"This one is too tall and can easily be rubbed on the scalp by friendly soldiers......"

"Hey, the one who is shorter than me is okay, can he hit his comrade in front of him with a musket?"

The establishment of the new infantry phalanx is not troublesome, and the gun shield, as a traditional art that has survived in the empire to this day, has a large number of military resources, and as long as the cooperation between the practice and the musketeer is tacit, it can be carried to the battlefield.

The only thing that is more troublesome is the selection of musketeers. As the main killer of the new Roman phalanx, whether it is flexibility, reflexes, or even height, weight, and shoulder width, they must be carefully selected. The New Roman phalanx was a tight line-up phalanx, and with expensive weapons and ammunition, there was no room for surprise.

Eventually, after a series of compromises, John and Giovanni finally selected 250 men as the first candidates for the musketeers of the new Roman phalanx.

"The quality of this soldier is really ...... It's hard to put into words. John lay on the bed weakly, "Sophia, you can see it too, one by one, skinny, let alone pick up weapons and equipment, I see that they even have a hard time carrying buckets of water!" ”

"Epirus had been impoverished for a long time after the Ottoman occupation, the manpower had been completely drained, it was itself in the mountains, there was no advantage in the development of agriculture and animal husbandry, the port was deserted, and the fact that these indigenous people of Epirus were able to survive on their own was already a very remarkable thing. Now that the manpower can be restored, we can't ask for so much ......," Sophia sighed, "Muskets are lighter than gun shields and body armor. As long as they have little flexibility, they are barely this group of people. ”

"I'm afraid that this theoretically unbreakable front will be easily crushed by the Ottomans after being brought to the battlefield, and these efforts will be wasted......"

"Brother, aren't you quite confident during the day? Besides, change is a necessity for sacrifice, and that's what you said. The little girl blew out the oil lamp on the table and put the manuscript aside, "Let's rest first, and think about the future later." ”

The next morning, the quartermaster assigned by Giovanni arrived at Fort Combrigne as promised.

Finalizing the list of troop sources is only the first step, and the next junior officers and weapons and equipment will have to be reorganized. The pikemen were fine, but this was the first time that a formed musketeer regiment had appeared in the Empire, and the quartermasters were unsure of what else they needed to prepare besides ammunition.

"Your Majesty, the army's remaining military budget is already very tight, and it is not even possible to guarantee that everyone will have a standard piece of light armor. As for other weapons and equipment, there are not many wrought iron weapons, and they need to be carefully considered. The quartermaster's face was a little embarrassed. The military expenses of the Phoenix Legion itself are already extremely high, and raising a musket phalanx is a bit stretched.

If it weren't for Jeffrey's tax reports for a clear understanding of the current economic situation in the Empire, John would probably have thought that the quartermaster was cheating him out of extra military spending.

"Standard light armor? No need, no need...... We don't shy away from it, poor is poor, and there is no need to equip the musketeers with armor for a class that can never fight head-on. In addition to the soft armor to prevent stray arrows, well, one person will issue a tight-fitting red coat, and the coat of arms of an immortal bird can also be tattooed on the coat of arms, which is beautiful and atmospheric. 05 If there is a lot of wrought iron, let's issue a rapier per person, anyway, the only principle is to be light, don't add any burden to the musketeers. With a stroke of his pen, John dropped hundreds of gold ducats' military expenses, "Save a little, learn smarter, the food is not enough, and the brother of Moriah next door will have enough to eat." ”

"Wait, Your Majesty...... Equipped with such an expensive musketeer, with armor all over his body, only one soft armor is needed? The quartermaster had an incredulous expression, "But isn't this too vulnerable?" What to do if the spear phalanx collapses? They simply don't have the ability to protect themselves! ”

"The cavalry and infantry have a phalanx of spears to help them block, and the arrows have a shield wall against them, and the shield array has collapsed, so what's the use of giving them full plate armor? Not a live target yet? John was really embarrassed by the professionalism of this group of quartermasters, "What they have to do is to stuff the damn gunpowder and projectiles into the muskets, and then shoot them out, and some other fancy armor and equipment will only add unnecessary burdens and weaken their firepower!" ”

……

After the selection of the musketeers was determined, the phalanx of spearmen was gradually replenished, and this new Roman phalanx was naturally rightfully listed under the name of the Phoenix Legion, becoming the second legion formed by John single-handedly, that is, the so-called descendant troops. As long as the formation is not destroyed, this legion will accompany John on his expeditions.

Perhaps this is the world's first formed phalanx of shooting and spearshooting. Although it is not as sophisticated as the Spanish phalanx, it will definitely be a huge threat in actual combat.

The crappy archery and coordination still need to be practiced, but in the daily practice, the combat effectiveness of this phalanx has already amazed John.

The phalanx of hedgehog-like spears, if it were not for the impact of the mounted cavalry on the Great Plains, it would be difficult for any class of troops to start, and they could only engage in hand-to-hand combat, but in the process of hand-to-hand combat, they would be quickly shot by the musketeers one by one.

"This disgusting front is disgusting! Who the hell came up with it! Vasika, who was standing halfway up the hill and looking down on the Legion's drills, said angrily, "Despicable! Despicable! ”

"Okay Vasika, you can't be angry because you lost to me again, this front is for the enemies of the empire, hahahahaha......"

"And what are you laughing at?" Vasica snatched the cane from Giovanni's hand, "You guys! Don't have a brain? Go around to the back! Go back! ”

The Wallachian light infantry circled the phalanx several times, but the pikemen on the periphery also formed a strong gun formation, wrapping the musketeers in the middle, and unless there was fire falling from the sky, they could not inflict any damage on the musketeers, but the troops under Vasica's command were constantly knocked down by the cork fired by the musketeers.

"Stupid! Stupid to the extreme! ”

"General Vasika, if you don't do it today, the combat effectiveness of the Wallachian cavalry is obvious to all, you are the backbone of the Phoenix Legion, and the future ...... of the empire."

"Come on! Tell me first, who the hell is! Told you about this disgusting front! ”

"His Majesty John Palaiologous, the great co-emperor of the Romans, the crowned patriarch, the designated crown prince of Constantine, and the sole heir of the empire."

“……”