After a light lunch, the Territory Council began again. The ensuing discussion was mainly about the army, and several commanders of the army were a little excited, but the civil officials, who already knew their positions, continued to sit at the wooden table with the mentality of watching the excitement.

Art picked up the glass of water on the table, took a sip, and said, "The army has always been the core of the valley, and in troubled times, a sharp broadsword is more useful than a nimble mouth. I have discussed the development of the army with several army commanders, and the officers and soldiers below have also discussed it, and at present our army is absolutely not strong, just as the sergeant major said, the soldiers of our army can only barely be counted as ordinary soldiers of the corps, so I will continue to adjust the issue of army reorganization discussed today in the future according to the needs of actual combat. ”

"Okay, let's let Otto give you a brief overview of the current state of the army." Art nodded at Otto.

Sitting upright, Odo picked up a birch bark with circles and dots instead of words (Odo was not very literate), and said in a slightly magnetic voice: "My lord, everyone, let me give you a brief account of the army. First of all, the personnel of the army: when we were conscripted north to Besançon last summer, we brought with us thirty soldiers, during the garrison of Tal Fort we killed and wounded eight soldiers, including two battle leaders, after the withdrawal of Tal Fort, another battle group leader was wounded and retired, at present two wounded and retired team leaders and two soldiers who could not fight normally have been placed in the valley, the wounded one has returned to the army, and now there are still twenty-three officers and soldiers left in the army of the original patrol team. ”

"Before the evacuation of Tal Fort, the caravan with the army also brought seventeen young warriors, after the completion of the training of the army has forty-eight officers and soldiers, in Tal Fort we did not disrupt the new recruits and veterans to form a mixed group, but transferred eight excellent recruits to make up for the lack of the original several combat squads, and the recruits formed another team. The 1st to 4th Squads of Soldiers and the Sentinel Cavalry have not changed their original commanders for the time being; The recruits formed three squads, and the squad leaders were currently serving as outstanding peasant soldiers and freed prisoners of war. Among them, the captain of the first squad of the soldiers, Bass, is also the leader of the first group and the leader of the second group, Colin; The leader of the second squad, Kazak, is also the leader of the first team and the leader of the second team, Wez; I am also the leader of the third squad, Patus the leader of the first group, and Bangada the leader of the second team; Tuba is the leader of the fourth squad and the leader of the first team and the leader of the second team, Crido. Andrew, the leader of the first squad of recruits, Obot, the leader of the second squad (former veteran of the patrol team), and the captain of the second team, Walker (former veteran of the patrol team), did not appoint a team leader for the recruit team. Sentinel Captain Ron. Spencer, the steward of the baggage brigade, was in charge of five military servants. There is also a border post with five defenders. ”

"This time, the caravan has brought back twelve young men, we are undergoing ten days of basic training for recruits, this batch of recruits is strong, they are all high-quality soldiers, among which the two guys named Lusignan and Klaus are very strong, and I can't beat the two of them with Bass." Otto had a good impression of the two new mercenaries, and made a special mention of it.

"Up to now, there are 65 officers and soldiers in the army, 5 accompanying soldiers, a total of 70 people. The wounded and retired soldiers have been handed over to the old housekeeper for placement. ”

"The second is the armament of the army. The first is armor and weapons, after successive allocations, war captures and purchases, the total of the current army equipment and the arsenal is as follows: armor includes: iron armor (including iron scale armor, plate chain mail, chain mail, including part of the hood, throat guards and arm armor, shin guards, skirts and other accessories), 22 sets of leather armor (including inlaid iron armor, double leather armor, single leather armor), cotton armor (robes cotton armor, armed clothing, short robe cotton armor) 21 sets; three barrel helmets, eight nose guard iron helmets, and seventeen domed iron helmets; Eight round shields with iron inlays, 27 round shields with skin, 30 self-made wooden shields, and six cavalry kite shields. The weapons are: three mounted spears, twelve spears, forty-five short spears, ten throwing spears, seventeen long swords, twenty-five short swords, thirty-nine daggers, sixteen chain hammer and hammer battle axes (hand axes and flying axes), fifteen bows and arrows (riding bows and foot bows), eight crossbows, and more than 2,300 arrows of various types...... Of course, many of these weapons and armor are damaged and need to be repaired by craftsmen before they can be used......"

On weekdays, he didn't pay too much attention to the army's arsenal and equipment, and even Art himself was a little surprised when he looked at the birch bark in Odo's hands beside him......

"It's better to fight soon!" Sitting at the table listening to the details of the weapons and armor in Odo's hand, Kazak couldn't help but whisper to Buzz beside him.

Odo's voice continued to sound, "The second is the army's war horse materials, at present the army has fifteen military horses (including saddle accessories), of which five can be used as war horses, and the rest can only be used as riding horses and pack horses; There were three four-wheeled iron-inlaid carriages, eight large and small military tents, 50 sets of robes and cloak with sashes, 50 sets of quilts and boots, and three sets of cooking utensils such as buckets and pots. The army grain and grass have now been handed over to the wooden fort, and the army has not kept the grain alone. ”

"Finally, there is the issue of the consumption of military salaries. Since the introduction of wartime salaries in the northward campaign, the army has successively distributed more than 35,000 fennigs of salaries and rewards and money for the purchase of weapons and armor, and the officers and men of the army have left a large amount of military salaries in their hands. After returning to the valley, the army resumed its usual salary, with seven pfennigs for recruits, ten pfennigs for soldiers, twelve pfennigs for team leaders, fifteen pfennigs for squad leaders, and eighteen pfennigs for adjutants. Miscellaneous military service was not paid, but room and board were 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, including two for retreating from the battlefield, four for hiding the cane for the war, two for the army's private fighting staff, and one for fleeing and killing (the palace conscripted peasant soldiers)"

"My lord, everyone, the above is a brief summary of the current situation of the army." Otto put down the birch bark in his hand, took a sip of water from the wooden cup in front of him.

"Okay, now Simon will talk about the situation at the border outpost." Art skipped over several commanders of the army and looked directly at Simon and said.

Simon was very surprised, as a wounded and resettled combat team leader, in the most desperate time Art gave him an important position, although he could not fight like those soldiers, but he has always done his best at the border outpost.

"My lord, the construction of the border post began in the early summer of last year, and by the time of the autumn harvest, it was all completed. At present, including Benjamin and me, there are five guards at the outpost, a watchtower, two houses, a storehouse, a stable, and a military horse. ”

"From the time the outpost was almost completed, we began to collect the entry tax of the caravan merchants, but most of the people who passed through the outpost were displaced people from Provence and small traders from the north who carried groceries to the south to sell, so in the past six months, in addition to the daily food and materials purchased by the outpost and the payment of salaries, we only had 2,300 pfennig tax coins left."

"Every month, when Benjamin and I take turns to go back to the valley to pay the old butler's taxes, we will report to the old butler the battle situation and important matters in the north and south that the outpost is responsible for collecting, and the old butler will also record it. In addition, except for a few homeless people who tried to steal the food in the outpost last winter, we killed them, and the outpost is not under major threat at present. That's the general situation at the border outpost, my lord. Simon stood up and bowed lightly to Art, then sat back in the wooden chair.

Art took Simon's words and said, "Well, you have shown me all the information you have collected from the outpost, and you will pay attention to collecting information on the situation in Provence in the south and the border between North and Swabia in the future. The problem of taxation is not urgent for the time being, now there is a war in the north and south, and the trade route is not yet open, and after the war stops for a while, the number of business travelers passing through the border will gradually increase, and the tax currency at the outpost will also increase. ”

Art thought for a moment again, and said to Simon: "Simon, now I add a duty to the border outpost, I will gradually increase the strength of the border outpost, and I will also send officials to act as tax collectors, in addition to collecting entry taxes in the future, the outpost also needs to be responsible for the purchase and hoarding of southern goods transported from the south, the lower the price, the better, the highest can not exceed the market price of the southern goods in Tinets City minus the price of transportation fees, the purchased southern goods are hoarded in the outpost, and the caravan will regularly come to pick up the goods and pay the money, Anyone who is willing to buy one-tenth of the southern goods in his hand to the outpost at the market price will be exempted from paying entry tax. In addition, in the amount of entry tax, the previous method of taking tax by car will not be continued, and in the future, it will be collected according to the tax amount of 30 taxes on the price of the goods carried, and after the tax payment will be issued to the inbound business travelers with a seal, I will ask the army to set up checkpoints on the way to Tinetz to investigate and deal with those business travelers who have not paid the tax in full. ”

Simon nodded in response.

Art solemnly looked around the main commanders of the army again, took out a birch bark with words written on the table in front of him, and said to everyone: "Ladies and gentlemen, I discussed the problems of the army with Otto and Angus yesterday afternoon, and I also talked with several squad commanders and the new arrivals Lusignnan and Klaus and others at dinner. I have adopted your good ideas and sorted out the ideas of the army's temporary standing number, soldier grouping, armed assembly, soldier training, military salaries, etc., why I say "temporary", because in my recent discussions with you, I found that everyone has their own reasons, and I also have my own ideas, I can't say that that kind of thinking is the best for a while, these ideas need to be tested in the army's training and combat, of course, we will continue to adjust and improve according to the army's combat needs in the future. ”

"Now, let me first talk about the standing number of troops and the formation of soldiers."

"From now on, the entire army of the Valley Knights is divided into four parts, namely the Legion, the Patrol Team, the Outpost Guard, and the Valley Guard."

"The Legion is the core of the entire Knights of the Valley's army. The clans are organized as follows-

a combat group of three and a non-officer leader;

The two combat groups are a squad, with an officer squad leader and the leader of the first team, with a total of six members;

The two squadrons are a squadron, with one officer squadron leader, one with baggage (medical) soldiers, and one escort (order flag) soldier, and the squadron baggage guards belong to the soldiers who need to participate in the battle, and a squadron has a total of 15 people;

The sentry cavalry team (light cavalry team) has a sentry cavalry captain, a deputy captain, and four cavalrymen, a total of six people; All sentry cavalry are strictly selected, ordinary cavalry is treated as a team leader, deputy captain of a sentry cavalry is treated as a squad leader, and a sentry cavalry captain is treated as a squadron leader;

Baggage team, a standing baggage officer, squad leader treatment; one physician and one clerk and the treatment of the team leader; Six miscellaneous soldiers (non-soldiers, equipped with short knives and daggers, and low salaries). The baggage team is mainly responsible for managing military salaries, transporting supplies, food and lodging for soldiers, building barracks, and treating wounded soldiers.

The recruit team is not a permanent officer, the captain of the recruit team is concurrently served by the three squadron leaders in turn, and the captain of the combat squad or outstanding combat soldiers is on duty as instructors, and the recruit team is mainly to recruit and train new recruits, and the recruits can only be included in the corps after completing the basic training and passing the test.

Three squadrons were added to the sentry cavalry and baggage regiments. The corps has one commander and two adjutants, and the two adjutants are in charge of the lower-level armies and are respectively responsible for military salaries, military salaries, military law, military intelligence, medical care, recruitment, training, vigilance, etc.

Except for the laborers, recruits, and healers, who are not considered soldiers, the rest of the officers and soldiers in the regiment are soldiers.

In view of the combat strength and combat skills of our army soldiers and the many problems in providing for the army, the regiment is temporarily only fully composed of the first and second squadrons, and the third squadron is only set up with one shelf. After this meeting, the army will cut out a number of soldiers to enter the patrol team, outposts, valley guards, and even directly eliminate them as farmers and forts, and I will make special arrangements for this later.

The salaries of officers and soldiers at all levels of the regiment were changed to monthly salaries, and the treatment was as follows: 20 pfennigs per month for miscellaneous servants, 30 pfennigs for recruits, 70 pfennigs for ordinary soldiers, 80 pfennigs for team leaders, 10 pfennigs for squad leaders, 110 pfennigs for squadron leaders, and 120 pfennigs for adjutant officers of the regiment. All regimental officers, soldiers, food, lodging, clothing, weapons, and armor were paid for by the regiment. ”

Arte paused for a moment and continued, "Now I'll talk about the Legion's temporary weapons and armor allocation. Legionnaires are equipped with weapons according to the new recruits - light infantry - heavy infantry - light cavalry - heavy cavalry. ”

"Recruits are given a short spear, a wooden shield, a burqa and cape, and their weapons are replaced by wooden sticks during training;"

"Light infantry is all ordinary soldiers of the legion, equipped with a set of cotton armor (armed clothing or single leather armor), a semicircular iron helmet, an iron spear, a short sword, and a round shield, and those who can use bows and crossbows can be equipped with bows and crossbows to consider training as crossbowmen;"

"Heavy infantry above the leader of the combat group, with a set of double-layer leather armor or iron-inlaid armor lined with cotton armor (long-sleeved chain mail for the squadron leader and above), an iron nose helmet, a short (long) spear, broadsword, heavy axe (heavy hammer, chain hammer), and a round shield with iron-inlaid skin;"

"The light cavalry is a sentry horse, equipped with a war horse, lined with cotton armor (armed clothing) covered with half-body chain mail or a set of iron-inlaid double leather armor, a hood lined with a throat, a nose guard iron helmet, a spear (javelin), a cavalry sword, a short-handled battle axe (throwing axe), a page hammer, and a shield, if the cavalry has their own weapons can also be configured by themselves."

"I, Angus, Ron, and Lusignnan are heavy cavalry, but at the moment they are only equipped with slightly better armor, and they mainly act with light cavalry, and we will plan when the heavy armor is sufficient."

"I won't list all the other small items like knives, daggers, and water bladders. We don't have so much of the above weapons and armor in our arsenal, so we will give priority to veterans for the time being, and then equip them with all weapons and armor when enough weapons and armor are purchased or captured in the future. ”

Art paused for a moment after speaking, and looked at the crowd discussing in a low voice, the equipment of this weapon and armor has been discussed and thought about many times, and it can be basically agreed by everyone.

Art tapped lightly on the table and said, "Okay, now I will announce the appointment of officers at all levels of the legion." ”

As soon as Art's words came out, the room suddenly fell silent.

"Baggage team: Captain Spencer, the doctor and clerk are temporarily absent, and the baggage service is transferred from the original military service."

"Sentinel Cavalry: Captain Ron, who is also my bodyguard, and the vice-captain is temporarily absent. Sentinel cavalry is strictly selected in the legion, and it is better to be absent than settled. ”

"Commander of the Legion Adjutant Odo, in charge of the First Squadron of the Legion, the Baggage Brigade, and the Recruit Corps, and assists in the management of the Valley Guard, responsible for military supplies, military salaries, medical treatment, recruitment, in charge of recruit training, and assisting in the training of soldiers;"

"Angus, the commander of the corps, is in charge of the second squadron and the sentry cavalry of the corps, and is responsible for military law, enemy situation, vigilance, and the training of soldiers and cavalry."

"I am the commander of the corps, in charge of the corps, and I am in charge of the third squadron, the patrol team, and the outpost."

Everyone is not surprised by the appointment and division of labor of Art, Otto and Angus, and such a pattern has basically been formed in the past six months, and they are concerned about the next appointment.

"The 1st Squadron of the Legion. Squadron Leader Bass; Colin, the leader of the first squad, and Crido, the leader of the second squad. ”

"Second Squadron of the Corps. Squadron Leader Kazak; Wezz, the leader of the first squad, and Patters, the leader of the second squad. ”

"The third squadron of the regiment is temporarily dissatisfied, and the squadron leader is Tuba; The leader of the first squad, Bangda, and the captain of the second squad, are temporarily absent. The 3rd Squadron had no soldiers for the time being, and Tuba and Bangada were in charge of the training of the recruits first. ”

"The former recruit squad leaders Andrew and Walker were transferred to the head of the Legion Combat Group, and the rest of the team leaders were selected by the squadron leaders themselves and reported to me for approval and appointment."

It is not surprising that the appointee is made, but there may be confusion about the two vacant positions.

Seeing everyone's doubts, Art explained: "The positions of the deputy captain of the Sentinel Cavalry and the second squad leader of the third squadron are reserved for those two newcomers, provided that they can successfully complete the ten-day recruit training and pass my test. ”

Everyone was relieved.

Art twisted his sitting posture and continued: "According to the above arrangement, in addition to the corps commander, three squadrons and one sentry cavalry only need less than forty soldiers. But we currently have more than 60 soldiers, so we have to cut out a number of soldiers, and the better of these soldiers will be sent to patrol teams, outposts, or caravans to serve as escort drivers, and the slightly worse ones will be sent to the recruit corps for three months of training again, and after three months, the better trained soldiers will be added to various places, and those who are no longer suitable for being soldiers will be handed over to the civil administration for resettlement and handling. It's a complicated matter, and it will take time to do it slowly. ”

"The guards of the outpost belong to the army, and they are treated as squads, and they are stationed at the border outposts. There were two commanders and four guards standing in one lieutenant and one in charge, and one additional tax collector was appointed. The main responsibilities are stationed at the border to maintain border security, collect entry taxes, collect information, and purchase southern goods. Simon, the commander of the outpost, Benjamin, the adjutant, and one of the original garrison soldiers were retained, and the other three were sent by me. There was a temporary shortage of tax collectors, and they were recruited by caravans. ”

"There is also a security patrol in the south of the Tionets court, which belongs to the army, is treated as a squad, and is stationed in a boulder pile. There is a permanent captain and three soldiers, Obote is the patrol captain, and the soldiers are transferred by the army. The main responsibilities are to inspect past business travelers, collect enemy information, alert bandits, and maintain law and order. ”

"In addition, the Valley Guard was transferred from the original Fort Guard, which belonged to the civil administration and the army, and there were three captains and one instructor in the permanent ranks, with Scott as the captain, Lawrence and Lynn as the deputy captains, and Gehr as the instructor, and the soldiers of the Guard had two sources - the soldiers who were wounded and retreated from the army but could barely fight and the young and strong people selected from the territory, and those who performed well in the captives in the state of emergency could also be called up to fight in the guard, and those who had made meritorious achievements could be restored to the status of free people. The main responsibilities of the Valley Guard are twofold, one is to be responsible for guarding the stability of the valley, including external defense against enemies and internal security, including assisting in the creation of stewards and management of prisoners of war; The second is to be responsible for training the young and strong people in the valley in the spare time, and the main source of soldiers in the army in the future will come from the valley knights, so we must train the young and strong people, at least let them know how to take up arms and follow me into battle. The three captains and one instructor of the Valley Guard were no longer paid separately, and the regular soldiers of the Guard were only paid two pfennigs per day for training or mission. Several commanders of the guard were armed with a short sword, a wooden shield, and a set of cotton armor, while ordinary soldiers did not always have weapons and armor, and the weapons and armor cut by the army were handed over to the valley guards to be stored in wooden forts, and issued to the assembled ordinary peasant soldiers during training and mission. Again, I reiterate that the Guardian of the Valley, which is mainly under the jurisdiction of the civil administration but is also subject to the army, will in the future be said to have organized the villagers themselves to prevent wild beast attacks, so as not to arouse suspicion.

Art closed the parchment in his hand, stood up, and said loudly: "The above is all the military and civil affairs structure and personnel appointments of the Valley Knights, and in the same way, I will adjust and officially appoint you according to your performance in three months. ”

Everyone in the room got up......