He's in Love with the Devil.

Chapter 32: The King's Commissioners

The idea of reforming the military system came to the king while he was in Truong.

From the king's point of view, the military system of this era, like the principles of chivalry, should be rubbed out and burned in the fireplace.

Like most of the countries of the same period, the military system of Rogaland was centered on chivalry, and through the land grants of "king and vassal", a military system was established where cavalry charged and the rest of the army fought in tandem with each other, and the conscription system was based on the military service system, militia conscription system, and the mercenary system.

The troops borrowed by the king from the Angle country to quell the civil unrest were not part of the normal conscription.

Under normal circumstances, if the king wanted to start a war, he had to send out a conscription order first, and then the nobles of each region would lead a varying number of knights to the place designated by the king according to their own situation and the requirements of military service. This was the core of the king's army.

However, these men did not follow the king's command unconditionally.

Their military service was limited to forty days, and once they had exceeded that period, they had the right to disperse on their own.

Excellent!

Can the king tolerate this lousy, damn knightly military system? An army that's likely to run off in the middle of a battle?

Oh, and an undisciplined army, an army heavily influenced by the leading nobles.

The king will not deny that these military systems have served their purpose at specific, specific times, but, excuse me--

It's his time now.

The king chose to let this army join the great nobles in the dustbin of history.

"I can clear some hurdles for you, but if that happens, and you can't do what I ask ......," the king smiled, "I think, sir, then you can prepare your own coffin. "

Baron Sheen looked at the king with some surprise, he had all but mentally prepared himself for a difficult change, but listening to the king, it seemed that the king would take care of some of the difficulties for him first.

"For example, some of our Mr. Sheriff who forgot his identity."

Hearing that the target of the king's purge was "Mr. Sheriff", Baron Sheen couldn't help but adjust his opinion of the king once more - perhaps the king was indeed cold and violent, but he was indeed worthy of being the son of William III, with a keen and clear-sighted gaze.

"Yes, Your Majesty."

For the first time, Baron Sheen addressed the king as "Your Majesty" with sincerity.

"It would be better to follow up with some ...... well ...... Mr. Sheriff if it was settled."

"I thought you were someone who wouldn't be shy about anything, Mr. Sheen." The king seemed to smile, "After all, your courage in opening your bow in the first place was impressive enough, how come even Mr. Brave is starting to be euphemistic?"

Baron Sheen coughed, unsure how to reply to the king's remark.

In the past, he did not know how many times he and his retinue had complained about those greedy sheriffs appointed by the king, but at this time, these words of accusing the king to his face ...... Since he was in the path of the living, why would he want to run himself further into the path of death?

It is good that the king did not continue to pursue the meaning of the above.

"By the way," the king seemed to remember something, "I think that you have also seen the armor of those Gurundi heavy cavalry, right? Let me guess perhaps you have since gone to the trouble of fishing them out of the mud? Is that so, sir."

Baron Sheen coughed awkwardly.

The king laughed softly, "Never mind, I mean ...... show me your determination and skill, then the armor will be there, as will the warhorses. Perhaps even more powerful and horrible weapons will be at your disposal."

Our Mr. King is really good at using a stick in one hand and a carrot in the other.

But at least for the moment, Mr. Baron Sheen had willingly jumped into the king's war ship. He didn't know what the more fearsome weapon the king was talking about, but the fact that the king was willing to clear some of the obstacles for him, he already felt the king's sincerity. The king wasn't just casually trying to get him to die in vain.

Rather, he truly wanted to push the military changes to the end.

"The Rosebud Iron Horsemen, will roll an unstoppable gale across the land, can it be done? General."

The king tightened his smile, the sunlight falling on him through the delicate latticework windows, his silver hair and blue eyes overlapping with all the warring Rosebud emperors, the majesty of the Rosebud family coalescing around him.

William III had left his son an invaluable legacy.

Despite the people's resentment of the king's absurdity and violence, when he leads the knights in armor and carries a long sword, as long as he shows a little bit of valor and power, then people will subconsciously put the glory of the Rosebud family and his father back in his body, and can't help but create some expectations.

The Baron Sheen at the moment was exactly like that.

"It's an honor."

He clenched his fist and struck his heart, answering solemnly with an oath.

The king gave a faint smile.

He clapped his hands, and an attendant walked in holding an Iron Rose emblem in a delicate box.

"Take it with you, sir."

..................

Baron Sheen-oh, perhaps we should call him General Sheen-took his leave with pleasure and apprehensive excitement.

The ladies-in-waiting of the court, who had come with a grave face and left with a broad smile, could not help but quietly survey the young blond knight. He wore the Iron Rose and hurried off to bring his loyal soldiers out of prison.

The king sighed and picked up another list from his desk.

If General Shion could see the list, which made many detailed notes, he would realize that he had been moved in vain.

The romantic idealist had actually thought that the king would have such things as "sincerity" and "genuineness".

Of course, the king would clear the way for Baron Sheen first.

This guy is a military genius, but also a political genius, he does not want his future general to die in the political whirlpool of collusion with the nobility. After looking over the list of experienced generals given to him by the Duke of Buckingham, the king was hopelessly surprised to find that the most suitable candidate at the moment was actually only Mr. Sheen.

Admittedly, those who wore the Iron Rose royalist party were loyal to him and had excellent experience, but there was a problem: they were almost as old as the Duke of Buckingham.

Reform is something that requires young blood to be dynamic.

Let's be merciful and leave our old generals alone.

And the rest of the younger generation ...... coincidentally, most of those drunken rice bags are on the king s list of people to clean up next.

Let s hope that the new system will allow the king to find more good talents.

The king's father, William III, had once embarked on a military change, trying to form a standing army, but unfortunately just after the beginning, William III died. The king now intends to continue what his father left undone.

If one really wants a change to go smoothly and have the desired effect, then it cannot be rushed and must be well prepared. The fact that the king was able to conceal the news that he was not dead for up to a month, only to kill back at the last minute, already showed that he could be terribly stoic when necessary.

According to the king's expectations, the best opportunity for military change would have to complete the preliminary preparations, and then wait for the return of General John.

Once General John was ransomed, the king would be able to know the inside story of the Battle of Bubun, and there would be enough reason to stir up the national hatred of the people of Rogaland towards the Kingdom of Bolesi ...... That would be the best time for the king to make drastic changes.

The object of the preliminary preparation was, as the king said to General Sheen, Mr. Sheriff.

To take a closer look at the military system of Rogaland.

In the conscription system there was, in addition to the military service of the nobles, the very crucial conscription of the militia.

Rogaland's militia conscription is also known as the "call and review system".

The Sheriff of each county organizes the calling up of the militia, and all the free men who have reached their majority and are under 60 years old are included in the scope of the calling up of the militia. After the militia gathered at a designated location, the sheriff would select the number of men specified in the king's decree of conscription, and then the sheriff would open the sheriff's arsenal and issue armor and swords, which would be taken back after the war, and the king himself would provide the militia's pay and logistics during the period of their service.

--Look how convenient this system was for the sheriff to tinker with!

And how enough to make an ambitious monarch furious.

Old things should have the good sense to retire honestly.

The king would have to conduct an exhaustive investigation and a major change of heart if he wanted to tighten his grip on the counties, smooth the reform of conscription, and keep his taxes out of the pockets of these greedy fellows-though he had somehow pulled them out again the other day.

Now would be a good time to do that, with a number of sheriffs equally involved in the rebellion in the Civil War.

So where to start?

Start with Archduke Grice.

Don't get me wrong, the Archduke of Glace is dead as a doornail, but he left the King a "generous" fortune. The Archduke's wife came from the House of Grew. The Gru family has been in the land transportation business for hundreds of years, and because of that, Archduke Grice was able to get an impressive force of Gulundian heavy cavalry to show up outside of Tru Castle unnoticed.

The Grews put their chips on the Archduke Grice in the Civil War, and rightly so, they lost everything. However, the patriarch of the Gru family was a sensible man. He prostrated himself in front of the king's throne early in the day, stating that he and his family were eager for all the opportunities they could get to serve the king.

Thanks to the Archduke Grice who died and continues to shine to this day.

May the Holy Lord grant that in death his spirit will not be so angry that he will thump the lid in his coffin ...... Wait, did His Majesty the King give him a burial?

Ah, that's just a little detail that doesn't matter, so please don't pay attention to it.

It's time for the Grue family to turn to the King's service.

..................

As the snow fell, the procession to pay the ransom for General John departed from Metzl Castle with General Sheen, while the head of the House of Gru entered the Rosebud Palace with trepidation.

Soon what the king had once said was realized.

Winter had arrived, and it was time to give our officials a run for their money.

In the dead of winter, the carriages of the House of Grew began to travel up and down the country in counties large and small, and the King's commissioners were sent out in twos and twos to reach the counties, gather representatives of the citizens, and go through the streets and alleys. The questions were drawn up by the king himself, and numbered in the hundreds.

It was a busy winter.

In addition to that questionnaire in plain sight, there were some men of the House of Grew traveling with them, and they too had a task.

They had to net some talent for the king.

Talents that should be thrown to the stake in the eyes of the common man.

Some doctors who love to dissect corpses, some devils who are obsessed with bottles and jars.

The people of the Gru family didn't know what the king wanted these "talents" for, but they didn't dare to ask, so they did their best to ask people about the local situation.

Better to be tired than to lose one's head, right?

Watching the Gelu family people busy, there is another group of people can not sit still.

That was the Five Harbors Alliance.

These merchants had done a lot of "good deeds" for Grand Duke Grice during the civil war, but the king seemed to have forgotten about them, and delayed taking a position on their disposition. On the surface, this seemed to be a blessing, as the King seemed to have spared them.

But--

Who would believe that?