Everything was going smoothly, so Augustus was naturally in a good mood.
The warm winter sun was exceptionally bright, and Augustus was leisurely drinking coffee and reading a book in his room.
Because he didn't like bitterness, the coffee had an outrageous amount of sugar and milk.
"Your Holiness, General Duke is looking for you."
"Let him in," Augustus said without lifting his head.
A few minutes later, Duke burst through the door, charging in with an excited, unstoppable force.
Augustus was stunned; was he here for a fight with that kind of momentum?
After a moment of stunned, Augustus asked, "You... what's going on? That door is quite expensive; it's probably enough to support an entire company."
"I'll be gentler next time, Augustus. I have something I want to ask of you."
Augustus was a little surprised, took a sip of coffee, and slowly said, "What is it? Why are you using the word 'ask'?"
"I hope you can allow the Field Army to recruit more people.
Many young men have signed up to join the army, and I think they are really excellent.
It's only been one day, and there are already so many; if this continues, there will be at least tens of thousands who meet the requirements."
At this point, Duke's joy turned to sorrow, and with a look of regret, he continued, "But you know, after the Field Army was integrated, its original strength was already over ten thousand, and the target strength, like the National Defense Force, is fifteen thousand.
This means that out of all those who signed up, I can only choose less than five thousand, which is too few; I can't even make a selection.
I've seen the original people in the Field Army; they're all a bunch of misfits.
To call them misfits is an overstatement; they're practically old, weak, sick, and disabled.
What good are those useless people to me?
Why not let me discard them and establish an independent army? That would be very good too."
Speaking of the current Field Army, Augustus did feel a bit ashamed.
He had personally seen the situation of the Papal States' active army and knew that what Duke said was true.
Historically, when the Papal States fought, they relied mostly on external forces, and their own army was often not the decisive factor in the outcome of wars, leading to the army itself being given very little importance for most of the time.
More importantly, the Papal States hadn't fought a war in half a century.
It had reached the point where "peace had lasted for a long time, and people knew nothing of war"; equipment was outdated, long-range weapons were still primarily bows and crossbows, training efficiency was low, and military thinking was extremely backward.
This was also one of the reasons Augustus chose to go the long way around and entrust all the armies to two foreigners.
The environment has a huge impact on people; no matter how much you search in a flock of sheep, you won't find a lion.
Furthermore, for the noble sons of the Papal States who wanted to gild their resumes, an army without wars became a good place to be.
The powerful didn't care what kind of people their juniors were and desperately crammed them in.
And they didn't just cram them in as ordinary soldiers; relying on connections and wealth, they would promote them further.
Many noble sons had terrible personal abilities but held high positions at a young age, making the army a chaotic mess.
Augustus had known about these situations for a long time, but he had turned a blind eye and done nothing, nor had he told them beforehand; he was just waiting for them to arrive before resolving it.
Allowing Duke to discard them and establish an independent army was absolutely impossible.
The original intention was to first bring these people under his control through the Field Army.
After that, reorganization and reduction would be much easier.
However, there was still a limit; keeping them was also a compromise with the nobility, and not all of them could be dismissed.
Those who were not completely beyond salvation could be kept.
But it was acceptable to make them suffer a bit; if they retreated due to difficulty, he couldn't be blamed.
"Don't even think about discarding them and establishing an independent army; that's impossible.
I originally intended for you to bring them under management.
How many people do you plan to recruit?
Tell me."
Duke pondered for a moment, then held up five fingers.
"Five thousand? Alright, that's acceptable."
With no advantage in numbers, it was indeed a bit difficult to control those local strongmen.
The Papal States could still afford the military expenses for an additional five thousand people.
"I mean, increase it to fifty thousand," Duke said calmly.
Augustus almost spat out his coffee.
"How many did you say? Increase it to fifty thousand?" Augustus's voice instantly rose several octaves.
"If possible, that would be best; if not, a slight reduction is also acceptable," Duke said.
Duke didn't actually expect to recruit fifty thousand; he was just asking for a high price to negotiate down.
"Acceptable, my foot!
Do you know what fifty thousand people means?
And a 'slight reduction' that you can accept.
I can't even accept one-fifth of that!" Augustus said emotionally.
The Papal States was relatively wealthy, but money didn't just fall from the sky.
Maintaining a standing army of seventy thousand without any reason would lead to bankruptcy in a few years.
It should be known that great powers like Spain and France, in wars that decided their national destiny more than a decade later, only deployed tens of thousands of troops at a time.
"Don't be like that, can't it be a little more?
How about adding ten thousand, just ten thousand?" Duke pleaded.
"Adding up to allow you to recruit ten thousand, that's settled," Augustus said firmly.
"Alright, ten thousand it is," Duke accepted calmly, knowing this trip wasn't in vain.
Augustus added, "Once war breaks out, an army of twenty to thirty thousand stationed in one place already faces significant supply problems.
If that number expands further, and we still need to maintain supplies, then we can only rely on looting.
Are you willing to do that?"
"Absolutely not!" Duke denied without hesitation.
Augustus nodded.
"That's right.
Even those not selected in this conscription can be prioritized for military service.
Once war breaks out, they are all high-quality reserve soldiers, an important part of the Papal States' war potential.
Recruiting all of them at once now would only deplete national strength in vain.
Due to various factors, the number of troops that can be deployed on the battlefield at one time is inherently limited.
Too many people can sometimes become a burden."
"Alright, I understand."
The battles Duke had experienced where the number of participants exceeded ten thousand were only a few, and the most he had commanded himself was just over a thousand.
He truly had no personal experience with situations where the number of people exceeded the carrying capacity of a region.
Duke was still willing to believe what Augustus said.
"Also, don't look at the current Field Army as useless; in fact, many of them have basic qualities, but they've been steeped in this large dye vat for too long and have degenerated.
I believe you can turn them into something useful.
Except for those who are truly beyond salvation, and the old, weak, sick, and disabled whose physical condition can no longer keep up, try not to reduce too many.
I'm sure you've noticed that many of them have family influence behind them; it's not that I'm afraid of them, but rather that they can be used for my purposes.
In the process of rectification, you can take any measures you deem effective; you can make those who are just coasting along retreat due to difficulty.
None of this matters."
"Okay, I know what to do.
Just rest assured and leave it to me," Duke promised, patting his chest.