Chapter 2780 Letter From the Emperor

People who don't know the inside story may have questions:

Why can't the size of the Continental Army be maintained at around 40,000, so that more recruits can't be recruited to expand its size?

The reason is actually very simple, that is, lack of money!

Conscription is easy and difficult to pay. The Continental Army's funds, equipment and supplies are already very difficult to maintain a scale of 40,000 people. Only when the veteran's contract expires and a share of the salary is vacated can there be a quota for recruiting recruits. .

After all, those who are willing to bring their own dry food to join the army are a minority, so under the rigid constraints of military expenditures, the size of the Continental Army has not been able to grow.

There is also a fact that is often beyond the imagination of those who lack a deep understanding of the New World.

The strength of the Continental Army is 40,000, which does not mean that the independents in the New World only have 40,000 capable of fighting. In fact, every town and village in the colony has its own militia.

The three colonies of Jotunheim, Midgard, and Yalfheim have a total population of nearly ten million. How many of them are active militiamen?

It's shocking to say it, but it is conservatively estimated that the total number of active militiamen is no less than 300,000!

That's right, the strength of the Continental Army is only a fraction of the total number of militias in the New World.

Compared with the prospect of an independent country, the residents of the New World are more keen to defend the three-acre land under their noses. Only when the intruders hit the door of the house, will they realize that "protecting the home" and "defending the country" are not contradictory.

This is the situation in Alfheim right now:

Gates' regular army was completely lost in Port Prince, but the militias in various places were not injured.

Grass-roots militia organizations provided sufficient sources of soldiers for the Continental Army. Now Yalfheim has no shortage of soldiers, but what it lacks is training, equipment, and an excellent general who can integrate the militia against the invaders.

After recognizing this reality, it is not difficult for Joan to draw a deduction:

General Vasa has neither the strength nor the need to send large-scale reinforcements to Yalfheim again, but it is necessary to select a capable general who has a foothold in the south as soon as possible to carry the burden of "firefighters" to replace the captured Charles Gates, rebuilding the Southern theater.

George Vassar himself seems to be the most suitable candidate, but as the commander-in-chief of the Continental Army, once he goes south to "fight the fire", who can sit in Forge Valley for him and stabilize the situation in the north?

Joan can't think of a solution for both.

In the following week, Joan not only practiced daily, taught his adopted daughter Inanna to learn magic, but also kept a close eye on the progress of the war in the New World.

In the blink of an eye, in late May, Joan received a letter from Roland, and learned that General Viglaf, who had just returned to China not long ago, was sent back to the New World by His Majesty the Emperor.

Poor General Viglaf, who was born to work hard, specially selected a group of elite instructors from the Far East Military Academy before leaving, and organized a group to Forge Valley to assist General Vasa in training recruits.

Where did the recruits come from?

Charles Gates led his troops to surrender in Port Prince, didn't he just free up 20,000 salary?

With the salary, there is no need to worry about recruiting strong young men who are willing to carry guns and eat food in the New World.

The question is, where did the gun come from?

In the Battle of Prince Port, when 20,000 Continental Army officers and soldiers surrendered, they were also forced to surrender tens of thousands of rifles, which made the Continental Army's shortage of weapons even worse.

In order to solve this problem, the instructor group led by General Wiglaf also had another mission on this trip to escort the magic transport airship and send 20,000 "wind guns" and the associated inflatable devices to Forge Valley.

In addition to the news about the war, Roland also mentioned two things in his letter.

One is to urge Joan to return to Fort Colas before June 1 to attend the 1627 "Colas Prize" award ceremony.

The second is to ask him to meet and talk about the prevention and treatment measures of a mysterious disease called "Sacred Fire Syndrome".

...

As early as the founding of the Far East, Roland, who was still the crown prince at the time, proposed to create an award, which would be awarded once a year to reward domestic elites who had made great contributions to technological progress, literary and artistic creation, and public undertakings.

This award, which was later fixed on June 1 every year, is the "Korras Award" with the highest gold content in the Far East literary and academic circles.

The awards are divided into ten categories in total, and the prize money for a single item is as high as 100,000 gold thalers. In addition to monetary rewards, the winners will also receive the title of nobility and the medal of honor bestowed by His Majesty the Emperor.

In fact, Qiao An had already received the wind, and he was selected as a candidate for this year's "Korath Award" in the category of magic construction technology with Jack and Kafta by virtue of the improved "Wing Cavalry" floating device.

Under this classification award, the results of other award candidates are obviously not as good as the "wing cavalry" floating device. Judging from the meaning revealed in the letter of His Majesty the Emperor, Joan, Jack and Kafta shared the 1627 "Husband" Kolas Award" should be no suspense.

With Joan's current net worth, bonuses are dispensable to him, but the honorary commendation of "conferred the title of nobility" is more attractive.

I was born in a rural family in the south of the New World. I was originally a filthy rural boy. After winning the award, he transformed into the honorable "Lord Vader" in people's eyes, and his whole person suddenly became "upper class"!

However, after thinking about it, Qiao An remembered that he had been deeply influenced by enlightenment thoughts during his years of studying, and he called himself a new youth advocating "republicanism" and a progressive intellectual who opposed imperialism and feudalism.

So now the question is, can republican fighters accept the title of nobility conferred by the Far Eastern royal family?

When progressive intellectuals face the test of "sugar-coated cannonballs", what choice should they make?

The ideal way is of course to stick to integrity, guard against the wooing and corruption of feudal nobles, and refuse to accept the award in a righteous way. How can money and vain titles shake the lofty republican beliefs!

That being said, Joan felt that...his conduct seemed not so noble, and his belief in republican ideals was not as pure as he imagined.

Accepting the honorary title of "Korras Award" and "Lord" is tantamount to surrendering to the corrupt nobles?

"No! Of course not!" "Quasi-lord" Dr. Vader shook his head secretly, "Only a fool with a low EQ can be so stubborn. It's not black and white, and someone with a developed EQ like me, of course, grasp it with both hands, and use both hands hard. The 'sugar-coating' is peeled off and eaten, and the 'cannonballs' are returned intact."

Receiving the award belongs to the award, which does not mean changing the position. Who said that the nobleman cannot be a republican fighter at the same time?

Isn't Rebecca also a noble lady?

The diplomat of the Continental Congress, Mrs. Josephine, has a title of countess herself, and she is still working hard for the new republic, worrying about it?

The more Joan thought about it, the more she felt that this was the case.

"Sir Vader, staunch republican"...that seems reasonable, nothing wrong with it!