After the new weapons demonstration ended, the soldiers were kept behind to continue drilling, while Paul, Knight Schroder, and all officers of company rank or above gathered in the castle hall for a meeting.
In front of all the officers, Paul announced that he was appointing Schroder as his Chief of Staff. He explained that the position was equivalent to the chief military adviser in other armies. After introducing the old knight to the military system he had established, he granted him the rank of Major, while his retainer Joyce was made a Captain and would temporarily serve as an ordinary staff officer.
They then summarized the reasons for their previous defeat. The officers pulled out drafts they had written overnight and read out their views on the battle one after another.
At last, the young count said, "Everyone's summaries were very detailed. Taken together, there were essentially two main reasons: the recruits lost their nerve, and they acted without authorization. To solve this problem, I've decided to establish drummers and buglers in the army, so the soldiers can develop the habit of following the drums."
"When marching on the battlefield, every soldier must advance to the beat of the drums. No one may charge ahead on their own, and no one may shrink back or fall behind. Buglers will sound the Charge Horn and Retreat Horn. When the Charge Horn sounds, they must charge desperately even if a mountain of blades and a sea of flames lie ahead. When the Retreat Horn sounds, they must not linger for even a moment, even if mountains of gold and silver lie ahead."
"During battle, the provost marshals of each unit will be responsible for enforcing battlefield discipline. Anyone who violates the rules above will be punished according to the severity of the offense, up to and including execution."
"Bryce, draft the detailed regulations. I want every soldier to memorize them, and training should begin immediately."
Bryce answered, "Yes, Your Excellency."
The old knight was astonished. Although this country lord was still underage, he had quite a few original insights when it came to military affairs.
He made a suggestion. "Your Excellency, I've learned what happened in the previous battle. Find the soldiers who disobeyed orders and retreated without authorization, then hang them publicly to restore military discipline."
"Ah... well... I already sentenced them to hard labor in the mines..."
"Very well. Since you've already spared their lives, let it go this time. But next time, you must not show such needless mercy." Since Paul had already passed judgment, continuing to increase their punishment for the same offense would clearly damage his authority.
"Let's hear everyone's ideas on how we should fight the next battle..."
After witnessing the power of firearms, the officers were all extremely excited. Most believed that once the army was equipped with them in large numbers, victory in the next battle would be assured.
Schroder held a different view. "Everyone, the count showed us firearms to give us confidence, not to make us arrogant. You must remember: 'An arrogant army is bound to lose.'"
This old knight really understands me. Paul secretly gave him a thumbs-up.
Schroder continued, "Everyone, I believe we absolutely cannot rely on firearms in the next battle. We must have the soldiers defeat the pirates through close combat alone. Only then can they overcome their fear and develop genuine confidence and a sense of honor."
"Well said." Paul agreed. On Earth, Suvorov had a saying: "The bullet is a fool; the bayonet is a fine fellow." Soldiers who dared to fight with bayonets were the good soldiers.
The meeting decided to establish buglers and military drummers, and temporarily introduced four military calls: the Assembly Horn, Advance Horn, Retreat Horn, and Charge Horn. More would be added gradually as the army developed.
They adjusted the daily training regimen, increased the intensity of bayonet-combat training, and formed an officers' study class to be held in their spare time. The old knight would personally teach it, passing on some of the military knowledge of this era, such as setting up camp, ambushes and counterambushes, reconnaissance and counter-reconnaissance, and so on.
Of course, the manufacture and training of firearms would continue as well. After all, they had no idea how many men the pirates would bring next time, so they still had to prepare a necessary trump card.
At the pirates' camp, the pirates were also discussing their plans.
"Quirk, Shark sent me to tell you to stop while you're ahead."
"Stop while I'm ahead? He's already filled his coffers, while I've barely gotten anything."
"You came all the way this far from the coast and even picked a direct fight with the lord of this region. You're far too bold. Rob a few commoners and hurry back to Franklin Harbor."
"What skill is there in bullying unarmed commoners? Besides, what do they have worth robbing? If we're going to do this, we should make a big score. Old Greiman walked into Shark's ambush and kicked the bucket, and the entire territory is in a panic. This is the perfect opportunity. Yesterday, that reckless brat from their family led troops against us. He was nothing special. If I don't take advantage of this, I'll feel like I've failed at being a pirate."
"Hmph. Speaking of Old Greiman, that bastard Shark actually killed a legitimate landed noble. Isn't he afraid of provoking the collective wrath of the lords of Northwest Bay?"
"What's there to fear? Old Greiman was the one who broke the 'understanding' between the lords and us and violated the rules of Northwest Bay. He brought it on himself. Besides, the Greiman Family was exiled here and has never gotten along with the surrounding families. Some of them are probably secretly laughing at their misfortune."
"You're the ones who broke the understanding first, coming all the way this far from the coast to cause trouble..."
"Heh heh. Then what did you come all this way for? To uphold justice for the noble lords? Enough with the nonsense. In a few days, I'll lead my men straight to Lakeheart Town and demand what we want. If they still refuse to cooperate, I'll tie down their main force while you lead your men and sneak into the town from the other side..."
Nine days later, the pirates came in person to demand the goods listed in the previous letter.
The pirates rowed their small sailing boats closer and closer to Lakeheart Town. After receiving the report, Paul immediately ordered the army to assemble along the shore and prepare for battle. He also sent an internal security platoon from house to house to tell the residents to lock their doors and windows, grab their kitchen knives, and prepare for the worst.
"They really are a daring bunch of thieves. It was one thing when they planned to launch a surprise attack last time, since they had the cover of night. But now they're arrogant enough to openly provoke a count at the center of his territory in broad daylight." The old knight found it unbelievable.
"Damn it, we were too careless. If they use their advantage on the water to trap us, we'll be in trouble. We should have moved the island's residents away sooner." The old knight bitterly regretted his carelessness. When the Greiman Family had built the castle on the island, it had been to defend against enemies coming by land. They had never expected the enemy to come from the water, turning the island's greatest weakness into a fatal flaw.
"Is there anyone on the island familiar with naval warfare?" Schroeder asked, though the way everyone looked at one another quickly gave him the answer.
"Then we can only provoke them into landing and fighting a decisive battle..."
The pirates first sent several small boats to probe repeatedly near the shore. After confirming that the defenders had no ranged weapons such as bows or crossbows, they actually began landing in a brazen manner. It seemed that after winning once, they no longer took the territory's guards seriously, which allowed the old knight to breathe a sigh of relief.
Seeing that the pirates had considerably more men than last time, Paul had initially wanted to "strike them while half their force was still crossing." But when he sought the old knight's opinion, Schroder objected. He believed the pirates were excellent swimmers and would jump back into the water as soon as things looked bad. Moreover, if they encountered resistance during the landing, they would most likely use their boats to blockade Lakeheart Island and slowly starve the island's civilians and soldiers to death. What would they do then? Row fishing boats out and play a boarding battle with the pirates?
"All right, then we'll have a proper decisive battle." Paul gritted his teeth, then reiterated the battlefield regulations once more before the entire army.
Looking on the bright side, their chances of victory were still quite high. Even if the soldiers could not beat the pirates in close combat, they still had a large supply of Hand Grenades. In addition, six firearms had been completed. No matter what, they could make the pirates suffer.
As he was thinking this, most of the pirates had already reached the shore and were heading toward them.
"Brat from the Greiman Family, have you prepared everything Grandpa asked for in the letter?"
It was that big-bearded man again. He certainly had a loud voice.
Keep your emotions off your face, keep your emotions off your face... The young count silently repeated to himself.
"Last time, you overestimated yourselves and actually tried to resist us. We should've demanded a little extra tribute from you, but looking at this dump of a place, I doubt you can produce anything besides a few baskets of rotten fish. Luckily, Grandpa is generous. Hurry up and present the things we asked for."
The big-bearded man spoke arrogantly.
Paul ordered the bugler to sound the Advance Horn. Bryce shouted, "Everyone, prepare yourselves! Today, we'll slaughter these bastards and avenge our fallen brothers! Advance!"
The drummers began beating the marching drums. Following the rhythm, the soldiers of three companies raised their spears and slowly advanced.
Paul and Bryce had intended to commit all four companies, but the old knight had insisted on leaving one company as the Reserve Force, along with some provost marshals to enforce battlefield discipline.
"Oh ho... Haven't you been taught your lesson yet?" The big-bearded man burst out laughing. "Brothers, we've come all the way to their doorstep this time. If they won't give us what we want, we'll take it ourselves!"
The people around him roared with laughter. "Boss Quirk is right. No one's stealing my kills later," one pirate shouted as he gripped a steel blade tightly in both hands, his expression gradually twisting into something savage and terrifying.
The two sides drew closer and closer until, at last, they met in close combat...
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