What's wrong with building a steel torrent in a dungeon?

Are you kidding? Even if there was any military merit, it would be taken by the nobles. What does it have to do with a cannon fodder like me?

But Fran's army is different.

Anyone with talent can be promoted to officer.

As long as they fight bravely, even ordinary soldiers will be honored and regarded as heroes.

Most importantly, Fran never withheld food, wages, pensions, etc. Moreover, one person joining the army brings honor to the whole family, and various preferential policies make those who join the army have no worries.

As a result, the enthusiasm of the people to join the army was naturally very high. If Fran had not been worried that the number of troops was too large and it would squeeze out the development of other industries, and had not been suppressing the expansion of the army, the number of troops in Orila City would have made Margaret feel uneasy long ago.

I believe that when the day comes when Orila City starts recruiting soldiers, Fran will give the various forces in the main plane a little shock again, telling them that Fran is not only fast in other aspects, but also not slow in recruiting troops.

She was looking forward to the expressions of the elves and dwarves when they saw her new army grow up.

By then, it will be hard to say who will suppress whom on the continent of Calradia.

But Fran still wants to emphasize: I am recruiting soldiers just for my own needs! It is not targeting anyone!!!

Chapter 289: A Different Kind of Recruitment

Vienna, conscription area.

"Slow down, slow down. Slow down! Come one by one! There are plenty of conscription spots!"

"Don't rush, don't cut in line! Anyone who cuts in line will be disqualified and banned from joining the army for life!"

After the roars, the people who came to register suddenly quieted down, and they all went through the physical examination, cultural courses and other screenings in an orderly manner. If the Duke of Normandy saw the hot recruitment scene here, he would probably drool with envy, especially since Fran was still worried about the large number of applicants.

"The cultural test is over. Unfortunately, you failed." The soldier said regretfully to a man in front of him.

"But! I can shoot! I can shoot very fast."

"Come on! Everyone here can shoot very fast! And they are fast and accurate." The people around him sneered.

"What's the point of knowing words? If I know too many words, will the other party be killed by my words? This is not a recruitment of scholars."

"Well... that's what you said, but no matter what, you should at least recognize all the numbers! If you can't even read the notices, how can you fight?" The soldier consoled him, "If you really want to be a soldier, go to night school first. I believe that after a year of training, you will be able to join the army and become a glorious Aurora soldier."

"You're right! You can't even understand the numbers, so you don't know where to hit."

"If you don't even have the determination to learn to read, how can you talk about fighting with your life?"

Under the persuasion of the people, the man had to lower his head and walk back.

Meanwhile, on the other side, physical fitness test

The soldier brought a glass of water to a gasping teenager.

"Can I take the test again? I didn't do well just now, but I believe I can do it." The boy clenched his fist and said

The soldier shook his head and said, "Young man, you are too weak and thin. Even if you try your best, you will not be able to adapt to the high-intensity training. I think the army is not suitable for you. Your grades are so good, why don't you become a scholar?"

"I want to fight in the battlefield to avenge my brother's death and make my father proud."

"There are many ways to take revenge. If you can improve firearms and invent new weapons, you can also avenge your brother, right?" The soldier said, "Of course, if you have excellent grades, you can consider applying for the NCO school, which is also a way to join the army."

"But the NCO school means I have to study for several more years."

"It is never too late for a gentleman to take revenge." The soldier patted him on the shoulder and said, "Only by becoming stronger can you take revenge better and bring glory to your family, right?"

The young man seemed to be thinking about something, and after resting for a while, he left the recruitment office.

And in the last place.

The soldier in charge of conscription was staring at the child in front of him who was still childish.

"You said you were sixteen?"

"Yes!"

The child tried hard to stand on tiptoe.

"From your date of birth, you are obviously only twelve years old."

"That's... they wrote it wrong!" said the child.

"If you insist on saying this, we will send someone to your residence to verify it. But I have to remind you! If you are found to have lied about your age, it will be recorded in the file and you will not be able to serve in the army for the rest of your life." The soldier smiled and said, "Do you want to organize your words again?"

The child immediately became timid after being warned, but he still said, "I am indeed only twelve years old, but the enemy will not stop killing me just because I am only twelve years old, right, brother?"

After hearing this, everyone present burst into laughter.

This is what Gustave said when Fran saw her on the battlefield of the Scourge and asked her why she was on the battlefield when she was clearly under the age limit.

Considering the tragic scene at that time, these words can be said to have deeply inspired and shocked the people of Orila. Now it has become a famous saying, known to everyone, young and old.

But sometimes it’s not good for a famous quote to be spread too widely.

For example, this is probably the seventh child who has said this today, the only difference is their age. The soldiers in charge of reviewing them wanted to record their words, gather them together and release them one by one, so that they could have a good social death.

The soldier didn't know whether to laugh or cry. He patted the child in front of him and said, "Don't worry, no one can step over us and kill you now. What you need to do is study hard, exercise well, and become a new shield in the future to protect children like you now. Do you understand? Go home quickly and don't let your family worry."

The team was moving forward in an orderly manner, but it seemed that the number of people would never decrease, with new people constantly joining the team.

Standing on a tall building and looking from afar, it looks like a long black dragon.

At the same time, in another part of the Holy Roel Empire, a long line of reserve soldiers appeared.

New Emperor's Avenue.

A dozen soldiers escorted dozens of people, walking slowly on the rugged road.

The hands of these men being escorted were tied tightly with ropes, one after another, like grasshoppers on a string, so that no one could escape alone. This kind of escort method, which was like facing an enemy, made those who didn't know about it think that they were escorting serious criminals to be sent to a place for interrogation and execution.

In fact, these people were just freshly captured strong men, not prisoners.

During the day, they were forced to hurry on without a moment's rest. At night, the soldiers would take away their trousers and shoes to prevent them from escaping. They walked and stopped like this until they arrived at New Vienna.

The journey was not long, but the food and accommodation conditions were extremely bad. When they arrived at their destination, the so-called "able-bodied men" had become pale and thin, almost like disaster victims. It was hard to imagine that they would serve in the army in the future.

This set of practices made the Northern Alliance officials who knew the inside story call it an expert. If there were no disaster victims, they would create them.

At first, the people of New Vienna didn't even know about the conscription. They just thought they were refugees from somewhere, so they didn't take it seriously. Although there was relief from Fran, no matter how powerful Fran was, there were definitely places she couldn't take care of. It was normal for refugees to appear. This year was already considered a small number.

However, they soon discovered that things were not as simple as they imagined.

The victims are arriving one after another, and there are soldiers around. It doesn't make sense that these soldiers would be kind enough to escort the victims.

Besides, winter is over and now is the spring ploughing season, the busiest time for farmers. How could there be so many disaster victims all of a sudden? This doesn't make sense!

When some curious people asked around, they found out that they were captured young men.

This incident immediately caused an uproar!

Forced conscription of the people would always cause a backlash, let alone at a critical juncture like spring ploughing. The people of New Vienna and the surrounding areas cursed the military and even pointed the finger at Margaret, saying that Margaret was warmongering and would do such a thing for her own power.

Of course, the Duke of Normandy and his minions also contributed to this.

Only two months later, the Duke of Normandy had exceeded his mission and filled the dwarfs' newly built barracks with more than 20,000 'new recruits'.

Although this process was so cruel that the elf leader Alfonso called it cruel, since the troops had been recruited, they could not be sent back, so Alfonso could only accept this established fact.

The elves and dwarves may turn a blind eye, but not all members of Margaret's court can do so.

Among these court members, there are many soldiers from the Habsburg Principality. As Habsburg soldiers who regard honor as their life, they have always hated such things as bullying the weak, and they especially hate things like forced conscription of young men.

As a result, a large number of voices against the Duke of Normandy broke out in the court. Everyone expressed their desire to impeach the Duke of Normandy, the scum of the Holy Roll Empire, and the former Minister of War Wallenstein was even more extreme.

But things are not as simple as they imagined.

Although the Duchy of Normandy is ordinary and not rich, it has the support of two giants, the Northern Alliance and the Chinese Alliance. As long as the elves and dwarves support it, the Duke of Normandy will never fall.

The Duke of Normandy obviously knew what he relied on, so he was fearless.

A fierce court struggle quietly emerged over New Vienna.

However, Margaret, as the emperor, remained silent.

Chapter 290: Clearing the Court

Could it be that Her Majesty Margaret really surrendered to the Northern Alliance and the Chinese Alliance, and in order to drive away Fran and retake Vienna, she was willing to sacrifice her own citizens and sell them to outsiders?

I can't believe this is true!!!

When the people first heard the news of the forced conscription, they pointed the finger at Margaret, but they didn't believe it from the bottom of their hearts. After all, just two years ago, Margaret was beating Nanshan and kicking Beihai, and even fought back and forth with the elves in the Feruman Empire. Even when the undead army was at the gates of the city, she did not retreat.

Such an emperor who revived the country was like a god in the hearts of the people, and one can imagine the expectations that everyone had of her.

But who could have thought that Margaret would do such a thing just half a year later.

For a time, no one could accept it.

Many enthusiastic young officers flocked to the main square of New Vienna, hoping that Margaret could give everyone an explanation.

However, these young officers did not receive Margaret's reply, but were instead ruthlessly beaten and driven away by the guards.

Now, everyone was in despair.

Since Margaret couldn't be counted on, they could only count on Wallenstein.

After all, Wallenstein was Margaret's right-hand man and the commander of the Vienna Legion. Although she did not have outstanding military achievements, she had personally experienced wars of all sizes and had a very high prestige. Margaret was in a daze, so was Wallenstein also in a daze?

But unexpectedly, another big news came a few days later.

Wallenstein was removed from his post as commander of the Vienna Legion and replaced by the current Minister of War, the Duke of Normandy.

As soon as the news came out, the public was in an uproar, and the voices condemning Margaret rose again.

A highly respected legion commander was dismissed without any reason. This is simply unreasonable.

But soon some sensitive people also smelled a hint of conspiracy.

If this was Margaret's will, she would at least come out to show her face or something. But since arriving in New Vienna, Margaret has never appeared in the public eye, and all matters, big and small, are handled by other people, especially the Duke of Normandy, who seems to have become Margaret's mouthpiece.

Even major matters such as the removal of the Minister of War and the dismissal of the legion commander were handled by the Duke of Normandy. From beginning to end, Margaret was locked in the deep palace.

Could it be that…

This was not Margaret's intention.

Our beloved Emperor is under house arrest?!!

This speculation quickly spread throughout the streets and alleys.

The people will only believe what they want to believe. They certainly don't want to see the heroic empress in their hearts become a puppet of foreign invaders!

If so, then there is only one truth... It was the villain, the Duke of Normandy, who betrayed Margaret, defected to the Northern Alliance and the Chinese Alliance, and joined forces with them to control Margaret.

Suddenly, the Duke of Normandy became the target of public criticism, and passionate young people once again took to the streets, expressing their desire to severely punish the Duke of Normandy and restore order to the Holy Roll Empire.

Duke's Palace

The Duke of Normandy was holding a goblet filled with red wine, looking like a man of high position and power, but his eyes were full of doubt. Next to him was still the rat-like Grima.

"That's not right." The Duke of Normandy said, "Things are going too smoothly."

"Your Excellency the Duke, do you mean..."

"Of course it's about Wallenstein being dismissed from his military post." The Duke of Normandy said thoughtfully, "I just joined forces with a few bribed earls and officers to write a suggestion. I didn't expect His Majesty to adopt it directly. Things are going too smoothly."

"Your Excellency the Duke is overly worried." Grimal said, "Your Excellency's previous plot to sow discord was a good one. It caused a rift between His Majesty and Wallenstein. Perhaps His Majesty has long wanted to dismiss Wallenstein from his military post, but just couldn't find an excuse. Your letter this time hits the mark on His Majesty's heart."

"But that is Wallenstein after all. He is your Majesty's right-hand man in conquering the world. I don't believe that your Majesty can abolish such a deep friendship. There must be some conspiracy behind this."

"Ahem, Your Excellency the Duke, don't forget." Grimal said, "Your Majesty's favorite and most relied on Duke Tilly at the beginning, and he looked down on Wallenstein, a businessman who was in charge of logistics. But after the undead disaster, your Majesty's subordinates either died or were placed under house arrest, so he had no choice but to use Wallenstein."

"That does make some sense."

"Moreover, the New Vienna Legion is the last resort of His Majesty. She can't use it as a bargaining chip... unless the relationship between her and Wallenstein has reached an irreparable situation, and she has no choice but to do so."

The Duke of Normandy nodded, convinced by Grima. He said, "No matter what conspiracy your majesty has behind this, the command of the New Vienna Legion is already in my hands. No matter how powerful she is, she is just a tiger with its teeth pulled out. I don't believe she can do anything with just over 200 guards."

"My Lord Duke, the most urgent task now is to... eradicate Wallenstein." Grimal wiped his neck with his hand and said, "Only when Wallenstein dies, the New Vienna Legion will truly fall into your hands. The next time you recruit soldiers, you can just select some disobedient ones from the legion and have them join our slave regiment (new army)."

"Okay! Think of an excuse to arrest Wallenstein immediately!" said the Duke of Normandy.

"Don't worry, I've already thought of an excuse. I'll say she's colluding with Fran and betraying the country!" Grimaldi said, "The people who arrested him are already waiting in the Duke's mansion in Wallenstein."

The Duke of Normandy nodded with satisfaction. Just as he was about to praise Grima for his efficiency, he was interrupted by a burst of insults from outside.

"The Duke of Normandy! Scum!

"Asshole!"