After the army was divided, Wang Lun immediately got the soldiers to practice with their corresponding weapons. Wang Lun also split them according to their expertise, allowing them to maximize their adaptation to the new training.
The strength of Yale City’s army had once again grown.
But this wasn’t enough to defeat an Earl yet. Although his weapons were advanced, they were still cold weapons. Wang Lun had to recruit more soldiers again.
In a cold weapon war, he ultimately had to rely on the number of his troops to secure the victory.
Wang Lun got Lucy to prepare a notice and asked a few guards to post it on notice boards in various places in the city.
The notice attracted countless people, with young men making up most of the numbers.
Yale City was now a city with a population of more than 10,000 people. After the notice was posted, people came to the city hall one after another to sign up for the army.
Wang Lun was very satisfied with the result. But due to the age difference among the people who signed up, he separated the young men and placed them as reserves for the war.
Miller was an earl, and a baron was naturally below its rank. Wang Lun knew that this time, he wasn’t only battling Miller, but also going up against other barons.
The newly-recruited soldiers simply didn’t have the time to train, so Hallmark let the experienced soldiers take over the training of the new soldiers according to their corresponding classification.
Not only did the soldiers receive efficient training, but the camaraderie between the veterans and newbies was also greatly improved.
This was something that Wang Lun highly praised Hallmark for.
Wang Lun gave Hallmark books on various formations, requesting him to do further research and execute them in actual battle.
“My lord, are these formations even useful?” Hallmark had participated in a lot of wars, but never used any formations.
“What? You haven’t used any formations in the wars you participated in?” Wang Lun asked with a puzzled face.
In his opinion, the use of formations in war was a most normal thing. However, it seemed like this knight standing before him didn’t know anything about formations.
Hallmark always spoke the truth. He shook his head and said, “I haven’t, my lord.”
“Well, it doesn’t matter if you haven’t used one. Maybe you guys are too strong for the enemies. Anyway, go on and properly study the various formations before the war happens.”
Wang Lun patted Hallmark’s shoulder. “My knight, this is a book written by a victor in war!”
Hallmark nodded, looking as if he was determined to study the book down to its very last contents.
“All right, now that the army is settled, I will also take this time to use the other books and teach other aspiring people.”
What Wang Lun was referring to was medical knowledge. Despite the fact that various medical supplies were now available, there was still a need for people to know how to use them.
Yale City’s preparations for the war were in full swing and the entire city did its best to help Wang Lun—or to be precise, they were actually helping themselves.
Soon after, an enemy army was spotted in the distance.
All the soldiers in the city came to the city walls to prepare for the war.
As soon as Wang Lun was notified, he hurriedly rushed to the city walls. After looking through the binoculars, Wang Lun knew that it wasn’t Miller’s army.
“It seems that Miller has mobilized the barons of other cities,” Wang Lun said.
“Barons?” Hallmark took the binoculars and checked out the situation. “This army should be from the baron whose city is closest to Yale City.
“It’s not that we’re afraid of one army, but we don’t know if the armies of other barons will be joining in later as well.”
Hallmark put the binoculars away.
Wang Lun frowned and said, “Let’s discuss this later. What we have to do now is properly entertain the enemy in front of us.”
There wasn’t the slightest fear in Wang Lun’s eyes. On the contrary, he seemed rather excited.
This war would undoubtedly impact his reputation.
“Soldiers, get ready.” Hallmark walked on the city walls, constantly boosting the soldiers’ morale.
The enemy army in the distance seemed to be growing in size, which was simply a step up from the bandits they faced previously. This could even be treated as the first official battle of Yale City.
“Emperor Qin[1], I will be using your way of the soldiers,” Wang Lun whispered.
He puffed out his chest and loudly announced, “Soldiers, from now on, you will receive 10 copper coins for killing one enemy soldier.”
This military merit system had been proven through history, and it was apparently effective.
The image of that small country gradually becoming a huge kingdom appeared in Wang Lun’s mind. He took a moment to compare it to Yale City.
The soldiers clearly heard Wang Lun’s words.
And their battle spirits ignited into a blazing flame.
“My lord, how do I prove that I killed an enemy?”
Someone among the soldiers asked a question that everyone wanted to get an answer to.
Wang Lun continued, “Cut off the heads of the enemy soldiers, and use them to exchange for money.”
Upon hearing his words, all the soldiers raised their weapons high and shouted, “Long live the lord!”
The enemy army was closely approaching Yale City. They had no idea that the soldiers guarding the city were targeting their heads as a reward to exchange for money.
At that moment, the enemy army at the foot of the city wall attacked.
“Seems like they are a seasoned army!”
Wang Lun looked at the formation of the enemy soldiers swarming forward and couldn’t help but exclaim.
Crossbowmen above the city wall fired their crossbows at the enemies and the bolts flew out in air-ripping screeches.
The shield-wielding enemy soldiers covered their comrades who carried the ladders.
This strategy might be useful in other places, but this was Yale City, after all.
Bam! Bam! Bam!
The bolts pierced the shields as expected before penetrating the soldiers’ bodies.
“Catapults incoming!”
Hallmark shouted.
Wang Lun shifted his gaze over and saw three catapults slowly being pushed ahead.
“They are determined to win, huh!” Wang Lun revealed a devilish smile. “But Yale City’s catapults are specially modified.”
“Catapults, destroy them!” Wang Lun had long ago gotten the catapults on the city wall modified according to the design plan. Their attack power and range were several times that of ordinary catapults.
“The enemy soldiers are starting to climb up the city wall!” a soldier shouted.
“Isn’t that better? Their heads are worth a lot of money!” another soldier yelled.
At that moment, the soldiers on the city wall didn’t look like they were desperately resisting. Instead, they were competing with one another to hack down enemies.
Some even stood directly at the top of the ladder waiting for the arrival of the enemy.
The battle didn’t last long as the enemy’s aggression gradually weakened.
The enemy army below the city wall failed to break through for a long time and fled in a disastrous defeat.
The soldiers above the city wall had their belts full of hanging skulls.
“My lord, let’s go after them!”
Some soldiers had even requested to leave the city because they weren’t able to get a satisfactory number of heads.
Wang Lun didn’t want them to take unnecessary risks and had to preserve his forces.
“Soldiers, you may do so when you clean up the battlefield later!”
[1] Founder of the Qin dynasty and the first emperor of a unified China (18 February 259 BC–10 September 210 BC).