Chapter 52
(Kyle Calendar
Year 505: Age 12)
The Teigun Disturbance:
Aftermath
Translator : PolterGlast
"I wish I could
have shown you the dumbfounded face of Viscount Hiyorimi's idiotic son back
then, Commander."
Commander Weiss and I
were chatting, he had rushed back after hearing the news of the bandit attack
and the subsequent arrival of the Hiyorimi army.
"I'm glad
everyone is safe. Even so... I didn't expect them to move so quickly and
overtly."
"Yes, I'm also
reflecting on my oversight in that regard."
"We'll also have
to consider how we allowed the Hiyorimi army to pass through the checkpoint in
the future."
"Indeed, the
checkpoint isn't even completed yet, and our response to unexpected events and
the command structure were insufficient."
"Still... they
fell for our trick quite nicely, didn't they?"
"Well, 400
soldiers who shouldn't have been there suddenly appeared, after all
(chuckle)."
Yes, Errol, the second
son of Viscount Hiyorimi, had pushed his way in under the guise of reinforcements,
attempting a takeover, but upon realizing he was surrounded by twice his own
forces, he was immediately gripped by fear and dejectedly turned his horse
around and went home.
He's probably stamping
his feet in shock by now.
※
The archers who surrounded
them on the castle wall were not archers at all.
They were citizens who
had participated in the town's defense training and had fought valiantly with
crossbows during last night's attack, and citizens who had practiced shooting
at the archery range.
This organization,
which we called the Self-Defense Corps, included women and boys and girls
around 15 years old.
The Hiyorimi
Viscount's soldiers were first surprised by their appearance, and then so
astonished by the rapid-fire instructions and shooting that they didn't have
the luxury of carefully observing their appearance or clothing on the distant
castle wall.
There was a reason why
Teigun came through unscathed in many respects this time, including the
evacuation and defense drills.
Several policies
different from other towns had been implemented.
The reasons being:
The proximity of the
Demon Realm, posing a risk of monster attacks.
Being a frontier land,
there was a possibility of bandit group attacks.
These two points had
been a concern from the beginning.
In the old Teigun,
before settlement began, there were few notable prey, and it was rarely
targeted. However, as development progressed, the town became prosperous, and
as people and livestock increased, the danger naturally increased dramatically.
We had been conducting
training for this purpose with the residents.
And there were various
other elements related to defense.
※
◯ Deployment of New Weapons
I had brought all the
repeating crossbows I had initially ordered from Master Geld to Teigun.
They were easy for
women to handle and could fire up to 10 shots in rapid succession, but their
accuracy, range, and armor-piercing power were weak, making them seem like
inconvenient weapons at first glance.
But what if we limited
their usage? That's what I thought.
Therefore, I
strategically placed them in the commodity exchange, the government office, and
the lord's mansion branch.
These were places
within the town of Teigun where gold coins and people gathered.
And everyone working
there underwent regular shooting training with the repeating crossbows.
This time, too, at the
commodity exchange, in the close-quarters combat across the counter, the
thieves were struck down by arrows from multiple individuals, utilizing the
rapid-fire capability of the weapons, which could be used by women who were
physically weaker than men.
We had decided to
place an additional order for 200 units for future deployment, limiting their
use to specific situations and places where they would be most effective.
◯ Unique Defense Strategy
One of the purposes of
holding crossbow tournaments in the Estol territory was to turn the citizens
into a fighting force.
In Teigun, we took
this a step further by organizing a self-defense corps from among the citizens
and conducting regular training.
The Self-Defense Corps
included participants not only from permanent residents but also from temporary
workers who had come from other towns and villages for seasonal work.
And we were also
providing allowances to the training participants.
With the incentive of
allowances for protecting themselves, about 400 people, both men and women,
were participating in the training.
Furthermore, over 500
crossbows for the Self-Defense Corps were deployed at multiple locations in the
town, allowing individuals to retrieve them.
These circumstances
also contributed to the rapid response of many residents to the bandit group
this time.
◯ Defense of the Lord's Mansion Branch
With a shortage of
manpower, the number of people who could be allocated to guarding the lord's
mansion branch was limited.
So, in consultation
with Weiss-san and others, we set up several traps for defense.
The trap on the castle
wall that the bandits fell into was inspired by castle defense methods I had
read about as a child in Japan.
In addition, there
were hidden pitfalls and traps throughout the lord's mansion branch that only
residents and a limited few knew about.
We also made it
possible for soldiers to rush immediately from the garrison right below via a warning
whistle.
These prior
preparations proved useful this time.
Well, there were other
countermeasures in place, but I had an excellent strategist namely Weiss-san...
※
"Even so, we need
to further strengthen Teigun's defenses."
"Indeed. That
idiot also exposed the possibility, which we had been concerned about, of
reaching Teigun by traversing the border from the Demon Realm."
Yes, if the Gryphonia
Empire's next expedition took that route, the Solis baronial territory would be
defenseless.
Well, I don't think
anyone other than Weiss-san could pull off the feat of operating a large army
and surprising Teigun...
The harvest festival
was rescheduled, with the date shortened by one day and the start moved back by
two days to begin the eve of the festival.
Of course, the
beginning of the eve of the festival was a great success, with generous
servings of alcohol and food for the cooperating citizens, temporary rewards
for the Self-Defense Corps, and commendations and rewards for the women who had
distinguished themselves at the commodity exchange.
After the festival, we
reorganized the stationed soldiers and carried out new recruitment from the
Self-Defense Corps, renewing the scale of our military personnel.
<Teigun Area
Population>
Resident Population:
1200 people
Permanent Residents:
600 people
Temporary Workers: 600
people
<Garrison
Strength>
Regular Soldiers: 70
(increased from 20, recruited from part-time soldiers, etc.)
Part-time Soldiers: 80
(increased from 30, mainly recruited from the Self-Defense Corps)
Iron Cavalry Corps: 50
riders (dispatched weekly from Est in shifts for exercises)
<Twin-Headed Eagle
Mercenary Corps>
Light Infantry: 50
(same duties as before)
Garrison: 30
(dedicated to guarding the Demon Realm side checkpoint)
<Self-Defense
Corps>
Archer Unit: 400
(dedicated defense unit for emergencies)
<Deployment>
Town of Teigun: 40
regular soldiers, 20 part-time soldiers
Teigun Mine: 10
regular soldiers, 20 part-time soldiers
Demon Realm Checkpoint
Guard: 10 regular soldiers, 30 mercenaries
Mine Checkpoint Guard:
10 regular soldiers, 10 part-time soldiers
Light Infantry Unit:
50 Iron Cavalry Corps, 50 mercenaries
<Teigun's Total
Military Strength>
Solis Baronial Army:
200 (120 dispatchable)
Twin-Headed Eagle
Mercenary Corps: 80 (50 dispatchable)
Teigun Self-Defense
Corps: 400 (0 dispatchable)
Hmm, it's coming
along, isn't it?
The number of soldiers
is disproportionately high for the slightly increased town population of 1200,
but the 50 Iron Cavalry Corps are borrowed...
Half of the
Self-Defense Corps are mainly able-bodied men who came for seasonal work.
The wages in the town
of Teigun are high, and the prices are like those in the town of Est, so it
would be great if they stayed.
Prices are
intentionally kept low. Food and necessities are bought cheaply in bulk, and
Bart transports them from the town of Fran for next to nothing.
If we can quickly
stabilize public order and enhance jobs other than construction, I want to
increase the number of permanent residents (immigrants) from the current 600.
There's still a long
way to go, but Teigun is slowly but surely taking shape.
Personnel, townscape,
defensive facilities—everything is under development, but it is steadily
evolving as our ideal town.
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