I Became a Genius Commander at the Academy

Chapter 25: Reclaim The Territory (4)

When training soldiers, the most important thing was not only to cultivate the skill to handle weapons or to have hundreds of people move as one unified body.

Someone might say,

‘How can a soldier not handle weapons well and move as one, are you mad?’

But to have a powerful army, you first need to bind the minds of the affiliated soldiers together.

To achieve this, I chose to push them to their limits and created a situation where they could only rely on each other, and realizing that…

‘The only ones I can trust are my comrades training with me.’

Given the limitations of this era, it was best to unify officers with fellow officers, and soldiers with their fellow soldiers during training. However, this would also be somewhat solved as they get more field experience like I did.

With that thought, I finished preparing to sound the reveille with a trumpet borrowed from the military band.

I would have wanted to entrust it to Major Schmitz, who had been with me since my platoon days, but in the strictly hierarchical Reich Empire, it was fundamental for nobles to teach and train only fellow nobles.

Therefore, I had no choice but to train the officers myself. It was best to enjoy working hard when you had to give up everything.

“Get up and get ready in 15 minutes, then assemble at the drill ground! Those who are late will enjoy the drill ground with me until it’s time to eat breakfast!”

As my command fell, the new officers started to move in a hurry.

Among them were some who were older than me, but I was the only one who devised this kind of training. They were showing naïve reactions to this new method of training, from the lieutenants to even the mid-thirties captains.

Some were in such a rush that they buttoned up their shirts wrong, tearing their strings or wearing them backward.

“Get a grip! How are you going to wear armor like that? Wake up.”

“My 3rd string! We’re going to be late!”

“I was thrilled to be under Lieutenant Yaeger, a war hero, but what is this…?”

Perhaps it was because they had been tortured by me for three days? They wore their armor swiftly and went to receive their spears from the armory.

10 minutes passed, and those who had just woken up gathered with swollen, tired faces.

The tallest lieutenant, Lieutenant MacNear, raised his hand in the center and shouted,

“All 12 members of the 1st platoon directly under Yaeger Battalion have gathered!”

“Good job, everyone. From now on, we will start the morning run. If anyone finishes after me, you will all be polishing spears until tonight.”

The mention of joint responsibility made the faces of the soldiers—no, the officers—who had just joined my battalion crumble.

However, I was higher in rank, and showing an example in training was recommended in an era where the spirit of chivalry was alive. I wouldn’t lose in a physical competition with them…

They might be dissatisfied, but they would also be thinking,

‘Our battalion commander is leading by example, such a true gentleman…’

“Now, let’s start running. Run three laps around the castle and come inside. Leaders, start running first.”

As soon as I finished speaking, a lieutenant in the lead started running, and the rest of the officers followed in their uniforms with breastplates.

I also started running at a speed that was neither too slow nor too fast, chasing them.

Fearing they would get caught by me, they ran even harder.

“Surely, the officers of the Yaeger Battalion won’t get caught by me? I’m running at the same speed as the soldiers… I trust you won’t get caught by me!”

I was running at about 14 km/h.

This speed was somewhat faster for a long-distance runner but slow for a modern marathon runner.

Soldiers ran without wearing armor like the officers in front of me, so it wasn’t disappointing even if the officers were caught by me while running at full power.

In any case, I focused on pushing them to their physical limits in the morning run.

As they passed the halfway point, the officers gritted their teeth and said,

“The officers of the great Reich Empire won’t have less stamina than soldiers! Let’s grit our teeth and run!”

“We can do it!!”

“There’s only half left! Hang in there!!”

The officers, with the pride of being nobles of the Reich Empire, somehow endured until the end of the run.

Once they finished running and returned to their original destination, they gasped for air and collapsed to the ground.

On the other hand, being only 19 and having enhanced my stamina by running around the front lines of Raintlant, I was able to stand in front of the officers perfectly fine without panting.

“You all worked hard. Soon, the meal will arrive, so fill your stomachs before the next training session begins.”

Mealtime arrived.

Some would say it was good for the leader to dine with his soldiers or subordinates for unity, but…

Following them during their only rest time after hard training was very inappropriate behavior.

So, I decided to eat alone at a distance.

Once I stepped away, the officers gathered in small groups and began chatting while having their meals.

“Is the commander even human…? He ran at the same speed as us, but why is he still fine?”

“Major, isn’t the training too hard? This morning’s run felt like we were running to death, and we have spear training right after our meal?”

“I thought it would be easier since he removed all the advanced movements for teaching soldiers, but I never thought he would measure the width of arm movements with a sword… He’s truly unique.”

Most of the conversation was a bit of a complaint about the intense training and a bit of negative remarks about me.

But I felt pleased after hearing their conversation.

Not because I enjoy being cursed at, but because, until a few days ago, although the officers had a sense of belonging to the same battalion, they weren’t united.

I saw the officers becoming rapidly closer, with their complaints about me as the centerpiece, proving my philosophy that harsh experiences unite people.

“Still, isn’t he great? He ran three laps around the castle wearing at least 10kg of light training armor without panting.”

“He’s different from us, becoming a war hero at that age and rapidly rising from a commoner background…”

“I heard in the Division Personnel Department that those who got promotions on the battlefield would pass the first round of the captain promotion review.”

The officers’ eyes lit up at these words.

Because an officer’s life depends on how far they get promoted.

Retiring as a major allowed you to live a life treated as a knight, but retiring as a captain only gets you treated as a once noble officer.

Of course, that was still an impressive specification, and one could even lead a local guard unit…

It was better to live comfortably receiving a pension treated as a knight, and it was even better to be promoted above lieutenant colonel to be able to pass the title to their children.

Then, the major who worked in the Personnel Department continued,

“So, if we follow our commander, the path to promotion is clear. That’s why we are training like dogs.”

The officers, thinking I wasn’t watching, all loudly agreed and finished their meals.

And on that day, I found faults in the officers and made them polish spears until 8 in the evening.

This was to improve their combat ability and unity, not because they talked badly about me behind my back.

Thus, I enhanced their physical strength and unity with two weeks of training.

Soon, some of them even started calling each other brothers in private.