influenced the territory seated along both sides of the corridor.
Before I arrived, all the nobles who could attend this meeting were already gathered, and despite noticing my arrival, they refused to stand up, deliberately expressing their dissatisfaction with my rapid increase of soldiers.
Surely, they couldn’t openly show their dissatisfaction because I hadn’t borrowed a single coin from their taxes or income.
Moreover, even though they came up with a ‘system completely out of touch,’ they probably had no way to rebut it.
I disregarded their protests and sat down, maintaining an indifferent expression as I spoke.
“Thank you for coming. First, let’s begin the meeting. Knight Jack Frost, if you have something to say, feel free.”
Upon hearing that, the white-haired elder knight, Jack Frost, payed respect to me and began to speak.
“First, thank you for allowing me to speak for the first time in this Count Croilet’s initial meeting. Though I have many questions about other policies, I must ask, why have you introduced ranks among the soldiers, such as Corporals, Lieutenants, and Captains?”
“Because it’s more efficient. First, explain to me the reason behind creating ranks among soldiers and the ranks of sergeants, corporals, and such,” I replied.
“Very well.”
After a moment, I pointed to a young knight in the corner, Silph Hillelan, and asked,
“Knight Hillelan, do you know how much the salary differs between a soldier who has served for one year and one who has served for ten years?”
Hillelan scratched his head and replied, “I believe it’s nearly the same. However, a soldier who has served for ten years gets a position like that of a squad leader, so I think the difference arises from that…”
“That’s right. But the difference in salary for just those two is only about one or two silver coins a month. The abilities and needs of those two cannot even compare. It’s no wonder the morale of soldiers with ten years of service is low. They are unwilling to take responsibility… This is a significant loss.”
Upon hearing that, the other nobles, perhaps having dealt with ‘this type of soldier’ at least once, began to reflect seriously, starting to nod in agreement.
Indeed, when likening it to the Korean military, the message that ‘corporal’ and ‘private’ receive the same salary, allowing the private to offload his work onto the corporal, seems effective.
“Therefore, the idea is to give them ‘ranks’ to instill a sense of responsibility and to promote them accordingly. Although they won’t receive noble treatment like knights, soldiers who have fought alongside you in the field should not be looked down upon by mere ‘freemen’, right? Of course, we have raised their standing, so we must expect them to perform accordingly.”
“That makes sense.”
“At this point, I believe it’s worth implementing. After all, aren’t all the salaries to be covered by Count’s discretion?”
“That’s correct. Sir Nitt, if it would be of help, we should adopt it for the soldiers in our territory as well. Our soldiers are only a few dozens anyway.”
Thus, my proposal to establish ranks among the soldiers smoothly passed.
“Then, why are the ranks such as Second Lieutenant, Lieutenant, and Captain being established… You mentioned including our illegitimate children in those ranks, but this is…”
“I will attribute it to the youthful ‘tyranny’ of the young.” Since you have provided us a great many benefits, we have been able to eliminate starving serfs in our territory with your help.”
“Yes, thanks to you, there are no starving serfs in our territory, and my retainers can all be well-fed. Thank you.”
Following that statement, all the nobles present in the meeting room bowed their heads in gratitude toward me.
Soon after, Jack, the most influential among the retainers, spoke with a serious expression.
“However, why do you intend to place veteran mercenaries and those with over thirty of our territory’s warriors on equal footing with our illegitimate children? No matter if they are illegitimate, they are all our children! Even if they are half-noble, they should be of a higher birth than those commoners!”
All the nobles nodded in agreement, implicitly voicing their consent.
I hadn’t anticipated such strong opposition, leaving me slightly flustered.
Yet, I soon composed myself and smiled as I responded to Jack’s words.
“Jack, no, Sir Frost.”
“Yes, Your Excellency…”
“I’ll ask seriously; what do your illegitimate children do? If their father is so accomplished, what have you given to your half-bred children?”
At those words, Jack Frost was left speechless.
And understandably so; no matter how influential he might be among the nobles here, he couldn’t bestow the title of knight upon his ‘illegitimate children.’
Scholarship is noble, but even though it costs less than making a knight, providing an ‘education’ or sending them to university would still require six gold coins a year for living expenses in the city.
With that, it would accumulate to twenty-four coins over four years.
Even when trying to become a scholar, only about 10-20% graduate, right?
In the end, even if I helped them, they would be left with just a small plot of land to live as freemen or would end up being a layabout in the corner of the family…
That surely couldn’t be called noble conduct.
“I’m telling you, they cannot conduct themselves nobly. Therefore, what I envisioned is that since they were born into a knightly family, they would want to perform ‘noble conduct,’ and if they are young, surely they would set aside a little bit of their pride and be able to command infantry.”
“If that’s the case…”
I stood up, looking down at the nobles.
“So, I intended to assign them as ‘Second Lieutenants’ commanding thirty soldiers, to grow and guide them. While a noble is expected to ride and pierce the enemy lines in armor, isn’t an equally crucial role commanding soldiers to win wars? Even if the former cannot be fulfilled, I can accommodate the latter if they cooperate with my current policies. I think it wouldn’t be a bad thing for you knights for those kids to command the soldiers…”
Upon hearing that, the nobles nodded as if they found it acceptable.
Certainly, if the illegitimate children commanded thirty soldiers as ‘Second Lieutenants’, they might mistakenly think they would align with ‘their’ side when unexpected events occur.
Of course, most nobles would make that choice in such circumstances…
Yet, if such a situation arises, I, the one who saves the illegitimate child who has fallen into a pit, would appear more valuable…
If I’m going to deceive, I should do it grandly, so I continued speaking.
“And after becoming a Second Lieutenant and getting promoted to Lieutenant and then Captain, I plan to have them lead a hundred-man troop. If they perform well there, I could assign them to positions commanding more than a hundred men, and if that happens, their achievements could earn them the title of knight.”
At my bombshell declaration, the nobles found themselves lost for words.
“I will cover all the costs required to maintain their dignity as knights, including their salaries. If they excel, they might receive territories just like you. In that case, don’t you think you would gain one ‘most trusted retainer’ instead of just an ‘illegitimate child’ without lifting a finger? Would anyone oppose such terms?”
Seeing my troublesome proposal for the illegitimate children’s employment problem resolved, and recognizing that their progress would strengthen their position, smiles bloomed on the faces of the nobles.
Before long, the nobles knelt on one knee and shouted.
“I apologize for my doubts, Your Excellency. Instead, I shall serve you with greater loyalty.”
Seeing their hidden ambitions, I smiled warmly and said,
“I forgive you. No, it’s also my fault for not explaining properly. Well then, since we are doing this, I will offer you even broader support. Isn’t all the tax you receive piling up as grain in your warehouses?”
“Yes, Your Excellency.”
I approached Jack, who was still kneeling before me, and said, “That tax, after being stacked in the warehouse, is purchased by the grain merchants of our city. I will now buy it all. Let them enjoy wealth together at 1.2 times the current purchasing price. Now, you may leave.”
At those words, the nobles rushed out with faces that could not hide their smiles, visibly excited.
Considering I had just resolved the burdens and increased their income, it was to be expected.
But do they even understand what that entails?
In a few years, those nobles who feign loyalty towards me will regret their decisions today with tears of anguish.
There’s a trap hidden within this proposal.
Now then, let’s proceed and make even bigger business moves.