Chapter 454: The Principal’s Assumption of Office 2

Chapter 454: Chancellor Takes Office 2
Since the establishment of the Northwest Industrial Company and the Customs Union, the relationship between Alda and the other territories had become increasingly close, and the newly incorporated Emden Territory was gradually returning to peace, the Alda Armed Forces were facing less and less pressure for defense on land.

And so a voice emerged within Lakewood, that of the abolition of the army.

“Six thousand officers and men is a bit too much for an earl.”

“If we keep it up like this, the surrounding lords will have concerns about you.”

“Your army is not productive, yet it costs a large amount of money and food every year.”

Lord Paul Greiman was surrounded by such voices every day.

And the latest situation in the territory has forced the lord to start taking such suggestions seriously.

Threats on land are almost non-existent, and trade by sea is booming. The prosperity of the route from Northwest Bay to Horn Bay had attracted a large number of outlaws, and pirates were like weeds, cutting one crop and growing another, and the nearby land lords were not as accommodating as their neighbors in Northwest Bay, allowing the Aldar Navy to come ashore and cut down the roots.

Under these circumstances, military expenditures had to be skewed in favor of the navy.

So Paul, after many discussions with the chief officers of the various departments, a major adjustment to the military quickly came out.

Except for the 1st Infantry Battalion stationed in Lakeheart Town, the other seven infantry battalions were all changed to half-formed battalions, retaining only half of the soldiers and most of the officers, while the other half of the soldiers, as well as a small number of officers, were withdrawn from active service and rearranged into production positions. However, this did not mean that they withdrew from Alda’s armed forces system, but were transferred to the reserve, still retaining their ranks.

Not only this group of soldiers out of active duty, the previous demobilized soldiers were also classified into the reserve, and from now on the demobilized soldiers will also enter the reserve, until they pass the age of fifty, then they can really quit the armed forces system of Alda.

Reserves are somewhat similar to militia, and are a powerful supplement to the active forces. Reservists, like militia members, work ordinary jobs during the weekdays, and undergo regular military training. However, the militia does not have military ranks, while the reserves do. Most of the militia are only experienced in the use of cold weapons, while most of the reserves are experienced in the use of hot weapons. In the event of a war situation, reservists are re-called to active duty.

Thus, Arda’s armed forces are formally divided into four major components: the active army and navy, the army and navy reserves, the internal defense forces, and the militia.

Because the Council of State was vigorously promoting education, most of this group of officers and soldiers transferred to the reserves entered the education post, now Alda’s content requirements for primary education were very low, basically just reading, writing and arithmetic, Alda’s army officers and soldiers who had always emphasized on education were fully qualified for such posts, there were even many of them who knew trigonometric functions and were able to solve multivariate equations many times. “There are even many of them who know trigonometry and can solve multivariate equations.

Boris Makarov was one of those lieutenant officers who had been transferred to the reserves.

One day he was approached by the battalion’s instructor, and the unit decided to honor him for his good weekday performance on the battlefield. The instructor gave him two options, one was to keep his current rank and enter the Greiman Military Academy for a long period of systematic study without exams, the other was to be promoted to the rank of lieutenant and transferred to the reserve to carry out his work at the local level, where he would be placed as the principal of a newly opened public school.

At the time, Makarov did not hesitate and chose to enter the military school on the spot.

But his family learned of this in a letter and strongly urged him to choose another path, and eventually Makarov chose to honor his family’s wishes.

The main reason was that his wife was particularly enthusiastic about her husband being able to take up the post of principal. This was because under the policy of the Council of State’s special emphasis on education, school principals from all over the country had become respected local figures at the head of the hierarchy. Moreover, in the Arda army, the families of officers below battalion level were not allowed to accompany the army, so if the husband could transfer to the reserve, then the couple could live together.

Northwatch, or the town of Northwatch, would be the couple’s destination for this trip.

It was an up-and-coming town, with a population of perhaps a little over two thousand, mostly made up of landless peasants from the Northwest Gulf and stragglers recruited from elsewhere, most of whom worked on government-run farms operated by the Council of State, one of the products of the Council of State’s reclamation program.

The so-called Reclamation Program was the development of the vast area north of the Wis River, which was originally dotted with forests, swamps, and wastelands, but now a series of towns and administrative villages had been established, which was the benefit of the Border Lords, who were able to expand their territories on unclaimed land. Northwatch is the northernmost town, standing on the main street of the town you can still see the dense forests that have not yet been cut down in the distance, and further north is the Rocky Mountains that stretches for thousands of miles.

The mayor of the town hosted Mr. and Mrs. Makarov in the council chambers.

“Welcome, Mr. Lieutenant. With you, we can finally open our school.”

The slightly affluent Mayor Rossellini was beaming and obviously very happy.

He put his hand out to a nearby man on crutches, also in uniform, and said, “Allow me to introduce you to the head of the local military service station ……”

Makarov laughed out loud, “No need, we know each other. It’s been a long time, Gernot!”

After saying that, they hugged each other tightly.

Gernot was also thrilled to see his late friend, and explained to the confused mayor, “We used to serve in the same company, only I lost my left leg when I was wounded at Emden, so I retired from active duty early.”

Makarov asked, “I was informed that I still had to serve as the head of the military service station here on a part-time basis, and I didn’t realize that it was you that was taking the job, so what made you want to leave here?”

“My father asked me to go back and help with the tavern that the family runs, and he’s pretty old, so he had to resign.”

“I see, then I wish you a happy and enjoyable new life, big boss Gernot.”

“Hahaha, don’t make fun of me. By the way, how’s that Joss kid doing?”

“Oh! That kid is a high-minded one, he passed the exam and entered the military academy to study, when he comes out maybe I’ll even have to call him a sir!”

The mayor waited patiently for the two to finish their pleasantries, then continued to introduce another person to Makarov, “This is the Northwatch Town Militia Captain–Kajit.”

Kajit was a young man in his early twenties, and he looked at the two stars and a bar on Makarov’s shoulder with a look of reverence.

“A great honor to meet you, Lord Makarov.”

“You can just address me as Lieutenant.”

Makarov smiled and shook his hand firmly.

Reserve officers also had the responsibility of instructing the local militia in training.

(End of chapter)