NOVGO.NET Chapter 401: Redcoats
Chapter 401: Redcoats
Once Viola’s belly starts to show, Priscilla will likely be the first to notice.
"I keep Viola close because it seems safer that way. I haven’t said anything to Priscilla yet, but it’s all right to tell her the secret, isn’t it?"
"Hmm, Priscilla can be trusted with it. Beyond her, tell only Sabine and Daniel. But the fact that the child is Prince Louis’s has to stay buried. That can never get out."
"Don’t worry, Wolf. I want to raise Louis’s child as my own."
Well, Hilda will handle it as she always does. I leave household matters entirely to her while I take charge of managing the domain and its external affairs. That alone makes being a lord an incredibly busy job.
Several days passed after the special trial.
Hans reported on how Wiegen’s case had been settled.
"We’ve seized all of Wiegen’s assets. As you instructed, we didn’t touch his family’s property. They were grateful for even that much."
"Even though their patriarch was banished from Rosenheim?"
"As it turns out, he wasn’t much of a patriarch at home either. If anything, his wife was glad he was thrown out. The children seemed quietly pleased as well."
"Tsk, tsk. He neglected his family and chased nothing but his own greed, so a miserable end is all he deserves."
Wiegen was banished on schedule. He asked to be sent out to Breisburg, so I coolly obliged. He may have relatives in the capital to lean on, but how long would that really last?
"What became of Norman?"
"We handled him as you ordered. He wept with gratitude."
"Now he can chase his dream in Breisburg."
I had banished Norman too, but I intended to pardon him someday. It wasn’t a simple banishment, either; I even provided financial support so that he could finish his degree at the theological university. I looked forward to the day he returned.
Just then, Daniel entered the office.
"Mrs. Hennings has sent over a completed set of the military uniform."
"Oh? Already? That was faster than I expected. It’ll be ready in time for the execution."
At a clap of Daniel’s hands, the servants respectfully carried the uniform in. The red jacket caught my eye at once. The quality was better than I had imagined; there was nothing crude about it.
Erika’s enthusiasm must be what got it finished so quickly.
For the record, Erika and Erich married right away. That is why she is called Mrs. Hennings.
What’s more, five other couples have wed since those two. With the marriage tax abolished, couples in Feuzen who had been biding their time seized the moment and tied the knot.
The marriage tax wasn’t a heavy one, but it was a real burden for the common people, so abolishing it was the right call. No reports had come in from the other villages yet, but news should arrive soon.
More encouraging still, one of the Boeven migrants married a Feuzen woman, which softened the mood between the two groups considerably. Considering how things had stood before the special trial, it was a remarkable change.
The trait surely played a part, but building relationships was ultimately something the people had to work out among themselves. In that spirit, I gladly approved the marriage. I also put together a set of support measures for expectant mothers.
Simply put, I banned hard labor during pregnancy outright and provided a fixed stipend as a form of welfare. It was a fairly radical policy, so the people buzzed about it, but households with expectant mothers cheered.
With more than 2,000 gold coins on hand, the lord’s purse had grown generous.
Hmm, I’ve gotten sidetracked. Back to the uniform.
"Master, isn’t the uniform a bit too flashy?"
"It needs to stand out this much to be identifiable through the gunpowder smoke."
"And each set costs a full 5 silver coins."
"5 silver coins? That’s far cheaper than I expected."
"...Master? That is by no means a cheap price."
Since I’d spent so long dealing in gold coins, it felt cheap by comparison, but it came to about half a commoner’s yearly income. Of course it wasn’t cheap. The world was full of men who would risk their lives over a few silver coins.
Then again, this was a first production run I had ordered simply to see the thing made, so naturally there was room to refine it and cut costs. In the end, I figured 2 silver coins was the right price.
"Still, wouldn’t a uniform like this give the men pride in their service? Hans, what do you think?"
"It’s a truly beautiful, magnificent uniform. I wanted to wear it the moment I laid eyes on it!"
Hans seemed entranced by the new-style uniform with its red jacket and white trousers. To the average eye, admittedly, the colors were excessively flashy. But when I hear "gunner," redcoats come to mind, and I can’t help that.
"Sorry, but this is the uniform of the Streit Gunners."
"I-is that so? If it’s the gunners’ uniform, then..."
Hans looked so openly disappointed that it wasn’t a uniform for the guards that I decided I ought to design a separate one for them. Hmm, surely the Gale Knights boys wouldn’t start wanting one too?
I’m no fan of the British Empire, but even to me, a man from the modern world, their uniforms looked sharp, so it was easy to imagine the impression they would make on people of this era. What worried Daniel, though, was how the clergy would react.
This was an age that considered restraint a virtue, which was precisely why the young found such vivid colors so appealing. And a flashy uniform like this could well draw condemnation from the clergy.
Then again, that standard only applied to commoners; the nobility was bound by no such rule.
Every banquet they held was flashy enough to hurt the eyes.
So I wasn’t about to bow to that kind of criticism, and I intended to ignore it and push ahead. The days when a word from the Church could make princes tremble were long gone. Everything had changed after the Great Schism.
Under the influence of the County of Konstanz, the Duchy of Beren felt the Church’s authority more keenly than the other duchies, but most princes simply ignored it. The last council had been held ages ago, too.
I only hoped that Francisco, back in the Bishopric of Lanseh, would understand this policy of mine. At least he was a man of the cloth one could reason with, much like Andreas. So there was nothing to worry about.
"Daniel, who should we have wear this uniform first?"
"Since Mrs. Hennings made it, why not summon gunner Hennings?"
"Hmm, there’s a certain fittingness in the husband being the first to wear the uniform his wife sewed."
And so Erich, who had been on duty, was hurriedly summoned to the manor office.
Bewildered at first, he took one look at the uniform and more or less grasped the situation.
"May I dare to wear it?"
"This uniform is for you men. Of course you may."
"Th-thank you, my lord!"
When Erich appeared in the uniform with the servants’ help, Hans circled around him, letting out one exclamation after another. Hans was a superior far above him, so Erich stiffened up and held himself at attention.
Next to the British Empire’s redcoats it was a simple design, but it had come out far better than I expected, so it more or less passed. All that was left was cutting costs and improving the military cap.
"Oh my goodness! Is this the new-style uniform?"
"A fine uniform for our young gunners to wear."
"Isn’t it too flashy? Won’t it stand out on the battlefield?"
That was the common reaction: that it stood out too much on the battlefield.
"Better that than being lost in the smoke. If you don’t want to be ridden down by your own cavalry, being visible comes first. And doesn’t it take colors like these to get young men to sign up for the gunners?"
People still thought of gunners as "what kind of soldier is that even supposed to be?", so applicants were scarce whenever we opened recruitment. This new-style uniform was nothing short of a revolution, one that would set an entirely new fashion.
"That’s certainly true. During the battle of Feuzen, the smoke from our gunners’ volleys made it hard to see ahead. And that was with only ten or so of them. If the unit grows, it’ll be like fighting in thick fog."
"Exactly. And as the gunners’ influence grows, all kinds of uniforms will start appearing on the battlefield."
In other words, the color red is mine now, you bastards!
Hilda seemed quite taken with the uniform and decided to help Mrs. Hennings make more of them at the meeting hall. As a result, many of the wives learned of the uniform’s existence, and word spread through Feuzen.
Above all, the colors were so striking that young people gathered just to get a look at the thing, and since it was set to be unveiled on the day of the Dressel gang’s execution, anticipation ran high.
Hmm, I never expected it to draw this much attention.