With the holidays over, people who had been on a long break returned to their respective posts, including the soldiers of the Papal States.
The units to be integrated first had received notice early and appeared at the Field Army camp on this day.
The soldiers of the integrated units stood haphazardly, some even chatting in groups of three or five, forming a stark contrast to the strict military discipline of other soldiers.
Duke was in a good state of mind; with such a comparison, he felt that his previous training had been quite effective.
The first thing Duke had to do was to reorganize these units.
Originally, these units were all several hundred strong, and they didn't have any specific tasks.
Such a command structure was inefficient, and unlike other units, continuing it would give the impression of special treatment.
This, of course, was not something Duke thought of on the spur of the moment, but had been prepared for long in advance.
Duke had already decided on the candidates for officers at all levels, and very few of the original officers from these units were used; these were all chosen by Duke after deepening his understanding of them over the past few days.
Duke adhered to the principle of meritocracy in selecting people, not considering too many other issues, such as who they were too close with, who influenced them more, what kind of dark history they had, or even their character; none of these were within Duke's scope of consideration.
Duke believed that issues of stance and character could all be guided, supervised, and controlled to develop in the correct direction.
Only a lack of ability was almost impossible to significantly improve in a short period.
This was the army, and the ability of every officer concerned the lives of dozens, or even hundreds or thousands, of people.
Therefore, Duke simply screened and compared their abilities based on the information he could obtain, which simplified things a lot and allowed him to complete the task within a few days.
However, Duke only selected a portion of the officers from the original units; the remaining officers were all transferred by Duke from other units, mostly his old subordinates, but also some outstanding new recruits.
This appointment was extraordinary; it involved not only normal management and training but also the ability to handle various emergencies, suppress insubordinate noble officers, and even be prepared to quell riots.
Therefore, Duke appointed those who were brave and decisive.
In particular, the regiment commander he appointed, Huan, had followed Duke all the way; he had fought as many battles as Duke, and was originally a deputy regiment commander in another regiment, whom Duke transferred over.
Augustus did not interfere with any of this; everyone had their own way of doing things, and their own reasons.
He believed in trusting the people he used and not using the people he doubted; once a task was given to him, he would let him handle it with confidence.
If the task was done well, the credit was Duke's; if it was botched, he would handle the aftermath himself.
Officers suddenly becoming ordinary soldiers was unacceptable to many people; those who had originally opposed the integration were now even more furious, actively inciting others to cause trouble, but found that hardly anyone listened to them.
Many of the ordinary soldiers, who had always been such, secretly felt a sense of "you get what you deserve today."
And those who were promoted to officers, especially those transferred from other units, became beneficiaries and inevitably showed a certain bias.
For a time, the supporters and opponents of the integration were at loggerheads, arguing incessantly.
More people adopted an indifferent attitude, neither opposing nor supporting, simply accepting the situation as it was.
On the first day of the unit reorganization, Duke had some things to say personally and also wanted to observe their situation.
"No matter what unit you originally belonged to, from today on, you all belong to one regiment of the Field Army, namely the Eighth Regiment, and Huan is your regiment commander.
I hope everyone gets along well and supports each other…"
Duke just said these official platitudes casually, and most people listened casually, but those who were dissatisfied with the integration really pricked up their ears, wanting to find fault in his words to embarrass Duke.
Before Duke finished speaking, someone immediately questioned, "That's not right.
I've already looked into the Field Army's organization in advance.
According to our numbers, there should be two regiments.
Why is there only one regiment now?
Not only the regiment, but every level of organization below it generally has a lot more people.
Is this looking down on us?
I demand that we be given the organization we deserve!"
The speaker was one of the officers who had become a soldier, and he said this for no other reason.
If there were more units, there would naturally be more officers, giving him a chance to regain his officer status.
"Yes, that's right! I agree."
"I agree too."
As soon as these words came out, those who shared the same plight suddenly realized his intention and immediately expressed their agreement.
Huan snorted coldly, scanned the group, and said disdainfully, "After a period of time, it's still uncertain whether there will even be one regiment left among you people, and you still want two regiments."
Upon hearing this, some people's faces showed alternating expressions of surprise, anger, and unease.
As noblemen, accepting integration and coming to an army led by a foreigner was already condescending, and now there was even a risk of being kicked out of the army?
One must know that, as a nobleman, being kicked out of the army would mean never being able to hold one's head high in noble circles for the rest of one's life; one's ancestors might be shamed for it, and one's descendants might never be able to hold their heads high because of it.
Some people began to believe that they had conceded too much, to the extent that Duke and the Pope did not take them seriously at all, and even this mere Huan dared to speak disrespectfully.
"Huan, we don't accept you.
You're not even a nobleman; you're just a mercenary, and a foreigner.
What right do you have to be our regiment commander!" someone first objected.
"Yes, we don't accept you." Then came another chorus of voices.
"Whether I have the right or not is decided by General Duke and His Holiness the Pope, not by you.
If you don't accept it, you can challenge me.
If you win, I'll step down myself.
Otherwise, if you can't stay in the army, you can leave on your own." Huan replied without changing his expression.
Everyone knew their own capabilities, and no one was foolish enough to actually step forward and challenge him, but that didn't mean they would give up.
"A general should outwit, not outfight.
You only have brute strength, brave but without strategy.
How can someone like you be our regiment commander?"
"I've participated in dozens of battles, big and small, and independently commanded over a dozen.
The enemies who died by my hand are countless.
What have you commanded? Bandit suppression, house raids, or the arrest of unarmed civilians?" Huan retorted.
A brief silence followed.
Lack of combat experience was indeed their major weakness; in fact, they hadn't even participated in bandit suppression, let alone commanded it.
Realizing the topic was unfavorable, someone immediately changed the subject again.
"You're not a nobleman, you're from a mercenary background, and you're a foreigner.
For these three reasons, we don't accept you!
We demand a new regiment commander."
Duke was amused, and said half-jokingly, "These three points of yours include me too.
Then why bother changing the regiment commander? Just change me too, might as well.
Or why don't you ask the National Defense Force if they want you?
Carl is a bit better than me; he's not from a mercenary background, so he only accounts for two-thirds."
At these words, the barracks erupted in laughter, and it was a while before silence returned.
"I'm going to report this to the Pope!"
"Go ahead," Duke said indifferently.