Steel, gunpowder, and spellcasters

Chapter 557 Siege (Part 9)

[Southern Area Army Headquarters]
On the second day after the battle of Magitek began, the main force of the "rebels" arrived at the outskirts of Kingsburg.

Jason Cornelius at headquarters immediately received the report:
Among the "rebel" ranks, scouts spotted a flag with a winged lion design.
-
[The camp beneath the walls of Kings' Castle]
"This is the Castle of Kings?" Claude was extremely disappointed.

“No,” Houdel said blankly, wiping his hands on his trousers, spitting into each palm, then picking up the pickaxe at his feet and swinging it down hard. “It’s the toilet.”

When will you ever be serious?

"What did I do wrong? Aren't you asking a pointless question?" Houdel retorted irritably. "What else could that be but a toilet, if not the Castle of Kings?"

"It's not as big as they told me, is it?" Claude sighed, picking up the shovel and shoveling the loosened soil from the monkeys to both sides. "I thought it was some amazing place, just from those rich kids bragging about it!"

"Stop dawdling, dig faster," Houdel said through gritted teeth, swinging his pickaxe. "I'm going to make the first pudding once we're done digging."

……

Houdel's military academy career unfolded in a way that was completely different from what he had expected.

When Hoddle first heard that the principal of the "Second Academy" was a blind man named "John Jessica," he thought the messenger was playing a trick on him.

Because he had absolutely no idea where this person had come from.

Reserve officers from other counties might not care, and might even welcome the principal with his old army background.

However, in the eyes of the grassroots people from Iron Peak County, such as Hoddle and Claude Lee, their principal was and could only be a "blood wolf".

It wasn't until new information emerged that this "Brigadier General Jessica" was not an outsider, but rather Lord Montagne's former superior, that the doubts among the reserve officers from Iron Peak County regarding the choice of principal subsided.

Later, Houdel learned that although Blood Wolf was not the principal, he was the vice principal, and that Tribunal Mason was also the general affairs officer of the Second College. He was completely relieved.

“What kind of classes can a blind man teach? What kind of work can he handle?” Houdel confidently predicted. “The real head of the military academy is definitely Blood Wolf. At the very least, there’s Mason, the tribunal, to back us up.”

Thinking about this, Houdel chuckled to himself in his dreams at night.

This cannot be blamed on him, because the desire of most reserve officers from the Iron Peak County militia to "enter military academy" was not essentially a product of rational thinking, but rather an impulse born from the worship and longing for "wolf blood".

They had certainly thought about things like their future, but they hadn't given it much thought.

They probably didn't even realize it themselves.

So when Houdel discovered that Blood Wolf was really just a figurehead, having only shown his face on the day of the opening ceremony and then disappeared;
When he discovered that Officer Mason was so busy with troop replenishment that he couldn't spare any time for the military academy;
He couldn't help but exclaim that he had been tricked.

What happened to the promised "future of the Republic"? Why is it that it's "unloved by its parents"?
What Houdel found even more unacceptable was yet to come.

The new Republic's army, which needed manpower everywhere, simply couldn't provide enough teaching staff.

With a severe shortage of command positions in frontline troops, how could they possibly allocate valuable officers to the Army Academy?

Therefore, the Second Army College had to recruit a large number of external personnel to teach general subjects such as grammar, arithmetic, and geometry—Kay Morland contributed a lot to this.

In military science subjects, where they couldn't recruit qualified personnel from outside, the Second Academy could only rely on wounded officers who were no longer able to serve on the front lines.

Witnessing his "uniformed colleagues" struggling to move around the podium with crutches and wheelchairs, a visiting teacher, nearly driven mad by his foolish students, couldn't help but sigh:
"So, military schools are just 'cripples teaching idiots'?"

His words were overheard by another visiting teacher who was passing by, and the comment that "a cripple is teaching a fool" spread like wildfire, quickly becoming the most fashionable joke in Maplestone City.

However, to be honest, while the saying "a cripple teaches a fool" is harsh, it accurately captures the current predicament of the new Republic's army:
Originally, the garrison troops in each county could barely maintain their expanded organization by making extensive use of commissioned officers;
Once the process begins to become more standardized and the ranks of officers are squeezed out of the weaker ones, command personnel—especially those at the middle and lower levels—suddenly become extremely scarce.

The New Army was so short of officers that only those who had lost a leg and were unable to ride a horse were allowed to return to the rear to teach; other wounded commanders, even those who had lost an arm or an eye, had to continue to hold their ground on the front lines.

Therefore, the Army Commission simply could not spare any manpower for the Second Academy.

However, not everyone is capable or qualified to teach military science.

So, it was only natural for someone to turn their attention to the prisoner-of-war camp.

For some people, this is not something to hesitate about at all; making the most of things is in their nature.

But when Hoddle saw the blind Principal John Jessica enter the classroom with the help of a baby-faced man, lead an embarrassed, thin school officer with ink-stained hands to the podium, and announce, "From today onwards, the course of topography will be taught by Major Alder Felt,"

He was first shocked, then at a loss, and finally unable to accept it. He didn't hear a word of what the principal and the new topography teacher said next.

Only one thought occupied his mind: "This is insane! I'll go tell Your Excellency!"

However, Old Felt's arrival was just the beginning. The various teaching positions at the Second Army College were quickly filled by basket-weaving experts from the POW camp, just like latrines in the early morning.

Since the captured officers generally held higher ranks and had far more seniority and experience than the new army junior officers who had left the front lines due to injuries, important military science subjects were assigned to the prisoners, while the injured new army junior officers could only be responsible for some general subjects.

Many junior officers weren't even assigned teaching duties; instead, they were assigned to various classes as squad leaders—essentially, the kings of the kids.

This made Houdel even more unable to accept it.

However, before he could find an opportunity to complain, he, along with all the faculty and students of the Second Army College, embarked on a "study trip" to Kingsburg, led by Principal John Jessica.

……

The toilet was completed quickly, but Houdel did not retaliate by taking a large dump as he had said.

He felt utterly disheartened.

"Tell me," Hodel asked Claude on the way back to the encampment, "that before I went to military academy, I dug toilets every day; after I went to military academy, I still dug toilets every day. What's the point of going to military academy?"

Claude tilted his head and thought for a moment, a happy smile spreading across his face. He put his arm around the monkey's shoulder:

“Anyway, we’re digging toilets in Kingsburg right now.” Houdel stopped in his tracks. “Hmm, that makes sense… Let’s go!”

"Where are we going?" Claude asked, puzzled.

"Let's go have a big poop and celebrate."

“Great!” Claude beamed. “Let’s go together.”
-
[The campsite across from Margit Island]
"Was the journey smooth?" Mason asked Brigadier General Jessica, both amused and exasperated. "Why did you bring the Second Colonel to the front lines?"

“What else can I do if I don’t take them to the front lines?” John Jessica said coldly, leaning on his cane. “If I don’t have all the teachers, I can’t even teach all the classes. It’s better to take the students to the battlefield, test their true colors, and keep them from having any wild ideas.”

“But the front lines are still too dangerous,” Mason tried to persuade them further. “These trainees are our precious talents; everyone is counting on them to graduate quickly so they can fill the gaps in various places…”

“Danger?” Jessica raised an eyebrow. Although his eyes were covered by a black cloth, a cold light seemed to shine through the gaps. “Perfect, we can weed out the cowards. What kind of soldier are you if you’re afraid of danger? You don’t need to say nice things. With the quality of your recruitment, you should be thanking God if you can keep half of them.”

Mason scratched his head and smiled sheepishly.

After all, to ensure that all candidates from Tiefeng County could be admitted, the passing score for the entrance exam of the Second Army Academy was almost below sea level.

It's no exaggeration to say that even if a candidate only stepped on the exam paper once, they could still find their name on the admission list.

"What are you laughing at?" Jessica turned to Mason.

“It’s nothing,” Mason quickly waved his hand, even though the other person couldn’t see him. “You’re right, we’ve recruited as many people as we can, which is why we asked you to oversee the process and eliminate unqualified candidates. Only you can take on this important task.”

"Stop flattering me," Jessica said bluntly, but it was clear he was quite pleased.

"However, how will the Second School hold classes on the front lines?" Mason instinctively began to fill in the gaps in his knowledge. "As for barracks, there are no ready-made barracks available, and we can't spare any manpower at the moment..."

“Class? What kind of class?” Jessica slammed his cane heavily on the ground. “Is there a better classroom than the battlefield? A hundred lectures on siege tactics in a classroom are not as effective as dragging them into the trenches and shoveling a shovel into their hands! No need to prepare barracks. Treat them the same way you treat other troops.”

“Well…” Mason scratched the back of his head, “I won’t hold back then.”

"Be polite? Why should we be polite?" Jessica retorted. "This is a siege of Kings' Castle. These students may never have the chance to see a siege of this scale again in their lives. Missing it would be the biggest regret. Just use them and let them broaden their horizons. There's no harm in it."

“Yes,” Mason saluted, then asked with a smile, “Actually, you don’t want to miss this siege either, do you?”

Jessica snorted coldly and didn't reply.

“Well then, let me tell you about the setup,” Mason said, changing the subject at the opportune moment. “I’d appreciate your feedback.”

“Speak,” Jessica replied succinctly.

Mason unfolded the map and began to explain it to Lieutenant Colonel Jessica in detail.
-
[Shijian River Embankment]
“That small island across the river is Margit Island,” Mason pointed out to the two behind him, lying on the riverbank. “In just one day, the enemy has planted another ring of sharp wooden stakes on the riverbank and chained them together, preventing us from directly storming the riverbank by boat…”

The acting commander of the Iron Peak County Infantry Regiment, [Tamas], and the battalion commander of the Thundergroup County Infantry Regiment, [Chalka Matt], listened attentively to the major's explanation while observing the situation on the island.

“I was thinking, why can’t we wait a little longer and wait until everyone is here before we act?” Captain Charka Matt frowned. “But now it seems we really can’t afford to delay any longer.”

“That’s right, the longer it drags on, the harder it will be to fight,” Mason explained patiently. “And when crossing a river, quality is more important than quantity in warfare.”

Richard Mason has been officially appointed by General Gaisa as the deputy commander of the Siege of Kingsburg, while the overall commander is, of course, Gaisa Adonis himself.

As for the other general of the new army, Skul Mekren, he had already returned to Maplestone City.

Skul Mekren didn't stay at the front for more than a few days. Someone needed to be in charge at the rear, and all sorts of official business needed to be handled.

Especially after Winters Montagne escorted prisoners to new settlements and Richard Mason went to the front, the Army Headquarters in Maplestone became even more dependent on personnel.

Therefore, although Richard Mason was only a major, he was the second highest-ranking officer on the front lines, and it was only natural that the position of deputy commander fell to him.

However, Mason remained very cautious when exercising his power.

Because the new army has not yet shaken off the shadow of the "Four Counties Alliance".

In the new army's organizational structure, nominally, a "regiment" was just a unit responsible for recruiting soldiers, much like a currency used by merchants for bookkeeping but which did not actually exist—"gold pounds".

A regiment can be divided into several battalions, and the size of a battalion is equivalent to a brigade in the old organizational structure.

In this way, the garrison troops of each county can be seamlessly transferred to the new organization, and no longer need to worry about their size of being above the battalion level but below the corps level.

In Winters and Mason's vision, the supreme commander of the campaign should be able to directly mobilize any battalion within any regiment, just as a corps commander in the old system could command any battalion under his command.

In reality, however, officers in each county still instinctively regarded the "regiment" as a kind of combat organization.

If Mason wanted to move the "battalion" in Ryke County, he would have to get orders from the Ryke County regiment, or at least obtain Skul Mecklen's tacit approval first.

The same applies to Gaisa's desire to command the Iron Peak County camp.

Winters, however, was quite optimistic about this. According to him, "There are factions within the Allied Forces, not to mention that we were originally four doughs. Let's knead them slowly, and sooner or later we'll knead them into one."

Mason, on the other hand, didn't think about how to "knead four doughs into one"; his primary goal was "not to tear one dough into four".

That's why he came to the front lines with Charka Matt to scout out the enemy situation at this very moment.

He hoped to gain the support of the officers in Redfield County for the operational plan before the order was given.

Fortunately, while the officers in Redfield County had a sense of factionalism, they did not practice factionalism.

As someone said, "Although there are four doughs, all four doughs are striving to become one dough."

“Give the order,” Charka Matt nodded and saluted, “Deputy Commander.”

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