High-capacity quick-draw magazines (4)
Vector is a very rich and important land.
It is nonsense to leave such a land without chivalry.
No matter how much it is under the king’s direct jurisdiction, troops are needed to drive out bandits or maintain public order.
The knights Baren spoke of were like commanders who oversaw the troops in the territory.
They were originally the people of the king, but along with the estate, they became Chris’s.
Therefore, the oath of allegiance to the new owner must be accompanied by a swearing-in ceremony.
“How many knights are there? Aren’t you supposed to give a fief at the swearing-in ceremony?”
“There are two knights who will receive the ordination ceremony. Living on a salary, not a fief, and a little inexperienced, but talented young people… … .”
Chris swallowed a laugh as Baren’s enthusiastic explanation flowed in one ear.
It is the yolk land of Basilonia, a strong knight country, but there are only two knights.
Well, Vector is located in the heart of Basilonia, so you won’t need very many troops.
After all, having more articles will only increase your expenses.
Chris, who thought so positively, was satisfied with the number of two and gave permission to Baren.
“Let’s deal with it quickly as it has already been said. Can we run it right now?”
“of course.”
Varen bowed his head and left the office immediately.
* * *
Contrary to Chris’ expectations, the knight ordination ceremony was held with great grandeur and splendor even for two knights.
A headwind from his previous lord’s inauguration celebration that had been ridiculously reduced.
Baren explained that he had to show off the dignity of the lord to the citizens at least once.
The soldiers lined up in the yard of Yeongju Castle to welcome the swearing-in ceremony were armed with discipline today.
As Vectortor’s guard and standing army, they were quite satisfactory to Chris.
The miners who work in the salt mines make good money, but the work is tough, whereas the Gnostic Soldiers are in the middle of Basilonia, so they don’t have much to fight for.
Of course, there are frequent wars with Breton, but at that time, all of them, whether they are professional soldiers or not, are dragged away.
Besides, on the battlefield, well-trained professional soldiers have a much better chance of surviving.
Because of this, Vector’s soldier is a very popular occupation among citizens.
The men who volunteered to be soldiers because they did not want to enter the mine put all their strength into not to look bad for the new lord.
Chris, who took Tyrone and Elesis out into the yard, marveled at the number of slightly over 100 people.
Tyrone, on the other hand, can’t hide his disappointment.
“Hey, what kind of standing army are 100 each… … .”
“Huh? for a moment. Is there only this much?”
The two, who showed conflicting reactions, stared blankly at each other for a while.
Both looked as if they couldn’t understand what the other was saying.
They start arguing quietly so that no one else can hear them.
“Hey, only 100 standing troops. The population here is 10,000, so there should be about 1,000?”
“Even if it’s not that, shouldn’t it be about 300? What are you going to do with 100 people? Since it happened like this, you pick more.”
“oh my… … .”
Chris pointed to his temple, realizing that Korea’s public education had failed miserably.
The ratio of the standing army in Korea, a modern country, is a little over 1%, but I would never have thought to say that we should use 3% of the total population as a standing army.
After seeing such a reaction, Tyrone, who is furious, pushes forward his argument by making his own evidence.
“3% of the total population supports one soldier for every 33 citizens. Even taking into account the taxes I pay to you, it’s about one in 30 people, so it’s quite possible… … .”
“You bastard, you’ve been quiet lately, and suddenly you’re talking crazy? You man, do you know what the tax rate for our estate is?”
Chris, who couldn’t stand Tyrone’s nonsense, interrupted and began to explain.
As he said, one soldier for every 30 citizens seems plausible, but the reality is not.
He was completely ignoring the concept of a workforce.
“Just because there are 10,000 Yeongjimins doesn’t mean that all 10,000 people can do production activities. First of all, if you exclude the elderly, young children, and infants who do not work, about 20% will be lost.”
“Twenty percent? The average life expectancy here is short and the time to start working is early, so up to 20%… … .”
“I said that with that in mind.”
If this were Korea, more than 30% would have evaporated instead of 20%.
Chris folds the fingers of both hands one by one and continues the calculation.
“Well, that’s how there are 8,000 left. However, the remaining 8,000 people are not always 100% efficient. First of all, women can be half as efficient as men. Since Vector is a mining town, I don’t think I can actually pay half of it, but let’s say that for now.”
Chris folded two more fingers as he explained while observing Elesis next to him.
As a result, there are six fingers extended.
He folded two more there.
“The people of Basilonia are often mobilized for war against the Breton Empire. Of course, the salt mines have to stop working during the war. If you work in the mines, there will be a lot of injured people… Taking this into consideration, I’m a little more concerned. In fact, even the elderly and infants, who were excluded earlier, are rather negative in terms of economy.”
The remaining population is 4,000.
Even this much, the situation is similar to what Tyrone argued earlier.
Since there are 100 standing troops in the territory, one soldier is supported for every 40 citizens.
Tyrone admitted he was wrong around that time.
“I get it, I get it. It was so different from what I was used to seeing in Breton.”
“How many colonies do they have… I think 100 standing troops is a bit too many.”
If there was no profit from the salt mine, would it have barely filled 50 people, let alone 100 people?
Even though the tax rate in the Middle Ages was at the level of being robbed and eaten by the lord, leaving only bones and flesh.
After the two of them chatted, the main characters of the day appeared at the entrance of the inner sanctuary.
Two knights in polished plate armor enter on horseback, dismount from a distance and enter the ranks of soldiers.
Chris almost instinctively examines the equipment of the two and enters into an evaluation.
‘There are many small scratches on the armor, but they are not from the battlefield. It would be cumbersome and difficult to train while wearing sheet metal, but he does it well. The handle of the knife also seems to be quite long… … .’
As Baren said, the two knights were quite young.
As expected of a talent chosen as a knight, he has a strong physique, but a youthful look remains on his face.
“If you are a talented person who can be used as a commander, there is no way you will come to me… So what is the second category?”
“huh? What are you talking about?”
Illesis asked softly as Chris let out his thoughts involuntarily.
It’s been a long time since I’ve been with the two of them, so it seems like it’s become a habit to explain like this.
Chris sighed softly and quickly exhaled.
“It’s just a way of classifying articles.”
The knights of this world are largely divided into two categories.
The first is those who take on the role of a commander on the battlefield, such as Elrom or Frederick.
Direct combat is also a case, but it is a case that puts more weight on strategy and tactics.
But if they had such talent, Frederick couldn’t have given them up.
Therefore, the knights now being ordained belong to the second category.
Like Chris and other warriors, they are active as tactical weapons by accumulating mana.
Hearing his words, Illesis clapped her hands lightly.
“Then isn’t that more talented than the first one? Being selected as a knight is only possible when you show buds.”
“What do you do if you have talent? Even if the second type of die training, it’s hard to deal with a single player, let alone a six king level.”
After the popularity of player summoning spells, the second class of knights were driven to the brink of extinction.
The knights in front of Chris right now are mere morons who were born in the wrong era.
It was burdensome to keep fostering them, but they couldn’t be abandoned, so Chris took on the role.
The knights who approached him were also aware of this, and they bowed their heads without hesitation to him, one of the players who had eliminated their place.
Chris accepts their oath of allegiance with a rather mixed feeling.
“It is an honor to meet Count Vector, our master. I am Jack Lake from Vector.”
“Hulin Mountain, also from Vector. I am happy to offer the sword to the Count.”
Seeing that they were from Vector, it was clear that they were knights from commoners.
Although he has a family name, it doesn’t seem like he was born aristocrat, seeing as he is a mountain or a lake.
Perhaps it was received together when he was ordained before.
Hagi Knight It is also difficult to assign a knight from aristocrats to the player lord.
Chris responded skillfully to their greetings.
“Welcome. I am also glad to have men like you. Jack and Hulin, will you defend my land and people from now on and obey my orders?”
Chris, who was ordained a knight as a shield knight, made use of his experience at that time to proceed with the ordination of the two.
Baren watched him and opened his eyes wide.
I couldn’t believe it when I rejected my education earlier, but I thought I would have known about the knight ordination ceremony, which is the exclusive property of nobles.
After all, it seemed that it was no coincidence that he showed the culture of a nobleman the other day.
‘Madame Illesis wouldn’t have taught me until the knight ordination ceremony… Could it be that you went to Seidran Royal?’
There were few places where non-nobles could learn the culture of nobility.
Coincidentally, his spouse and colleague Illesis was from Seidran, so the source is likely to be Seidran Royal. Baren thought so and noticed the truth.
Chris took the swords of the two knights whether he did it or not, finished the ordination ceremony, and moved to the banquet hall.
The two knights, who had been stiff even after the ceremony, revealed their original personalities after drinking a little.
Although both of them were nobles, they were of low rank and were not the eldest sons, so there was nothing condescending about them.
Tyrone, who couldn’t hear the noisy song, leaned over to Chris and asked a small question.
“By the way, I don’t have a position or something?”
“Why, would you be in charge of managing the ghost horse? He must be having a good time in the stable anyway.”
Chris half-jokes back, and Tyrone pokes his lips.
As soon as their chatter ended, one of the armored knights fell with a loud noise.
Originally, such a banquet should have been enjoyed after changing into casual clothes, but there was no time to do so because I participated right after the ordination ceremony was over.
“Oh, it’s hard to move while wearing armor… … .”
The knight who fell to the floor, Hulin grumbled, and Jack, who was next to him, gave him a bruise.
“you idiot. The lord is looking at you, what are you doing? Get drunk quickly and pretend you fell.”
“Ah, that will do. Are you smarter than you look? I’m sorry, my lord. I’m not normally this messed up… … .”
Fresh scratches were engraved on Hulin’s armor, which he got up with the help of the gnostic soldiers.
Upon seeing this, Chris suddenly felt a headache and closed his eyes tightly.
The scratches that had previously been thought to have been caused by day and night training began to look a little different now.
“Chris, why? My eyes suddenly died… … .”
“never mind.”
Chris sighed in response, feeling a little tired.