Chapter Forty-Six: The Council at the Wooden Fortress

At noon, after finishing their midday meal, the soldiers returned to the large wooden house for a short rest to recuperate their strength for the rigorous personal combat training awaiting them in the afternoon.

Upon returning to the wooden house, two newly arrived laborers collapsed directly onto the straw-covered floor. One of them, a big-nosed fellow, rubbed his shoulder—which had been bruised by a wooden stick—and muttered in a low voice, "That Red-Headed Ghost is nothing but a liar. All he talked about was having enough to eat, warm clothes, and generous pay, but he never mentioned needing such brutal training. Every single day without fail—not even the Marquis's own court guards train like this."

Seeing that his companion offered no response, the big-nosed man continued his grumbling, "Big Brother Otto is no better. He promised to take good care of us, but I never expected his idea of 'care' to mean grabbing us by the tail and beating me black and blue—just look at what they did to me!"

"Big-Nosed, I told you before not to call him Big Brother Otto. Address him as Officer Otto! Why can't you ever remember?" A short-haired, broad-faced laborer glanced at the other soldiers in the room and lowered his voice. "We have it pretty good compared to some. Just look at how the Ranger Officer deals with those veterans—now that is brutal, and do you see a single veteran uttering a word of complaint? Besides, the Ranger Officer made it clear: taking a few beatings during peacetime is far better than taking a blade in battle. Yesterday, I caught a glimpse of the scars on those veterans' bodies—they were utterly terrifying."

"Weez brothers, I'm not really complaining. It's just that the thought of enduring this training every single day makes me worry I won't last," the big-nosed man said with a ingratiating smile.

"Won't last? How do you think those miner brothers manage to endure it? Who was it that licked their boots and begged Kazak to put in a good word with the Ranger Officer? Since you're here, don't disgrace us laborer folk. The Ranger Officer made it clear from the very beginning about following the rules, and if you're thinking of running off, don't drag me into it. There's still a fellow tied up at the fortress gate for slacking off."

...

While the soldiers rested indoors, a council meeting was underway in the room of the small courtyard within the wooden fortress.

Art sat upright at the head of the table, twirling a quill pen in his hand. Cooper, dressed in rough linen and with mud-stained hands, cradled a piece of birch bark as he reported on the various conditions of the fortress.

"My Lord, thanks to having sufficient seed, the more than one hundred acres of cultivated land and twenty acres of military farmland have all been sown. We planted over eighteen thousand pounds of grain seed. This autumn harvest, we estimate we can reap between fifty and sixty thousand pounds of grain. After setting aside the seed for next year, we will have nearly forty thousand pounds left over. According to your previous arrangement, since we levy no taxes in the first year, we will only reclaim the loaned seed from the farmers. The seed we recover from them will be enough to sustain fifty people for an entire year. The farmers' remaining grain will also last them a whole year, though they will need to trade their own grain to acquire the winter wheat seed for the first batch of plantings. All of these matters can only be confirmed once autumn arrives. Additionally, the seventeen vagrants you recruited last time have not yet been assigned land; they are temporarily farming the military plots."

"Currently, the grain reserves within the wooden fortress are far from optimistic. After the spring planting, we are left with just over eight thousand pounds of grain, yet we are still more than five months away from the autumn harvest. We now have sixty-five fortress residents, and the ranger detachment—including two wounded soldiers—totals thirty-one men. They consume at least one hundred and forty pounds of grain daily, meaning our reserves are only enough for two months."

Having listened to Cooper's report on land and grain, Art instructed him, "Our finances are somewhat sufficient now, so we can continue purchasing grain from outside. You must ensure that the fortress maintains at least a three-month grain reserve."

"Understood, My Lord. I will also continue organizing men to purchase supplies from outside."

"Very well. If you need to go out to procure goods, inform me in advance so I can dispatch an escort to accompany you. Continue."

"Regarding finances, our current funds are sufficient to sustain at least a year of military expenditure and grain consumption." Finances had always been managed personally by Art, so Cooper left the details brief.

"As for livestock, through various seizures and purchases, the fortress now possesses four military horses, four oxen, one packhorse, three mules, one large donkey, four pigs, and eight sheep."

"In terms of agricultural tools and materials, we have five four-wheeled wagons, four two-wheeled carts, eight heavy plows, fifty sets of iron farming tools, a large batch of iron implements, and everyday items such as salt and cloth."

"All farming tools and livestock belong to the fortress and are currently loaned out to the farmers under my supervision. Once the farmers harvest their crops, they can rent or exchange them for tools, livestock, and supplies using grain."

"In terms of construction, a new livestock shed has been built within the fortress, and I have moved the crude handmill into the small millhouse. Down in the valley, there are now two large sheds and three or four small shacks built by the farmers themselves. I had them enclose that gentle slope with thorn bushes and brushwood to protect against wild animal attacks."

"As for prisoners of war, the captives brought back from Alsburg are locked in the sheds outside the fortress. Otto assigns two soldiers to guard them in rotation outside the sheds every day. Knowing their lives are safe, they have been relatively well-behaved."

"That concludes the general overview of the wooden fortress, My Lord." Cooper put away the birch bark and nodded toward Art.

"Cooper, I am very relieved to leave the various affairs of the fortress in your hands. The spring planting is now finished, and there are three rather important matters for the fortress to address. First, continue clearing wasteland; we must reclaim another one hundred acres of wasteland before the autumn harvest. Second, clear the road leading from the fortress to the edge of the northern dense forest. Our wagons have been stuck there all this time, and supplies have had to be carried into the fortress by hand and shoulder, which is highly inconvenient. The laborers for building this wagon road will be those fifteen prisoners of war. Although these captives have not committed many heinous acts and hold hope of regaining their status as free citizens, they must still be strictly guarded. Do not feed them to their fill on ordinary days, and we will reassess their status after a month based on their performance. You may have Lawrence assist you in managing the prisoners. Four of the captives are former villagers from Alsburg, whom Lawrence should be familiar with, making management easier. Third, gradually organize parties to go out and purchase grain. Handle these three tasks yourself; if manpower is lacking, I can have Otto arrange some soldiers to assist you."

"Lawrence, briefly report on the state of the fortress guard."

Lawrence, who was sitting at the left end of the table alongside Scott, was currently rubbing the mud off his boots with his hands. Not expecting Art to suddenly question him about the guard force, he stood up nervously and bowed to Art. "M—My Lord, you wish for me to speak?"

"Lawrence, there is no need to be nervous. Go ahead."

Lawrence took a quiet, calming breath and said, "Yes, My Lord. According to your orders, aside from the Scott brothers, I have selected five of the sturdiest men from among the farmers to join the fortress guard. The guard force now totals seven men, equipped with two short swords and seven short spears. We underwent intensive training for three days prior to the spring plowing and sowing, but since the time has been far too busy, I can only snatch moments during rainy days and nights to lead the members in some simple training. I—I don't really know much about training, so the guard force is mostly limited to driving away wild beasts and preventing animal attacks."

"Very well, that is fine. The original purpose of establishing the guard force is primarily to protect everyone from wild animal attacks. However, I am giving you an additional task: assist the old steward in maintaining order among the fortress residents. More vagrants will inevitably arrive here in the future, and some among them will surely be lawless troublemakers; you are to assist the old steward in dealing with such scum. Furthermore, during the agricultural lull, you may organize the young and able-bodied men among the residents to undergo some training. This is not compulsory for now; you may discuss it with the old steward."

"Additionally, appoint Scott as the deputy commander of the guard force. Both of you will primarily assist the old steward in managing the fortress and leading the residents in their work. You must also tighten the training of the guard force—after all, once the ranger detachment departs, you will be responsible for safeguarding the lives and safety of everyone in the valley. Your pay will be raised by one rank, matching that of a ranger detachment squad leader."

"Thank you, My Lord." Lawrence and Scott chorosed their gratitude.

Having settled the various miscellaneous affairs of the fortress, Art picked up his wooden cup filled with clear water and took a sip, turning his attention to the ranger detachment commanders seated on the right. "Otto, you are the second-in-command of the ranger detachment; briefly report on the situation."

Unlike Cooper, who could record everything on birch bark, Otto had to recall the details carefully for a moment before speaking. "My Lord, when the ranger detachment set out for Alsburg, there were twenty-one of us including yourself. In the battle to recapture Alsburg, we lost three soldiers: two from the first squad died in action, two were severely wounded from the second squad, and one died from the third squad. Of the two severely wounded soldiers, one has recovered and returned to active duty, while the other suffered a slashed face resulting in the loss of his left eye and can no longer return to service. The ranger detachment currently has four surviving officers and twelve soldiers remaining, plus the two wounded men. All of our squads are understrength. The twelve newly recruited laborers and miners began basic training over the past two days; they are easier to train than the raw recruits we previously gathered from vagrants, and I believe they can all be fully integrated into the ranger detachment."

"Regarding weaponry, our weapons suffered heavy wear and tear during the recapture of Alsburg, particularly wooden shields and swords. The disadvantage of our shields was glaring during this battle; post-battle tallies show thirteen wooden shields broken, four arming swords rendered unusable, five short spears snapped, along with two sets of leather armor and ten surcoats and cloaks torn. Lacking a blacksmith, we have no way to repair the damaged iron weapons. However, we also replenished our stocks from Alsburg with two sets of damaged leather armor, seven short spears, four short swords, two flails, a padded cloth armor, and a batch of uniforms, military boots, and belts, as well as a collection of heavily damaged weapons scavenged from the battlefield. After some patch-up work afterwards, our current weapons, leather and padded armor, surcoats, and cloaks are barely enough to equip twenty-five soldiers. The old carpenter is also stepping up the production of wooden shields and spear shafts..."

"Regarding military supplies, we currently have four military horses, two dark gray mules, an iron-reinforced four-wheeled wagon, three military tents, and miscellaneous items such as belts, water flasks, military boots, whetstones, and mess kits issued to the soldiers."

"As for military pay, over the two months and more since pay distribution began, we have disbursed nearly two thousand pennies in wages."

Otto had little else to add and concluded his report after briefly outlining the military's status.

Art then listened in turn to the reports given by Bass, Kazak, and Roon. They summarized the lessons learned from the battle of Alsburg, their recent training progress, and the morale of the soldiers, while proposing a modest increase in soldiers' pay.

"Very well. The reason I called you all here for a meeting today is that I have decided to set out tomorrow to recruit vagrants and soldiers for Baron Antayas. Furthermore, I need to survey the establishment of border outposts, and we must also scout out the situation regarding outlaws, mountain bandits, and robbers. I have already arranged the affairs within the fortress; now I will lay out the arrangements for the military."

"First, the military rewards for the battle of Alsburg are to be distributed, calculated at double the rewards given for the battle of Winchester Manor. Second, we will organize military training. Starting tomorrow, the military will step up its drills, focusing primarily on battle formation training and individual combat skills. After half a month of recruit training, Otto will be responsible for temporarily assigning them into the various squads; final personnel allocations will be settled after I return from outside. During this time, I want you to train them ruthlessly while strictly maintaining military discipline. I already briefed Otto on the specific training items and schedule this morning. Finally, tonight we will hold a military merit banquet. All soldiers who participated in the recapture of Alsburg will attend, along with Cooper, Lawrence, Scott, Bard, and the two wounded soldiers. The newly arrived laborers and miners will not attend, but meat dishes must still be prepared for them. I have already instructed Emma regarding this matter."

"That is all. Return to your respective duties."