The Many Affairs of War

After agreeing on the terms of the subsequent negotiations with the two viscounts, Victor left the manor.

He arranged for Steward Boon to look after the two viscounts and their sons, as he needed to go to the military camp.

He hadn't been to the military camp for two days. Currently, apart from Foss and Holmes leading their respective units to guard key locations, the rest of the troops were mostly in the camp, under Ron's unified management. Ron had been replenishing the troops that had suffered losses in the past two days.

Victor went directly into the barracks in the center of the military camp, where Ron was talking to Alderick.

When the two men saw Victor enter the barracks, they both stood up and saluted Victor.

After returning the greeting, Victor looked at Alderick and asked, "Alderick, now that you're back, does that mean the mess in Red Ginseng Territory has been cleaned up?"

"Yes, sir, we have cleared out all the fleeing soldiers after the battle. This time I brought back nearly 400 prisoners."

Including the routed soldiers killed during the mission, a total of approximately 600 people were eliminated.

Victor did a mental calculation, and with their prisoners and the corpses tallied after the battle, the number matched that of the Vanguard Army.

"You've worked hard, Alderick. You and your men should rest for a few days."

"This is my duty. On behalf of the soldiers, I thank you. Your Regimental Commander, please allow me to take my leave now, Captain Ron."

Alderick bid farewell to the two men and left the barracks directly.

After Victor took his seat in the main seat, he also asked Ron to sit down.

"Ron, how's the replenishment going for the units that were lost in battle?"

"Fortunately, the basic personnel have been replenished, and they are all the best of the best, but their combat effectiveness is definitely not as good as the original veterans. It will take at least three to four months to get them used to each other."

"There's still time; we have a winter."

Ron asked curiously, "So, can we be sure that we won't continue fighting?"

"The Viscount Olive and the Viscount White Asparagus will cooperate with us and buy time through negotiations. Count Black will also control the punitive force. There should be no more fighting before winter."

"Great! After the new recruits were brought in, the number of veterans in several detachments has dropped significantly. We really need time to train them!"

Victor nodded in agreement with Ron.

"How are the prisoners doing?"

"What else can we do? For now, we've separated the officers and soldiers. The officers are all confined to the camp and are sleeping all day."

The soldiers weren't just given free meals; Steward Boon and his men took them to participate in the construction of the territory.

Victor asked curiously, "What is Boon asking these people to build? I don't recall any major projects."

Ron scratched his head. "I heard Boon say that the road to Green Oak Territory needs to be widened."

Victor nodded. It seemed he had heard Boon mention that the Green Oak Family and the Golden Sunflower Family had always been enemies, and the roads between the two territories were not connected. He guessed that Boon was going to rebuild the roads between the two territories and connect them.

"Remind Boon that these prisoners of war will most likely be released, so we must not let them die from overwork just to meet the project deadline."

"Death from overwork?"

"It's exhausting, just tell Boon, he'll understand what I mean!"

Ron replied, "Why don't you just talk to him?"

"I'm going to Red Ginseng Territory in the next few days. You will be in charge of the troops in the territory for the time being. Just give me a detachment."

Ron was puzzled. There shouldn't be anything to finish up at Red Ginseng Territory, so why did Victor need to go there again?

Victor noticed Ron's confusion and explained directly, "It's like this. When Count Black sent his men before, I had some communication with his envoy. The expeditionary force will set up camp on the border of Red Ginseng Territory. Count Black wanted to use the time to build the camp to meet with me."

Ron nodded knowingly; he wasn't curious about any of this.

"Should we take a unit with us? Red Ginseng Territory only has two regiments under Holmes's command!"

"Just give them an infantry detachment. Let Alderick and his troops get some rest. After all, they have many important missions to complete later."

"Alright, in that case, you can take one of my squads with you. There are two hundred riders in the squad, and I can rest assured with them protecting you."

The First Detachment was Ron's direct unit, with a large proportion of veterans. Their combat effectiveness and loyalty were beyond question, so Victor naturally wouldn't refuse Ron's offer.

"If there is any unusual activity in the Perilla Territory to the west of the territory, you can send troops directly without asking me for permission."

"No problem, I can easily handle the little Perilla Territory."

Victor then discussed with Ron the idea of not increasing the number of troops, to which Ron expressed his strong agreement.

"This is the right thing to do. Our troops are very capable, and as you said, the territory does not currently lack labor."

However, as you can see from the losses suffered after this battle, we've essentially screened out the best soldiers. Even with expansion, the remaining troops wouldn't be able to guarantee combat effectiveness.

Victor nodded in agreement with Ron's words, which was also a factor he had considered.

"If possible, I would also like to combine recruitment and conscription into the future territorial forces."

Ron quickly waved his hand. "Viscount, you can decide these things yourself. I don't intend to understand this stuff. You might as well just announce it when the time comes. I believe no one will object."

Since Ron had this attitude, Victor didn't intend to continue. He would announce the news directly at the subsequent territory conference.

Afterwards, Victor spent half a day inspecting the military camp and also took the time to visit the wounded soldiers at the military hospital.

The territory's medical and compensation systems are well-established, and the wounded and sick are now receiving good care, which makes Victor very pleased.

After inspecting the military camp, Victor led the First Detachment directly to Red Ginseng Territory, this time by land.

As evening fell, Victor arrived at Red Ginseng Castle. Holmes, who had known about the arrival beforehand, had been waiting on the castle walls.

When Victor arrived, Holmes personally came out to greet him.

"Don't do that again, Holmes. I don't care about these things. Your biggest responsibility is to defend Red Ginseng Castle and the docks."

"Your Excellency, you can rest assured about that. As long as I am here, the castle will remain."

Holmes led Victor and his troops into the castle. Victor was a little curious: was there enough space in the castle for so many troops to temporarily garrison?

"I have cleaned up Red Ginseng Castle. Many of the original lord's private rooms have been turned into soldiers' dormitories, enough to double the number of people stationed there!"

In addition, some parts of the castle were reinforced, ensuring that its defensive capabilities were more complete than before.

"Holmes, I can really trust you with Red Ginseng Territory."