Chapter Twelve: The Establishment of the Germanic Republic

“Our great Germanic army has once again achieved a decisive victory over the old aristocratic forces. This proves that the unity of the Germanic people is invincible! As long as each of us contributes our strength, the Germanic nation will surely rule the world! Long live the Germanic people!” Armasja concluded his speech flawlessly. Taking advantage of the sweeping defeat of the old aristocracy, Armasja von Wilhelm delivered a grand victory address before the Germanic National Assembly. His impassioned words, coupled with the recent triumph, elevated his personal prestige to the pinnacle of the Germanic faction.

Well-prepared and supported by his trusted confidants, Armasja firmly established the governmental system of the Germanic Republic. Although the aristocratic forces’ armies paled in comparison to the mainstream powers of the European continent—indeed, they weren’t even worthy of being their shoe-shiners—he had nonetheless eradicated over 100,000 enemy troops in pitched battles. Judging by the scale of the victory alone, it was undeniably brilliant. The Madrid Empire had once maintained control over its crumbling realm with just 100,000 elite troops; without the decisive blows from the English and Frankish empires, the Madrid Empire might have endured for decades longer.

Thus, all civilian officials under Armasja’s command, buoyed by his deliberate propaganda, expressed great admiration for the campaign that defeated more than 100,000 foes. Most regarded Armasja von Wilhelm as the wise leader who had turned the tide on the Iberian Peninsula.

Naturally, Armasja would not let such an opportunity slip away. At a full assembly, he formally declared the Germanic faction a sovereign nation, proclaiming the Germanic Republic to the outside world.

The concept of a republic represented a state owned collectively by all its people—or so the public narrative claimed. In reality, the rights of the common folk were but a hollow joke.

The Germanic Republic was swiftly formed. During his years of covert operations within the Madrid Empire, Armasja had nurtured a core group of loyalists who helped him rapidly construct the political framework of the new state. He himself naturally assumed the position of the Republic’s first Chief Magistrate.

To better unite the populace—read: to ensure the wealthy class served him loyally—Armasja instituted a rotational system for the Chief Magistrate, with ten-year terms. Anyone with sufficient votes and supporters could stand for election after a decade, provided they secured a seat in the National Assembly, meaning they had to be part of the intelligentsia or wealthy elite.

This system bore some resemblance to a capitalist parliamentary system. But would Armasja, having amassed prestige through repeated wartime victories, truly honor this rotation in ten years’ time?

He had already made his calculations.

If the Republic led by Armasja were to be defeated, its existence would be untenable—there would be no further elections. Therefore, this rotation system was merely a hollow promise tossed out to secure the backing of the moneyed classes.

After the establishment of the Germanic Republic, the remnants of the Germanic gangs, with their solid foundations, smoothly took control of the lands left vacant by the fallen aristocracy. Of course, this was partly because the territories were not vast—the majority of the Iberian Peninsula still lay in the hands of aristocratic warlords engaged in fierce battles against the allied forces of two nations.

Armasja was deeply grateful to those anxious aristocratic factions who, in their desperation to preserve themselves, managed to hold off the invading armies of the two nations. At least they bought the nascent Germanic Republic nearly three months to reorganize and train its forces.

Indeed, after simply establishing the government framework, Armasja commenced a fresh round of military consolidation. His focus was clear: government officials were tasked only with collecting taxes; the army was the true key to his survival.

Seated in his office, Armasja reviewed battle reports from his ethnic army and the aristocratic forces, uncovering many issues he had overlooked.

The only consolation was that the Germanic Guards—new troops trained under the Madrid Empire’s modest system—still bore the semblance of a regular army. All five decisive battles against the aristocratic coalition ultimately came down to these Guards.

In contrast, the ethnic militia’s performance on the battlefield caused Armasja to furrow his brow continuously.

Their marching formations were non-existent, battlefield discipline was virtually zero—well, “virtually” because at least officers’ commands were somewhat heeded.

Lacking both formation and discipline was one thing, but their ‘initiative’ during enemy volleys was extraordinary—in fact, they never once executed a proper synchronized volley.

The sole commendable trait was the courage of these peasant soldiers, now firmly bound to the Germanic Republic through land allotments and reforms. Their charges nearly shattered the aristocratic forces, despite the utter lack of any formation. Admittedly, Armasja was not fully aware that the aristocratic conscripts often fled at the sight of a determined charge.

Officers and propagandists, eager to highlight their contributions, naturally refrained from portraying the enemy as utterly incompetent. How else could they demonstrate their own competence if they had only defeated cowards?

Moreover, the aristocratic forces still fielded capable units—the elite pikemen and noble cavalry guards inflicted heavy casualties on the ethnic militias. Viewing these losses, Armasja realized the aristocratic armies could indeed match an average regular force.

Of the 50,000 Germanic Guards, casualties were relatively light. However, the peasant militias, initially numbering 200,000, had been reduced to fewer than 150,000.

Given the decisive victory, such a casualty ratio in field battles indicated intense fighting, Armasja mused.

The ethnic militias’ spiritual armament was truly sharp—peasants newly armed could produce such results on the battlefield. Next, all that was needed was to strengthen their formation training. With numerical superiority, they might soon challenge the Frankish Empire’s forces.

At the very least, these peasants needed to learn to stand in ranks and fire volleys.

Armasja also noted that, while the peasant militias lacked shooting accuracy, they endured prolonged enemy fire during exchanges. Unaware that the aristocratic musketeers were roughly equal in skill to his own peasant troops, Armasja judged by the average musketeer’s marksmanship that his forces had held out impressively. Increasing the proportion of musketeers in the army was imperative.

No matter how confident he was, Armasja dared not pit his peasant militias against the Frankish Empire’s elite legions in pure close combat. Perhaps some interesting tactical innovations could be devised.