Because of the wedding and the construction of the territory, Yate scattered too much energy to the general affairs of the territory during this time. After the wedding, he spent a week with his new wife Lottie in the Wooden Castle Mansion in the valley, and Art returned to his old busyness.

In the official room on the first floor of the newly built knight's mansion, Art held a letter from the city of Tignets and said to Angus and Odo: "Viscount Pierre has rejected my offer to canonize you as a probationary knight. ”

After listening to Art's words, Otto and Angus did not feel too much sense of loss.

Art also guessed this result when he handed the letter to Tinets County requesting the canonization of the Trainee Knight, in this era, it was not so easy for a commoner without a prominent background and noble birth to even get the title of a trainee knight without lords and land, and Art was able to get the title of Trainee Knight only because he was the son of a baron, had the so-called noble blood, and caught up with the opportunity to fight the army in the country.

Although Otto and Angus also made military achievements in the war with Swabia in the East, it is clear that these military exploits have not yet met the conditions for them to break through the "aristocratic barrier".

After all, Angus has rich experience, and he has a better understanding of the psychology of the great nobles, "My lord, now the palace has more and more strict restrictions on the canonization of knights, you are still just a knight who has just been crowned, if you are in a hurry to canonize knights to expand your power, I am afraid that even the court will not allow it, and those surrounding lords will not tolerate the emergence of more and more powerful forces around you......"

Art also felt that his reckless act of rushing to claim "fame" for his subordinates without careful consideration was a bit inappropriate. But at present, he needs his subordinates to keep working for him, if he can't let them see a real way to be promoted, I'm afraid that after a long time, his subordinates will also have a grudge.

"It's me who is too impatient and thoughtful, I just want to get a ladder of promotion for you, but now it seems that this ladder is not as easy to climb as I thought." Art shook his head with a wry smile and put down the letter in his hand.

"Thank you, sir, for being considerate of us in every way. To be able to follow a lord like you is the greatest honor of our lives. Otto said excitedly.

Art looked at Otto and smiled, "Otto, when did you learn to say these nice words?" The glory cannot be given to you for the time being, but the bloody and desperate things are waiting for you to follow me to do it. ”

The two knew that Art was about to start a big move again, so they sat up straight and waited for Art's order.

"Last month, the caravan encountered a lot of trouble when it went out to buy wedding supplies, and the most serious problem was the problem of banditry. Since last year's war in the east, bandits have become more and more rampant in Tinetz, and now there are more than 20 bandits in the county to more than 10 bandits, and there are even more sporadic bandits, and the caravan was attacked by two waves of bandits when it returned with goods, and the caravan guards were killed and seriously injured, and the caravan guards were a little shaken, and two timid guys proposed to Salter to transfer out of the caravan. Some time ago, I was busy with the wedding and didn't have the energy to pay attention to these wild dogs and hungry wolves, and now that the wedding is over, it's time for our army to go out and move their muscles. ”

Angus said indignantly: "That is, last week I escorted the guests back to Sapp with the Sentinel Cavalry, and on the way back, I encountered a lot of sporadic rogues and mountain bandits, and the Sentinel Cavalry was almost attacked by a group of rogues when they were camping, if it wasn't for Lusignan's early discovery of the anomaly, maybe the Sentinels would have suffered casualties." Tinets County is full of mountains and valleys, and it is the main road from the east to the north and south, and if you don't get rid of these entrenched bandits sooner, I'm afraid the court will have to blame you, after all, you still have the post of border inspector. ”

Otto nodded in agreement, adding: "The day before yesterday, the patrol team stationed in Boulder Town sent fast horses to report, when they patrol the trade road, they often see groups of Liukou Mountain bandits around the road, and recently, a team of unknown origin has frequently appeared around the Boulder Town station, the number of people is unknown. ”

After hearing this, Art frowned and asked, "Why didn't you report this matter to me?" ”

Otto hurriedly explained: "My lord, the patrol team is only a routine report, and the Boulder Town station has not been disturbed, you said that you do not need to report to you on the daily affairs of the army during your wedding break. After the sergeant major and I discussed together, we sent an additional squad of soldiers to the Boulder town station and stationed in Boulder Town and patrolled the surrounding area. ”

"Hmm~ I did have some slack off some time ago." Art was indeed newlywed some time ago, and Yan Er was accompanied by his wife every day, and did not pay much attention to military affairs.

"Sergeant Major, take the cavalry of the Sentinel Cavalry to clean up and patrol around the garrison of Boulder Town today, it is best to kill the group of people who are peeping at Boulder Town, at least drive them away, and then you will take the Sentinel Cavalry to explore the traces of mountain bandits and rogues throughout the county, and give me a thorough understanding of the bandits in the county."

"Odo, starting tomorrow, all the legion soldiers will be transferred back to the wooden fort to strengthen their training. Now that our soldiers are training very intensively every day, you have to ask the baggage team to provide sufficient food for the trained soldiers, and add some meat and fresh vegetables to the daily food, I don't want our soldiers to be unable to withstand the heavy training because they are not eating well. ”

"My lord, the soldiers have plenty of food. If you add meat, fruits and vegetables, I am afraid that the consumption of military funds is too huge. Now the monthly salary and material consumption of the army has exceeded 6,000 pfennig, not counting the configuration of weapons and armor......"

Thinking of the huge daily consumption, Art's brain hurts a little. The army is a gold-swallowing beast, and civil affairs also cost a lot, and Art has a single source of money, except for a meager territorial tax, and the caravan can make some money, and Art can only rely on the seizures of the expedition and Lottie's dowry to maintain its operation. And the coins in his hand can only last for less than two years, so this is still the premise of not continuing to expand his power.

"The matter of money consumption is up to me and the civil administration to consider, and the army only needs to think about how to increase its combat strength. During this time, I have ordered the Wooden Castle Workshop to repair the battle-damaged weapons and armor, and I have trial-produced a batch of long-handled chain maces and new weapons, and I have also asked the caravan to purchase some weapons and armor. We must continue to improve the training and battle formations of the army, and in May we will start to go to various parts of the county to clear out the mountain bandits! ”

"Yes! My lord. Otto and Angus stood up and answered loudly.

............

In the Woodfort's workshop, several craftsmen who had been captured from the battlefields of the East were working under the guidance of two Swabian craftsmen to try out a long-handled weapon called a halberd, which was about ten feet long and resembled a spear, except that a heavy battle axe was added to one side of the spear and a sharp scythe hook on the other, which could be used for assassination, axe for chopping, and hook for hooking cavalry and armored infantry.

The Swabian craftsman in charge of making this new long-handled weapon lifted a halberd that had been formed with both hands, and said to Art: "My lord, according to your request, the tip of the halberd has been changed to a diamond tip, and after testing, this diamond-shaped spear tip has a strong armor-piercing power. In addition, there is a raised wedge at the grip of the handle, which allows soldiers to easily determine the position of the axe and the hook, and there is a one-and-a-half-foot clad iron underneath the tip of the hook axe, which is difficult for the enemy to cut. ”

Art took the halberd in the craftsman's hand and held it in his hand, then turned around and swung it a few times, feeling a little too heavy, put down the halberd and asked the craftsman in a somewhat lame Swabian language: "Diem, can the weight of the front end of the halberd be lightened a little more, the soldier who is so bulky in the front section loses his agility when he uses it, and once his movements are slow, he is easily blocked by the enemy." ”

This Swabian craftsman was nearly forty years old, and he was originally a blacksmith in the city of Tebrun, the Duchy of Swabia, and a few months ago Baron Jeffrey of Birtenberg was invited to Birtenburg with a high salary, along with another carpenter named Luca, to make a large siege machine to attack Tartburg, but the two had just finished the large trebuchet when they were captured by the night attack of Art. The two of them were not worried about the danger of their lives, after all, they were the rarest talents no matter where they were, so not long after following Yat to the valley, under Art's courtesy and the promise of letting the two return to their hometown a year later, the two craftsmen quickly entered the role, not only repairing many battle-damaged weapons for Art, but also reforming a batch of seriously damaged weapons for Yat to use for the peasants of the valley guard.

This weapon, known as the war halberd, was made by two craftsmen and a few craftsmen according to the sketches of Art's design, and this thing was not the first of its kind, because in the southeastern mountains, the mountain people's army used similar weapons, but the mountain army was very poor, and their weapons were only a combination of a hand axe for logging and a short scythe for cutting wheat plus a crude spear shaft.

Master Dim picked up the halberd and shook it, and said, "My lord, we have already reduced the weight of the axe, and if we reduce the weight again, the halberd will lose its power when it slashes." ”

Art scratched his head, looked at the nearly ten-foot long handle, and asked, "This guy mainly pecks with a barbed hook, and the chopping action is not much, but since the weight of the halberd head part cannot be reduced, let's shorten the long handle a little." According to this style, the two handles were made and handed over to the army for trial, and then modified according to the opinions of the army. ”

Diem nodded yes.

Art picked up a hammer flail (long-handled chain hammer), held the five-foot-long wooden handle in both hands, went to the open space of the workshop and aimed at a broken shield used to test weapons, raised the wooden handle of the chain flail and spun it around in the air a few times, and then smashed it towards the shield, and the heavy ball of hoops and nails linked by the iron chain at the top of the wooden handle directly smashed the shield into a large hole.

"This guy is powerful enough! Then make four long-handled chain hammers, and also give them to the army for trial feedback. ”

"How's the preparation of the extra-long iron spear you have prepared?"

"Back to my lord, we are stepping up to make the spear shaft."

"Okay, there's no need to rush this."

Art returned to the hut with the hammer and flail, and boasted to the craftsmen, "You have worked hard, and tonight I have asked the room to prepare a sumptuous dinner for you, and the two craftsmen, Dim and Luca, will each be rewarded with twenty pfennigs, and the rest of the craftsmen will be rewarded with ten pfenniels each." Bard, you go to the old butler in a moment to get the money. "Art rewarded a lot of craftsmen, and by the way, bought people's hearts.

Everyone in the workshop thanked Ate in every way.

............

It was the middle of April and the weather in the valley was cool.

On the training ground outside the wooden fort, several commanders of the legion sat around Yat who was squatting and demonstrating, and listened carefully to Yate's detailed explanation of the new battle formation: "The role of the six-man formation is assigned to four defenses and two attacks, and the four spear and shield soldiers responsible for defense are equipped with short spears and shields, as well as short swords, hand axes, page hammers and other short weapons; A halberdier and a hammer soldier (mace) serve as the main attackers. The spear and shield soldiers form the shield wall, the halberd soldier is the secondary attacker and is served by the squad leader, who is responsible for directing the team's movement and selecting the target for attack, and the hammer soldier is responsible for the critical blow as the main attacker. When fighting against the shield wall, the spear and shield soldiers use their ten-foot short spears to maintain the denial range, and the halberd soldiers can also use the hook and sickle to hook the enemy's shield, armor or war horse to drag the enemy from the formation, and the hammer and hammer or spear and shield soldiers to assassinate them directly. When the shield array is squeezed, the spear and shield soldiers give up their short spears and replace them with short arms to press forward, and the two attackers use their long weapons to directly hit each other. ”

In order to allow the officers to intuitively understand the new battle formation, Yate also used different stones to represent different types of troops on the ground.

"Of course, there are still some problems with this kind of battle formation, one is whether the shield formation composed of four spear and shield soldiers can be enough to maintain the stability of the battle line; The second is that the halberd and the long-handled chain hammer cannot be made too long due to their weight, and when the shield array is thickened, the people behind cannot fight through their own shield array. ”

"At present, I am still thinking about this kind of battle formation, I think that the formed tactics should be to form a solid shield formation of a certain scale, with the legion soldiers as the backbone, and the peasant soldiers equipped with spears are arranged behind the backbone to increase the thickness of the formation, and the rear of the entire battle formation is pressed with bows and arrows, crossbows, and catapults, and the light cavalry is responsible for flanking attacks, and the assault force composed of elite heavy infantry breaks through from one flank, and then assaults the Chinese army to solve the battle ......"