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Translator: Cinder Translations

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Alden's solo expedition to Emden spread throughout the Northwestern Bay, causing all the lords to view the earl's territory, which had shone brightly during the Battle of Biddeburg, with renewed respect. Emden was Maltz Kent's stronghold, and this was akin to poking a tiger's butt with a stick.

The other lords in the alliance nervously wrote to Paul, urging him to act cautiously and warning that if the situation turned unfavorable, they might not be able to provide timely support. Paul responded by reassuring them that they had nothing to worry about.

Paul's confidence came from two points: first, the current combat effectiveness of Alden's army; and second, the new military service system implemented by the General Staff.

Since last year, the General Staff had sent personnel to various large villages and towns within the territory. These individuals, either retired veterans or active-duty soldiers reassigned from the military, were tasked with organizing and training local militias to become a competent reserve force.

With the start of the new year, these instructors were incorporated into a new organization—the Military Recruitment Office. In addition to continuing to organize and train local militias, the Recruitment Office took on a new task: to regularly compile statistics on eligible recruits in their jurisdiction. Criteria included age, height, physical fitness, neighborhood reputation, family criminal records, and more. This information was then consolidated and sent to Alden.

When Alden's various armed forces—the Navy, Army, and Internal Guards—were short on personnel, whether due to major casualties or the need to form new units, the General Staff would use the latest recruitment lists to select a batch of recruits proportionally from different locations. Recruitment notices were sent to the Recruitment Offices, which would visit households with the notices and gather recruits to report to Alden Town on the specified date.

The new batch of Alden soldiers was thus created, and after three months of intensive training, they would be ready to take the battlefield with rifles. In emergencies, they could be hastily trained for a few days and sent straight to the front lines, as most of their enemies would have only recently put down their hoes.

According to the General Staff's estimates, under ideal conditions without considering other factors, Alden and Byerldine could mobilize a total of 15,000 troops in emergencies.

The Grayman family, being earl-level nobility with few vassals, had long been considered a symbol of weakness. However, for Paul, this was a significant advantage. Every inch of land in his territory was directly managed by him, and his edicts reached every town and village, at least theoretically.

In contrast, other lords of the same rank lacked such convenience. Their edicts could only be smoothly implemented within their direct territories. In their vassals' domains, edicts had to be approved by the vassals before execution. Of course, this depended on the relationship between the lord and the vassal. If the lord had absolute power, most of his edicts could be executed in the vassals' territories, though the effectiveness was another matter.

Moreover, vassals' obligations to their liege lords were not unlimited. For example, if a baron's territory had 20 knights who could summon 500 soldiers, strictly speaking, the baron was only required to provide 5 knights and over 100 soldiers to fulfill his vassal obligations. Lords only committed their full strength to defend their own territories.

In reality, few would be foolish enough to provide only the minimum required troops. Besides showing loyalty, providing more troops could also gain greater influence in the distribution of war spoils after the conflict.

However, higher lords could not abuse their vassals' loyalty. When vassal troops were recruited for extended periods, either the troops had to be disbanded and sent home or the higher lord had to cover their expenses and possibly provide additional pay.

Before reaching the required obligation deadline, the logistics, equipment, and supplies for vassal troops were the responsibility of the vassals. This obligation extended down to the lowest level, where soldiers had to purchase their own weapons and armor. Of course, if one felt exceptionally lucky or didn't care much for their own life, they could go to battle with just a hoe, regardless of equipment.

This led to local lords' armies often being poorly equipped and with a hodgepodge of gear. To Paul Grayman, even a battle with over ten thousand combatants, like the Battle of Biddeburg, seemed like an enlarged version of a peasant brawl.

A few wealthy lords maintained a professional or semi-professional standing army with uniform clothing and standardized weapons, but their numbers were small. For example, the archers from the Battle of Biddeburg were former soldiers of Duke Fraule, trained in archery for a few afternoons each week.

Only national-level powers, like the Gabella Empire's royal family, the Aldor royal family, or semi-independent dukes like Giles with extensive territories and numerous vassals, could afford to maintain full-scale armies.

In previous campaigns, Alden's forces had occupied nearly half of Emden's territory. Under the Kent family's management, Emden had developed into a large Earl's domain, with nearly 100,000 people in half of its territory. If the First and Third Battalions continued their advance, even though the commoners of the time showed no real loyalty to their lords, Paul was still concerned about potential troubles in newly occupied lands. Hence, the southern forces halted at Bailan Castle. One purpose of this action was to create a buffer zone between Alden-Byerldine and Emden, which had now been achieved.

Bailan Castle, as the residence of the Kent family, was more fortified and defensible than Biddeburg. Even with artillery, capturing it was not an easy task. Paul intended to wait for his other allies' forces to regroup before battling the Kent family together.

While fighting continued at the front, the rear was focused on construction. The southern rebellion had driven the royal family to seek armor and weapons nationwide. Due to the adoption of new technologies, Alden's iron production had surged, and the cost of iron smelting had greatly decreased. Naturally, Alden wanted a share of the royal demand for weapons. However, the royal family needed finished weapons, and Alden's blacksmiths were already stretched thin for local production. It was impossible to divert more resources to making swords and armor, which Paul considered obsolete. Moreover, both Alden and Byerldine had few blacksmiths skilled in traditional weapon manufacturing.

But other territories did have such blacksmiths! It was time to discuss cooperation with allies.

(End of the Chapter)

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