vstars Chapter 652: Knowing people
Chapter 652: Knowing people
King Midland sat in an oak chair in his study, holding a battle report from the front lines. He read the last line word by word, then slowly put the report down, leaning back against the chair.
He let out a long breath, a breath that carried the tension and anxiety of the past few days, which now dissipated completely. His tense shoulders slowly relaxed, and the deep wrinkles between his brows, which had been furrowed due to days of hard work, gradually smoothed out.
This suppression of the rebellion was a truly resounding victory. The rebels suffered two to three thousand casualties and captured more than four thousand, including not only ordinary conscripted soldiers but also elite soldiers from noble private armies and even dozens of knights under the command of earls. This was equivalent to directly crippling the rebel forces' manpower.
The losses of the new army were only two or three hundred men, a number far lower than his pre-battle estimate. Most of them were lightly wounded and could return to the battlefield after treatment. Fewer than fifty soldiers actually died in battle.
It should be noted that this was their first formal engagement in actual combat, and their opponents were rebellious nobles who held sway over a region and had deep roots. The king was overjoyed to have achieved such a brilliant victory at such a small cost.
After their initial victory, the frontline troops did not stop for a moment and continued to pursue the remaining forces of the three rebellious counts.
The rebels fled back to their respective territories in disarray, abandoning their armor and weapons, but they still could not shake off the pursuit of the new army.
The army has advanced to the borders of the three earls' territories, forming an encirclement and cutting off their ability to support each other.
Furthermore, in accordance with the pre-war plan, the main force had completed the encirclement of the city where the mastermind, Earl Ander, was located. Under the strict deployment of the new army, the supply lines were cut off and external aid was blocked, turning the city into an isolated place.
Not long ago, Count Anders sent a sealed letter, which conveyed a sense of compromise and clearly indicated his willingness to negotiate.
He was quite satisfied with the battle report. It was the first time the new army had been put into actual combat. Even though it was a civil war and the Blackwatch provided support during the battle, the subsequent pursuit was carried out entirely by the new army independently.
The soldiers demonstrated exceptional execution and unwavering fighting spirit. Their tactical maneuvers were standardized, their teamwork was seamless, and their losses were kept within an acceptable range. This further convinced him that the decision to form a new army was absolutely correct.
King Midland did not hesitate at all in response to Count Ander's request for peace talks; he was certain he would accept it.
The war was originally intended to establish authority. In recent years, the power of local nobles has gradually expanded, and they have been paying lip service to the central royal family's orders. The Earl of Ander, together with two other earls, launched a rebellion, which was a concentrated outbreak of this contradiction.
The king must use this war to make all the nobles see the situation clearly, understand that royal power is inviolable, and that rebellion will inevitably end in a disastrous defeat.
Now that the objective has been achieved, continuing the siege will only increase casualties on both sides and damage the city's productivity, which would be a net loss.
Moreover, he would never let go of any tangible benefits he could gain from this war.
It was clearly impossible to strip the three rebellious counts of their titles and fiefs.
If the titles and fiefs of three earls were stripped away at once, it would inevitably cause panic and resistance from other nobles within the kingdom.
Those nobles would worry that further expansion of royal power would harm their vested interests, and might even secretly unite to form a new opposition force.
This is undoubtedly a huge hidden danger for the kingdom, which has just quelled the rebellion, and is not conducive to the kingdom's long-term stability.
Therefore, he could only temporarily retain their titles and fiefs, giving them a semblance of respectability.
But this does not mean that the rebels can escape unscathed.
They must pay the price for their rebellion, and King Midland will not easily let go of the rich resources within the rebellious earls' territories.
In particular, the silver mine within the Earl of Ander's territory had long been on his radar.
The silver mine was rich in reserves and had excellent ore quality. For many years, it had been the main source of wealth for the Ander family, supporting them in recruiting private soldiers and expanding their power.
The king had already decided to propose conditions in the peace talks, under the pretext of "compensating for the kingdom's war losses," to send court officials to take over the silver mines.
In this way, most of the profits from the silver mines will flow directly into the royal treasury, which will not only make up for the military expenses of this rebellion, but also provide sufficient financial support for the subsequent expansion and equipment upgrade of the new army, bringing a continuous stream of wealth to the kingdom.
In addition, King Midland also wanted to forcefully interfere in the trade channels of these three earls.
He has just ordered the establishment of the Midland Central Chamber of Commerce. As a newly established chamber, it urgently needs a substantial amount of start-up capital to open up markets and build trade networks.
The profits from trade in these three earls' territories presented the Central Chamber of Commerce with an excellent opportunity to earn its first pot of gold.
These three earls are geographically advantageous and each has its own unique products. The minerals of the Earl of Ander, and the textiles and grains of the other two earls, all have a wide market within the kingdom.
He had already planned to force the other side to open trade barriers, remove restrictions and taxes on royal trade, and grant the Central Chamber of Commerce a series of privileges in their territory, such as priority in trade and tax breaks.
In this way, the Central Chamber of Commerce can quickly seize the market, accumulate wealth, and gradually control the kingdom's commercial lifeline, thereby further strengthening the economic power of the central royal family and weakening the economic foundation of local nobles.
In addition, he planned to have the newly established newspapers extensively publicize the victory in suppressing the rebellion.
The kingdom's first newspaper, established less than six months ago, is gradually expanding its circulation. He wants the newspaper to publish detailed reports on the results of the suppression of the rebellion, including the number of rebel casualties, the number of prisoners, and the losses of the new army. It also wants to briefly describe the key aspects of the battle, highlighting the bravery and powerful strength of the new army.
He wanted all the nobles within the kingdom to clearly see the strength of the new army, so that they would privately weigh their own power before deciding whether to challenge the authority of the royal family.
At the same time, it is also necessary to let ordinary people know about the king's achievements in suppressing rebellions and maintaining national unity and stability, so as to enhance the people's sense of identity and belonging to the royal family and consolidate the foundation of the rule.
The king turned to the last few pages of the battle report, and when he saw the section on battle details, his previously relaxed brows suddenly furrowed.
The battle report detailed Blackwatch's equipment, including a bunch of cannons he had never heard of before, as well as a handheld firearm.
This firearm is somewhat similar in appearance to a crossbow, making it easy to carry, but its power far exceeds that of a crossbow bolt.
Unlike crossbows, which require laborious stringing, a single pull of the trigger can fire a high-speed projectile, causing a row of enemies to fall simultaneously.
Moreover, its penetrating power is much stronger than that of crossbow bolts. Ordinary leather armor and chainmail cannot withstand it at all, and even heavy plate armor can be easily penetrated.
"These quartermasters, why don't they report to their superiors that they have such good weapons?"
The king's voice carried obvious dissatisfaction. He was somewhat annoyed that the military supply department had failed to detect such an important new weapon in advance or report any relevant information to higher authorities.
This is a serious dereliction of duty. If he had known about such a weapon earlier, he could have planned ahead and introduced it into the new army's equipment system, which would have further enhanced the new army's combat effectiveness.
He then raised his hand, summoning the clerk, young Hoss, who was waiting nearby.
"Immediately inform the quartermasters who are preparing to go to Heldran to make purchases, and tell them to be on the lookout for the handheld firearms used by Blackwatch."
"Do everything you can to find out the origin, manufacturing method, range, loading speed, and power of this weapon. Ideally, you should get your hands on a sample and the blueprints. Also, find out why we haven't received any reports about this weapon before. Those responsible should be dealt with seriously, and you should report back to me immediately once you have the results."
"Yes, Your Majesty the King."
Young Hoss bowed respectfully to accept the order, then rose, turned, and quickly left the hall, his footsteps fading into the distance in the corridor.
As King Midland watched the guards leave, his anger subsided somewhat.
He knew that now was not the time to assign blame; the priority was to obtain relevant information about this new weapon as soon as possible.
He placed the battle report in his hand on the side of the table and reached out to pick up a stack of frontline military merit documents piled up next to him.
After the battle, he specifically ordered that applications for military merit be accepted only from knights and commoners, thus eliminating the possibility for noble sons to obtain merit through their status and connections.
He had always wanted to break the aristocracy's monopoly on military merit and promotion channels, and to discover truly talented military personnel from the grassroots.
In the past, after each battle, hundreds of military merit reports would be sent up, most of which were from noble children. Their achievements were often exaggerated, either due to family influence or by their followers who recorded the merits on their behalf.
This time, due to restrictions on the applicants' identities, fewer than one hundred military merit documents were submitted, a significant reduction in quantity, but their value should be higher.
He carefully read through each document, examining each one with great attention.
The merits recorded in these documents are mostly the same and lack highlights.
Some were about knights who were the first to charge up the castle walls, some were about soldiers who protected noble generals in battle, preventing them from being injured or killed, and some were about killing dozens of Yoda soldiers. The most unbelievable were those whose names on some documents even had the words "died in battle" marked in red pen.
The king patiently flipped through most of the documents, only to find that most of those who had made great contributions were merely brave but lacked the ability to command independently and the strategic vision to see things through.
He couldn't find a single person among them who truly possessed command skills, could devise tactics, and lead troops to accomplish complex tasks.
A hint of disappointment appeared on King Midland's face as he casually tossed the documents in his hand onto the table.
He continued searching, but as the remaining documents dwindled, his expectations gradually diminished.
He flipped through the documents, his fingers pausing briefly at the edge of a stack of papers.
The cover of the document did not indicate the applicant's background; it only stated the words "Application for Military Merit at the Front of the Rhône-Alpes." He picked up the document and gently unfolded it.
"Griffith?"
This document details the battle achievements of a mercenary leader named Griffith.
He was neither a knight of the kingdom nor an ordinary civilian officer, but the leader of a mercenary group.
During the battle in Rona territory, he did not wait for orders from the main force, nor did he seek support from other regular troops. With only a few hundred members of his mercenary group, he took the initiative to launch a night raid and successfully captured a small castle occupied by the rebels.
Although the castle was not large, it was strategically located and heavily fortified, making it an important stronghold for the rebels to stockpile provisions.
After capturing the castle, Griffith did not stop there. Instead, he quickly reorganized his troops and, taking advantage of the moment when the main rebel force had not yet reacted, led his mercenary group to launch a surprise attack on the heavily guarded city gates of Yoda.
With their flexible tactics and tenacious fighting spirit, they successfully captured the city gate, opening a safe passage for the main force's subsequent attack and greatly reducing the casualties of the regular army.
The document also mentions that Griffith's mercenary group suffered only a dozen casualties throughout the entire process, a truly remarkable achievement.
"That's quite a talent."
King Midland murmured to himself, the disappointment on his face instantly fading, replaced by a hint of admiration.
He never expected that such a talented person was hidden in the mercenary group. He was brave and resourceful, tactically flexible, and had strong execution and leadership skills, and he had no powerful backers.
If such people can be employed by the royal family, they will surely become the backbone of the new army, and may even become the pillars of the kingdom's army in the future.
He immediately placed the document neatly in the center of the table and shouted loudly towards the outside:
"Little Hoss."
Upon hearing the king's summons, young Hoss, who had just returned, immediately ran to the king's side.
"Immediately write to the Eastern Legion and have them compile all the detailed identity information of this mercenary leader named Griffiths and send it to Wyndam."
The king's tone carried a hint of urgency.
"Including his birthplace, age, past experiences, the time when he formed his mercenary group, the size of the mercenary group, the composition of its members, his past combat achievements, as well as his personality traits and style of doing things. No relevant information should be omitted, and the accuracy of the information must be guaranteed."
Young Hoss bowed his head respectfully, carefully noting down each of the king's instructions, and then answered in response:
"Yes, Your Majesty the King."
After saying that, he turned and strode to the desk next to him, preparing to draft a letter according to the king's orders and send it to the commander of the Eastern Legion as quickly as possible.
As the king watched little Hoss busy at work, the gloom in his heart completely dissipated.
The suppression of the rebellion was a great success, and the country was about to reap rich resources and trade benefits. In addition, talents such as Griffiths were discovered, and arrangements were made for new weapons.
Everything was moving in a positive direction, which filled him with confidence in Midland's future.
He picked up the document detailing Griffith's military achievements again and read it through carefully once more. Every word made him even more certain that he had not misjudged the man.