Chapter 168 - 115 : Year 25 - 31 The Measure of a Lord (1)

Chapter 168: Chapter 115 : Year 25 - 31 The Measure of a Lord (1)

The three fortified stations scattered across the territory also needed attention. Lucian met with the officer overseeing the garrisons and the commanders responsible for the stations, reviewing their reports on damaged walls and gates, dwindling supplies, and the men available for duty.

The castle remained the centre of House Veymont’s authority, but its garrison could not protect every road and settlement on its own. The outlying stations allowed the family to maintain its presence across the territory and respond to trouble without leaving the castle exposed.

House Veymont’s authority extended beyond its own household and soldiers. As a Count’s house, it stood beneath Duke Vendettit, one of Enwitra’s four great ducal houses, with five Viscount houses holding lands under its authority. Beneath them were barons, landed knights, and lesser nobles, each with their own holdings and responsibilities.

The hierarchy determined who owed service and allegiance to whom, but it did not mean that every decision had to come from the top. Lucian had broad authority to manage the affairs of his own territory, from maintaining roads and garrisons to arranging local defence. His Viscounts likewise managed their own lands, though they were bound to fulfil the obligations they owed House Veymont.

The Duke could impose wider demands, and the crown stood above them both, but neither needed to direct every routine matter within the county. Keeping order was Lucian’s responsibility, and he had the freedom to decide how best to do it, provided he met his obligations and respected the authority above him.

The reports from the garrisons also reflected how deeply the war had disrupted ordinary life. As the campaign dragged on, the nobles had called up more able-bodied men from their lands to fill the ranks. Many had been farmers and laborers, taken away from their usual work, given basic weapons and limited training, and sent to fight alongside more experienced soldiers.

After years away, some returned to neglected fields, damaged homes, or livelihoods that no longer existed. Trade had yet to recover fully, and many employers lacked the money to take on workers as they once had. Most tried to rebuild their lives, but some, unable to find steady work or support their families, turned to robbery. Others fell in with former comrades and joined armed groups that preyed on merchants and travellers along less-protected roads.

They were not all seasoned fighters, but years of war had taught some enough to handle weapons and operate in groups, making even a small band dangerous when it knew the terrain and could choose where to strike.

The garrison commander brought Lucian his assessment of the situation, along with reports of the recent attacks. He advised against spreading the soldiers too thin. Sending patrols along every road would leave each group too small to deal with a serious threat, while concentrating too many men at the castle would leave the rest of the territory exposed.

Lucian was familiar with the problem from his own experience during the war. A force could cover too much ground on paper and still be unable to respond effectively when trouble arose. The challenge was to keep enough men close to the places where trouble was most likely to occur without leaving the rest of the territory unprotected.

After considering the reports, Lucian settled on a plan. The busiest trade routes, bridges, and approaches to markets would receive regular patrols, while other areas would be covered through rotating patrols and the forces stationed at the fortified posts. He also ordered his officers to coordinate with the Viscounts when attacks occurred on their lands, making use of the men available there rather than drawing every response from the castle.

The Viscounts were expected to fulfil their obligations, but Lucian understood that maintaining security across the territory required each of them to play their part. Where reports pointed to a gang that included trained martial artists or posed a threat beyond the soldiers’ capabilities, the matter was to be brought before him so he could decide what kind of response was warranted.

The veteran Force Tempering martial artist was too valuable to be sent after every band of robbers. As the strongest martial artist remaining in House Veymont’s service, he was reserved for threats that demanded his strength.

Other martial artists served among the soldiers and household guards, some as captains or commanders, and could lead responses to lesser threats or confront opponents beyond the reach of ordinary troops. If their strength proved insufficient, Lucian could call upon the veteran to reinforce them. This gave him several levels of response without risking the house’s strongest remaining safeguard over every disturbance.

Once they had settled the patrol arrangements, Lucian turned to another concern raised by the reports. Many soldiers had returned from the war with injuries that made their former duties impossible. House Veymont had continued supporting those unable to earn a living, as well as the families of the fallen, but Lucian had begun considering whether some of the wounded could return to service in other capacities.

It might provide them with a dependable income while easing the strain on the soldiers still fit for field duty. He had fought beside these men and seen what the war had taken from them. Now that the fighting was over, he could not consider the matter settled simply because the survivors had made it home.

"How many of our men could no longer perform their former duties?" he asked the commander. "And how many might still be useful elsewhere?"

The commander looked up, momentarily surprised by the question. He had expected the Count to concentrate on the men available for patrols and the defence of the territory. Instead, Lucian was asking about those who could no longer take their place in the ranks.

For a moment, the commander thought of the soldiers he had trained, men whose abilities he had once measured by how well they handled a weapon, endured a march, or held their ground under pressure. Some of them could no longer do any of those things. He had seen what such losses meant to a soldier who had spent years learning to serve, only to return home uncertain of what place remained for him.

"Quite a few cannot return to the field, my lord," he answered. "Some can no longer march for long distances, while others struggle to handle weapons because of their injuries. But not all are incapable of service. Several experienced soldiers could help train recruits, supervise drills, or oversee equipment and supplies. Others might manage duties at the fortified stations, where they would not need to join patrols."

Lucian considered this. The healthier soldiers were already stretched between guarding the roads, manning the garrisons, and responding to attacks. Many of the veterans, meanwhile, had years of experience that younger soldiers lacked. Even if they could no longer endure a march or stand in a battle line, they might still teach recruits how to maintain discipline, recognize danger, and act under pressure.

Lucian knew how much of a soldier’s judgment came from experience, from mistakes witnessed and lessons learned under conditions no training ground could fully reproduce. That knowledge did not disappear with an injured leg or a damaged hand.

"Then we should make better use of their experience. Those capable of training should help prepare the recruits, while others might take up suitable duties at the stations or oversee stores and equipment. There is little reason to keep men with valuable experience idle simply because they can no longer fight."

The commander listened carefully. The suggestion was practical, but there was something more in the way Lucian spoke of the wounded. He did not speak as though he were trying to find a use for men who had become inconvenient. He spoke as though their experience still mattered, and that their injuries had changed what they could do without erasing what they had given.

The distinction was a simple one, yet it was not always easy to preserve when a household had so many other demands competing for its attention.

"That could work, my lord, but we would need to assess them individually," the commander replied. "Some could manage a full day of light duties, while others might only manage a few hours. A man who can instruct recruits from a seat may not be fit to stand watch at a gate. We must find duties that suit their condition, rather than assign them work they cannot sustain."

There was no reluctance in his answer, only the caution of someone who understood the men involved. He had no wish to see soldiers who had already suffered enough pushed into duties that their injuries would not allow them to perform. Lucian understood that concern. He wanted the house to make use of what the men could still offer, not force them to prove their worth by enduring pain they could ill afford.

"Agreed. Have the captains identify what each man can reasonably manage, and where his experience would be most useful."

Lucian then turned to the question of payment. "Those who take up these duties should receive wages for their work. We would need men to train recruits and oversee supplies regardless, so employing experienced veterans could serve both purposes. Those whose injuries leave them unable to perform any regular duty must continue receiving the support we owe them. Their service should not count for nothing simply because they can no longer earn their living."

The commander fell quiet for a moment. He knew the house had much to repair, and the money spent on the war could not be recovered simply because the fighting had ended. Every new expense competed with another need, from the mines and roads to the garrisons that protected the territory. It would have been understandable for Lucian to limit his concern to the men who could still serve effectively and leave the rest to the support already promised.

Instead, he was considering how to give the wounded paid work where possible while preserving help for those who could never return to regular duties. This was no passing expression of sympathy. Lucian was trying to make room for them within the house’s plans, even when doing so would require careful decisions about money already stretched thin.