Adua, a military and economic town on the border of the Abyssinian Plateau, has always been heavily stationed because it is the best place to defend against enemies coming from the Red Sea.
Now, this place has become the place where the Abyssinian Emperor Johannes IV hoards troops. More than 100,000 troops are distributed throughout Adua, making it almost a large military camp, with soldiers dressed everywhere.
people.
Since there are many soldiers, there are also many things to do. Stealing, fighting, teasing women, and other unfavorable nonsense are common in Adua.
The officials in charge of public security could not take care of these troublemakers in the army at all, so they had to ask Emperor Johannes IV to send his personal guards to severely punish a group of people, so that the atmosphere became a little better, at least they would not rob and molest in broad daylight.
When hooking up, I also know that I have to do it behind the other person’s back.
Speaking of the bad things that soldiers do, no one knows, but since they all belong to different armies, and some of them have only been in the army for less than a month, they lack fear of military discipline.
But then again, it would be strange for this Abyssinian army, which has a strong feudal atmosphere, not to cause some trouble.
However, His Majesty Johannes, the Lord of Abyssinia, did not pay much attention to the troubles in the army. As long as they were made too much trouble, after all, they still needed to deal with the Italians.
But when it came to the Italians, Johannes had a headache, because the Italians had not come for a long time, which made him a little anxious.
Wait a minute, the Italians don't come, making Emperor Johannes anxious?
It's absolutely true, His Majesty the Emperor is just waiting anxiously. Because it is easy to gather this army of more than 100,000 people, but it is not easy to raise this army.
As a feudal country, Johannes, as the emperor, could not mobilize supplies across the country. He also needed to consider the feelings of princes everywhere.
You must know that this army of 178,000 people is divided into three parts. Among them, the army directly under his command only has 76,000 people. Among the remaining 102,000 people, there are 54,000 people brought by the princes and their respective armies, and 48,000 people.
Ten thousand people are composed of various tribes.
Since these troops have come to fight in response to the emperor's call, the material problem needs to be solved for others. It is impossible for others to send troops and also bring their own materials. Isn't this embarrassing?
Therefore, as the emperor, Johannes IV has been very overwhelmed recently. If the Italian does not come again, he will soon be unable to feed himself with so many mouths.
It can also be seen from here how barren Abyssinia is. The emperor, who occupies nearly half of the land, cannot even support an army of more than 100,000 people for two months. It can also be seen that industrial countries have advantages over agricultural countries.
What a powerful crushing ability.
But you have to eat it if you can't bear it. As Emperor Johannes IV, he knew very well that the Italians were here for him, and he would not let those troops go back home just because of this.
However, after waiting for a long time, naturally there were different voices. No, at a new meeting, someone raised objections.
"If this continues, how long will we have to wait? It will be the busy farming season soon, and then the hearts of the soldiers will fly to their own farmland."
At the banquet held by Emperor Johannes IV in the Governor's Palace in Adua, someone raised his question.
These words attracted everyone's attention, and as the emperor, Johannes IV took a closer look and saw that it was the Duke of Oromia who was expressing his opinion. This Duke's territory is in the southeastern part of the Abyssinian Plateau, and his strength is not that great.
Weak, only weaker than himself and Menelik II of Shoa. Facing this local powerful faction ranked third in the country, Johannes IV certainly could not ignore his opinions, and he also saw that other princes were
After I finished speaking, I felt a little emotional.
These conscripted troops are not full-time soldiers, at least half of them are semi-professional soldiers who cannot be full-time. These semi-professional soldiers who are busy farming and training in their spare time have always been the main force of Abyssinia's army. This is
A custom that has been passed down since ancient times.
Otherwise, given the barren land on the Abyssinian plateau, it would be impossible to maintain such a large army.
However, the advantage of such a semi-professional army is that daily maintenance costs are very low, and it can save the limited funds of princes and nobles everywhere. The disadvantage is also obvious. During the busy farming season, these soldiers will be distracted from the farm work at home.
The Duke of Oromia obviously raised his concerns based on this current situation.
But since some people raise objections, some people support it.
After the Duke of Oromia made this statement, Emperor Johannes IV knew that not giving a solution would cause instability in the military morale.
"The Duke of Oromia is right. If we wait like this, the soldiers will not focus on the battle."
Johannes IV first praised him, but then changed the subject. "However, the war between our country and Italy has just begun, and it is impossible to let him go home. Therefore, we need to inform the soldiers that the Italians are coming to conquer us and take us away."
They all become their slaves."
"But this mouth alone cannot solve the problem."
When faced with the words of Johannes IV, some people expressed different opinions.
"I also know this, so taking this into consideration, I can offer 6,000 cattle, 50,000 sheep, and 3 million kilograms of grain as compensation. However, the amount may not be large, and I still need your support."
When Johannes IV said this, he turned his eyes to his son-in-law. As the emperor turned his eyes to him, Menelik II, the lord of Shoa, cursed secretly in his heart and made a righteous expression on his face.
"I agree with what the emperor said. For this reason, I have decided to provide 3,000 cattle, 30,000 sheep, and 1.5 million kilograms of grain to supplement. In addition, the conscripted soldiers in my territory will be exempted from half of the poll tax in the next two years.
."
Yes, since Menelik II wanted to do it, he should put himself in a benchmark position, but he would be a bit of a trick to others.
Menelik II's words made the other princes present curse secretly, but in the face of the joint stance of these two, others could only follow suit. So you have one hundred and I have fifty, and together they reach nearly ten million kilograms.
There are more than 80,000 sheep and 30,000 cattle.
Oh, and there are another 2,400 camels.
However, there seemed to be a lot of these supplies, and they were distributed to everyone, just like sprinkling pepper.
But in the end, we are still united, and I believe the soldiers below will understand this.
After reluctantly dealing with the army's problems, as if God didn't want Johannes IV to have a good day, an even more shocking news came.
"His Majesty."
Prime Minister Matthias walked in quickly with a messenger. His face was extremely ugly, which surprised everyone present.
"What happened?"
When Johannes IV saw the Prime Minister's expression, his heart skipped a beat and he immediately asked.
Faced with the inquiry from Johannes IV, Prime Minister Matthias did not speak.
Facing Johannes IV's inquiry, the Prime Minister did not speak. Instead, the messenger on the side spoke. However, no one present expected that he would bring shocking news. Except of course the Prime Minister.
"Your Majesty, the Sudanese have invaded Motema, and Governor Yogudis asked me to ask for help."
