Chapter 104 - Shocking Words!
Chapter 104 Shocking Words!
Lorne was finally in the mood, and he raised two fingers.
“If you want to talk about ideas, I have two ideas, but unfortunately, it’ll only stay between us. The Ministry of War will definitely not accept my ideas.”
Allen did not care about that, and he quickly nodded to show that he understood.
“The first point is to expand a team made up of elite soldiers, in addition to the regular troops and government soldiers.”
With just one sentence, Lorne forced Allen into a dangerous situation.
Expand the regular army and lead soldiers outside of the prefectural soldiers?
This change was too big. The prefectural soldier system was the most basic law for Lolan to recruit soldiers.
Lorne saw the dumbfounded look on Allen’s face and knew that he did not understand what he was saying.
Therefore, he patiently explained to his friend.
“The expansion of the standing army does not mean that we have to change the military system of the government. It only means that we have to combine the military system of the government with the recruitment of soldiers.
“The current military system of Lolan is the military system of the government, which means that the soldiers bring their own weapons and armor. When the farmers are idle, they take turns to guard the border city, and when the farmers are busy, they farm the crops.
“Although this greatly saves the expenses of Lolan’s military and makes it convenient for both the war aspect and farm work, there are some disadvantages.” Allen was already intrigued by Lorne’s words and hurriedly asked, “What are the drawbacks?”
Lorne continued to answer this question.
“One is that the prefectural soldiers need to bring their own weapons, armors, and rations. Sometimes, this will become a heavy burden. If weapons or armors are damaged, it will be an expense to repair them.
“The second reason is that the soldier system and the field-sharing system would be tied together and depend on each other. However, once the field allocated to the soldiers is changed, the number of soldiers will be uneven.
“The third reason is the hassle of adjusting between guarding the border and farming crops.
“But sometimes, if the time management is not good, it is very hard for them to stand guard for a long time and not be able to return to the farm, or there will be a delay in the execution of the order to go to the border.
“Over time, the people will develop resistance to the military system of the government, and it will also be difficult to mobilize the soldiers of the government on the court’s side.
“It’s not beneficial to both sides at the same time. This is the drawback of the military system of the prefectural government.”
At this moment, Allen was already in a state of extreme shock. He originally wanted to ask how to reduce the wastage of weapons and armors, but he did not expect to gain such a well thought answer.
It actually involved the most fundamental recruitment system of the entire Lolan Empire. The military system of the prefectural government was now the military foundation of the Lolan Empire.
He did not expect that Lorne would find so many loopholes out of this.
Allen felt that he seemed to have created something extraordinary. He thought for a while in a daze, and then asked hesitantly, “According to what you mean, perhaps the prefectural military system needs to be changed?”
Lorne shook his head.
“I don’t mean to completely deny the military structure of the government, but to say that in addition to the regular military structure of the government, we can implement the military structure of the government and recruit a backup team.
“According to my estimation, within two years at most, Lolan will have a world-shaking battle with the Bora Kingdom in the north.
“At that time, this team formed through the recruitment system will be able to come in handy, and the surplus weapons and armor in the government treasury every year will be used for their training. Won’t this solve the problem of waste that you mentioned just now?”
Hearing this, Allen had gotten more relieved.
He was afraid that Lorne would completely deny the military system, which would shake Lolan’s military foundation.
However, it seemed that Lorne only said that there were drawbacks, but it would not seriously affect the need to abolish it. It only needed to be changed, and the two systems would coexist side by side.
That meant that this problem would be easier to deal with. When he went back, he could discuss it with His Majesty the King and the others, and then come up with an idea.
Thinking of this, Allen heaved a sigh of relief and asked curiously, “You just said that there were two ways. Besides this, what was the other one?”
Lorne spread his hands and said casually, “Directly package it and sell it to some small countries around, and they will pay for it with their population or money, or they will exchange it with previous items.”
Allen felt his scalp go numb. He was shocked by Lorne’s suggestion!
First, he wanted to change the military system, and now, he wanted to trade weapons with the neighboring countries.
He could not help but ask in a shocked tone, “This is a weapons trade, trading weapons with the neighboring countries… Wouldn’t that mean that we’ll be strengthening the power of the enemy countries? This is an act of funding the enemy, it’s treason!”
Lorne looked at Allen speechlessly. “Hey, the so-called act of funding the enemy is not it.
“I specifically emphasized just now that we’ll be selling weapons to the weak border countries, such as Zhenhao, Ryukyu, Linyi, and even the six tribes of Nanzhao in the south.
“What kind of waves can they create by gaining our weapons? I, Lolan, can send a state’s military force to suppress all of them!”
Allen did not say anything because he knew it was possible.
If he sold the weapons to the Bora Kingdom people, it would naturally be an act of foolishness.
The problem was that selling them to a small country like Ryukyu, which was the size of a palm and could not cause any waves, would have no effect at all.
While Allen was still thinking, Lorne continued to speak.
“Furthermore, by selling weapons to these small countries, we can exchange them for labor, money, or precious treasures. Then, we can take them back and use them to make newer and better weapons.
“In this way, there is no cost lost at all. Instead, we can use this opportunity to upgrade our weapons. Isn’t that a good thing?”
Allen could not help but think about all of this seriously. This was a proposal that was worth thinking about.
By allowing those small countries to pay for Lolan’s equipment, it would not pose any threat to the safety of the Lolan Empire.
Thinking about it this way, there seemed to be many benefits, but not many disadvantages.
Lorne saw that Allen was still in deep thought, so he could not help but raise his glass and take a sip.
“If you still don’t understand, I’ll tell you more about the cause and effect of it all.”