In the armed force, cavalry were the most expensive and delicate units.
According to the current standard of the Byzantine Empire, the expenditure for a cavalryman was at least seven times higher than for an infantry â calculation based on a heavy armored infantry. If you were to consider an ordinary, light infantry member, the disparity would be widened to about ten times.
To answer why, first of all, the worth of a cavalryman far exceeded that of an infantryman. A skilled cavalryman must be proficient at horse-riding, as well as combat and weapon techniques while riding. A person who excelled at several different skills was more expensive than a cheap labor, this was true anywhere in the world.
Secondly, the weaponry of the cavalry cost much more than that of the infantry â after all, a four meter lance took way more iron to forge than a one meter double-edged sword.
With horses added to the sum â a superior warhorseâs feed cost even more than the food consumed by an ordinary infantry! After all, ordinary infantry were only served coarse food to fill their bellies. However regarding a warhorse, if the feed for it wasnât satisfactory, then it wouldnât have the strength and capability to reach high speeds. Furthermore, the loading capacities would be reduced and their effectiveness in combat would suffer greatly.
Lastly, there was the squire!
The Byzantine Empire had a strict hierarchy system governing its population; since a squire occupied an essential and irreplaceable position within a cavalrymanâs retinues, they had a status higher than that of an ordinary auxiliary soldier.
For a regular cavalryman, he would spend most of his time honing his horse-riding skills, practice killing techniques and other combat abilities on his horse. In addition to that, he had to practice formations, lineup and so onâŠâŠ In this case, you couldnât count on that cavalryman to personal feed his warhorses every day and look after them while needing to also repair his weapons and equipment; that is when a squire comes in.
Generally speaking, except looking after the horses and doing some simple weaponry repair, superior squires also required to know some basic horse-riding. In some cases, squires also had their own equipment, weaponry and armor so that they may serve as back up calvary for larger operations
It could be said that Shaar was an exceptional case since he possessed great strength in combat. If he were only an average person, there would have been absolutely no opportunity for him to directly become a regular soldier. Most of the cavalrymen were formerly basic auxiliary soldiers; some were former squires that were promoted to cavalryman after some time.
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Two miles south of the 13th Cavalry Armyâs camp laid the auxiliary camp, and auxiliary troops that were affiliated to the 13th Cavalry Army were stationed here. These troops were tasked with escorting military baggage and its porters, guard and logistic personals.
A considerable portion of them were all temporarily mobilized before each war.
The porterâs campsite was situated on the outermost region of main camp, and if you came by you would see several groups of temporary recruits hauling military provisions, bundles of arrows and wooden boxes filled with weapons, one by one. Each of them had a solemn look and by the side stood Byzantine soldiers with a hand on their sword hilt.
It wouldnât be hard to imagine that a large number of these porters werenât voluntarily recruited to come here â of course such a thing was quite common in armies.
And even if they were recruited voluntarily, when war approaches, it is inevitable that there would be those who panic and flee.
These porters were all clad in dirty rags and covered in grime. When Shaar arrived here with Kevin, he immediately went and brought back a fat military supply officer. It was easy to see that Kevin and the officer were old acquaintances. When faced against the generalâs Praetorian Guards, this fat military supply officer obviously would put on a flattering show. However, Kevin acted very indifferent, even so he still displayed some disdain and his words had some disgust that were hard to conceal.
That fat officer unexpectedly had a thick skin and completely disregarded the disdain on Kevinâs face. When he heard that Kevin had come, he did not forget to put a respectful smile on his face and immediately came over in a flattering manner while saying: âSo you are here to select a squireâŠâŠPlease donât worry, we have just drafted a number of new recruits who are quite good. There are some who excel at blacksmithing, as well as someone who had raised horses at home and as such would presumably make a good squire. I will take you to make your choice right now.â
Having some dissatisfaction, Kevin grunted, âHow could porters that have just arrived become squires? Canât you find some more appropriate personnel in the auxiliary barracks?â
The fat military officer showed an awkward expression on his face, âThis âŠâŠThe escorting duties of convoy is very important; the manpower of the auxiliary barracks had always been veryâŠâŠâ
Shaar gave a timely smile and commented, âNever mind, a porter is not a problem. I do not need a squire that accompanies me on battlefield anyway, as long as they look after my horses, thatâs good enough.â
Remembering the formidable fighting power that Shaar displayed, Kevin relaxed and reluctantly nodded, before adding, âIt would be better if you could find someone who understood a bit of blacksmithing; otherwise you will be in trouble when your weapon breaks.â
The fat military officer led the way while Shaar and Kevin follow behind. On the way, Shaar could not help but whisper, âYou seem to hate this guy?â
Kevin looked at the fat personâs back in front of him and sneered while saying in a low voice: âHmpf, those people from the military supply department are mostly leeches and greedy rats. Everything, from our military funding, weaponry and even our salary passes through them. There is nothing that they donât have in their hands!â
Somewhat surprised, Shaar asked: âEven the 13th Cavalry Army had something like this? Didnât the general say anything about it?â
Kevin glanced at Shaar and smiled, âIt seems that you need to properly study the laws of the army.â Pausing for a moment, he sighed, âAlthough the military supply officers are under the army, they were not directly controlled by the combat unit. The military supply and logistics unit formed their own system and was supervised by the Imperial military supply department under the direct command of the Ministry of Army Logistics. Each independent Regular army of the Empire, an army such as ours for example, would have their own logistics camp that was responsible for transportation only. In times of war, they would establish a special logistics camp in the war zone thatâs responsible for consolidating. In the army the stocked military provisions and commodity will only suffice for half a month and the logistics department would need to constantly transport the replenished suppliesâŠâŠThe army would not let us hoard goods,â his voice lowered a bit further, âThis is a tradition of the Byzantine imperial army. It is said that this system prevents army revolts; an army that has only half a monthâs worth of provisions would find it difficult when planning one!â
Looking at the fat military officerâs back again, this fellowâs obese ass would wiggle around while walking. Kevinâs tooth started to itch from hatred, âLook at this fat pig. I donât know how much he already put into his own pockets! HmpfâŠâŠBecause they belong to the military supply department, the general isnât able to efficiently suppress them and could only execute a person as a warning to others when he is caught. However, the Imperial logistical system had always been corrupted âŠâŠHmpf, the current minister of the military supply department is Count Maurice Jake, the biggest corrupt official in the empire! When the biggest boss above them is corrupt, then the people under him naturally followed suit!â
Looking at Shaarâs thoughtful look, Kevin sighed, âDonât just look at the fact that this fellow treats us very politely. This is only because we are the generalâs Praetorian Guards. Furthermore, just last month, the general grasped the opportunity to directly cut down a rat from the military supply department. We are the imperial elite troops and these fellows are terrified of the power and authority of the general. This is the reason why they donât dare to be rash and there is a slight restraint in their greedy actions.â
Shaar didnât speak, but in his mind he recalled the content written in the old manâs bookâŠâŠ
Dividing the logistics and the command of the combat unit was indeed an effective way to prevent a general from amassing too much power and causing a rebellion. What was written in the book was right. However, why did it still result in such a phenomenon?
âHoweverâŠâŠdoesnât the military court do anything about the embezzlement of military supplies?â Shaar could not bear and finally asked.
âCount Maurice Jake was the emperorâs in-law, how could the military court dare provoke him? Even afraid of pursuing the biggest corrupt official, the people below naturally had nothing to fear,â Kevin grunted and glanced at Shaar, âThere is no need to repeat those words in order to avoid trouble.â
Sure enough, Kevin was right. Although this fat military officer was humble and respectful on the surface, once he started to do things he had a somewhat duplicitous quality.
Leading Shaar and Kevin towards the porters camp, they were over a hundred porters gather in front of them â They did not know where they recruited these fellows, but every one of them had a depression expression on their face with a pair of hollow and dull eyes âŠâŠMore importantly, they were mostly too old or too young and those several middle-aged fellows all seemed slow-wittedâŠâŠ
Kevin immediately expressed his dissatisfaction and got angry, âAre those the appropriate candidates you talked about?â
That fat military officer immediately put on a smile on his face and his eyes flashed strangely: âCertainly! They look a bit stupid, but they are all honest and would absolutely not escape!â
âBastard!â Kevinâs eyebrow knit and he revealed a ferocious look full of murderous intent, âAre you playing me? What I want was a qualified squire! How could these guys be called competent? How would a cavalryman entrust his warhorse to these people?â
âThey are farmers and have experience rearing livestock, it shouldnât be an issue,â The fat military officer replied while spreading out his hand, âI already told you, there is currently a shortage of people and I donât have any other means.â
Kevin was close to getting into a fight and Shaar, who was standing next to him, was also enraged in his heart â the hillbillyâs temperament was not good at all and he had already formed a tight fist. He was just waiting for Kevin to make the first move before giving this fat military officer a taste of his fist.
At that exact moment, a pitiful scream could be heard next to them.
âAhhh!! Donât hit me! Donât hit me! I wonât run!!â
Miserable screams and a weeping voice could be heard. The source of those sounds was a skinny guy donned in a shabby robe that was being kicked to the ground by two foot soldiers. One of the soldiers lifted a whip while cursing, before fiercely bringing it down upon that guyâs body.
The man lying on the ground had his robe torn and several holes opened. With dishevelled hair and a dirty face, he screeched and shouted desperately while crawling on the ground. However, the whip still continued to land on his back.
When this fellow suddenly saw Shaar not far away with his eyes, his pupil immediately irradiated a sudden burst of brilliance and rose, energised with all his strength. Jumping up while quickly rushing up towards Shaar, he shouted, âShaar! Lord Shaar! Itâs me, itâs me! Oh! Help, please saves me!!â
As he called, he was caught up by the foot soldier and was once again kicked down, and resumed huddling while rolling on the ground.
Frozen for a moment, Shaar quickly ran over and shoved those two soldiers away before taking a closer look at the guy on the groundâŠâŠ
âhuh? Itâs you?â Shaar stared at him with widened eyes.
âItâs me! Itâs me, Lord Shaar! Itâs me, Tatara âŠâŠâ this pitiful thin guyâs face was covered with tears and mucus.
It was the magician that Shaar sold to the pitiful creature for a gold coin. God knows how he had landed up at the porter campâŠâŠ