Chapter 902

Episode 902: The Imperial March (5)

The Empire did its best to carry out a camouflage operation to hide the type and amount of cargo moving with the mission.

It was to avoid the eyes of the powers that would be on the way from Suez to Florence.

Therefore, military supplies such as guns and ammunition were placed in camouflaged boxes rather than the wooden boxes that everyone knows, and were shipped as close together as possible to reduce the number of transport ships.

Those who suffered the most during this process were the imperial soldiers

. This was because the loading and unloading process was repeated several times in order to load as much cargo as possible while maintaining the safety of the ship.

Thanks to this, the number of imperial transport ships departing from Prince Henry’s Port to Florence did not increase significantly, and the eyes and ears of the surrounding powers who were watching this judged this.

-Slightly more than usual. From this point of view, it appears to be a normal envoy.

It was a mistake to miss that the waterlines of the ships heading to Florence were sinking more than usual.

Despite such efforts, a significant amount of military supplies had to be moved to Florence on regular flights.

And even when they arrived in Livorno and Florence, the imperial soldiers had to take care of the unloading of these supplies.

This was because they had to fool Florence’s eyes just in case.

“They are good friends... but their mouths are the problem. “You’re too chatty.”

“Chatting is a problem, but his bragging is a bigger problem. “What kind of bastard’s bluff is as strong as those from the Ming Dynasty?”

“I guess that’s what all Italians are like?”

The imperial people’s opinion of the Italians was not very good.

-Good friends to hang out with, but a bit hard to work with...

Italians were passionate, but just as excited and careless.

* * *

Switzerland’s mercenary recruitment was not smooth, but it was like a storm.

Applicants began to flock from places close to Bern where the proclamation was posted early. As time passed, proclamations were posted and rumors spread even to small rural areas, and the area in front of the recruiting office became crowded.

Imperial Army officers belonging to the mission held head-to-head meetings with officers of the new Swiss Federal Army every day.

Among the imperialists and Swiss, it was the ‘Swiss Federal Army’, but its external name was ‘Unified Swiss Mercenary Corps’.

This was due to the characteristics of Swiss mercenaries.

Swiss mercenaries started out as militias in each state. The state government operated its own military. Thanks to this, the Swiss federal government sometimes hired them.

But things changed when the empire employed 100,000 people at a time and recognized the Swiss Confederation as an independent nation.

-Integration is necessary for efficient operation.

The Swiss federal government, which accepted the empire’s claims, integrated the militias that each state operated independently into a single army.

Of course, it was an army operating under a single banner called ‘White Cross’, but it was not yet a perfect army.

The units stationed in each state were composed mainly of residents of that state, and the state was responsible for recruiting personnel.

To give a simple example, if a unit created in the canton of Bern was sent to war and suffered losses, it would be recruited from among the residents of the canton.

“This is something that is very inefficient...”

“But we can’t just say that we should abandon tradition unconditionally...”

We have already experienced the problem of manpower recruitment while fighting large and small battles, and have found a solution to some extent. It was a frustrating thing for the imperial army officers to see. But I couldn’t force them to just throw it away. This was because it was a foreign country’s military and, if done incorrectly, could result in interference in internal affairs.

“It won’t be possible until you experience it properly in a really big war.”

“Until then, the supply staff will die, but...”

Recruiting manpower was also the job of the supply branch, and the imperial army officers who briefly expressed condolences for the misfortune of the supply staff, who were sure to have a hard time ahead, soon revealed their true feelings.

Thanks to this, they were familiar with mercenaries, something that ordinary imperialists would not be familiar with.

Mercenaries were people who sold their lives in exchange for money.

Most of those who volunteered for these mercenaries were people who ran away from their hometowns, which were just stuffy villages, to escape poverty.

They joined the mercenary army out of a mixture of desperation and a sense of adventure, but after a while, most of them began to regret it.

In particular, newcomers who experienced combat for the first time and learned reality were faced with a choice.

Either run away or just get corrupted.

Therefore, what we saw in many places in Europe and the Middle East were the corpses of mercenaries who had deserted and were hanged, as well as the corpses of mercenaries who had abandoned the battle and were hung for excessive looting.

However, the ragtag group of people marching in front of me now had high morale and discipline, unlike the chaotic march.

“Is this why you are a Swiss mercenary?”

Seeing the surprisingly impressive appearance, the Imperial Army officers asked the Swiss Army officers who were moving with them as to the reason.

And the imperial army officers looked like they had been taken aback by the answer given by the Swiss army officers.

“That’s because most of them are from the same hometown. As I said before, mercenary units are formed on a canton or village basis. So, if they are in the same unit, they all come from the same hometown. But deserting or showing cowardice on the battlefield? “As soon as the news arrives in my hometown, it is obvious that all my family there will be criticized as ‘the family of a fugitive’ and ‘the family of a coward.’”

“Ah...”

* * *

After 15 days, the delegation and mercenaries arrived in Florence.

The ambassadors and Lorenzo de’ Medici, Giovanni de’ Medici, who had heard the news through a messenger in advance, waited for the returning envoys and mercenaries at the entrance to Florence.

The Medici people, Shin Suk-ju, and Seong Sam-mun were waiting with excited faces without hiding their expectations, but Yu Eung-bu and the imperial army officers were showing unusual expressions.

This was because of a separate report sent by the Imperial Army in addition to the officially sent report.

-Someone sent 29,000. The situation is a mess, but morale is high.

-Help me! Or please send more people!

“It looks like it’s really serious...”

The response department and the Imperial Army were worried as they recalled the report sent by the Imperial Army officers remaining in Switzerland.

“The good news is that we have taken over the Swiss mercenaries hired by Florence?”

Soon after the imperial delegation headed to Switzerland, Shin Suk-ju and Seong Sam-moon worked hard to persuade Lorenzo and Giovanni to take over Hans’ troops.

-The Empire will also hire Swiss mercenaries.

-In order to increase the efficiency of operation and command, the Empire will take charge of all Swiss mercenaries.

-Instead, the empire will take responsibility for all supplies and salaries.

As if the last condition had worked, Lorenzo and Giovanni handed over all of the Swiss mercenaries, including Hans’s troops, to the empire.

The empire that took over the mercenaries began to train them.

“Doesn’t that seem like too much training for getting used to a new weapon?”

“I guess they’re training their own regular troops, not mercenaries?”

“It looks more like training instructors than that?”

While the officers of the Florentine army were expressing doubts about the training being more intense than expected, an incident was heard from Switzerland in which the empire stabbed the great powers.

The Florentines who heard the rumor looked at the imperial embassy and the imperial people with surprised eyes.

“so!”

It was certain that those who were now being trained to have a sweet taste in their mouths would become instructors who would train their compatriots who would arrive in the future.

Thanks to securing enough instructors, the newly arrived Swiss mercenaries would be mobilized in a short period of time, and the existing force structure would be overturned in an instant.