A New Life in a Parallel World

Chapter 18, The Regiments

It took the first regiment three days to reach the camp, and once they were there, Lerris ordered them to rest up, and went straight to the princess, informing her that the regiment is combat ready, and they can ride out towards the Southern Marches in a week's time.

The princess was so pleased that she informed him that she wants a celebration be made on the night before the regiment would ride south. It was only fitting, since it is part of the kingdom's tradition to hold celebration on the night before their army would march out.

The following day, Lerris informed the regimental commander to stock up his ammunition, food and medical supplies as they would be marching in seven days' time. And he told him to make sure he had enough rifle grenades with him. After that, he went to supervise the construction that was going around on his now industrial complex, and occasionally checks on the progress of the other regiment.

Two days before the departure of the regiment, Lerris attached the second training platoon to the first regiment and designating them as the regiment's training section, tasked on recruiting of replacements for the regiment and training them.

The night before their departure, a celebration was held inside the camp, with food and wine flowing, while minstrel and bards came from all over to perform at the officer's quarters, where a separate banquet was held.

The following morning, all three regiments formed, with the second and third regiment giving honor by standing in formation as the first regiment rolled out of the camp inside their wagons and slowly heads out south. After the last wagon had rolled out, the regiments immediately resumes their training. By now both regiments had been issued with light crossbow for training and were being trained to fire either in volleys or by ranks. Sometimes the regiments would march off outside the camp in full gear, less their musket as they haven't received theirs, heading either south to Luzor or north to Westen and marching back before nightfall.

It took another month before the new arms factory was finished and production of musket at that facility began in earnest, that by the end of the month, total production had increased to three hundred muskets.

After another month, the cannon foundry was finished and the carpenters had begun constructing addition shed for the saltpeter farm. Construction of a large blast furnace started and supervised by both Magnus and Dragan. To mechanized it, Lerris started designing a custom-built steam engine made of copper and brass that would power most of the pulleys, bellows, and conveyor belt that would transport the ore inside the blast furnace. At the same time, the second regiment was able to received of their musket, and they began their training with it.

Work on the blast furnaces stretches out for another two months, along with the steam engine, and by that time, the second regiment had received its full complement of muskets, along with the full complement of their rear echelon units. This time he let Emma and Lydia train the regiment in their own discretion as he focused on the foundry. Musket production had also increased to 400 musket a month.

Time and time again, he confer with Bettina, the student scribe that Duchess Ioanna had sent along with the other students. He practically had her working on his books so to speak, keeping accounts of all of his expenditures and sometimes she also reminds him of the deadlines that he had imposed on himself.

The following month, Magnus and Dragan started working on the cannon after they completed their blast furnace, the steam engine, the conveyor belt that would bring the ores and other materials inside the blast furnace, the mechanized bellows, and pulleys that would be used to hoist up the cannon barrel. They were assisted by the students from Diakos as well as some of the blacksmith that was brought by the princess herself.