A Realm In Order
The sound of spears striking shields filled the air. Men grunted from exertion, wrestling with each other. Sand crunching underneath the sandals of those running against each other. For Argurios, these sounds were more pleasing than the finest music. His father had ensured that he had learned the skills befitting of his station, and while he took well to lessons of comportment and speech, he always preferred the more martial teachings offered to him. What were craftsmen without the warriors protecting their homes? How could a city rise without walls to keep out the rabble? It was the work of artisans and poets to show the greatness and glory of a city, but it was the soldiers task
make it great and glorious.
It felt like years since Argurios had last enjoyed himself like this. To be called into the council of the king first seemed like such a great opportunity. A chance to prove that for all its losses, house Alexis was still great. It was good that his father did not have to see the indignity heaped upon him, having departed to Hades during those days of divine wrath in Orchomenos. First that barbaroi girl tried to foist her bastard upon him and then the king even forced him to marry her. Never would this have happened in the old days! But try as he might, he could not pretend that they were still in Greece. Back then, he would have been expected to marry a woman of noble breeding to seal an alliance for his house, maybe even for the whole city if he married outside of it.
But here? These lands were not Greece, but Rumon, as the locals called it. There was no noble lady for him to marry here, and only barbaroi their neighbors as far as the eye could see. As much as he detested the thought, Semni was the closest thing to a woman of proper breeding he could have found here, the daughter of what passed for a king among her people. There was wisdom in what Isidoros had decreed, even though it took Argurios a long time to see it. Maybe one day Hyphyria would remember him all the more fondly for the sacrifice he had to make to ensure its first tentative ally.
If the woman in question just could have been at least somewhat pleasant company. True, he had picked her for her fair shape and the spark of cunning in her eyes, but what made her a good tumble in a lonely night in the mountains now had turned her into a harridan of a wife. Always a sharp retort on her lips, spoken just politely and hidden enough for him to be unable to reprimand her. Always the whispering behind his back and the unflattering rumors about him coming from nowhere. Good thing he didn't need to see the shrew for a while. She was back with her people, trying to mend the damage caused by the marriage being broken, and from what the messengers told, she seemed decently successful. He could already imagine her smug grin upon her return.
For now, though, he had other things to take care of, and he would make sure that he would outshine her efforts. Playing nice with her kin on Isidoros' behest was an easy thing to do, but he? He had finally a task that he could excel at. And sadly, it was direly necessary to perform a small miracle. Hyphyria's king had never paid much attention to military matters, just sending orders for the troops to go hither and yon, scouting the unknown lands and reporting back. There was no Strategos to turn vague orders into proper plans, though, and their efforts had suffered for it.
Worse yet, the soldiers themselves had suffered without some semblance of order. In the past, they had been Orchomenos' most well-traveled sons, more so even than the most successful merchant. From the shores of Aegyptus to the mountains of the Hittites they had fought, bringing back fat pay-chests for their services and rich plunder from these far lands. All the world feared and admired Greek soldiers of their discipline and prowess. Yet the year in Hyphyria had eroded much of what these men once had been.
Without guidance by a Strategos, they had organized themselves and mostly badly at that. Sure, there were patrols around the city, but haphazard and ineffectual ones. Worse yet, there had been barely any training been done in that year, the soldiers rather busying themselves to till the dirt for their own food or doing work for artisans. Without a proper city there was no pay, and while the soldiers had taken good care of their gear at last, they needed a place to sleep and a warm meal just like all other people in the city.
Did Isidoros know the issues lurking here? Probably not, Argurios decided. He had never shown great aptitude at matters of war, and with artisans, barbaroi, and priests yelling this and that at him all day, he probably considered it a
good sign that the warriors had not joined the steady line of complainers waiting before the palace. Most likely, he would not have taken notice until the first time he would have had to call upon the military for an emergency, getting a few confused people milling around aimlessly instead of the organized fighting force they had in theory. The few officers left after the journey had been almost eager to see Argurios taking command and beginning to unravel the growing mess.
Organize Military: Success
Military regains some amount of order. Penalties to mobilization and organization removed.
Still, he could not lead these men as they were used to. Hyphyria had come far, but there were no proper smithies, no smelters making bronze, no bowyers making new bows and supplying arrows. The city barely produced enough food to last the winter, and the attacks of the Woodfolk had assured that even decent lumber was hard to come by, let alone good blades and spears for soldiers. For now they could make due with what they had, but any losses would be harshly felt. True, Isidoros had seen to it that things were beginning to get better, what with the Hyphyrian sheep flocks bringing mutton into the larders and cloth on the bodies. Even the potters seemed to have been able to get something done after he had given them his personal attention.
New Buildings
Gained 1x Shepherds (1d3 Supplies + 1d3 Wealth per turn)
Gained 1x Pottery Kilns (1d6 Wealth per turn, 1 Wealth Upkeep)
Turn Balance
Supplies: 2 (Stock) + 26 (Income) - 15 (Demand) = 13
Wealth: Wealth: 0 (Stock) + 12 (Income) - 2 (Building Upkeep) = 10
One matter though remained the same. The soldiers needed pay, but the chests in the palace were still too empty to properly feed them. A man who did nothing but train stayed sharp, but no one was willing to share his meager belongings for nothing but a promise of defense that might never even be necessary as far as most people were concerned. And they would be missed in other places. While Argurios wasn't quite certain about the extent of the issue, it seemed likely that some places would be bereft of workers entirely if he told the soldiers to drop the trades they had picked up and do nothing but train again. But something needed to be done all the same.
Military Upkeep and Building Cap revealed.
A city can't support more then one building per Population.
Each unit of a standing army counts as one building for the purpose of this cap. Levies don't count against it.
A standing unit costs 3 Wealth per turn to supply, a levies unit only 1 Wealth when not mobilized.
The army does not currently consume upkeep, but if battle damage is taken or the economy expands sufficiently, they will begin to need and demand payment.
Current Buildings: 8
Current Military:
- 2x Galley Squadron
- 2x Sailor Unit
- 2x Infantry Unit
- 2x Archer Unit
The military of Hyphyria is in theory a standing force, but almost all soldiers have spent their last year on other tasks. What should be done with them?
[] Leave things as they are. You can't afford a standing army right now. (All military units become Levies and will resume to slowly lose discipline and fighting ability. Military units must be mobilized before being able to fight, both in offensive and defensive engagements.)
[] Disband part of the military to fix the lack of workers and give the remainder a modest pay so that they can focus on training. (Military becomes a standing force again. Quality will be maintained and standing units will not need to be mobilized. Upkeep for standing units will be 1 Wealth per turn for the coming years.)
-[] Write-In at least one unit to disband to meet the cities demand for workers.
[] Write-In
AN: Needless to say, things would look worse the longer you would have waited with this action. As it is, you can still steer against the trend towards a lower-quality levies force, but it will cost you.
