Steel, gunpowder, and spellcasters

Chapter 223: Building an Army
Winters now sees the daily needs of dozens of people as soon as he opens his eyes.

He incorporated the people from the pot-making circle into his own ranks.

He also experienced the pain of the pot ring.

Before this, he had never worried about logistics.

Logistics was a concern for high-ranking officers; Winters was just a centurion. He simply distributed whatever his superiors gave him.

If it's not enough, go ask the logistics department for more. If they can't get it, then there's nothing you can do.

The soldiers would be grateful if he didn't embezzle, deduct, or line his own pockets.

But now things are different. He has become an officer without a superior, leading a unit without a rear base—currently only thirty-eight men—and has to rely on himself for everything.

To put it bluntly, when everyone is out of things to wipe their butts with, the first person they think of is Captain Montagne.

Intercepting the grain requisition team relieved Winters' immediate crisis, but it also forced this newly formed team to face a difficult choice.

Should we return the grain?

Winters gathered the key members of the team for a fireside meeting.

Pierre, Anglou, Vahika, and representatives from several other villages sat in a circle around the campfire, and Winters explained the current situation to them.

The branches crackled and popped in the fire.

Anglu said timidly, "Give it back to the villagers. This grain belongs to the villagers; they stole it from the villagers of Wolf Town."

Winters nodded, encouraging Anglu to continue. He wanted to hear what others had to say.

He was currently using the firelight to whittle wood, intending to carve out a few chess pieces.

"Give it back?" Pierre scoffed, then retorted, "What will we eat?"

Anglu was stumped by the question. He was gentle by nature and didn't like to think about things that were too complicated. So he lowered his head and started fiddling with the branches at his feet.

Pierre bit his lip and said resolutely, "Let's not return it! Not a single grain of wheat! If any family really has nothing to eat, we'll give them some more, and they'll thank us."

Winters paused, then nodded. "That's one way to do it."

The representatives from the other villages didn't dare to interrupt, but their expressions showed that they agreed with Pierre.

Although they sympathized with the farmers of Wolf Town, filling their own stomachs was ultimately more important.

"If the grain requisition team robs the villagers of their grain, and we rob the grain requisition team in return, what's the difference between us and them?" Anglu suddenly looked up and said sadly, "So we'll just stay on the edge of Wolf Town and wait for the grain requisition team to rob the villagers until they're all gone before we rob them? Aren't we just like crows and hyenas eating carrion?"

Now Pierre was speechless. He crossed his arms and muttered, "It's still different."

“There’s no need to argue,” Vashika stepped in to smooth things over, reconciling their viewpoints, and tentatively asked, “Or… how about giving half back?”

Upon hearing this, Winters, who was carving chess pieces, nearly cut his hand.

For a moment, he really wanted to pry open Vasika's skull to see how the kid had come up with such a "genius" idea.

But then he recalled Lieutenant Colonel Jessica's attitude toward the second lieutenants—listen more, talk less, and make decisions.

We can't just criticize everyone, otherwise no one will dare to speak up anymore.

Before Winters could say anything, Pierre retorted, "Give us half back? We might as well not give us any at all! Giving us half back? Everyone will hate us!"

Vahika also shut his mouth in embarrassment.

"Alright, arrange the night watch, everyone else rest. Anglu stays." Winters brushed the wood shavings off his clothes and put a horse-head chess piece into his pocket. "We'll set off tomorrow, back to Wolf Town."

The Dussacks stood up cleanly and decisively; they were used to obeying orders.

Representatives from the other villages, however, were somewhat flustered.

The group had been staying at the bandit camp in the forest for the past few days, and they were a little unaccustomed to suddenly having to go to Wolf Town.

"I can't stay here any longer," Winters thought. "Otherwise, I'll really become a robber."

The bandit camp had no walls, no barracks, no sentry posts, and not even many tents.

Even Winters simply laid out a blanket next to the campfire as a bed.

Living in such a place can even change a person's mindset.

Everyone else had already left, and Anglu nervously clutched the hem of his clothes: "Did I say something wrong?"

“I didn’t say anything wrong. You’re a good boy,” Winters said softly to Anglu—the two were actually less than four years apart in age. “That’s all I wanted to tell you. Go back and get some sleep.”

Anglu raised his hand in salute and walked away, still somewhat bewildered.

Winters took out two blankets, one as a quilt and the other as a bed, and quickly fell asleep.

He had just fallen asleep when Vashika's excited voice woke him up.

Winters had a headache: "What?"

"Centurion, I've got a great idea!" Vashika rushed over to report, beaming with joy. "This time, we'll return it to the people of Wolf Town. From now on, we'll guard other villages and towns, and when the grain requisition teams have looted them clean, we'll raid the requisition teams. Isn't that great?"

Winters ultimately overestimated his patience, and he kicked Vasya over.

The furious roar startled all the creatures in the forest: "Get out!"

……

A team of about forty people, in more than twenty large trucks.

Winters' troops hastily gathered up anything they could carry from the camp, tossed it into the vehicle, and set off.

The convoy stretched into a long, chaotic line on the road.

Without the guidance of those sixteen veterans, the convoy would have fallen apart on its own along the way.

The villages, towns, and even bandits in the forests along the way were all secretly watching the group.

Is it the expropriation team?
Not like.

For months, I've only ever seen the grain collection teams heading to Rewodan; this is the first time I've seen a grain convoy turn back.

"Heads up! Chests up!" Winters rode his horse around, surveying the crowd. "You're soldiers, not bandits! Walk with your heads held high!"

As Winters reprimanded them, the "recruits'" tense faces gradually relaxed.

They thought to themselves: "That's right? I'm already a militia member, why should I be afraid?"
"Wahika!" Winters called from afar.

"Here!" Vahika quickly rode his horse over.

"Let me sing a song for everyone!"

Vahika said with a bitter expression, "Centurion, I only know the songs of our Dusa people..."

Most songs in the military only have melodies, without lyrics.

On the contrary, folk songs have only a few melodies, but the lyrics are all kinds of different.

Winters glared at him: "Sing when I tell you to! What are you being coy about?"

Vahika shuddered in fright.

He coughed a few times, his face flushed, and he shouted at the top of his lungs:
"Brother, go to the village entrance!"
I really can't keep my little sister here!

Holding her brother's hand!

"I escorted my brother to the front gate..."

"Stop, stop, stop!" Winters was both amused and exasperated, and lashed out at Vasya with his whip: "What kind of rubbish is this?"

The militiamen laughed good-naturedly.

Vasika covered his head, utterly aggrieved: "This is our Dusa song! Dusak leaves home for military service, and the women walk to the village entrance to see him off..." "Alright! Then keep singing!"

Wahika continued to roar:
"Holding tightly to her brother's sleeve!"

Tears welled up inside!

I only regret that I can't go with you, my sister!

I just hope you'll come home soon, brother..."

Vahika sang terribly; three out of four lines were off-key.

But as he sang, the militiamen's eyes all welled up with tears.

The homeless farmers of the newly reclaimed land and Dusak, who had paid blood taxes for a century, suddenly found a sense of resonance.

"Don't just listen!" Winters stood up and ordered everyone, "Sing along! Learn to sing!"

……

……

"Brother, ride your horse!"
Little sister, I'm suffering in my heart!

How long will this journey take?
I hope you'll grow old too..."

Accompanied by a song that sounded like ghosts wailing and wolves howling, Winters's entourage marched into Wolf Town.

Immediately afterwards, Winters waved his hand and ordered all the grain to be returned to the people of Wolftown.

Villagers from all directions gathered at the town square, and even the farmers from Wolf Town, whose grain had not been confiscated, came to watch the spectacle.

Everyone's face was beaming with smiles, both those receiving the food and those distributing it.

Identifying whose grain it is is quite simple, since the grain is stored in straw baskets woven by farmers and a few burlap sacks.

Straw baskets and burlap sacks are all handmade products, so each family has its own unique weaving style. To avoid taking the wrong items on a daily basis, many farmers even leave unique markings.

Therefore, the return process went very smoothly.

Winters also acted as a temporary judge: when both farmers claimed a basket of wheat as theirs, Winters told them to go home and fetch their own woven reed baskets. Comparing the two, the truth came out.

Since the town center was burned down, Wolf Town hasn't seen this many people in a long time.

Winters sat on the hillside outside the town, gazing at the bustling scene of Wolf Town with satisfaction.

“Sigh.” Pierre sat down next to Winters, still feeling a little sorry for him. “I think it would be better not to pay it back at all, and just help whoever is in need. That way, people will remember your kindness.”

Winters laughed and retorted, "Do you think the people of Wolftown are stupid? Do you think they don't understand what's going on? There's no need for such underhanded tactics! Don't worry, I'll get supplies for everyone."

“Alas, I’m not worried about supplies,” Pierre said sadly. “I’m worried they’ll resent you in the future. You helped them once, but what about a second time? A third time?”

“It’s alright.” Winters leaned back on the hillside and patted Pierre on the back. “It’s alright.”

……

After returning all the grain to the people of Wolftown, the second thing Winters and his team did was to collect the remains from the cemetery.

The cemetery is located next to the church and is surrounded by bushes. It was originally a solemn and quiet place where people could remember the deceased.

It's a mess now.

The better the tombstone, the more serious the damage to the burial site.

The excavated grave is like a wound on the earth, cruelly exposed to the outside.

The remains were scattered everywhere, and many of them were no longer recognizable as to who they were.

For the deceased whose relatives are still alive, most of their remains have already been collected.

The remains scattered in the cemetery today belong to those who have no more ties to the world.

Winters led the group to bury the identifiable remains separately, while those that could not be identified were placed in a newly excavated communal grave.

Many residents of Wolf Town also volunteered to stay and help.

With everyone's efforts, the excavated graves were filled in one by one. Like a wound healing, only shallow scars remained.

After returning the food and collecting the remains, Winters assembled his team on the ruins of Wolftown.

“Here.” Winters stamped his foot on the scorched earth and casually drew a circle with his cane. “Right here, we will build our camp. The camp will be our home, our rear. From now on, we will no longer be bandits or outlaws.”

People listened quietly.

“I know you’re staying with me not because you want to be soldiers, but because you have nowhere else to go,” Winters said, leaning on his cane. “So I’ve been thinking, we need a ceremony to make it clear that you’re no longer farmers. Come on! Bring the things!”

Anglu walked over carrying a jingling sack of things—gold coins!
Winters took the money bag, walked up to the people, and personally handed each person a Ducat.

He said to the soldiers word by word: "This is called military pay. When you become a soldier, you receive a paycheck. Once you receive your paycheck, you are soldiers, and we all have obligations to each other. You may not understand why we are fighting yet, but you will gradually understand."

"Alright." Winters tapped his cane lightly. "Take the oath!"

There were no clergy, no holy symbols, and no other additional ceremonies.

One by one, the soldiers approached Winters and swore allegiance to him.

Oaths are a routine ceremony in the military, and it's a bit strange to swear an oath to an individual in the Republic. That's not what Winters wanted either, but this army is indeed currently united by personal charisma.

Although it is still small, from this moment on, it is enough to be called an army.

After the swearing-in ceremony, the army of fewer than forty men obediently accepted reorganization.

Winters was like a painter standing in front of a blank sheet of paper, finally able to build an army without restraint or limitations according to his ideas.

The team of ten had only eight people, which was too few and made it inconvenient to perform duties such as night watch and patrol. Therefore, Winters increased the team to 12 people.

Since it was too crowded for 12 people to live in one tent, Winters split it into two tents.

Six people share one tent, and two tents share one pot, thus forming a group.

A group of soldiers was assigned a captain and a deputy captain.

Because of the phalanx tactics, the smallest tactical unit in the current military system of the Alliance is the battalion.

However, the 100-man squad sometimes carried out combat missions alone, and the size of the 80-man squad was simply too small, which Winters found inconvenient.

At the same time, his experience commanding two 100-man squads in combat gave him some insights.

He plans to expand the 100-man squad to 120 men, while keeping the size of the battalion unchanged. He also plans to add a command level between the 100-man squad and the battalion, which could perhaps be called a company.

The battalion's internal organization was changed to 1:2:4, with three officers in each of the two 100-man squads, ensuring that someone would take their place if any of them were killed in action.

However, this is only Winters' draft, and he has no idea what problems might arise during its implementation.

Because he only has thirty-eight soldiers now, three groups of people plus two messengers, which is not even enough for a hundred-man squad.

The most important question right now is: where is he going to find food for everyone?
[This chapter is also an extra chapter to thank the patron.]
[Because I hadn't anticipated having an alliance leader, nor had I made any agreements with the readers, please allow me to explain here:]

The bonus chapters for the two current readers are limited to the Alliance Leader (a total of 4 bonus chapters, currently 2/4 complete).
My abilities and energy are actually quite ordinary, far inferior to those energetic geniuses.

One chapter of 4,000 words a day is about the limit. When writing is difficult, I can only manage 3,000 words a day. Occasionally, I have to skip a day because of overtime or other reasons.

On days when my writing efficiency was high, I would write and publish a chapter as soon as I finished, just like the previous two days with three updates.

Although I've been saying I'd prepare a stockpile of drafts, I haven't been able to accumulate any...

If there are any more patrons in the future—though I don't think there will be any more—I'm sorry, I can't add extra chapters like this time. Because I really can't guarantee I can write an extra chapter on top of the daily updates.

Many thanks to the two readers who joined the alliance, and thank you to every reader who was willing to read this story. Thank you everyone.
[The character card for Brother Reid has been updated; it's still at the end of Volume Two.]
[Thank you to all the readers for your collections, reading, subscriptions, recommendations, monthly tickets, donations, and comments. Thank you everyone!]
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(End of this chapter)