[FMMIKA] Chapter 223: Military Affairs (I)

"Your Majesty, please take a look."

As Artorius still furrowed his brow, lost in thought, a beautiful secretary with white hair and red pupils had already laid a set of documents in front of him.

Watching this scene, Artorius displayed a delighted expression, as if he had just discovered a gourmet feast.

It wasn't that Artorius was a workaholic or that he was suffering from some illness that required constant work. It was more that as the emperor, he couldn't simply idle away his days, frolicking with Artoria Species.

He had to work.

So, he chose to do what he loved.

This time, the beautiful secretary had brought information regarding the Imperial Army's weapons and equipment, as well as matters concerning the Imperial military budget.

These were decisions Artorius could make. After all, he was a young man, and what young man could resist matters related to weapons and military affairs?

Looking at these data, these forms, Artorius naturally felt elated.

As a lover of strategy games in a modern world that was becoming increasingly obsolete, having control over an entire empire, with over twenty legions (not counting the Artoria Species), totaling more than two hundred thousand troops at his disposal for delightful military equipment and dressing game, was a dream come true.

Was there anything else in this world that could bring such joy?

Of course, aside from the activities he and the Artorias indulged in—even an emperor couldn't engage in such activities all the time.

So, in this extraordinary setting, gazing upon his own army and dressing up his beloved soldiers, providing them with better weapons, superior armor, and excellent warhorses and shields, Artorius found the same joy one might experience when dressing up their dolls.

As these well-equipped and well-trained soldiers, lined up neatly and paraded through the palace square before Artorius in a grand display, he derived even greater pleasure than an Otaku admiring a glass cabinet full of cherished figurines.

"Let me have a look... The Polish Front, it seems."

In reality, the concept of 'Poland' hadn't yet emerged in this era. As a latecomer among nations, Poland was relatively young in Europe.

The people living in Eastern Europe were merely unorganized Western Slavic tribes.

But just like the first person who 'discovered' the New World of America went on to name the inhabitants there as 'Indians'. Following the simple principle of 'might makes right', Artorius naturally named that small piece of land Poland. And he christened the barbarians living there as the Polish people or the Poles.

In this region, Artorius stationed three legions. If one counted the legions stationed in Bohemia and Austria, it totaled five.

Including the legions stationed in Germania, there were eight in total.

These eight legions constituted what was now known as the 'Eastern Front', controlling about one-third of the empire's military power. Their mission, however, was quite straightforward.

They were tasked with developing and cultivating the land of Black Forest in the Eastern Military Region, similar to a corps of builders. Most of the time, these soldiers, who were both farmers and warriors, spent more time wielding axes, saws, hoes, and plows than they did using their weapons.

Under the leadership of the Empire's officers and officials, with the assistance of around a hundred thousand Imperial soldiers and nearly two million assimilated Germans, Slavs, Sarmatians, Huns, and Scythians, a road from Krakow through Berlin all the way to Paris was under construction.

Canals were cleared, logging camps established, farmlands and pastures created, and castles constructed using stone, rammed earth, and wood.

Everything was progressing systematically.

In such circumstances, the Eastern Military Region rarely saw significant battles. They usually dealt with scattered and petty disturbances. Occasionally, one or two tribes would rebel foolishly, seeking to defy the mighty empire, and the Eastern Front would dispatch a couple of legions or a cavalry squadron to easily defeat them.

These erratic security campaigns and production activities naturally caused the combat effectiveness of the Eastern Military Region to decline.

Hence, despite having nearly half of the empire's forces at their disposal, their combat effectiveness was only about one-third or slightly more.

"Need more warhorses and additional weapons and equipment?"

Artorius looked at the requisition document sent by the Eastern Military Region, took a moment to ponder, and then rejected the request.

From the perspective of a strategy game player, of course, he would want all his legions to have top-tier equipment. As for logistics and maintenance costs, those were not in Artorius's consideration since he didn't need to worry about logistical maintenance costs at all if it was a game.

But in the real world, it wasn't that simple—no, actually, it was. After all, Artorius also had a Third Magic. If he wanted, he could easily conjure a million sets of armor or two million weapons.

However, as mentioned before, this would disrupt market dynamics. He wouldn't do it unless absolutely necessary. It wasn't right to indulge his hobbies in this way.

Artorius knew that in the next few hundred years, Eastern Europe would remain a 'peaceful' place, until that suspected Velber 02, appeared and reduced the entire Cuman–Kipchak territory to rubble, turning all the Rus people into slaves.

So, during this time, all they had to do was maintain stability in this region, develop it, cultivate the promising, flat, and fertile land, and steadily push the borders of the empire into the Ukrainian steppes.

It was straightforward.

With the empire's current military strength, organizational structure, and combat capabilities, it was incredibly easy to defeat the Slavs who were still stuck in tribal times, lagging behind in weapons, tactics, and organization.

Every day, the empire would defeat and subdue many tribes which made the empire's borders expand eastward.

What baffled the Eastern Roman Empire was that the lands of those barbarians, which they considered extremely difficult to conquer, troublesome, and almost impossible, were gradually, almost voluntarily, moving closer to the Holy Roman Empire. This made many people of the Eastern Roman Empire feel uneasy.

Some promoted the idea that the Holy Roman Empire was a threat and those who believed that it had become a country of barbarians. Of course, some propagated that Artorius was the true chosen one, the savior of Rome—though it did sound a bit odd to put it that way.

In any case, no matter what they did, the Eastern Roman Empire couldn't stop Artorius because, between Southern Europe and Eastern Europe, the forbidding Carpathian Mountains, the Danube River, and vast undeveloped plains isolated the Eastern Roman Empire from meddling in the north.

At most, they could send secret envoys, hoping that these Slavs would unite and resist the Holy Roman Empire's continued advances. Of course, at the same time, they had to be wary and careful not to reveal too much, lest the Holy Roman Empire become angry and launch a Roman unification war.

Compared to the narrow Western Europe, the mountainous Southern Europe, and the heavily forested Central Europe, the flat and expansive Poland-Ukraine region held great promise.

In the agricultural age, this land was perfect for both farming and herding, and it was close to the sea, making it ideal for horse husbandry. Giving it to nomads or the somewhat foolish Slavs would be a waste.

So, Artorius ignored the demands of the Eastern Roman Empire and continued to develop this land.

What equipment did Artorius's knights need when advancing eastward?

As a passionate strategy game enthusiast, Artorius had a fondness for pikes, plate armor, and heavy cavalry.

He liked long halberds, war hammers, longbows, and crossbows. If he had a few more war chariots and heavy artillery, that would be even better.

But naturally, none of this was feasible.

In forests, wilderness, and vast plains, heavyweight troops had a hard time. And in scattered, chaotic battles, long pike formations weren't very useful.

Knights and plate armor were certainly good, but not in large quantities. Longbows and crossbows were similar.

So, in the end, apart from a small number of elite troops, the vast majority of the Eastern Military Region's troops were lightly armed.

The infantry wore breastplate armor, and there weren't many formations of long pikes. More infantry were equipped with battle axes, throwing axes, and javelins, fighting in skirmish formations.

Cavalry, such as the Cossacks and nomads, were predominantly light, armed with bows, curved swords, and spears.

Only a very small number of heavily armored knights were tasked with assaulting strongholds.

Their role was to provide the decisive blow when facing nomadic tribes on the steppe or to fight in clustered formations in forests and hilly terrain, tearing open the enemy's array with long halberds and poleaxes.

As it turned out, this tactic was very effective for the current Eastern battlefield. Artorius had no intention of changing it. At least not for decades.

However, these elite troops along with the elite generals were not deployed in the Dalmatian region originally occupied by the Ostrogoths to guard and remain on high alert against the Eastern Roman Empire.

Instead, they were stationed in the southern regions of Gaul, ready at any moment to launch a combined sea and land assault. They were prepared to cross the Pyrenees Mountains or enter the Spanish territories via the Mediterranean, with the intention of wiping out the Visigoths who had taken residence in these lands.

Unless the Slavs could truly unite and muster a hundred-thousand-strong army, Artorius would not approve the upgrading of the Eastern Military Region.

They had plate armor.

They had long spear formations.

They had heavily armored knights, archers, crossbowmen, various types of war chariots, and legions in heavy armor. Artorius had them all.

Although knights and soldiers in heavy armor lacked endurance and required rigorous training, maintaining numerous warhorses demanded extensive alfalfa fields and supplying them with ample oats, grains, and even eggs.

As an avid enthusiast of strategy games, Artorius had a peculiar fondness for longbows, in a way that could be considered rather delicate, or even subpar.

Leaving aside the dreadful consequences of long-term practice, which led to spinal deformities, the effectiveness of the longbow, in fact, did not compare favorably to the compound bow. After all, it was merely a single-piece bow.

The mechanically superior compound bows of future technology were, unsurprisingly, more outstanding. Whether it was the recurve cavalry bow or the long-limbed infantry bow, or even the large bows that shot heavy arrows at close range.

As one of the most important long-range projectile weapons in the current world.

The empire had at least five standard bows, paired with twelve different arrowheads to deal with various types of enemies—of course, this was merely theoretical.

Crossbows had a slow rate of fire, and the production time, material costs, and future maintenance costs of a good crossbow were higher than those of firearms. Bows required manual stringing and significant time for practice...

In summary, in an era where firearms were not widespread, the empire still needed a combination of both.

Speaking of this topic, Artorius remembered the game's settings once again.

As an avid enthusiast of strategy games, Artorius had always had a deep love for long-range projectile weapons. He found great pleasure in watching a multitude of archers on his battlefield unleash a volley of arrows that would bring down the enemy.

To annihilate the enemy army without them even getting close to his troops gave Artorius a profound sense of satisfaction, unlike anything else.

So, Artorius enjoyed using archers.

However, using only English longbows could lead to aesthetic fatigue. At times like these, he needed something new and exciting.

Crossbowmen were fine, as were musketeers, but for Artorius, they felt a bit 'subtle'. So, quickly, he chose something more 'unconventional' from a European perspective—the Eastern-style troops, a blend of Turkic, Arabian, Persian, and nomadic influences.

The top Eastern troops were versatile elites, with top-notch infantry skilled in both archery and melee combat, as well as cavalry capable of both shooting and charging. The multifaceted strength of these powerful warriors exuded an 'unconventional' beauty that captivated Artorius.

However, their armor level couldn't match that of the Western troops, and Eastern troops essentially had no long spear formations. This made them slightly inferior in head-to-head strength compared to the late-game Western armies, which frustrated Artorius.

If it were possible, he hoped for top-tier troops that combined the characteristics of both Eastern and Western troops.

One with the best plate armor, the best warhorses, and a mix of knights equipped with both lances and bows, along with infantry armed with long spears, halberds, crossbows, large shields, and bows.

Of course, even in a single-player game, balance had to be considered, and such units wouldn't appear in the game. However, modifying unit types was not out of reach.

But when a game reached that stage, it became dull.