"Old guard, are you trying to imitate the Rick Guard?" Aldous Frey immediately thought of the Empire's Rick Guard.
"Something like that, but it's the other way around." Laing nodded. "The Rick Guard is an elite cavalry that the Emperor needs. The Empire has good infantry but not good cavalry. We, on the other hand, need a good infantry regiment, so we need the old guard."
"Yes." Aldous Frey nodded. The Paladin thought for a moment and said with interest, "Speaking of which, the Church of Justice has long been aware of this. The paladins, monks, holy snipers, Charlemagne's artillery regiment, the Paladins, and the Knights Hospitallers. Our church has done very well in this regard."
"Isn't that normal?" Laing sneered. "It's not like you don't know the situation of the Church of Justice."
"Speaking of which, what did Luther Huss say that almost got him excommunicated?" Laing asked casually.
"He came to the Church of Justice and gave a speech that shocked the whole of Brunswick." Aldous Frey nodded. "This battle priest publicly announced that he really couldn't tolerate the shortcomings of the church that had accumulated over the past two thousand years. He believed that there were countless problems that needed to be corrected."
"First of all, the various ranks and positions in the Church of Justice are too bloated. There are many so-called clergy and teaching positions that don't need to be established, but in fact, there are a lot of people in these positions who do nothing. Then there are too many vice-bishops. Under a regional bishop, there are a few or even a dozen vice-bishops. Their responsibilities are unclear, and they overlap with each other. It's too bloated. He hopes to streamline the department and get rid of at least a quarter of the excess clergy."
"Then there's the problem of parishes. Many parishes, such as Mordheim, Drakwaldt, and Sylvania, have been abandoned for many years. However, they still have a whole set of teams that are still in operation. For example, in Sylvania, the regional bishop works in Steyr all year round. He only rows a boat to Helfinn Swamp when there's a change of bishop. A few people vote to elect the new regional bishop, and then they row a boat to leave."
Aldous Frey spoke with some indignation. "Indeed, Huss is right. Our church is a bit bloated."
"Haha, according to this battle priest, how many people will lose their jobs because of this?" Laing sneered and shook his head. "Continue. If he dares to say that, then it's definitely more than that."
"Next, Luther Huss believes that there are problems with the collection of tithes and various donations. From the chanter down, the whole church has a lot of corruption problems. Tithes are collected from the farmers until they are handed over to the headquarters. After layers of exploitation, many funds and materials mysteriously disappear. Most of the priests are obsessed with politics and seeking more donations from the nobles, merchants, and civilians. They don't remember the mission left by the God of Justice and Charlemagne — to fight the evil of Chaos to the end."
"In the end, Luther Huss fiercely attacked the Council of the Holy See. He believes that the Council of the Holy See should not focus on pursuing grander banquets, ceremonies, and taller and grander temples, nor should they focus on collecting tithes and participating in the internal affairs of the Empire. His words and actions angered the entire Council of the Holy See. He was asked to publicly apologize to the entire Empire within three days and swear that he was drunk and talking nonsense." Aldous Frey continued, "This battle priest did not agree, so the Council of the Holy See was ready to excommunicate him. It was Archbishop Vicmar who stopped this action. Vicmar did not agree with such drastic measures. He believed that there are indeed problems within the church, but Huss' views were too radical and were not accepted. Huss left in anger."
"… Ideals are beautiful, but reality is cruel." Laing smiled meaningfully. "Believe it or not, if we really did as Huss said, it would be a real disaster. Think about it, how many people will lose their jobs just because of Huss' words? Lose the position that he relied on to survive? What would these people do? "
"But what Huss said is not wrong!" Aldous Frey was still a little upset. "We do need to change, just like you. Laing, what do you think?"
"It's actually very simple. Luther Huss is not wrong, and Archbishop Vicmar is not wrong either." Laing nodded and said slowly, "The Church of Justice has been around for two thousand years since Charlemagne the Great. The entire church has maintained a high degree of self-discipline and strong cohesion. It is already very good to be able to maintain this level after two thousand years. Don't forget, the God of Justice has never taken the initiative to make demands on the structure of the church. He has always only answered questions and told the archbishop what the next goal is. Therefore, in the long development of the church, from top to bottom, has already formed a highly bureaucratic structure."
"So Luther Huss' point of view is wrong?" Aldous Frey asked.
"His point of view is not wrong, but his position is wrong." Laing shook his head. The duke lowered his head and sighed. "Look at me. When I came to this country, did I go directly to the palace of Culona and make a speech, denouncing the various abuses and shortcomings of this country? Did I point to the faces of all the dukes and tell them that the serf system is too backward and that their rule is too dark? "
"Oh …" Aldous Frey suddenly understood something.
"As someone who wants to change the current situation, Luther Huse, the battle priest, has good intentions. However, he didn't consider his own position. Young people are always like this. They feel that they have the truth, so they challenge authority. Remember, Ah Fu, in the palace and the church, you must not reveal your ideals and blueprint too early, unless you have reached a high enough position." Laing said earnestly, "Truth will not help you most of the time, but authority will take care of you."
"Luther Huss' biggest problem is that he did not know his position. Do you think Archbishop Vicmar does not know about the problems within the church? I think he knows better than anyone else. " Laing finally said, "For now, you should do your own thing. The Freya Ancient Church is now a blank slate. You can build it according to your ideals. You must know how to use the people sent by His Holiness Vicmar, and they will listen to your orders. That is enough. The paladins, battle priests, and Paladins will more or less have a bureaucratic air about them, but it is inevitable."
"Yes, indeed. They worked very hard and fought bravely in the face of the undead's harassment." Aldous Frey nodded and sighed, "Indeed, I should not deny all of their contributions just because I don't like them."
Many people in the old world believed that Brittany only believed in the Nymphs of the Lake. In fact, this was wrong. In fact, the knights basically believed in the Nymphs of the Lake. However, other religions were also spread in the Kingdom of the Knight King. The knights did not discriminate against other religions as some people thought. Otherwise, the Church of the Merciful Goddess Salia and the Church of the Sea God Mannen would not have set up their main shrines in Brittany. In fact, other than the Holy Grail Knights, after the knights died or died in battle, their remains or ashes were also buried in the graveyard garden of the Church of the God of Death Moore.
However, Aldous Frey's acquisition of a piece of land was indeed an epoch-making progress. Before this, the influence of the Church of Justice only extended as far as Montfort. The largest Church of Justice in Brittany was built in the Montfort Castle. The reason why the Church of Justice's missionary work was not successful was because of the conflict between the Church of Justice and the Church of the Lake. This was the same reason why the Church of Justice tried their best to prevent the Church of the Goddess of War from opening a military academy in White Wolf City. This was because the Church of Justice's missionary work was aimed at the nobles, especially the generals and knights.
"It's about time, Aldous. Let's call it a day." Laing came out of the water. The two of them had been soaking for a long time.
"Yes, thank you, my good friend. You've answered many of my questions." Frey's condition was much better.
The two men came out of the water and dried themselves with a towel.
"It's fine." Laing nodded. He suddenly said, "By the way, Suria and I are going to the Old Guard Camp tomorrow. Do you want to come with us?"
"Of course."
"Very good."
… I'm Vivel 'Empereur! The section dividing line …
The establishment of the Old Guard was the thing that attracted the most attention of the serfs in the Knight King's Kingdom, or at least in the southern part of the Knight King's Kingdom.
Since the news was released, almost every serf in the southern part of Brittany was talking about the Old Guard.
Because they saw the opportunity to be promoted from serfs to knights from this new army!
Although Laing had issued the "Knight Promotion Order" three years ago with the help of the Church of the Lake Nymph, the serfs still felt that it was impossible and disappointed to be promoted to knights.
The reason was simple. Even with the quota of three people per year, if they wanted to be promoted to knights, they still needed to be examined by both the Knight King and the Lake Nymph. Since the Knight King's throne was still in Richard's hands, these three places were often allocated to the illegitimate children of the nobles. Three years was not a long time, and there were only nine places in total. The illegitimate children of the great nobles could be counted by the number of cars on the carriages. The serfs would not have a chance even if they waited for another hundred years.
However, Laing did not intend to use this to promote the serfs to knights. His real purpose was to break the fixed thinking of all the nobles and serfs in the kingdom. With the "Knight Promotion Order", the insurmountable gap between the nobles and serfs had been opened. Therefore, when Laing introduced the "Old Guard" setting, there were very few objections.
It was like in a stuffy house, if someone proposed to open a window for ventilation and was opposed by everyone, but if this person suddenly said that they wanted to open the whole roof for fresh air, everyone would be shocked and quickly stop him. At this time, if this person proposed to open a window for ventilation, this proposal would most likely be passed.
Therefore, when this news spread, all the serfs in Brittany were boiling with excitement.
Old Guard!
Higher salary! Better food! Better welfare, and an independent high-grade military camp!
The serfs who became the Old Guard would enjoy the status of "Honorable Freedman"! They would be fully guaranteed their personal safety and sacred freedom of personal property! They would enjoy almost the same political status as knights in politics, and battalion commanders could have the treatment of a knight and the title of a knight! The Lake Nymph had already promised that as long as the Old Guard performed well, they could be directly knighted and have the title of a knight!
Duke Ryan even promised that he had already circled a large manor in the middle of Mu Xilong. The name of the manor would be the Wang family's old guard manor! The manor's ownership would belong to the entire Old Guard regiment, and these soldiers could receive an additional salary based on the manor's output!
Wasn't … wasn't this a fief?
A serf could really become a knight!
Therefore, all of southern Brittany was crazily discussing this new army. The serfs sat on the ridge of the fields, gathered around the fire, crowded in the bar, and even when they were lying in bed, they could not stop talking about the Old Guard!
Then, what kind of people could become the Old Guard?
The serfs gathered in groups of three to five, and the villagers and the kingdom's knights were annoyed by the questions.
At least five years of service!
At least three battles!
At least two of the above conditions could participate in the selection!
The harsh conditions made many serf soldiers sigh, while the soldiers who met the conditions were wild with joy. Among them, the serf soldiers who had followed Laing since he arrived in Brittany were the most excited.
After two weeks of training, the Old Guard temporarily selected five hundred people. They would become the first batch of new soldiers in this famous army that would shock the Old World in the future.
Duke Laing did not go back on his word.
Straight and white uniform trousers! Buckled white uniform shirts! Luxuriously decorated, glittering half-body plate armor produced by the dwarves! It was a bear-skin military cap made of animal skin and decorated with a few gorgeous feathers! There were also exquisite weapons. The infantrymen of the infantry battalions received exquisite weapons made by the dwarves, the archers received exquisite bows made by the wood elves, and the cavalrymen received cavalry sabers and long-barreled muskets!
The Old Guard, who had been selected through many rounds of selection, held their heads high and were in high spirits. They were on duty in the duke's castle proudly. Their neat and beautiful uniforms, strict military discipline, and valiant qualities, as well as the blood and fire that exuded from their bodies after many battles, not to mention the serfs, even the noble ladies were starry-eyed. Some noble ladies even had the idea of marrying an Old Guard.
This new army would enjoy a luxuriously decorated special barracks under the protection of the city walls.
In the morning, Duke Laing and Duchess Suria received and inspected the new army. Duchess Suria even gave a speech with her big belly, which made all the soldiers of the Old Guard extremely moved. They swore to serve His Excellency Laing, Duchess Suria, and the child in her belly.
At noon, in the dining hall of the Old Guard Barracks.
The barracks covered an area of one hectare. Relying on the construction of Laing's duke's castle, the stone building made by dwarven craftsmen was full of majesty and solemnity. The walls were carved with murals of various stories. Since Laing came to Brittany, he and his inspiring stories were engraved on the walls by the dwarves. Light cleverly shone into the room through the long windows, bringing glory and light.
On the long rows of dining tables, the Old Guard were enjoying their lunch.
Raymond, the former commander of the third company of the Count's halberd company, was now a member of the Old Guard. He carefully looked at the lunch in front of him. The former slave of Lyonnesse thought happily that his life was getting better and better.
Compared to when he was a halberd soldier, the Old Guard's meals had changed a lot. Now, the Old Guard's meals were white bread with jam or butter, delicious pies, delicious stews with meat and vegetables, and a fixed ration of barley wine. In the past, there was meat every three days, but now there was meat for every meal. Occasionally, they could even eat a marinated steak!
This was something that only knights could eat!
"Raymond, you're off tomorrow, right?" Asked an old guard. His name was Artil, a brave man from Wynford. He had followed Laing for many years. The scar on his face made him look majestic.
"Yes." Raymond nodded. The Old Guard's holidays were the same as before. Usually, they were given 20% leave, which was two days off every ten days. When they were stationed outside, they were given 10% leave, which was one day off every ten days. During wartime, they could only rest according to the commander's arrangement.
"What's your plan?"
"I'm going to go home." Raymond stirred the stew in his bowl with a spoon. Large pieces of delicious pork were mixed with cabbage, broccoli, carrots, and some mushrooms.
"Go home?" The Old Guard had to live in the barracks, so Artil was not surprised by Raymond's choice.
"Yes, I'm going home to see my mother and brother." Raymond nodded. He hesitated, not knowing if he should say it.
"What … what happened?"
"Thomas … he wants to go to Nur to study. My mother couldn't make the decision, so she asked me to go back."
"I see."
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