When Xu Yi first discussed the matter with Major Maikongli, he had hoped the major could provide the Xinfei Merchant Guild with three hundred retired soldiers, allowing its Guards Corps to truly get off the ground.
But no matter how he looked at it, there were clearly more than three hundred soldiers drilling under Hart's command now.
"No need to count. There are five hundred in total, and I can guarantee that every one of them was an elite soldier before leaving the army," Count Samo said with a smile.
Xu Yi glanced in puzzlement at the burly men drilling nearby, then asked Count Samo, "Why?"
"You don't understand? To tell you the truth, this was the Princess Royal's idea. She specifically instructed Major Maikongli to give you more than you requested. So not only did Maikongli find you an extra two hundred men, he deliberately selected elite soldiers. It's no exaggeration to say that if these five hundred soldiers hadn't retired and were formed into a fighting unit instead, then after a period of training, their combat strength would be no less than that of an entire Battalion in any of the Kingdom's current armies."
There even seemed to be a trace of envy in Count Samo's expression. Whether he envied the five hundred elite soldiers the Xinfei Merchant Guild was about to acquire or the special attention and favor Xu Yi received from Princess Royal Servini was unclear.
Under the Lampari Kingdom's military organization, a full Battalion consisted of three Companies, with a total strength of fifteen hundred men.
Count Samo's claim that these five hundred men could match the fighting strength of an entire Battalion after a period of training showed that these burly men truly were elite soldiers.
Although Xu Yi was deeply grateful for Princess