In view of the urgent request sent by Earl Parker, Paul returned to Lakeheart Town on the same day. He immediately summoned Schroeder, Bryce and other senior military officials to discuss the matter of sending reinforcements to Biduo Fort.
Chief of Staff Schroeder strongly supported sending reinforcements. He pointed on a Northwest Bay map and told everyone the importance of sending troops.
"Earl Parker's letter is correct. Biduo Fort is located between Potterly Territory and Adela Territory. It is only a day and a night's journey from here to the coast. If Kent Family uses this as a springboard to occupy such a small area, then the three counties including Arda, Bairdin, and Lanaka will be completely isolated from the hinterland of the kingdom - at least in terms of land. This is unacceptable to us at the moment."
Paul stared at the map closely. Biduo Fort on it was like a nail stuck at the junction of Potri and Adela. Schroeder is right. It is too dangerous for this place to remain in the hands of the Kent Family. Now Arda has just launched four merchant ships. Sea transportation cannot completely replace land transportation. If the traffic lines on the road are cut off, it will be a major blow to Arda's trade activities.
He told his plan, "I plan to send companies First Infantry Battalion, Third Infantry Battalion, and Artillery to support. Transport Company will be responsible for the logistics supply of the above-mentioned troops. Second Infantry Battalion will stay at Arda to deal with unexpected situations. Do you have any opinions?"
Bryce asked, "Is it too little to leave just one Infantry Battalion?"
Schroeder's words reassured him. "The navy can send a battalion of sailors ashore to assist in defense. The Artillery on the warship can also be disassembled and deployed on land, and we can also mobilize Militia from various places."
"How many Militia are there that are worthy of a fight now?"
Schroeder replied, "Staff Department conducted an inspection on Militia in various places before Advent Day. We can use Militia to build a temporary team of 2,000 people. The organization level will not be lower than the regular Soldiers when we dealt with pirates last year."
At dawn, a loud reveille signal resounded throughout the military camp. Private Josse opened his eyes amidst the thunderous roar of Squad Leader Makarov.
"Get up quickly, you lazy pigs!"
The sergeant opened their quilts one by one and pulled the soldiers out of bed.
"The military camp is not like being in your own home! There are strict rules on work and rest times. You must always remember that you are already a glorious Arda Soldiers!"
The infantry Third Battalion was formally established last year. In order to form combat effectiveness as soon as possible, Staff Department transferred a group of officers and veterans from the original two battalions as the backbone of Third Battalion. The vacant troops of First Battalion and Second Battalion were recruited from Militia from various places that already had a certain training foundation.
Sergeant Makarov, who was originally assigned to Kas Village to train Militia, was transferred back to Infantry First Battalion. He returned with ten young men from Kas Village, including Josse.
The collected Militia were scattered and placed in various companies. What made Josse extremely depressed was that the Squad Leader in his class was the sergeant Makarov who he feared like a tiger.
He still remembers very clearly the way Sergeant Makarov stared at him when the class first gathered.
"Why is it you again!"
"Okay! I'll keep an eye on you!"
The sergeant's bell-like eyes revealed the above information one by one.
Josse secretly prayed in his heart that he could spend his military career safely.
After hurriedly organizing his clothes, Josse followed his team and ran to Drill Ground to gather.
Before breakfast, you should do a half-hour morning jog and half an hour of standing in military posture.
The troops were organized into companies, and following the whistles of their respective commanders, they ran around the barracks at an orderly pace.
Each company has its own morale-boosting slogan. While running, various weird slogans came and went in the camp, each one louder than the last, all trying to overwhelm the other companies in terms of momentum.
For someone like Josse who had the training foundation of Militia - especially with a devilish instructor like Sergeant Makarov, it was not a big problem to run continuously for half an hour. After half an hour, he was only slightly out of breath.
However, there were still some recruits with poor health who ran with their faces flushed and panting. Fortunately, these new recruits have been training in the military camp for some time, and no one is left behind.
Josse I remember that during my first morning run, some people fainted and fell to the ground while running. There were also people who were panting heavily and did not want to continue running or wanted to sneak back to Barracks, and then they were beaten with whips by the officers until their teeth were everywhere. They were also punished and were not allowed to eat breakfast. They continued to stand after standing in a military posture.
"What will you have for breakfast this morning?"
After finishing his morning run, Josse stood motionless, slowly calming his breathing and thinking about breakfast.
It takes half an hour for Junzi to stand still. He can use this time to take a rest and think randomly.
The Soldierss stood neatly in a large square formation on the Drill Ground. Each company had its own fixed exclusive area. Viewed from the high platform, the scene on the Drill Ground was spectacular. The Soldierss' formation looked like straight lines when viewed horizontally, and they were still straight lines when viewed vertically.
Every day's military posture training fills the hearts of the officers who supervise the morning exercises with a sense of pride. They believe in their hearts that no other army in this era can do better than the army in front of them - at least when they are in formation.
It took less than half an hour for all the companies to stop their morning run, enter Drill Ground, regroup, and form a square formation. This is almost impossible for other armies.
The lords paid close attention to formation training in the early days of establishing this Standing Army. They still didn't quite understand it - of course, no one would think that this kind of training was unimportant. Strict formation is the necessary foundation for a high-quality army, which has been true since ancient times. They just think that the earl pays too much attention to it, and wouldn't it be better to allocate more time to personal force training.
But when faced with the waves of pirates coming over, and the thunderous team of Bairdin knights attacking from behind, strict formation training played a huge role. Although many Soldiers would inevitably show panic or nervous expressions, strict discipline prevented them from moving without receiving orders from their superiors, and the obedience they had cultivated over a long period of time allowed their bodies to act subconsciously after receiving orders.
Strict discipline and hard training alone are not enough, Soldierss also need to be provided with sufficient material support.
After standing motionless for half an hour, a dizzy Josse followed his company to the canteen and queued up for meals.
"Brown bread, goulash with potatoes, hard-boiled eggs, beet porridge... enjoy it, noob. Next!"
Soldiers from the cooking class quickly placed today's breakfast on the plate. Josse moved his nose. The aroma of the food whetted his appetite, and the fatigue from the morning training disappeared instantly.
In addition to being paid on time, a rich supply of three meals a day is also an important reason that attracts many young people to join the army. With such high-intensity training, it is impossible for Soldiers's nutrition to keep up.
Although the food of the Alarda Army cannot be compared with that of wealthy families, it is definitely above the standard of ordinary civilian families of Northwest Bay. For Soldiers who comes from rural areas, it is a luxurious meal that has never been enjoyed by Josse.