I'm not a lord

Chapter 130: Recruiting and Warcraft

The reason why Lin En still abides by the nobles' rules of the game is because he is not strong enough.

Seizing the Shoal Territory and supporting Yagena to take power are all attempts to test the edge of the rules, but they are just trying to get in.

But then, he really went in.

Lin En summoned the third and fourth brothers, as well as a group of stewards, to the Shoal Territory Castle and announced his conscription plan for the Shoal Territory.

"I want to recruit 400 soldiers in the shallows, and the age limit is 27 years old and under male serfs."

Before this, he had ordered Robert and other managers to conduct a comprehensive population census of the Shoal Territory, using the pens, ink and paper transferred from the White Bear Territory.

He also transferred three managers from the White Bear Territory to guide the work and completed the population census within a week.

The total population of Shoal Territory currently exceeds 5400, including 685 adult males aged 15 to 27.

If the conscription age is relaxed to 37, there will be more than 1200 men who meet the requirements.

Lynn only plans to admit young men who are more easily molded.

From a purely farming perspective, there is not much difference in farming efficiency between 35-year-old and 25-year-old men, and the former even has an experience advantage.

But when it comes to military service, young people obviously have much greater advantages.

This time, Lin En did not limit herself to married or single.

He discovered that there were many unmarried but adult male serfs in the Shoal Territory.

This was mainly because the Qiantan Territory had imposed very high taxes in the past, especially the marriage tax, which resulted in many male serfs not getting married over the age of twenty.

Forget about houses, land, and horses. How can you get married if you can't even pay the taxes?

Because of this, Lynn's conscription plan received widespread support from male serfs in the Shoal Territory.

The treatment of being a soldier is really great!

The whole family was promoted to free citizens and received a full allotment of 120 mu of land. They also received a considerable amount of cash and food every month. Their daily meals were also very rich, ensuring that they had meat to eat every day. It can be said that one person serving in the army can relieve the worries of the whole family.

Many male serfs would immediately gain the favor of girls after being selected as soldiers.

Before my butt could even warm up in the military camp, the quilt was already warmed up by the girls.

Moreover, from December to the end of February of the following year, most corvee labor and work will stop.

The serfs thought that since they were eating food for free at home, it would be better to go to the military camp and get some free meals.

Seeing that the serfs were eager to join the army, Lin En naturally didn't bother to be polite with them.

With a wave of his hand, he recruited 600 people. After about a week of training, he eliminated more than 200 of them based on their physical fitness and training performance, leaving more than 300 of the best ones.

Together with the fifty knight squires who were being reformed in the barracks, they formed a new army of four hundred men.

The benefits of the elimination system are obvious. The 400 people who remain clearly have more energy and spirit, and they also value their new identity as soldiers more.

Before December, Lynn completed his military expansion plan.

The total number of troops under his command now exceeds nine hundred.

Among them, the third brother Yang led 300 people to garrison the southern end of the Shallow Beach Territory, 100 of whom were veterans of the White Bear Territory, and the remaining 200 were newly recruited soldiers from the Shallow Beach Territory, totaling six squadrons.

That’s right, although these soldiers from White Bear Territory have only been trained for less than half a year and have only experienced a small-scale war, they are already considered veterans under Lin En’s command.

The fourth brother, Joseph, also has 300 soldiers under his command and is stationed in the newly built military camp in the northern part of the Shoal Territory. The personnel composition is the same as that of the third brother.

Lin En hopes to use the method of old soldiers leading new soldiers to help these new recruits from the Shallow Beach Territory grow up quickly. Many veteran soldiers from the White Bear Territory have been promoted to team leaders by him.

The original fifty-odd knight attendants of the Shallow Beach Lord were dispersed and assigned to various squadrons and teams.

They have received many years of military training, have a very good foundation, and their average age is no more than 25 years old.

It only takes a period of time to be tempered in a large group, coupled with the encouragement and education of the third and fourth brothers, to basically wash away the "chivalrous education" of the past.

The fifth brother, Andre, is stationed at the northern military camp of the White Bear Territory. The composition of his troops is relatively complex, with 100 White Bear Territory recruits, 100 refugee soldiers, and 100 barbarian archers.

The above-mentioned 900 soldiers were mainly infantry, including heavy infantry, light infantry, and scout archers.

The remaining cavalry were all assigned to the second brother Hughgo, a total of eighteen riders, each equipped with two war horses, serving as Lynn's personal guards and responsible for the daily defense of the castle.

After completing the conscription work, Lin En not only did not become idle, but became even busier.

The remaining adult labor force from conscription was put into the road widening project.

Lin En is responsible for two territories, so naturally he has to run between the two.

He inspected the construction site today to reward activists, and will appear at the military camp tomorrow to guide the training of new recruits and commend outstanding recruits.

The next day he appeared in the castle of Shoal Territory or White Bear Territory again, reviewing various official documents and signing and stamping them.

Occasionally he would go to the workshop area or school to mingle with the craftsmen and students.

Although he was a little tired, he was happy in pain.

Most of the things in the territory are in their infancy, and if he doesn't keep an eye on the people under him, things might go astray.

It is even more impossible for him to give up the army. He wants every soldier to remember his face, let the soldiers see clearly who they are paid by, and let the soldiers know who they are fighting for.

Under Lin En's supervision, the craftsmen from Shoal Territory went to White Bear Territory for further training, and gradually built a new workshop area in Shoal Territory.

The location is in the open space northwest of the castle.

However, due to the sudden drop in temperature, these workshops equipped with water wheels will not be able to function until the beginning of next spring.

In mid-December, when the first snow fell, all corvee labor and work in the territory completely stopped.

Fortunately, the road project has been completed. The specifications of this road are one level lower than the salt transportation line in Baixiong Territory, mainly because the width is reduced by one-third.

Of course, the foundation of the road is still solid, made of rammed earth and stacked stones.

With the load-carrying capacity of horse-drawn carriages these days, this road only needs minor repairs every year to support decades of use.

Lynn rode his horse from White Bear Lead to Shoal Lead, the journey was smooth and took him less than four hours.

Of course, this is inseparable from the high-quality warhorse under his crotch.

If it is just an ordinary riding horse, the time required will be extended to about six hours.

But in any case, the two territories have been closely connected by water and land.

If one party encounters an emergency, the other party will be informed within a few hours.

Lynn rode straight to the camp where the fourth brother Joseph was.

This military camp was built at the southern exit of the road, and the four watchtowers originally set up by Regent Flora were still there.

The current watchtower will naturally not be as careless as in the past.

As soon as Lynn appeared within the sight of the watchtower, he could hear the sentry's shrill bone whistle.

Immediately, a sentry informed the captain in the barracks.

The third, fourth and fifth brothers are now team leaders.

According to Lynn's original plan, an infantry battalion should consist of ten squadrons, totaling 500 combat soldiers, plus 50 to 60 miscellaneous servants.

Although it is not fully staffed now, the captain's role must be established first.

"Joseph, take all the soldiers and follow me into the forest for the winter hunt!"

Hunting instead of training is a training strategy that Lin En has repeatedly implemented in the White Bear Territory.

The Baihe River Basin is covered with virgin forests, and it would be a shame not to make use of them.

Traditional winter hunting for the nobility was mainly for obtaining meat and fur, and at the same time eliminating some wild animals that would threaten the spring plowing next year.

The scale of a noble's hunting trip would not be large, usually less than twenty people.

If you encounter a ferocious large beast or monster, hunting accidents are very likely to occur.

But the nobles still enjoyed it because entertainment activities were too scarce these days.

Either drink and create humans in the castle, or go deep into the forest to fight wild beasts.

Compared with the former, the latter is obviously more in line with the aristocratic martial spirit.

The large-scale hunting activities launched by Lin En also had the purpose of training troops.

Animal meat and fur were naturally his targets. The animal meat could be coated with salt and made into jerky to serve as rations for the war next year.

Furs are a natural luxury and are very popular in the South.

In Sanhe City, a fur distribution center, squirrel skins can even be used as currency.

Although Lin En did not need to exchange fur exports for foreign currency, he could sell it to a small number of wealthy people in the territory, such as craftsmen, officers, and cavalry.

These people have to spend their money somewhere.

Lynn also plans to expand the school next year and enroll more children from wealthy families. This kind of education will naturally be a paid program.

As for the teacher, Lin En planned to find one from Sanhe City.

It’s a good opportunity to try to attract some talents by offering high salaries.

Lao Liu is teaching more than 20 students and is really overwhelmed.

The hunting spot chosen by Lin En was the vast forest sandwiched between the two territories.

The light snow that fell three days ago has not yet melted, but the ground in the forest has already been frozen solid.

The wind is cold and the weather is bleak.

If you look down from the sky, the winter hunting team looks like a long line of black ants going out to forage for food.

Lin En walked in front of the team, calling up the panel from time to time to determine the direction, and also to see if there were any resource points around.

At the same time, he was observing the surrounding environment and believed that this forest was an excellent target for reclamation.

The terrain is flat, with many streams and fertile soil.

If all the forests between the Shallows Territory and the White Bear Territory could be reclaimed into fertile farmland, it would be no problem to feed hundreds of thousands of people.

But with the current level of productivity and population size, humans can only nibble away at the forest in small bites like ants.

During the trek, Lynn led the soldiers to a suitable hunting ground.

As the bone whistle sounded, the soldiers dispersed in an orderly manner and formed a huge encirclement network, gradually driving the prey to the center area.

No matter how ferocious, cunning, or agile the beasts were, they were no match for the soldiers' sharp spears.

Soon, the miserable howls of many wild beasts were heard in this vast forest.

This hunt was still fruitful.

The only thing that made Lin En feel regretful was that he failed to find even a single magical beast.

(End of this chapter)