André became serious, looked at Raúl, and said:
"The other task I assigned you—how is it going?"
"I have already completed this as well, my lord. Here it is," Raúl said, taking a paper from his pocket and placing it in André's hands.
André looked at Raúl's note and could not help but smile: there were nearly one hundred names on the list.
"These knights are completely loyal to the Solomon family and have no connection with the local nobles. I am certain they would die before betraying the family."
"I trust you, Raúl, but it will not hurt for me to look them over myself in the near future," André said, and then continued: "As you already know, Raúl, I asked you for this list in order to organize the command positions in the new army structure. In addition, I need you to organize them according to the level of education they have; later they will be restructured according to their capabilities."
"My lord, I will not disappoint you in this task."
"I trust you for this, Raúl. Now let us talk about how the army will be organized. First, you will be the commander-general of the army, and I need each division to have a division general. I trust you to organize them."
"In addition to these command positions, there will also be a Brigade General for each brigade. The commanders of the regiments will be called Regiment Colonels; the commanders of the battalions will be named Lieutenant Colonels; those of the military companies will be named Captains; in each section a Lieutenant will be appointed; each platoon will have a First Sergeant, and the squads will be led by a First Corporal."
Raúl listened attentively to André's explanation, concentrating hard so as not to miss any detail, since he had the great responsibility of appointing each position himself.
"This weekend there will be a test of the new armament. I want you to attend together with the three division generals so that they can begin familiarizing themselves with the new weapons."
"Yes, my lord, I will be there on time," Raúl said firmly, wondering what kind of weapons his lord was referring to.
"Good. You may leave. I expect good results regarding the army."
"Yes, my lord."
Shortly after Raúl's departure, Mario entered with a complaining expression and said:
"My lord, I have just received a request for a budget increase from Raúl. Allow me to remind you that the economy of the viscounty is not in good condition. Together with all the projects you have recently approved, if we do not find a way to generate new income we run the risk of bankruptcy."
"Mario, how is the paper production going?"
Mario could guess what he was going to say and replied:
"My lord, the paper production will soon be sufficient for us to be able to sell cheap paper throughout the region. It is estimated that we will obtain a profit of about one thousand gold coins per quarter, but that will not be enough for all the projects you are promoting, my lord."
It should be mentioned that one gold coin is worth one hundred silver coins and 10,000 copper coins. A poor family can live for a month on ten copper coins, so one thousand gold coins in net profit alone is not a small amount.
"I know, Mario. That is why I have new methods of generating money. Rose, hand Mario what I told you," André spoke to Rose, who had the role of personal assistant.
"Here you are, Mario." Rose handed him a folder that contained the production methods for salt, porcelain, and glass.
"Mario, this is very detailed. I hope you find trustworthy people and begin working as soon as possible. This will generate a large economic injection for the viscounty."
"As you command, my lord." Mario no longer asked how his lord obtained these things; he was already used to him performing miracles with every idea he produced. So he secured the documents and took his leave, ready to carry out the task his lord had ordered. He was also relieved to see that André had already thought of a solution.
The weekend quickly arrived. During this time André regularly went to observe the army's training.
In the military camp everyone knew their new lord, who even liked to participate in the training. The commanders wondered how he had come up with such a novel training method, and they also liked seeing the beautiful assistant who followed their lord everywhere.
In an open field behind the mansion, André received from Orobio a strange object that no one present could say what it was for.
Among those present was also Antonio, the senior alchemist, who was holding a box with another strange item whose purpose no one could determine either.
André looked at Raúl and the division generals and said:
"Pay attention, for we will proceed to test the new weapon that the army will use."
---