Industrial Revolution of the Mage Lords

Chapter 102 Declaration of the Regular Army
Vaughn raised the prismatic bayonet on his magic gun and stabbed it hard at the evil orc who had one leg shot off and was lying on the ground, rolling and wailing.

Warm, smelly blood splashed down his trouser leg, and Vaughn stomped his foot nonchalantly.

"After this battle, there's no longer a single sizable fel orc tribe left in the river valley." Dave said regretfully as he cleaned up the salvageable spoils from the fel orc corpses. "It's only just the beginning of winter. Honestly, I kind of miss them fighting us for control of the glacial river without regard for their lives..."

Vaughn snorted and didn't want to continue.

Since the outpost army was equipped with the lord's newly developed sniper magic gun, Commander Pierce specially selected a group of soldiers with excellent shooting and aiming skills to form a sniper team specifically to deal with the spellcasters among the evil orcs.

Vaughn was originally eager to try and thought that he was definitely qualified to join.

Who would have thought that Chief Pierce would simply ignore him and instead choose the silly-looking Duff.

There were only two orcs in the veteran team, him and Dave, so this made Vaughn seem unwelcome.

"I secretly heard that after the battle, apart from the soldiers who stayed at the outpost in the valley, the lord only planned to retain a part of the elite soldiers, and the others would have to be disbanded on the spot..." An old deputy captain quietly approached Vaughn and asked tentatively.

"Yeah, they say the city wall construction site is short on workers. They're not going to let us deal with bricks and stones, are they?" Duff chimed in. "The salary disparity is huge. In the army, we get food and fish every day, plus a 120 yuan salary. Where else in the territory can you get such high pay?"

Vaughn slammed the butt of his rifle against Duff's waist. "Shut up! Don't talk nonsense about anything Chief Pierce hasn't announced."

The messenger not far away held up the magic stone of voice and blew the whistle to assemble.

"Retreat! Retreat! Everyone gather and return to the outpost!"

……

Early the next morning, the army's assembly whistle sounded throughout the outpost fortress.

Commander Pierce stood on a wooden platform in the assembly square and shouted to the 300 soldiers lined up neatly below, "After three months of training, three months of actual combat, and three months of rotation, you have completed the transformation from civilians to experienced soldiers..."

He glanced sharply at the people below. "You have protected Lord Harvey's frontier territory from harm and plunder by the evil orcs and greedy nobles. Your achievements have been recognized by the lord and his subjects!"

When many soldiers heard this, they secretly held their heads high and chests puffed out.

"However, from now on, your militia will be officially reorganized into Lord Harvey's regular army. Those who are accidentally injured or disabled in battle, or who no longer wish to fight, can register at the Quartermaster's Office after the team is disbanded. Lord Harvey said that in addition to the full payment of military pay, an additional subsidy of 300 gold yuan will be provided, uh... retirement pay."

There was some slight shaking of the bodies in the team, but no one whispered to each other. This was discipline and rules.

"Request for report!" someone raised his hand and shouted.

"explain."

"Does the regular army mean that the lord wants to knight us? Will we be rewarded with land and... property?"

Dave couldn't help but burst out laughing. Vaughn turned around and glared at him fiercely, which scared him so much that he quickly pursed his lips.

"What are you dreaming about?" Pierce rolled his eyes. "Lord Harvey is not even a noble himself. Haven't you been humiliated enough by the nobles? What? Just when you have a little bit of ability, you turn around and oppress and enslave others?" The old soldier who asked the question blushed and lowered his head. It was true that refugees always hated nobles, but who could say that he had never dreamed of being a noble lord and enjoying himself?
Pierce said with a stern face, "Never forget that you are warriors of common origin. The purpose of your battle is to protect our own territory and people. Of course, all of this is done under the leadership of Lord Harvey."

"Regular troops are professional soldiers who fight only to protect the lord, his territory, and all the property and people within it."

"When others were working in factories, you were training and fighting; when others were working on farms, you were training and fighting; when others were selling goods in the market, you were still training and fighting..."

Another veteran raised his hand timidly and asked, "That's no different than now, right?"

Pierce took out a document that Lord Harvey had prepared for him long ago, coughed lightly, and began to read aloud.

"Regular troops need to undergo more rigorous training and assessments, stricter management systems, and more generous salaries!"

The last sentence made the eyes of all the soldiers below light up.

"The regular army will implement a promotion system. Anyone who completes combat missions, performs outstandingly, and strictly follows orders will have the opportunity to be promoted to officer." Pierce pointed at himself, "Just like me, leading an army."

The soldiers in the crowd finally couldn't help but start whispering to each other, and everyone's face was full of excitement and enthusiasm.

Pierce shook the documents in his hand and continued to persuade them, "Officers can get higher salaries and assets earned through military merit, such as real estate and shops..."

Standing quietly at the front of the group, listening, Vaughn couldn't help but frown. He wondered if he had misheard. While there wasn't any land awarded, weren't real estate and shops also property? How was this different from being knighted?
Cheers erupted from the crowd of soldiers. Pierce raised his hand to quiet them down and read out the last paragraph of the document with a serious expression.

"But you must remember, once you become Lord Harvey's regular soldiers, the rules you abide by will be far stricter than they are now. Failure of a mission, desertion from battle, shameless mutiny, and violation of discipline will all be severely punished. This isn't just a matter of a lash from me. The punishment ranges from imprisonment to the death penalty. In addition, all property and rewards previously earned will be confiscated."

"Think about it carefully. If you voluntarily withdraw, it's still not too late to regret it."

The soldiers were silent, but no one chose to raise their hands to quit.

"Very good. From now on, you are all regular soldiers belonging to Lord Harvey! But don't forget, there are nearly 2,500 soldiers like you in the territory, eagerly waiting for your competition..."

This military restructuring announcement from Lord Harvey is aimed at the entire pioneer territory's total of 3,000 combat militiamen.

"Next, soldiers whose names I've called out, please step out! You will be the first batch of trainee officers and non-commissioned officers in this regular army..."

"Former Sharpshooter Captain, Vaughn, step out!"

"Former sniper team leader, Duff, step out!"

"Former Jackdaw Ridge sentry captain, Tommy, step out!"

"Former sniper team leader, Wayne, step out!"

……

(End of this chapter)