Chapter 100: The Empire

The armoured armies rolled away like mercury poured on the earth. ()

If you're an apprentice in history, you won't be unfamiliar with this sight when you open any parchment scroll that introduces the history of Swadia. Imperial soldiers flocked to Uxhall to assemble, once decades ago. On that occasion, the former king of Svadia led his soldiers across the Bluewater River, ready to punish his disobedient southern lords.

In a blink of an eye, so many years have passed.

The warriors of yesteryear are old, and only the eternal pastoral still echoes across the fields.

The Kugit had already burned down Normatun Point --- gateway to the eastern part of Uxhall a few months earlier.

For the farmers living near Uxhall, their mindset is complex. These peasants had heard about Emperor Fiderick's style from many underground taverns, and to be honest, the peasants were very fond of Emperor Fiderick, and these peasants, who had become impoverished by the war, longed for the emperor to come and divide the land equally, divide the houses, and grant livestock and farm tools.

But when the peasants greeted the Emperor's army, they found that they were not handsome officers and soldiers with blond hair and blue eyes, but a group of Kugit people dressed in imperial armor. Although the Kugit officers were Swadians, and did not plunder, the Swadian farmers felt a deep disgust.

The farmers remembered how, years ago, the Kugit suddenly appeared on the horizon and ravaged the plain like a storm. The Kugit convoys often received no help, and it was only after the arrival of the Tswadia officers that the farmers willingly took out their home-made bread and jerky.

Three hundred Kugit light cavalry and four hundred dismounted cavalry were the main force of this operation. They had to clear the way for the legions that came from behind.

This tactic of the Kugit was improved with the help of the Swadians. In the past, although the cavalry of the Kugits had an advantage in organic power, they did not take advantage of the enemy's elite infantry in terms of tactics and equipment. As long as the enemy infantry can spot the Kugits in time and form a simple formation before the Kugits arrive, the Kugits have no chance.

But now it is different, with the weapons and equipment of Svadia, although this Kugit is small in number, but their weapons and equipment are not inferior to any steppe army. In particular, the dismounted cavalry of the Kugits, after several armies of the Svadias, had become a worthy hoplite.

With a steady supply of supplies and a long period of training, the discipline of this Kugit is close to catching up with that of the Swadias. In addition, these Kugit people have no tribal burdens, and they are even more obedient to their hosts, and they are often able to burst out with great enthusiasm for battle when encountering battles. In the past, when the Kugit suffered two percent casualties, their combat effectiveness would drop dramatically, and their morale could only be restored after they had withdrawn from the battlefield and regrouped. And now, even with more than thirty percent casualties, the Kugits will continue to fight as long as the order is not given--- and this resilience will strike fear into any of their enemies.

An unknown example of how strong the Kugit were was was on the high grounds, where a lord gathered a militia of more than 300 men to mutiny and prepare to flee to the west. On their way to escape there was a stronghold of Kujit cavalry, and in order to obtain weapons and horses, the lord rashly attacked the stronghold, and the lord received the news that there were only more than seventy cavalry in the stronghold, and that there were no preparations.

The raid began at dawn, and the Kugits quickly assembled in front of the camp. The battle lasted until noon, and by the time the Swadia army on the high ground arrived to quell the rebellion, there were less than forty Kugits, almost all of them wounded, but they were in formation like the best soldiers of Swadia, resisting a wave of militia* attacks.

When the militia saw the troops in the city coming, they were immediately demoralized and dispersed. The battle was forbidden to spread at the behest of Emperor Fiderick, but various gossip in the army continued to mythologize the Kugit army. The consternation was even greater when the people learned that the Kugit cavalry was merely a reserve cavalry, not a regular cavalry.

This time, when the Kugit received the task of being a striker, they did not make any objections and set off directly. The constant fighting has made the Kujits already see war as their life, and they know that the reason why they can live and have no worries about food and clothing for their wives and children in the rear is because they still have a role to play in the empire, and if they choose and refuse to carry out orders, their treatment will also decrease.

Ukhru once suggested to the Emperor that he would allow him to recruit men other than the Kugits into the cavalry. Ukhru explained that the Kugit had very few people, and that it was now the limit to maintain close to a thousand soldiers, and that it was almost impossible to replenish them after losses, and that new soldiers would have to be replenished if they were to maintain their combat effectiveness.

For this kind of proposal, Lorenz. Norman offered his suggestion, arguing that it was not advisable to let the Kugits continue this attrition, but neither would it be possible to let them recruit their own troops. The Normans would never allow an alien to take charge of the army. Lorenz put forward a condition, that is, how many Swadians were in the cavalry ranks of the Kujits, and then the corresponding number of Swadian officers would be supplemented, and these officers would be controlled by the emperor's cronies.

Uhru blamed it as inflexible in the command of the troops and an obstacle to the integration of the two communities. Ukhru himself wrote a letter to the emperor, and it is interesting to note that for the first time Ukhru referred to himself as a 'Swadian'.

The Emperor did not agree to Ukhru's proposal to expand his army, because there was no need to expand all his armies yet--- and it was only perfunctory to say that Ukhru was expanding his army every day--- but as compensation, the Emperor transferred several other tribes that had defected to the empire to Ukhru's tribe. This brought the number of Uhru's tribe to more than 15,000, who lived in the pastures between Frost Castle and the Heights of Dehrim.

For these people, the emperor required them to maintain a standing army of 1,000 men, and to be responsible for maintaining two horse farms for the empire, and to provide the empire with a steady supply of horses every year.

Although there were constant admonitions to the emperor that if the Kugit were allowed to grow, there would be trouble, but the steppe people would always be steppe people, and once they grew stronger, they would start plundering.

The Emperor forwarded a report from Ukhru to these men, in which he reported on the movements of his tribe: "Your Majesty, your servant Ukhru is serving you south of the Frost Castle. With the help of some good imperial officials, we had more than three thousand men who learned how to cultivate the fields. We bought seeds, brought in oxen, and leveled the land. Our people were curious to sow the seeds, and then a few months later we saw them emerge from the ground and grow into countless seeds. More than a year later, we harvested, but it is a pity that your Majesty, the yield of three or four acres of our fields is only one acre of the Upper Swadia peasants. Many of the clansmen find it boring, lazy to take care of the land, and they miss life on horses. The old people even refused to change the traditions of life'' but, Your Majesty. Please see our efforts, under your protection, we are preparing to change the way we have lived for thousands of years, we want to integrate into the empire, we want to be less controversial''. ”

Despite seeing the document, the Svadias still accuse the Kugit of hiding their ambitions.

Regardless, the Kugit are good warriors. After working with the Kugits a few times, the Swadiya soldiers fell in love with the Kujits to provide intelligence and cover the flanks, and the Swadias seemed to be at ease in this kind of battle. The Kujit move through the battlefield like nimble wolves, striking at the enemy's weak points in time or strengthening their own offensive. A lot of Swadia infantry even got used to giving the flanks to the Kugits.

On the other hand, the Salanders were also in the service of the emperor. These men received a promise from the Emperor that they would help them regain their kingdom in due course, and welcome back the Great Sultan who had been placed under house arrest in Salander. However, the Salanders were much less criticized, probably because the Salanders were far fewer in number than the Kujits, and most of these Salanders used to be Mamluks. These soldiers knew etiquette, and their aristocratic officers were even more gentle and elegant, and they repeatedly won the favor of imperial officials in the social arena of the empire.

So while the Kugits were thrown to the front, the Salanders were left with the emperor, and these people were responsible for the emperor's safety, and even the Normans did not object. However, the Salanders still have some doubts in some places, such as the Salanders who ask the bride to change her faith when marrying a Swadian bride; And their women would not change their faith and marry Swadia men. This put the Salanders in a process of increasing their faith, and the emperor had asked the Salanders to become 'enlightened', but the Salanders said that it was their life, and if it had to be changed, 'we would rather not marry and serve Allah all our lives'.

Emperor Fiderick's regime has become a bizarre collection: in terms of faith, it allows God to exist with Allah and the pagan gods; In terms of political ideas, it is carrying out reforms that have never been carried out under the leadership of pioneers; In terms of the composition of the army, it has a well-equipped steppe cavalry, a group of loyal desert Mamluks, and countless officers without noble titles who are trying their best to serve it.

But one thing that no one can deny is that Emperor Fiedre's empire, although complex, appears to be orderly, and after bringing together the people of many nationalities, the empire bursts out with great energy. Although this multi-ethnic, multi-faith mixture would almost certainly have been a source of conflict long afterward, it now seems that the emperor's courtiers were still united.

East of Uxhall.

Smoke and dust were still rising from Norma's ruins, the ground was in shambles, and crows crouched on charred branches.

A thin little boy's eyes widened as he saw a knight riding his horse approaching. The knight wears a glossy Vecchia-covered helmet.

The knight pulled off his helmet and jumped off his horse, and the boy heard the roar of armor crashing against each other. The knight took a piece of jerky out of his saddle, walked over to the little boy and crouched down, and then handed it out in his hand.

The little boy couldn't hold back the hunger in his stomach and stretched out his dirty hand to grab the food.

From behind the knight, the boy saw a steady stream of soldiers coming from the northeast.

The angry horse is freshly clothed, and the flame on the flag is bright.