Ch.163The Military Nation (3)

“…So, you’re saying that His Majesty is forcibly dragging his subjects into the army. Is that right?”

“Yes, Your Highness.”

“Hmm…”

The vassals watching their lord’s madness-tinged actions are uniformly shocked and horrified.

No, what possible reason could there be for dragging all citizens into the army when it’s not even wartime?

During war, sure, there’s never enough meat shields, so conscripts can be thrown in. But to manage these conscripts during peacetime and consistently provide them with military training?

No matter how much training they receive, commoners remain commoners and serfs remain serfs. They could never defeat soldiers, knights, and mercenaries who have spent their entire lives honing martial skills as their profession. Why bother?

“Even serfs have been included… it seems he’s truly determined.”

The fact that even serfs were included in this regular military training is chilling.

While slavery was officially abolished centuries ago—as one cannot enslave fellow believers of the same faith—slaves still remain in the form of serfs who cultivate the lord’s land.

Unlike slaves, serfs are recognized as having the right to own property, but they’re still the lord’s assets, making it difficult to treat them harshly. What if they suffered injuries that prevented them from farming?

With commoners, you can simply drag them in for labor or use them as meat shields in war, then send them back without worrying about the aftermath. But serfs are clearly the lord’s property, so it’s different, isn’t it?

The number of serfs has already plummeted, making it difficult to find new ones. Since the land can’t be left idle, hiring commoners has become extremely common. Why take such a risk of losing serfs with this madness?

“Is it true that His Majesty has only mobilized people from his direct territories?”

“Yes, Your Highness.”

He hasn’t arbitrarily taken people from other vassals’ territories, only conscripting from royal domains. So as an outsider vassal, I don’t necessarily need to make an issue of it.

Still… I desperately want to object. I want to restore His Majesty’s sanity.

If I had held a position at court, I would have desperately tried to dissuade His Majesty from such actions.

I would have argued that the common people are destined to become enemy achievements whether trained or not, that there’s no need to spend money training them during peacetime, and that we should hire more mercenaries instead.

“…I suppose I’ll have to wait and see.”

Still, not raising objections is the loyal thing to do.

Overturning a decision already made by His Majesty would be beyond disrespect—it would be an insult. Interfering in another lord’s governance is taboo, and the king is also a lord.

The Bourgogne royal family has traditionally focused on military matters, but this generation is particularly zealous.

……….

“Military… doctor?”

“That’s right.”

While touring the university with Ellen, I bring up the main topic, feeling the timing is right.

Ellen, whose face had been full of smiles until just a moment ago, instantly loses all traces of joy. Perhaps because it’s work-related?

“Ellen, with all the medical knowledge you’ve gained at the university, you must understand how filthy military camps are.”

The armies of this era could, without exaggeration, be considered walking plagues.

Unlike modern times, where water gushes out at the turn of a tap, there are clear limits to cleanliness here, no matter how much individuals might care about hygiene.

Above all, the overall education level and corresponding civic awareness are extremely low, making it easy to find soldiers who find bathing too troublesome.

“I’ve never seen a military camp…”

“Ah, is that so? Hmm… then think of it this way. Imagine men who never wash, rolling around in dirt every day, sweating, and sticking close together.”

“Ugh…”

Ellen’s face contorts instantly, apparently having visualized it.

How remarkable that she can make such dynamic expressions from just imagination. Or should I say it’s cute?

“Anyway, that condition alone is extremely dangerous, but then add injuries from battle.”

“…It’s just delayed death, isn’t it?”

“Exactly.”

If you’re attacked? Then it’s one of two outcomes:

Die immediately or die later.

“Due to the unsanitary environment that makes disease easy to spread, military strength weakens even before battle begins. After combat, wound infections cause tremendous casualties.”

There’s a reason the Korean military constantly cleans whenever possible.

When orders for sunlight disinfection or thorough cleaning suddenly come on holidays, you might want to punch the officer, but it’s hard to openly rebel against such orders.

Cleanliness is one of the most important goals of modern military forces.

“Of course, mercenaries and knights know this from experience, so they pay attention to cleanliness. But ordinary soldiers like conscripts… they don’t care.”

“They’ve lived that way outside the army too.”

Thanks to my obsession with cleanliness, citizens of Dijon and other major cities have developed some awareness of hygiene.

But in ordinary cities or rural villages without proper facilities… ugh, the reports make my skin crawl.

With citizens being conscripted nationwide for military training, horrific hygiene-related reports are coming in simultaneously from everywhere. Since they were conscripted by my decision, I must develop countermeasures.

“That’s why I need Ellen’s help.”

To solve these problems, we need specialized, high-level personnel—those who have completed Dijon’s medical curriculum.

Some might ask why we need to dispatch special talent just to keep environments clean, but one shouldn’t expect much from the medical common sense of this era. Until recently, the court physician was killing people with the four humors theory!

“Ah…”

When I take Ellen’s hand asking for help, she makes a short, strained sound before slowly nodding.

Ellen is a professor specializing in hygiene.

If Ellen identifies talented students and reports them to me, I can dispatch them to the army as military doctors to facilitate cleanliness.

……….

While Dijon University, essential for obtaining high office, attracted numerous noble heirs, the military academy drew many noble applicants despite offering no such advantages.

Of course it’s military science! For medieval nobles who live in a world where the honor of war and combat is reality, the opportunity to study military science is beneficial in itself.

Unlike Dijon University, which was less popular among nobles and thus had space for commoners, the military academy was extremely competitive, making commoners exceedingly rare there.

“Ugh… the smell.”

“…Good heavens.”

And now these noble individuals are witnessing the scene before them with expressions suggesting they’ve seen something they shouldn’t, either wrinkling their faces or turning away completely. It’s filthy and smells terribly.

The general said there would be excellent teaching materials, but… is this what he meant by teaching materials?

I’m not sure if it’s right to call people “teaching materials,” but since they’re helping us learn military science, it’s not completely wrong to call them that.

“From now on, you will form platoons with these conscripts and learn various tactics such as attack, defense, supply, and breakthrough. Your seniors learned definitively through actual combat in Caroling, but you don’t have that luxury, so we must do it this way. Of course, since the conscripts are of much lower quality, you’ll need to train them before employing such tactics.”

Indeed, the instructor is right.

No matter how much theory you learn, theory has clear limitations. By directly commanding soldiers, those limitations can be greatly overcome.

Of course, this presupposes thorough theoretical knowledge.

“…”

“Yes, speak up. Let’s see… Vermand?”

Louis, heir to Duke Vermand, carefully raises his hand and receives permission to speak from the instructor.

After graduating from Dijon University’s public administration department, Louis wanted to study military science as well, so he applied to the military academy and was immediately admitted with his father’s full support. Of course, he also wanted to stay in Dijon to see his beloved, but that remains his secret.

“I heard these are conscripts, not regular soldiers… what happens if a conscript is injured during training?”

“They will be discharged.”

“…Without any compensation?”

“Yes. So please handle them carefully.”

Although nobles and commoners live in different worlds and don’t understand each other’s circumstances, witnessing the miserable reality of commoners firsthand would trouble even the most arrogant noble.

Especially if that noble has a kind nature.

‘…When I receive my platoon, I’ll have them bathe first.’

Louis resolves to take care of his platoon’s hygiene, recalling the medical knowledge he learned as a general subject at the university, taught by her.