King
Chapter 878 - 878 86 The Stirrings of the Haas Theory

878: Chapter 86, The Stirrings of the Haas Theory 878: Chapter 86, The Stirrings of the Haas Theory The high-level meeting ended, and Hudson immediately took the Kingdom’s resolution and promoted military spending reform within the army.

At this moment, the Kingdom’s army hadn’t been fully mobilized, and what needed to be addressed was only the Standing Army, which relatively speaking, was also the easiest time for reform.

The first measure was to audit the accounts, not the old accounts from the past, but focus on the recent ones, and check the implementation of the “fattening” tasks for the soldiers.

Previously, Master Hudson had warned that anyone who would run into the muzzle of a gun was a principal without foresight, and it was fitting for them to be sacrificed for the reform.

However, just because these people lacked foresight, didn’t mean that those behind them lacked it as well.

Everyone was very clear that the reform was a collective decision made by the big shots at the Royal Palace meeting, and no one was allowed to sabotage it.

A smart man knows how to get things done.

No sooner had Hudson set out to round up people, than they turned themselves in with “ill-gotten gains” and an attached confession.

The efficiency of cooperation was so high that it even surpassed the speed of the looting teams, making Hudson feel almost embarrassed to detain them longer.

Confessing on their own spared the need for an investigation, saving a significant amount of social resources, and a light punishment was indeed normal.

Moreover, mass executions of nobles could easily lead to dissatisfaction within the ruling group, and naturally, Hudson wouldn’t deliberately make his own reforms more difficult.

A certain amount of face had to be given to all sides, but a warning through punishment was also essential.

Thus, the principle of punishment became: death penalty could be spared, but life sentences were not easily forgiven.

Those with lighter offenses were allowed to atone through service, whereas those deeply involved were stripped of their titles.

Hereditary titles were passed to the descendants, while honorary titles were taken back directly.

Following the principle of waste utilization, all the involved personnel were uniformly drafted into the “Warrior Camp.” Once war broke out, they would undertake the riskiest tasks on the battlefield.

If they could complete three missions, their old offenses would be wiped clean.

Taking into account the influence of the people behind them, Hudson allowed them to bring their guards to the battlefield, and he had no objections if they were willing to invest heavily and bring their Private Army along as well.

If the nobles’ honor had been lost, then it would have to be washed clean with blood.

With a group of “chickens” killed as a warning, awareness that Master Hudson was not to be trifled with spread, and the subsequent work unfolded much more smoothly.

Within a short span of half a month, the barracks had changed dramatically.

The soldiers’ food standards rose, and the intensity of their training gradually increased as well.

Hudson strictly followed the orders of Caesar IV, copying the main food standards laid down by the King directly.

If the King had 2 pounds of fine bread every day, then the soldiers would eat vegetable bread made with seventy percent rye; what kind of meat the King ate was unknown, but the soldiers were entitled to one pound of meat everyday.

Fish, rabbit, chicken, goose, pork, beef, and mutton were all acceptable, as long as the total amount was sufficient.

Condiments were not to be hoped for; they would use whatever was available, but every person must be guaranteed one pound of coarse salt each month.

Fruits were out of the question, an impossibility.

However, vegetables must not be less than two pounds.

Potatoes, soybeans, barley…

these cereals could also count as vegetables.

While this seemed like a lot of quotas, Hudson had never seen any leftover food in the army camp.

Clearly, this was a symptom of a lack of nutrients, and only when the nutrient levels were replenished would everyone’s appetite slowly decrease.

The only one hurt was the Kingdom Government, which was almost driven to desperation gathering the vast amounts of meat required.

Had the soldiers been picky eaters, requiring only specific meats, they would not have been able to meet the demands for meat consumption.

“Your Marshal, we cannot go on like this.

The consumption of just the Standing Army has us running ragged.

What will we do if we fully mobilize?”

Duke Newfoundland said indignantly.

In his many years as Chancellor, he had never seen such a lavish army.

It would ordinarily be good enough for ordinary soldiers to have some meat in their soup, who would imagine a pound of meat every day?

“Your Excellency, the Prime Minister, you can rest assured that our military expenditure has not exceeded the standard.

I’m just having you redirect the funds that were previously used to purchase Magical Beast meat, spices, and some luxury items towards buying ordinary meat products.

Of course, I’ve also cut some unnecessary expenses.

For example: the officers’ private kitchens, the requirement that the servants they bring must be cultivators, the prohibition of too many personal items, the cancellation of some meaningless decorations…

After precise calculation, the current military budget of the Kingdom can completely satisfy the daily consumption of the Standing Army, and even leave room to afford a number of Magic Crossbows every month,” Hudson said with composure.

Saving money was not possible.

The military spending reform indeed was initiated under the guise of saving money, but that was only to gain support from the government.

Now that the preliminary reform had been completed, Hudson naturally wanted to invest the savings into enhancing combat capabilities.

Elites were cultivated with money, and Hudson’s string of victories in battles to the south and the north was not just due to luck and planning.

It wasn’t only when he was in his own land that he raised the soldiers’ food standards.

After entering the Moxi Duchy for combat, he let the soldiers eat their fill.

With nutrition taken care of, high-intensity training could be conducted.

Strict training combined with battlefield skirmishes finally produced an army with significant fighting strength.

In that era, the material standards of the Kingdom’s Standing Army were actually not poor.

But if it could be better, why not improve it?

In theory, through strict training, body strength and combat awareness could be improved, and ordinary soldiers could match Low-level Knights.

Of course, this “heretical” theory, for now, was unique to Hudson’s personal research and had not spread publicly.