diymy Chapter 148 Military Uniforms and Pay
Chapter 148 Military Uniforms and Pay
Chapter 148 Military Uniforms and Pay
The group rode their horses to the front of the formation, and the cold wind, mixed with fine ice and snowflakes, blew against their faces, making their skin sting.
Lieutenant Henry Reinhardt, who was in charge of military training, was wearing a dark gray standard-issue fitted overcoat and a peaked cap with a silver eagle emblem, riding a chestnut Quarter horse.
Seeing that the five formations were already in place, he turned to Chen Wenbin, who was dressed similarly, and asked, "—Sir, please allow me to arrange the formations for you!"
After receiving permission, he spurred his horse, moved to the front of the formation, turned his horse around, drew his sword and held it upright in front of his left breast, and shouted twice in English and German: "Silence! Form ranks!!"
In the past two weeks, he and Lieutenant John Tripp have won over militia officers like Henry Stray through their professional abilities. With the support of Chen Wenbin, both the Hessian mercenaries and the North American militia are now obeying his orders and lining up in formation.
Seeing this, Chen Wenbin also carefully observed the five formations in front of him, each carrying a Robin rifle but with a completely different spirit and temperament.
The soldiers in the three militia formations on the left were in good spirits, very confident and proud, and generally taller, but their clothes were all over the place.
Only about 60% of the militiamen were wearing the iron-gray standard cotton overcoats and tall leather boots that he had issued, along with windproof hats similar to those worn by Lei Feng to keep their ears warm. The rest were either not fully dressed, or wearing their own clothes, and there were even a few company and platoon level officers among them.
The two Black Forest mercenary formations on the right had all changed into standard iron-gray cotton overcoats and windproof hats, but none of them had pulled them down to cover their ears.
"Henry!"
Seeing this, Chen Wenbin turned to the militia captain beside him, frowning, and said, "Didn't I order last week that all militiamen must wear military uniforms in the barracks? Didn't you inform them?"
Henry Sterling, his face red from the cold, immediately explained, "Sir, of course I notified them, but they are militia, not mercenaries. They only come to the camp on training days, so—"
"So you just let them come wearing their own clothes? I didn't pay their soldiers' salaries?"
Chen Wenbin glared at him, then rode up to Henry Reinhardt.
"Lieutenant, translate what I said into German!"
"Yes, Your Excellency."
Chen Wenbin nodded, then his gaze slowly swept over the soldiers in the five square formations. He raised his left hand, pointed at the carriage loaded with gold and silver coins, and said loudly, "Today, I, Robin Chen, the governor of the western territory of British North America, will distribute last month's soldiers' wages to you."
The three militia formations quickly stirred, some of them grinning and already planning what they would buy with the money.
"—But some of you don't deserve this salary!"
Master Chen stared coldly at the militiamen who had come to the military camp wearing his clothes, and poured cold water on them.
"My salary is only for soldiers who obey orders and follow commands, not for a bunch of undisciplined farmers, hunters, and apprentices!"
Your performance has disgraced the title of soldier!
Can someone tell me?
What am I wearing?
He patted his iron-gray uniform overcoat, raised his riding crop, and pointed at the nearest middle-aged militia platoon leader. The latter was wearing a woolen overcoat, a black cylindrical hat, and a fur scarf around his neck. He looked like he was going to a party rather than training in the barracks.
"—Mr. Raymond Cooper, tell me! What am I wearing right now?"
The militia platoon leader had never seen the boss angry before. He was so frightened that he was stunned, his eyes glazed over, and he couldn't say a word.
"waste!"
Upon seeing this, Chen Wenbin cursed fiercely, then looked at the young militiaman beside him who was dressed in full military uniform, looking exactly like the Black Forest mercenaries.
"What's your name, young man? Can you answer my question?"
The freckled young man was taken aback for a moment, then puffed out his chest in delight and said, "—Sir! I, I am Roger McFarlane of Robin Manor!"
You're wearing a military uniform! Our military uniform!
"very good!"
Chen Wenbin nodded to him, then turned and stared at the platoon leaders and company commanders who were not wearing military uniforms with a cold stare, already sentencing them to death in his mind.
Last week, he ordered everyone to wear military uniforms in the barracks. Soldiers and squad leaders were fine, but even officers at the company and platoon levels ignored his orders.
If this continues, what authority will his orders have left?
"Did you hear everything?"
Marshal Chen stared at the group of officers and soldiers who were trembling with fear and dared not raise their heads, and snorted coldly: "Since you are soldiers, you should wear military uniforms in the barracks!"
If you don't want to be my soldier, you can get out of here now!
I don't need guys who don't follow orders!
If you still want to collect your salary from me, then get back to your military uniforms right now!
I'll wait here. If they don't come in half an hour, then don't bother coming back!
All company and platoon officers were to remain!
Now, dismissed!
At Commander Chen's command, after a few seconds of silence, all the militiamen who were not wearing uniforms scattered and ran frantically to find their uniforms.
Several militiamen tried to plead with Governor Chen for more time, as their uniforms were at his home in Providence, but they were stopped by the guards.
Chen Wenbin ignored these people. Since they didn't care about military orders, it meant they weren't suited to be soldiers, so it was better for them to leave.
After these people left, he had the militia officers continue to reorganize the troops, and then reassembled the remaining less than two hundred militiamen into two square formations.
During this time, the five officers who were not wearing uniforms cried and begged for another chance, but Chen Wenbin calmly said, "Orders on the battlefield are no different from orders at other times. How can I let people who don't care about my orders become officers?"
That's irresponsible towards soldiers' lives!
Upon hearing this, the five men knew they had no choice but to leave—even Henry Stray, who had originally intended to plead for them, shrank back and gave up the idea.
"—Soldiers! I am now going to pay your wages. Please tell me your names and ranks!"
After the irrelevant people were dismissed, Chen Wenbin had boxes containing gold pounds and silver shillings placed in front of the four formations and began to personally distribute pay to the soldiers.
The temperature was low today, and light snowflakes were falling from the sky, but the soldiers' hearts were burning with passion, and so was Commander Chen's.
The repeated "Thank you, sir" and "God bless you" made him feel very happy, and he completely forgot about the cold.
Those militia members who remain, whether they genuinely respect and are loyal to him or simply wish to follow discipline, all possess the foundation to become qualified soldiers.
The environment in North America was indeed very free, and these militiamen were not bad in horsemanship, marksmanship, and individual combat ability. However, the military is the place that emphasizes discipline the most. Undisciplined stragglers can only fight guerrilla warfare and bully Native Americans with their weapons, but they cannot win decisive battles.
Therefore, his army had to be molded with iron discipline, allowing no room for compromise—once compromise was made, he would never be a qualified military commander.
From this day forward, he must transform from a businessman into a military commander and politician.
Compromise, shared benefits, and the idea that harmony brings wealth—these are ideas that work in the business world, but they are not suitable for the military and politics.
In these two fields, it's a brutal struggle of life and death and winner-takes-all!
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