149 [interlude]The army with a state II

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-Pov of Mervyn first-second moon 286 AC

"Why is it necessary for me to undress, honorable doctors?" I said a bit nervously, looking at the doctors who were taking their books and pencils.

"Soldiers who join the Prussian armies must be physically perfect or as close to perfection as possible. Deformities or any physical condition that may reduce your combat efficiency will be taken into consideration and assessed to determine whether you are fit for military service," said one of the doctors, pointing to my clothes.

Again, I obeyed and undressed completely as requested, and they began to look me up and down with various instruments.

"1.76, meets the minimum height," said one of the doctors after placing something on my head.

"How old are you... what's your name, lad?" asked another doctor.

"Mervyn," I replied to the doctor who asked me.

"His conversion sheet indicates that he just turned sixteen recently," said another doctor, pulling out a sheet from a filing cabinet.

"Then we can expect him to grow a bit more... how are the muscles?" said the doctor who was jotting down everything.

"Very good muscle mass... what did you do in your free time, lad? You're in very good shape," said another doctor while placing large steel clamps on my arms and legs.

"I went to the military school in the city," I replied.

"Well, that explains the good physical condition... do you want to join the army or the cantons? You have the luxury of choosing with your excellent physical condition," asked the doctor holding the notebook.

"Is there much difference?" I asked, a bit intrigued.

"In the army, you'll be a regular member of the armed forces, with all the benefits expected from one of the most important jobs in Prussia, and you'll be able to climb military ranks and receive much higher pay since it will be your profession. In the cantons, you commit to being a volunteer in case the king needs to replace casualties from any battle. Therefore, you commit to militarily training three days a week for twenty years and you'll be paid accordingly. You can continue with your civilian duties, but the pay will be lower. However, you'll have the benefit that if you work in the public administration or companies belonging to the king, your working hours will be reduced those three days you have to train," said the doctor, waiting attentively for my response.

"The army... I've waited all my life for it," I said almost immediately.

"Well... take this, Mervyn... in three days, several carts will arrive to transport all the recruits to the training camp that has been prepared, so make sure to be present at the eastern entrance of the city," said the doctor, handing me a paper that said "approved for military service."

I dressed again and waited for some of my friends to go through the same process, some being rejected outright, others to the cantons, and quite a few to the army, and we went back home.

My father couldn't hide his smile of happiness when I told him that I had been selected to join the army, especially when it began to leak how many had been rejected or sent directly to the cantons.

In just two days, all fifteen thousand slots allocated for our province had been filled, and almost twenty thousand men were left in the cantons, staying as paid reservists. Furthermore, several tens of thousands had been rejected. Once again, almost everyone who went to the military school in our city was chosen, which once again filled the trainers with prestige.

I patiently waited for time to pass. When the day finally came, some of my relatives gave me food and coins to wish me luck, as well as many pieces of advice from my brothers who were policemen about what the Prussians liked: loyalty, discipline, and following orders to the letter, except for one condition: when the order is contrary to logic or I see a better plan; in those cases, it is my duty to make a change in the orders.

Strange, but if those who already worked with the Prussians said it, it must be true.

When I went to the destination point, Lord Tarly was organizing the hundreds of transport carts that would take us to the training camps. The transport process took hours, but we finally made the journey. The destination was to go to the Mander.

For three days, we traveled constantly in the transport carts until we reached the Mander River, where several boats were waiting to transport us to the final destination: Cider Hall, where tents could be seen as far as the eye could see, protected by a large palisade.

There were more people than I had ever seen in my life, and everyone was here for the same reason. The Prussian instructors began to organize us and distribute us into our tents. In the tent assigned to me, I was with five strangers who came from all parts of the Prussian Kingdom.

During the rest of the day, they only focused on distributing uniforms and equipment, like several changes of clothes. As I talked with my new companions, I realized something: our governor had a much higher quota of men than other governors. Apparently, our land delivered almost five times more men than other provinces.

The reason was very obvious when I looked at the bodies of my companions. Some were a bit thin but tall, and others seemed to have a bit of extra weight but almost no muscle. I was one of the few who was in shape, since apparently our province was the only one that had military schools. The others only had basic schools where they taught reading, writing, and German, nothing more than that, and in very few occasions, military schools created by the Prussians.

"In the kitchens, we were given enormous amounts of food, especially fresh meat. Despite how rare it still is to get beef in The Reach, apparently that wasn't a problem for the soldiers, as our diet consisted of large quantities of meat. It seemed like the king had invested a fortune to ensure that the soldiers were in very good condition.

Even after eating three plates of food, we were given bags with plenty of nuts and even jerky to get through the day.

The next day, a Prussian sergeant was assigned to train us.

The loud sound of a trumpet broke the silence that hung over the entire camp.

"All right, you worthless lot! I am your training sergeant, tasked with turning you from filthy peasants into true men who can withstand the rigors of war... YOU HAVE FIVE MINUTES TO PUT ON YOUR UNIFORM, I DON'T WANT TO SEE YOU AGAIN UNTIL YOU LOOK LIKE PRESENTABLE SOLDIERS!" shouted the sergeant before leaving.

We began to put on the uniform, which consisted of white clothing, a shirt, pants, socks, and high-quality boots. In the specified time, we were all presentable, and the sergeant made us gather with several men from other tents and form two parallel lines.

The sergeant started moving through the lines, looking at everyone.

"MERVYN, WHAT IS YOUR SOLE PURPOSE IN THIS ARMY?" shouted the sergeant at me.

"To do everything you order, sergeant," I said confidently, remembering the advice my brothers had given me.

"DAMN, MERVYN, YOU'RE A GENIUS! THAT'S THE BEST ANSWER I'VE EVER RECEIVED, MERVYN, YOU'RE TRULY GIFTED!" said the sergeant before going to see my comrades.

"Listen to me... I am your training sergeant. My duty is to turn you, a bunch of misfits, into fierce warriors who will strike fear into the hearts of the great lords of Westeros, and I swear by God that I will make all of you think as one and fight as one," said the sergeant with an angry tone.

"NOW THAT IT'S CLEAR, GO EAT! I'M GOING TO BREAK YOU TODAY TO MOLD YOU INTO PERFECT WARRIORS!" shouted the sergeant.

All the men from other areas had fearful faces. For my comrades, who had already been in a similar environment, it was just another day with yelling instructors.

We went to the mess halls, and the cooks already had a massive amount of eggs, ham, cheese, fruits, and bread ready for us. Knowing that we had a long day ahead, we ate quite a bit.

As soon as breakfast time ended, we went to the training fields where we were assigned, and the sergeant was already waiting for us. We formed the line, and the sergeant started shouting.

"FIVE LAPS AROUND THE FIELD... WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR, DAMN WORMS... THE LAST ONE WILL CLEAN THE LATRINES TODAY!" shouted the sergeant, and we all started running.

The day's training was intensive, ranging from squats, crunches, push-ups, pull-ups on a bar, and running again, lasting for almost four hours. The sergeant didn't care if others couldn't keep up.

"WE'RE NOT WAITING FOR ANYONE HERE. THE KING ONLY NEEDS SEVENTY THOUSAND MEN AND GUESS WHAT, WE HAVE MORE THAN DOUBLE THE APPLICANTS. IF YOU FALL BEHIND, YOU MIGHT AS WELL GO HOME TO YOUR MAMA... SO STOP WHINING AND KEEP RUNNING," the sergeant shouted again.

When the training ended, everyone had trembling legs and was completely drenched in sweat.

We went to the baths to clean ourselves, and afterward, we went to the mess halls and devoured everything that was placed in front of us. The exercise had left us exhausted and hungry. After eating, we were taken to a building and started to be taught how to assemble and disassemble a crossbow.

This task wasn't difficult since I had done it multiple times in school, although we heard many shouts from several sergeants at those who broke the mechanisms or the crossbow strings.

When the day ended and we filled up with food again, we fell into our bunks as if it were the most comfortable bed we had ever slept in.

The next day, everything repeated. The trumpet sounded, and we had to dress. Shortly after finishing, the sergeant checked that we all had our uniforms, we ate, and our training this time was much lighter. We had to work with metal tables with which we had to do many repetitions but with little weight. So, for four hours, we worked with different types of weights to strengthen the torso and arms. After lunch, we were taken to a class on how to use the pike, which was delivered by Prussian veterans who fought on the frontline on several occasions, teaching us common mistakes and what we should do in various situations, where to attack with the pike, what to do with enemies crawling under the pikes, what to do if your pike is cut with a sword, and many of the problems that a common soldier faces.

The third day was group training, where we had to coordinate the march. For four hours, we had to march in formation to maintain a perfect square and avoid getting hit on the back by the sergeant's command staff. In the afternoon, we finished with a hand-to-hand combat class among ourselves. It should be noted that very few knew how to fight once they were thrown to the ground.

I saw how on several occasions my sergeant smiled and nodded each time he won.

This routine repeated for a month because everything had a purpose: to weed out the weakest. Many left in the first few days, but with each passing day, fewer people withdrew, leaving us with the strongest or those with the most willpower. Even though some of my comrades weren't physically close to me or others, they still gritted their teeth at the pain they felt in their bodies and carried on.

When people finally got used to the training, we were given our armor, and another level of training began because we had to do everything with the armor on, from running, eating, and training, all with the thirty extra kilos that the Prussian Gothic armor gave us, which was a work of art that was made almost to measure for me.

The armor had to become a second skin, as it would be our loyal companion.

But again, the training started to become infernal with this new armor, and I realized that praying was useless to calm the sergeant who continued with his draconian training.

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If you want there to be a chapter tomorrow, the condition is simple, twenty comments on what you would like to see or what you liked or disliked about the story (each person has one valid comment, multiple comments will only be counted as one).or reach the 375 power stones

Within eight hours after the chapter is uploaded to allow time for editing and translation of the next chapter