All economic development is in order to create a more powerful army. After two years of development, the number of standing troops in Blackhammer Castle has reached one thousand. Four hundred of them are from Norsca and belong to the main force in the field army. In addition,
Six hundred people came from Kislev itself and were composed of Kislev ladies. Together with the Norscan field army of four hundred people, they formed the regular army of Blackhammer Castle.
Needless to say, they were the main force of Norsca before. They followed Rhodes all over the world and experienced the Beastman War, two invasions of Norsca tribes, and the Erengrad rebellion. They grew into an experienced force in a series of wars.
Veteran army. Rhodes, the newly formed standing army, also has strict requirements for them. In addition to daily tactics and combat training, these recruits must also play the role of engineers. Outside of training, they must rush to various places in Blackhammer Fort to participate in project construction.
They built the military road connecting Blackhammer Castle and Heidelberg. In addition, they also contributed to the Blackwater Dam. At the same time, the standing army was busy with a series of projects such as the stadium, library, theater, and third-level city walls.
The battlefield situation is changing rapidly. There are actually very few decisive battles on the plains. Most of the battles are actually small-scale conflicts. Battles involving hundreds or thousands of people are common. The terrain of these battles is also ever-changing, sometimes in hills.
, sometimes in valleys, sometimes in plains, and sometimes in riverbanks.
The physical fitness of human beings is far inferior to that of beastmen, greenskins, and Chaos Legion soldiers. Therefore, tactics are very important, formation is a part, and fortification construction is also a very important part. Facts have proved that in several battles in which a small number defeated a large number, this black army
The Norscan army at Hammerfort used fortifications to win.
Build a protective wall as quickly as possible, or build a temporary wooden bridge, or divert water to change the terrain, etc. These are all places where Rhodes wants to train new recruits. Just like the Norsca Allied Forces not long ago
During the Great Invasion, the Northern Army used fortifications to build a great wall of ice and snow overnight, surrounding the barbarians and massacring them. Without this wall, purely in terms of numbers, the Norse Allied Forces would have crushed the Northern Army.
.
Similarly, if you encounter a steep valley, there is a huge difference between an army that can build walls to meet the enemy in a short time and an army that can only resist. Facing large units like giants or behemoths, the human infantry structure
The array is simply looking for abuse.
In addition, Rhodes also requires soldiers to master various war tools, such as the use of asphalt and coal water. There are few fire magicians in Kislev, but fire attacks are equally important on the battlefield, how to set traps, and how to attack the enemy
The only way to use fire attacks is to use fire attacks, which are also what Rhodes requires new recruits to master. After two years of training, many recruits have actually mastered these skills.
Of course, the actual total strength of Blackhammer Castle is far more than this number. A standing army requires military expenses to maintain and is a professional soldier. There cannot be too many of them, otherwise the lord cannot afford it. Generally speaking, in a real war,
Lords from various places, including the king himself, would recruit temporary soldiers.
These soldiers are non-professional soldiers. They come from all walks of life and all walks of life. Some are fruit farmers, some are hunters, some are blacksmiths, craftsmen, lumberjacks, handmade manufacturers, etc. Of course, in most cases, the soldiers recruited are actually peasant soldiers.
They are farmers outside the city.
In fact, Kislev, like the Empire, has a large urban population, but it is still far behind compared to rural areas. At least 80% of the people actually live in rural areas. Therefore, once a war breaks out, conscription
An army can quickly expand to tens of thousands or even hundreds of thousands.
However, these soldiers are not qualified soldiers at all. They can charge and kill in good times, but in adverse times most of them just want to escape... The real main force in the legion is still the standing army. Some people say that the standing army and the conscripted army belong to two different species...
…
Therefore, the actual number of troops that Blackhammer Castle can muster is far more than this thousand people. According to the latest census data, the total permanent residents of Blackhammer Castle reach 12,000. Excluding the elderly, women and children, the adult male population is about
There are 4,000 people. Including the non-urban population, that is, the farmers scattered in the vast suburbs, this number is estimated to be at least 20,000 to 30,000. Retaining the necessary logistics personnel, in the event of a major war, at least a force of 3,000 to 4,000 can be assembled
An army of men.
But this is done at a critical moment when the territory is invaded. No one would do this on ordinary days. Because supporting these three to four thousand people requires a lot of food and materials, the lords have worked hard to save for several years.
The food may be consumed in a short period of time. Moreover, gathering these people will cause farmland to be abandoned. If it comes during the sowing and harvesting seasons, the losses will be huge. Some towns that are mainly based on agriculture may be unable to recover as a result.
If there is a famine, the territory may become desolate from now on.
Therefore, even for a major event like the Erengrad Rebellion, the northern lords sent less than a quarter of their troops to fulfill their obligation to be loyal to the Tsar.
It can be said that Rhodes's territory is equivalent to 40,000 to 50,000 people supporting an army of 1,000 people, and the ratio is about 50 to 1. In fact, this ratio is already high compared to lords from various places. Generally speaking,
For example, the ratio of the standing armies of local lords to the total population of the territory is about one hundred to one. The reason why Rhodes can achieve this is fifty to one is because the standing army of Black Hammer Castle is not only responsible for defending the homeland, but also going to other places.
, is also responsible for various municipal construction and public construction, which actually offsets part of the military expenditure.
"Rhode..."
While Rod was sitting in his office, staring out the window at the town and meditating, Alves knocked on the door and walked in. His beard grew an extra circle, like black seaweed wrapping a child-like mouth. Rod once let
He pays attention to image, but in Alvis' view, a dwarf does not need to pay attention to image. No one cares what he is like. Everyone only cares about whether he has the ability to manage the castle.
"There was a fight in Ironforge this morning. A Kislev merchant went to the dwarf blacksmith shop to buy ironware, but was kicked out by the dwarf craftsman, and a fight broke out on the street. To be precise,
, there was a fight between the merchant's accomplices and the dwarf craftsmen on the street, which caused the street to be blocked for a short period of time and a large number of people gathered, but don't worry, I have solved it."
Alves walked in, talking as he walked.
"What was the reason for the fight? Has the investigation been clear?"
Rhodes looked back and stared at Alves and asked.
"It's clear. The reason was that the Kislev merchant went to the dwarf blacksmith shop to buy ironware and negotiated the price three times in a row. Finally, the dwarf craftsman became angry and dragged him out of the shop and kicked the tall merchant. The merchant was dissatisfied with his treatment.
When it came to personal attack, I rushed in with my accomplices to beat up the dwarf, but all the dwarves in the store rushed out. The two sides fought each other on the street."
Alves sat down and continued -
"You know, dwarves have a single head. They never bargain, and you get what you pay for. This has always been the case. It is said that this little merchant bargained three times in a row before the dwarf blacksmith broke out."
"Bargaining is a bad human habit."
Rhodes smiled bitterly.
"Indeed, cunning is human nature, and all kinds of counterfeit goods are rampant on human territory. However, among the dwarves, you can't see a single fake or shoddy product. Making low-quality products is a shame for the dwarves.
Just like cutting off a beard, it is intolerable. Unfortunately, humans have never been able to do this. Glory and character have always been decorations in the human kingdom. Or things hanging in the mouths of knights and kings are the most unreliable. But these
The incident also sounded the alarm for us - the dwarf area needs to be treated."
Alves looked at Rhodes, his expression suddenly became serious.
"Indeed...how do you plan to govern this area?"
Rod asked.
"The dwarves are not the people of Blackhammer Castle. To be precise, they are not Mrs. Kislev. Therefore, the dwarves will definitely not obey our management. But Ironforge cannot ignore it, otherwise, such an incident will happen in the future.
There will be many more. Once it turns into a conflict between the people of Blackhammer Castle and the dwarves, then I will be helpless. In fact, I have thought about this matter. My idea is to let the dwarves govern themselves. Similar to you
When we first conquered the Norse tribe, we allowed the Hague clan to stay where it was and supported a great chief to manage the original tribe. In this way, many management problems could be solved."
"Let them elect a district leader. The dwarves are not like the Norscans. They are not conquered people and cannot be managed directly."