While waiting for his companions to arrive in Vienna, Laszlo took the opportunity to meet with Marshal Adolf and inquire in detail about army reforms.
Understanding the limitations of this era, he knew that he could only implement limited military reforms. He neither had the ability nor the desire to build an army like the Yue Family Army or the Qi Family Army.
To build such an army, he would need to select high-quality soldiers from scratch, picking honest individuals, then instill a sense of mission and belief day after day, train them rigorously, and enforce clear rewards and punishments. The period to forge such an army would not be short, and what Laszlo lacked most was precisely time.
It was necessary to strengthen the existing troops, which meant that implementing Žižka-style reforms was an effective method.
Adolf, as a General of the Hussite Army, was indeed worthy of his reputation. His understanding of military systems was clearly beyond what a layman like Laszlo could comprehend.
First, he believed Laszlo's idea of organizing the army into companies was reasonable, but he thought a company size of 300 men was too small and would hinder command and deployment on the battlefield. He suggested that 500 men should form a company, with six companies making up a legion. Each company would be a strong and effective tactical unit, capable of executing higher-intensity battlefield tasks and better suited for large-scale battles.
Each company in the army would be equipped with non-combat personnel such as medics, musicians, and cooks to ensure the army's morale and combat effectiveness.
Artillery would be allocated at the legion level.
Laszlo's two armies were completely different from the traditional noble levy armies, being composed of mercenaries and standing guards. Therefore, their organization could be adjusted as needed.
Five hundred combat personnel formed a company (battalion-level unit), commanded by a Captain; six companies formed a legion (regiment-level unit), commanded by a Colonel; and two legions formed an army (division-level unit), commanded by a General. Austria's existing Imperial Independent Army and Austro-Hungarian Army would be under the unified command of the Imperial Marshal and the General Staff, effectively forming a very rudimentary four-tier command system.
Most of the lower-ranking Generals came from military noble families, possessing good military literacy, and crucially, had been tempered on the Hungarian front.
For the noble armies conscripted from his territories, Laszlo had no other thoughts beyond continuing the old system.
The so-called old system was where one knight with four squires (one mounted, three on foot) formed a small unit, which the French called a lance. 100 such units formed a company, known as a company in the Empire, and 10-15 companies formed a legion.
This was to conform to reality: a knight with a village fief was required to provide five fully armed soldiers, serving the monarch for 40 days a year.
Laszlo didn't even want to glance at such an outdated system; he now only wanted to build a standing army capable of fighting at any time.
Regarding the organizational issues, Laszlo agreed with Adolf's opinions.
Next was the issue of promulgating army regulations. Adolf made some modifications based on Jan Žižka's regulations, but generally, they still maintained battlefield and garrison order for the army. This primarily included swearing allegiance to the Emperor; prohibiting looting of spoils on the battlefield; clearing the battlefield after battle, with all spoils to be submitted and distributed equally; prohibiting indiscriminate plundering of villages and towns; and imposing severe punishments for violations of military discipline and desertion from battle, among others.
Laszlo was generally satisfied with these regulations, though a few might cause dissatisfaction among the mercenaries. He needed to find an opportunity to appease them, and increasing the troops' pay by 10% to 20% when promulgating the regulations would be a good approach.
The next measure was tactical reform. Laszlo showed great interest in the Hussite Army's Wagenburg tactics, and Adolf happened to be well-versed in this area.
As the Hussite Army's artillery master, he had a clear understanding of Wagenburg deployment and combat methods, including how to block enemy charges and how to use artillery to inflict significant casualties on the enemy—these were his areas of expertise.
In the field, hundreds of wagons could be neatly arranged to instantly form a strong defensive position. As long as the terrain was chosen well to reduce threats to the flanks, the Wagenburg tactic was almost unstoppable.
Listening to his description, Laszlo couldn't help but show a look of longing, but then he immediately thought of a more practical problem.
"The tactic is good, but where will the wagons and cannons come from?"
Many years after the Hussite Wars, the Wagenburg tactic, along with the war's end, was forgotten in the annals of history.
The Hussite Army's wooden wagons were completely dismantled and used to rebuild the ravaged Bohemia. The large number of cannons equipped by the Hussite Army were also destroyed, with a small portion collected and merely gathering dust as exhibits in treasuries—the Hofburg's treasury even had such a light cannon, looking dilapidated, but considering Albrecht II had placed it there, Laszlo didn't discard it.
"This is my last suggestion, Your Majesty. You want to build a standing army, just like the one we once established in Tábor, right?"
"Yes, I need a powerful army that can take up arms and fight for me at any time. Those nobles are utterly corrupt, worse than mercenaries, just parasites who have abandoned the glorious martial tradition."
"Then I strongly recommend that you build your own arsenal to mass-produce plate armor, weapons, cannons, and wagons. In the short term, the arsenal's effect won't be very obvious, and it might even strain your finances, but once the arsenal truly scales up, you only need to issue a call to arms within the Empire, and the impoverished farmers and vagrants, and ambitious free knights will all join your ranks. You will have enough equipment to arm them, and as long as you provide food, perhaps with a little bit of false prestige or the allure of land, they will not hesitate to sacrifice their lives for you."
Hiss, my heart pounded. Oh no, it was the feeling of being tempted.
Laszlo had never considered building his own arsenal before. In terms of cost, building an arsenal seemed much more expensive than placing direct orders, but the biggest advantage of an arsenal was its large quantity and stability!
Normally, the arsenal could accept orders from all over the Empire, and even international orders.
When Laszlo needed it, the arsenal could operate at full capacity and quickly mass-produce the equipment he required.
Additionally, equipment development and upgrades could also be realized through the arsenal. As long as enough research and development funds were provided, there would always be a genius who could design something impressive.
The state producing and providing equipment would save the enlistment fees given to soldiers—that is, the cost of soldiers purchasing their own equipment. Thinking this way, establishing an arsenal seemed extremely beneficial in the long run.
So now the problem became threefold: first, where to build the arsenal; second, where to get the craftsmen; and third, where to get the money.
Besides that, building an arsenal takes time, but army reforms urgently require a large number of wagons and firearms. Where will these things come from?
"The arsenal is not an immediate concern for now. At this stage, let's try to invite craftsmen and select a site, Your Majesty. I know Bohemian craftsmen who can build wagons. As for cannons and firearms, the best blacksmiths in the Empire are in Nuremberg. You can place orders with them, and I will provide improved cannon blueprints."
Laszlo was a little surprised. Adolf actually had this ability?
"May I ask, the cannons you speak of, they aren't the heavy stone-throwing cannons we currently have, are they?"
"Of course not, Your Majesty. Trying to march quickly with heavy stone-throwing cannons is almost a pipe dream; the heavy artillery units of all armies always lag far behind their other troops during marches. However, we use an improved Offenbüchse cannon, which is a short-barreled stone-throwing cannon. This cannon is lighter and loads quickly. The French-designed horse-drawn carriage with adjustable elevation has also been incorporated into my new cannon design, greatly improving its mobility so it won't impede the army's marching speed. Although its firepower and range are inferior to common stone-throwing cannons, it's abundant and sufficient. Equipping twenty of them can provide powerful firepower, and combined with Wagenburg and firearms, suppressing one or two tens of thousands of enemies is no problem at all."
Laszlo was very satisfied but still raised a slight objection: "I don't fully believe that cannons and firearms have such immense power. After all, you were fighting against my grandfather's army back then, not truly formidable enemies. The Ottomans we have to deal with are enemies of an entirely different caliber—my grandfather's army was completely annihilated by the Ottomans at Nicopolis, and his army then was stronger, not weaker, than when it invaded Bohemia. I cannot risk using so many gunpowder weapons. The number of cannons can be equipped at 20 per legion, but let's skip the firearms. Crossbows are more stable by comparison. Most of the Ottomans do not wear heavy armor, so the penetration power of firearms is slightly redundant, whereas the power of crossbows is just right. This is the experience of many years of war. So, replace musketeers with crossbowmen, and proceed with the cannons as you envision."
Adolf pondered for a moment and realized the truth in this, agreeing: "You are right, Your Majesty. Firearm technology has not yet developed to the point where it can replace crossbows, but I believe that day is not far off."
Good foresight, indeed. Laszlo was not surprised by Adolf's keen perception of the era's developmental trends; he was truly a master of firearms.
The preliminary plan for military reform was thus set. Wagenburg tactics needed to be drilled, and the soldiers' own training could not be neglected. These were no longer matters for Laszlo to worry about.