Chapter 895 The Fate of Mercenaries
?Chapter 895
Alexander had made sure to very publicly reward Papando for his efforts, claiming he was a hero for bringing the war to a much faster conclusion than anyone could have hoped for and thus alleviating the pain of the common masses.
This worked as a great propaganda piece, as Alexander showed that he took good care of the people who defected to him, enticing others to follow suit.
Papando was the main event Alexander spent his time in Kalimat dealing with.
Following this came the processing of the prisoners of war.
This mainly included the identification of the various captured nobles, as well as the mercenary leaders, and deciding their fate, i.e.- ransom, enslavement, or death.
As for the fate of the regular grunts, i.e.- peasants forcibly drafted into Perseus's army, Alexander wanted to forcibly displace them to the lands around Zanzan, to populate the place that had been ravaged by war and drought.
And that was what they were currently discussing.
Although not right at this moment, as the fate of another faction was deemed far more important.
"I wish to enslave all the Kaiser family and remnants of the Petricuno mercenaries and turn them into hard manual laborers for life. What do you think my lords?" In the meeting discussion, Alexander first posed so to the surrounding nobles.
"But my lord, would it not be better to recruit them?" And one of the nobles instantly posed the obvious alternative,
On which he was immediately supported by another who added nodding in a clear voice,
"I too think it would be a great waste for these skilled men to be employed in such menial tasks. Anyone can till the land or dig rocks. But it takes decades to make a good warrior."
"Yes! And they are mercenaries. They will fight for whoever gives them coin. Lord Pasha should reconsider." Implored another one, his voice strong and urging.
"That's right. It's not like we are short on gold either.?Even with just the booty we have collected in this campaign, we can afford to keep them for years if not decades." This one chimed eagerly, with a tinge of anticipation, as he felt the addition of these men would be a great boost to their army.
"Mmmm! And they are good men, Solid. I know. I have fought them." And lastly, this nobleman from back, who was usually very taciturn and spoke few words gave his own two cents.
And this last person's addition was quite important, as this succinct man spoke rarely, also meaning when he did, his words carried a lot of weight.
From all these replies it could be clearly seen that the entire room was against Alexander's proposal and wanted to add the men to their battle ranks.
"No!" But in one of the rare instances of Alexander going completely against the tide of popular opinion, he categorically and unequivocally rejected this, unilaterally saying, "Many of the men are too loyal to that family from Sybarsis. While the Petricuno mercenaries came here solely to destroy me. Because they were jealous of my accomplishments. I cannot trust them. And neither should you, my lords."
"They will work as slaves in my workshops, I have great need for them. That's it."
Alexander flung his arms dismissively as he said this, leaving no room for any debate on this.
And in a similar vein, another single legion was used to guard the lands making up the entirety of modern day Libya, Tunisia, Algeria, and parts of Morroco.
Can you imagine only 10,000 soldiers defending a boundary of more than 3,500 km?
It would be unthinkable nowadays.
But it could be done back then.
And given that the legion would safeguard such a huge territory, the one leading it, its commander, well his influence and power could easily be imagined.
Such a leader would wield enormous respect throughout the empire, able to even directly converse with the emperor.
So 5,000 men were really a lot of men, a huge force, and most of the time, to quell rebellions, the Romans would send only chucks of it, such as 1,000 or 2,000 men.
Of course it had to be also remembered that these units would almost always be accompanied by auxiliaries, i.e.- allies and non Romans drafted from the surrounding lands.
And it was also remembering this that Alexander felt he could also use these men in other ways too.
Such as- he could make his enemies think that he had taken all this army elsewhere, leaving him with no further offensive potential, only to surprise them with a second army, sending the 5,000 men on a sneak flanking attack, like on the enemy's home city, his supply lines, or another ally he might be waiting to meet up with.
Alexander could even have these 5,000 mercenaries produce another whole army, by placing them as the core and then augmenting them with raised levies to make up the required numbers, letting the veterans act as officers and leaders.
That would indeed be a pretty effective army.
Thus, Alexander found that if he properly hid these men, he could use these men both in defense and offense.
The possibilities were truly endless.
And lastly, the reason for hiring these mercenaries for his personal use was due to the concern for his safety.
Employing foreign troops as bodyguards was a time tested tradition for kings and other high ranking nobles, with perhaps the most famous example being the Swiss guards.
This was done because if you are a king, and your troops are from your lands, well then they might want you to do something that's beneficial for them.
And conversely, they might not like something that adversely affects them.
Even if it benefits the country on the whole,
Thus, wary of this, many kings would wisely decide to employ foreign powers with no connection to the lands to protect them.
These men would serve a fixed term and be paid in gold, and in return be expected to shut up and do their job regardless of what the king did to his subjects.
It was an arrangement that worked very well for centuries.
Let us say no to piracy! Don't take part in a crime! Don't patronize thieves!