Several people came to the camp. Cao Jian said that he would bring the people in, while Guo Kang and others were waiting there - this was a military camp after all, and Guo Kang could only temporarily let the people in with the order written by his adoptive father.
"Do you think his soldiers are reliable?" Joanna asked in a low voice.
"We will definitely have to practice from scratch." Guo Kang didn't seem to care much about this: "If he found ordinary people with little combat experience, we would definitely have to break them up and reorganize them no matter what."
"If you have combat experience..." He hesitated: "Then you have to break up and practice from scratch."
"Huh? Why is this?" Joanna was a little surprised.
"There are not many Russians in our regular army." Guo Kang explained: "As for the auxiliary army... To be honest, their 'combat experience' often has side effects."
"Why is this?" Joanna still didn't quite understand.
"It would be a long story to talk about this." Guo Kang actually didn't intend to talk to her too deeply, so he prevaricated: "If you don't understand the art of war, it's not easy to talk about it."
"I really know a little bit about it." Joanna insisted.
"Oh?" This time it was Guo Kang's turn to be surprised: "I know the Roman military art, and it has been spread and studied by people in the west. But aren't you a businessman, have you also learned this?"
"This is a long enough story." Joanna imitated Guo Kang's serious expression, answered in his own words, and smiled again: "Of course, the length and the art of war are definitely incomparable. This is just because of myself, at the time Just a little persistence."
"You should have known it when we talked last time. My mother has a great influence on me, and I even blindly overestimate her influence." Joanna admitted: "Thinking about it afterwards, she and my father The two of them may see it clearly."
"Their marriage was a very conventional marriage. My father wanted to marry her mainly because of this sign - although my mother lost the competition for the throne, she had since left politics and no longer pursued power, but her bloodline And the reputation is still there after all.”
"The great Hungarian nobles who expelled her in the first place have been almost wiped out by Basil III and John IX. On the contrary, some small nobles and businessmen in Italy and Hungary have benefited from her grandfather's policies and are still willing to respect them. She. Although these people do not have much political or military power and cannot form a decent force, this network of contacts is obviously helpful to the family's business. "
"Over in Italy, the newly emerging small nobles and businessmen often try to improve their family's status and influence by marrying with the declining nobles. My father obviously has the same plan."
"Unlike several other families, he has always only cared about business. At most, he only participated in city-state activities. He did not even participate in formal diplomatic activities between city-states. But I feel that it is difficult to achieve anything in this way. "
"So you just invest, visit, and learn military skills?" Guo Kang asked.
"Yes, maybe it's because I have more contact with my mother. I have always felt that it is necessary to understand some military knowledge." Joanna nodded.
"Of course, I also know that this is not the main business of our family. It is impossible for us to really become mercenary leaders like Muzio Sforza's family." She shrugged: "But you see, my mother and Grandma even lost her throne. Isn't it because she had no understanding of military affairs and had no support from her family and the public, but she never fought a speculator? Those big nobles are all people who can adapt to the changing circumstances. When they are in dire straits, they immediately break their original vow to support their mother.”
"So I have always felt that even if we are not professional, we should at least understand some knowledge about war and have some basic judgment, so that we can gain trust from our friends and make our enemies worry. After that, we can look for suitable professionals to get help."
"Previously, Florence's military commissions have always been...hard to describe." She shook her head and said: "For example, in the early years, our contractor was the Englishman John Hawkwood. This guy is simply the most typical mercenary villain - —I think we would rather seek the support of a big country like Rome than allow ourselves to be blackmailed by people like this."
"It may be difficult for you to understand our situation. Let me give you an example." She said: "Siena in the south was forced to pay thirty-seven times to bribe mercenaries from 1342 to 1399. , a total of nearly three hundred thousand florins was spent, causing the city to become almost bankrupt.”
"Many of them are actually not particularly powerful mercenaries, but they can just blackmail them back and forth. Bribing them is not a long-term solution, because these people don't abide by the contract at all. Moreover, even if they bribe one, they will come again. one."
"We are looking for foreigners anyway, why not find someone more reliable? Even if we pay a fixed amount of tribute, it is better than having a lot of mercenary groups taking turns to rob us."
"So you came to me?" Guo Kang pointed at himself, and then explained: "However, I have to tell you, this is a misunderstanding. I am not a professional military talent, and my performance in previous exercises was mediocre. .You got the wrong guy."
"I think you are very suitable..." Joanna muttered: "I heard from my mother that you and your son are both kind and trustworthy people..."
"Where am I suitable? I am responsible for making suggestions here. I am a civil servant now." Guo Kang emphasized: "And whether he is kind or not is another matter. Under normal circumstances, shouldn't you find someone Are you someone who has a simple mind but is more talented in war? This way, it will be easier for you to control and still be effective."
"But these two points are not suitable for me." He spread his hands and said, "Why don't you give up and propose marriage to Shi Huizhen. She can match these two points - as long as you can stand her."
"I care about what others do." Joanna was obviously unhappy: "Forget it, you should tell me the difference in combat experience."
"We have always said that your art of war is the most valuable. People have to spend money to attend this course. Just treat it as repaying my investment, okay?"
"Is there such a thing?" Guo Kang was a little surprised.
"Yes, we are different from the barbarians in the north. We can understand the art of war. In fact, the term 'war art' was first proposed by the mercenary leader Babiano. His mercenary group only recruits Italians. People,” Joanna explained.
"Before, there were two main schools of 'art of war'." She said with great familiarity: "One is the Sforza I just mentioned. Their school emphasizes discipline, timely dispatch of the army and concentration of troops. Representatives of the other school It’s a mercenary leader named Bracho. They value surprise in war, and they especially favor the use of cavalry.”
"Sforza and Braccio were both Babiano's subordinates back then, so the teacher-instructor relationship between them is relatively clear."
"However, at the end of the last century, Basil III conquered Naples. King Ladislaus hired a large number of troops to try to resist, and both Sforza and Braccio were also hired as commanders of the kingdom. However, in the subsequent battles, the Naples army was defeated one after another. "
"If it is just because the soldiers are not tenacious and brave enough, we can still find an excuse. But the problem is that those few battles were completely defeated strategically. The exquisite command skills that were once praised seem like nothing in front of real military strategists. A child's trick. This incident caused a great shock to people who studied theory. After that, learning the Eastern art of war became a trend."
"It's okay if you say you are a civil servant. That means you are the most orthodox Eastern strategist." Joanna pestered him and said, "Tell me, what is the difference you are talking about?"
"If I have to tell the difference..." Guo Kang had to think about it seriously, and then said: "The most basic thing should be the quality of soldiers. The recruits of our legion here have been trained for two years plus six months. I think those strategies and tactics are just the icing on the cake overall. These are the most basic differences."
(End of chapter)
