A NEW FACE FOR WAR

Valerian was surrounded by all the generals that represent the high authority in the country.

About twenty five Generals were present with their Queen at the Central Barracks which was stationed in the capital itself.

"Your Royal Majesty." The generals greeted Valerian in unison as he walked into the conference hall in his military uniform.

It was a red coat and a pair of black trousers.

After he had taken his place at the front of the room, he sat down and the generals sat down after him.

"You called for this meeting your Majesty." One of the Generals said.

"Yes General Walters." Valerian replied.

"What is it that his Majesty wishes to talk to us about?" Another General asked.

"You are all the top most generals in the militia of this country and whatever it is that I am going to communicate, you shall pass it down to your inferiors and the rest of the army." Valerian said.

There was silence in the room and he resumed his speech.

"To begin with, all you that are here, it is necessary that you know I come in the name of your Majesty the King.

I shall earn all the respect that I deserve and I hope that for the best of the both of us, you abide with me and I shall abide with you." Valerian added.

The Generals all shook their heads out of acceptance probably because they had no choice.

"From now on, as Commander-in-chief of the armed forces it is my duty to supervise all the activities of the Army nationwide." Valerian said.

The Generals still maintained their quietness.

"From now on, I shall supervise all the new recruitments in the army and I shall be held responsible for the salaries of the soldiers." Valerian said.

A general raised his hand and Valerian granted the general permission.

"Are we to have a say in all of this or we are only mediators your Majesty?" The General asked.

"You may present your interests and your suggestions." Valerian replied.

"Alright your Majesty." The General said.

"Then I shall continue." Valerian said.

"It has come to my noticed that we are short staffed when it comes to the army which makes our defence here at stake." Valerian said.

"We need more recruits in the army." He added.

"But that is very difficult your Majesty." One of the Generals said.

"And why is that?" Valerian asked.

"We are currently at a time of peace." The General replied.

"We can not be certain that the peace shall last longer, after what the Darian's did, we are marked with a target on our backs.

It may not stop onto one war and if there is a possibility that war could soon break out, I am supposed to ensure that as a country we are prepared." Valerian replied.

"Even if we do that, currently, the finances of the country are not stable and it is going to be very difficult to support the army.

The soldiers get a monthly pay and parliament finds it quite very difficult to raise it.

It shall be impossible to convince the people to join the army in the current financial situation." One General said.

"Then I shall from now on deal with the budget of the army and I suppise that if we raise the wages of the soldiers, we shall be in position to attract more people into the armed forces." Valerian replied.

"And how can we raise the wages if we do not have the money at the moment your Majesty?" The generals asked.

"From now on, the Crown shall handle the expenses on weapons, artillery and food for the army, all government expenditures on the above shall be added to the wages of the soldiers." Valerian replied.

"But the Crown can not lose its wealth in sustaining the army." One of the generals said.

"I have the King's approval and the Crown has considered taking part in the welfare of the country's defence.

The King feels it is his duty to ensure that the army is presentable and under all circumstances ready for its job." Valerian replied.

"If his Majesty insists." The Generals said.

"As I expected, next I want to give the army a new face." Valerian said.

At once, the generals began to murmur and look curious amongst themselves.

"Could his Majesty be a littke bit clearer." One of the Generals asked.

"I am going to transform the divisions in the army into five primary units.

First of all, we shall have a secret calvary unit." Valerian said.

"This shall be responsible for secretly monitoring state activities and reporting regularly to the higher office." Valerian added.

"Next, we shall have the horsemen these shall be responsible for transporting all war equipment and other things.

Thirdly, there shall be the general unit of defence whose duty is to stay behind and protect the fortresses and military camps from invaders or enemies.

The fourth unit shall be the naval and conquest army which shall be respobsible for patrolling the waters, capturing pirates and looting all their treasures

Every thing that shall be captured from war shall be divided between the army and the Crown.

The Last unit of the army shall be the reinforcement unit which has to be the largest of all five units.

It shall only intervene in times of urgency during war and primarily to attack and defend the boundaries of the country." Valerian said.

"Yes Your Majesty." The Generals said in unison.

"In order to monitor all boarders of the country, I need to have regular reports from all fortresses on a weekly basis,

That way, if there any external threats, then we shall be in the position to deal with them before things get out of hand." Valerian added.

The Generals began talking to themselves and murmuring and Valerian watched them but didn't utter any other one.

He was pleased at least given the power that he was in the position to wield.

A while later, Valerian walked out to inspect the troops that were stationed at the barracks to defend the capital.

A couple of other higher officers were present as Valerian was inspecting the guards, after he was done, he left the barracks.