Steel, gunpowder, and spellcasters

Chapter 557 Siege (IX)

  [Southern Front Command]

On the second day after the battle of Margit Island began, large forces of the "rebels" arrived at the outskirts of the Castle of the Kings one after another.

  Jason Cornelius at the headquarters immediately received the report:

Among the "rebel" ranks, the scouts saw a flag with a winged lion pattern.
-

[The camp under the Castle of the Kings]

"Is this the Castle of Kings?" Claude was extremely disappointed.

"No," Houdel rubbed his hands on his pants numbly, spat into the palms of each hand, then picked up the pickaxe at his feet and swung it hard, "It's the toilet."

"When will you be serious?"

"What's wrong with me? Aren't you asking nonsense?" Houdel asked back unhappily, "If that's not the Castle of the Kings, how could it be a toilet?"

"It's not as big as they told me it was." Claude sighed as he picked up a shovel and shoveled the soil that the monkeys had loosened to the sides. "I thought it was some extraordinary place after hearing what those young masters said!"

"Don't waste time, dig quickly," Houdel gritted his teeth and swung the pickaxe, "I'll pull the first bubble after digging."

……

Houdel's military school career unfolded in a way completely different from what he expected.

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

Because he had no idea where this person came from.

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

But in the eyes of grassroots people like Houdel and Claude Lee who came from the "rebel army" of Tiefeng County, their principal is and can only be a "blood wolf".

It was not until new news came out that this "Brigadier General Jessica" was not an outsider but Mr. Montagne's old boss that the doubts of the reserve officers from Tiefeng County about the candidate for the principal subsided.

Later, Houdel learned that although Blood Wolf did not become the principal, he served as vice-principal, and Mason the Tribune also served as the general manager of the Second College. He was completely relieved.

"What kind of classes can a blind man take? What kind of responsibilities can he take?" Houdel confidently predicted, "The real head of the military academy must still be Blood Wolf. At worst, there is Mason Tribune to back him up."

Thinking of this, Houdel smiled secretly in his dreams at night.

This cannot be blamed on him, because the desire of most of the reserve officers who came from the Tiefeng County Volunteer Army to "enter the military academy" is not essentially the product of rational thinking, but more of an impulse caused by their worship and yearning for the "blood of the wolf".

Of course, they thought about things like the future, but they didn't take them too seriously.

I'm afraid they themselves don't even realize this.

  So, when Houdel discovered that Blood Wolf was really just a figurehead, showing up on the opening day and then never to be found again;

When he found that the tribune of Messen was too busy with the issue of replenishing the troops to take care of the military academy;

He couldn't help but cry out that he had been cheated.

  We were promised the “future of the Republic”, but now we have “neither father nor mother”?

What was even more unacceptable to Houdel was yet to come.

The New Republic Army, which is in urgent need of manpower everywhere, simply cannot find enough teaching staff.

How could we possibly transfer valuable officers to the Army Academy when even the command posts of the front-line troops were vacant?

Therefore, the Second Army Academy had to recruit a large number of external personnel to teach general subjects such as grammar, arithmetic, geometry, etc. Kai Morlan contributed a lot to this.

As for military science subjects, which were difficult to recruit from outside, the Second Academy could only rely on disabled officers who could no longer serve on the front line.

  Seeing the "uniform colleagues" struggling to move on the podium with crutches and wheelchairs, an external teacher who was almost driven crazy by the stupid students couldn't help but sigh:

"So the military school is 'a cripple teaching a fool'?"

His words were heard by another outside teacher who was passing by, and the comment "a cripple teaching a fool" spread like wildfire and quickly became the most fashionable joke in Maplestone City.

  However, to be honest, although the saying "a lame man teaching a fool" is harsh, it accurately describes the current predicament of the New Republic Army:

Originally, the garrison troops in each county could barely support the establishment after the expansion by using a large number of commissioned officers;

Once the process of formalization began and the officers were squeezed out of their ranks, command personnel, especially middle and lower-level command personnel, suddenly became extremely scarce.

The shortage of officers in the new army was even to such an extent that only those who had lost their legs and could not ride horses could return to the rear to teach; other disabled commanders, even if they had lost an arm or an eye, had to continue to stay on the front line.

Therefore, the Army Committee really could not spare any staff for the Second Academy.

However, not everyone has the ability or qualifications to teach military science subjects.

So, naturally, someone turned their attention to the prisoner-of-war camps.

For some people, this is not something worth hesitating about at all. It is their nature to make the best use of everything.

But when Holder saw the blind principal John Jessica, assisted by a baby-faced man, walk into the classroom, lead an embarrassed, thin, ink-stained officer to the podium, and announce, "From today on, the topography course will be taught by Major Old Felt."

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

There was only one thought in his mind: "This is crazy! I'll go tell your Excellency!"

However, Old Felt's arrival was just the beginning. In the blink of an eye, all the teaching positions at the Second Army Academy were filled with basket-weaving experts from the prisoner-of-war camps, just like toilets in the early morning.

In fact, since the captured officers generally had higher ranks, their qualifications and experience were far beyond what the new lieutenants in the army could match who had left the front line due to injuries, all important military science subjects were given to the prisoners, and the disabled new lieutenants in the army could only be responsible for some general subjects.

Many lieutenants were not even assigned teaching tasks, but were instead assigned to each class and became district captains - that is, the kings of the children.

This made Houdel even more unacceptable.

However, before he could find an opportunity to complain, he, as well as all the teachers and students of the Second Army Academy, under the leadership of Principal John Jessica, embarked on a "study journey" to the Castle of Kings.

……

The toilet was completed quickly, but Houdel did not take a big dump in revenge as he said.

He just felt bored.

"Tell me," Houdel asked Claude on the way back to the camp, "Before I went to the military academy, I dug toilets every day; after I went to the military academy, I still dug toilets every day. What's the point of going to this military academy?"

Claude tilted his head and thought for a moment, a happy smile appeared on his face. He put his arm around the monkey's shoulders:

"Anyway, we are now digging a toilet in the Castle of Kings." Houdel stopped and said, "Yeah, that makes sense... Let's go!"

"Where are you going?" Claude was confused.

"Let's go to La Pao Da and celebrate."

  "Okay," Claude smiled, "Let's go together."
-

[Camp on the other side of Margit Island]

"Did you have a smooth journey?" Mason didn't know whether to laugh or cry when facing Brigadier General Jessica. "Why did you bring the Second Colonel to the front line?"

"If I don't take them to the front, what else can I do?" John Jessica said coldly, leaning on his cane. "If I don't have enough teachers, I can't even have all the classes. It's better to take all the students to the battlefield to test their abilities and prevent them from having wild thoughts."

"But the frontline is still too dangerous after all," Mason wanted to persuade them, "These students are our precious treasures. We all hope that they can graduate quickly so that they can fill the gaps in other places..."

"Danger?" Jessica raised his eyebrows. Although his eye sockets were covered with a black cloth, a cold light seemed to shine through the gap. "Just right, we can get rid of the cowards. Why be a soldier if you are afraid of danger? You don't have to say nice things. With the quality of your enrollment, you can thank God for keeping half of them."

Mason scratched his head and smiled sheepishly.

After all, in order to ensure that all candidates from Tiefeng County can be admitted, the passing score for the entrance examination of the Second Army Academy is almost lowered below sea level.

It is no exaggeration to say that even if a candidate only steps on the test paper, he or she can still find his or her name on the admission list.

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

"Nothing," Mason waved his hand quickly, even though the other party couldn't see it. "You are right. We have indeed recruited as many people as possible, so we asked you to come and screen and eliminate the unqualified candidates. Only you can take on this important task."

"Stop flattering me," Jessica said sternly, but it was obvious that he still enjoyed it.

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

"Class? What class?" Jessica slammed his cane on the ground. "Is there any better class than the battlefield? It's better to drag them into the trenches and give them a shovel than to teach them a hundred siege tactics in the classroom! There's no need to prepare barracks. You can command them the same way you command other troops."

"Well..." Mason scratched the back of his head, "I won't be polite."

"Polite? Why should I be polite?" Jessica asked back, "This is a battle against the Castle of the Kings. These students may never have the chance to see a siege of this scale again in their lifetime. It would be a great pity if they missed it. Just use them and let them broaden their horizons. There is no harm in that."

"Yes," Mason raised his hand to salute, then asked with a smile, "Actually, you don't want to miss this siege, right?"

Jessica snorted coldly and said nothing.

"Well, let me tell you about the layout," Mason changed the subject at the right time, "and please help me check it."

"Go ahead." Jessica answered briefly.

  Mason unfolded the map and began to explain it to Lieutenant Colonel Jessica.
-

[Shijian River Bank]

"The small island opposite is Margit Island," Mason pointed out to the two people behind him while leaning on the riverbank. "In just one day, the enemy has inserted a circle of sharp wooden stakes on the river beach and connected the stakes with iron chains, denying us the opportunity to rush to the beach directly by boat..."

The acting commander of the Tiefeng County Infantry Regiment [Tamas] and the commander of the first battalion of the Leiqun County Infantry Regiment [Charka Matt] listened to the major's explanation while concentrating on observing the situation on the island.

"I was originally thinking, why can't we wait a little longer until everyone is gathered before taking action?" Captain Charka Matt frowned, "Now it seems that we really can't delay any longer."

"That's right. The longer we delay, the harder it will be to fight," Mason explained patiently. "Besides, when fighting across a river, quality is more important than quantity."

Richard Mason has been officially appointed by General Geisa as the deputy commander of the siege of the Castle of Kings. The commander-in-chief is of course Geisa Adonis himself.

As for another general of the new army, Skull Mecklen, he had already returned to Maplestone City.

Skull Mecklen didn't stay at the front line for a few days. Someone was needed to stay in the rear and handle various official duties.

Especially after Winters Montagne escorted the prisoners to the new settlement outside and Richard Mason left for the front line, the Army Headquarters in Maplestone City became even more dependent on people.

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

However, Mason remained cautious when exercising his power.

Because the new army has not yet gotten rid of the shadow of the "Four Counties Allied Forces".

In the new army's organizational plan, the "regiment" was nominally just a unit responsible for recruiting soldiers, just like the "gold pound" which was used by merchants to keep accounts but did not actually exist.

A regiment can be composed of several battalions, and the size of a battalion is equivalent to that of a battalion in the old organization.

In this way, the garrison troops in each county can be seamlessly transferred to the new organization, and no longer have to worry about their own size which is larger than a battalion but less than a legion.

In Winters and Mason's expectation, the supreme commander of the battle should be able to directly mobilize any battalion in any regiment, just like the corps commander in the old system could command any battalion under his command.

But in reality, military officers in various counties still instinctively regarded the "regiment" as a kind of combat organization.

If Mason wanted to mobilize the "battalion" of Thunder County, he had to issue orders through the Thunder County regiment, or at least obtain the tacit consent of Scull Mecklen first.

The same is true when Geisa wants to command the battalion of Tiefeng County.

Winters is optimistic about this. According to him, "There are factions within the Alliance Army, not to mention that we are originally four doughs. If we knead them slowly, sooner or later we will be kneaded into one dough."

Mason didn't think about how to "knead four doughs into one", his first goal was "not to tear one dough into four".

That is why at this moment, he came to the front line with Charka Matt to survey the enemy situation.

He hoped to gain the support of the officers of Thunder County for the operational plan before the order was issued.

Fortunately, although the officers of Leiqun County have a sense of faction, they do not have factionalism.

As someone said, "Although they are four doughs, they are all working towards becoming one dough."

"Please give the order," Charka Matt nodded and saluted, "Deputy Commander."

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