Although during this time, William's relationship with Victoria improved a lot. Pen & Fun & Pavilion www.biquge.info but that doesn't mean that in front of her, William needs to accommodate her, flatter her or anything.

In fact, just like Victoria, William will never let go of any opportunity to elevate himself and discourage Victoria.

"My evaluation criteria are different from yours. Victoria surprisingly did not refute this very annoying remark. Because in the previous New World Wars, she had recognized her shortcomings. That is, her military talent is not good.

Victoria is a very smart and flexible guy. More importantly, she is willing and willing to admit her shortcomings. This is very valuable.

"So, what are your criteria?" asked Victoria.

"To evaluate an army, the specific evaluation criteria ...... Victoria, what do you think constitutes an army?" asked William.

"People and ...... weapons?" Victoria replied somewhat uncertainly.

"It's only part of the story. William replied: "It seems to me that there are four elements that make up an army, and man is one thing. Then there are the material - including weapons, logistics, salaries and benefits. The third is the tactics used by the army. Finally, there is the spirit. ”

“...... Spirit?" William said the first three points, Victoria was able to understand. And I think it makes a lot of sense. Indeed, it is correct to equate logistics, etc., with the status of weapons. Only those who have actually been on the battlefield know that war is not a game that can be fought with weapons.

As for tactics, William, who felt that he could "invent" the tactics of line infantry and artillery, was fully qualified to say such things arrogantly.

But...... Spiritually, this Victoria could not understand.

"Yes, spirit. After this, William once again emphasized: "Spirit, in a sense, is an element that can sublimate the army, and even multiply its combat effectiveness." It's just a great pity that in this day and age, it is rare to see an army with a 'spirit'. ”

"I thought that after the Middle Ages, the so-called 'spirit' would not be needed. ”

Despite knowing that talking about the military, he himself was no match for William. But after William said this, Victoria couldn't help but show a mocking expression: "What do you want to say? loyalty, patriotism, or chivalry? Even in those centaurs, and the kingdoms of the dark elves, they worship bravery and courage, or something like that...... Well, you don't say it's faith, do you?"

Victoria said this in a sarcastic tone.

"Yes, even in the Middle Ages, those fellows knew how to arm their armies with chivalry and faith in the Lord of Light. They also knew how to arm themselves with the best horses, weapons, and riding spears. They also knew that the use of a pistol charge was their tactic. Is that any different from what I said?"

“......”

Although she was reluctant, in the end, Victoria had to admit that what William said did make sense.

"So, specifically. ”

As a result, Victoria decided not to discuss the matter anymore and continued the argument with William. She bypassed the topic and asked, "Well, by your standards." How many levels are there in the army?"

"Probably...... Five of them. William replied, "First of all, the mob and the rebels. Bandits and bandits of this level. Their weapons and equipment are inferior, their tactics are inferior, they have almost no logistical supplies, and they have little faith to speak of. These rabble, even if they are extremely numerous, can be crushed by a very small number of regular troops. They are not worth mentioning.

But again, there are some exceptions, and that is the mob armed with the mind and spirit. William's smile was a little ambiguous as he said this. It made Victoria a little unhappy...... She knew exactly what William meant by the "armed mob."

That's the guerrillas in the New World. The so-called one-minute man...... Some of them really believe in the other party's propaganda, which can probably be regarded as spiritual mobs. It's just that the thought of being beaten by a group of guys who can only be rated second to last in William's rating, Victoria feels extremely unhappy.

William didn't care if Victoria was cool or not. He just continued to preach what he wanted to say at his own pace: "Yes, that's it. This is the fourth level of troops. According to the current way of calculation, then those knights of the classical era should also be considered this level. The same goes for the more successful, funded rebel armies that possess some gunpowder weapons. This range is relatively large, and in fact, if you divide it carefully, you can divide it into several levels. But it's just too much trouble. So in the end, I decided that as long as I met one thing, I would fall into the fourth category - that is, obsolescence.

Including the nomadic army under the command of the great Centaur Khan. Including the green continent of the south, the armies of those orc warlords. It also includes the Indi, the Brahma devotees who ride elephants. These include the mountain people of the Pamir Plateau and the herders of the central steppe. If we were to go to war with them in the future, I believe it would be a very pleasant thing.

All the armies that are outdated and do not conform to the current mainstream form of warfare are, in my opinion, all of them the fourth estate.

Then there is the third class. This type of army is the largest in number and most widely used today. The most typical are the mercenaries who are all over the world and live everywhere. You say that mercenaries have a 'spirit', yes, in a sense, mercenaries also have a 'spirit of contract', as long as they have money, then they are the most loyal lackeys of the employer.

But that's not enough, not at all. Their loyalty is sufficient, but their will to fight is insufficient. They prefer to preserve strength. After all, the soldiers of these bastards are their capital. They don't squander their capital for the sake of an employer.

These guys pay attention to their combat effectiveness, their weapons and equipment, and their tactics are also excellent. Although there was almost no concept of logistical supply, no sense of honor, and there were no modern flintlock pistols, rifled guns, and very few artillery and cavalry. But if you can, you can do it. Therefore, this kind of army can be put to good use. And it can satisfy the vast majority of less discerning employers. ”

"So...... What kind of army is my army?" asked Victoria, "I mean, my company army." Speaking of this, Victoria's expression was solemn, as if she wanted to get a good evaluation from William.

Her so-called company army is the standing army of the large Briton company. A group of professional thugs who eat the salaries of large companies in Briton. Private Legion.

"Like I said, they don't have much spirit. William said, "The Hereford family has been on the rise for hundreds of years. You must have a lot of retainers in your network, right?"

"Yes, not a lot, and we applied them well. Victoria said.

"Very good...... William did not dwell too much on the subject, and then quickly answered Victoria's question:

"They don't have much spirit. Their will to fight is at most at the level of a company employee. Perhaps a handful of knights and aristocratic officers possessed an ancient chivalry. It doesn't make any sense though. Unable to influence the big picture.

Their weapons and equipment, tactics, as well as logistics and supply, personnel training and other elements may be better than ordinary armies. But there was no generational difference, so they were also classified as a third-class army. ”

Hearing William say this, although Victoria has some science in her heart, she is still a little unhappy on the surface. Whoever hears someone say that their elite army is like this, of course, will be upset.

But then, Victoria's unhappiness vanished. Because, William went on to say something like this: "

"To be honest I don't want to, but my army - I mean the White Legion, they're the Third Estate. Or it can be regarded as the top batch of the third level. At the end of the day, though, they're still the third tier. Especially now that these guys, who have been in the pubs of Rotterdam for so long, their morale, will, and training have naturally dropped...... To say that they are the top are a bit ...... Hmph......"

Speaking of this, William snorted mercilessly. Very contemptuous, with the attitude of treating the army he has assembled single-handedly as if it were garbage.

This made Victoria a little curious.

The White Legion was arguably the strongest and best army she had ever seen. Even such an army cannot be considered the top, not even the second rank...... That's pretty much it......

"In other words, there is no second-tier army in this world, and the division of the last two ranks is just a presupposition, or a fiction," Victoria couldn't help but ask.

"Not really. William was a little surprised: "Why do you think that." Or do you think that no one else can do what you can't do?"

"Then tell me that there is an army in this world that counts as the first rank, and that army that counts as the second rank. Victoria asked.

"Level 1 is really just a presupposition. Envisioned, or idealized, the army. The tactics of this army are perfectly suited to modern warfare. They are equipped with the best weapons of our time, and even some of them are being tested and have not been actually developed. Each of them has undergone at least three years of standard militarized training. Their country has a well-developed logistical supply system, and each of them has a spirit. They are convinced that they are religious, that they have ideals, and that they are willing to sacrifice everything they have in exchange for victory in the war. Each of them had the qualifications to become heroes in ancient times. ”

......

Victoria was surprised and asked, "Who are they?!"

William replied: "Blues." ”

Well, kidding, it feels like this idealized army really exists only in ideals. Even in the real world and real history, there has never been such an exaggerated and outrageous army.