thefictionvixens Chapter 56 Getting Back on Track
Chapter 56 Getting Back on Track
"Hey, Vito, what brings young master Lisanlo to the training grounds?" Old Tom frowned as he looked at Lisanlo, who was wearing training clothes and training with Tiberius in the center of the field.
"That's what you don't know!" Vito pulled old Tom aside. "I heard that this spoiled brat, this super young master, was publicly mocked by that Mario in the salon a few days ago. Mario said he's weak as a chicken, and dares to claim he trains mercenaries without even being inside a mercenary training ground? You probably can't even wield a sword! Are your men just a bunch of actors playing house with you?" Tsk tsk, I heard the words were quite harsh!
Vito reverted to his usual tone, grinning, "Look at this! Our young master has never been treated like this before! His face turned green on the spot! He was probably both ashamed and furious, and the more he thought about it, the more frustrated he became. So he went to Tiberius, saying he wanted to personally go with his soldiers. He's got a burning desire to give that Mario a good thrashing!"
"Tsk, this young master actually took it seriously?" Old Tom scoffed. "That Mario, what is he? I've heard that several mercenary groups that know how to 'package' and 'quickly train', and some 'experts' who hang around in the arena and the streets, who know how to look intimidating, have been hired by the Ferrero family with money. His team looks impressive, but if you really take them to the battlefield, hmph!"
Old Tom pointed to the long spear beside him.
"He's probably no match for a single stab from me!"
In his view, the verbal squabbles and so-called "competitions" between these noble children were as childish as children fighting. It was simply incomprehensible that they would come to experience the daily hardships of these lowly mercenaries just for a few sarcastic remarks, or that they would buy an entire mercenary group to save face.
Vito, however, was more easygoing. He patted Old Tom on the shoulder: "Who cares! Since our sugar daddy is willing to go through this hardship, it won't hurt us. At least it shows he's not just doing it for fun. With this sugar daddy personally involved, won't we have a more legitimate claim when asking for money and equipment in the future?"
"What you say makes sense!" Old Tom scoffed. "However, Jules's patron is Lisandro, and Tiberius's patron is Lisanro. The uncle works for the governor, and the nephew works for the governor's son. No wonder everyone in Reis says our White Legion is the private army of his Rogaire family!"
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"By the way, Tiberius, there's something I want to tell you." After a day of training, Tiberius was stopped by Vito.
"What's wrong, Vito?" Tippi frowned slightly.
"Uh, it's like this." Vito scratched his head. "Well, haven't you been giving our slave soldiers food and money every Sunday lately?"
"Yes, what's wrong?" Tiberius asked, frowning. "You think we're giving Vito too much?" "No, it's not too much. After all, they're training in the army and can't work, but they need to support their families. If we don't feed them, who will? We can't let them starve. We can't cut back on this expense, or we'll be committing suicide!"
"Yes, that's how it is." Vito scratched his head. "At first, we recruited free people from the farms and surrounding areas—the light infantry seeds you wanted: hunters, forest rangers, woodcutters, fishermen, and so on. We couldn't recruit them at first, right? But recently, people have started asking about it."
"It wasn't just one or two families, it was several. I checked them out, and they were all good hunters, or strong, well-versed woodcutters. They were subtly approaching the manager we left at the farm, or even stopping our brothers on the road when they went out to buy supplies, asking... asking if our 'Lightning Squad' was still hiring? What were the benefits like? Could their sons or they themselves bring food?"
"It seems our weekly supply convoys are more effective than you and Vito's persuasive arguments back then. They don't believe in promises, they only believe in what they see," Tiberio said.
[Good, my plan worked!] Tiberius thought to himself.
Every Sunday, he would beat drums and gongs to get all the soldiers of the Lightning Regiment to come to a public place to distribute food and money. Sometimes he would even "voluntarily escort" them home and bring them carts to carry the food back. This was all for this purpose!
Yes, Tiberius wanted everyone to see that if they followed him, they would have food, oil, and meat!
Vito continued, "Now those free men see that the man next door, who used to be dirt poor and enslaved because of debt, receives heavy loads of grain and a few jingling copper coins from us every week. His wife and children have regained their color, and they even get meat and oil to eat every week! How can they not be tempted? For them, being able to feed their families is more tangible than any empty promises of spoils or military pay we make!"
"I understand, Vito." Tiberius withdrew his gaze, his face revealing little joy, only his usual calm. "This is good news. Register those who have inquired and conduct an initial screening. Remember, better to have fewer but better candidates. We need promising individuals who can become key members, not lazy bums looking to coast along!"
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After several days of intensive, targeted training, the disdain and suspicion in Old Tom's sharp eyes had completely disappeared, replaced by satisfaction with Tiberius and his soldiers.
After a day of training, he pulled Tiberius and Vito aside to a dead tree by the training field, his face showing an approving expression.
"Listen, kid," Old Tom cut to the chase, his rough fingers pointing to the spear formation practicing their formations and thrusts repeatedly, "Your hundred or so men have a really good foundation! Open your doors! Discipline, obedience, basic formations, and bayonet techniques are all pretty good. I've been training them for the past few days, and they're starting to look like soldiers."
He abruptly changed his tone, his voice becoming unquestionable: "Since that's the case, I'm not going to follow that slow, methodical plan anymore! They've already mastered the basics; now it's time to see the real deal! Tiberius, go tell your uncle Jules to borrow those cavalry units under 'Red Hair' Calvin and 'Henchman' Leon in a few days!"
At this point, old Tom revealed an almost ferocious smile:
"I'm going to train these rookie pikemen with real cavalry! Let them experience firsthand what a thunderous, overwhelming cavalry charge looks like!" Seeing Tiberius's expression change slightly, clearly considering potential casualties, he immediately chuckled and added:
"Don't panic, look at your pathetic self! I won't actually send them charging at full speed on their warhorses into the spearheads; that's killing, not training! But..." he emphasized, "the oppressive feeling of a horse charging at close range, the vibration of its hooves on the ground, and the indomitable spirit of a cavalry charge... they must experience these things firsthand! Spearmen who can only poke the feet of infantry are third-rate! I can train a bunch of serfs for a while and achieve the same effect! Only a unit that isn't afraid of a cavalry charge and can steadily hold its spear to maintain the line deserves to be called first-rate!"
Then, he abruptly turned to Vito and commanded:
"Vito, go and bring me the best men from your crossbowmen squad. Remove all the arrowheads, keep only the shafts, and wrap their heads in rags. I want them to fire volleys of these arrows from a hundred paces away. I need them to know that if their spearmen don't change formation quickly enough, a few volleys from the enemy crossbowmen will be enough to completely crush them!"
Old Tom concluded, his voice carrying the coldness and tenacity of a seasoned veteran:
"I want them to know what a true sharpshooter is—someone who can shoot you in the throat through gaps in your shield from over a hundred meters away! They want to know what 'wiping out a whole swath' means! It means that after a few volleys of arrows, there will be hardly anyone left standing in your formation! This is to train their mental fortitude in advance, to prevent them from completely collapsing under a single volley of arrows or a feint attack by cavalry on the real battlefield. If they don't train these skills now, the enemy will train them for them on the real battlefield! But by then, it won't be sweat, it will be blood!"