Chapter 121
After Capus was promoted, the Devers suggested that the 20 branch captains from the five companies under the jurisdiction of the 1st Brigade be the candidates for the position of company captain. The Devers were surprised when they heard the results. Martonis was elected for two reasons. Firstly, he was very protective of his men, so the soldiers loved him. Secondly, he was very brave and was respected by the soldiers.
The 2nd Brigade was made up of the mercenaries brought by Dracos, Sesta, and Adrianx. Since Dracos had the most mercenaries and he was very brave and tenacious, he was the leader of the three during battles. Therefore, Dracos was the captain. Sesta and Adrianx were the captains of the 1st and 2nd Companies of the 2nd Brigade.
The 3rd Brigade was made up of the 6th and 7th Companies of the Devers' mercenaries (mainly the soldiers who joined the expeditionary force in Byzantium), the original citizens of Amendarra, the slaves in the supply camp who had been converted into free citizens of the city-state, and a small number of mercenaries brought by Dracos. The captain was Hieronymus. He had been the captain of the mercenaries in Persia, and this time, he was reinstated. The captain of the 1st Company of the 3rd Brigade was Agathia.
Then, there was the 7th Brigade, the Light Infantry Brigade. The captain was Epthenis, and he was also the captain of the 1st Company. The captain of the 2nd Company was Cspit, and the captain of the 3rd Company was Alpines. There were more than 600 people in total.
In addition, there was the captain of the Cavalry Brigade, Ledes.
The Devers also made strict rules for the helmets of the officers of each rank. The helmet of the Company Captains had to have white tassels, the helmet of the Company Captains had to be red, the helmet of the Battalion Captains had to be purple, and the helmet of the Legion Captains had to be red, white, and purple. At the same time, it was also stipulated that the tassels of the officers' helmets had to be arranged from the front to the back. Of course, the Devers only made the rules. The national treasury didn't have the money to help the officers change their helmets, so they had to rely on themselves.
However, as soon as the rules came out, the officers immediately took out their money and tried to go to the weapon shops in Heraclea or Turií. There were so many things to do in Amendarra at the moment, so there weren't any weapon shops. This was the honor of the soldiers. In the Devers' previous life, they had always thought that the tall tassels on the helmets of the ancient western generals were just for show and to show their status. After more than half a year of battle experience, Davis knew that it was necessary to dress up like this: In a fierce battle between both sides, the formation would easily become chaotic if the battle dragged on. Once the soldiers broke away from the team and lost their organization, they could look for the military flags in the dense forest, and they could also find the team officers through the towering and gorgeous tassels of their hats. They could then automatically move closer to the officers, reorganize the formation, and restore their combat effectiveness. However, if there was a battle, the Captains of the Captains, the commander of the commander, and the commander of the Captains could easily. This was similar to the military ranking system in his previous world. However, in the era of cold weapons, if the insignia of a general's rank was inlaid on the shoulders, then even the sharpest soldier's eyes wouldn't be able to see it on the dusty battlefield.
… …
Early in the morning, the citizens and freedmen of Amendarra came to the square, fully armed.
The freedmen had just been freed from slavery and didn't have the money to buy weapons and equipment.
However, after the defeat of the Turií, in order for the Devers to continue defending the Xubari Plain and contain the Lucanians, the Turií gifted the mercenaries thousands of complete sets of weapons and equipment. After annihilating the Lucanian coalition, the mercenaries looted nearly ten thousand sets of armor from thousands of corpses, including the burned Lucanian camp. Of course, these weapons and equipment belonged to all the mercenaries and shouldn't be kept in the Armory of Amendarra.
The officers had a heated discussion on how to distribute these spoils of war, and the consensus was that they should sell the spoils of war and distribute the money equally to every soldier. The Devers made their own suggestion: the injured and disabled soldiers should open a weapons shop in the market of Amendarra, specializing in repairing and selling the weapons and equipment captured in battle. The profits would be used to subsidize the lives of the soldiers who were injured or disabled in battle.
This suggestion was immediately approved by the officers. When the soldiers found out about it, they were all grateful to the Devers. After all, no one could guarantee that they wouldn't be injured in battle in the future, and with these "disability subsidies", they were less worried about battle.
Therefore, a large weapon shop quickly opened up in the market and introduced its own signature 'Army'. The shop was very big and had a lot of weapons and equipment. Considering that a full set of heavy infantry equipment was worth 400 to 600 Drachmas, it was not cheap, so it was allowed to rent. Even though the rent was not a small amount, the freedmen were still willing to rent it because they knew that only by joining the army and participating in battle could they quickly become citizens and obtain land! At the same time, being a soldier was the glory of a citizen and the best way for the freedmen to quickly improve their status in the city!
But where would the money for the rent come from? The freedmen did not worry for long. They soon found out that a bank called "Krystoya" had opened in the market. The interest was extremely low (compared to the interest of loans in the Greek city-states at that time), and everyone knew that Krystoya was the wife of the Archon Devers. These freedmen who had accompanied mercenaries to battle for thousands of miles knew the character of the Devers, and they resolutely borrowed money from this bank. This became the first loan from Krystoya's bank.
Now, after the soldiers arrived at the square, they found their own squads and began to gather into their respective squads under the leadership of their respective squad leaders. Then, they merged into the company, forming small phalanxes, and finally entered the designated area of the brigade in order. The whole process was a little slow, but it was not chaotic. Finally, they formed three large phalanxes in an orderly manner.
Only the Third Brigade was still in formation …
On the stage, Felicius saw Dyvers frowning slightly and hurriedly said, "Sir, the origin of the soldiers of the Third Brigade is the most complicated, especially the freedmen who have never received military training before, and the original citizens of Amendolar have not received strict training either, so —"
The Devers interrupted him, "I understand, so Hieronymus has a heavy responsibility. I heard that he asked for many veterans from the First Brigade, and even the usually amiable Capus is anxious with him. "
"Yes, Sir. Hieronymus is also anxious. He is a very responsible person! "Felicius explained tactfully.
The Devers smiled, "He is a soldier, so he must be serious and not admit defeat. I believe that Hieronymus will quickly let the Third Brigade catch up!"
Then, he asked again, "Are the Lucarians here?"
"Yes." Felicius pointed to a small slope in the southeast corner of the square and said worriedly, "Sir, there are eight to nine hundred of them. If they do anything —"
"That's good!" The Devers said disapprovingly, "The soldiers in the square can annihilate them nearby. I don't think Vesba and his son are that stupid. Besides, even the women of their tribe have become the wives of our citizens, and most of them are here today to cheer for their husbands … "
The Devers looked at the slope in the distance and ordered, "Beat the drums."
The drummers waved the drumsticks and began to beat the big drums in front of them rhythmically.
Dong! Dong! Dong! Hearing the drums, the soldiers in the square began to move on the spot and continued to adjust their formation. When all four square formations were in place, the footsteps also sounded in unison. Boom! Boom! Boom! The magnificent footsteps startled the mountain birds and sent the wild beasts scurrying away. It was like thunder in the sky, causing the mountains to tremble …
Colnerus and the other old citizens were shocked, and they muttered to themselves, "This is … this is the army that shocked Persia and annihilated the Lucanians! As expected … as expected! "
Seeing this, most of the Lucanians' faces turned pale, and they fell silent.
The women and children outside the square cheered loudly in excitement.
The Devers felt the tremors of the mountain and hurriedly waved his hand, signaling for them to stop.
The drummers hit the drum twice and then let go. Soon, the square became silent, as if the loud noise had never happened. A free citizen's throat was itching, and he had just coughed when the veteran captain next to him glared at him fiercely.
The Devers took two steps forward on the stage. "Brothers!"
The people below the stage shouted in unison, "Devers!"
"Have you enjoyed your happy life these past few days?!"
"Yes!"
"I'm just afraid that life is too good, and your feet will turn to jelly, and you won't be able to wield your spears and shields!"
The soldiers all laughed ambiguously.
"Many of you have fought with me in Persia and made a name for yourselves! Then, you followed me to Greece, defeated the Lucanian Alliance, and made a dazzling contribution! Now, you are all citizens of Amendolara, and this is a new beginning! From now on, you will protect Amendolara, develop Amendolara, and expand Amendolara to create eternal glory for your descendants! "the Devers said passionately.
The soldiers waved their spears up and down, and they shouted in unison in excitement.
"Victory!"
"Victory!"
"Victory!"
…
"You are not a soldier, why are you so happy?" Strompoli could not help but say when he saw Anticles raising his remaining left hand and cheering with the excited citizens.
"This is a real army! This is the army that we, Amendolara, have been longing for! " Anticles said excitedly. He glanced at his missing right arm, and his expression dimmed again. "It's a pity that I can't go to war with them anymore …"
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