Steel, Explosives, and Spellcasters

Chapter 383: Chapter 38 Cavalry

“Old Bard!” Andre begged pitifully, clutching Bard’s hand.

Bard neither agreed nor disagreed.

“Old Bard!” Andre’s voice lowered even further in supplication.

Bard looked amused.

“Old Bard!” Andre now had tears welling up in his eyes.

“Don’t give me that, you think I’d believe it?” Bard sighed, “But this time I’ll let you have it.”

“Consider it a debt I owe you!” Andre beamed with joy, and before he walked out the door, he patted his chest and said, “Old Bard! If you ever need anything, I’m your man to take a blade to both sides!”

Before his voice had even faded, he dashed off like a streak of smoke.

“Have you ever counted how many times you’ve owed me?” Bard laughed and cursed.

Andre was already far away, but his voice drifted back from outside the shack: “Take a blade to both sides!”

“If you let him have his way too often, Andre will start to take it for granted,” Winters couldn’t help but speak up.

“Isn’t he already doing that?” Bard replied helplessly.

…

Why had Colonel Jeska been deployed to the gulf for twelve years? And how was he able to return from it?

Winters didn’t know, but he realized that John Jeska still had considerable connections in Paratu.

After listening to Lieutenant Montaigne’s explanation as to why there were as many as 63 Dusacks among the three squads of the militia, the colonel’s expression remained unchanged, showing little reaction.

But when Colonel Jeska returned to the Shuangqiao Main Camp that night, he had an extra heavy bag in his hand.

The colonel marched straight into the officers’ quarters, not caring that three lieutenants were still having dinner, and casually threw the object onto the table.

The cloth bag hit the tabletop, creating a series of crisp jingles.

“Sir? What is this?” Winters asked knowingly.

“Money.”

Andre gently pried open the cloth bag, which was filled with shiny gold coins.

“What kind of money?”

“What else could it be?” The colonel, reeking of alcohol, flashed a hint of a smile, “Horse-buying money!”

…

What is horse-buying money?

As the name suggests, when Dusacks are called to active duty, they receive a small sum of money as a subsidy to provide their own warhorses, which is called horse-buying money.

Of course, horse-buying money is not enough to buy a warhorse; it would barely cover the cost of one leg of a decent warhorse.

As for the other three legs of the warhorse, it naturally falls on the Dusacks to pay, which is also part of the blood tax.

…

“They are militiamen and auxiliary troops, and you want to recruit them as cavalry?” Bard asked, frowning.

The colonel sat down heroically, leaving the three lieutenants standing, “You few have been having Dusacks serve as militiamen in place of active duty, and the legion doesn’t care to pursue it. But having Dusacks bring their warhorses into service is also the higher-ups’ intention.”

Andre, unable to contain his impatience, asked, “What about their treatment then? I mean, the terms for the Dusacks after they are equipped with warhorses?”

Jeska played with the dinner knife, answering calmly, “Wages, rations, arms, all according to light cavalry, except they won’t be issued uniforms. I’ve procured a light musket for each of them; if nothing else, they can be used as if they were dragoon cavalry.”

Upon hearing this, Andre’s eyes sparkled with excitement.

“But my Dusacks aren’t of age yet!” Winters couldn’t help but speak up.

“So the wage and equipment are already a privilege according to light cavalry standards,” the one-eyed colonel stared at the lieutenant, “If you are not satisfied, I can also revert them to the treatment of the militia.”

“Satisfied, how could I not be satisfied?” Andre quickly sided with the colonel, “It’s great, I think! Letting those lads ride into service, they themselves would be the happiest. I’m firmly supportive!”

Winters glared fiercely at Andre; how could he possibly not understand what Andre was thinking?

Lieutenant Chelini was already pondering over the command of this troop of cavalry.

…

Cavalry units are organized differently than infantry; in theory, the smallest command unit of cavalry is a squadron, which is often divided into two troops for combat purposes.

The status of a cavalry squadron is much higher than that of an infantry centuria, and a lieutenant can lead as a centurion, while it takes a field officer to command a cavalry squadron.

According to Paratu’s military structure, a full-strength cavalry squadron has 174 troopers with 6 commissioned officers.

However, the reality is that there are not enough cavalrymen, but there are more than enough cavalry officers; this is the case in all the republics.

Therefore, officers with a cavalry background going to lead infantry or take up clerical positions is a common occurrence.

Bard and Andre, for instance, had been assigned to an infantry battalion as trainees during the Tanilia campaign.

If Bard and Andre were lucky enough to return to a cavalry unit, they would just be the most junior officers in the squadron’s command hierarchy.

…

According to Colonel Jeska’s intentions, the 63 Dusacks amounted to 63 cavalrymen, nearly a troop.

Winters, being from the infantry branch, was out of the loop on cavalry matters.

Yet right now, in Jeska’s battalion, there were two bona fide cavalry officers leading infantry.

“A cavalry troop!” Lieutenant Chelini thought with delight, “Goodness! It has to be a captain at least to lead it, right?”

In the past, as the Garrison Officer of Wolf Town, Winters could make decisions on his own. Now that Colonel Jeska had assumed command, the lieutenant had no choice but to obey.

Only when subject to another’s will does one truly appreciate the joys of once being the Garrison Officer.

“Distribute this money to the Dusacks; the legion will arrange for people to retrieve their warhorses from their hometowns,” the colonel made arrangements offhandedly as the matter was now decided, “63 Dusacks, take three as my messengers, and the rest make exactly 10 tents.”

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

Andre perked up his ears to listen, afraid of missing any words.

When he heard the lieutenant colonel say, “half of them will be directly under my command,” he felt somewhat disappointed, “Only five tents? Well, that’s acceptable, I suppose.”

“Who’s responsible for the remaining thirty cavalry?” Lieutenant Colonel Jeska continued, “The two of you can discuss it.”

Andre and Bard were both stunned on the spot.

…

Unable to resist Andre’s incessant nagging, Bard eventually nodded in agreement.

Thus, to his wish, Andre took charge of half a division of cavalry. The remaining militia was reorganized, withdrawing four tents of Dusacks under Winters and then reinforcing with five tents of Blackwater Town militiamen.

Pierre, Vashka, and others, on learning of the lieutenant colonel’s arrangements, were quite delighted.

They were already tired of the tedious, strenuous manual labor and couldn’t wait to become dragon cavalry—despite lacking the fancy uniforms.

Especially Pierre, whose reference for the lieutenant colonel in his mouth had risen from “the one without an asshole” to “that esteemed person,” as if it weren’t him who had suffered under the lash.

It was Anglu who rushed over in a frantic haste to borrow money from the lieutenant, dragging Bell along as well.

“Sir, I really have no other options,” the young horse groom said with a somber face, “Please lend me some money to buy a horse, I will surely pay you back.”

“And you?” Winters looked at the young hunter.

“I don’t want to be a Dusack at all!” Bell said carelessly, “I don’t have a warhorse, nor do I want one.”

Anglu became agitated all at once, “How can it be that simple? If a Dusack is conscripted without a warhorse, he will be punished!”

Bell was startled by this but still stubbornly retorted, “Then I’ll run away. If I hide in the woods, no one will find me!”

“You think you can run away without a horse?” Anglu rebutted immediately.

The two youngsters, each firing back a sentence, started arguing right in Winters’ headquarters.

“Stop arguing!” Winters sighed, “How much money did you receive for buying horses?”

Anglu’s hand emerged from his sleeve, placing eight stacked Gold Coins onto the lieutenant’s desk—not Ducats, but coins minted by the Paratu government.

Winters, busy writing documents, asked without looking up, “How much more is needed to buy a horse?”

The nominal clerk, the old shaman, was adept at avoiding such miscellaneous tasks, so the current clerical work was solely dependent on Winters’ personal efforts.

“I need at least three times as much,” Anglu hummed, “I saw the cheapest riding horses in Shuangqiao City at this price, but they are not warhorses…”

“Alright, I’ll take the money. You can have Redmane,” Winters looked up at the young groom.

“Um… huh? Hmm!” Anglu could hardly believe what he was hearing, “Redmane? Rejek? Are you saying Rejek is mine now? You’re giving Rejek to me?”

Winters smiled, “Not giving, selling to you. Isn’t Redmane the one you’re riding now?”

Ever since the forceful relocation to Paratu, Winters had seldom ridden Redmane. But training for a warhorse could not be interrupted, so on a regular basis, it was the young groom who rode Redmane.

The young groom was also happy to be riding, and he took great care of Redmane. The two of them were very close, so Winters simply did them the favor.

Anglu was so excited he didn’t know where to put his hands; he wanted to embrace the lieutenant and give him a couple of kisses, but then realized that wouldn’t be proper. So, instead, he grabbed Hunter and kissed him hard twice and then saluted the lieutenant.@@novelbin@@

Bell was dumbfounded and couldn’t help but ask, “What about me? What about me?”

Winters had planned to tease Hunter a little, but remembering how proud and fragile the self-esteem of boys that age could be—after all, he had just passed through that stage himself—he decided not to play coy any longer.

“Let Anglu pick a good one for you.” Winters took out his purse and tossed it to Hunter, then turned to Anglu. “Anglu, also pick out a spare horse for me. It doesn’t need to be a warhorse, but it has to be hardworking and sturdy, and able to travel through the wilds.”

The young groom was taken aback: “You want another horse, sir? Isn’t Strong Runner good enough?”

“Having an extra horse to rotate with won’t tire Strong Runner too much,” Winters replied offhandedly, then frowned. “What’s with all the questions? Do what you’re told.”

The groom took the scolding and replied meekly, “Oh.”

Winters couldn’t help but feel a mix of irritation and amusement at the groom’s simple demeanor. “What are you standing around for? Do you expect me to pick out the horse for you? On your way back, stop by the gunsmith Samuel and pick up the gun I ordered.”

Bell promptly saluted and, pulling his companion along, left the headquarters.

…

Everything seemed to be on the right track.

The militia musketeers gradually grew accustomed to the recoil, the flash, and the noise of firing after letting off a dozen or so shots, and the spear carriers also began to march in a uniform step.

Warhorses were brought from Wolfton, Blackwater, and Saint Croix to Shuangqiao Main Camp.

Over in Wolf Town, Gerard and Sergei had made a trip there, bringing a lot of food and letters from home for the young men of Wolf Town, which made the militia from the other two towns green with envy.

But there was no more time left for cavalry training; what was inevitable would come.

Before he knew it, Winters had already spent six months in the Kingdom of Galloping Horses.

On January 12th of the year 559 of the Imperial Calendar, Jeska’s troops received orders to march.

When Lieutenant Colonel Jeska read the orders to the lieutenants, none of them were surprised; Winters even felt a clear sense of relief that “the shoe had finally dropped.”

He saluted and accepted the orders.

At that moment, a convoy was already assembled and waiting at Shuangqiao Main Camp.

Based on the three companies of a hundred men each, the legion had additionally allocated nearly three hundred drivers to Jeska’s troops.

This was a long-distance supply operation, where the militia was to escort the supply convoy across nearly a hundred kilometers of ‘no man’s land’ into the territories of the Hurd tribes.

Apart from the militia and the drivers, another dozen merchant wagons stood outside the camp, waiting to head west together with the military supply convoy.

Paratu’s military principle was to prioritize local procurement of supplies; if something must be transported from the rear to the front, it was definitely a resource that could not be gathered on the frontlines.

“Don’t you have any questions?” Colonel Jeska asked the lieutenants offhand as he neatly folded the order, tucking it into his jacket.

“If you don’t mind, I do indeed have a question,” Winters paused before asking, “why us?”

“Not you.” The one-eyed colonel snorted coldly and pointed at himself with his thumb. “Me.”

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