Because of the wedding and the construction of the territory, Art had too much energy distributed to the Civil Affairs of the territory during this period.
After the wedding, he spent a week of tiring but joyful time with his newlywed wife, Lottie, in the Valley Wood Fort manor, and Art returned to his usual busy schedule.
In the public office on the first floor of the newly built Knight's Manor, Art held a letter sent from Tinietz City and said to Angus and Odo, "Viscount Pierre rejected my proposal to grant you the title of Squire."
After hearing Art's words, Odo and Angus did not feel much disappointment.
Art had already guessed this outcome when he submitted the letter requesting the Squire title to Tinietz County.
In this era, it was not easy for commoners without prominent backgrounds and noble birth to even obtain the title of Squire, which came without a peerage or land.
Art was fortunate enough to obtain the title of Squire only because he was the son of a Baron, possessing what was called noble blood, and he happened to catch the Earl's urgent need for a fighting army.
Although Odo and Angus also achieved military merits in the war between the Eastern Frontier and Swabia, these merits were clearly not enough to allow them to break through the “noble barrier.”
Angus, after all, was experienced and understood the psychology of the great nobles better. “My Lord, the Court’s restrictions on the enfeoffment of Knights are becoming stricter and stricter.
You are only a recently enfeoffed Knight.
If you are eager to enfeoff Knights to expand your power, I am afraid even the Court would not allow it, not to mention that the surrounding lords would not tolerate an increasingly powerful force appearing next to them.”
Art also felt that his rash action of eagerly seeking “honor” for his subordinates without careful consideration was somewhat inappropriate.
However, he currently needed his subordinates to constantly risk their lives for him, and if he could not show them a tangible path to promotion, he feared that after a long time, his subordinates would also harbor resentment.
“I was too impatient and thoughtless.
I just wanted to find a ladder of promotion for you, but it seems now that this ladder is not as easy to climb as imagined.” Art smiled bitterly, shook his head, and put down the letter in his hand.
“My Lord, thank you for always thinking of us.
It is the greatest honor of our lives to be able to follow a Lord like you,” Odo said excitedly.
Art looked at Odo and smiled, “Odo, when did you learn to say such nice words?
I can’t give you glory for now, but there are urgent matters of bloodshed and fighting that I need you to do with me.”
The two knew that Art was about to make a big move again, so they sat up straight and waited for Art’s command.
“Last month, when the Quartermaster Corps went out to purchase wedding supplies, they encountered a lot of trouble, the most critical of which was the rampant problem of bandits and vagrants.
Since the outbreak of war in the Eastern Frontier last year, bandits in various parts of Tinietz have become more and more rampant.
Now, the number of bandit groups of twenty or more within the County has increased to over ten, and scattered bandits are as numerous as cattle hair.
The Quartermaster Corps was harassed by two waves of bandits on their return journey with goods, resulting in one death and two serious injuries among the Quartermaster Corps guards.
The Quartermaster Corps guards were a bit shaken, and two timid fellows even asked Sartre to be transferred out of the Quartermaster Corps.
Some time ago, I was busy with wedding matters and had no energy to deal with these wild dogs and hungry wolves.
Now that the wedding is over, our army should go out and stretch its muscles.”
Angus said indignantly, “Exactly.
Last week, I led the Sentry Cavalry to escort guests back to Sap, and on the way back, we encountered many scattered vagrants and mountain bandits.
The Sentry Cavalry was almost ambushed by a group of vagrants while camping.
If Lusignan had not discovered the anomaly early, the Sentry Cavalry might have suffered casualties.
Tinietz County has many mountains and dense valleys, and it is also a vital north-south passage in the east.
If these entrenched bandits are not cleared out early, I am afraid the Court will blame you, after all, you still hold the position of Patrol Officer.”
Odo nodded in agreement, adding, “The Patrol Team stationed in Jushi Town reported via fast horse the day before yesterday that they often see groups of three to five vagrants and mountain bandits appearing around the roads when patrolling the trade routes, and recently an unknown team has frequently appeared around the Jushi Town garrison, with an unknown number of people.”
Art frowned upon hearing this and asked, “Why wasn’t this reported to me?”
Odo quickly explained, “My Lord, the Patrol Team was just making a routine report, and the Jushi Town garrison was not attacked.
You said that during your wedding rest period, daily military affairs did not need to be reported to you.
After consulting with the Sergeant and me, we dispatched a small team of Soldiers to the Jushi Town garrison to be stationed in Jushi Town and patrol the surrounding area.”
“Hmm~ I was indeed a bit lax during that time.” Art had indeed been newlywed during that period, spending every day with his beloved wife and not paying too much attention to military affairs.
“Sergeant, today, take the Sentry Cavalry to sweep and patrol the area around the Jushi Town garrison.
It would be best to eliminate that group of people spying on Jushi Town, or at least drive them away.
Then, for the rest of the time, you will lead the Sentry Cavalry to investigate the traces of mountain bandits and vagrants throughout the entire County, and thoroughly understand the bandit situation within the County.”
“Odo, starting tomorrow, all Soldiers of the legion will be transferred back to the Wood Fort for intensified training.
Currently, the daily training intensity of our Soldiers is very high.
You must ensure that the Quartermaster Corps provides sufficient food for the trained Soldiers.
Add some meat and fresh vegetables to their daily food.
I don’t want our Soldiers to be unable to withstand heavy training because they are not eating well.”
“My Lord, the Soldiers’ food is already very abundant.
If we add more meat, fruits, and vegetables, I’m afraid the military expenditure will be too great.
Currently, the army’s monthly military pay and material consumption already exceed six thousand fenny, not including the allocation of weapons and armor.”
Thinking of the huge daily expenses, Art’s head began to ache.
The army was a gold-swallowing beast, and Civil Affairs also consumed a lot.
Art’s sources of money were singular; apart from meager territorial taxes, only the Quartermaster Corps could earn some money.
Art could only rely on spoils from campaigns and Lottie’s dowry to maintain operations.
And the money he had could only sustain less than two years of consumption, and this was under the premise of not continuing to expand his forces.
“The matter of financial expenditure will be considered by me and Civil Affairs.
The army only needs to think about how to improve its combat effectiveness.
During this time, I have already ordered the Wood Fort workshop to repair damaged weapons and armor, and also to trial-produce a batch of long-handled chain hammers and new weapons.
In addition, I have also had the Quartermaster Corps purchase some weapons and armor.
We must continue to improve the army’s training and battle formations.
Starting in May, the army will march to various parts of the County to clear out mountain bandits!”
“Yes, My Lord!” Odo and Angus stood up and answered loudly.
In the Wood Fort’s workshop, several craftsmen captured from the Eastern Frontier battlefield were trial-producing a long-handled weapon called a halberd under the guidance of two Swabia Master Craftsmen.
This weapon was about ten feet long and resembled a spear, except that a heavy battle-axe was added to one side of the spearhead, and a sharp sickle-hook was added to the other side.
The spearhead could be used for stabbing, the axe for chopping, and the hook for crippling cavalry horse legs and armored infantry.
The Swabia Master Craftsman responsible for making this new long-handled weapon lifted a finished halberd with both hands and said to Art, “My Lord, according to your requirements, the spearhead part of the halberd has been changed from a flat blade to a rhombic point.
After testing, this rhombic spearhead has strong armor-piercing power.
In addition, there is a protruding wedge at the grip, allowing Soldiers to easily determine the position of the axe and hook based on the wedge.
Below the hook-axe spearhead, there is also a one-and-a-half-foot iron wrap, making it very difficult for enemies to cut through.”
Art took the halberd from the Master Craftsman’s hand, held it, then turned around and swung it a few times, feeling it was a bit too heavy.
He put down the halberd and asked the Master Craftsman in somewhat broken Swabia, “Dim, can the weight of the front end of the halberd be reduced further?
If the front end is so clumsy, Soldiers will lose flexibility when using it.”
This Swabia Master Craftsman was nearly forty years old and was originally an iron Master Craftsman in Teblen City in the Grand Duchy of Swabia.
Several months ago, Baron Geoffrey of Bilton Fort hired him, along with another carpentry Master Craftsman named Luca, with high salaries to come to Bilton Fort to construct large siege engines for attacking Talburg.
However, as soon as the two had finished building the large trebuchet, they were captured by Art in a night raid.
The two were not worried about their lives, as they were the most valuable talents no matter where they were.
So, not long after arriving in the Valley with Art, under Art’s courtesy and the promise of their return home after a year, the two Master Craftsmen quickly got into their roles.
They not only repaired many battle-damaged weapons for Art but also modified a batch of severely damaged weapons discarded by the army for use by the Valley Guard farmer-Soldiers.
This weapon, called the halberd, was forged by the two Master Craftsmen with several artisans based on Art’s design sketches.
This thing was not an original invention, as the mountain militia in the southeastern mountains used similar weapons.
However, the mountain militia was very poor, and their weapons were simply a combination of a logging hand-axe and a short sickle for harvesting wheat, plus a crude spear shaft.
Master Craftsman Dim picked up the halberd, weighed it, and said, “My Lord, we have already reduced the weight of the axe part.
If we reduce the weight further, the halberd will lose its power when chopping.”
Art scratched his head, looked at the nearly ten-foot-long handle, and asked, “Since the weight of the halberd head cannot be reduced, then shorten the long handle slightly.
Forge two according to this design and give them to the army for trial, then modify them according to the army’s feedback.”
Dim nodded in agreement.
Art then picked up a heavy chain flail (long-handled chain hammer), gripped the five-foot-long wooden handle with both hands, and walked to an open space in the workshop.
He aimed at a broken shield used for testing weapons, swung the chain flail handle in the air a few times, and then smashed it hard towards the shield.
The spiked heavy ball connected by an iron chain at the top of the wooden handle directly smashed a large hole in the shield.
“This thing has great power! Make four more long-handled chain hammers and also give them to the army for trial and feedback.”
“How are the extra-long iron spears you were asked to prepare coming along?”
“Reporting, My Lord, we are rushing to make the spear shafts.”
“Good, no need to rush on that.”
Art took the heavy chain flail back to the workshop shed and praised the artisans, “Everyone has worked hard.
Tonight, I have had the kitchen prepare a sumptuous dinner for everyone.
Master Craftsmen Dim and Luca will each be rewarded twenty fenny, and the rest of the artisans will each be rewarded ten fenny.
Bard, go find the Old Butler for the money later.” Art rewarded the artisans and took the opportunity to win their favor.
The people in the workshop naturally thanked Art profusely.
Time quickly came to mid-April, and the weather in the Valley was still cool.
Outside the Wood Fort training ground, several Commanders of the legion gathered around Art, who was squatting and demonstrating, listening attentively to his detailed explanation of the new battle formation: “The six-person formation roles are divided into four defense and two offense.
Four shield-Soldiers responsible for defense are equipped with short spears and shields, and also short swords, hand axes, and pole hammers as short weapons.
One halberd Soldier and one chain hammer Soldier (long-handled chain hammer) serve as the main attacking force.
The shield-Soldiers form a shield wall.
The halberd Soldier acts as a secondary attacker, serving as the squad leader, responsible for commanding the squad’s movement and selecting attack targets.
The chain hammer Soldier acts as the main attacker, responsible for delivering the fatal blow.
When confronting a shield wall, without crowding, the shield-Soldiers maintain a prohibitive range with ten-foot short spears.
The halberd Soldier takes the opportunity to directly kill enemies, and can also use the hook-sickle to hook enemy shields, armor, or warhorses, dragging enemies out of the formation to be hammered to death by the chain hammer Soldier or directly stabbed to death by the shield-Soldier.
When the shield formation is compressed, the shield-Soldiers abandon their short spears for short weapons and press forward.
The two attackers use long weapons to directly strike the opponent.”
To help the officers intuitively understand the new battle formation, Art also used different stones to represent different types of Soldiers and demonstrated on the ground.
“Of course, this battle formation still has some problems.
One is whether the shield formation composed of four shield-Soldiers is sufficient to maintain the stability of the battle line.
The second is that halberds and long-handled chain hammers cannot be made too long due to weight, so when the shield formation is thickened, the people behind will not be able to fight through their own shield formation.”
“Currently, I am still contemplating this battle formation.
I believe that the fully formed combat method should involve a certain scale of sturdy shield formations, with the legion’s Soldiers as the backbone.
Behind the backbone, farmer-Soldiers equipped with long spears would be arranged to increase the formation’s depth.
The entire battle formation would be supported from the rear by bows, crossbows, and catapults.
Light cavalry would be responsible for flanking harassment, and assault forces composed of elite heavy infantry would break through from one flank and then assault the main army to conclude the battle.”