Liedefonk brought another group of men to the camp in Squirrel Village. This time, he was there to give Claude a promotion and a medal.
"Kid, you sure got lucky. I didn't think His Highness would actually give you a knighthood medal."
Liedefonk's face was filled with envy and jealousy. Even if Claude had been promoted to major, he wouldn't have felt that way.
As the officer in charge of 1st Ranger Tribe, Liedefonk was awarded a rank-one merit for Claude's victory. With another rank-one merit, he would be promoted to lieutenant-colonel.
Making use of the fact that reinforcements had arrived in the three southern prefectures, Liedefonk handed over the responsibility of guarding the checkpoints to the local garrison. He gathered two bands of 1st Ranger Tribe and started a large-scale purge of the rebels there. The results were decent and order was maintained. By the end of the year, he should be able to add a silver crescent to his epaulette.
A knighthood medal?
What the hell is that? Claude was confused. He thought that the knighthood medal would be the same as the medals he got in his past life and might even be worth a few coins.
Back in his past life, when he followed his boss to that country, he spent a lot of money to buy a Soviet military uniform from the black market. There were more than ten Soviet medals on it.
He thought back to the Korean country in the north. During the military parade, the uniforms of the generals were covered with medals, and they looked like ancient armor. He wondered if they could be bulletproof.
He didn't think that there would be something like a medal in this world.
Liedefonk sighed deeply. He knew how ignorant Claude was. It was only natural that he didn't know the importance of a knighthood medal.
After all, Claude had only been in the army for half a year before he was sent to the battlefield. Even though he was a sergeant major and had a high starting point, he didn't know much about the military.
Usually, only after five to six years in the army would those who wanted to climb up understand the value of merit and figure out how they could get promoted.
It had been almost three years since the war broke out. Claude had been at the frontlines all this time and didn't have the time or the mood to learn about military knowledge. Or rather, no one could tell him.
Ledefonk had no choice but to explain to Claude what the knighthood entailed. It meant that Claude had one foot in the ranks of the nobility.
In other words, a knighthood in Aueras was more respected than some hereditary nobles.
Because the status of a hereditary noble could be passed down from one's father, some mediocre people could also become nobles of the kingdom.
However, the soldiers who received the Knight Medal had made unquestionable contributions on the battlefield. They had used their own lives and courage to win this honor.
The Knight's Medal was placed in a small flat box. When he opened it, he saw a black circular badge on a purple velvet box. The pattern of the badge was a gunner galloping on a horse, aiming and shooting from the horse.
The diameter of the badge was only three centimeters. It didn't look eye-catching at all, just like an ordinary commemorative badge.
Ledefonk's eyes seemed to be glued to the black badge. He muttered that he would be satisfied if he could get a single Knight's Medal in his life. Even if he looked back on his military career before he died, he wouldn't have any regrets.
Claude jokingly suggested that he could give the Knight's Medal to Major Ledefonk. He couldn't let him die in peace, could he?
Unexpectedly, Ledefonk told Claude solemnly that he couldn't say that in front of others, let alone joke about the Knight's Medal.
The kingdom's military law stipulated that the Knight's Medal couldn't be lent or given away. It could only be used by the recipient.
Any act of counterfeiting the Knight's Medal would be seen as a stain on the Knight's Medal. Violators would be punished by military law. The lightest punishment would be ten years of labor and the heaviest punishment would be death.
"This is the secondary badge. You can keep it or wear it on your chest."
Major Ledefonk reluctantly handed the small box to Claude. "Only with this badge will others be able to address you as Sir Knight. It's the same in the military or elsewhere.
But if you don't wear it, people will be able to call you by your name instead of calling you Herr Claude. "
"Wait, Sir. What does this mean?" Claude asked.
Major Ledefonk smiled. "Only with a secondary badge can there be a main badge. You don't think the Knight's Medal is something so inconspicuous, do you?
The main badge is the size of a child's palm and is made of gold with a purple-gold belt.
However, you'll have to wait until the end of the year when His Highness holds a celebration to award it to you. His Highness will personally hang it on your chest.
However, the main badge isn't easy to wear as it's too eye-catching.
Since the recipient isn't a nouveau riche, the secondary badge is given to him. It won't be too eye-catching when worn on his chest and will make him seem more reserved.
There's still half a year until the end of the year, so I'll give you the secondary badge to show that you've officially become a Knight. "
It was only then that Claude understood that the Knight's Medal had such rules.
In order to avoid making mistakes in the future, he simply asked Major Ledefonk to pin the Knight Medal's secondary insignia on his chest and clearly remembered the position of the secondary insignia. This was to prevent him from making the common sense mistake of wearing the secondary insignia on his left and right side.
Next was the promotion. That was simple. He just had to change his epaulette. The epaulette of a captain had three black stars on it.
As for the identity and promotion procedures, Ledefonk had already taken care of them at camp headquarters. All Claude had to do was sign them.
Finally, there was the bonus. Due to the victory and promotion, Claude received a total of 60 crowns.
Ledefonk jokingly said that Claude could make a fortune from the war. All he needed was a few more victories like that.
After that was done, it was time for Makemurid and the rest to get promoted.
The first prince decided that all the soldiers who participated in the war would be promoted one rank and 1st Ranger Tribe would get a rank-one merit.
However, since Claude was directly promoted to captain, he wouldn't get a share of the promotion. But he would still get a rank-one merit.
He would be promoted to the rank of major as long as he made two more first-class meritorious contributions.
Ledefonk brought a large group of men from camp headquarters to handle the troublesome matter of getting all the soldiers promoted one rank and getting a rank-one merit.
He would handle Claude's matters personally, but the promotion and rewards of the 130 soldiers would be handled by his men.
After a whole day of work, everyone was exhausted.
Apart from Makemurid, Dyavid, and Makemurid, two of Claude's squad jarls were promoted to second lieutenants. Makemurid was quite annoyed that the two squad jarls who used to be his subordinates were unbelievably lucky.
The reason was simple. The two squad jarls had already accumulated two rank-one merits. Now that the first prince had decided to give a rank-one merit to every soldier in 1st Ranger Tribe, the two squad jarls caught up and were promoted to sergeant major.
After that, all the soldiers who participated in the war were promoted one rank and the two of them were promoted to second lieutenants on equal footing with Makemurid.
Ledefonk and Claude held a camp affairs meeting. Due to the promotion of all the soldiers who participated in the war, Claude had double the number of sergeants, non-commissioned officers, and staff sergeants compared to the other platoons.
Those were the elites of 1st Ranger Tribe. Ledefonk decided to transfer some of them to other platoons and brigades. Claude had more officers than soldiers, so it wasn't easy to make arrangements.
1st Ranger Tribe's current situation was that they had to conquer Blackmaple Castle, scout the path in Peck Mountain, and defend the three southern prefectures. During that time, they had to deal with the local riots and Claude's war. Their casualties hadn't been replenished at all and they were short on 200 men.
Now that reinforcements had arrived, the higher-ups informed them that new recruits could be replenished. At the same time, they had to transfer a batch of officers to fill in for Bluefeather who had retreated from the frontlines.
Strangely, the officers the higher-ups wanted to transfer from 1st Ranger Tribe didn't participate in Claude's war against the nobles of the two dukedoms.
That was why Claude's base was the one with the most basic officers in 1st Ranger Tribe. As the battalion commander, Major Ledefonk had to transfer some of the sergeants there to fill in the gaps in the other brigades and squadrons.
If Mazik, Moriad, and Dyavid's trio were willing, they could be transferred to other brigades as platoon jarls with their rank of second lieutenant.
However, the three rejected Ledefonk's request and preferred to stay under Claude's command. They felt more confident fighting under Claude's command and wouldn't have to worry about losing their lives as cannon fodder.
This time, Claude was given an official post as the brigade jarl of 1st Ranger Tribe.
When Ledefonk decided to reorganize 1st Ranger Tribe, he immediately appointed Claude to that post.
Now that he was promoted to captain, it was only natural for him to take up the post.
The reason he made such an arrangement was because he was worried that he would be transferred elsewhere if he was promoted to lieutenant colonel at the end of the year. If that happened, Claude, as the brigade jarl of 1st Tribe, would have the right to act as the battalion jarl of 1st Ranger Tribe.
1st Tribe was an enhanced one. Apart from the four platoons, there was also an artillery platoon equipped with eight light infantry cannons.
Ledefonk left the defense of the mountain path in Claude's hands.
However, the 1st Brigade was still an empty shell. Apart from Mazik, Moriad, and Dyavid, who weren't fully staffed yet, and a 15-man cannoneer crew with three light cannons, it would take around half a month to replenish the remaining manpower and equipment.
The new infantry and artillery platoons would have to rely on Claude himself to deploy the officers from the other three platoons.
When Ledefonk returned, he took two newly promoted second lieutenants, five sergeants, 14 sergeants, and 18 staff sergeants with him.
Looking at the departing troops, Claude could only smile bitterly. He couldn't bear to part with his old subordinates. After so long, they had developed a rapport.
But he had no choice. 1st Ranger Tribe needed to be reorganized and lacked basic officers and veterans. All he could do was support them. After all, 1st Ranger Tribe was where he belonged and he couldn't betray Ledefonk's trust in him.
It took Dyavid more than a week to return to Squirrel Village. He lost more than ten of his men when he led his platoon out to quell the riot.
However, the wounded were sent to the infirmary and Ledefonk promised to replenish them as soon as possible.
The replenishment of new soldiers and equipment would only arrive ten days later. Now, Claude's brigade was in charge of guarding the entire mountain path. The platoon guarding the entrance was also recalled by the battalion.
Claude decided to have Dyavid's band guard the entrance of the mountain path and send a squad to guard Blackrock Village. The rest would be stationed at Squirrel Village for training.
Makci would lead a platoon to watch over the 400 captives and Moriad would be in charge of training the new recruits. The artillery platoon would train in the valley next to them.
Time passed quickly, and in the blink of an eye, it was already September. The recruits' three-month training had ended, and everything in the camp was on the right track. The captives had also opened up nearly three hundred acres of farmland for Squirrel Village, and the mountain road had also been repaired to Blackstone Village.
Claude decided to have the captives continue working on the mountain path. Since there wasn't much to do, he might as well repair the mountain path from Squirrel Village to the entrance of the three southern prefectures. The 400 captives had nothing better to do and he couldn't just feed them on bread without doing any work.
As Squirrel Village gained another 300 acres of farmland, the village elder became the richest man in Squirrel Village.
Because he was the one who paid for the captives to open up the mountain fields, the three hundred acres of land was under his name. In addition, the tavern's business was good, so the old man recruited three young women from a few mountain villages to work as maids in the tavern. This was to attract the soldiers stationed in the camp who liked the new and hated the old to come to the tavern.
The villagers of Squirrel Village had also found a way to get rich. They either farmed livestock or opened up fields to grow vegetables for the camp's canteen.
Some of the villagers even planted fruit trees on the slopes that weren't suitable for farming, but that would take a long time and they hadn't seen Qian Jing for the time being.
There were also some smarter villagers who went to the other villages to buy goods and sell them to Claude or the village elder.
Most of the time, Claude only bought the rarer mountain products and had Myjack sell them to the bigger merchants in town to earn some extra income.
The village elder, on the other hand, only bought low-priced, ordinary goods for the tavern to use as ingredients.
Claude's days were rather carefree. He didn't expect to live so peacefully in the midst of all the war outside. It was as if he was living in paradise.
Even 1st Ranger Tribe didn't receive any missions. It was as if they had been forgotten by the higher-ups.
Major Ledefonk had asked for missions from the top several times, but the general staff had only given him orders to rest and reorganize for the time being. Maintaining order and stability in the area was 1st Ranger Tribe's mission.