Chapter 901

Episode 901: The Imperial March (4)

What the Minister of Finance and Economy muttered to himself was not a joke.

Considering the cost incurred in transporting the imperial army to Italy, the cost incurred in the process of stationing them, the cost of various compensations and veterans policy to be paid to those who are injured or killed during training and battle, and their families, it is necessary to hire mercenaries and provide them. It was cheaper to supply firearms used by the imperial army.

And this has been proven in various studies conducted to efficiently carry out the prefecture’s orders.

-If you fill the space needed to transport 100 Imperial soldiers with supplies, you can transport 10,000 soldiers.

“Is this a possible number?”

Jang Hang-seon immediately answered Hyeon’s question after receiving the report.

“People need space to breathe, but things don’t need that space, right?”

“Oh, I see...”

“The operation to send troops from Shinji is scheduled to be carried out soon. However, if we take into account variables such as the distance from New Earth to Italy, the constantly changing climate, and possible outbreaks of infectious diseases, the number of imperial troops that can go from New Earth to Italy is at most 10,000. In that case, it is tactically advantageous to hire as many mercenaries as possible and send materials instead of people.”

Hyeon nodded to Jang Hang-seon’s answer.

With the adoption of Hyeon’s proposal, the empire’s operations changed once again.

-The empire’s top priority is to dominate the Mediterranean Sea. Ground warfare is mainly conducted by the Florentine military and mercenaries.

And the reason Swiss mercenaries were chosen as suitable mercenaries was not just because of the evaluation confirmed in Suez.

Switzerland’s geopolitical location also played a role.

Switzerland’s geopolitical position was highlighted as Milan, which had originally joined hands with France, joined hands with the Habsburgs, and Venice, which had previously joined hands with the Habsburgs, joined hands with France.

In a situation where the fastest and most convenient route down to Italy was blocked in both France and Italy, the best detour was Switzerland.

Therefore, it was immediately predictable that France and Habsburg would seek Switzerland.

“In that case, the best thing to do is to drive the stake down.”

Based on this decision, it was decided to hire Swiss mercenaries.

As an aside, not long after the delegation departed, a report came to Seoul that France and Habsburg were making various proposals and threats to Switzerland.

After checking the report, Hyeon clicked his tongue without realizing it.

“Tsk! “People’s thoughts are all the same no matter where they live.”

* * *

A mercenary contract was concluded between the Empire and Switzerland, and the Swiss Federal Council publicized this fact to the states within the federation.

-... Accordingly, strong men are recruited to work as mercenaries.

Those who work as mercenaries must meet the following conditions:

-A male between the ages of 17 and 30 with intact limbs. No religious affiliation.

-A person who knows how to read, write, and do math.

(Shortly)

After checking the carefully written down conditions and salaries, the Swiss men immediately packed their bags and headed to the recruiting station.

“Hey! Who cares about cows? “The cow!”

“You have a little brother, right? Little brother!”

“Your little brother is only eight years old!”

“I’ve been herding cows since I was seven! “Don’t catch me!”

In order to escape from the harsh environment and to leave their hometown to see the unknown land of Italy, rural youth and guild apprentices threw themselves into dangerous gambling.

The delegation, which was briefly checking the recruitment situation before returning to Florence, looked at the Swiss men flocking to the recruitment center and had an ambiguous expression.

“They probably don’t know that they have to risk their lives...”

“That must be how desperate their situation is.”

The Minister of Finance and Economy, who was listening to the young officials’ conversation mixed with sympathy, said something to the young people.

“Don’t forget that if Emperor Wen and Tai Shang had not been around, we might have been similar to them. When I was young. “There were many people who made themselves and their families into slaves to avoid poverty and hunger.”

“The emperor’s justification is ‘virtue’, but isn’t it inevitable that the subjects’ justification is not only ‘national interest’ but also practical reasons? But resentment is resentment. In that case, let’s hit him in the back later.”

“You mean the back of the head?”

“exactly. “What do you mean...”

After hearing Hyang’s story, Hyun’s face brightened and he nodded.

“What a refreshing method! “I need to use it properly at the right time!”

It was a night of intrigue.

* * *

Neighboring countries, upon hearing the details of the contract between the Empire and Switzerland, reacted almost like a game.

“100,000? 100,000? These crazy guys! “The money is rotting!”

“Was it not the ‘Land of Flowers’ but the ‘Land of Gold’?”

Ordinary people were surprised by the enormous size of the contract and its cost, and started talking about it. However, the expressions on the faces of those discussing strategy in the palace and military barracks were more serious than ever.

“It’s amazing that they spent that huge amount of money, but turning all 100,000 people into musketeers is an even bigger problem. “It’s not shock, it’s fear.”

“That’s a Florentine long gun....”

The performance of the Florentine long gun, which was discovered by sending spies, was amazing.

-A long gun that can fire 5 rounds without stopping once loaded.

With the advent of the Florentine long gun, France and other powers had to overturn all their existing long gun development, production and supply plans and start over from scratch.

-You may not be able to obtain the Imperial long-arm rifle, but you may be able to obtain the Florentine long-gun!

After a fierce and persistent challenge, a small number of Florentine rifles flowed here and there.

The powers that had acquired long guns disassembled them, figured out their structure, and began reverse engineering.

“The problem is still the bullets...”

As long as black powder was used, the bullets used in the Florentine rifle were bound to be large.

Bullet casings were also a problem. European powers were still using bullet casings made by wrapping paper around a copper base plate with a detonator attached.

The bullet casing made by oiling thick, tough paper was suitable for a single-shot gun. Like a military rifle, in order to put a few bullets into the magazine, you had to push them in with force, but each time you did that, the paper cartridges would get crumpled or tear, causing problems.

“As expected, shell casings made of copper are the answer.”

The problem was that the level of mass production technology was much lower than that of the Empire.

In the end, the European powers had no choice but to make a similar choice.

The replica of the Eulsik freight car uses an existing bullet, and the newly developed long gun uses a new bullet using a copper cartridge.

This was because freight cars that used free-fall cartridges using gravity had no major problems even when using paper cartridges. In addition, it was easy to mass-produce using a material called paper, so it was perfect for freight cars that consumed a lot of ammunition.

The militaries of the great powers, who were surprised by the unprecedented contract between the Empire and Switzerland and were looking for a solution, soon came up with a similar method.

“Even in the ‘Land of Flowers,’ it will take time to supply armaments for 100,000 people. Would you rather hit it now?”

“Are you okay? “Where should I hit it?”

“It would be difficult to attack a well-armed Florence, so why not attack Switzerland? If you do that, the Swiss will be stuck in the Alps.”

“That’s okay.”

However, their attempt was thwarted before it even began.

The down payment was not the only thing the Empire left behind in Bern.

These were Florentine long guns and 1 million rounds of ammunition, enough to arm 10,000 people, and instructors to train them.

“10,000 Florentine rifles!”

These were 10,000 Florentine long guns of reliable performance made directly by the empire.

“It was not only theoretically possible to say that if there was space to transport 100 fully armed soldiers, it would be possible to transport supplies for 10,000 people.”

The imperial soldiers who transported these supplies also shook their heads and muttered.

It reminded me of the nightmare I had when loading and unloading those supplies.