Chapter 214: Rewards and reforms

Chapter 214 Rewarding the Army and Reforming

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Even when people from all over England gathered to celebrate Christmas, Edward was not idle.

After accompanying Elizabeth and the others to Westminster Abbey for prayer, after lunch, Edward urgently ordered Luna to load the various food and drinks that had been prepared into the carriage.

In fact, after becoming king, Edward understood a truth, the army is always the most important pillar to maintain the rule.

There is a saying that goes, political power grows out of the barrel of a gun.

A king without an army is not a real king.

After 1688, the reason why the power of the British king was getting worse day by day was because the Parliament deprived the royal family of the right to rule over the army.

The parliament has complete control over the army, and even the navy, which has been controlled by the royal family, cannot be spared.

With the army, you can control the parliament and thus have the right to tax, instead of just relying on the king's own prestige.

For example, the later Lord Protector Cromwell, when he ruled the United Kingdom, the Parliament was completely reduced to a puppet, who could be manipulated by him.

This is why the parliament supported the restoration of the Stuart dynasty, and it was only after Cromwell's death that he dared to support the restoration of the king.

That's why the parliament has always prevented the king from having a standing army, just to prevent the king from monopolizing power.

However, Edward used the expansion of the guards to circumvent this restriction, so as to achieve the same purpose.

Why did the parliament agree to the king's expansion of the guards? First, because the power of the Tudor king became stronger and stronger, and it was difficult for members of parliament to resist this right.

The second is because they thought that the royal family did not have enough money to support the Guards.

According to the period of Henry VIII, it is indeed the case, 10,000 pounds a month, 120,000 pounds a year, which is half of the royal family's annual income, and it cannot be supported.

However, when they were making a good joke, they were surprised by Edward's handwriting.

This is also why the parliament agreed with Edward's political exchange, handing over the subsidy to the central government forever, with an army of 5,000 people on the side, they are not so courageous.

This is also because the local militias are not completely controlled by the local gentlemen.

In order to express His Majesty's concern for the guards, Edward specially asked Luna to prepare 100 pigs, 500 sheep, and thousands of chickens to reward these loyal troops.

Of course, these rich foods were only part of it. In order to create an image of the king’s generosity, Edward directly gave one pound to each soldier and five pounds to the officers as a reward.

In this way, Edward directly lost about 10,000 pounds, which is almost a month's cost of the Guards.

Knowing that His Majesty the King is coming, the whole army became lively and chaotic, which directly annoyed Knight Alexander, who reprimanded him sharply, and then calmed down.

Everyone stood on the playground, held their heads high as much as possible, and accepted His Majesty's review.

Edward rode on the white horse Arthur, passed the guards lined up with a smile on his face, and nodded from time to time. In the eyes of the soldiers, this was the best compliment for them.

At the end of the military parade, Edward stepped onto the stage and said in a confident voice: "My soldiers, as your king, I am very satisfied with your performance!"

"Your Majesty! Your Majesty! Your Majesty..." The soldiers below, led by the officers, cheered enthusiastically, and the scene was very lively.

"In order to reward you brave soldiers, I brought some food and spirits to comfort your stomachs!" Seeing that the atmosphere was almost over, Edward pressed his hands, and the soldiers immediately fell silent. continued.

"Of course, these are just appetizers."

Edward stopped the cheers that were about to rise, and then said with a smile.

"Brave soldiers of the Guards, in order to thank you for your loyalty to the royal family over the past year, today everyone can get a pound as a year-end reward, and the officers will get five pounds. You deserve it!"

Next, there is no need for the leadership of the officers. All the soldiers shouted excitedly: "Long live your majesty, long live your majesty, long live your majesty..."

Just like this, it lasted for a minute before the scene calmed down, but Edward enjoyed the cheering sound very much.

"Okay, my soldiers, go, go to the quartermaster, the golden gold coins are waiting for you!"

Under the temptation of Edward, the soldiers left the playground one after another, and walked quickly to the position of the quartermaster.

Seeing this, Edward shook his head with a wry smile. Sure enough, the Guards were still a feudal army with only money in their eyes.

He just wanted to test the discipline of the guards, whether they acted autonomously without the consent of the officers.

Sure enough, as he expected.

The so-called feudal army is lax in military discipline, advocating personal force, that is, if you have milk, you are a mother. They are loyal to money. When you have no money, they will leave you and fall into the arms of the enemy.

Moreover, its loss ratio is only two or three floors, and at this point, it will collapse.

The modern army is characterized by team spirit. Replacing individuals with the whole, soldiers are honed into machines that execute orders one by one. There is only one thinking and one command in an army.

Moreover, due to the rise of modern nationalism, the army has also produced some national thinking. For example, the King of France cannot be recognized by British soldiers, nor will he accept employment from enemy countries.

Compared with the feudal army, the proportion of casualties suffered by the modern army is as high as seven or eight layers.

During the American Civil War, the British soldiers stepped on the drums without changing their expressions and marched forward under the cannon. After reaching the effective range, almost half of them died, but the British army still fired in an orderly manner, which looked terrible.

Of course, all current armies in Europe are feudal armies, and Edward's failed test is nothing to be disappointed about.

In this way, Edward's idea of ​​reforming the military system was further promoted.

Walking on the road, Edward kept thinking about various reform measures in his mind, and the more he thought about it, the more excited he became, he could almost imagine the scene of defeating Spain and France.

Thinking of doing it, Edward stopped thinking, and said to the Alexander knight who was accompanying him with a serious face: "Mr. Knight, call all the high-level officers, I have something important to announce!"

"Yes, Your Majesty!" Alexander performed the knight salute, and went to prepare with his mind full of doubts. He didn't care what the king wanted to do, as long as he did as ordered.

(end of this chapter)