Chapter 896 The Fate of Mercenaries (Part-2)
?Chapter 896
In ancient times, the royal guards of a king were usually chosen from the military, men who had proven themselves to be among the best of the best in battle.
But although they were considered the most elite units of the empire, tasked with protecting the most valuable asset of the empire-?the king, most of the time they ended up doing nothing.
Which was perfectly normal.
After all, they usually resided inside the capital of the empire, which was at all times protected by a huge army.
So it would have been instead very alarming if the emperor residing in his own palace had to face constant danger.
Thus these valuable units contributed little to the actual defense of the country.
Instead, as they were sat still and indulged in their vices, it led to their atrophy, such as the rise of decay and corruption through greed.
After all, if they were protecting the king, it could also mean they could stop protecting the king, meaning many times these guards held great leverage over the ruler of the lands.
And perhaps there was no better example of this than the Roman Praetorian guard from Alexander's previous life, who perfectly epitomized all the flaws there were with having one's own troops protect the king into a blend of perfect storm.
The number of emperors this esteemed unit of soldiers killed reached close to a staggering double digits and there was one time they even sold the throne to the highest bidder, like it was some common item at an auction house, giving power to the man who promised them the highest salary.
And they did get their wish in that particular instance, as the new emperor promised them a salary that was double their current one.
It could be even said that much of the troubles that followed the Roman empire in its later years were in no small part due to these units, as they contributed to the instability of the empire by frequently removing emperors.
And such a thing was apparent in Alexander's current timeline too.
During the previous Adhanian coup where the former king was disposed, it could only happen because Pasha Farzah and the Queen mother were able to convince the captain of the royal guards to betray his liege after the late king had killed the man's daughter during one of his bouts of insanity.
That man was a noble too and after knowing this Alexander thought that having a noble protect his king was quite paradoxical.
For the current power dynamic was such that the royal family and the nobility would always be at each other's throats, fighting to suppress one another.
The royal family would try to keep a tight lease control over its lords, while the nobility wanted to be their own kings in their fief.
It was an eternal struggle.
And given Alexander's conquest of Tibias, he intended to make his captain of the bodyguards Hemicus a noble too.
Being able to obtain it was perhaps the ultimate goal of all mercenaries since citizens could enjoy various privileges that others drooled at.
These included legal protections, the ability to hold public administrative offices, own and pass on property, have tax exemptions on certain things, have access to state welfare systems like special rations given to the poor, and many more.
Thus when Alexander had made the offer, the one to get on his knees the fastest was the very leader of the mercenary group, taking an oath right then and there, and loudly claiming in almost a zealous voice,
"We were yours the moment you captured us, my lord. The contract with our previous employer is already null and void."
"Please give us any command and we will complete it even if we have to walk through fire."
Many of Petricuno's remaining men also decided to follow Alexander, especially since many of the officers were quite familiar with Alexander and other military leaders.
It was also from them that Alexander got to know the true reason they were here.
And coming knowing about Petricuno's true thoughts, Alexander was honestly a bit hurt.
Sure the man and him had small disagreements from time to time, but Alexander had thought these were only trivial pebbles along the road.
Nothing to think even twice about.
But it would seem that he was the only one thinking like so.
Truly envy was a green eyed beast.
'To think I even mourned that man,' Thus Alexander half lampooned, half cursed, while also reminding himself that his success would likely mean Petricuno was no exception, but perhaps an example.
Alexander's success with the two mercenary groups also prompted him to try the same with the Thesian contingent sent by the various city states.
But predictably, almost all unequivocally rejected him, since the allure of citizenship had no effect on these free people.
Most of the men already enjoyed a well enough life in their respective cities with friends and families residing there too.
Alexander had also expected this, so he did not insist too hard.
Also as a note, the reason the Kaiser and Petricuno mercenaries did not raise any concern about their own families was because they were already here with them.
The men had brought them to the campaign!
This was because they had expected to stay in Tibias and protect the king for a few years and rather than be away from their family for so long, they decided to bring them along.
All of which ended up working quite well for Alexander.
Let us say no to piracy! Don't take part in a crime! Don't patronize thieves!