Achilles' Son

The preparations are going smoothly, the two groups made under Pero and Lysandra Pervica was created swiftly, and Pero and her delegation headed to Oscapolis. Lysandra's own delegation stayed in Mastiapolis, and right now, Antigonos is on the barrack grounds, overlooking the training troops.

It takes the better part of three to four months to train soldiers, and in the upcoming northern campaigns he needs at least 10,000 men to fight for him. 

Antigonos walks through the barracks, his eyes scanning over the new recruits. He's dressed in his usual attire. A simple tunic and leather boots that have seen battles. His hair is tied back in a no-nonsense bun, not the flowing locks of his youth.

"You," he points to a young man with a shaky grip on his spear, "you need to hold that like you mean it. Like it's the only thing standing between you and your mother's killer."

He promptly walks away.

Antigonos has been catching himself saying weird shit lately, and maybe that's just him lamenting the loss of his entire family, save for two kids.

Like a normal statesman he finds his kingly status relegated to a desk job, with every issue in the country sent to him for approval. This was very cumbersome and inefficient. So the Forum was devised in a way to lessen the burden of paperwork on him.

Although this might take a few more years before it can solidify.

As Antigonos turns to leave the training grounds, his gaze lingers on a group of archers in the distance. Suddenly, one of them stumbles, dropping their bow. The clatter echoes through the air, and a quiver of arrows follows, spilling out onto the ground. The young archer looks around frantically, their cheeks flushing with embarrassment as their comrades chuckle.

'Hmm, the bow..' Antigonos mused as he passed by.

The Bow is one of the less popular weapons of choice, it takes years to be proficient in it, and it also requires the user to be far away from their opponent. For the hot blooded troops the sword, sarissa and the javelin seem like better options to fight face to face.

Antigonos approaches the young archer, the boy's eyes widen in fear and respect as he quickly tries to gather his arrows. "Soldier, I'd like to see you shoot," Antigonos says, his voice firm but not unkind.

Fear is the emotion that humans find hardest to control. And holding the bow is gripping that fear in the neck, the fear to meet the enemy's face but the courage to fight them nevertheless.

The archer, still shaking, nods hastily and picks up his bow. He tries to calm his trembling hands as he fits an arrow into place. The bowstring hums as he draws it back, his eyes fixed on a distant target. 

The moment feels like a lifetime as he holds his breath, and releases. The arrow flies through the air, landing in the bullseye with a satisfying thwack. The other soldiers pause their training to watch, murmurs of surprise rippling through the group.

Too bad military education in the two cities is severely lagging behind from what it was in Greece.

This man can't even keep his cool, no matter how good a shooter he is, he would get cut down the moment he freezes in the battlefield. No matter how many arrows the archers use, the enemy will catch up to them, and once they smash into their lines, each archer killed is an expensive and irreplaceable asset during campaign.

How should archers be treated?

Antigonos walks over to the archer, his expression unreadable. "Why did you drop your bow?" he asks, his eyes piercing into the young man's soul.

The archer stammers, "It-it slipped, my lord."

'Bruh' "You can't even hold a bow, so what's the point of aiming well if you can't shoot on the battlefield?"

Antigonos's words were like a slap in the face, and the archer's eyes watered up. "I-I'll do better, my lord. I promise."

'Tsk, what a sissy. If he doesn't end up dead I might grant him a place on my personal guard for safety.'

"What's your name?"

The archer snapped out of his daze, "It's Castor, my lord. Castor son of Andromedes."

"Family?"

"Of Scodra."

'Ahh makes sense.' Antigonos shakes his head a bit and walks away, to more paperwork that waits for him in his desk.It's not even funny, the amount of papyrus and wooden panels on his desk should be illegal.

The walk back to the palace is a silent one. His thoughts are racing. The country is in dire need of a military overhaul, and it's clear that the current system is not up to par. As he enters the cool marble halls, the echoes of his footsteps are the only sound that accompanies him.

Mastiapolis, Oscapolis and the colony itself doesn't have the system that the Greek cities had, and the one made from scratch merged civilian and military education into one, which means the colony basically functions as a big military base.

Children as young as 8 or 9 would enter an academy of sorts and would be taught all the basic things, like reading, writing, handling weapons, mathematics, military drilling and physical education.

For 6 to 10 years they would go over these classes, including indoctrination to the Macedonian cause, studying the Romans and other geopolitical stuff, woodworking and even more convoluted subjects. 

Most students would want to graduate early and stay from 4 to 7 years in there. After that they will go into the barracks to train for three months. The barracks give them no more advantage other than practice and teambuilding, as all the fighting lessons they got were in their old schools.

'So training to fight in the war starts as they are children, not in the barracks. The barracks are just homes for the soldiers to get to know each other and occasionally fuck each other.'

Antigonos sighs heavily as he enters his office. He's seen this before, young soldiers with potential, hampered by a lack of discipline and experience. He knows that if he's going to win the upcoming battles, he needs more than just numbers. He needs soldiers who won't falter when faced with the enemy.

These are kids, from the age of 12 all the way to the age of 18 in one building.

Antigonos knew that the colony's current education system was a double-edged sword. On one hand, it churned out soldiers faster than a traditional military academy, but on the other, it lacked the depth and finesse of the Greek military academies. The Macedonians were renowned for their discipline and strategy, but these young recruits had yet to truly understand the gravity of their roles.

There's no specialization of roles. 

Each soldier just trains whatever they like and go to what unit they like and… This seems to be producing better quality warriors than if they're just conscripts, but it sacrifices discipline.

While conscripts are willing to be fodder, seeing each other as equals and fighting in cohesion, these people are more likely to compete with each other, and might be more unruly than previous armies.

Although quality is up, quantity also takes a hit.

Antigonos knew that to win these wars, he needed a balance between disciplined soldiers and those with specialized skills. He needed archers who wouldn't drop their bows in battle, cavalry who could charge without breaking rank, and foot soldiers who could hold the line against the enemy. The current system was producing a jack-of-all-trades, but masters of none.

'But it is better than being a master of one…' Antigonos looks out the window deep in thought. A complete overhaul of the system is impossible to say the least, the roots of this type of education seems to be cultural, and conscription is improbable because of the low initial population and the strain it puts into the economy, as these warriors being trained now also do odd jobs here or there to hone their skills in other fields, like outdooring, foraging and other stuff.

But something's got to give, the colony's military strength is like a wild horse, powerful but uncontrollable. He needs to tame it.

The colony makes a more versatile army that can camp on the way, and knowledgeable soldiers are a good addition to the realm. If all the soldiers know how to read, then choosing officers can be as easy as pointing to one of them in the heat of battle.

No need to get someone to read for the troops when all of them can read after all, and officers can die during battle. It also helps with cohesion when all the troops already know how to set up camp without having to get groups of people to organize for a specific task.

Of course there are drawbacks to this.

The versatility of the soldiers does come at a cost. The lack of specialization means that while they can all read a map, not all of them can navigate one under pressure. And while they know the basics of archery, not all of them can shoot an arrow straight.

The quality of troops are either really really good or really really bad.

Or really really mid.

Antigonos sighs, rubbing his temples. He's seen enough to know that the current system isn't going to cut it. He needs a way to instill discipline without stifling the creativity and individualism that makes these soldiers so formidable. The thought of his own children, growing up in this system, weighs heavily on his mind.

But the first problem to tackle is the financial problems. Macedon isn't exactly rich, especially right after they got the living shit beat the hell out of them in Greece.

And it also helps with the coffers when soldiers buy their own equipment, similar to the Roman Maniple system, but the problem with that is the equipment might not be standardized.

The simple solution to that is…

Antigonos quickly drafts a suggestion on a piece of papyrus. The State should produce weapons and armor, and through third party merchants, sell those weapons and armor to aspiring soldiers, that way there will be a single standard of equipment.

This would be a boon to the economy, as more goods would be produced and sold, and it would ensure that every soldier has the same equipment, thus reducing the chances of failure during battles due to faulty gear.

The iron and bronze would be sourced locally, creating jobs for the people, the weapons would be produced, creating more jobs, the merchants will buy the weapons from the government and resell it, and the soldiers will do more odd jobs to earn enough money to buy the weapons, it's practically an infinite money glitch.

But it's not just the economy that would benefit from this. The soldiers themselves would be more invested in their gear, knowing that it's not just something handed down to them, but something they worked hard to get. It would boost morale and make them take better care of their equipment, which in turn would make them more efficient on the battlefield.

Antigonos knows that a good soldier is one who is confident in his weapon, and a confident soldier is a dangerous one. By providing them with standardized, high-quality gear, he can give them that confidence. And if they're willing to pay for it, they're more likely to treat it as their own and not just something the state gave them.

Efficiency is key, and although soldiers are more like numbers to him, they are important numbers. 

'Hehe, I'm a genius.' Antigonos chuckles to himself as he scribbles.

The room is filled with the scent of ink and parchment, the candle flame flickering in the soft evening breeze that wafts through the open windows.

Antigonos sits at his desk, his brow furrowed as he continues to scribble down his thoughts on the future of the colony's military. His mind races with ideas, each more 'ingenious' than the last. He's always been a man of action, at least that's how he frames himself.

Ten years at sea might have genuinely fogged his brain if he thinks he's Socrates, but he would like to think his elite education gives him at least an advantage… After all, he's Achilles' son, Rome has no idea what he's capable of.