Iron Powder and Spellcaster

"Baby!" Andre held Bud's hand pitifully.

Bud was noncommittal.

"Old man!" Andre said even more humbly.

Bud smiled half-heartedly.

"Old man!" Andre was already in tears.

"Don't do this, do you think I will believe you?" Bud sighed: "But this time I will let you."

"Guess I owe you once!" Andre beamed and patted his chest before leaving the house and said, "Boss! If you have something to do in the future, brother, I will take care of you!"

Before he finished speaking, he ran away quickly.

"Have you ever counted how many times you owe me?" Bud scolded with a smile.

Andre had already run far away, and his voice floated back from far outside the board room: "Think twice!"

"If you give in too many times, Andre will take it for granted." Winters couldn't help but say.

"Isn't he like this now?" Bud replied helplessly.

…

Why was Lieutenant Colonel Jessica sent to the Gulf for twelve years? And why can I go and come back again?

Winters didn't know, but he realized that John Jessica still had considerable connections in Plato.

After hearing Lieutenant Montagne explain why there were 63 Dussacs in the three groups of militiamen, the lieutenant colonel's expression remained normal and he didn't say much.

But when Lieutenant Colonel Jessica returned to Shuangqiao Camp that night, he already had an extra bag of heavy items in his hand.

The lieutenant colonel walked straight into the lieutenant's dormitory, regardless of whether the three second lieutenants were still eating dinner, and casually threw things on the table.

The bag hit the table and made a series of crisp sounds.

"Sir? What is this?" Winters asked knowingly.

"money."

Andre gently opened the bag, which was full of yellow gold coins.

"what money?"

"What else could it be?" The lieutenant colonel, smelling of alcohol, showed a smile: "Buying horse money!"

…

What is horse money?

As the name suggests, when Dussac enters active service, he can receive a small amount of money as a subsidy for preparing his own war horses. This money is the money to buy horses.

Of course, the money to buy a horse is not enough to buy a war horse. You can buy a leg of a qualified war horse.

As for the other three legs of the war horse, Dussac naturally paid for them, which was also part of the blood tax.

…

"They are militiamen and auxiliaries. Do you want to recruit them as cavalry?" Bud asked with a frown.

Lieutenant Colonel Da Ma Jin Dao sat down, leaving the three lieutenants standing: "You guys asked Dusak to serve as a militiaman instead of serving in active service, and the army was too lazy to pursue it. But you asked Dusak to serve with a war horse, which is also the meaning above. "

Andre asked impatiently: "What about the treatment? I mean Dusac's treatment after he is equipped with a war horse?"

Jessica played with her dinner knife and replied calmly: "The salary, rations, and weapons are all the same as those of the light cavalry, but they are not issued uniforms. I bought a light musket for each of them. If it doesn't work, they can be used as dragoons."

When Andre heard this, his eyes lit up.

"My Dusak is not yet a man!" Winters couldn't help but say.

"So the salary and equipment allocated to the light cavalry are preferential treatment." The lieutenant colonel stared at the second lieutenant with his single eye: "If you are not satisfied, I can also restore their militia treatment."

"Satisfied, how can I be dissatisfied?" Andre quickly stood over to the lieutenant colonel: "I think it's great! Let those boys serve on horseback. The happiest people must be themselves. I firmly support it!"

Winters glared at Andre. How could he not understand Andre's thoughts?

Lieutenant Cellini was already thinking about the command of this cavalry group.

…

The organization of cavalry is different from that of infantry. In theory, the smallest command unit of cavalry is the squadron, and the squadron is usually divided into two detachments during combat.

The status of a cavalry squadron is much higher than that of an infantry centurion. A second lieutenant can be a centurion, and a colonel can lead a cavalry squadron.

According to the organization method of Plato's army, a full cavalry squadron has 174 cavalry and 6 officers.

However, the actual situation is that there are not enough cavalry, but there are more than enough cavalry officers. This is the case in all republics.

Therefore, it is common for officers from the cavalry department to lead infantry and do civilian work.

During the Battle of Taneria, Bader and Andre stayed in the infantry brigade as trainees.

If Bader and Andre were lucky enough to return to the cavalry, they would be just the last officers in the squadron's command line.

…

According to Lieutenant Colonel Jessica, 63 Dussac is equal to 63 cavalry, which is close to a detachment.

Winters graduated from the infantry department, so the cavalry matters were not his turn.

But right now, there are still two serious cavalry officers in the Jashka Brigade who are leading the infantry.

"A cavalry detachment!" Second Lieutenant Cellini thought happily: "My dear! You have to be a captain to lead it, right?"

In the past, Winters could settle matters for the Wolftown Centurion with a single word. Now that Lieutenant Colonel Jessica has taken office, the second lieutenant can only obey.

Only when you are controlled by others can you understand how happy you were as a resident official.

"Distribute this money to the people of Dusac, and the legion will arrange for people to pick up war horses from their places of origin." The matter has been settled, and the lieutenant colonel made arrangements casually: "Of the 63 Dussacs, 3 will serve as messengers for me, and the remaining Exactly 10 accounts."

[Note: There are only six people in a cavalry tent and eight people in an infantry tent. ]

Andrei listened carefully, fearing that he would miss anything.

When he heard the lieutenant colonel say that "half of them are directly under the brigade", he thought with regret: "Only five accounts? It's not bad."

"Who is responsible for the remaining thirty riders?" Lieutenant Colonel Jessica continued: "You two can discuss it among yourself."

Andre and Bud were both stunned.

…

Unable to bear Andre's insistence, Bud finally nodded.

In this way, Andre got his wish and took charge of half of the cavalry detachment. The remaining militiamen were reorganized, and Winters' men removed four of the Dussacs and brought in five more of the Blackwater militia.

After learning about the lieutenant colonel's arrangement, Pierre, Vashika and others were overjoyed.

They have long been tired of the boring and heavy manual labor, and they are not happy enough to be able to become dragoons - although they do not have beautiful uniforms to wear.

Especially for this kid Pierre, the lieutenant colonel's name in his mouth instantly rose from "the one with no ass" to "that adult", as if he wasn't the one who received the ten lashes.

On the other hand, Angelou came to the second lieutenant to borrow money in a hurry, and by the way, he also pulled Bell over.

"Sir, I really have no other choice." The ponyboy said with a sad face: "Please lend me some money to buy a horse, and I will definitely pay it back."

"What about you?" Winters looked at the little hunter.

"I don't want to be Dussac!" Bell said nonchalantly: "I don't have a war horse, and I don't want to buy a war horse."

Angelou became anxious all of a sudden: "How can it be so simple? Dusac will be punished if he doesn't have a war horse when he joins the army!"

Bell was startled, but he still said stubbornly: "Then I'll run away. No one can find me in the woods!"

"Can you run without a horse?" Angelou retorted immediately.

The two and a half young men started quarreling in Winters' team headquarters after saying something to each other.

"Don't make any noise!" Winters sighed: "How much horse money have been given to you?"

Angelou stretched out his hand from his sleeve and placed eight gold coins stacked together on the ensign's table. It's not a ducat, it's a gold coin minted by the Plato government.

Winters was busy writing a file and asked without raising his head: "How much more do you need to buy a horse?"

The titular scribe, the old master, is the best at avoiding such chores, and currently all paperwork is done by Winters himself.

"At least three more." Angelou said with a groan: "The cheapest horse riding I saw in Shuangqiao City is at this price, but it is not a war horse..."

"Okay, I'll take the money. Red Mane is yours." Winters raised his head and glanced at the ponyboy.

"Hmm...huh? Hmm!" Angelou couldn't believe what he heard: "Red Mane? Ryzhik? Are you saying that Ryzhik belongs to me? You want to give Ryzhik to me?"

Winters smiled: "I'm not giving it to you, I'm selling it to you. Aren't you riding Red Mane now?"

After Strong Luck was brought to Plato, Winters rarely rode Red Mane. However, the training of war horses cannot be interrupted, so Redmane is usually a pony rider.

The young stableman was also happy to ride a horse, and he took good care of Red Mane. One person and one horse are very close, so Winters simply becomes an adult.

Angelou was so excited that he didn't know where to put his hands. He wanted to hug the second lieutenant and kiss him, but he suddenly realized that wouldn't work. So he picked up the little hunter, kissed him twice, and saluted the second lieutenant.

Bell was stunned and couldn't help asking: "What about me? What about me?"

Winters originally wanted to tease the little hunter, but thinking about the pride and fragile self-esteem of a boy of this age - after all, he had just come out of this stage - he stopped trying to tease him.

"Let Angel pick a good horse for you." Winters took out the money bag and threw it to the little hunter, then looked at the young stableman: "Angel, pick me a walking horse too. It doesn't have to be a war horse. , but it must be hardworking, strong, and able to walk in the wild.”

The ponyboy was stunned: "Do you want to add another horse? Isn't it good to be lucky?"

"Have an extra horse to ride on. I won't let my luck get too tiring." Winters replied casually, and then he frowned again: "Why do you talk so much nonsense? Just do whatever I ask you to do."

The ponyboy was scolded and replied quietly in a low voice: "Oh."

Winters was angry and wanted to laugh when he saw the ponyboy's stupidity: "Why are you still standing there? Wait for me to take you to Soma? When you come back, stop by the gunsmith Samuel and get the gun I ordered. .”

Bell quickly saluted and pulled his partners away from the team site.

…

Everything seems to be on track.

After firing their guns a dozen times, the militia musketeers gradually began to adapt to the recoil, light and noise of firing, and the spearmen began to take uniform steps.

War horses were brought from the three towns of Langtun, Heishui and Shengke to Shuangqiao camp.

Over at Wolf Town, Gilad and Sergey came and brought a lot of food, drink and family letters to the young men in Wolf Town, which made the militiamen in the other two towns go crazy with envy.

But there is no time left for cavalry training, what must come will come.

Before he knew it, Winters had spent six months in the land of galloping horses.

On January 12, 559 in the Imperial Calendar, the Jashka Brigade received the order to set off.

When Lieutenant Colonel Jessica read the order to the ensigns, the three of them were not surprised at all. Winters even had a happy feeling that "the boots finally landed".

He saluted and received the order.

At this moment, a convoy was ready to go at Shuangqiao Camp.

On the basis of the three centurions, the Legion assigned nearly 300 additional coachmen to the Jessica Brigade.

This is a long-distance supply, and the militiamen need to escort the baggage convoy across nearly 100 kilometers of "no man's land" into the territory of the Hurd tribes.

In addition to the militiamen and civilians, there were also more than a dozen merchant carriages guarding the military camp, waiting to go west with the army's baggage team.

Plato's military principle is to give priority to raising supplies locally. If something must be transported from the rear to the front, it must be resources that cannot be raised from the front.

"Is there anything you want to ask?" Lieutenant Colonel Jessica asked the ensigns casually. He folded the order papers neatly and put them in his arms.

"If you don't mind, I do have a question." Winters paused and asked, "Why us?"

"It's not you." The one-eyed lieutenant colonel sneered and pointed his thumb at himself: "It's me."

The price of horses fluctuates greatly in different eras. The prices of war horses and riding horses are also different. The prices of different grades of war horses are even more different.

The price of the riding horse mentioned by Angelou in this chapter is approximately equal to 105g of pure gold. This price comes from "The Quiet Don". The book states that Gregory bought a horse with an injured knee for 140 rubles. horse.

Coincidentally, Kenneth Hodges' "List of price of medieval items" has several records: 13th, war horse, 80 pounds/13th, high-class riding horse, 10 pounds/1374, two horses for knights, 10 pounds.

The value of the pound was also very stable during the Renaissance. I mentioned before that it was approximately equal to 0.925 pounds of silver. If exchanged according to the natural ratio of gold and silver of 1:12, 10 pounds is approximately equal to 400g of pure gold.

England issued noble gold coins in 1344, weighing nearly 9 grams, and 3 coins equaled 1 pound. According to this standard, 10 pounds is equivalent to 270g of pure gold.

Considering that Plato itself is a horse-producing area, it should be reasonable to buy a modest riding horse with 105g of pure gold.

I can’t write any more words for this chapter, so I won’t thank you one by one today.

I would like to sincerely thank all the book friends who voted for recommendation before and on this day. Thank you all.