Chapter 378 Foreign Legion
The winter of 1476 came as scheduled in a light snow. On the Balkans, the northern cities began the annual coal-fired peak season. Rolling black smoke rose into the sky and drifted in the cold wind of the Black Sea.
Since the cold wave in 1470 passed, the temperature in the Mediterranean world has slightly rebounded, but this short-term rebound obviously cannot stop the tide of the arrival of the Little Ice Age. The winter of 1476 became severe again, with thousands of miles of ice and thousands of miles of snow.
In this cold winter, the Eastern Roman Empire ushered in a change. The government departments expanded rapidly, and priests at all levels were mobilized to investigate the population situation in the core area of the empire, register the civil rights they should obtain, and issue identity documents of different levels.
Indeed, this reform has only been carried out in big cities for the time being, which also well confirms the expectations of the senior government leaders and brings a series of problems.
Since the history of Eastern Rome, such a large-scale population screening has been unprecedented. Early chaos, uneasiness and turmoil are natural phenomena, and the pain of reform is inevitable.
This massive movement was a severe test for the government departments of the Eastern Roman Empire. The Central Committee of the Empire temporarily established a Civil Rights Reform Office led by Prime Minister Isurt to supervise reform matters, and at the same time, finding out the shortcomings of the government departments during the execution of the orders and making changes to them.
Of course, the resistance to reform is not as great as expected. Different ethnic groups respond differently to reform. Some are happy and some are dissatisfied, but at least no one dares to rise up.
The dominant Greek Orthodox Christians were very happy about this because they regarded people as superior to others and had long been a little dissatisfied with the former "equality in name". For a moment, the citizens of Constantinople praised the emperor's virtues and no longer called him "the emperor of the Turks and the Rosses", but changed to "the greatest and wisest Roman emperor".
Latinos who received a lot of rights were very surprised by this. Their status became "second-level citizens". Many Latino Romans began to return to their hometowns to recruit friends and immigrate to the Eastern Roman Empire in groups, either choosing open cities like Athens or going to "virgin lands" like the frontiers and Anatolia.
In the supplementary provisions of the Citizenship Charter, actively attracting immigrants to the empire can achieve merits, and the time required to upgrade citizenship can be appropriately reduced.
As for the third-level and fourth-level citizens, some of them protested, but most of them accepted the government's arrangements indifferently. Their political rights deprived were basically closely related to whether they were literate. Even in the past, illiterate citizens could not exercise these statutory rights. They had no money to buy industries and basically had nothing to lose.
Now, since you are literate, you can directly register as a first-level citizen and enjoy all political rights. The "big knife" of reform cannot cut off these high-quality talents.
Some people estimate that the emperor may also want to separate the different classes of a ethnic group in this way, so that the upper class will always stand on the side of the Romans, rather than endorse the people of their own race.
However, the bill caused some bad responses in the military. Some foreign soldiers who did not speak Greek were very dissatisfied after learning that they were about to become third-level citizens and even organized collective appeals.
Then another supplementary bill came quickly, and all alien soldiers in the army received a two-year study period, during which time they were treated as a first-class citizen, on the condition that they had to learn Greek.
In this way, the Eastern Roman Empire reached a compromise with the alien soldiers, and could also take this opportunity to achieve the language unification of the Eastern Roman Central Army.
While citizens are checking, the literacy campaign is in full swing. Many foreign citizens who are eager to be high are no longer lazy. More and more aliens joining the night shift of literacy. They study hard just to upgrade their citizenship rating from level three to level one or second before the deadline and enjoy better treatment.
In order to make those citizens who are rated as Level 3, Level 4 and Level 5 believe in the government's "upgrade commitment", the shooting army in Constantinople began to crack down on discrimination against other citizens in the city. Some tavern plaques with the words "Turkish and pigs are forbidden to enter" were forcibly demolished, some fanatical nationalist associations that advocated pure blood Greek supremacy were shut down and destroyed, and some demonstrators who remained unresolved were tried in public.
If you want to do a pure blood exercise, where did you put the royal family?
You have given you the greatest power and the highest status. If you are still not satisfied and want to leave the entire empire only you, then go to New Thrace to find your place.
Against this background, the government and the royal family spent money like flowing water, funds for the literacy movement and the new village movement, quelling dissatisfied tax cuts, reducing necessary concessions to capitalists when lowering coal prices, organizing citizenship reviews and the cost of printing ID cards... A large amount of fixed funds flowed to society, including cement, mining, papermaking, printing and pen and ink manufacturing industries, developing rapidly, providing work for more and more people, and integrating more and more people into the social governance system of the Eastern Roman Empire.
At the same time, the Bareliolo Royal Family joined forces with several large industrial and commercial families to open a large number of workshops in major cities along the Aegean Sea, mainly absorbing citizens divided into three levels, four levels and five levels, temporarily receiving these citizens who may become social instability factors, providing them with living expenses and learning space, and strengthening the state's centripetal force while participating in labor.
Since the Citizenship Charter has been promulgated, the former Orthodox Workers Protection Regulations has also been revised again. The regulations have been renamed the Roman Christian Workers Protection Regulations, and different protection policies are implemented according to different citizenship levels. At the same time, the advanced technical education will be promoted so that the first-level Roman citizens can become high-quality talents as much as possible and stay away from sweat exploitation.
Of course, since the Eastern Roman Empire is in the period of rapid development of the capitalist economy and the period of rapid operation of colonial expansion, there is a lack of high-quality talents everywhere, this protection bill can be implemented for the time being. After the population soars, the "Roman Christian Workers Protection Regulations" may become a piece of paper due to the capitalist arbitrary acts and the shortage of jobs. The Eastern Roman Empire may be no different from the early capitalist countries in history.
But then again, this regulation was originally intended to increase the population and population quality of Greek Orthodox people. When jobs began to be short of work, the mission of the regulation was basically completed.
Time flies, and the years pass by. The first two months of the great reform have been busy and hard work. The shooting army on the streets has gradually reduced the number of people standing guard, and the Royal Mounted Police in the fields has gradually reduced the frequency of patrols.
In the Bulgaria region, heavy snow fell over the Mersia province. In an empty mountain valley, a group of young soldiers in white costumes carried full sets of equipment and struggled to trek in the snow that was beyond their ankles. Not far from the side were instructors riding horses.
"You are just like a bastard. Do you still want to join the army? Do you still want to take shortcuts?"
The instructor yelled loudly.
"Just run faster, you can eat when you run!"
As he said that, the instructor kicked the horse's belly, letting the horse trot, and raising waves of snow dust.
These soldiers had obviously been running in the snow for a long time, panting one by one. Seeing the instructor speeding up, they also gritted their teeth and moved their lead-like legs.
Some soldiers were really hard to hold on and fell on the snow on the spot. The military doctors who were following behind would treat them, while the instructors would take out charcoal pens and record books and draw a fork behind the names representing them.
This valley is facing north and south, and all the cold winds from the north pour into the valley. The soldiers had just conducted a simulated crossing of the river. The cold wind from the north made them feel the coldness that penetrated their bones. The wind shelter camp in front of them was right in front of them. In the open space in front of the camp, dozens of stew pots with thick soup were bubbling, and the rotating barbecue skewed on the iron rods were sizzling oil. In the simple brick and tile oven, the baked noodles exuded an attractive aroma.
"The ten people running at the end who are deducting their physical strength points will only eat hard bread!"
"The ten people who arrived first will have extra points and can get a small can of Imperial Camp vodka!"
The instructor yelled.
The soldiers could only grit their teeth and persevere, and huffed toward the camp.
Finally, most of the soldiers completed the snow off-road and successfully arrived at the predetermined location. The ten warriors who arrived first were full of joy, and the ten people who arrived finally knelt on the ground and gasped, wanting to cry without tears.
Just as several soldiers were about to enjoy the food, the instructor walked over quickly, kicked them over.
"How many times have you said it? I just started a long-distance off-road and came here from the river bank. Now I can't eat immediately! It will be dead!"
The instructor scolded him.
"This is for your own good!"
"Everyone, go to the shooting range first to complete the last task of this month, draw ten times, crossbow and mezzanine five times each! Your score will be fully recorded!"
"This is the last assessment of the training camp. Your comprehensive results will determine your final stay or stay!"
The soldiers were exhausted, but thinking of their persistence and hard work this month, they still got up in a mess, stumbled to the shooting range, bent their bows and arrows.
"The situation is pretty good. What do you think, Lord Dimarco?"
On a wooden tower in the middle of the camp, a young general in military uniform put down his telescope and looked at the middle-aged man beside him with a smile.
"A total of more than 15,000 people have registered, and one round after another, it is estimated that 4,000 people can be admitted, but these 4,000 people are all first-class and one-rate good seedlings."
"It's so strict, Prince Tethis."
Dimarco sighed.
"Even the Central Army does not have such strict inspections and tests, right?"
"Well, it is indeed more difficult than the daily training of the Central Army, but since they want to take shortcuts, they naturally have to prove their value."
Tethis nodded.
"What's more, they will get a lot of benefits in the future."
Both of them were considered royal relatives of the Eastern Roman Empire. Teticus was the eldest son of Knight Conte, the emperor's nephew and godson, and Dimarco was the former mayor of the Free City of La Spezia and the mainstay of the Gattilucio family.
As one of His Majesty’s earliest followers, the Knight Conte from Southern France passed away a year ago due to illness and was buried outside the family castle in North Africa, with the expenses of the funeral being borne by the royal family.
Knight Conte was once a follower of Joan of Arc. Because Joan of Arc's death was extremely disappointed with the French royal family. After being elected by Isaac, he helped him recruit many French wandering knights. Most of these people became grassroots officers in their early entrepreneurship, which made the Eastern Roman Central Army very different from bandits and bandits even in the initial period, and it can be said that they worked hard and made great contributions.
After his later years, Conte did not care about military affairs, and stayed at home with concentration, growing flowers and grass, and enjoying his grandchildren. In his spare time, he also wrote a memoir of hundreds of thousands of words, recording his ups and downs in his life.
After Conte's death, his title and fief in North Africa were inherited by his eldest son Teticus, and the position of chief of the Knights of St. Simon was elected internally by the knights. Conte's wife Helena Valleolo was depressed after his death and died suddenly soon after.
Since Tethis lost his parents at the same time in a very short time and he himself belonged to the maternal descendant of the Paleolic royal family, the emperor decided to appoint him as Prince of Ephesus to show his special kindness to the children of meritorious officials.
Although the title of prince has no fiefdom and cannot be hereditary, it can only be granted by the current emperor, it is ranked above all the nobles. The Royal Foundation will provide them with certain subsidies every year.
Now, there are only seven princes in the Eastern Roman Empire. Apart from the four sons and one grandson of the current emperor, only Prince of Ephesus, and Charlotte, Prince of Famagusta, can enjoy this glory. Their annuity is provided by the royal family and has nothing to do with the government.
"His Excellency Dimarco, I recently heard that the boy you brought to Carthage seems to be very talented. He has won the first place in the navigation school entrance examination, and several colleges are rushing to get it."
Teticus looked at Dimarco.
"I see that he is handsome and brave at a young age. My sister is about the same age as him, so why would they let them know each other?"
"You mean Andrea Doria?"
Dimarco recalled, with a smile on his lips.
"Okay! Since His Highness the Prince favors this kid, he will probably be willing to accept it."
Dimarco was a little happy. He knew very well that these Eastern Roman families sometimes attracted some talented people from low births, used their in-laws to make him feel a sense of belonging to the family, used their own family's political resources to pave the way for them, each taking the needs, and forming an "investment" relationship.
"Well, this is very good."
Tethis thought.
"The situation in the Principality of Milan is becoming more and more chaotic. The Duke of Galeazo has angered almost everyone. What do you think about this?"
"I have met His Majesty."
Dimarco said.
"His Majesty said that if the circumstances allow, he will regain the Free City of La Spezia through diplomatic means, and at the same time restore ties with the Baleoluo branch of Parma."
"In the future, La Spezia may become the first stop for Italians to immigrate to the empire."
Dimarco thought for a while and added with a smile.
"Your Majesty said that Galeazo is a complete idiot, and his son is just a child, so it's not worth worrying."
"But his younger brother, the "Moorish" Ludovico, is a talented person with some ability, and he is quite like a father."
"The Sforza family is either a genius or a fool. Forget it, this has little to do with me anyway."
Tethis shook his head and looked at the open space in front of the camp.
"That's it. I've seen the last training camp, I have to leave."
...
The soldiers who had performed the shooting mission returned to the next to the stew pot one after another. Their breath gradually stabilized and they quickly changed into dry and warm clothes, but their hungry stomachs kept screaming.
"It's OK, dinner!"
The instructor shouted loudly, and the soldiers immediately took action, scrambling for the newly baked toast, scooped up the fragrant beet beef soup with a wooden spoon, and cut off slices of barbecue with the dagger I carried with me.
"Oh, I finally got a hot meal!"
In front of a stew pot, a soldier dipped a scone with a scone, rolled up a piece of barbecue, ate it hard, and immediately smiled with satisfaction.
"It's really a happy thing to be the Emperor's soldiers. They eat so well and have so much subsidy..."
"Moors, I thought you didn't eat pork."
Next to him, a tall blonde young man gnawed on the scones and looked at him jokingly.
"What's your name? Muhammad? Muaweiye? Or Ottoman?"
"Oh, shut your stinky mouth, Moritz."
The Moors cursed.
"According to their words, I am from Morisco, my name is Fabian, a Germanic raised by a bitch, please remember it!"
"Damn it, I'm Italian. I've lived under the Alps since I was a child and grew up on the banks of the Po River!"
Moritz said in Italian.
"I didn't expect you to understand what I said."
"Haha, my native language is Spanish, can I understand it roughly."
Fabian curled his lips, and suddenly felt like he had remembered something and sighed.
"Even though I always speak Spanish, those people still can't tolerate me."
"Who?"
Moritz became interested and took the initiative to scoop up a spoonful of soup for Fabian.
"Did you come from Valencia?"
"Yes, the native Valencians have lived by the golden beach since childhood."
Fabian narrowed his eyes and recalled his beautiful hometown.
"The Iberian War changed everything. The Germans in Valencia and the Vatican Church joined forces to try to drive away all the Mudhar and Morisco people, even though we haven't provoked trouble for a long time, even though we are tolerant."
"Prince Fernando can't protect us anymore. Countless people are losing their homes..."
"Then where should these people go?"
Moritz was stunned and looked at Fabian with some sympathy.
"In my hometown, the great tyrant Galeazo is also losing the hearts of the people. This winter is too cold, and many people will leave their hometowns."
"We are different from you... we can go too few places."
Fabian sighed, and took a small can of the newly won vodka from the snow next to him and placed it on the fire to heat it.
"The Mudhar and Morisco are both running away, and more than 20,000 people have left the peninsula this year alone."
"We are not welcome anywhere. In order to gain the acceptance of the Christian kingdom, the Mudhars have long had a quarrel with mainstream Islamic society. Even if they go to Morocco, they will be discriminated against."
"Now, the Western Krai of the Eastern Empire has implemented an inclusive policy, and many Mudhar people have run over."
"As for us, since the Western church cannot tolerate us, we have to run east. North Africa and the Balkans are immigration destinations. We will first go to the Kingdom of Granada and then transport it to the empire by the emperor's ship."
"Will the emperor pick you up?"
Moritz was a little surprised.
"You know, the Religious Tribunal was jointly promoted by the Emperor and the Holy See." "Of course I know this, and the Eastern Empire also has an explanation for this."
Fabian pulled the corner of his mouth.
"The Eastern Empire believes that if we are allowed to all of us to Morocco or Egypt, we are very likely to become pirates due to exclusion and discrimination, which is a huge threat to Christian commerce in the Mediterranean."
"Anyway, the emperor of the Eastern Empire didn't care much about the opinions of the Holy See. Anyway, the senior bishops of the Holy See were just for the sake of interests, especially the Sithus IV. He completely regarded the church as his own private property. Among the new local bishops in Iberia, nearly three-quarters of them were related to the Lovere family."
"What about identity? Are you the same as us?"
Moritz finished drinking the soup and set the soup bowl aside.
"Of course, the Mudhars are not allowed to enter the core provinces, while the Moriscos are foreigners and temporarily have permanent residence."
Fabian nodded.
"After working for three years, you can become a lower-level citizen. After waiting for a few more years, you can meet some conditions and be promoted to a first-level or second-level citizen, but it takes too long to wait."
Fabian touched the wine-filled clay pot and tested the temperature.
"The emperor invested in the establishment of a large number of low-level workshops to provide work for us outsiders, so that we should not cause trouble and integrate into the mainstream society safely... To be honest, the salary is actually OK, but if you want to make a name for yourself, you have to come here."
"My parents died very early. There is also a younger brother and a younger sister who came here with me. I am the eldest brother, and I have to raise them all."
Fabian patted his chest and tried to straighten his back.
"If I could be a soldier in this legion, they could directly obtain third-level citizenship, and they could upgrade after learning Greek, and they could go to school, study, take exams... at least they could see hope."
"Among the outsiders, those who are honest can go to the royal workshop to work and earn money, wait for the improvement of citizenship in a peaceful manner, and those who are rebellious and ambitious can join this legion. The main purpose is probably to suppress the unstable factors in society. Your Majesty's policies have always been continuity."
Fabian looked at Moritz and shrugged.
"That's what the priest said when I came here."
"I won't say anything, I'll invite you to drink!"
Fabian found two wooden cups and poured warm vodka for himself and Moritz respectively.
"Thank you, hehe, you are so powerful. If you become an officer in the future, you will have to protect me..."
Moritz chuckled and took the wine glass, took a sip, and smashed his mouth.
"It's okay to stay with my grades, but I'm sure I can't become an officer."
The soldiers were eating and drinking, some talked to each other, and some were dull and silent.
"Did you find out? Most of our training camps are Spanish, Italians and Wallachians. If you say it is slower, everyone can basically understand each other's language."
Fabian looked around and said to Moritz.
"Although every soldier in this legion has to learn Greek, each training camp is obviously different."
"Well, I heard from the instructor that if it is not considered an auxiliary force, our army only has four regiments, a total of 4,000 people, each regiment has a different focus. The future resident and combat direction will definitely be different."
Moritz said a little drunk and said with his tongue wide.
"I heard that there are two regiments that are specially composed of black people. Most of them have made meritorious contributions in the shooting army and become slaves to the free people. They are still in the empire and do not want to leave. The mercenary house in Carthage cannot need so many people. His Majesty also summoned them together. Maybe they want to use military life to downplay their wildness."
"One of the black groups is called the Third Rainforest Group. In the future, it will go to the African Rainforest or Brazilian Rainforest to train and become the backbone of the empire in the colonies."
"This is a bit strange. Don't the colonial pioneers like to use mercenaries?"
Fabian was a little confused.
"Haha, mercenaries cannot represent the will of the country after all, and mercenaries are sometimes disobedient, and the act of killing employers and temporarily increasing money makes many people distrust them."
Moritz laughed.
"I heard that a Carthage mercenary was hired by Congolese natives and entered the deep rainforest. As a result, he died of various diseases. Only a few black people inside came out alive. It seems that Jinjina antimalarial drugs are not safe, and it is a flaw that the emperor wants to interfere in the internal affairs of the colonial indigenous countries. He also has to use the black army..."
"Have you finished eating? Everyone lined up!"
The voice of the chief instructor rang like thunder. The soldiers were shocked and immediately put down their food and drinks, stood up, and lined up according to the pre-assigned team.
The training base currently has more than 400 soldiers, and in the end only 200 people are recruited.
The chief instructor rode his horse and glanced at the soldiers who had just finished their meal. The soldiers raised their chests and looked up, trying to show their best style.
"After you signed up, you have experienced many selections, and the best left behind have come to this valley and received the final training for a month."
The chief instructor said slowly.
"I know that you have worked very hard this month to stay in the legion in exchange for a better future."
"During this period, the instructors also evaluated the performance of each soldier. Whether they could stay or not will be announced soon."
The head instructor waved his hand, and the rest of the instructors found their own group and began to read the admission list aloud.
One by one, the names floated in the wind and snow. The soldiers who were pronounced were ecstatic, while the soldiers who were cleared were defeated.
"Don't be too disappointed if the soldiers who have not passed the final assessment. You have proved yourself in the previous trials that you can join the auxiliary troops of the Legion. The benefits and time required to obtain citizenship are not as good as regular soldiers, but they are also better than those foreign workers who dare not go to the battlefield."
Seeing that the loser's face looked a little better, the head instructor nodded and continued.
"Very good. Next, the soldiers who have just been named have gone to the central school grounds west immediately, where you will receive the reception and title from the Supreme Commander."
"The instructors have told you the slogan, oath and honorary creed. You must repeat it several times on the road and memorize it all!"
The regular soldiers whispered, unconcealed joy and excitement.
They lined up in several long rows under the command of the instructor and quickly headed to the west.
...
To the west, in a larger valley, Tethis had arrived here and was talking side by side with a tall and heroic young general.
The man's name is Zothbafe, the eldest son of Count Yergubai, the Governor of Venice. He is a retainer and distant relative of the royal family. He has been learning martial arts and military strategies from his father since he was a child. He then joined the Royal Knights Academy and became classmates with Tethis.
Zothbafe's mother was also named Valleolo, and she belonged to the former Constantinople's government official Theophilus. She was far away from the royal family and could be basically negligible.
The Royal Knights Academy was a transitional military academy established by Isaac during the most difficult period in Eastern Rome. It has gradually fallen behind under the new military system and will be reorganized into the Imperial Army Officer Academy. Teticus and Zothbafe will be the last batch of graduates of the Royal Knights Academy, and their grades are also very good.
Even under an absolutely fair assessment system, the children of nobles and aristocratic families can gain more innate advantages than others, better physical fitness, more sound childhood training, richer readings of military books and broader information sources... Only decades have passed since the revival of Eastern Rome, and the meritorious children have temporarily maintained good military qualities and have not been alienated from the luxurious and prosperous life.
This time, some military academy graduates represented by the two of them received a new appointment. This newly formed legion does not need to undertake any heavy combat tasks for the time being, and can be used for them to practice.
"Your Highness, is Dimarco back?"
Zothbafe asked.
"How does he think of your group?"
"League Commander, since you are in the army and you are my senior and superior, you might as well call it a military rank."
Tethis said seriously.
"His Excellency Dimarco is very satisfied. He has left here and returned to Constantinople."
"Well, very good, Deputy Commander of the Tertisseus."
Zothbafe nodded.
"Since that's the case, I will command you as a superior. You must arrest the regiment you personally commanded within a month after today, because you will likely have your first mission soon. Maybe there is no need to fight, but you must be prepared for the worst."
"In the army, you are not allowed to rely on your family's power and the status of a prince to bully soldiers, and you are not allowed to look down on veterans from civilians. Most of them are the backbone of the officers sent by the Central Army to us. The purpose is to help us graduates of military academy who have just entered the army to manage this new army. You must respect them and rely on them."
"Don't worry, commander of the Legion. I am also a graduate of the military academy. Naturally, I know how to respect the tradition of veterans."
Teticus stood in awe and saluted.
"The regiment I personally commanded has some very good seedlings. I am going to let veterans serve as senior officers, military academy graduates serve as intermediate officers, and low-level officers select soldiers with excellent grades to serve as soldiers, and immediately start training to quickly form combat effectiveness and cohesion."
"Since our regiment takes naval landing as its intended specialty, we might as well train repeatedly on the coast and river bank."
"Yes, it's similar to what I think. I'm also going to take my snow group composed of Ross people to the Cossack Kingdom to practice."
Zothbafee smiled and patted Teticus on the shoulder.
"Let's go, they're almost here."
The Central School Farm is located in a sheltered valley and covers a large area. It was originally the garrison of a Turkic tribe of the Ottoman Empire. It was then used as the training ground for the Kerjali Military Region. After the Kerjali Military Region was abolished, it was abandoned until the new army entered.
More and more soldiers arrived here from various training camps, standing in a predetermined position under the leadership of instructors, waiting for the speech and title of the supreme commander.
They are divided into four square arrays, each of which is about one thousand people.
Zothbafe, Teticus and several other senior officers walked up to the platform, and a flag fluttered in the wind.
The flag is rectangular and divided into two parts by a diagonal line, with green at the bottom left, red at the top right, and a golden double-headed eagle badge in the middle.
"Everyone, I'm very happy to see you. I'm honored to stand here and have the first meeting with all the warriors."
Zothbafe roared loudly, and the cavalry responsible for sending the message ran around, translating Zothbafe's words into various languages and conveying them to each square formation.
"My name is Zothbafe, and the one standing beside me is Tethis. You don't need to know our origin and surname, or our title and family,"
"You just need to know that in your subsequent years of joining the army, we will be your corps commanders and deputy corps commanders, and we will receive orders from the emperor, and you must obey!"
The wind and snow were still falling, and Zothbafe looked around the soldiers with an excited expression.
"Everyone, please ask me a question."
"Do you know why this legion exists?"
Zothbafe asked loudly, but the soldiers remained absolutely quiet.
"On the surface, this is in accordance with the emperor's supreme order, providing more opportunities for immigrants who have not yet become citizens of the empire, so that you can develop a centripetal force and a sense of belonging to the empire in your military life."
"But, in fact, His Majesty the Emperor just doesn't want you, those who are rebellious and powerful, to cause trouble for the empire, and don't want you to become outlaws and wanted criminals, causing social unrest!"
Zothbafe's words were very straightforward and simple, without a slight aristocratic style. Some soldiers laughed and felt more favorable to the young new commander.
"You can think about it. If you are willing to gain citizenship through honest work under the existing system of the empire, why do you have to suffer so much? Why are you elected and why are you going to the battlefield to fight to the death?"
"But, since you don't want to work as hard as an honest person and can't make it in your original country, since you want to quickly obtain high-level Roman citizenship and sufficient wealth for retirement, but are unwilling to endure years of labor, this is your best opportunity!"
"When the world abandons you, the Roman foreign legion gave you a grenade and a great mission, providing you with a new home!"
Zothbafe yelled.
"Tell me, what is the slogan of the foreign legion?"
"The army is my hometown!"
The soldiers responded loudly in Greek.
"Tell me, what is the tradition of foreign legions?"
"All compatriots!"
"Tell me, what is the creed of the foreign legion?"
"Honor and Loyalty!"
Zothbafe nodded with satisfaction and raised his right hand.
"Very good, members of the army, let me take the oath!"
The soldiers raised their right hands together and recited the oath.
"Legislature members, you are a volunteer who serves Rome with honor and loyalty. In at least three years of military career, you will prove your talents with actions and hard work, and prove that you are capable of joining the large group of the Romans..."
"Men of the Legion, you should serve the Roman Emperor blessed by God. You vow to maintain his rule, you vow to obey his orders, and you vow to obey his laws even after retirement..."
After the oath was recited, another gust of wind and snow were heard.
"Dispatch military uniforms, send legion badges, and send foreign legion ID cards!"
...
In December 1476, the civil rights reform of the Eastern Roman Empire was in full swing. Europeans who were forced to leave their hometowns due to climate, tyranny or religious trials began to immigrate to the Eastern Roman Empire in large numbers, providing the empire with a large amount of labor, and also causing a certain impact on society.
In order to quickly transform them into Roman citizens and stabilize the social situation, in addition to a large number of new jobs targeting honest and honest people, the emperor decided to set up a foreign legion to solve the crimes of foreigners at home.
The selection assessment of foreign legions is very strict, and only brave and good at fighting can join. According to the law, their families will automatically become third-level citizens of the Empire. They will automatically obtain complete citizenship after three years of service. After five years of service, they will receive houses and houses issued by the emperor. After ten years of service, they will receive household registration in Constantinople and houses within the walls of Theodossi. The salary during their service is very high, only less than that of the Central Army of the Empire.
The first foreign legions included four regiments, each with one thousand regular soldiers, namely the First Ross Snow Regiment, the Second Latin Marine Regiment, the Third Bantu Rainforest Regiment and the Fourth Guinea Grassland Regiment. The middle and senior officers were mixed with Romans and Romans, while the lower officers were selected among the soldiers.
Due to different focus, the four regiments also have different equipment arrangements. The first regiment will be equipped with snow pony, sled and snowboards, the second regiment will have its own landing craft, the third regiment will not be equipped with muskets, and it will be equipped with poisonous crossbows and iron-covered wooden shields. The fourth regiment will be equipped with local horses in the tropical savanna.
After the establishment of the Legion, the First Regiment quickly went to the snowfields of the Cossack Kingdom for training, the Second Regiment took a boat to Carthage, and the Third Regiment and the Fourth Regiment needed two months of Greek training before heading to the African colonies.
The soldiers of the foreign legion received the rewards they wanted. In return, they would enter the most difficult areas during their work, enter the battlefield with the greatest risk, use their racial talents to perform tasks that Central Army soldiers are difficult to perform, ensure the Empire's interests around the world, and overpower Rome's will on every piece of land under the Double-Headed Eagle.
They may not be loyal to the empire for the time being, but they will turn their original arrogance into obedience in their long-term strict military brigade. They may have lost their hometown, are full of doubts about any country and monarch, and cannot feel the warmth and care from society, but as the foreign legion slogan says,
The army is my hometown.
(This chapter ends)