Chapter 403 Treatment of Soldiers
The northwest territories of the Aldo Kingdom spent the Advent Day of 1993 in the holy calendar in the cold wind and winter snow, ushering in the new year.
This year, Paul chose to spend this important festival with the soldiers in the military camp.
Arda's army now has a total of 8 infantry battalions, of which two battalions are stationed in Emden, two battalions are stationed in Bairding, and the remaining four battalions are stationed in Lake Town.
On Advent Day, a total of more than 2,000 people from the four battalions gathered on the playground and formed four neat square formations. All officers and soldiers were informed that their supreme commander, Count Grayman, had something important to announce to everyone.
Paul walked onto the podium under the attention of everyone. He "scanned" the officers and soldiers under the stage with his eyes with satisfaction.
The new military uniforms have a good effect. The spirit of his army has been improved to a new level. With the military posture standing at attention, the soldiers look in high spirits.
According to the general routine in this era, Paul first preached a lot of words such as honor and loyalty, and encouraged the officers and soldiers to continue working hard to defend their hometown and relatives.
But this is all false. Paul’s real words made everyone prick up their ears.
“In return for your loyalty and dedication, I, Paul Graiman, have decided to raise the pay for all members of the military.”
"I have specially printed and distributed a batch of manuals to explain the changed salary and reward system. They will be sent to everyone. I hope you can fight the enemy bravely, obey orders under any circumstances, and accumulate military merit to improve your level. I, Paul Graiman, hereby swear that I will strictly abide by the rules I have set!"
"Here I would like to mention that the largest number of private brothers among us have received this salary increase! Later, an ordinary private could receive 700 copper coins per month, and his family could receive 100 grams of salt per month."
"Long live!" Before Paul finished speaking, there was a sound on the playground. There were huge cheers, and the atmosphere suddenly changed from serious to enthusiastic.
Even the most ordinary soldiers can receive so much, let alone officers.
"Count Paul Greyman~My Commander, My Lord~"
"Under the blessing of Heavenly Father~ Like wind, thunder and lightning~"
"Who doesn't know Count Graiman and his soldiers~"
The officers and soldiers spontaneously sang "Graiman" The Earl's Ode".
This military song, whose lyrics made Paul feel slightly embarrassed, was actually very popular in the army, and almost everyone knew it.
Although strictly speaking, the reaction of the officers and soldiers at this time was a bit against discipline, but stopping them from expressing their love for themselves at this time would obviously hurt the feelings of the officers and soldiers, so Paul had no choice but to clap his hands and echo their rhythm. , until the end of the song.
Whether an army can maintain combat effectiveness requires, in addition to strict discipline, adequate material supplies. According to Paul's memory, the reason why the soldier soldiers in another time and space were able to maintain high morale for a long time was that, in addition to having great revolutionary ideals, another important reason was that the soldiers' military pay was twice the actual military pay received by enemy soldiers.
After finally quieting down, Paul continued to announce his other measures.
“From now on, the logistics department will be responsible for the salary payment of everyone in the army, and those responsible for this will implement vertical management and will not be controlled by military officers at all levels. Send the money to everyone. If any brother receives less than the stipulated amount, he has the right to come directly to me to state the situation. "
This is to prevent the deduction of military pay and the consumption of soldiers' blood. The occurrence of such vicious events. Although the military scale in his hands is still small and nothing like this has ever happened, it is always good to take some preventive measures first.
“In addition, I will set up a [postal] department in the army to deliver letters or send items for you, including your salary and clothing, which can be sent home through this postal department. ”
The establishment of the military postal service is, on the one hand, to provide convenience to soldiers, and on the other hand, it is also required for confidentiality. With Paul's efforts to eliminate illiteracy in the army, it is no longer a problem for most people to write a simple letter home, but there may be some content that should not appear in the letter. It is better to have a unified department to screen it than to let the soldiers do it casually. It is much better to entrust someone to take it home.
Paul also planned to establish a private postal system, but he planned to do it after the Customs Union was established and bring in the territories of other lords.
"Okay, now I announce the disbandment. Except for the officers on duty, you can move freely in the military camp today, but you must arrive at the canteen on time before dinner. I have prepared a special delicacy for everyone."
Everyone disbanded, and with the enthusiasm brought by the salary increase and the curiosity about the special delicacies mentioned by the lord, everyone rushed to where they wanted to go.
The military camp in Huxin Town has many interesting places. In order to enrich the entertainment activities of the soldiers, Paul has racked his brains. In addition to promoting more "elegant" activities such as playing cards and chess, he also promoted the past life All kinds of sports and entertainment in the game are copied to this time and space, such as football, basketball, and table tennis. Compared with chess and card games, sports entertainment has two significant benefits. One is to improve the physical fitness of soldiers, and the other is to consume a lot of Their physical strength and energy reduce the amount of thought they spend on the opposite sex. After taking a short rest, Paul and Chief of Staff Schroeder came to the chapel in the military camp. When they arrived, there were already 200 people waiting inside. This was what the so-called "Gleiman Military Academy" was training. Young officers are basically selected from ordinary soldiers who are well-educated and outstanding performers. Then they are gathered together and let teachers transferred from the Weiss College next door further teach culture and arithmetic. Schroeder, Bryce and other people with knightly abilities taught military skills such as command, riding, map recognition, and position recognition. But the most important thing is to instill loyalty to the commander-in-chief, Paul Graiman.
Another characteristic of this group of officers is that most of them come from civilians or serf families, which is what Paul values. However, those who came from serf families have been restored to freedom by Paul using the power of lords. Including their families.
In the original plan, they would undergo three years of training and study, but Paul couldn't wait any longer. He instructed Schroeder to compress the courses, speed up the progress, and arrange these officers into the army as soon as possible. exercise.
Today, the young officers received the news early that after the lord finished speaking to the entire army, he would have a "heart-to-heart talk" with them alone in the church, so they gathered here after disbanding.
“Your Majesty the Earl!”
After Paul came in, everyone stood up and raised their hands in salute.
“Everyone, please take a seat.”
Paul responded.
He took a chair and sat down in the center of the hall instead of on the high podium. Then he ordered everyone to rearrange their seats and sit around him.
“The reason why I came to see you today is not for any important military affairs, but I just want to get to know each of you.”
"Let's start with the situation in your respective families. Where are you from, how many people are in your family, and how did you join the army? Although I am a lord, I am still very interested in the lives of my subordinates. I have always been busy with government affairs, and today I finally have time to find out.”
You must maintain a good balance between being a noble and not being able to reject people from thousands of miles away - this is what Schroeder told him. of.
Abandoning the majesty of the nobility will make people of this era look down upon, and rejecting people thousands of miles away will leave people speechless.
"Your Majesty the Earl, I...my name is Makarov."
A bearded, muscular man raised his hand and stood up as he spoke.
"You don't have to stand up, just sit and talk."
"Yes, Lord Earl. I come from a village near Fulan Port..."
"There were pirates that year...my Family..."
...
Paul listened carefully to the officers telling their respective situations and their joys, sorrows and joys.
Time passed by second by second, and the "symposium" continued until the sun was setting.
“Today’s conversation has helped me get to know you a lot better. I think this kind of special meeting can be held every once in a while, so that everyone can communicate with each other, such as learning experience, work experience, etc. You can talk about your experiences and difficulties in life. Even if I am not here, someone with a higher position can preside over it."
"Yes, Lord Earl," the officers agreed.
Paul stood up and looked around at the crowd.
"Okay, that's it for today. Now let's go enjoy the delicious food."
A group of people followed Paul toward the canteen, where a food called "dumplings" was waiting for them.
(End of this chapter)