Had it not been for the logistics department of the garrison sending a carriage to deliver a welcome gift to Claude's men, Claude might have forgotten that it was the last day of the year.
Although Captain Wardlov, the acting battalion commander of the Amis City Garrison Battalion, had a fiery temper, he was still a very considerate officer. He had always resented the fact that Major Jebson, the battalion commander of the 10th Field Battalion, had given him a garrison platoon of unqualified soldiers in exchange for two bottles of good wine, but he still took the time to come and inspect the situation.
Claude took the opportunity to ask for more gunpowder and firearms. He felt that it was necessary for the men to continue their shooting practice while guarding the entrance. After all, their only strength was accuracy.
As guards at the entrance, they didn't just have to check the passing vehicles and pedestrians. They also had to send out small teams to patrol the nearby mountains and forests from time to time.
It had been snowing heavily and the weather was freezing. Fortunately, the logistics department had prepared enough winter clothing and delivered them in time. Even though Claude and his men were on duty in the wilderness, they didn't suffer any casualties from the cold.
The only problem was that the wind at the entrance was a little strong and none of them could withstand it. So, Claude got his men to build a few snow walls to solve that problem.
The special welcome gift from the logistics department was nothing more than a bottle of wine, two slices of dried meat and two fruits for each soldier.
Claude felt that the gift was a little too meager. But when he thought about the 300,000 soldiers stationed in Amis, the logistics department had already done their part by being able to prepare such a welcome gift for the soldiers. He couldn't ask for too much.
So, he decided to fork out his own money and asked Berklin to buy two goats and two barrels of rye wine so that the guards could enjoy themselves.
On the 13th of January, Year 578 of the Sacred Light Calendar, the logistical transportation that had been interrupted for nearly half a month began to get busy again. Countless transport carriages loaded with logistical armaments and supplies on the mountain road were continuously transporting supplies to Emis City.
Apart from checking whether the carriages had proper permits, Claude's squadron had another mission: to clear the snow on the mountain paths in the area they were in charge of to prevent traffic jams.
On the 14th day of the second month, the Royal Guards who had rushed to the frontlines from the capital finally arrived. Their guards even took over the defense of the entrance to the mountain path.
Claude had wanted to stand at the side of the path to see if he could bump into Welikro, but there were four to five thousand men in a band and it would take half a day to get through the entrance.
He quickly grew tired. Seeing his team members standing by the side of the road and watching the fun, he simply gathered them together and continued shooting practice in the wilderness.
As there were soldiers on the mountain path, Claude couldn't let them practice live firing. Instead, he had them reload and aim.
After half a day of training, a group of officers on horseback suddenly appeared on the mountain path. They stood by the side of the road and watched as the guards kneeled and reloaded.
When Claude ordered the guards to rest for half an hour, a captain of the royal guards rode over and asked Claude to follow him. The first prince wanted to speak to him.
The first prince?
Claude wondered if Maria had asked the first prince to take care of him again. But when he went over, he realized that he was overthinking things. The first prince didn't even know who he was. The only thing he was interested in was the training method Claude gave the soldiers.
The first prince was a middle-aged man in his forties. He wore a normal royal guard uniform and didn't have any epaulets on his shoulders.
However, the epaulets of the officers around him almost blinded Claude. They ranged from first lieutenant to lieutenant general, both honorary and official ranks. More than half of them were majors and above. Claude raised his hand and saluted them before putting it down and standing at attention.
"You're the jarl of this squadron?
What's your name? "Hansbach asked in a gentle tone.
"Yes, Your Highness. I'm temporarily acting in this position.
I'm Claude Ferd, "Claude replied.
Hansbach pointed at the guns in the hands of the guards. "Claude, is it? I'd like to ask if all the guns in your squadron are aubass mark 3 muskets. Did the higher-ups force you to use them?"
"No, we specifically requested for them to be equipped with them."
"Oh, is that so?
I've heard many people say that this is a failed gun. Other than aiming and shooting accuracy, there's nothing good about it. Especially for soldiers who are used to the aubass mark 2 matchlock, it's very difficult to master and familiarize themselves with this gun. What do you think? "
"Your Highness, the quality of a weapon depends on the person who wields it and where it's used.
The veterans were used to the aubass mark 2 muskets, so it was only natural that they weren't used to it.
They even nicknamed it the Crooked Musket. It's common for there to be a large deviation when firing in a line, so they don't like to use the aubass mark 3 muskets.
My men are all rookies, so they don't know how to fire in a line, so they don't have any prejudice against the muskets. Once they get used to it, they don't think there's anything wrong with it.
Also, our squadron is in charge of guarding the entrance of the mountain path. We're in charge of daily patrols and security. The accuracy of this musket is actually more useful for us, since we only have to deal with a small number of enemies. "
"Hehe, the Crooked Musket …" Hansbach laughed. "The soldiers of Reddragon and Gryphon have nicknamed it the Crooked Lump. That's even worse than the Crooked Neck.
You have a point. Once the rookies get used to it, it won't be a problem.
But how accurate are your soldiers? "
"Your Highness, our squadron's accuracy is higher at a distance of a hundred meters. Beyond that, however, we only have a fifty percent chance of hitting the target.
That's not our problem. It's the musket itself. "
"Higher accuracy at a distance of a hundred meters?"
Hansbach's interest was piqued. He dismounted and said, "Let them fire live for me to see."
"Your Highness, you can't. Your safety is more important," a lieutenant-colonel cried.
"It's fine. They're soldiers of the kingdom, not assassins.
Besides, aren't you with me? "Hansbach said nonchalantly with a wave of his hand.
Claude said awkwardly, "Your Highness, there are soldiers on the mountain path. I'm afraid that the sound of live firing might cause a misunderstanding, so I only had them practice loading."
Hansbach laughed heartily. "Don't worry. Those are the royal guard. If they're scared by the sound of gunfire, that'd be a joke. I'll strip them of their uniforms and send them back to their beds."
The officers at the side also let out a burst of laughter.
Hansbach, on the other hand, recalled the training he had seen. "By the way, can you tell me why your squadron's soldiers have to kneel and lie on the ground for loading?"
"Your Highness, I'm Claude Ferd." Claude's face darkened. He had just introduced himself a few minutes ago.
"Alright, Claude. My apologies. Your name is rather common. I didn't remember it."
In this respect, Hansbach was very approachable. He wasn't as arrogant as Prince Wedrick, and he was more sincere when he apologized.
Claude could only smile. "It's like this. Because it's a precision shot, there's no need for the soldiers to stand up and reload after shooting. That way, they'll be easily countered by the enemy and suffer unnecessary damage.
So, I had them practice loading while lying down and kneeling. Even though it's slower, it can hide us and make it harder for the enemy to find us. "
Hansbach said thoughtfully, "You've thought things through. That's a good idea.
On the western front, many soldiers of the Red Dragon Legion and Gryphon Legion who used this gun were hit by stray bullets as they reloaded after shooting. Now, take me to see the accuracy of your soldiers' live fire … "
Since Hansbach insisted on seeing the accuracy of the guards, Claude had no choice but to do as he was told.
However, the accompanying officer had summoned a platoon of imperial guards and had them stand behind the guards, protecting the eldest prince very tightly.
At a range of a hundred meters, Claude had the guards take turns to fire ten rounds each time. Once they were done, they would take the target paper for inspection.
Most of them had seven or eight rings, with some having nine and ten rings as well. The results surprised the officers and Prince Hansbach.
According to them, even though the target paper was different from the target paper, only the best veterans of Reddragon and Gryphon could achieve that.
Hansbach was very satisfied with the results of the guards' practice, but Claude's face darkened. The lack of practice in the past two months had caused the guards' shooting results to drop by a large margin.
Hansbach, on the other hand, had forgotten Claude's name again, which made him feel rather awkward. Fortunately, the prince asked for Claude's name one more time before leaving on his horse.
"I thought His Highness would reward us with something because of our marksmanship. I didn't expect him to only praise us verbally and not give us anything practical. How stingy," Berklin grumbled unhappily.
"You wish," said Aboyev. "He is His Highness the Prince; do you think he will take a handful of gold out of his pocket and give us a reward on the spot?
That's something only merchants and nouveau riche would do.
If he wanted to reward us, he'd have someone bring it to us tomorrow. That'd be a pleasant surprise.
It's already good enough that he praised us verbally. "
Claude had always thought that Hansbach had come to see him because he found it strange that his soldiers were loading bullets in the prone and kneeling position. He didn't think much of it.
But he didn't think that the next morning, the acting battalion commander of the garrison, Captain Wardlov, would rush over on horseback.
"What mistake did you make yesterday?" Wardlov asked Claude.
"Mistake?
I didn't make any mistakes, did I?
I didn't do anything … "Claude didn't know what to make of the question.
Wardlov said angrily, "You didn't do anything? Then why did Prince Hansbach send someone to drag me out of bed in the middle of the night and make me go to his office to get all the records of the garrison?
If the gates weren't closed at night, I would've come looking for you. "
Huh?
Prince Hansbach got someone to get all the records of the garrison to his office?
Claude didn't know what was going on.
He had no choice but to tell them about how Prince Hansbach had brought his men to watch the guards' live fire drill.
"You're a lucky fool, kid." Wardlov looked at Claude enviously. "It's obvious that His Highness has taken a liking to you. You're going to make it big soon.
If I didn't trade two bottles of good wine for your garrison, you wouldn't have such an opportunity. Don't forget about me when you get rich. "
"Alright, don't mention those two bottles of good wine. Seriously, if you want good wine, just tell me. I have some here."
Claude wondered what Hansbach wanted to do with the garrison's records.
As a guard? Impossible, he had plenty of manpower.
Two days later, Claude received an official order to report to the ranger camp with the garrison band.