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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: Bobto
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When coming, I came with Helmut, Varso, Ella, 4 escort soldiers, and a few carts full of sugar, but when returning, the procession was much larger.
There were 8 carts of 500 kilograms containing gambeson armor and weapons to equip the peasants, one cart of high-quality tools, 6 carts carrying slaves, 1 cart of food to eat on the way back, and 2 carts of hay.
When ordering from the merchants under the Doge, I only vaguely thought there would be a lot, but actually seeing it was overwhelming.
I thought that if the carts were just lined up in a single row, it would be about 30 meters long.
Due to the lengthened procession, it took a whole 2 weeks to return to Windheim.
And after returning, I immediately mobilized all the slaves and put them to work making sugar.
Despite providing better food and working conditions compared to other slaves, the slaves initially had no intention of working hard at all.
Varso, who watched this, got angry and asked, “Shouldn’t those ungrateful slaves be whipped or given a big punishment?”
That’s how little they worked.
So when I promised to give them the ‘right to cultivate land like peasants after working for 10 years’ as an incentive, they suddenly became diligent in their work.
If they continue to work like this, we could make not 200 but 300 carts of sugar.
They said they would buy as much as we make, which is great for us.
We’ll earn money with sugar, and now that we have an abundance of food, the territory reform should go well too.
Today, I should sleep in until the sun is high in the sky for a change..
**
My liege lord, Young Master Ciel von Kreutel, was not originally capable enough to display such exceptional achievements.
However, it’s not that his abilities were inferior compared to the young masters of other noble families.
Rather, he was among the outstanding ones compared to the young masters of other noble families.
He had martial arts skills good enough to enter the Knight Academy, which is difficult to enter even for noble families.
According to other stewards and administrators, they heard that he would be able to adapt well even if he went to a place like the Administration Academy.
He resembled his father, His Excellency Kreutel, in respecting knights older than him and not treating stewards or maids recklessly.
Furthermore, he even had the kindness to consider the lowly peasants.
So all of us retainers, including myself, sincerely respected and followed him.
However, a few years ago, when he rebelled, no, refused to go to the academy even after being accepted, something changed.
While lost in such thoughts, I felt someone tapping my back behind me.
“Varso, where did Helmut and the other mercenaries go?”
I turned around, looked at the young master, and replied,
“They went to eat now.”
“I see, when do you think they’ll be back?”
“They’ll probably be back soon.
They started cooking about an hour ago.”
The young master nodded and replied,
“Alright, got it.
They won’t come back drunk when there’s training today, right?”
“Yes, young master.
No matter how much those guys like alcohol, they won’t drink before training.”
He started to keep a slight distance from me compared to before, and he no longer showed a slightly timid appearance in front of His Excellency Kreutel.
Although it’s a bit regrettable that he’s trying to keep a distance from me, who has been serving him for several years, it still feels cool to see him showing a confident appearance since he was injured.
“Then let’s go now, Varso. Hurry.
When they come back after eating, they’ll go straight to the village training ground.”
“Yes, young master.”
**
On the way to the training ground, the village I looked around had already changed incomparably from when we first came to this territory.
When Bailiff Mars was here, the eyes of the villagers were all sunken, and they were so poor that they couldn’t even mend their clothes with holes unless it was unavoidable.
They lived with holes in the walls of their houses without being able to fix them, and there was not even enough food in the villagers’ barns or houses to last until winter.
But now, hope for tomorrow could be seen in the eyes of the village peasants, and although the clothes were a bit old, no one was wearing clothes with holes like before.
Of course, no one lived in a house with holes, and there were cows or horses in the barns, and enough food was stored in the houses to last at least until next year.
While walking a peasant carrying a basket full of bread saw the young master, he smiled brightly, bowed deeply, and greeted him.
“Young master, hello.”
Usually, the young master would just wave his hand slightly and pass by the peasant who greeted him, but he stopped for a moment and replied to the peasant.
“Hello, how are you doing?
If there’s anything inconvenient, please tell me.”
“No, young master.
Thanks to you, I’m eating such good bread every day.”
Upon hearing those words, the young master pointed to one of the loaves of bread and asked with a smile,
“Then, may I have a taste?”
“Yes, young master.”
The young master split that bread in half and offered it to me to eat.
When I bit into the bread I received.
The nuttiness of rye and wheat and a slight sweetness spread subtly in my mouth.
After finishing the bread, the young master said with a smile,
“It’s delicious bread.
I’ll be going now.”
“Thank you for enjoying it, young master.”
And the young master hurried his steps back to the training ground.
After getting some distance away, the young master asked me,
“Varso, do you know why I purposely accepted that peasant’s greeting and ate the bread?”
“No. I don’t know.”
Then the young master sighed and said,
“That peasant is the next village chief of Hans Village.
Therefore, even though I am their lord, I thought it would be better to show a good side rather than treating him like other peasants.”
For a moment, I was surprised that the young master, who is the lord, remembered the face of a mere next village chief, not even the current village chief.
No matter how much the population here is only about 3,000, there is no need for the young master, who is the lord, to purposely memorize the faces of such lowly beings.
Nevertheless, the young master even memorized the faces of such beings…
“Then, he will surely go back and boast, ‘The young master remembered me.’
Of course, when his father hears that story, he will be more loyal, thinking that the young master cherishes us like this.”
“… I see.”
“If you are a lord governing such a small territory, you have to do at least this much.
The young master said it was just ‘this much’…
But many other lords I knew didn’t even make that much effort in the young master’s position.
If they memorize the faces of the bailiffs who govern the villages, it means they are interested in the territory.
Therefore, perhaps it is because he showed this aspect that the peasants of the village follow the young master even when he sometimes ‘moves too far ahead’?
The numerous achievements accumulated by the lord, his meticulous attention to the peasants, these things must have created a miracle.
Looking at it that way, the young master has indeed matured…
**
When I arrived at the training ground, the mercenaries were standing there with tense expressions.
At the very front, Helmut was wearing half plate armor, and next to him was a cart containing the weapons and armor I had brought.
A little distance away, young peasants were standing.
A moment later, from afar, Helmut saw the young master and approached first to greet him.
“You’re here, young master.”
“Good work. So, no problems?”
“Yes, I explained it well to the other mercenaries.”
“Good, Start doing it then.”
As soon as those words were heard, the mercenaries in front of Helmut each took out the gambeson armor, helmets, and weapons from the cart.
After everyone put on helmets and gambeson armor, some mercenaries took spears over 4 meters long, others took shields and swords, and some took large shields and crossbows.
“Attention!”
When Helmut’s loud voice echoed through the training ground, the gazes of all the peasants turned in that direction.
After confirming that, Helmut smiled for a moment, then continued speaking.
“From now on, stand in front of the mercenary holding the weapon you want!
Then you will learn how to handle that weapon.
Once you choose, you cannot change your mind, so decide carefully!”
As soon as he finished speaking, the peasants all began to move in front of the weapon they wanted.
The peasants, probably wanting to be armed with cool-looking weapons if they were going to receive military training anyway, almost all went and stood near the mercenaries holding shields and swords.
A few who looked a bit smarter stood in front of those with crossbows.
Stupid guys, shields and swords may look cool, but the ones who die the most are those guys with swords.
The guys with spears may look dangerous standing at the very front and forming a wall, but when the infantry forms a line together, they all die trying to break through that.
A little later, Helmut must have also thought that it would be a big problem if they were organized like this, so he sighed deeply and said,
“Swords and shields are good, but spears aren’t bad either.
No, they’re even safer than swords, so how about thinking about it again?”
At those words, the peasants began to stir.
“… But aren’t swords cooler than spears?”
“That’s right, that’s right.
And why do you see soldiers using swords die less than those using spears even when they’re occasionally dragged into war?”
“The bounty that comes out occasionally is also higher…”
“But didn’t Sir Helmut also say that those using spears are a bit safer…”
“It’s a tough choice.”
After stirring for a while like that, except for the guys who looked a bit sturdy, everyone moved to the side using spears.
I also chose like that when I picked a weapon in the past…
Now I can use them all.
While lost in such memories and watching the guys receiving training, the young master approached me.
“Young master?”
“You go and help too.
It’ll be hard for Helmut alone.”
“I’m going to watch how they train those guys and intervene in the middle.
Because the way they train is different from what I learned.”
The young master made a dumbfounded expression upon hearing my words.
He seemed to not quite understand why there would be a difference in what we learned when the basics should be the same in terms of training to wield swords and spears.
“Young master, Helmut over there is a case of being a mercenary in the Genovian Republic and then coming over here, and I came after being a mercenary in Frantz.
And we belonged to different mercenary guilds, so it won’t be helpful if I thoughtlessly help.”
Only then did the young master nod as if he understood.
“I see.
Oh, the training is finally starting.”
“Yes, let’s watch.”
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When it comes to the argument of spears vs swords, 9 times out of 10, the spear is the better option. Especially in use in battles with formation, with rows and rows of spearman. A video by YouTuber Lindybeige “Spears are better than swords” explains this in detail.