342: Chapter 21, Reviewing the Troops_3 342: Chapter 21, Reviewing the Troops_3 The front line continued to lose cities and territories, and the pressure on the military increased day by day.
The domestic call for Martins’ replacement was crescendoing.
If he didn’t achieve any results soon, he would be kicked out.
Even knowing the risks involved, Martins had no choice but to take a gamble.
For him personally, if he won everything would be fine, and if he lost, it wouldn’t be much worse than it already was.
Hesitant, he glanced north and asked gravely, “How likely is it that we would succeed in recapturing the Augustusburg Defense Line if we united with the Warhammer Kingdom?”
…
In Layton County, after a series of preparations, the day of assembling the expeditionary army arrived.
Looking at the tangle of troops, Hudson doubted if this was more of a market-going crowd than a military expedition.
People leave their hometown for cheap.
If they were to travel two thousand miles to fight in foreign lands, they had to be thoroughly prepared.
They could rely on the Moxi Duchy for everyday supplies.
Items like year-round clothing and quilts had to be prepared in advance.
Distrusting their allies’ logistical capabilities, the Noble Lords had, surprisingly, collectively shelled out to provide all the soldiers with the necessary equipment.
There were exactly 15,000 soldiers and the total force, including animals, exceeded 20,000.
They were just waiting for the Kingdom to send someone to check and approve.
Walking through the neatly lined-up troops, a surge of pride welled up in Hudson’s chest.
Looking at the imposing momentum, his efforts weren’t in vain.
The aristocratic military officer, responsible for counting the soldiers, was startled by the enormous energy displayed by the force.
Not because they had no experience, but because the soldiers from Layton county were unexpectedly full of strong morale.
Elsewhere, despite having elite troops, everyone was scared stiff at the thought of battling the Orcs.
The Layton county soldiers were different.
Besides complaining about the long journey, they didn’t give a damn about facing the Orc Army.
There was even a hint of disdain.
There was no doubt that this morale was carefully cultivated by Hudson.
When they were training in the Mountain Domain, these men were dispatched in batches to supervise the Orc slaves as they worked.
For soldiers who had whipped and monitored the labors of the Orc slaves, it was easy to develop a sense of superiority: that the Orcs were nothing more than this.
The subliminal suggestion planted led everyone to feel superior to the Orcs.
It even made ferocious disapproval spring within their bones when the war against the Orcs was mentioned.
This attitude made the morale of the expeditionary army far superior to the aid troops sent by neighboring provinces.
“Viscount Hudson, your training ability is formidable!
Across the entire continent, you’re one of the best.
Maybe you should take on a heavier responsibility, such as: being the head instructor of the Kingdom’s Army, training a matchless elite force for the Kingdom!”
The middle-aged military officer was not speaking empty words; he was really planning to recommend him to the King.
At a time of national crisis, anything that can enhance the military power of the Kingdom is significant.
However, only they knew their own business.
The training of the Layton county soldiers seemed replicable, but it was actually difficult to execute.
There were orc slaves in the Alpha Kingdom, but there wasn’t a second place which used orc slaves at such a large scale like the Mountain Domain.
This alone blocked the way for widespread imitation.
As for the rest of the line training, it was effective in improving the discipline and morale of the new soldiers, the veterans didn’t care for it.
Were Hudson to really be in charge of training the entire nation’s army, these problems would soon surface.
Together with the lack of enough military instructors, reckless reform would only make things worse.
“Count Jose, you make me laugh.
Commanding this current force has already drained me.
How can I undertake the heavy responsibility of training a national army?
In peacetime, conducting military reforms would be doable.
But now we’re in a time of war.
Every action will be in the spotlight.
Rather than implementing a reform with an uncertain future, we should maintain the status quo until after the war.”
Hudson declined politely.
They were all sincere words.
In a time of war, it was admittedly not suitable to play with military reform.
After the war, when the battle was over, what reforms were still needed?
As a traditionally conservative country, the Alpha Kingdom itself was not suitable for radical reforms.
The widespread Local Lords decided that any reform would be difficult to replicate nationwide.
Seeming to realize this, Count Jose, who had been enthusiastic, nodded in disappointment, not continuing to dwell on this sensitive topic.