POV Smith
I smiled wryly as I turned in my saddle to look at the fresh faced recruits and guests we'd taken to train as they were yelled at and pushed into line by their instructors. It had been a few months since the twin battles of Hesn and Bauerdorf. Much had changed, so much that even the barony of Lobau could feel it. New laws were being passed, some the people disliked, but others they greatly appreciated
The formation of the council, and it's elected leaders was highly loved by the people. They pushed for reforms and greatly benefited the common man. There was much to be said about those hard working bureaucrats. For even though they worked for the people, elected from the people, they understood that there was a greater good…
The encapsulation of this was the Conscription Act, signed into law by my brother two months ago. Everyone able bodied citizen between the ages of 17 and 36 of their respective species was potentially able to be called upon for military service.
This batch… was the first. I hated politics. I stayed well and truly clear of it. But as of late my brother had been keeping me informed, and I was grateful. Some of the local lords were plotting. And these stupid schemes of theirs are getting in the way of my plans to rescue my sister.
At least on that front there was good news. The 'spies' had found her in the dragon Queen's palace. She was treated well… but that wasn't good enough for me, or my brother. There rescue attempts, one of which I'd oversaw personally… all failed before we even reached the palace.
"Sir!" Captain Sarrin saluted. I returned the salute and we watched the conscripts being drilled.
"Our allies have quickly adapted to our training regimes sir." She remarked as the scratch company matched around the edge of the drill field.
"It is impressive…" I muttered quietly. Iot wasn't really that surprising. They already were doing most of it. Add a few things and a higher level of discipline… you had what I'd created months ago.
"Sir, do you think…" Sarrin asked.
"My brother thinks so. He's almost never wrong about this kind of stuff." I grumbled.
I could still see his face, pressed into a grimace as he told me the news of the secessionist movement. My brother was playing a game now. Going all in no doubt.
"So…"
"Captain. Train these conscripts to the best of your ability. If I had the time… I would. But these days I'm finding myself mired in paperwork…"
"Of course Sir. I was just interested in the planning behind the operation." Sarrin inquired.
"You'll be briefed when you need to know." I replied. Not that I knew the exact details yet either. But it's best if the officers think I'm privy to my brother's thoughts.
But these conscripts were part of a two sided plan. To see if we could in times of need massively increase the size of our forces, which was proving very difficult for our officers and nco's to handle. As well as a deterrent.
The secessionist lords were all mobilizing their levies for a declaration in a few weeks of their treachery. They'd break from the Queendom at the height of the harvest season, when mobilizing a response would be the most difficult. My brother was most auuredly amongst their good graces, and had gleaned what information he had through Shyora and her succubi. Almost the entirety of their plan was laid bare to me…
I chuckled. Between them they had thirteen regiments. It was a shame that number could be almost anything, a regiment was basically any sanctioned army a lord could raise over a hundred strong. But through some deductive reasoning… the succubi… we'd reasoned their actual strength around eight thousand.
No small feat, and our estimates if they called up the entirety of their levy could feild almost twenty thousand. So I'd have to move quickly once this damnable civil war broke out. In my hand I had only two regiments to call on. The 86th Lobau, my own regiment… and the 33rd Phoenix regiment of baroness Visher.
As neighbors the 33rd was basically a carbon copy of the 86th at this point. The integration of the two was so seamless that I had some difficultly telling them apart. It was so total a conversion that they used the same manufacturers to make their armor and weapons. The only real difference being the color of their uniforms and the standards they carried.
I grinned widely. I still could count on having the more disciplined force, but it would probably be much smaller than what my foes could bring to bear. So this campaign of mine would have to be quick. I only regretted my lack of proper cavalry…
Five battalions of the 86th… three freshly raised for the occasion. Almost five thousand fighting men and women… and I could count on another thousand from the single battalion of the 33rd. Though they were currently in the process of raising two more… but I doubted they'd be ready in time. David estimated the end of the month, that was a week from now.
In that time frame I would need to train these conscripts to my satisfaction and then march to my starting points if I wanted to achieve the fast victory I desired. If everything went to plan I could theoretically stamp out this rebellion in a month. My only concern was the rumors that David had heard of them planning on hiring a few mercenary companies. There were a few large ones out there… a few were large enough to be regiments in their own right.
I watched the conscripts drill with dissatisfaction. They weren't ready. It was telling just by how they stood. They didn't have the discipline a soldier needed. I grimaced, it would probably be better if I planned on fighting with only three battalions… with a few reserves I could call on if needed. I still had to leave at least a battalion behind for garrison duties, so one of the fresh ones would stay. Probably the third, I hadn't been hearing anything good about them as of late.
I only had a few days left to figure this all out. For fucks sake… why can't these bumbling nobles be a bit more acomadating to little ol' me?