Riding and Slashing

Chapter 104 Pan De's College Entrance Examination

At the end of March, early spring.

The originally withered grass has been repainted green, the morning dew brings the vigor of early spring, and the green shoots on the trees are also full of vitality and vitality like Maixiangling.

The two-month training is finally over.

Thanks to Anson, none of the recruits were seriously injured or disabled.

Now, the team directly under the lord has also changed a lot, and it is no longer as shabby as it used to be.

Great Swordsman of Mettenheim, 10/10
Pendor Armored Cavalry, 30/30
Pendor Armored Archer, 30/30
Pendor Armed Infantry, 30/30
A total of exactly 100 people, all real elite soldiers.

The 40 security guards led by Mai Xiang have all become high-level arms, but they have already been unable to beat the recruits half a month ago, and the addition of the Mettenheim swordsman can barely make a tie-this is still in the When the lord is helping them with ideas.

This is the day the recruits get out of their misery, they graduate.

But none of them seemed excited, on the contrary, they were all extremely nervous.

Even a little scared.

In fact, it was just an ordinary and sunny afternoon, the weather was excellent, there were no foreign enemies, and even petty thefts did not occur in the territory.

But they still trembled a little. It seemed that what they were about to face was even more frightening than facing an army group on the battlefield...

Indeed, it was a dreadful day for the folks at McShamlen.

They are going through the first college entrance examination in their lives...

That's right, the college entrance examination!
——Senior Non-commissioned Officer Rank Examination!

Except for a few intellectuals who were to serve as invigilators, this exam was attended by all the staff.

The lord has long been deeply aware that there are too many illiteracy under his command, so he came up with such a trick on purpose.

And this exam was a surprise attack.

The lord asked them to gather for a lecture in the morning, announcing the end of the training, and then the exam started immediately in the afternoon...

"The brothers performed well in training, and I am very pleased."

"But do you still remember that my lord has been reminding you during your training that it is best to learn to read. My lord also specially invited Amy to be your teacher..."

"You can see that too—we need more officers."

"Therefore, this afternoon, I intend to use the fairest way to determine the first batch of candidates for 'senior non-commissioned officers'—after all, officers must at least be able to understand military orders."

The lord has indeed reminded his subordinates to learn how to read and write.

But except for the dog left Eric, it seems that most people don't take it seriously...

You must know that Li Ang has not been idle for the past two months. Ever since Amy came to Maixiangling, she was dragged by the lord to run an evening school immediately.

Amy didn't expect that she came here to be a student, but instead became a language teacher for more than 100 people!

There are not many courses, one hour every night, free teaching, no pressure, come if you want.

Two beautiful teachers, Sarah and Amy, cooperate with each other to teach, and the courses are not boring.

There were quite a few people who came to the class, but I don't know if it was because the teacher Amy was too beautiful, or because the training during the day was too hard. Anyway, the students basically didn't want to go to class, and the teaching results didn't seem to be very good.

So the lord decided to teach them some real lessons, and suddenly announced the afternoon 'college entrance examination', and only after passing the examination can they be qualified as 'senior non-commissioned officers'.

People with senior non-commissioned officer qualifications will be awarded ten shares of Maixiang International...

Li Ang's so-called senior non-commissioned officer is actually a rank set by him, just like a qualification certificate or a diploma.

This and job are two different things.

For example, Klose's position is the captain of the charge, and he is an official officer, but he is not a senior non-commissioned officer.Those who have positions in the lord's team will only be listed separately, just like Anson and Sarah.

There are still many people in the team who are corporal leaders - in the previous battles, people with military merits have actually been promoted and rewarded, but those who were promoted to corps leaders because of meritorious service have nothing to do with senior non-commissioned officers, but the spoils are more divided .

The lord wants to separate the rank from the position.

Everyone knows that the lord is a man of his word, and there must be rewards for fighting bravely, so it must be beneficial to train hard to improve your skills.

But no one thought that if you want to get promoted and make a fortune, you have to pass the college entrance examination to get a 'diploma'...

This is the result of the lord's repeated measurements.

On the one hand, it is true that only literate people can be leaders. The illiterate who can't even read military orders may be excellent soldiers, but they cannot lead troops to execute complex tactics.

On the other hand, Li Ang wants to establish a simple promotion logic in the army, a new class that has nothing to do with positions and will not cause class conflicts-non-commissioned officers.

A non-commissioned officer is not an officer, it is a kind of identity, or a collective term for 'staff in the establishment' designed by Li Ang.

Due to the need for gradual acceptance, only three simple ranks are used for the time being.

Private, non-commissioned officer, senior non-commissioned officer.

First of all, only after receiving more than four weeks of rigorous training can he become a private soldier. Your lord will not take junior soldiers out to fight in the future.

Private soldiers can become 'non-commissioned officers' as long as they pass the lord's inspection through hard training, complete more than one battle with the lord, and perform well on the battlefield.

The lord's test is actually mainly to determine loyalty through fighting, and to check whether they have become advanced troops through the system-this test will definitely be quite fair.

But the soldiers don't know, they only think that the lord is just and strict...

After becoming a non-commissioned officer, even if you enter the official establishment, you can still receive wages when you are not fighting, which is very attractive.

These 100 men are now eligible to become non-commissioned officers because they have already participated in combat before.

But even more attractive, is the 'senior non-commissioned officer'.

The lord said that becoming a senior non-commissioned officer will become a full-time soldier, no matter whether he becomes a knight or not in the end, he will bid farewell to the farming career!
Moreover, a senior non-commissioned officer is a prerequisite for becoming a knight under the lord's command. All food, clothing, housing and transportation are free, and all equipment will be provided by the lord!

Being able to be fully off-duty, without having to work in the fields, and becoming a professional soldier means having a higher social status.In fact, the knights of Pendor continent are like this.

In other words, this is actually a knight without a fief, but not a noble.

However, the treatment is better than the knights of ordinary noble families. Not only is the salary high, but the lord also provides food, clothing, equipment, and no need to work for any nobles.

In this day and age, the attraction is even greater...

But if a non-commissioned officer wants to be promoted to a senior non-commissioned officer, it is not enough to be skilled, he must first pass the 'college entrance examination' to obtain a qualification certificate;

In other words, to become a senior non-commissioned officer, first of all, he must have good skills, have fought in wars, have some merits, and then he must be educated.

After becoming a senior non-commissioned officer, if you study hard and earn some credit, you may become a knight. The lord also has a knight exam waiting for them. Most of them are also cultural subjects. After all, you need to be educated to become a nobleman...

Of course, for those illiterate machos with outstanding skills, it is not impossible to become a rich man just by relying on military merits. The lord is very trustworthy in distributing the spoils, and he can live a very rich life as a corporal leader in Mai Xiangling .

But senior non-commissioned officers get ten extra shares!
It also includes food and accommodation!

What a treat!

But no one expected that the lord's evaluation of the rank of non-commissioned officers would be based on cultural courses...

So, in the afternoon exam, everyone was about to collapse—they spent all their energy on training, and didn't study cultural courses at all.

Right now, the examination room is full of gloom.

Even Klose, the old subordinate who has followed the lord for the longest time, actually gnawed on the end of the pen in the examination room - the quill pen was almost bald by him, but he still didn't write a few words...

This guy stared pitifully at Li Ang and Amy, the invigilators, and looked like he was about to cry.

And it wasn't just him, most of the soldiers were mournful, and most of the wooden boards in front of them that served as 'papers' were blank.

Probably for them, writing is much more difficult than cutting people—especially the people of Mettenheim, who are basically poor households!

Exams are rare, and these soldiers haven't learned how to cheat. They are looking left and right, scratching their heads...

In fact, they can't cheat at all. Many people can't even write well, and they can't copy. Besides, the questions are all composition questions.

For example, "Write a military report after a detailed investigation, and the data can be used as examples."

Another example is "Please write a request for help to the lord."

Amy's face is quite gloomy now.

These uneducated rough men are all her students, and her teaching itself is not a big problem-what's the big problem with teaching basic reading and writing?These people are adults, not six-year-olds.

But Amy's teaching quality is not good, the main reason is - she is too gentle.

As a well-educated aristocratic girl, Amy never swears or swears, and corporal punishment is even more impossible...

Her upbringing also affected Sarah. After all, it was a cultural class, and Sarah didn't torture anyone.

As for the group of illiterates led by Mai Xiang, although no one disturbed them in terms of their identities, most of the people who came to the class were actually here to warm up and rest to pass the time...

There is no nightlife in this era, and the lord strictly forbids them to participate in gambling. These guys can only gather at night in this 'classroom' with a brazier on for a long time, and watch the two beautiful young ladies by the way.

Li Ang asked merchants to open entertainment venues everywhere, but he managed his own territory extremely strictly. Anyone who dared to gather a crowd to gamble would have their tools confiscated, and they would be whipped until they couldn't get out of bed.

The only good student in the whole McCartney is Eric.

This guy has been working hard to study since he became a political official. Not to mention reading, he can even recite several poems with emotion.

The result of this exam was quite dismal—out of more than 100 people, only five passed.

You know, the passing line only needs to write common military newspapers according to the topic, and write a simple letter-that is, a daily document that a captain-level officer will often use.

Eric was the one with the best grades, and he even did well on the extra tactical questions.

These five passers were awarded a small griffin badge, made of copper, by Li Ang himself.

They became the first batch of "Senior Non-commissioned Officers" of Maixiangling, and also became the captain or vice-captain of each unit. They will put feathers on the top of their helmets and be awarded an additional ten shares of Maixiang International. Everyone is happy.

And that small badge became Mai Xiangling's first 'qualification certificate'.

From now on, in the lord's territory, those who hold this badge will not have to worry about food, clothing, housing and transportation, and all supplies will be given priority.

And the dozens of people with the worst grades will be temporarily excluded from the rank of non-commissioned officers as their punishment-in fact, their wages will be deducted!

Because, after two months of learning, they can't even write the name of the lord!Many people can even misspell their own names!
These dozens of illiterates cried bitterly, hating themselves for not working hard enough, and expressed that they must change their past and study hard.

Fortunately, the lord reminded me earlier that everyone in Mettenheim can write their own names and understand simple military orders.

But this is probably mainly because the people of Mettenheim know how to forge iron—they are used to engraving their names on the ironware they make, so they are not purely illiterate in the first place.

But other than that, together with Klose, they are still semi-literate...

Thinking that they have followed me the longest and have made a lot of contributions, the lord gave them a new job and became his personal guard.

But when they saw someone wearing the badge of a senior non-commissioned officer, they still had to give a military salute-this was also to encourage their subordinates to learn more.

And on the second day after this "college entrance examination", the lord announced his second official knight appointment--Eric.

Because Eric applied for the knight exam the next morning and passed it!
The knight exam designed by the lord is actually very difficult.

Including martial arts, aristocratic etiquette, Pande's history and current current situation, but also test basic tactics and management skills.

Eric really worked hard, he even took all the cavalry lessons with the recruits before and nearly broke his leg.

It's just that he didn't expect that the lord's knight exam didn't examine riding skills...

And the lord really keeps his word, no matter what his previous background is, as long as he meets the requirements of the lord, he can become a real nobleman.

However, since the territory is so small, Li Ang has not assigned a knight collar to Eric at present - this is also an important reason for the transition of a senior non-commissioned officer. In fact, the lord has subtly replaced the land entrustment with other methods. mean.

Eric still served as the administrator and captain of the Magistrate of McShane.

That is, the director of the village committee and the director of the police station.

With Eric as a model, the learning atmosphere in the territory suddenly became hot, and everyone's eyes were full of hope and enthusiasm.

The semi-literate people finally began to actively learn culture.

However, they only took Chinese classes seriously for a few days before they had to temporarily suspend classes.

Because during this period of time, merchants also came to this busy territory one after another.

Merchants are here to traffic people.

The lord made an appointment with them before, 50 dinars per person, as long as they are young and strong who can talk.

Of course, this is a very high price, and the merchants didn't even bring any other goods in their convoys...

Today, there are more than 300 ragged poor people in Maixiangling.

The current total population of the territory is already 500 people, and the number is increasing every day.

The increase in population is a good thing, but it also means a big problem...

"Teacher, you seem to have attracted a lot of people... But you may not know that when the city was besieged by the Bacchus Empire, the fields around White Hart Castle were ruined a lot. This year White Hart Castle may be short of food, there is no way I will provide you with food!"

Amy is the general manager of the 'White Deer Fort Grain and Oil Company'. After seeing the growing population, she was the first to realize that there was not enough food for Mai Xiangling!

The new arrivals are basically refugees who have lost their source of livelihood. They will become new farmers, just in time for the spring wheat planting period in late April and early May.

The land near Maixiangling can be harvested twice a year, and the growth cycle of winter wheat is relatively long, from October to April.

Spring wheat is planted in May and harvested in September.

But the good place can't stand the crowd.

The wheat fields that had been planted before were already lush and lush, but the winter wheat fields sown by a hundred or so people in the past were obviously not enough for so many people to consume.

Pan De Da has a vast land and few people, and the people here don't know how to cultivate intensively. The grain output is quite low, and the yield per mu in most areas is only more than 100 pounds.

The Ravencrow Kingdom in the north has a cold climate, and the harvest is less, with an yield of less than one hundred pounds per mu.

That is to say, there are many people and few lands, and the per capita planting area is tens of mu, otherwise there will be a famine long ago.

The climate in Maixiangling is very good, but an acre of wheat field can only produce about 150 pounds of wheat - which is quite high.

The lord doesn't know agricultural technology, and he doesn't know how to increase production, and he didn't have time to pay attention to it before.

As soon as I settle the accounts now, I feel quite a lot of pressure.

Maixiang owns more than 800 mu of wheat fields and is expected to harvest 12 pounds of roughage—there are so many wheat fields thanks to the seeds provided by Godric at that time.

12 pounds, does it seem like a lot?

But the problem is that in order to quickly attract the population, the lord only collects 3% of the agricultural tax, and only more than [-] pounds can fall into his hands.

More than 3 pounds of wheat would be enough if it was just to raise soldiers. Currently, there are only a few dozen people who are completely off-duty.

But distributed among the more than 300 newcomers, the per capita is [-] pounds... not even enough to plant spring wheat seeds.

There are now 500 people in the territory, more than 40 war horses, and dozens of draft horses. In the next season, at least [-] acres of land will be planted to feed them, and the seeds alone will need [-] pounds.

The lord had cheated himself - the war had just ended, and he didn't expect that there would be another war in White Hart Castle so soon. In order to quickly increase the population of the territory, he asked the merchants to find someone for him.

Originally, White Hart Castle would definitely have a surplus of grain. The two sides were allies and were so close to each other. Buying the surplus grain of White Hart Castle would be enough to maintain rapid development.

But now, due to the previous siege, the fields around White Hart Castle have suffered huge losses and cannot give any support...

Amy has calculated that White Hart Castle not only has no spare energy to sell food, but also has to purchase food from outside.

After all, the lord is still a human being. He only stayed in White Hart Castle for one day, and it was still for the purpose of kidnapping. He didn't have time to understand the situation at that time.

There is a food crisis...

　Note: In fact, the way to measure grain is not weight, but volume.

　　Usually bushels, gallons; or Fischer or something.

　　Similar to the Sheng, Dou and Shi used in the Celestial Dynasty.

　　But for ease of understanding and calculation, I replaced it with pounds.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)