At noon the next day, after the Talburg banquet, Art summoned the three stewards of the accompanying merchant caravan.
"The three of you have done well in handling the guild's affairs. I also know that the people in the guild are not so easy to deal with. Since the Besançon trade route cannot be opened for a while, the accompanying merchant caravan should not go to Besançon to trade in southern goods for now. You can rest in Talburg for a few days."
"For the next period, you need to do three things: The first and most important thing is to take the supplies from Talburg, along with the captured artisans, rescued innocent prisoners, and willing surrendered prisoners of war, back to the Valley. The second thing is to send people along the edge of the northern war zone to recruit a group of displaced people whose homes have been destroyed by the war, and bring them back to Valley Wood Fort to clear land and farm. If you encounter any artisans willing to go to the Valley, you can offer them higher wages. The third thing is to recruit a group of orphans aged twelve or thirteen. For now, not too many, fourteen or fifteen will suffice, and more can be recruited later. There are many such orphans in churches and Monasteries everywhere. You can select them in the name of the merchant caravan's charity. There are three criteria for selection: boys, physically strong, and quick-witted."
Lawrence listened and asked curiously, "My lord, what do you want this group of half-grown orphans for? They can neither cultivate land to produce grain nor hold spears and swords to fight on the battlefield. They are useless and eat a lot. Raising this group of mostly children is too expensive in terms of money and food. It would be better to directly buy adult slaves. Besides, with the current widespread war, you can recruit young and strong displaced people everywhere to farm for you or even march and fight."
Art picked up the wooden bowl full of clear water on the table, took a sip, and replied with a smile, "I don't plan to let these half-grown boys farm, nor do I expect them to go to war for now."
"Then what are you planning?" Lawrence asked, and Cooper and Sartre also leaned in to listen.
"I plan to let them learn the common language in the Valley, teach them combat skills and tactics, instruct them in arithmetic and medicine, and let them have faith in the Holy God." Art briefly explained his purpose in recruiting orphans.
"You want to train a group of boys like knight attendants?" Sartre somewhat understood Art's deeper meaning.
"That's the idea, but it won't be as complex as knight attendant training. I just want them to become the backbone of my future army and territory," Art said calmly.
No one spoke anymore. Lawrence might not have fully understood, but Cooper and Sartre understood Art's deeper meaning. They knew that Art intended to "forge" a group of "weapons" who had been trained by him since childhood. These "weapons" would become his sharpest blades for establishing himself in this chaotic world in a few years...
"Oh, yes, there's one more thing."
Art's voice interrupted their contemplation. They came back to their senses and listened to Art's arrangements.
"While you are completing these tasks, also bring Kazak's bedridden old father and Andrew's family from his hometown back to the Valley. You can ask them for the specific locations. Kazak's father will be cared for and treated by Wood Fort. After he recovers, he can be given an easy job of managing the storeroom. Andrew's family can also be prioritized for land allocation in Valley Land. If anyone else has relatives they want to bring to the Valley, you can bring them all to the Valley. Odo will assist you in handling this matter."
"Good!" They replied in unison.
"Once these tasks are completed, you will temporarily stay in the south to conduct some simple commercial trade. As for what to buy and sell, you can decide for yourselves. If you really feel lost, go to Sap and ask Baron Galvin for help," Art said to the stewards of the accompanying merchant caravan.
They noted Art's arrangements.
Sartre listened and nodded, then still said with a worried expression, "My lord, if you want to support the army through trade, we must get involved in the southern goods trade. No other goods in trade can earn as much money or as quickly as southern goods."
Art picked up the accompanying merchant caravan's ledger from the table and glanced at it. A caravan of thirteen carriages could earn a net profit of twenty-four thousand fenny from a single trip of southern goods trade in less than a month. This money could sustain Art's army for four months of wartime military pay and food consumption. In peacetime, it could even cover the daily expenses (excluding weapons and armor) of a forty-person army for half a year. This was what could be earned even when southern goods were difficult to acquire and their prices were high due to the war. If he could seize control of the southern goods trade routes before the war ended and form a larger caravan, the money earned by the caravan could allow his army to expand several times over.
"Sartre, I understand what you're saying. Once I finish my military service mission of garrisoning Talburg and am officially knighted, I will personally clear the obstacles on this trade route," Art said calmly, but his eyes were filled with killing intent.
Sartre knew that Art had his own plans, so he said no more and prepared to continue reporting the caravan's accounts and the movement of goods to Art.
"Sartre, I won't listen to these trivial matters. Since I dared to entrust the caravan to you, I trust you. Just do your job well." Art only cared about the major affairs of the caravan and did not want to inquire about the details, nor did he have too much energy to bother with them.
...
Three days later, the accompanying merchant caravan, with a dozen carriages loaded with supplies and thirty-odd attendants (laborers, prisoners, artisans, and prisoners of war, etc.), left Talburg under the escort of sixteen armed guards (who also served as coachmen). They passed through Glarus County, traversed the southern mountain roads, and returned to Valley Wood Fort from Andermatt Fortress. Afterwards, Cooper would leave the accompanying merchant caravan and return to the Valley because the most important winter wheat sowing season in the Valley was approaching. Moreover, Art had given Cooper the task of expanding the Soldier barracks in Wood Fort and building new shelters in Valley Land, because after the garrison mission in Talburg ended, Art would soon return to the Valley with his expanded army, and people would continue to join the Valley in the coming time. Therefore, Cooper had to go back to oversee all matters in Valley Wood Fort and Valley Land, preparing for Art's upcoming expansion.
...
Over at Talburg.
On the first day of November, Baron Geoffrey of Biertun Fort sent his Attendant Captain to Talburg with forty-six thousand fenny and two warhorses. Art was not a person without credibility; he accepted the money delivered by the envoy, led away the warhorses, and then handed over Baron Geoffrey's chubby, well-fed only son to the envoy to be taken back to Biertun Fort.
For the next period, a tacit calm settled between Talburg and Biertun Fort. The Talburg garrison did not cross the mountain edge, and Biertun Fort's army did not step into the mountains.
...
When Art entered Talburg, he brought thirty Soldiers, ten prisoner laborers, and fifty peasant laborers dispatched by Earl Baldwin.
In the battles of surprise attacks, raids, and defense over these past few months, more than twenty of the Soldiers and peasant Soldiers garrisoned in Talburg were killed or wounded. Among them, five Soldiers were killed (including one Combat Squad Leader and one Sentry Cavalry), three were severely wounded and unable to fight again (including one Combat Squad Leader), and eight were lightly wounded and recovered (including two squad leaders); five peasant Soldiers were killed, two severely wounded, and one lightly wounded; even two laborers were killed and one lightly wounded in the siege defense.
Art arranged a simple yet solemn funeral for all who died, whether Soldiers, peasant Soldiers, or peasant laborers. He also paid one hundred fenny in Consolation Money to each of the deceased or wounded peasant Soldiers and peasant laborers with families who had been conscripted into Art's army, to be taken back by their companions and given to their families. Art believed that this expenditure was worthwhile because these returning peasant Soldiers and laborers would spread word of Art's army's heroic achievements against the enemy in the southeastern border region and Commander Art's benevolence and compassion.
Two of the fallen Soldiers had relatives in Valley Wood Fort. Art specifically instructed Cooper to give each of these two families two hundred fenny in Consolation Money upon his return to the Valley. Additionally, Art decided to allocate one acre of land from the newly cultivated land in Valley Land to each family as permanent land for the families of the fallen heroes, and this one acre of land would be permanently tax-exempt.
As for the several severely wounded Soldiers who could no longer fight, after the army returned to the Valley, they would be given other arrangements based on their recovery. If they could no longer fight for the army, Valley Wood Fort would also pay them Consolation Money according to their military rank and merits and allocate one to three acres of land for them to cultivate. These cultivated lands would be exempt from any taxes for ten years.
Other wounded non-Soldier participants also received varying degrees of preferential treatment from Valley Wood Fort.
Art's series of actions received unanimous praise from the entire army, as they no longer had to worry about their own or their families' livelihoods if they were killed or wounded in battle. Of course, Art also explained to everyone that the premise for this preferential treatment to continue was that he could successfully acquire the land in the Valley in the future, but at least everyone had something to look forward to in their hearts.
There were reductions in personnel, but also additions.
Before the Talburg defense battle, Art acquired a group of prisoners and artisans in Bilton. After the Talburg defense battle, the accompanying merchant caravan also brought seventeen young and strong warriors. After the accompanying merchant caravan and the conscripted peasant laborers left, excluding the wounded Soldiers settled in Glarus County, Talburg still had twenty-two Soldiers, twenty-six new recruits (including the remaining peasant Soldiers and prisoner laborers selected as Soldiers), five remaining servants, and several enemy prisoner Soldiers held in the inner fort's dungeon who were difficult to deal with.
In the time that followed, Art trained the army while guarding against enemies from the east.
Time quickly entered December. After the new recruits completed their training, Art temporarily organized all the Soldiers in Talburg into new units to facilitate coordinated command of the army.
After completing their training, there were forty-eight Soldiers (including commanders) in Talburg. To maintain the army's combat effectiveness and guard against potential enemy situations, Art temporarily did not mix the new and old Soldiers into combined units. Instead, he selected eight excellent new recruits to fill the vacancies in the original Soldier squads, and then temporarily formed the remaining new recruits into new squads, temporarily called new recruit squads (the original squads were called Soldier squads).
Soldier Squads One to Four and the Sentry Cavalry temporarily retained their original Commanders without change. The remaining new recruits formed three squads. The temporary Commanders of the three new recruit squads were selected by Art and Odo Angus after discussions, chosen from peasant laborers with combat experience or new recruits who had performed outstandingly in training. The military pay for officers in the new recruit squads was temporarily one rank lower than that of Soldier squad commanders; ordinary Soldiers in new recruit squads received fifteen fenny per week, which was also slightly lower than that of Soldiers.
