A cocktail party was being held in Hall No. 1 of the Wrights Crown Hotel.
The crystal lamp illuminates the exquisite goblet, the golden champagne is emitting a trace of bubbles, and the ice cubes in the glass vessel are shiny. On the long dining table covered with white floral cloth, all kinds of snacks and snacks are available.
Well-dressed nobles gathered together in twos and threes, communicating in low voices.
Ever since the eldest princess recruited local troops from the principality, cocktail parties have been held here every day to entertain the local nobles who came to participate in the war and provide them with a place for communication.
"Viscount Blount, I finally see you!"
"Baron Prader, you are finally here!"
In a corner of the reception hall, two middle-aged nobles hugged each other.
"I haven't seen you for almost ten years, and you still look so young." "Oh, I'm old, and my child has grown up."
"Seeing you reminds me of the days when we worked together under the earl." "Yes, after work every day, we would go to the bar and get drunk."
"Is Mrs. Xueli okay?" "She is in good health, but she has been suffering from insomnia recently. As you know, the war is about to start, and she is very worried. Where are my siblings, how is her health?" "You have been wronged by me. , the sunshine in Beihuang is too strong, I’m afraid you won’t recognize it when you see it.”
The two old colleagues reminisced about old times, drank a few glasses of champagne, and the conversation turned to face to face.
"Viscount Blount, I came here this time because I want to join the eldest prince's army. I wonder if you can make an introduction." Baron Prader said.
If local troops want to participate in the war, they must first join a certain army group in the principality.
The eldest prince, Gavin Maris, has a high status. He is the first person under Grand Duke Salode, and he is also the first heir to the throne of the duchy and the future king. Not only that, he also had Ricardo, one of the four great military geniuses in the Red Earth Continent, under his command. He had a strong army and strong horses, and everyone expected him to do so.
"Oh, this is not easy to do..." Viscount Blount looked embarrassed, "The quota of the First Army has been filled, and I am also in the Second Army..."
Viscount Blount's intention was very clear. Even he himself could not enter the First Army of the Grand Prince, let alone Baron Prader's local troops in the edge town.
"So, what about the Second Army?" Baron Prader asked hurriedly.
"The Second Army is guarding the White Night Line of Water Weasels. The leading general is Howard Martha, a cousin of the Maris family, who is considered the eldest princess. Among the three major armies, the possibility of fighting is the least. If your purpose is the same as mine, just If you want to get some military subsidies and wait for the opportunity, then I will recommend you to General Howard." Viscount Blount paused and said, "But if you want to fight for real and exchange military honors for your future, then I I suggest you go to the Third Army."
Baron Prader thought for a while and asked, "What's going on with the Third Army? Who is the leading general?"
"The leader is Earl George, who is mainly responsible for the Chiyan front line. Your views are relatively close, and you should have many common topics."
"That's good!" Baron Prader immediately showed joy when he heard that the old-school nobleman Earl George was leading the army, and then sighed, "I had a drink with Earl George before. He is really an old gentleman with high moral character. .”
"If you think it's suitable, I will introduce you now. I just had a drink with Earl George's quartermaster, who should still be here now." "Then there is Lord Viscount Lao." "Look what you said, We are all old friends, don’t be polite to me.”
Not long after, Viscount Blount took Baron Prader to find Cao Dexi, the director of the munitions department of the Third Army of the Red Dragon Principality.
Cao Dexi has a big belly and a rough face. When he looks at people, his eyes are narrowed into a line, making him look a bit arrogant and vulgar.
"Sir Cao, this is my old friend and colleague, Baron Prader." Viscount Blount introduced.
"Hello, hello..." Cao Dexi put on a smiling face.
"Sir Cao, I want to join the Third Army and serve Count George." Baron Prader put one hand on his chest and nodded.
"How many people did you bring?" Cao Dexi put away his smile and had a serious attitude.
"One hundred and sixty-two combatants, fifty-four support personnel, sixteen mechas, comprehensively evaluated as a quasi-lord-level battle group." Baron Prader raised his head and said with a bit of pride.
"The number of people is quite large, at least it is an independent battalion, but..." Cao Dexi glanced at Viscount Blount and said with some embarrassment, "There are many local troops coming to defect now, but the Third Army has a limited budget..."
"Well, you guys chat first, I have a few friends over there that I want to entertain." Viscount Blount left wisely, leaving the two of them to communicate alone.
"Sir Cao, look..." Baron Prader sent two hundred gold coins over while no one was paying attention.
If you do not join the group army, you must be incorporated into the reserve army and wait for recruitment. The reserve army's subsidy is extremely low, just enough for food, and it is very demoralizing. Some reserve troops have grown fat while squatting, and their combat effectiveness is greatly reduced.
Cao Xide received the money, looked around, and showed a greasy smile, "Oh, sir, you are too polite."
"I'll have to ask Sir Cao to take more care of me in the future."
"Okay, if you have any difficulties in the future, just come to me." Cao Xide regained his serious look, "I will report it tonight. Once the count approves it, I will arrange to go to the count's palace to take the oath. After the oath is completed, you can Tell me and I will give you a unit number."
"With the number, you can log in to the military website to report. Soon the count's gendarmerie will be stationed in your unit. After they complete the inspection, military subsidies can be issued."
"Although it is a little troublesome, it is a necessary procedure." Cao Xide concluded.
"Thank you, my lord." Baron Prader nodded and saluted.
"People from the gendarmerie are not as easy to talk to as I am. Please be patient, sir." Cao Xide reminded.
The role of the gendarmerie is to ensure that the army's orders are carried out and to supervise operations during battles.
"understand……"
On the morning of the third day, Baron Prader and his two sons came to Earl George's mansion.
Earl George is a veteran nobleman of the Red Dragon Principality. He has a tall gate and luxurious decoration, and has a history of nearly two hundred years.
"Brother, when do you think we can live in a place like this?" Peter Prader couldn't help but ask as he looked at the front garden with numerous sculptures and exquisite gardening, and the white mansion behind the fountain with its exterior walls carved with reliefs. road.
"Kill a few counts on the battlefield, and we can live there." Sean Prad said in a relaxed tone.
A moment later, under the date tree in the back garden, Earl George was wearing formal attire, and next to him stood the priest of the Holy Light Church as a witness.
The state religion of the Longhong Principality is the Holy Light Church, and they will be invited to attend every major ceremony.
The person taking the oath places his right hand on the Book of the Holy Word and begins to take the oath.
“I, John Prader, Baron of the Kingdom, Mayor of Prader Town, I now solemnly swear that I will remain loyal to the Royal Family of Maris and voluntarily join the Third Army of the Red Dragon Principality led by Earl George. I will fulfill my duties, obey the command of the highest commander of the group army, and never retreat in front of the enemy until the end of my life..."
In the afternoon of the day when the oath was taken, Baron Prader received the unit number from Cao Dexi.
[The 79th Independent Battalion of the Third Army of the Red Dragon Principality]
Baron Prader used a black watch to log into the Red Dragon Principality's military website, found the page of the Third Army, and uploaded the independent battalion's personnel list and armaments information.
Military subsidies are evaluated based on the number and individual strength of personnel, as well as the overall situation of armaments. The more people there are, the stronger the team is, and the more expensive the equipment, the more subsidies they will receive.
In short, it’s how much money you get based on your strength.
[Information has been uploaded, please wait patiently for the gendarmerie to arrive]
The day after the application, a six-man gendarmerie squad arrived at the troop camp in Prades.
These military policemen are all personal soldiers of Earl George. Their military uniforms are brand new and uniform. Compared with the rural troops with old combat uniforms, they stand out.
They looked arrogant, and looked at ordinary soldiers with a condescending look.
"The ninth detachment of the third squadron of the first military police brigade of the third group army was ordered to enter the 79th independent battalion!"
After performing military salutes, the gendarmerie began to inspect personnel and equipment. Wearing white gloves, they held registers and scanned them with keen eyes.
"This Valkyrie of yours was produced in 2586. It's already thirty-one years old. Is it considered scrapped?" "The performance is still very good. If you don't believe me, I'll drive it for you to see."
"I don't care if you can fire it or not, I can only calculate it based on a 70% new shoulder-resistant gun."
"This, this isn't right, the fuel consumption is several times worse..."
"Then it's considered as scrap, not a penny."
"Okay, okay, you are the military master, you have the final say."
The captain of the mecha squad did not dare to offend the military police captain. While nodding in agreement, he secretly sent someone to tell the Baron's youngest son the situation.
When Peter Prade found out, he ran over angrily and asked the gendarmerie captain to reason.
"Why do you calculate it based on a shoulder-resistant gun? This is a Valkyrie, and its fuel consumption is three times that of a shoulder-resistant gun."
The military police captain frowned and raised his voice a bit, "It's already pretty good that you can resist artillery fire with half a shoulder. It's already thirty-one years old and should have been scrapped long ago!!"
"Our Valkyrie is frequently inspected and repaired. The parts inside have been replaced countless times. Now it drives like a new one. If you don't believe it, I'll have someone drive it over to you and take a look. If you find something wrong, I'll give it a try. Neither." Peter argued. This Valkyrie is my father's favorite. He usually treats it like a baby and fixes it himself if there is any minor problem. No one knows the state of this mecha better than him.
"What I say is waste is waste. What are you talking about? Can't you understand human language?" the gendarmerie captain cursed impatiently.
Peter immediately became angry, "Why are you so unreasonable!"
"You can argue with whomever you want, get out of the way and stay out of the way!" the gendarmerie captain yelled.
"You are discriminating against our local troops." Peter shouted excitedly.
"Okay, if you don't cooperate, then let's go!" The gendarmerie captain stamped the registration book with force. "If you are not convinced, you can go to the military headquarters to complain. We are always welcome." He said a few words, turned around and left.
"Well, don't stop, the army, don't go ..." Sean saw his brother and the gendarmerie conflicting, and hurried over and pulled the gendarmerie captain.
"Let go, don't pull any strings!" shouted the gendarmerie captain.
Sean hurriedly let go and said with a smile, "Master Jun, children are ignorant, don't argue with them. If there is anything, it's easy to discuss, easy to discuss."
"Brother..." Peter hesitated, but was stopped by his brother, "Shut up!" Then he pointed in the distance, "Go away, don't get in the way here!"
Peter felt a little aggrieved, but still left.
"Master, can you please be a little more accommodating?" After his brother left, Sean put a money bag into the hand of the military police captain.
"What do you mean?" The gendarmerie captain immediately threw the money bag back, "Who do you think I am!"
"Master Jun, what are you..." Sean looked at a loss.
"Forget it..." the gendarmerie captain's tone softened, "I see you are a sensible person, so I won't embarrass you." He lowered his voice and asked, "Do you understand the rules here?"
"Brother, please tell me." Sean quickly came over.
"You know the points on it," the gendarmerie captain hinted.
Sean quickly understood that the superiors would deduct money from the subsidy, and then asked, "How many points?"
The captain of the military police pointed two fingers and said, "Twenty percent, that's the rule." Then he emphasized, "It's the same for everyone."
Sean hesitated for a moment and nodded. The army has a long tradition of deducting military pay, and he has heard of it a long time ago. Since everyone is like this, there is nothing they can do.
"Okay, be sensible!" the military police captain smiled and patted Sean on the shoulder, turned to the registered men and said, "Take note, a 90% new Valkyrie."
"Thank you, thank you, brother." "I didn't receive the money, I just transferred it." "I understand, I understand..."
The next day, the military subsidy for the month was distributed, and the military police captain took 20% of it.
Returning to the military police headquarters of the Third Army, 70% was handed over, and the remaining 30% was shared with his brothers.
The reason why military expenditures are distributed through the system is to avoid fraud for personal gain. But in fact, wherever there are people, it is inevitable. There are policies above and countermeasures below, it’s just a different approach.
