Chapter 61: An Old Acquaintance in the Civilian Camp

  Chapter 61: An Old Acquaintance in Minfu Camp

  For cavalry, it is the most expensive and delicate type of troops.

  According to the current Byzantine Empire's standards, the cost of a cavalryman is at least seven times that of an infantryman - this is compared to heavy infantry, if it were light infantry, the gap would be even greater, around tenfold.

  First of all, as a cavalryman, the individual quality of soldiers must be far superior to that of infantrymen. A skilled cavalryman must master horse riding and combat skills on horseback. People who are proficient in one skill are generally more expensive than cheap labor, and this is true anywhere in the world.

  Secondly, the weapons and equipment of cavalrymen cost more than those of infantrymen - in any case, a four-meter-long lance consumes much more iron than a one-meter-long double-edged sword.

  What's more, there are also war horses! A high-quality war horse consumes more expensive fodder than a regular infantryman eats in terms of food. After all, an ordinary infantryman can fill his stomach with coarse grains. However, for war horses, if the fodder is not good enough, they will have no strength, be unable to run, and their load-carrying capacity will decrease, seriously affecting their combat effectiveness.

  The last one is to follow!

  Escorting is an indispensable link for cavalry. For a qualified cavalry, most of the time is spent on training horse riding, practicing horseback stabbing and other combat skills, performing theatrical formations, etc... In this case, you cannot expect the cavalry to take care of feeding war horses, taking care of horses, wiping and repairing damaged weapons every day...

  In the hierarchical system of the Byzantine Empire, the squires occupied an indispensable link in cavalry warfare. The status of a squire was even higher than that of ordinary auxiliary soldiers. Generally speaking, they had to be skilled in taking care of horses, making simple repairs to weapons and equipment, and more advanced squires also had to know some basic horsemanship. There were even cases where a squire would ride a horse equipped with weapons and armor to assist the cavalry on the battlefield.

  Xia Ya is an exception, as he himself has a considerable amount of combat power. If he were just an ordinary person, there would be absolutely no chance for him to directly become a regular soldier. A considerable number of cavalrymen start from the most basic auxiliary soldiers, and some are promoted from former attendants after a period of time.

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  About two miles south of the garrison of the 13th Cavalry Regiment is the auxiliary camp, where the auxiliary troops subordinate to the 13th Cavalry Regiment are stationed, including infantry guards, logistics, baggage and civilian camps.

  A considerable number of them were temporarily mobilized before each war.

  The civilian camp was the outermost one, and as soon as you walked in, you saw team after team of temporarily recruited strong men laboring hard, transporting bag after bag of military rations, bundle after bundle of arrow bundles, and knives and swords packed in long wooden boxes. Each of these civilians had a solemn expression on their face, with Byzantine soldiers pressing the hilt of their sword standing by to supervise them coldly.

  It can be imagined that a considerable number of these civilians were not voluntarily enlisted - such things are common in the army.

  Even if they were voluntarily recruited, when war comes, it is inevitable that some will flee due to panic.

  These civilians were all dull and dirty, wearing dirty robes. After Xia Ya and Kevin arrived here, Kevin immediately found a fat military officer from the military supplies department. It was obvious that Kevin and he were old acquaintances. In front of the general's personal soldiers, this fat military officer showed a flattering appearance, but Kevin's attitude towards him was very cold and disdainful, with a tone of speech that had a hard-to-conceal disgust.

  The fat officer's face was unexpectedly thick, completely ignoring the disdainful expression on Kevin's face, and his respectful smile didn't decrease by a single degree. After listening to Kevin's intentions, this guy immediately smiled obsequiously: "So it's selecting attendants... Don't worry, we've just recruited a batch of good guys, some of whom are skilled in blacksmithing, and others who have raised horses at home, they should all make good attendants. I'll take you to choose now."

  Kevin was somewhat dissatisfied: "How can a newly arrived civilian be a follower? Can't the auxiliary camp find someone suitable?"

  The fat officer's face showed a hint of difficulty: "This... the transportation team's escort mission is very heavy, and the auxiliary battalion's manpower was already very..."

  Xia Ya smiled and expressed his opinion: "It doesn't matter, let him be a civilian, anyway I don't need him to follow me onto the battlefield, as long as he can take care of the horses."

  Recalling Xia Ya's impressive combat strength, Kevin nodded in agreement and added, "It would be best if we could find someone who knows a bit of blacksmithing skills. Otherwise, it'll be troublesome if our weapons break."

  The fat officer walked in front and led the way, Xia Ya and Kevin followed behind. On the road, Xia Ya couldn't help but ask in a low voice: "You seem to dislike this guy?"

  Kevin looked at the back of the fat man in front of him and sneered in a low voice: "Hmph, most of these people in the military supplies department are just parasites and greedy rats. Our military funds, equipment, even our salaries, anything that passes through their hands, they won't let go without taking a cut!"

  Xia Ya was somewhat surprised: "Will such things happen in the 13th Cavalry Regiment? Don't the generals ask about it?"

  Kevin glanced at Xia Ya and smiled wryly: "Looks like you really need to learn the rules of the military." He paused, then sighed: "Although the logistics department is nominally affiliated with the military, it does not come under the direct command of combat troops. All logistical support is a self-contained system, directly commanded by the Imperial Military Department's Logistics Division. Each independent imperial regular army, such as our battalion-level troops, also has its own logistics transport regiment, but only responsible for transportation. During wartime, a special logistics camp will be established in the war zone to provide unified supplies to all troops. The military rations and supplies that are normally stocked in the troops are usually only enough for half a month's consumption, requiring continuous replenishment by the logistics department... The military won't let us hoard too many supplies..." He lowered his voice: "This is the tradition of the Byzantine Empire's military, it's said that this system is to prevent military mutiny! An army with only half a month's worth of supplies can hardly mutiny!"

  Looking at the back of that fat officer in front, this guy's fat ass kept twisting and turning as he walked. Kevin was so angry that his teeth itched: "Look at this guy, who is as fat as a pig, and doesn't know how much oil and water he has embezzled on a daily basis! Hmph... But they belong to the logistics department of the war zone, and even generals can't effectively suppress them. They can only be killed when their handles are found. However, the empire's logistics system has always been corrupt... Hmph, now the Minister of Military Logistics of the Imperial Ministry of War, Count Moriyak, is the biggest corrupt official in the empire!! The highest superiors above are all corrupt officials, and naturally, the people below are all learning from them layer by layer!"

  Looking at Xia Ya's thoughtful appearance, Kevin sighed: "Don't look at this guy being polite to us, it's because we are the general's personal soldiers. Moreover, last month the general just caught an opportunity to cut off a logistics department rat directly, we are the empire's ace army, those guys are intimidated by the general's prestige, so they dare not be presumptuous, and their greedy movements have been slightly restrained."

  Xia Ya didn't say a word, but in her heart, she recalled what was written in that old man's book...

  The separation of command over logistics supply and combat troops is indeed an effective way to prevent military leaders from becoming too powerful and rebelling, as the book says. But why does this phenomenon still occur?

  "How can it be... that embezzling military funds is not even handled by the Military Law Department?" Xia Ya finally couldn't help but ask.

  "Count Moriyak is a relative of the Emperor, which military court dares to provoke him? Even the most corrupt officials do not dare to investigate, and naturally those below will be fearless." Kevin hummed and glanced at Xia Ya: "Don't say such things again, lest you stir up trouble."

  As expected, Kevin was right. This fat officer, although seemingly humble and respectful on the surface, had a somewhat hypocritical tone when it came to doing things.

  He led Kevin and Xia to a camp of the Minfu Army, looking at the hundred or so Minfu gathered in front of him - these guys didn't even know where they were recruited from, each with a dull face, eyes numb, and empty gaze... More importantly, the old were old, the young were young, and the only few strong men looked stupid...

  Kevin immediately expressed his dissatisfaction and angrily said: "Is this the suitable candidate you were talking about?"

  That fat officer had a smile on his face, but a strange glint flashed in his eyes: "Of course! They may look silly, but they're absolutely honest and will never run away!"

  "Bastard!" Kevin's eyebrow twitched, his face revealing a ferocious killing intent: "Are you messing with me? I want qualified attendants! How can these guys be up to the task? How dare they entrust the cavalry's warhorses to people like this?"

  "They are all farmers, they have experience in feeding livestock, there should be no problem." The fat officer spread his hands: "I've said it before, now people are tight, I don't have many ways either."

  Kevin was about to erupt, and Xia Ya beside him was also indignant - the temper of the turtle was not so good, he had already clenched his fists, only waiting for Kevin to make a move, then he would go up and give this fat officer a punch.

  Just then, a scream came from beside him.

  "Ah!! Don't hit me! Don't hit me! I won't run again!!"

  A mournful cry with a sobbing tone, following the sound, I saw a thin and weak man wearing a tattered robe being kicked to the ground by two military supply soldiers. One soldier held a whip in his hand, scolding and whipping the man's body.

  The man on the ground had several holes in his robe, with a messy hair and a dirty face, shouting loudly with a shrill voice. His hands were desperately crawling forward on the ground, but the whip still kept falling on his back.

  This guy suddenly caught sight of Xia Ya standing not far away, and his eyes instantly burst out with radiance, mustering all his strength to jump up, rushing over quickly, shouting: "Xia Ya! Master Xia Ya! It's me, it's me! Ahh! Save me, hurry up and save me!!"

  He had just finished shouting when he was kicked down again by a soldier who rushed up from behind and rolled around on the ground in a ball.

  Xia Ya was stunned for a moment, then quickly ran over, pushed open the two soldiers, and looked at this guy on the ground...

  "Yi? Is it you?" Xia Ya's eyes widened in surprise.

  "It's me! It's me, I'm Xia Ya Lao Ye! I am Duoduo Luo..." This poor skinny guy had a face covered in snot and tears.

  It was that magician who had been sold by Shaya to the poor bug for a single gold coin. Who knows how he ended up in the civilian camp...

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  Cough, that's all for today... Please forgive me, hehe, it's the weekend, I'm going out to have some fun too. It's all about balance between work and rest, isn't it?

  See you tomorrow at 3 am!!!

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