I walked into the tent and sat down in the innermost place. The people in the tent immediately fell silent. This was the first regular dark town hall meeting I had after recovering.
The only people sitting next to me were my three wives and Fichet. Seeing the brothers sitting in their respective seats across from me, I felt an unreasonable feeling of unfamiliarity in my heart.
"Okay, let's get started." I knocked on the table with my hand. There was a ring on the little finger of my right hand. The ice tearstone that Winsly gave me had been set into the ring by her.
"Kenan reports back!" The serious vampire tribesman stood up and said, "As per your request, Governor, a mile-long city wall and stone fence has been built."
"Okay!" I nodded with satisfaction: "I will go and see it."
"Haert reported back!" Haert, who was sitting in the front row, stood up and said, "Our Military Affairs Department has received the recruitment order, and the plan is already being formulated. Governor, you can see it as early as tomorrow morning at the earliest."
"Be more detailed." I'm not very optimistic about their first conscription plan because it's a very unfamiliar thing to them. But after all, they are doing it seriously, which makes me very happy. Plan
If there are mistakes, I can make up for them; if there are mistakes made by people, I can't do anything.
The Military Affairs Department is also a management structure added to the city hall based on my suggestion, and is in charge of all military affairs of the dark. On the surface, Geert and Moya are in charge, while Martin Luther hides behind the scenes. I don’t want to mess up the construction of the dark army.
It was very attention-grabbing, so no independent military department was established.
"Moya repays!" Moya stood up, with a certain momentum in his voice, which somewhat surprised me.
"About the Governor's confrontation training!" Moya looked at the table in front of me: "We in the Military Affairs Department have some different opinions."
I was stunned for a moment: "Go on."
"That's right!" Moya stabilized his emotions: "Our soldiers did have a lot of problems in the last battle. Of course, the Military Affairs Department is also trying to find ways to make up for it. But as the governor said, real swords and real guns are needed.
Training at the expense of soldiers’ lives?”
"In battle, the casualties of new recruits and veterans are different! Basically, for every veteran casualty, there are five casualties of new recruits!" I am sure that this is not Moya's idea, at least it is not Moya's idea alone.
: "This is because the recruits have not received enough training and do not know how to protect themselves in chaotic battles! Our confrontation training allows recruits to truly feel the atmosphere of actual combat and become experienced warriors in the shortest time.
!It’s worth paying some price!”
"But, Governor! Neither the soldiers themselves nor the Department of Military Affairs have anything to say about the sacrifice of soldiers on the battlefield..." Moya's temper got worse and he didn't even know how to give in: "But if you die in the hands of your own people during training, this
Somehow it doesn’t make sense.”
"It is an acceptable price to pay for victory in the next war with minimal training casualties!" I stood up: "Do you think such training is cruel?"
"It's not cruel...Governor!" Moya paused: "This can almost be said to be cruel."
I almost didn’t recognize the friend in front of me... His stubborn words and stubborn expression were still a little bit like Moya from the past. At that moment, I understood... This was not a dispute between individuals, but
The conflict between two ways of thinking.
Everyone in the room watched us arguing silently. Helter beside Moya lowered his head, as if it was none of my business, but I knew that Moya was taught most of these words by him.
"I think we can have a good talk, there's no need to be so serious!" At this time, Fichet spoke from behind: "Everyone has their own reasons, and the purpose is the same."
There is no way I would not listen to Fichet's advice in public, both publicly and privately.
"Before the confrontation training, the soldiers have enough time to conduct general training." I stabilized my emotions: "I believe that if the soldiers train seriously during this period, no tragedy will happen during the confrontation training.
.”
"But……"
"The purpose of confrontation training is not only to let soldiers feel the atmosphere of actual combat, but also to test the effectiveness of soldiers' daily training!" I raised my hand to stop Moya, who was about to say something else, and continued to explain: "We can dismantle the entire confrontation training into individual
Tactical subjects allow soldiers to gradually become familiar with them."
"Our usual training is like a soldier holding a spear and stabbing without a target. He doesn't know what his target is, where it is, let alone the target's strengths and weaknesses. We can imagine the soldiers under such training.
When encountering on the battlefield, he will find that the enemy is so strange that he knows nothing about the enemy! What should he do? How should he face the enemy under the sky full of arrows? The shield in his hand is holding up
On the head or in front of the chest? The enemy's cavalry is coming, how can he survive under the enemy's iron hoof? If he is scattered by the enemy and separated from his comrades, how can he survive alone on the battlefield?"
My tone was very calm, but I knew that my words would give everyone a strong shock: "I don't want my soldiers to receive such training. I regard their lives as precious as my own! Exactly.
I would propose this plan only if they have a chance to survive the war."
"We..." Moya licked his chapped lips. Anyone would feel a lot of pressure when talking to an expressionless me.
"I know that as a responsible officer, you still find it difficult to accept this matter." I smiled at him: "On the other hand, this is a manifestation of your loyalty to your duties. I am very happy.
As an officer, you have taken the first step to success. It is wise and brave to dare to express your different opinions to your superiors. In addition, we can make sufficient preparations for confrontation training to minimize unexpected incidents.
occur."
This sentence seems to be praising Moya, but more importantly, it means to tactfully criticize Haiert.
"That's right..." Moya, who was praised by me, smiled sheepishly: "We thought you had changed..."
"Don't doubt your boss!" I said: "Otherwise you will be repaired..."
Amid everyone's laughter, the atmosphere at the venue became relaxed, and other topics were passed smoothly.
At the same time, the responsibilities of the three governor's wives were also determined. Feline was in charge of finance, and she became my spokesperson when I was away; Kelly was in charge of general affairs; as for culture, that was naturally Wen Sili's concern.
All three are called municipal supervisors, and if necessary, can interfere in all general affairs, except military affairs.
It should be said that the biggest benefit of this regular meeting is not this. The most gratifying thing is that after this regular meeting, a good atmosphere has been formed not only in the city hall, but also in all management systems. Let me, let all officials
There are such opportunities and channels to listen to the different opinions of subordinates.
Various policies and laws that are about to be promulgated are constantly revised and improved in this environment to minimize the resistance to implementation. But for me personally, every regular meeting has become my most headache day. I have to attend the regular meeting
Answer various questions from junior officials who are growing up.
Because they would confidently shout to me: "Your Majesty the Governor, my dear friend, if you can't convince me, then how can you unreasonably ask me to convince my subordinates?"
Starting from the next day, all the soldiers who served in the early days of the Dark City began to eat a feast, and they ate every day.
When there were still two hours before dawn, they were woken up from the bed by the officers who were "like wolves and tigers" with horsewhips. Amidst the shouts and curses of the officers, they put on their equipment and lined up neatly. Under the starlight in the sky
Next, in the still icy morning breeze, I greeted the rising sun by running a full circle around the training ground outside the dark city. The team breakfast at the end of the run was halved. The officer called this "the appetizer before breakfast"
”.
After eating a real breakfast, the soldiers officially started the day's training.
The pikemen lined up to practice assassination combinations a thousand times, assaults a hundred times, and cover a hundred times... The archers practiced bow-drawing combinations five hundred times, quick movement a hundred times, and disassembled and assembled bowstrings fifty times... The cavalry are now
There was no horse to ride on. Under the surprised eyes of the infantry, they all sat on mud horses and practiced their fighting movements over and over again... Even though they looked like this now, the phrase "born on mud horses" would often be something they would be proud of in the future.
But now, they often complain that their clothes are never clean. The unlucky ones who are caught slacking off will not only get their lunch cut in half, but also receive a special reward of ten whips.
After lunch, the soldiers had an hour to listen to the officers explaining tactics and recover their strength. The large and small scenes experienced by the officers were engraved in the minds of the soldiers day after day. They also complained about this arrangement.
Let them even take up time to pray.
But after a while, they realized that complaining was useless. It was better to ask some questions to embarrass the superior. Because the Governor said: "Whoever beats someone because he can't answer a subordinate's question, I will personally give him a good look." Even if there is.
We are not afraid of any evidence falling into the hands of an officer, because the Governor also said: "An officer can beat someone, but he must do so in a reasonable manner. In addition, we must be careful when we beat him. We need to give him a breath before beating him next time."
"
Therefore, the soldiers have reason to believe that it is safe to embarrass their commanders by asking questions.
At the beginning, questions like this would often arise: "Sir! What you just said is correct, but the enemy is coming from behind. What should we do?"
At this time, the commander will smile slightly, pop the riding crop in his hand into the air, and then gently say: "To be honest, I have never encountered the situation you mentioned. But I think we can try it."
Wait! As for your team... just be the ambush unit..."
A melee begins...the loser gets his dinner halved.
A soldier looked at the half-eaten meal in his hand, and suddenly thought that a guy in the cavalry squad lent him money and had not repaid him. This was a good way to get revenge, and the timing was also good, because the cavalry had no horses now.
Therefore, for a period of time, this type of targeted question was popular: "Sir, if the two sides encounter a sudden encounter and the other side has cavalry, what should we do?"
"You guys are really easy to learn! Okay, let's have a friendly match with the cavalry team..." After hearing the news, some infantrymen immediately predicted the outcome in their minds.
A group of "cavalry" wearing heavy armor and a group of light infantry met. Because the "cavalry" had no horses, the "cavalry" looked sad and angry, while the infantry snickered. The "cavalry" without horses was like
It's a small piece of bread in your hand, just one bite. Result one: the infantry wins, and the "cavalry" eats half of their dinner. Result two: the infantry wins, and the "cavalry" eats all their dinner.
However, there will always be a certain gap between imagination and reality.
Because he was accidentally seen by a senior officer passing by, the senior officer accidentally said: "How can the cavalry have no horses? Your team will just make a guest appearance and ride as horses for the cavalry..."
So, the final result was that the cavalry team "riding" the light infantry lost to another infantry team. The cavalry's dinner was halved, and the light infantry's dinner was completely reduced. Each person also got a special reward of three riding whips...
After dinner, the officers will go to the Military Affairs Department for one to two hours. This is the happiest moment of the day for the soldiers. The whole team can lie on the fence of the training ground and howl loudly at the sun, moon and stars... You can train during the training
Take a bath in the river in the field... and you can also fight with the archers of the neighboring team...
However, all this must end before the officers come back. Because no one can tell how the officers were feeling when they came back from the Military Affairs Department. There was once a small group of soldiers who were rewarded with a sausage each for winning a fight. It was that
They grow real meat sausages that are fragrant with wax, spices and black pepper are added inside, and the taste is so good that it can make people go crazy... However, there was also an entire team who went to the river to take a collective bath and did not dress before the commander came back.
He was awarded the honor of running three laps of the training ground naked...
"Your Majesty the Governor!" A tall soldier ran towards me, and a military salute was heard beside me: "One hundred of us are ordered to report to you!"
"Are there any officers among them?" I looked at the hundred soldiers with great interest and asked the people around me.
"Because you only want the best person in the last battle!" Jack replied: "So there are no officers!"
"Why?" I said, "Aren't our officers outstanding?"
"this……"
"You don't know or you don't want to say it?" Of course I know what's going on.
"I know!" Jack said, "Because the officers gave this opportunity to their subordinate soldiers!"
"Yes!" I said as I walked: "You have good observation and judgment. We have a group of good officers."
One hundred people lined up in a neat queue, each with their head raised and chest raised. Looking over, there were human soldiers, orc soldiers, elf mages, dwarf soldiers, sand people...
"Everyone, sit down!" I said to them with a smile. In fact, they didn't look good standing up: "Sit in a circle around me, be casual. It's rest time now."
The sand people and dwarves were the most honest, and they immediately gathered around and sat down. The orcs slowed down a little, and sat in the second circle. The humans, who wanted to think more about things, sat outside the orcs... The elves did not sit down, and floated up.
"What did you do in the last battle?" I asked a sand man near the front: "That's why your commander sent you to me?"
The sand man's rough face turned red, and he said embarrassedly: "I... I dug too fast when I dug the hole. When I came out, I didn't know what happened and ended up behind the enemy, and I didn't know what happened and chopped it down."
A few of them have flowers on their collars..."
"I don't know why it's just like this?" I said with a smile: "It seems that you will have to stay in this state often in the future..."
Amid everyone's good-natured laughter, I patted him on the shoulder and asked several other soldiers. The result was still satisfactory.
"Let me make a statement first!" I stood back among the soldiers: "If you come here, you may lose the opportunity to become an officer! Life and training are much harder than those guys in the training ground! After a long time, you may still be able to become an officer.
You will get a lot of bad habits from me. In this case, are you willing?"
"Yes!" A hundred people answered me at the same time.
"Of course, as compensation." I said: "You will get armor and weapons specially designed for you! You will get the guidance of martial arts and magic masters! If you work hard, you can definitely leave your mark in the dark history.
My own page!"
"ah……"
"Ouch..."
"Woo..."
Soldiers from all ethnic groups responded with their own unique cheers.
"For your training!" I continued: "I have no mandatory constraints. You can choose the training method and training direction that suits you. I will only give you suggestions. Every three days, your commander... Fischer
Special! He will screen once, and those he deems unqualified will be returned and replaced by new ones. Because we only want the best warriors!"
There is also a rule for elimination in an army, which invisibly aroused the soldiers' enthusiasm and unwillingness to admit defeat, and everyone's eyes began to shine.
"Now, you have one night!" Fichet, who had just become the commander, said loudly: "If I were you, I would think about my expertise and the armor and weapons I need! I will
I will take you to the dwarf master."
"Yes, sir!" It seemed that they had a good impression of their new commander.
"Now!" Fichet glanced at me, then turned his head and said: "Get out of here!"
Using foul language shows that Fichet is in a good mood.
After the soldiers dispersed, Fichet came over and took my arm: "Let's go to the master."
"what?"
"You want the master to prepare things for us to travel." After several happy things happened in a row, Fichet was very excited: "Everything is ready."
"That's it!" I said jokingly: "If I were you, I would think carefully about what the name of this hundred-man army should be."
"Yes! Why did I ignore this question?"
"you're old……"
"Nonsense! His Highness is obviously wise and powerful..."
"More than that! Your Highness, you are simply magnificent!"
"That's pretty much it..."
"The result is that it leads to widespread fame..."
I quickly put on the outfit that the master prepared for me, only to find that I was dressed like a trainee magician, and my whole body was black, including a black cloak, a black magic robe, and even my shoes and belt!
When I raised my head, Fichet looked at me with a wry smile. His skin color was already very white, and when he was dressed in white, he looked really gorgeous.
"Hey, what's your name? White Baiyun?" I asked him.
"Not as boring as you!" He answered me: "A crow dressed in black!"
"What's the fuss about?" The master came in and threw the things in his hands on the table: "If you don't like it, don't wear it!"
"Satisfaction is satisfaction!" Fichet said: "But there is no need to dress it up like a trainee magician, right?"
"What do you know?" The master glanced at Fichet: "Do you think this color and this grade were randomly determined by me?"
"Does this require any knowledge?"
"You brat, of course you need to be knowledgeable!"
Looking at the disbelief in our eyes, the master felt the need to explain it clearly to us.
"Why do you need to wear the clothes of apprentice magicians? The first reason is because only apprentice magicians have a reason to wander around the continent." The master said: "Guys who have only half-learned this kind of magic come here
It’s very normal for magic not to work.”
"For this reason, it would be great if Cohen wore this!" Fichet said with a wicked smile.
"Secondly, such people are usually very young, and no one is sure what stage they may grow to in the future, so no one wants to offend a trainee magician." The master touched his beard and continued: "Holding grudges is a major problem for young people.
Bad habits. And for people like you two, it would be nice not to provoke others!"
"It makes sense! It makes sense!" I nodded.
"What's so special about black and white?" Fichet asked.
"The trainee magician wears black, which means that he himself has been affected by dark magic to some extent. But you, dressed in white, seem to be a light magician who is trying his best to influence him and help him overcome the temptation of darkness!" Master Yue said.
The more excited you are.
"You two darlings can cheat and drink wherever you go!"
"Who said we were going to lie?" I said.
"Don't lie? Do you think I don't know that you are short of money?" The master said, "Even if you don't lie, nothing good will happen."
"Keep your voice down!" I looked outside: "Do you want everyone to know?"
"Oh!" The master stopped talking about this and handed us a few things: "Look, these are some good things I have prepared for you."
"Gloves?" I looked carefully: "And... there is also a staff?"
"Yes!" the master said, "Put it on and try it!"
Although confused, I still believe in the master's expertise.
The black gloves feel different as soon as I put them on. I dare say that with these gloves on, as long as I want to, I can punch someone to death with my strength.
"Drink!" I punched the wall, leaving a deep mark on it, but my hand was fine.
"How's it going?" The master said confidently, "Not bad, right? Touch things with your fingers."
I followed the master's instructions and touched the fist prints on the wall with my fingers. The touch was so real, it was as if I wasn't wearing gloves!
"Push your fingers in harder!"
"Indescribable...unbelievable..." My fingers inserted into the wall silently. I looked at Fichet, and he stared blankly at his hand inserted into the table, his eyes almost falling off.
The master smiled and touched his beard. It was obvious that our shocking performance greatly satisfied the master's vanity.
"No matter what you do, I wish you success!"
With the master's blessing, Fichet and I returned to our residence with large and small bags of things. (To be continued)