On August 25, Vitus returned to Jaffa to handle the follow-up matters of Levant.
News of Levant's recovery spread throughout the empire, and nearly six thousand people were willing to sign up for the Holy Land Guard Legion. Army Department is training new recruits, and the first batch of troops is expected to serve in three months.
The mission of the Guard Corps is to station in the southern part of Levant and maintain local order. The training requirements are not as good as those of the Field Legion, and the treatment is similar to that of the second-line troops.
The northern and central parts of Levant are arranged as follows:
Antioch area established Province.
Phoenicia and Aintab (part of the Syria area) established Borderland Region with loose rules and did not enforce Roman Law, giving local people greater autonomy.
As of now, Vitus does not know the detailed population of Levant, only a vague number - four million. Central Administration's administrative capabilities are on the verge of reaching its limit, so establishing Borderland Region is the wisest choice.
Sinai Peninsula is sparsely populated, and a Borderland Region is also established, which governs Rhinocorura (Al-Arish), and two Free Citys, Pelusium and Suez.
The core function of this Borderland Region is Trade. While the Red Sea--Mediterranean Sea route has not yet declined, you can earn as much as you want.
In the long run, Western Europe's investment in new routes is destined to seize Red Sea Trade Route's Trade quota.
Even so, this route will not be completely abandoned, and the Trade amount will stabilize at a lower level.
Vitus's requirements are not high, I just hope that the profits from the Red Sea route can cover part of the military expenditure.
Cyrenaica has the worst development prospects. By occupying this area, the goal is to squeeze the pirates' living space and drive them to the more western coast.
As a result, they are closer to Southern Italy, and their first choice for robbery becomes Sicily, Naples or Sardinia.
Historically, Barbary Pirates was the most rampant in the Algiers and Tunisia areas. The first reason was that the local population was large, which provided a steady stream of soldiers to the pirates. The other reason was that the local market was huge and the people were willing to buy the pirates' trophies and slaves.
"Barbary Pirates is Aragon and Naples's trouble, let them handle it themselves."
Vitus picked up a stack of rosters and put them on the desk, and began to arrange the defense of the east.
Extending southward from Armenian Highlands to Phoenicia, thirty-six Garrison District are established.
In peacetime, Garrison District's role is to maintain local security. Once the situation in a certain place is turbulent, Garrison District Militia will be stationed there until the situation improves.
At this point, the number of Garrison Districts in the Eastern Roman Empire has reached ninety-eight, with nearly 100,000 military households and 10,000 hereditary officers.
To set up so many Garrison District at one time, the number of military households is insufficient. Army Department suggested releasing the prisoners captured from the Venice war a few years ago and dispersing them in various places.
"Release these prisoners, Garrison District still has gaps."
Vitus clutched the quill and couldn't think of a more suitable solution. He agreed to the Army Department's suggestion and made do with it for the time being.
Levant and North Africa are not the core areas of the Eastern Roman Empire, and some things can be confused.
However, the process of canonizing hereditary officers cannot be fooled.
Vitus reviews the list of meritorious deeds from last year and this year. Once he encounters any doubts, he will arrange for several servants to go to the army to inquire about the situation, or take time to deal with it himself.
After half a month of busy work, the work is still not over. Vitus remains patient and plans to bring the remaining work back to Constantinople and complete the canonization before the end of the year.
September 14th, Jerusalem northern suburbs, Third Auxiliary Brigade station.
In the early morning, Leo was awakened by the harsh whistle. He yawned, finished washing, and led the soldiers to the canteen for dinner.
During this time, the training mission of Artillery Company was canceled and it was assigned to cut wood in the mountains.
Leo was sitting in the corner of the officer's dining area, eating hard bread and vegetable soup with an expressionless face. Now he had adapted to military life and the same meals.
Not far away, a group of officers were sitting together chatting and discussing the upcoming rewards.
Some officers are looking forward to their land being close to Jerusalem, as if this will bring good luck. Some officers pay attention to practical interests and hope that their property will be close to the coast or trade routes.
Leo has a special status and does not care about this "Levant seal". When the war is over, he will most likely return to the Military Academy to continue school. It is impossible to waste time on a certain Garrison District.
After breakfast, Artillery company assembled and headed to the southwest mountainous area to log wood.
The moment we entered the forest, the temperature became extremely cool, the sunlight penetrated the layers of branches and leaves, and a Pheasant fled into the depths in panic.
Today's work arrangement is the same as usual, some people cut down trees, some people cut the branches of the wood, and transport the treated wood to the foot of the mountain.
Finally, Leo added, "The woods on the south side of the creek belong to Knights Hospitaller. Last night, they reported to the brigade commander that some soldiers were hunting in the southern forest and robbed their prey. When you work later, please be careful and don't cross the border."
"I know." Everyone responded weakly.
Auxiliary Brigade will be disbanded soon. Some soldiers choose to retire, and some soldiers are transferred to the newly formed Frontier Army. Their thoughts are no longer on this.
Boom! Boom!
The ax blade chopped down the tree trunk, and sawdust flew. The sound was dull and solid, frightening away the birds in the tree.
Just before the pine tree was about to fall, the logging soldiers shouted "the tree is about to fall" as usual, reminding their comrades to disperse.
With a clicking sound, the pine tree collapsed, and a strong smell of rosin filled the broken trunk area. Soldiers nearby gathered around, cut off the branches of the tree, peeled off the skin, and whittled it into an almost neat log. They then transported it to the foot of the mountain and handed it over to the transportation team.
As the acting company commander, Leo did not need to participate in frontline work. He found a rock and sat leisurely in the shade of a tree reading "Golden Horn News".
As the territory of the empire expanded, the content of "Golden Horn News" increased. At first, there was only one newspaper in each issue, but now it has become three newspapers.
The headline this time is still North Africa, which published scholars' research on the pyramid ruins.
The following news is related to Corinth Railway. This carriage track is six miles long and is located at Isthmus of Corinth north of the Peloponnese peninsula. After many years of operation, the company has earned back its investment cost...
At noon, the soldiers set up a bonfire in the open space and cooked the river fish caught from the creek. Fish Soup was delicious, far more salty than the salty Fish Soup in the canteen.
Leo murmured in his heart, "I don't know how long the smoked fish in the cafeteria has been stored. It tastes smoky and salty. I will have a big meal in a restaurant in the city after a few days of vacation."
In the past six months, Jerusalem has developed rapidly. The urban population has exceeded 15,000, business is booming, and various forms of entertainment are available.
Leo I heard that a new restaurant has opened in the city. The owner is from Constantinople. The chef can cook a variety of traditional dishes, as well as popular dishes such as hot pot and mutton fried rice.
"It seems that the military pay for last month has been used up. Would you like to borrow some from your second uncle (Theodore)?"
At four o'clock in the afternoon, the logging team finished their work. Leo counted the number of people and then returned to the camp. The hard day was over.
Early the next morning, there was another familiar whistle, and Leo repeated the same steps, washing up, eating breakfast, and gathering troops.
When he was about to set off, Edric led a group of guards to find Leo and informed him of the emperor's order:
"His Majesty is about to return to Constantinople and requires you to hand over military affairs as soon as possible and join him at Jaffa."
Leo asked subconsciously, "Leaving today?"
Edric: "If possible, I suggest setting out on the road at noon so that we can arrive at Jaffa before dusk tomorrow. I have already talked with the brigade commander and he has asked a platoon commander to temporarily take over the company's affairs."
Edric looked at staff officer Brigade Headquarters, who took out a document and read out the brigade commander's order in public.
"From now on, Third Auxiliary Brigade Artillery Battalion 1st Company..."
Leo turned around and stared at the queue of soldiers in front of him.
The incident happened in a hurry and he had no time to prepare a farewell speech. He was silent for half a minute and said goodbye to everyone in a short sentence, "Goodbye and good luck to everyone."
The platoon leader walked up to Leo, put the five fingers of his right hand together, raised his arm to his forehead, and saluted the outgoing superior, and the remaining company members followed suit. Leo returned the salute to everyone, and then stayed where he was until the entire queue disappeared from sight.
At 7:30, Leo came to Brigade Headquarters to go through the formalities. The brigade commander smiled kindly, quickly signed the end of the transfer document, and then put the document into a paper bag.
"What are your plans for the future?"
Leo replied loudly, "I don't know, it is possible to continue to return to the Military Academy to study."
Edric stood aside and observed. As the emperor's attendant, he had come into contact with too many civil servants, military officers and hereditary lords, and was good at observing people's words. Although the brigade commander expressed regret, some subtle actions still exposed his true thoughts:
The brigade commander is very happy that Leo has been transferred.
Of course, this feeling is understandable.
Leo is the second son of the emperor. According to the succession law promulgated by the emperor, his succession is ranked after Romanus (the eldest son of the emperor) and Manuel (Eldest Imperial Grandson). He has a distinguished status.
If something goes wrong with Leo, Artillery, the battalion commander and the brigade commander, and this series of officers will all be in trouble. Even if the brigade commander makes great achievements and kills Uzong Hassan, he can't make up for this hole!
In less than ten minutes, Leo completed the transfer procedures. Before leaving, he made a special trip to Field Hospital to visit the company commander Artillery who was recuperating.
Field Hospital is separated from the camp area and is located in a manor in the northwest.
Many wooden poles were set up on the grass outside the hospital to dry clothes, bandages and snow-white sheets. The north wind blew, and large pieces of white sheets rustled and fluttered in the wind.
To the south is a meandering stream, and two types of laundry equipment are placed in that area.
The first type of washing machine was a wooden barrel device. The soldier put the clothes that needed to be washed into the wooden barrel, broke off a small piece of soap and threw it in, poured in clean water, and then turned the crank on the outside of the barrel to make the entire barrel rotate.
Afterwards, two soldiers lifted the wooden bucket and poured the clothes in the bucket into the washing machine in the stream, letting the continuous water wash away the clothes and remove the dirt on the surface. The river water downstream was mixed with soap and blood, making it look turbid.
Leo looked around and saw some civilians lining up at the entrance of the hospital and sighed, "Compared to last month, the number of foreign patients has increased."
Nowadays, Eastern Roman Empire's new medicine has been recognized by the outside world, and civilians and some pilgrims give priority to treatment here instead of the hospital operated by Knights Hospitaller.
Leo stepped on the soft grass towards the sanatorium and asked Edric: "I heard that the military is going to turn Field Hospital into a permanent hospital. Is it true?"
Edric: "There are no relevant plans yet. I speculate that the military may hand over the hospital to the church and let them be responsible for daily operations."
Arriving at the door of the ward, Edric stayed on the grass outside to bask in the sun. Leo walked into the innermost hospital bed and visited the company commander Caligas who was recuperating.
The reason why Caligas was injured was not due to fighting, but because he accidentally stepped on a trap set by local hunters while logging in the mountainous area. He had to rest for nearly a month and did not recover. During this period, Leo served as the acting company commander and was responsible for the daily affairs of Artillery company.
Seeing the visitor arriving, Caligas put down Manga book in his hand, picked up the water bottle on the bedside table and took a sip, "What happened to the company?"
"Everything is normal in the company. I received the transfer order and will return to the headquarters immediately. The relevant procedures have been completed. The platoon leader is in charge of company affairs."
In response to this, Caligas responded indifferently. The other party had a prominent family background and was unlikely to serve in the company for a long time.
Feeling the loss of Leo, Caligas said with relief, "Third Auxiliary Brigade is a temporary unit. Sooner or later we will disband and transfer into different new units. The army is like this, people come and go, you will get used to it in the future.
Don't worry about me, the food here is very good, you can sometimes eat eggs and fresh meat, unlike the camp canteen, where you only have vegetable soup and salted fish all day long..."
The conversation between Leo and Caligas lasted for a long time. This was the first time the two had chatted for a long time since Artillery was formed. Leo felt that if this conversation could have happened earlier, maybe they could become friends.
"Goodbye, company commander, and wish you good luck."
At ten o'clock in the morning, Leo came to Jerusalem North Gate.
After entering the city, he found that the streets in the city were crowded, full of Rome people (Greece people) and Latins people, and the cries of vendors echoed in his ears.
Leo came to a mansion in the north of the city and wanted to say goodbye to his second uncle (Theodore). The servant respectfully replied:
"The master is praying at Church of the Holy Sepulchre. Please come in and wait for a while."
Leo: "No need, I'll go find him in person."
During the time when Jerusalem lived there, Theodore seemed to have changed as a person and often stayed in the church to listen to sermons.
Knowing that his nephew was about to leave, Theodore didn't say much, but simply gave a few instructions and asked him to say hello to Constantinople's relatives.
"I will definitely convey my greetings to you."
Half an hour later, Leo left Jerusalem and headed westward under the escort of everyone.
Not long after, when he climbed over the hills, he stopped his horse, turned around and looked at Jerusalem in the east.
For the city itself, Leo has no particularly deep emotions, but more of a nostalgia for First Artillery Company.
Some time ago, Leo had been looking forward to being transferred away. Now that his wish has come true, he does not feel the relief he expected, but only feels lost and confused.