Chapter 175. Undisciplined Private Troops, and William’s Arrangements
The nobles’ Private Troops were, to begin with, part of the kingdom’s latent military strength. Rather than letting them sit idle, scattered across various territories, it was better to use this opportunity to bring them together.
It would solve Reinhardt’s urgent crisis, win over hearts through title promotions, and allow those Private Troops to gain battlefield experience. It was killing several birds with one stone.
Most importantly, William could also use this chance to assess the aptitude of those private soldiers and replenish the Eleventh through Twentieth Legions with promising recruits. After all, future expansion would require a large reserve of manpower.
“Handle everything according to the edict. Approve them one by one.”
William instructed the officials responsible for the records, “The troop numbers must be personally verified. No falsification is allowed. As long as they meet the standard, draft the document at once and submit it to His Majesty for ennoblement.”
The officials accepted the order and withdrew.
Before long, the first group of nobles to send troops received their letters of title conferment. The gilded crests and the king’s seal gleamed brilliantly in the sunlight, leaving those nobles, who had previously been little more than minor lords, so excited that they could hardly sleep through the night.
Once the news spread, even more nobles joined in. For a time, a craze for “trading troops for noble rank” swept through the Kroll Kingdom.
Looking at the troop markers multiplying across the war map, Kroll II smiled at William and said, “Your move is far less troublesome than forced conscription.”
William bowed slightly. “Titles exist to inspire men. Their best use is to make people willingly serve the kingdom.”
After settling the details with Kroll II, William left the Throne Hall with Tos and a squad of Palace Knights and went straight to the assembly grounds outside the royal capital.
The nobles’ Private Troops that had arrived from across the kingdom were stationed there.
According to the latest count, more than forty thousand men had already gathered, and more were still on their way.
This should have been an encouraging sight, yet the moment William reached the outskirts of the encampment, his brows drew tightly together.
The scene before him was nothing like what he had imagined.
The tents had been pitched in complete disorder. Wastewater pooled into black streams through the camp. Discarded scraps of food and torn cloth were visible everywhere, and an indescribable stench filled the air.
“Hadn’t the officials already been instructed to emphasize sanitation?” William’s voice carried suppressed anger.
The Battalion Commander of the City Defense Army beside him quickly explained,
“Your Highness, we did send men to keep watch, but these Private Troops come from different families. Their discipline is so loose that they simply can’t be controlled...”
Before he could finish, William saw several soldiers behind a nearby tent relieving themselves openly on the ground as though no one else existed. After they were done, they did not even bother fastening their trousers before swaggering off.
Farther away, in an open patch of ground, others were directly dumping filth beside the tents, drawing swarms of buzzing flies.
“They’re nothing but a rabble.”
Even Tos could not help cursing under his breath.
William forcibly suppressed his anger.
These noble Private Troops usually spent their days lording it over others in their own territories. When had they ever been subjected to strict military discipline?
Besides, the nobles were not fools. There was no way they would casually hand over their true elite forces.
It seemed that if he wanted these men to become a fighting force, noble titles alone would not be enough. He would have to start with the most basic rules.
He swung down from his horse and strode straight toward the few soldiers who had been urinating in the open, his gaze cold as ice.
“Didn’t your lord ever teach you what decency is?”
The soldiers were startled. Once they saw William’s attire and the armor of the guards around him, they realized that a great figure had arrived. They hurriedly dropped to their knees and kowtowed, stammering incoherently.
“Pass down my order.”
William turned to the Battalion Commander. “Immediately designate specific latrine areas, dig waste pits, and assign men to supervise them.”
“Within half an hour, all tents must be rebuilt according to proper formation. All wastewater and refuse must be cleared away. Anyone who violates this will have his lord’s qualification for title promotion revoked.”
The Battalion Commander did not dare delay and at once led men off to carry out the order.
William then had several of the leading noble lords brought before him and looked at them coldly.
“These are the troops you brought? They cannot even manage basic hygiene, yet they think they can go to war?”
“Let me make this clear. Do not think that simply gathering enough numbers will earn you a title. If military discipline fails, or combat strength is unqualified, then none of it will count.”
The lords’ faces went pale, and they immediately bowed.
“Yes, Your Highness. We will go and set things in order at once.”
Watching them hurry away in panic, William stood in the middle of the camp and looked over the chaotic encampment with a grave expression.
More than forty thousand men looked impressive on the surface, but in truth they were a hard bone to chew through.
Discipline, sanitation, coordinated combat... there were still far too many problems to solve.
But he had no way back.
These Private Troops had to be turned into usable soldiers, not only for the sake of resources, but also for Kroll’s future military reserves.
“Tos,” William said, “transfer three battalions from the Fifteenth Royal Legion. Starting today, have them personally oversee the training here. Grind discipline into them first.”
“If this bunch of military thugs cannot be trained properly, then even if I pick out the most talented soldiers from among them, they will still be nothing but a scourge.”
“Yes, Your Highness.”
The sun scorched the earth, and before long the camp began to fill with shouted orders and pounding footsteps.
Not much later, orderly marching could be heard from outside the encampment. Three fully armed battalions came running in formation, their armor clashing and their steps perfectly uniform, creating a stark contrast with the chaos inside the camp.
Seeing this, the tightness in William’s brow eased slightly.
He walked up to the three Battalion Commanders and swept them with a sharp look.
“I do not care what methods you use. I am giving you only two weeks.”
His tone was so stern that it carried not the slightest warmth.
“You must enforce military discipline here completely. The next time I come to inspect this place, if it still looks like this, then there will be no need for you to return. Go straight to the Twentieth Legion and report there.”
The Twentieth Legion was a newly formed reserve legion and was widely regarded in the army as a place of exile.
The three Battalion Commanders’ expressions tightened at once. They snapped to attention and shouted in unison, “Yes, Your Highness! We guarantee we will complete the task!”
William nodded, then summoned the official in charge of the assembly grounds and the Quartermaster.
Both men kept their heads lowered, not daring to look him in the eye. They clearly knew they could not escape blame for the camp’s disorder.
“You two.”
William’s voice turned even colder.
“Redesign the layout of the camp immediately. Separate it into a barracks area, a training area, and a logistics area. Sanitation zones in particular must be placed under strict control.”
“Provisions, drinking water, and medical supplies are all to be distributed according to military regulations. If anything goes wrong, I will hold the two of you responsible.”
He paused, then stressed his next words even more heavily.
“If I see wastewater flowing everywhere again, or these Private Troops lounging about in disorder, then neither of you will keep your posts. I will draft you directly into the legions and send you to the front to deal with the trolls.”
The official and the Quartermaster both shuddered in fright and immediately bowed.
“Yes, Your Highness. We will see to it at once. There will be no more mistakes.”
William said no more and mounted his horse again. Tos and the guards followed behind as the group rode back toward the royal capital.
The camp gradually filled with the sound of horns and shouted commands. The three battalions had already begun to act, and the mix of rebukes and footsteps rose together as they tried to drive away the chaos.
From atop his horse, William gazed toward the distant horizon, his expression still grave.
Two weeks was not a long time. Forging more than forty thousand unruly Private Troops into a disciplined force would be no easy task.
But he had no choice. These men would one day become one of Kroll’s key forces for outward expansion. The harsher he was with them now, the fewer casualties they would suffer on the battlefield in the future.
The outline of the royal capital gradually came into view ahead. William knew that putting the Private Troops in order was only the first step.
Reinhardt’s next shipment of resources would arrive soon. Before that, he would first have to select from the Noble Legions that had already been reorganized.