Livia Armored Cavalry

— Several years ago

The wind blew dry dust on the border fort. The people on patrol put their hands on the hilts of the swords slung at the sides of their waists, always in a standby position. Several people were ordered to wander around the fort, inside and out. Several people were also ordered to continuously monitor developments around the fort area to ensure overall safety. It is now a hot summer day. The troops assigned to keep their eyes on large binoculars around the clock found a dark horse speeding towards them. On the horse sat a stout figure covered in steel armor from head to toe. The person who saw it through the binoculars immediately shouted,

"Open the castle door! Commander is back! "

Not far behind the man called the commander, as many as two companies of troops also followed him. For a moment, the sound of hooves filled the area, followed by the loud creaking of rusty pulleys as the gate control lever was pulled. When the Initial Team troops entered, the lever was immediately pulled back, this time in the opposite direction. The shrill creak of rusty iron rang out again and the castle door closed again.

Sahar August Einri Zehra dismounted from his horse in one leap before taking off his helmet of visored barblin armor. His hair was wet with sweat, limp and dull. Sahar rubbed it a few times with a lazy sigh.

The wars along the Livia border were concentrated in intensity. Sahar returned to his front camp after doing his routine patrol for the day. He wanted to rest. He had missed his hard kapok mattress more than anything. He hadn't even had time to think about that convenience when his deputy commander rushed over to him saying, "Commander, our supply of rations this year has arrived. The capital sent it at once along with a eunuch to inspect. "

Sahar was silent for a moment. His dream of enjoying a comfortable rest soon faded. He rubbed his head once more to keep him awake as he opened the door of the castle tower with one hand. A fat eunuch with greasy hands was waiting for him in front of a sand table, fanning himself with a folding fan made of bamboo and parchment paper. The sand table that was originally used to strategize and describe situations during critical times of war, has now been transformed into a clean and tidy tea table. Not even a single sand was found on it. All the chess pieces had been removed, and replaced with a fake flower vase. Sahar was somewhat mesmerized by the sight. He clenched his jaw and tried not to be offended at all when the Eunuch didn't even turn to look at him as he entered the room. Ignoringly, the eunuch commented on how bad the quality of the tea here was.

Sahar removed the 1,5kg weight and 101cm long scimitar that was hanging from his waist, slamming it right in front of the Eunuch as he placed it on the table. Sahar pulled out a chair and sat down, smiling politely. The Eunuch clearly looked angrier, as he stroked his chest several times. Sahar said, "The journey from the Capital to Livia takes more than a month, you must be tired. Let's talk about our needs for another day. I will order this lowly subordinate of mine to prepare a comfortable place for you. "

When the Emperor didn't show his support for the military faction, then people from the Inner Palace like this would have enough face to behave rudely and arrogantly. The eunuchs were no exception. As long as the Brush Holder Directorate in the palace took their place by the eunuch's side, they could even raise their chins sky-high in the face of a war veteran. With a snort, this junior Eunuch said, "There is no need to trouble yourself, Your Majesty. I'm not even sure that rude people like you guys can make good tea, much less prepare a cozy place for me? We will set up our own tent. Half a year is a long time! I have to take care of my back and butt. I will say this quickly, so listen carefully. " Sighing, he continued, "Lend me some of your personnel to buy the best materials on the market and make me a comfortable place. "

"Okay. " Sahar nodded. At the time when his father, the Marquis of Goshawk, was still in command of the Livia Armored Cavalry, at that time Sahar was too young to remember everything, but he could still remember the impression that the treatment of the Eunuchs back then wasn't too bad for his father. Ah, that's probably because at that time, his father had married Princess Seshanna. Sahar had understood very well that the treatment of people from the palace to those who worked in the sun had always been like this. From the moment his father stepped down and the position of Commander-in-Chief was given to General Ilta, Sahar was no longer surprised by this type of treatment. They were even more disrespectful to General Ilta because he wasn't from a noble clan. Even though he was the sworn younger brother of the Marquis of Goshawk, as long as his last name was neither Zehra nor Senka, he would still be treated like trash, no matter how great he was on the battlefield.

Throughout this empire, there hasn't been a single emperor who has truly shown his generosity to the military faction, except for extreme fear. They were very exhausted and poor. The annual salary always comes late, and even a general has to pawn his underwear to fill his stomach.

The commoners who heard this kind of story would probably not believe it. The soldiers themselves are often clueless. Why should those, who should be called heroes who protect every crevice of the country with their sweat and blood, have to be lowered to the bone? And it's the weak people who can't even protect their own asses like these eunuchs, instead of living a good life just lounging and licking the ass of officials. They were not afraid that the humiliated Generals would complain to the Emperor, because let alone complain, the voice of that complaint alone would not necessarily reach the Emperor's ears.

Of course, Sahar knew the reason. Of course because they, the Eunuchs, didn't have much potential to rebel. People like eunuchs didn't have definite powers, but the Generals did. Hence the stronger they were, the more they'll be pushed to their ends. Now when Sahar went to the two outlying camps and saw how scant the supply of rations the Capital had sent for them, he couldn't help but grin in annoyance. Even the quality is very poor beyond the quality of pig feed.

The deputy commander, General Nial, who had served the Zehra family for generations, wore a tired face while commenting. "I don't know why but it looks like the Capital's ration stock is really bad. The Capital's main granary is in Aslaug, and I heard last year's harvest was so bountiful, that Secretary Commissioner Aslaug became an idol. The western area is not as fertile as the South and barren, so why? We can only expect harvests from outside to help fill the barns. "

Sahar is not very good with words so he just listens silently. Nial took off his helmet armor and rinsed his face under the tap water while drinking the water a few gulps. Now that he had finished moistening his throat, he was much calmer. The two then sat on a fallen tree contemplating, before Sahar opened his mouth. "The rations this time are also not enough. "

The Zehra family was a hereditary noble family that had personal assets outside of their military salary, even if it were to be said plainly, this half of Livia's land was privately owned by the Zehra family, while Livia was the largest province in the country. Can you imagine how rich they are? So the only reason why Livia's Armored Cavalry became the strongest army in full armor was because the family they were in charge of was rich. Zehra donated most of their land to be rented by civilians, and most of it was used as a military training ground that even the capital did not want to finance at all. Near the Katla-Kleitos mountain, there was a large area of ​​vacant land that no one wanted to live there because many mountain bandits lived nearby. That's where the soldiers planted whatever plants could survive in less fertile areas. Soldiers occupied themselves with their agricultural tasks such as planting and harvesting wheat and tubers and turning them into money. The money will later be used to playback in the army, such as the cost of maintenance and repair of war equipment. And when the harvest was bountiful, half of the harvest would be mixed with the civilian barn outside the tribute, to keep it away from the eyes of the Capital so that the rations from there would not be reduced further.

Actually, the area in Livia wasn't that bad that it couldn't grow anything. The area in Livia bordering Valdis and Engel was even so fertile. But the soldiers did not want to take risks, nor did they have the heart to let the civilians suffer.

Last year's harvest wasn't that great, and now that their rations were being reduced again, they couldn't help but get sore balls. It's pain in the ass.

After daydreaming for a while, Sahar remembered something so he immediately asked Nial, "Where is my daughter? "

"In the camp tent. She was drawing a field of sunflowers and two bears. The drawing is so pretty, you know. Princess seems very talented. " Nial's way of speaking was like he was a proud uncle.

Sahar stood up while cleaning his buttocks before he entered the camp tent. And there was his little daughter, playing with a broken crayon and a scrap of rice paper on the floor, lying on her plump belly swinging her legs. Sahar peeked at her handiwork, and Nial was right, she was drawing a field of sunflowers and two bears. Except that he lied about her pretty drawing. The sunflower fields were more like yellow circles with green stalks, and the bear was so fat it looked like two farmhouses side by side.

Sahar commented curtly, "You have no talent. "

His daughter realized that her handiwork was being peeked at by someone with no respect for art so her round cheeks puffed up in anger and she quickly folded the paper. Forbid anyone to see it. Sahar lifted her onto his lap and bit the chubby cheek before asking, "What are you drawing? "

"A yellow circle with green stalks and two farmhouses. "

Sahar was shocked. "What? So not a field of sunflowers and two bears? "

Little Vaishravana pouted. "Who was the fool who concluded that…"

Sahar chuckled. He pinched his daughter's stomach in exasperation before asking once again, "You want to build a farmhouse? "

Vaishravana looked lost for a moment. Then she said, "Daddy, why do those uncles have to be farmers near the mountain? Aren't they soldiers? Our job is to protect the border. "

Sahar did not answer. He immediately lay down on the floor and took his daughter in his arms. Closed his eyes. Vaishravana complained and rebelled. "Daddy, you stink. "

Sahar immediately let go and turned around, his back to her. Vaishravana felt guilty so she forthwith hugged her father's back. She tried to seduce him, "Daddy, you don't stink. " but Sahar would not listen to her.

The little 7-year-old girl shook her father's shoulders several times until she was tired, and rested her chubby cheeks on her father's neck. Honestly, her father was very dusty and reeked of sweat. One wouldn't believe that he hadn't showered in over a week judging from his appearance, but one would believe it after they watched him closely. His milky white skin was mixed with yellow dust that was sticky from the mixture of sweat. You can imagine how dirty he must have been, and now he was sulking because his daughter didn't want to be hugged? Hah! Seriously!

Vaisharavana said "Dad, why not buy from Verice? Sell ​​our crops to Nirari at a high price, then buy from Verice at a low price. "

Behind the Katla-Kleitos mountains, there is a small desert belonging to the Verice Kingdom. The natural conditions there are not so good, but also not as bad as Livia let alone Mahavira. Verice relied on safeguards from its two neighbors, Dallas and Elysian, by paying large amounts of annual tribute. Each year their tribute would pass through Livia's Engel bridle and be escorted by the Armored Cavalry to the Capital to enter the national granary at Aslaug. Buying grain from Verice was akin to slapping themselves in the face. Overseas grain supplies should not be relied on at all.

Nirari, on the other hand, was willing to buy grain in bulk at any price, because they really needed it right now, while the 5 Great Northeast Districts were still in a state that required great support from the surrounding area. During this time Livia had sold some of their grain to Nirari, and the price had been agreed to remain at the general standard according to the selling price of the Capital. This decision is based on the friendship between the two so far.

Of course, the advice of a 7-year-old little girl couldn't be taken seriously, but Sahar was still quite surprised when he heard it. He would not have expected that Vaishravana's outlook would go this far at such a young age. Not to mention, so far neither Sahar nor the Marquis of Goshawk has decided on Vaishravana's career in the military. Her own grandfather actually wanted to include her as an official in the Capital, or at the very least, as a Prefect of Livia so that she wouldn't feel the humiliation of being a military artist.

"Or we can rob from the bandits in the Katla-Kleitos mountains…" Vaishravana spoke again in her father's neck. Tickled with her warm breath. Sahar laughed loudly before he picked up his daughter and sat her on his stomach.

"Don't worry, we won't starve. "

Sahar played with his daughter for a while before he rushed out of the tent and looked for his Deputy Commander. Nial was burning purple sweet potatoes in the fireplace when Sahar found him. It was getting dark, and several hotspots in Omega's temporary camp were starting to be lit.

Sahar sat beside Nial and the baked sweet potato was passed to him. Sahar accepted it, pinched the burnt part to throw it away, and devoured the inside. Even without the added seasoning, it tastes really good.

"Hey, come here. " Sahar called randomly passing soldiers. A small soldier approached somewhat confusedly. Sahar immediately snatched the freshly baked sweet potato from Nial's hand and handed it to the little soldier's hands while saying, "Give this to my daughter. Don't forget to peel off the skin and blow it out. Don't let her eat hot food. "

"Oh, yes sir…" this person was the Deputy Commander of the Omega Camp. The person who had recently occupied the post that Sahar often forgot about him. He was actually an old man from the reign of the Marquis of Goshawk, one of the members of the Team beside him before finally getting his own post. He himself was much older than Sahar, and certainly much more experienced. At the beginning of Sahar's own ascension, at first many of Livia's Armored Cavalry old faction also disagreed, especially since he was still so young. The old Marquis faction was so against it that in the early days, it was very difficult for Sahar to control the troops. Not to mention, the people from the old Marquis faction were Veteran Generals.

When the Deputy Commander of Omega Camp left, Sahar again spoke to Nial casually as if he had not committed any sins before.

Sahar blew and bit into his baked sweet potato before asking, "What about that impotent donkey? "The person that Sahar meant was the eunuch this afternoon.

Nial immediately understood and explained. "We've handled it. " He sighed, "Much willingness, just annoying. His testicles couldn't even function anymore, why was he so arrogant? "

Sahar replied, "The capital has sent Army Surveillance Censors, sent various Investigation Censors, Military Inspectors, and is still sending that stinky donkey here. Just wait till I get rid of them all. " He chewed his baked sweet potato with emotion while clenching his jaw.

Nial raised an eyebrow, "You have a plan? "

Sahar raised an eyebrow back, "Nial, we fight all the time with barbarian armies, even saving our own butt is troublesome. There comes a time when our hands can't reach and protect people who can't even lift a 10-ounce sword, right? We are not God. "

Nial laughed until his stomach hurt, and commented between breaths, "Damn, you have guts. "

They were a subordinate and a boss, and on the other hand, they were also childhood friends and co-workers. Their relationship is clearly so close that they can joke in the middle of serious topics.

Well, even though Nial knew that Sahar wasn't really joking.

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