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Chapter 881 - 881 87 The Reversed Alliance Council

881: Chapter 87, The Reversed Alliance Council 881: Chapter 87, The Reversed Alliance Council Watching a host of soldiers running laps around the city walls, loudly chanting slogans, the major nobles watching the spectacle were quite disappointed.

They had stayed to observe with the intention of learning Hudson’s methods of training soldiers by watching, but all they saw was a group of men running below the walls.

Of course, not all the troops were running laps around the city walls; it was not realistic for the entire Kingdom’s standing army of two hundred and seventy thousand to train together.

Only a few legions that guarded the capital were below the city, while the other units received military training at their respective garrisons.

Based on the actual conditions of their garrisons, some units ran laps around their camps, while others went on training expeditions into the wild.

With a secure supply of resources, Hudson spared no one, strictly ordering the aristocratic military officers to take their troops through physical training.

Slacking off was not impossible, as long as you weren’t caught; after all, Marshal Hudson was patrolling the skies on a giant dragon.

If caught, the consequences ranged from demotion at the lightest to being thrown into the “Warrior Camp” to atone for misdeeds at the worst.

The competition among the nobility was also intense.

Those noble children mixed in with the standing army generally had no fiefs to inherit and were hoping to distinguish themselves on the battlefield.

A demotion didn’t just mean a lower rank, but also a decreased chance of achieving military distinction.

Generally speaking, the higher the rank of an officer, the safer their position and the easier it was to accumulate military achievements, often through the efforts of their subordinates.

In contrast, lower and middle-ranking officers had a much harder time.

As the executors of strategy and tactics, they often had the most dangerous tasks.

During wars past, the casualty rate among the aristocracy of the Alpha Kingdom had been exceedingly high, largely because lower and middle-ranking nobles often led their soldiers into battle personally.

Being thrown into the “Warrior Camp” made things even more straightforward.

Assigned life-or-death tasks, any accomplishments first had to offset previous mistakes.

One could say that upon stepping into Warrior Camp, the prospect of “achieving great success” was already long gone, with nothing left but the role of a wretched atoner.

The feeling of disappointment was bottled up inside everyone.

Those who had decided to learn from Hudson certainly wouldn’t lack patience.

Not understanding was no problem; they just needed to record the details for now.

Later they could copy them exactly and implement them to see the results.

Hudson was aware of the spying but did not interfere.

With so many officers and soldiers involved in the training, some would inevitably take note; from the moment training began, secrecy was impossible to maintain.

Even if they copied everything exactly, replicating the results was impossible.

The soldiers here all had come down from battlefields, and although most were from logistic units, they had still seen blood.

They couldn’t compare to the former standing army because the Kingdom’s old standing army was stationed at the border year-round, frequently clashing with Orcs and occasionally infiltrating the Orc Empire to cause trouble.

Even in times of peace, there were over a thousand combat deaths each year.

Those without adequate abilities were weeded out long ago.

With ample supplies, the veteran soldiers could, after rigorous training, have a high likelihood of transforming into elites.

Ordinary serf soldiers, without experiencing bloodshed on the battlefield, would find it hard to reach such effectiveness.

For half a month, there was unoriginal physical training, drill exercises, and the occasional battle training involving simple chopping and stabbing movements, leaving the spying major nobles utterly dumbfounded.

…

“Torsten, our Marshal Hudson’s training methods are the same every day, what’s there to see?”

Upon hearing this familiar voice and turning to glance at the newcomer, Duke Torsten replied irritably, “Hiro, don’t give me that!

You say there’s nothing to see, but when it comes to the details of the training process, you record them the most meticulously.

If I’m not mistaken, you’ve already sent these training details back and are trying them out within your family’s private army.”

Social setbacks are what drive growth the most.

The bitter days of recent years had seen these prematurely advanced Northern Dukes make quite the progress.

Even if we stand on opposite sides, stealing methods remains necessary for survival—it’s worth more than any face-saving.

“Heh heh…”

As if you yourself haven’t been following and learning,” Torsten said, suggesting that Hiro had been doing the same.

“Hudson’s training methods may seem simple, but they’re effective!

Look at the troops outside the city; they’re clearly different from before.

He hasn’t even taken over this division for two months, has he?

Moreover, the training methods passed down in our families aren’t that complicated either—they even share the same content towards the end.

The difference lies in our serf soldiers, who often train once every five or ten days, while only a small number of elites train once every three.

Here, they train every day.

But Hudson is ruthless enough, cutting down the aristocratic officers’ benefits and perks to improve the soldiers’ ration standards.

Were it not for the nourishment keeping up, this kind of intense training would have broken them long ago.”

Duke Hiro did not hide his criticism.

Everyone could see the issue; if not the individuals themselves, then the strategists behind them provided analysis, but that did not mean they could emulate it.

Compared to the Kingdom’s standing army, it was even more difficult for the Noble’s Private Army to undergo any systemic reform.

The standing army belonged to the Kingdom, not to any one person.

For the sake of winning wars, giving up certain benefits for a while was something the nobles could accept.