Alexander understood what Menicus was implying and understood the angle he was coming from.
There is a reason why there was rarely a standing army in ancient times, the notable exception being the Romans.
But since the Romans could do it, Alexander asked himself why he could not do it too.
So he decided to educate his military commanders a bit, “It is true that most of the time, soldiers are levied in times of war and disbanded when the war ends.” He started.
“But why is that? Why does the government let go of such experienced people? Why can’t we have a strong standing army like Exolas and a strong economy like Cantagena? Why do we have to pick and choose,” He asked passionately.
And then answered his own question, “This is because we live in an agricultural society, where the primary product is food. And a farmer can typically only produce a surplus of ten percent.
This means that nine farmers are needed to feed just one non-farmer.”
Alexander then raised his index and said, “So, you see, you have ninety percent of the population engaged in just producing food, while the other eight to nine percent are artisans like potters, blacksmiths, jewelers, tailors, carpenters, bakers, etc who make everything else that’s man-made. That leaves the society with a manpower surplus of only one to two percent, which also includes the nobility – who don’t work.”
“So, fielding a large permanent army is very hard as one needs to sacrifice his economy and tax revenue and thus allow one to take the most healthy and most productive people of the workforce out of their jobs and basically have them do nothing for almost the entire year.”
As Alexander gave his long speech, all stared at Alexander, hanging onto his every word and letting him continue, “And yes, remember armies do nothing as armies do not produce anything. They do provide the service of protecting the products that are being produced- food, clothes, people, medicine, etc, and the cities that produce them.”
“But this is really needed if these products are being threatened. City and farmlands are unlikely to be under the threat of war every single day for the entire year.”
“So having a standing military all year long doing almost nothing but waiting on their asses for an enemy to attack them is not a good use of manpower.”
Alexander seemed to be arguing against himself as everything he said was detrimental to him.
As he said an army may loot and plunder produce from others, but stealing was not production.
And even if one were to argue that stealing was production as it adds value to the economy, armies rarely pay themselves with solely the loot they collect.
What they do is help one take control of generators of production, such as farmlands, livestock, mines, etc, that then help fund the army.
But these generators are still run by the other ninety-nine percent, ie- the conquered people who work and pay taxes to keep their conquerors in power.
And this problem is further expounded by the fact that it takes at least fifteen to twenty years to produce a good soldier from birth, while it takes only a second to destroy one.
And this was not even considering the fact that killing a soldier was the equivalent of killing one’s most valued, most productive, and the best part of the labor force, a man in his prime capable of adding a lot of value to the economy.
Alexander didn’t finish there and continued after smiling a bit at his commander, “And this is where the existence of mercenaries comes in. Mercenaries are veteran soldiers who can turn up anywhere to resolve any conflict. Although a city or a country might have one or two big wars per year, there are countless battles happening all over the region. And being mobile, these mercenaries can go to those places of conflict and fight on one side for a fee, hence they are rarely idling and doing nothing.”
Mercenaries usually would set up camp next to their employer until the job was finished and would stay there until a new one was acquired.
And although it sounded like this might take a lot of time, typically, as Alexander said, a new job would land within two to three months.
Everyone there, including the mercenary leaders was amazed by Alexander’s insight.
Although they were mercenaries, they never so clearly understood their role in society, a role that an eighteen-year-old boy such glean so easily.
‘What frightful insight!’ They commented.
But then almost simultaneously the same question rose in many hearts, “If he understands all these so well, why does he want a standing army?’
Alexander seemed to read their mind and asked, “You must be all asking why don’t we employ mercenaries then?”
“And the reason is because mercenaries fight for you when you have the money and are winning. They are not loyal to anyone and they will be with you as long as you can pay. But if someone with a higher bid comes, can we guarantee their loyalty?” Alexander asked.
And then pointed out, “There are many instances of employers being unable to pay mercenaries, and they turning on their employers, attacking and sacking the city to get their remuneration. And if a battle is about to be lost or the chances of winning are not good, many might cut their losses and run.”
“But a standing army, an army created to protect Zanzan will not. Because they have a large stake in the city, their homes, families, and friends, unlike the mercenaries.” Alexander gave his reasoning.
This reason impressed most, and they bought Alexander’s explanation.
Except for Menicus, who had personally seen the state of Exolas and didn’t want Zanzan to follow in its footsteps.
So, he raised his gruff voice, “Pasha Alexander has raised some good points. Personally, as a mercenary leader, I’m guilty of the things he described. I did run from my employer and I did sack cities when they withheld my pay. And as with Samaras, we all refused to go to battle when we thought the chances of winning were low.”
“But,” Meniscus’s voice hardened, “We fought better and harder than anyone on the battlefield when we were treated properly. And in any battle, our losses were always on the high side. We never ran when the going got tough. The first to break were always the untrained peasants,” Meniscus had a heavy tone of pride in his voice.
“I too agree with leader Menicus. Instead of spending so much money on maintaining a standing army, would it not be better to save it and then employ mercenaries using that fund? It will be far cheaper!” This was spoken by Theocles, who as the quartermaster of the army had always had a good nose for money.
“That’s right. Maybe the pasha should reconsider. After all, everyone uses mercenaries and they are all fine.” Melodias voiced his support.
Alexander lightly smiled at these suggestions.
They had spoken this out of their own knowledge and experience, and although it sounded convincing, Alexander believed he knew better.
A standing army was critical to any nation’s survival and a mercenary army could never be the alternative.
After all, land belongs to the one with the biggest muscle, and a mercenary leader could very well snatch it using his bigger muscle.
Alexander feared that a mercenary leader would get the idea to replace him just as Alexander had the same idea about Ptolomy. .𝘯𝘵
But he did not brush off these suggestions like an imperious lord.
Instead, he decided to let actions do the talking, “Please remember that we are at war. We only have six years till the conflict restarts and very likely even less.”
Alexander felt Amenheraft, being the much stronger side, might decide to tear up the agreement early, possibly after two years as originally requested by Manuk.
This drew a few worried faces while Alexander continued, “And also remember that we have a lot of hostile nobles around us. We are rulers of the Zanzan province in name only, while in reality we only control the city and its surrounding area.”
“The pasha is right,” Grahtos nodded seriously, adding, “There are too many enemies around the city. In addition to the nobles, there are roaming bandits everywhere around the city and that’s not to even mention the constant threat of Tibias.”
“Hmmm, I too believe we should have a standing army.” Heliptos chirped up,
“Instead of hiring expensive mercenaries, we should expand the army using our citizens.” He claimed.
Of course, these people didn’t have a completely altruistic motive when supporting Alexander.
Being mercenaries, none of them wanted to go back to farming but wanted to look for glory on the battlefield, unlike the old Menicus, who just wanted to peacefully retire.
This presence of a constant threat and strong peer pressure finally managed to convince the old man of the necessity of a standing army and so he grumbled, “Fine, fine. Let’s do it as the lord suggested.”