"Your Excellency, Her Majesty is resting in the palace of the fortress of Seville, not far from here, and you can join the main forces of our country directly with your team. ”

"Great, that's it!"

In the palace of Seville, Salian met with two of Murasen's rulers, Queen Lydia and King Gonzalo II, who were on the throne. Although Muracen had just been formed by the merger of Castia and Toledo, the country was peaceful and stable. I have to say that King Gonzalo II also contributed a lot, his "inaction" has made a good story, although it is a two-king co-rule, but regardless of domestic and foreign affairs, Murasen's decision is all up to the queen.

"Hehe! Salian Aiqing hasn't seen you for a long time, but I've reserved a room for you in the palace. ”

"Thank you, Your Majesty, this time the minister has brought a thousand heavy cavalry and two ships for Your Majesty's disposal. ”

"Well, what our country lacks is heavy cavalry, Aiqing really solves my urgent need!"

"Haha, it is the minister's responsibility to share His Majesty's worries. ”

"In addition, the war has become a holy war, and His Majesty Pope Alex sent a silver cross and prayed for our army. We who have the name of righteousness will surely win the final victory!"

At the ensuing court dinner, Queen Lydia's senior lady-in-waiting, Countess Don Lonney, danced with Salian on behalf of Her Majesty. The two cooperated tacitly and were praised by the Murasen court.

"Your Excellency the Earl, I heard that the two maids you brought with you are beautiful and fragrant, and they are rare in the world, you are really a blessing!"

"Haha, ma'am, you laughed, they are just two beautiful vases, and there is no comparison with a beautiful woman of your talents. ”

"Oh, you're still so talkative. ”

"Hehe, to be honest, I really want to invite you to go to the New Mark Principality to manage the court for me, because my court has just been established, and the rules and etiquette are still blank!"

"Hehe, why not? Do you treat me like an outsider?!"

"Alas...... It's just that Bellerin is remote, a bitterly cold place, and doesn't have the bustling capital of Mullasen or other powers, so it's too humiliating for you to go. ”

"Why, I'm just a caged bird here, if you really want to, take me there!

"Well, since Madame has this grace, I will make a request to the Queen at once after the victory of the war, and I will take you. ”

The newly rising small aristocratic family is in urgent need of all kinds of talents, and Don Loni's etiquette and palace fighting talents are of course also needed, although Salian is young, but the harem is already quite large and all of them are powerful people, and at the same time, the internal southern and northern faction strife is surging, before it ferments into a large-scale palace fight, Salian needs someone who has nothing to do with either side to balance them.

The next day, together with Sallian's 1,000 men, a total of 100,000 troops, set out in full gear, with King Gonzalo II remaining behind to command the reserves and navy. Salian rode his "Doros II" to the side of Queen Lydia's royal carriage. From time to time, Madame Don Lony greeted him with a silk handkerchief in her hand. And Salian will also swing his sword in return.

In this way, the army reached the Karikasas Pass near the kingdom of Gera without hindrance. Although it was Queen Lydia's own expedition, it was Murasen's first general, General Córdoba, who was really in charge of the army. Oh no, he has already been promoted to marshal in the Queen's new military rank system, and the Queen has 100% trust in him. At the same time, Salian now finally has the opportunity to experience his command art and learn the art of war under his men.

Seeing that Mullarcen's army was singing and morale-high, well supplied and well-equipped, Salian asked Marshal of Córdoba about it. On the other hand, the old marshal also gave his full attention at the Queen's behest.

"Haha, Your Excellency the Count of St. Valentine, the core of the old man's set of things is not any breakthrough in military training or tactics, but the improvement of the conscription system. Marshal Córdoba said proudly.

"What does the old marshal understand?"

"At present, the armies of the countries of the Western Continent are composed of nobles and their private soldiers, mercenaries, and serfs forcibly conscripted under the direct jurisdiction of the state. The nobles fought on their own, the mercenaries had no faith, and the serfs were greedy for life and afraid of death. ”

"Well, it's true, the three main categories of personnel in the army have their own shortcomings. However, I believe that after long-term rigorous training and sophisticated weaponry, these problems can be alleviated to a certain extent. ”

"Your Excellency, I know that it can be done, but it costs a lot of money and time, and you know that Her Majesty has taken out all the ancestral jewels for the nation-building, and she is now wearing glass. It is unthinkable to keep and train hundreds of thousands of horses at the same time!"

"And what do you do?" said Salion, humbly pleading.

"The biggest secret lies in the mobilization system. After the unification, Mullasen had nearly 9 million people, and I borrowed the methods of the Whirat Empire to establish nine military districts throughout the country. Each military region stipulates that a strategic unit army is stationed under its banner, and there are three newly invented establishment levels, which I call a division, which is composed of three infantry wings and two magic gun wings and corresponding logistics units, and a division is a complete phalanx. Three divisions of more than 40,000 people can form an army on its own, and it is very convenient to mobilize. Relying on this mobilization method, China's total military strength can even reach 400,000 soldiers and horses. ”

"In normal times, it is not possible to maintain such a large number of people, and the regular army staying in a fixed place for a long time is easy to collude with the local aristocracy and expand its power. It is recorded in the history books that the 'Anshi Rebellion' in a certain country in the East came about in this way. Salian was still a little puzzled.

"Yes, His Excellency the Earl is really smart, so the standing strength of each military region has only a small number of fixed personnel in peacetime, that is, middle and upper rank officers, staff officers and a small number of elite soldiers, who can serve for a long time as professional soldiers and skeletons. In addition to this, the combat unit retains only one infantry wing and one magic gun wing, and each soldier is set to serve for a period of three years. Three years later, they went home and became reservists, and I re-recruited new recruits. These numbers are still maintained. ”

"I see, three years of training is enough for an ordinary healthy person to become a qualified soldier, and each military district only needs to keep two wings of soldiers in peacetime, and the burden is not heavy. And a small number of professional officers and elite soldiers who are not limited to their backgrounds have ensured the combat effectiveness of this army. At the same time, it also avoided the emergence of elderly ruffians who had served for decades, had corrupted military discipline and low morale. It's a great idea to learn from each other's strengths. But there's one thing I don't understand, how do you prevent the expansion of local military power?"

"The army arranged by each military region is not a local, hahahaha!"

"I see! You must have placed the soldiers recruited from the territory of the former Kingdom of Toledo in the military district of the former territory of the Kingdom of Castia. And they're going to change their guards a lot!?"

"Yes, non-local soldiers can also be used as policemen, and there is no psychological pressure to suppress local uprisings. "Marshal Córdoba thought very well, he took into account all the destabilizing factors.

"It was a clever plan to kill multiple birds with one stone, and those trained reservists could be quickly remobilized in the event of war, and quickly expanded into full divisions and large phalanxes. However, this method can only be implemented in countries that are centralized and powerful. Alas, when will our Divine Grace Empire come to this point!"

For example, the wing led by Frango the "Storm Maniac" is a standing infantry wing with strong combat effectiveness, and after experiments under the city of Severus last year, General Córdoba further improved the large phalanx of Murassen. The number of spearmen in the Franco Wing rose further to 2,200 men, and weapons and equipment were uniformly distributed by the state. There were only 800 elite shield swordsmen and sword fighters in the long-serving service, and they entered into contracts with the state, which paid them an annual salary and provided their own weapons and armor. However, due to the scarcity of horse farms in the kingdom of Mulasen, there is no cavalry to accompany the wing.

The light scout cavalry directly under each division was counted as a logistics unit, because they had to be ridden from a young age and the horses were expensive, so most of these cavalrymen were nobles and long-serving personnel. The Magic Gun United is equipped with a new type of shotgun magic gun with Mullarsen's characteristics, with a caliber of more than 15 mm, and the wall is thick and heavy, so it cannot be held with both hands, and it needs a two-legged bracket to launch stably. However, the iron sand emitted can cause damage to enemies in a wide area, and it can be said that it uses power instead of accuracy, which is completely different from the Divine Grace Empire's pursuit of range and accuracy.

The 100,000 troops brought by Córdoba this time included two armies in addition to the logistics troops, both of which were soldiers recruited from the former Toledo Kingdom dependencies, that is, the reliable descendants of Queen Lydia. The men of Franco's division were all devout Orthodox Christians from the western mountains of the Kingdom of Toledo, and they had a blind loyalty and worship for Queen Lydia, who was given the title of Holy Lady by the Pope. And in each company of this division there was a chaplain, and the soldiers could come to them at any time for confession or confession to ensure morale. Most importantly, these pastors have a special mission on their shoulders.

The current emir of the kingdom of Phaela is called Abdul Rahman, the mother of the new emir was originally the side chamber of the previous emir, and she is not a Moor, but a prisoner of war, so many people in the kingdom of Gera think that Emir Rahman is not in the right position. Rebellions occur from time to time, and the political situation is unstable, which wastes the country's strength. So this is one of the reasons why Queen Lydia launched the War of Unification.

Today, the country's regular army has a total strength of just over 30,000 men. Although he had received rumors of Murasen's troops, he had spent a lot of money to hire more than 10,000 Moorian tribesmen from the Red Sand Continent to help in the war, but in the eyes of the Marshal of Córdoba, it was just a rabble. Vulnerable in the face of a new army.

The disparity in national power is even greater, as the once prosperous and wealthy kingdom of Gera now controls only a prominent plain at the southernmost tip of the Mullasen Peninsula, which is its capital, and its northern mountains are natural defensive lines. The palace of the emir of the Kingdom of Gerla, the famous monument "Red Palace", was built on the mountain. Over the centuries, it has produced many beautiful and moving legends.

From the top of this magnificent and elaborate palace, the emirs of the Gera kingdom could overlook the land and people under his rule, and on the other hand, it also served as the "Imperial Gate of the Son of Heaven", and the fortress "Red Palace" took its name from its magically strengthened red outer walls, thus protecting the emir's people and wealth.

The army rested for two days at the Karicasas Pass, near the "Red Palace", during which time Queen Lydia sent an emissary to persuade her to surrender. The daily cost of mobilizing an army of 100,000 is astronomical, and it is certainly best to take this place quickly and bloodlessly. Unfortunately, Emir Rahman was unwilling to give in and handed over the centuries-old legacy of his ancestors. clamoring for a battle to the death with the infidel army of Murasen.

"Salian Aiqing, this battle seems inevitable. ”

"Haha, my dear majesty, let the ministers be the vanguard to kill their spirit, our army has such a great advantage, the alliance under the city can still be fought for. ”

"Then there is Lao Aiqing, I ask Marshal Córdoba to fully support you. ”