For such arms as cavalry, it is the most expensive and delicate arms.
According to the current level of the Byzantine Empire, the cost of a cavalryman is at least seven times that of an infantryman—this is still compared with heavy armored infantry. If it is an ordinary light infantry, the difference will be widened to about ten times.
First of all, as a cavalry, the individual quality of a soldier must be far better than that of an infantry. A skilled cavalry must be proficient in horsemanship and horse fighting skills. People who are good at one skill are always more expensive than cheap labor. It's the same anywhere in the world.
Second, cavalry weapons and equipment cost more than infantry equipment—in any case, a four-meter-long lance would consume far more iron than a one-meter-long double-edged sword.
After all, there are horses! The food consumed by a high-class war horse on weekdays is even more expensive than the food eaten by an ordinary infantryman! After all, an ordinary infantryman can only fill his stomach with coarse grains. However, for war horses, if the feed they eat is not good enough, they will have no strength, unable to run, and their load-bearing capacity will be reduced, which will seriously affect their combat effectiveness.
The last one is the squire!
The squires are an indispensable link for the cavalry. For a qualified cavalry, most of the time is spent on training horsemanship, practicing combat skills such as horse assassination, acting in formations, etc... In such a situation, you can't expect the cavalry to take care of the horses and take care of the horses every day. , wiping and repairing worn out weapons, etc...
In the strict hierarchical system of the Byzantine Empire, squires occupied an indispensable part in cavalry combat, and the status of a squire was even higher than that of ordinary auxiliary soldiers. Generally speaking, they had to be good at taking care of them. Horses, simple repairing of weapons and equipment, more advanced squires, must also have some basic equestrian skills, and even a squire appeared on horseback equipped with weapons and equipment to assist the cavalry to fight together on the battlefield.
Xia Ya is a special case, because he himself has quite good fighting ability. If he is just an ordinary person, there is absolutely no chance for him to become a soldier directly. A considerable part of the cavalry started from the most basic auxiliary soldiers, and some were squires in the past, and they were promoted to cavalry after a period of time.
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To the south of the 13th Cavalry Regiment, about two miles away, is the auxiliary battalion. Here are the auxiliary arms belonging to the 13th Cavalry Regiment, infantry guards and auxiliary soldiers, logistics, baggage, and civilian battalions, etc. .
A considerable number of them were temporarily recruited before each war.
The Minfu Camp is the furthest camp. When I walked in here, I saw teams of men who were temporarily recruited toiling hard, carrying bags of rations and bundles of arrows. There are also swords, weapons, etc., which are shipped in long wooden boxes. Each of these civilians had a solemn expression, and there were Byzantine soldiers holding the hilt of their swords to supervise them with indifferent eyes.
It is conceivable that a considerable number of these civilians were not drafted voluntarily - this kind of thing is common in the army.
And even if they are recruited voluntarily, when the war comes, it is inevitable that there will be escapees due to panic.
These civilians were all disgraced and wore dirty robes. After Xi Ya came here with Kevin, Kevin immediately found a fat military officer. It can be seen that Kevin and him are old acquaintances. In the face of the general's personal soldiers, this fat quartermaster showed obvious flattery, but Kevin's attitude towards him was very indifferent and disdainful, and there was something in his words. An indescribable disgust.
The fat officer's face was surprisingly thick, he completely ignored the disdainful expression on Kevin's face, and he had a respectful smile on his face. : "It turned out to be a selection of squires... Please rest assured, we have just recruited a group of good guys, some of them are good at blacksmith craftsmanship, and some of them have raised horses in their own family. I think they will be good squires. I'll bring them here. You go to choose."
Kevin was a little dissatisfied: "How can a newcomer be a squire? Can't we find a suitable person in the auxiliary barracks?"
The fat officer's face showed a look of embarrassment: "This... the escort task of the transport team is very heavy, and the manpower of the auxiliary barracks is already very..."
Xia Ya smiled in a timely manner and expressed his opinion: "It doesn't matter, the husband of the people is the husband of the people. Anyway, I don't need a squire to accompany me to fight on the battlefield, as long as I can take care of the horses."
Thinking of Xi Ya's powerful combat power, Kevin was relieved. He reluctantly nodded in agreement, and added: "It's best to find someone who knows a little bit of blacksmith craftsmanship, otherwise, it will be troublesome if the weapon is damaged."
The fat officer led the way, while Xiaya and Kevin followed. On the way, Xiaya couldn't help but ask in a low voice, "You seem to hate this guy?"
Kevin looked at the back of the fat man in front and sneered in a low voice: "Hmph, most of the people in the quarters are worms and greedy mice. Our military resources, weapons and equipment, and even military salaries, are all hands-on. They don't have anything that doesn't stick to oil and water!"
Xia Ya was a little surprised: "This kind of thing happens in the 13th cavalry regiment? Don't the generals ask?"
Kevin glanced at Xia Ya and laughed: "It seems that you really need to learn the rules of the army." After a pause, he sighed: "Although the quarters are all nominally affiliated with the army, However, it is not directly controlled by the combat troops. All military supplies and logistics are self-contained and directly commanded by the Imperial Army Logistics and Quartermaster Department. Every independent imperial regular army, corps-level troops such as us, will also It has its own logistics transportation battalion, but it is only responsible for transportation. During the war, a special logistics battalion in the theater will be set up to be responsible for the unified supply of military supplies to all troops. The standing rations and materials in the troops are generally only enough to consume half a month. , the logistics department needs to keep replenishing and transporting... The army will not let us hoard too many materials..." He lowered his voice a little bit: "This is the tradition of the Byzantine Empire army. It is said that such a system is for the purpose of Prevent the army from mutiny! An army with only half a month's supplies will be difficult to mutiny!"
Looking at the back of the fat officer in front of him, this guy's fat buttocks kept twisting and twisting while he was walking, Kevin felt a little bit of hatred: "Look at this guy as fat as a pig, he doesn't know how to be greedy on weekdays. How much oil has been lost! Hmph... But they belong to the logistics department of the war zone, and the generals can't effectively suppress them. Only when they find the reason for them, they will kill a hundred people. But the logistics system of the empire has always been corrupt and prevalent... Hmph, the current imperial military department Count Moriac, the military supply and logistics minister, is the biggest corrupt official in the empire!! The biggest bosses above are all corrupt officials, and the people below are naturally imitating each other!"
Looking at Xia Ya's thoughtful look, Kevin sighed: "Don't look at this guy being very polite to us, that's because we are the general's personal soldiers. Moreover, the general just seized an opportunity last month to put a logistics We are the trump card army of the empire, those guys are intimidated by the general’s prestige, so they dare not make troubles, and their greed for ink is slightly restrained.”
Xia Ya didn't speak, but he recalled what was written in the old guy's book...
The separation of the command of logistical supplies and combat troops is indeed an effective way to prevent rebellions caused by excessive power of army generals. The book is right. But why does this still happen
"Could it be that... the military court doesn't care about embezzling military resources?" Xia Ya finally couldn't help asking.
"Count Moriac is the in-law of His Majesty the Emperor. How can the Military Law Office dare to provoke him? The biggest corrupt officials dare not pursue it, and the people below will naturally have nothing to fear." Kevin snorted, and he glanced at Xiaya: "These Don't say anything else, so as not to cause trouble."
Sure enough, Kevin was right. Although this fat officer looked humble and respectful on the surface, he acted in a manner that violated yang and yin.
He led Kevin and Xia to a station in the civilian husband's camp, and looked at the hundred and ten civilian husbands gathered in front of him. These guys didn't know where they were recruited. Sluggish... What's more, the old and young, the only men in their prime, look clumsy...
Kevin immediately expressed his dissatisfaction and said angrily: "Is this the right person you said?"
The fat officer had a smile on his face, but there was a strange flash in his eyes: "Of course! Don't look at them being silly, but they are honest enough to never run away!"
"Bastard!" Kevin raised his eyebrows, his face showing a murderous look: "Are you kidding me? I want qualified squires! How can these guys be competent? How dare the cavalry's horses be taken care of by such people? "
"They are all farmers and have experience in feeding livestock, so there shouldn't be any problems." The fat officer spread his hands: "As I said before, I don't have many options for manpower right now."
Kevin is about to have a seizure, and Xiaya next to him is also indignant in his heart - the turtle's temper is not so good, he has already clenched his fists, and as soon as Kevin has a seizure, he will go up and give the fat officer a full fist. .
But at this moment, there was a scream from the side.
"Ah!! Don't hit me! Don't hit me! I'm never running again!!"
There was a miserable cry with a crying voice, and when I followed the voice, I saw a thin guy in a ragged robe kicked to the ground by two soldiers from the quarters department. on that guy.
The man on the ground, with several holes in his robe, was unkempt, and screamed desperately with a shrill voice. He crawled forward desperately with both hands on the ground, but the whip kept falling on his back.
This guy suddenly saw Xia Ya who was standing not far away, his eyes burst into brilliance, he jumped up with all his strength, rushed up quickly, and shouted: "Xia Ya! Master Xia Ya! It's me, it's me! Ouch! Help, help me!!"
Before he finished calling, he was kicked down again by the soldiers who caught up behind him, and rolled on the ground in a ball.
Xia was stunned for a moment, ran over quickly, pushed the two soldiers away, and looked at this guy on the ground...
"Yi? Is it you?" Xia's eyes widened.
"It's me! It's me, it's me, Mr. Char! I'm Dodoro..." The poor thin man's face was snotted with tears.
It was the Mr. Mage who was sold by Char to the poor man for one gold coin. I don't know how he ended up in the civilian camp...