Chapter 15: Recruitment Policies
The following day, with a clearer mind and no immediate concern over the 'thieves' party' thanks to Murat's immense deterrent power, Rose could focus on something more important at the moment: recruitment policies. While Murat was already in charge, he was a general and strategist, not a leader with the charisma of his father, whose presence was capable of inspiring even the most cowardly to enlist.
Despite his doubts, the prince had discussed his strategy with the marshal and his future mother-in-law. Both were, at the very least, concerned about the long-term implications of providing subsidies to the recruits' families in addition to their salaries. However, they agreed that the immediate priority was recruitment and training, before "the thieves' party" could gather more men and launch an attack. With any luck, the attack might not happen, but the three concluded that prevention was far better than cure.
Now, more aware of the true and vast power of the empire, Mina felt an intense curiosity about the young prince's plans. Not because she felt safer by his side, but due to this curiosity, she decided to follow him from the moment he announced the start of his "little project."
Upon leaving the castle, they immediately noticed one of Murat's men approaching. This was due to a practical necessity: protecting the caravan. The first horse-drawn carriage was filled with two-pound sacks of wheat, courtesy of Rose. A second carriage transported strips of dried meat, a crucial supply, as hunger, as they well knew, could make people reckless. The presence of an imperial soldier was usually enough to deter any trouble most of the time.
As soon as they arrived at the city square, the leading soldier immediately captured everyone's attention:
"Hear ye! Today we will be recruiting soldiers to form the city militia. Those who enlist will go through a rigorous six-month period of trials and training. Upon completion, they will face a selection test, and only those who pass will be officially named members of the glorious Army of the Rising Sun," he bellowed, causing every single resident present in the square to approach and pay closer attention.
"Of course, we are aware that, besides their salary, you are concerned about your families' well-being. Therefore, and as an incentive for recruitment, the young Crown Prince Rose has announced that each recruit will be given a weekly provision consisting of one pound of dried meat and two two-pound sacks of wheat." Following this announcement, two other soldiers in the public square quickly headed towards the carriages arranged for the event.
The instant the speech ended, the carriages' hatches were opened, revealing that they were indeed full of sacks of threshed wheat. They also contained strips of dried meat, perfectly wrapped in a strange material they could not identify. Due to the small visible grease stains, they assumed it was some type of wrapping designed to prevent the grease from staining the cloth sacks.
(Author's Note: It is important to note that if there is no paper yet in the badlands, seeing butcher paper would be a huge cultural shock for the characters).
Seeing the perfectly packaged rations, and especially the meat, made people start to drool. In the city of Sedena, fresh meat was a luxury, costing approximately 50 copper coins per pound. Most depended on game meat, a dangerous activity due to the defense of animals like wild boars or deer, and the constant threat of opportunistic predators, such as the wolves that infested the area.
Dried meat was considerably more expensive. This was due to the time it took to prepare, which meant that the few merchants who occasionally brought it would generally sell it for one silver coin (equivalent to 100 copper coins).
Now they had the real opportunity to eat meat at least twice a week, which would undoubtedly significantly improve their savings. This, in the long run, would allow them access to a better lifestyle just by participating in a recruitment program. However, they did not know that, once the selection was over, Rose planned to double the ration, not only to ensure their long-term loyalty but also because a soldier would need calories. In reality, that was the only way Rose found to ensure that, once they were soldiers, they would at least consume some protein.
Observing the worn clothes of the men, women, and children in the square, Rose immediately understood that the recruits would probably give everything they could to their families.
"I need to bring farm animals as soon as possible," he muttered to himself. He had seen a few, but Sedena's population was two thousand people. Being so close to autumn and three months from winter, if he truly wanted the town to survive, they would need much more than just two pairs of cattle and a few pigs.
And he hadn't even seen chickens, which logically meant they didn't eat eggs, a form that would be excellent for keeping themselves fed. Therefore, his next trip home would have to be to get as many chickens as he could.
For the moment, the young prince limited himself to observing how people slowly began to form lines. He had noticed, of course, the attempt to rush the carriages; if it hadn't been for the swift intervention of Murat's soldiers, who stepped forward. Three soldiers, visibly armed and superior to the crowd in height and build, proved to be a good deterrent against anarchy.
Immediately afterward, the soldier who had finished his speech quickly unfolded a long table and placed a thick wad of parchment on it. These were the handwritten registration forms, and although they barely exceeded a hundred, they were sure they would be enough for the day.
After a moment of tense expectation, a young man, about 27 years old, was the first to gather the necessary courage to approach. With the speed allowed by his limited skill as a humble peasant who barely knew how to sign, he filled out the forms. Immediately after, he was instructed to head to the carts to receive his weekly ration of provisions.
Everyone watched with skepticism, doubting that they would truly hand over so much food just for enlisting as a recruit. However, upon reaching the two guards at the carts, one of them, without the need for showmanship—the situation was already striking enough due to the people's nervousness—simply turned around, took the two sacks of grain and the bag of dried meat, and handed them to the man, without an ounce of effort or fanfare.
This, naturally, caused an avalanche of people who rushed to be first in line. After seeing that they had kept their word, and although there were still doubts about how long they could keep up the pace, people were hungrier than anything else. They quickly ran to enlist or, in the case of women and children, to look for the older men to inform them of what was happening.
"I think we're going to need more than we brought," Rose muttered to himself upon seeing the chaos he had caused. Fortunately, more men soon arrived to maintain order and instruct everyone to form a single line or they would close for the day, which was enough to calm the most anxious.
"Sir, is this viable in the long term?" asked Mina.
She didn't entirely understand if the plan would last. After all, wheat grain was expensive, let alone meat. No matter how much money Prince Rose might have, Mina greatly doubted that he would be able to sustain this for long.
"I'll tell you the truth... nothing is viable in the long term, even the gods can fall... but this will serve for a while, until I manage to boost the city's economy," Rose replied honestly. As Melione's son, he knew better than anyone that a fall was possible; after all, Cronus overthrew Uranus, and then Zeus, with the help of the Hecatoncheires and their rain of mountain-sized stones, hurled Cronus himself into Tartarus. Nothing was eternal or infallible, and sooner or later, it would fall. However, his father had taught him that worrying about the future instead of the present prevented him from achieving anything.
In the end, even his father, famous for his search for immortality, realized that he would prefer a thousand times to be immortalized as the great unifier than to rule forever over a bunch of nothing.
"I understand," Mina merely said.
A feeling told her that the matter was not as simple as he presented it, but since she didn't understand most of the things he did, she supposed the best thing was to wait and see what happened.
End of Chapter