Steel, gunpowder, and spellcasters

Chapter 152 Cavalry
"Old Ba!" Andrei pitifully grabbed Bad's hand.

Bard remained noncommittal.

"Old Ba!" Andrei said even more humbly.

Bard gave a half-smile.

"Old Ba!" Andrei's eyes were already brimming with tears.

"Don't give me that crap, do you think I'd believe that?" Bard sighed. "But I'll give it to you this time."

"Consider it a debt I owe you!" Andrei grinned, patting his chest as he left, "Old Ba! If you ever need anything, I'll go to great lengths for you!"

Before he finished speaking, he ran off in a flash.

"Have you ever counted how many times you owe me?" Bud laughed and scolded.

Andrei had already run far away, but his voice drifted back from outside the prefab house: "I'd go through fire and water for you!"

“If you give in too many times, Andre will take it for granted,” Winters couldn’t help but say.

“Isn’t he already like this?” Bard replied helplessly.

……

Why was Lieutenant Colonel Jessica sent to the Gulf for twelve years? And why was he able to return?
Winters was unaware of this, but he realized that John Jessica still had considerable connections in Palatour.

After Lieutenant Montagne explained why there were as many as 63 Dussacs among the three militia squads, the lieutenant colonel remained calm and did not say much.

But when Lieutenant Colonel Jessica returned to the Twin Bridges camp that evening, he was carrying an extra bag of heavy items.

The lieutenant colonel walked straight into the officers' quarters, ignoring the three second lieutenants who were still eating dinner, and casually threw his things on the table.

The cloth bag slammed onto the table, making a series of crisp sounds.

"Sir? What is this?" Winters asked knowingly.

"money."

Andrei gently opened the cloth bag, which was full of gleaming gold coins.

"what money?"

"What else could it be?" The lieutenant colonel, reeking of alcohol, revealed a slight smile: "Money for the horses!"

……

What is money for betting on horses?
As the name suggests, Dusak receives a small sum of money as a subsidy for his own warhorse when he enters active service; this money is for buying the horse.

The money for a horse is certainly not enough to buy a warhorse; at best, it can only buy one leg of a qualified warhorse.

As for the other three legs of the warhorse, Dussac naturally paid for them, which was also part of the blood tax.

……

“They are militia and auxiliary troops. Are you going to recruit them as cavalry?” Bard asked, frowning.

The lieutenant colonel sat down with an air of authority, leaving the three second lieutenants standing: "You guys can have Dusak serve as a militiaman instead of active duty, the legion won't bother to investigate. But having Dusak serve with his warhorse is also the order from above."

Andrei asked impatiently, "And what about the treatment? I mean, the treatment Dusak receives after being equipped with a warhorse?"

Jessica toyed with his knife and replied calmly, "Their salaries, rations, and armaments will be the same as those of the light cavalry, except they won't be issued uniforms. I got each of them a light musket; if all else fails, they can be used as dragoons."

Upon hearing this, Andrei's eyes lit up.

“My Dusac is still a child!” Winters couldn’t help but say.

"So the salary and equipment are already preferential treatment, as they are issued according to the standards for light cavalry." The lieutenant colonel stared at the second lieutenant with his one eye: "If you are not satisfied, I can also restore their militia treatment."

"Satisfied? How could I not be?" Andrei quickly stood beside the lieutenant colonel. "I think it's great! Letting those lads serve on horseback, the happiest people will definitely be themselves. I strongly support it!"

Winters glared at Andrei. How could he not understand Andrei's thoughts?
Lieutenant Cellini was already considering how to take command of this cavalry unit.

……

The organization of cavalry differs from that of infantry. Theoretically, the smallest command unit for cavalry is the squadron, and in combat, the squadron is usually divided into two detachments.

A cavalry squadron held a much higher status than an infantry centurion; a second lieutenant could serve as a centurion, while only a field officer could lead a cavalry squadron.

According to the organization of Plato's army, a full-strength cavalry squadron consisted of 174 cavalrymen and was staffed with 6 officers.

However, the reality was that there were not enough cavalrymen, but more than enough cavalry officers; this was the case in all the republics.

Therefore, it was common for officers who came from cavalry to lead infantry or take on civilian jobs.

During the Battle of Taniriya, Badr and Andrei remained in the infantry battalion for their apprenticeship.

If Bader and Andrei were fortunate enough to return to the cavalry, they would only be officers at the very bottom of the command hierarchy in their squadrons.

……

According to Lieutenant Colonel Jessica, 63 Dusaks were equivalent to 63 cavalrymen, which was close to a platoon.

Winters graduated from the infantry department; he wasn't qualified for cavalry duties.

However, at present, there are still two proper cavalry officers in the JSKA battalion leading infantry.

"A cavalry platoon!" Lieutenant Cellini thought smugly. "My goodness! It would take at least a captain to lead that, right?"

In the past, Winters could make decisions about the Wolftown Hundred with a single word. Now that Lieutenant Colonel Jessica has taken office, the lieutenant has no choice but to obey.

Only when you are controlled by others can you understand how happy you were when you were a resident town official.

"Give this money to the Dusaks, and the legion will arrange for people to go to their hometowns to retrieve the warhorses." The matter was settled, and the lieutenant colonel casually made arrangements: "63 Dusaks, 3 of them will be my messengers, and the remaining 10 tents will be just right."

[Note: A cavalry tent has only six men, and an infantry tent has eight men.]
Andrei listened intently, afraid of missing a single word.

When he heard the lieutenant colonel say that "half of them are directly subordinate battalions," he thought with some regret, "Only five tents? That's not too bad."

"Who will be in charge of the remaining thirty riders?" Lieutenant Colonel Jessica continued, "You two discuss it yourselves."

Andrei and Badr were both stunned.

……

Unable to resist Andrei's persistent pleading, Bad finally nodded.

And so, Andrei got his wish and took charge of half a cavalry platoon. The remaining militia were reorganized; four tents of Dussacs left Winters's men, and five tents of Blackwater militia were brought in. Pierre, Vahika, and the others were overjoyed to learn of the lieutenant colonel's arrangement.

They were already tired of the tedious and heavy physical labor, and were overjoyed to become dragoons—even though they didn't have any nice uniforms to wear.

Especially Pierre, whose address for the lieutenant colonel instantly changed from "no anus" to "that sir," as if he wasn't the one who had been whipped ten times.

Anglu rushed over to borrow money from the lieutenant, and also dragged Bell along.

"Sir, I really have no other choice," the young stable boy said with a mournful face. "Please lend me some money to buy a horse, I will definitely pay it back."

"And you?" Winters asked the little hunter.

“I don’t want to be Dussac!” Bell said nonchalantly. “I don’t have a warhorse, and I don’t want to buy one.”

Anglu immediately became anxious: "It's not that simple! Dusak will be punished if he doesn't have a warhorse when he joins the army!"

Bell was startled, but still stubbornly insisted, "Then I'll run away and disappear into the woods where nobody can find me!"

"Can you run without a horse?" Anglu retorted immediately.

The two teenagers started arguing back and forth in Winters' team headquarters.

"Quiet down!" Winters sighed. "How much money did they give you for betting on the horses?"

Anglu reached out from his sleeve and placed eight stacked gold coins on the lieutenant's desk. They weren't Ducats, but coins minted by the Palatour government.

Winters, busy writing in his file, asked without looking up, "How much more do we need to buy horses?"

The nominal scribe, the old charlatan, is best at avoiding these kinds of chores, and currently all the paperwork is done by Winters himself.

“At least three more,” Anglu grumbled. “The cheapest horse I saw in Twin Bridges was this price, but it wasn’t a warhorse…”

"Alright, I'll take the money. Redmane is yours." Winters looked up at the young stable boy.

“Hmm…hmm? Hmm!” Anglu could hardly believe what he was hearing: “Red Mane? Rerik? You mean Rerik is mine now? You’re going to give Rerik to me?”

Winters chuckled. "It's not for you, it's for you. Aren't you riding Redmane now?"

After Strongy was taken to Palatour, Winters rarely rode Redmane. But the training of warhorses could not be interrupted, so Redmane was usually ridden by young grooms.

The young stable boy was happy to ride, and he took excellent care of the red mane. The man and the horse were very close, so Winters simply graciously obliged.

Anglu was so excited he didn't know where to put his hands. He wanted to hug the lieutenant and kiss him, but then suddenly realized that wouldn't do. So he picked up the little hunter and kissed him twice, then saluted the lieutenant.

Bell stared in disbelief and couldn't help but ask, "What about me? What about me?"

Winters wanted to tease the young hunter, but remembering the proud yet fragile pride of a boy his age—after all, he had just come out of this stage himself—he decided not to keep him in suspense any longer.

“Let Anglu pick out a good one for you.” Winters took out his money bag and tossed it to the young hunter, then looked at the young horse groom: “Anglu, pick out a horse for me too. It doesn’t have to be a warhorse, but it has to be hardy, sturdy, and able to traverse the wild.”

The young stable boy was stunned: "You want to add another horse? Isn't Strong Luck a good thing?"

“I’ll have another horse to ride, so I don’t want Qiangyun to get too tired,” Winters replied casually, then frowned and said, “Why are you talking so much nonsense? Just do what I tell you to do.”

The young stable boy, after being scolded, obediently replied in a low voice, "Oh."

Winters was both angry and amused by the young stable boy's simple-minded appearance: "What are you standing there for? Wait for me to take you to inspect the horses? On the way back, stop by the gunsmith Samuel's place and pick up the gun I ordered."

Bell quickly saluted and pulled his partner away from the team headquarters.

……

Everything seemed to be on the right track.

After firing their guns a dozen or so times, the militia musketeers gradually became accustomed to the recoil, light, and noise of firing, and the spearmen also began to be able to march in unison.

The warhorses were brought from the three towns of Langtun, Heishui, and Shengke to the Shuangqiao camp.

Gerard and Sergei came to Wolf Town, bringing a lot of food, drink, and letters from home for the young men there, making the militiamen of the other two towns extremely envious.

But there was no time left for cavalry training; what was coming would come eventually.

Before he knew it, Winters had already spent six months in the land of galloping horses.

On January 12th, 559 of the Imperial Calendar, the Jessica Squadron received orders to set off.
When Lieutenant Colonel Jessica read the orders to the lieutenants, the three were not surprised at all; Winters even felt a sense of relief, as if "the shoe had finally dropped."

He saluted and received the order.

At this moment, a convoy is already fully prepared and ready to depart from Shuangqiao Camp.

In addition to the three 100-man squads, the Legion allocated nearly 300 additional coachmen to the Jessica Battalion.

This was a long-distance resupply mission, and the militiamen needed to escort the supply train across nearly 100 kilometers of "no man's land" into the territory of the Hed tribes.

In addition to the militia and laborers, there were also more than a dozen merchant wagons guarding outside the military camp, waiting to travel west together with the military supply train.

Plato's military principle was to prioritize local procurement of supplies. If anything had to be transported from the rear to the front, it was a resource that could not be procured at the front.

"Nothing you want to ask?" Lieutenant Colonel Jessica asked the lieutenants casually, as he neatly folded the order and tucked it into his pocket.

“If you don’t mind, I do have a question.” Winters paused, then asked, “Why us?”

"It wasn't you." The one-eyed lieutenant colonel sneered, pointing to himself with his thumb: "It was me."

Horse prices fluctuate greatly across different eras, and the prices of warhorses and riding horses also differ, with warhorses of different grades having vastly different prices.

The price of the riding horse mentioned by Anglu in this chapter is roughly equivalent to 105g of pure gold. This price comes from "And Quiet Flows the Don," in which Grigory buys a horse with an injured knee for 140 rubles.

Coincidentally, Kenneth Hodges's "List of prices of medieval items" contains the following entries: 13th century, warhorse, 80 pounds; 13th century, fine riding horse, 10 pounds; 1374, two knights' horses, 10 pounds.

The value of the pound was also very stable during the Renaissance. As I mentioned before, it was roughly equal to 0.925 pounds of silver. If we use the natural exchange rate of 1:12 for gold and silver, 10 pounds is approximately equal to 400g of pure gold.

英格兰1344年发行贵族金币，重量接近9克，3枚等于1镑。按这个标准来兑换，10镑也等于270g纯金。

Considering that Palatine is a horse-breeding region, it would be reasonable to buy a mediocre riding horse with 105g of pure gold.

I'm running out of space to write this chapter's author's note, so I won't thank everyone individually today.

I sincerely thank all the readers who voted for the book before and today. Thank you everyone.



(End of this chapter)