The only way to lure men eager for glory to my army, was to make the whole process private. They would come to the capitol, undergo a health check up and would be sent back home or accepted for one year training, with the best of them being allowed to join the army.
I made sure to feed them well, to clothe them and even allowed them one free day in a week.
Many of the experienced knights died because of my father's idiotic commands, and I was left with half of my army filled with untrained civilians.
They weren't completely useless, they just lacked practice and determination, so I decided to replace some of them.
The third year of my rule came this spring and finally, I could see the changes in their hearts.
It didn't take too long to get to the barracks - just half an hour on a good horse. As I stepped onto the training grounds, blending perfectly with recruits, I couldn't help but feel a sense of pride in my soldiers' progress over the past year.
The improvement in their skills was obvious. They moved with more confidence and precision, and their swords clashed against each other with greater force than before. I pushed them harder than usual, determined to see just how far they could go without breaking under pressure. And they didn't disappoint.
As we finished sparing, I couldn't help but feel proud of what they had accomplished - these recruits were promising.
The time when they will be allowed to return back home is getting closer, and I decided to rush things up a bit.
My loud whistle stopped the commotion as I waved to the knight who supervised today's training. He was well aware of my presence and up until now tried his best not to give me up.
"Kneel! The king is coming! The king is coming to see your progress! Fucking kneel!" His loud voice filled the courtyard and all hundred and seventy men lowered their bodies after a short confusion.
It was not usual for soldiers to kneel during training, many of them couldn't understand this sudden order, but obeyed the command.
I made sure to walk around all of them, personally assigning them to positions. I picked thirty to join the palace guards, another thirty or so into the renewed archery unit I wanted to keep by the ramparts all year round and the rest of the capable recruits in between light cavalry and infantry, which could return home until I call them up if needed.
"You are all free to leave right now," I stood by the side of sir Zelgmir, the knight who supervised our training earlier "but if you decide to stay, you will be allowed to continue with your training. You will earn two silver coins every week for the next two years and if you have a family you want to take care of in the meantime, just report their names and dwelling, they will be getting half of your pay until you are finished with your training." I announced, trying to supres my amusement.
Being the ruler held some privileges.
And watching their faces was clearly one of the greatest pleasures my title allowed me to have.
Almost two hundred men. Not much, but all I had to do was to look at it on a bigger scale. Barracks like these were sown across the whole country.
At first, I tried to conceal it as my effort to train every household's son to be able to protect his family, but when older men tried to sneak in to be able to learn how to defend their homeland in case of war, I ended allowing every man to join.
It was expensive as fuck. But I still allowed myself to hope it will be worth it.