Hearing Guo Kang's words, Theodora also helped him round the field.

"What you said is indeed a very special place. So, what impact does this have on army recruitment? She asked.

"Of course." Lady Elena nodded: "This is actually the most difficult place. ”

"Roman soldiers, mainly recruited from legionary farms. But in the Rus region, the main soldiers of various countries basically came from the cities. ”

"The Maharaja's personal guard, called 'Druzhna', was the core of the Duchy's army. Most of them lived in the central cities of the principality, while others were divided into different regions. Other reliable armies are also mostly from the townspeople. ”

"The countryside is generally only able to provide a few levies. Their quality and will to fight are terrible, and they are of little use except to fill the front. ”

"The most important thing is that, as I said before, the relationship between the countryside and the city is very tense, and many village communities are actually hostile to the princes, but because they can't beat them, they don't say it."

"Therefore, unless forced to do so, the village community will not send people to fight at all. Even if he had to go out, he would deliberately choose the most annoying thorns in the village, and try to kill them with a knife and get rid of them. In this case, you can't count on any high-quality soldiers. ”

"There's no way around it." Tuhuan understands this: "If you let people fight with you, you have to be paid." Looking at the situation over there, it is estimated that these people will not be treated well, right? It's normal for that person not to help. ”

"The main problem is that, as a rule of thumb, they don't do much." Lady Elena told him:

"The villagers can't beat the citizens. Every year taxes are levied, and many times it is the prince who takes the citizens to the countryside to loot the villagers. Although some village societies resisted desperately, and it was true that they suffered heavy losses due to tax collection, most of the time, even if they tried their best, they still couldn't defeat the princes and citizen armies. ”

"In the past, everyone didn't care too much about the combat effectiveness of the village militia, but don't we have exactly the need now?" Lady Elena shook her head: "So, in view of these situations in the Ross region, I feel that I have to think of more ways. ”

"Then how did you come up with the idea of organizing them to join the army?" Theodora asked.

"Unlike other nobles, my husband and wife spent a lot of time in the countryside." Lady Elena replied, "My husband was persecuted by the wicked and fled to my hometown. His father and his ministers did not dare to let him stay in the main city, for fear of reprisals, so they hid him in the countryside. Later, I left Dadu to look for him, and we both lived in the countryside for several years. Wait for the limelight to pass before returning to the city. ”

"I'm afraid other people won't have so many personal feelings." She sighed: "After all, we have seen all kinds of places, so we always feel that we should ...... Something can also be done. ”

"A few years ago, we just helped my brother and did some charity. But last year, I met the organizer of the 'New Spartan Commune', Mr. Persopoulos. I was inspired by their actions. ”

"Oh, it's them." Theodora seemed to understand what she meant.

"What is this?" Guo Kang asked curiously.

"You're stuffy at home and in the cathedral every day, and you have too little contact with it. In the future, I will take you everywhere for activities. Theodora shook her head and said, "This is an organization that appeared a few years ago, and my grandmother and I went to see it. ”

"We talked to them." The Queen Mother also said: "Persopoulos was a merchant before, and he has always liked things from the classical era. Later, it was said that the Greeks of today were too depraved and had a dispute with him about it. So in a fit of rage, he decided to set up a school to cultivate the moral character of young people, so that the new generation could return to the mental state of the ancients. ”

He had some like-minded friends, so he asked the philosopher Masarys, who taught at the University of Constantine, to be rector. According to Massaris, the essence of Greek culture lies in wisdom and fighting spirit. Now there is no shortage of wisdom, but the fighting spirit of unity and cooperation is too scarce. ”

"So, they paid for a piece of land in Sparta, and they built a school to teach philosophy and martial arts." She recalled: "I also went to compete with them, and there were a few children among them, and their qualifications were quite good. ”

"I see." Guo Kang nodded: "But why did the school have this name?" ”

"It really wasn't called this at first." The Queen Mother said: "After a few years of operation, everyone thinks it is quite successful, but Massaris thinks that there is still something missing. He studied ancient texts and believed that the fighting spirit did not come out of nowhere. Relying only on education, it is still a tree without roots, and the effect is limited. ”

He believed that the fighting spirit of the Spartans came from their form of social organization. It was the Spartan warrior commune that provided the support for this spirit. It was the relatively fair and equal rules within the Commune that allowed the Spartans to be more united. Later, the Commune gradually collapsed, and the spirit of the Spartans disappeared. ”

"There's some truth to that." Guo Kang thought about it and said.

"yes, so a lot of people were inspired." "We listened to him at the time, and when we think about it, it may be the same for my hometown," said Mrs. Elena. ”

Masaris felt that if he wanted to restore that spirit, he had to find a way to keep the rules of justice alive for a long time. He studied all the information he could find, and decided that even the Legion Farm was not perfect. So, we have to find a better way. ”

"Did you support him in his exploration?" Guo Kang asked with interest.

"Yes, although the slogan is to revive the Greek spirit, they have a hard time getting the support of the Greek nobility." Mrs. Elena replied, "We also wanted his research to inform us, so we sponsored him." ”

"That 'fighting spirit' idea is also very inspiring to us. I've always felt that the key to gaining recognition and equal power is to be able to fight. But as you know, that's exactly what the people of my hometown lack the most. ”

Now, they have bought another estate near the school and are trying to see how to manage it. If there are results, we will find a place in Ryazan with suitable conditions and give it a try. I don't know if I can succeed, but at least I can provide some ideas. ”

"I see." Guo Kang understands this.

Obviously, the Cao couple did not come up on an improper. They probably have considered a number of approaches, and may even have made some progress. This time I decided to unite with myself, and I should also see that there is an opportunity, so I will take advantage of the trend.

For Guo Kang, this is a good thing. At the very least, it can be proven that the support of the other party is in line with their consistent goals, so it is more reliable.

(End of chapter)