Although muskets had a shorter range than bows, they packed more power and could even pierce armor, making them formidable weapons.
Using a musket did not require much strength, which greatly widened the pool of potential recruits.
Once they had muskets, they could practice shooting. With enough rounds of ammunition, they could reach a decent standard.
Rhode remembered target practice during his university military training. He had barely fired a few shots before he could hit the target. The beggars here should be able to manage that too... right?
Still, all of this depended on having muskets, so Rhode now told Katel to ask around.
As for the money to buy them... money was no problem!
Never mind the benefits he now enjoyed as a nominal major general; the income and treasury of Audric's Tower alone gave him plenty of funds to draw on.
He was effectively in charge here now, after all. Neither Audric nor Hearthglen concerned himself with running things.
"Understood," Katel said.
In truth, even if it had not been something as beneficial to the beggars as forming a Musket Corps, he would have carried out any order Rhode gave him.
Then Katel lowered his voice and asked Rhode, "Should we do this in secret? I can have people slip over to Dun Garok."
"No need. I'm a major general of Durnholde Keep. Buying guns and ammunition is perfectly reasonable," Rhode said confidently.
This was also the greatest advantage his new identity gave him.
For a military commander, buying weapons could hardly have been more normal.
Recruiting soldiers was part of his duties too, of course.
"The second thing is finding recruits," Rhode continued. "Pick a hundred people to form the Musket Corps. Choose quick-witted ones, preferably in decent physical shape too."
Rhode did not know how