xymnovel Chapter 5 Upgrade Rewards and System Rules
Chapter 5 Upgrade Rewards and System Rules
As soon as Rock clicked the upgrade button, the number in the character box in the upper left corner of his system interface changed from one to two.
At the same time, the system also sent a notification:
[Congratulations, player! Your personal level has been upgraded to level two. The upgrade reward is 1,000 taels of silver, unlocks a random level two troop type, increases troop command ability by 10, and slightly improves physical attributes.]
Upon seeing this series of rewards, Rock raised an eyebrow.
He didn't know if it was because his senses were dulled or if the slight improvement in his physical fitness was really insignificant, but he didn't seem to feel any changes in his body.
If I had to put it in perspective, it would probably be that he went from being extremely hungry to not being so hungry anymore, and his legs weren't as tired.
Could it be that a slight improvement in physical fitness can help alleviate hunger and fatigue?
Shrugging, Rock was then asked to reveal what the other rewards were.
The ability to command troops is quite simple; to put it bluntly, it's similar to the population cap in Age of Empires.
Remembering that his system had previously shown that the number of hunters and cavalry occupied two population slots, Rock immediately realized that his system could not recruit soldiers indefinitely.
In the initial state, Rock had 100 population, because the cavalry took up 60 population, and now there are 10 more population, so he currently has a total of 50 population.
With this calculation, the two rewards he received brought him two thousand taels of silver, which meant he could recruit 20 more hunter cavalrymen, requiring only an additional 40 people.
Thinking of this, he breathed a sigh of relief; it seemed he didn't need to worry about the population problem for the time being.
"But this is a bit annoying. I thought this system would allow for an unlimited production of troops!"
Rock couldn't help but complain, but then he thought about it and realized that if there really were no population restrictions, he would probably be able to come up with a lot of crazy things in the future.
For example, if he could get his hands on a low-level unit like the Farmer, he'd be sure the Farmer's recruitment price wouldn't be too high.
If he can still recruit without limit by then, wouldn't he be able to replace the entire world's population all by himself?
hiss--!
The thought of such a scene filled Rock with longing. If such an effect could be achieved, it would be even more perverse than Yuri's Mental Omega!
Unfortunately, it seems that his system units can only be used as elite troops at present.
If he wants to conquer the world in the future, he really can't rely entirely on the system's troops; he'll have to recruit an army from ordinary people.
Otherwise, he wouldn't be able to build up his team at all; such a small number of people wouldn't be of any use.
"By the way, what are the ways this system can increase the population? It can't just rely on upgrades to increase the population by that small amount, right?"
Rock shook his head. He didn't believe that a mass production system like Total War would ultimately have such a small population limit. He felt there must be other ways to increase the population.
After examining it carefully, he discovered:
Besides increasing his troop command ability, which means increasing the population, he can also increase the population by occupying towns, governing local areas, and purchasing special treasures from the system shop.
He hasn't even seen the system store yet, let alone the system store.
Regarding governance, according to the system, as long as the number of people under his rule reaches a certain level, a certain population can be generated for him. The higher the loyalty of these people to him, the greater the proportion of population generated.
The system's statistics on public loyalty were divided into three stages:
During the initial occupation phase, every 100 people could provide 1 population for Rock.
During the effective control phase, every 30 people can provide 1 person to Roque.
In the phase where popular support is the primary factor, every 10 people can provide 1 person for Rock.
"Is this system encouraging me to stabilize the region and govern the people properly, instead of becoming a mere warlord?"
As Rock looked at the instructions on the system, he pondered to himself.
He could tell that his system seemed to be encouraging him to manage his territory as meticulously as possible, rather than simply planting a flag and leaving.
Of course, if he followed the model of the Manchu conquest of China or the Mongol conquest of the west, he might also be able to obtain a large population quota by winning through sheer numbers, but the potential would decrease over time.
"Heh, it seems we don't need to think about such complicated issues right now. We don't even have the most basic territory!"
Rock chuckled twice, realizing that he would probably have to figure out how to acquire a territory first.
Otherwise, if he had remained a bandit, he would have been limited to his few dozen men and would have been unable to advance further.
However, in the early stages, he felt that if he wanted to effectively increase the population, he would probably have to rely on items purchased from the system store.
Upon opening the system shop option, Rock discovered that his system shop did indeed have quite a few items, but most of them were things he simply couldn't afford right now.
For example, among the weekly troop types, he immediately spotted the seven-star troop type at the top of the shop: Heavenly Dragon Guard!
Upon seeing this unit, his mouth watered instantly. However, when he realized that unlocking this unit would cost a whopping 50 taels of silver, his excitement immediately cooled down.
Besides the Heavenly Dragon Guards, the two remaining troop types on the shelf are the five-star troop type: Royal Guard Grenadier Cavalry, and the six-star troop type: Bretonnian Kingdom Knight.
Without a doubt, neither of these two troop types were something he could afford. The cheapest one cost a full 10 taels of silver!
Aside from those things, Rock glanced at the other lists and quickly found something that could increase the population quota: the Military Manual of Commanders.
However, the price of this item also made Rock frown.
The system shows that each time he purchases a military strategy manual, his population quota will increase by an additional 100. The first purchase costs 1,000 taels of silver, the second purchase costs 10,000 taels, and the third purchase costs 100,000 taels, each time multiplied by ten.
In other words, this thing can only be used for emergency purposes in the early stages. It is impossible to rely on purchasing this thing to continuously increase one's population quota.
"Never mind that for now, let's open the random two-star unit I got first."
After closing the shop interface, Rock decided to check his newly acquired units before doing anything else.
In any case, it hasn't reached the point where the population quota is insufficient yet.
Therefore, compared to population size, he still needs military units and powerful troops more.
[Congratulations, player! You have obtained a two-star unit: Guerrilla (from Total War: Empire)]
[This unit is equipped with: flintlock rifle and bayonet. Recruitment price: 20 taels of silver per person or 2000 taels of silver per squad (120 people), occupies 1 population per squad.]
Uh, what kind of unit is this? It looks kind of weird.
Rock examined it carefully and then discovered:
This unit, which originated from Total War: Empire, is not actually a regular army. Strictly speaking, they can only be considered a group of armed citizens who spontaneously organized themselves to resist the invaders.
These soldiers had not received formal formation training, were unable to fire volleys, and had poor marksmanship and melee combat skills.
Overall, the biggest advantage of this type of soldier is that they are cheap enough, and in any case, they do have a flintlock musket.
Although this 18th-century flintlock musket is practically obsolete equipment for the European powers today, it is quite advanced in China!
For example, during this period, the foreign gun corps, which had not yet been formally incorporated and reorganized by the Qing Dynasty and were still local armed forces organized by Shanghai gentry, were mostly equipped with flintlock muskets that had been phased out by the armies of the great powers.
Although the foreign powers looked down on these things, they were treasures to the Qing government. The foreign powers could easily transport these old junks over and sell them for a pretty good price.
Moreover, although the foreign gun corps was led by Americans, in reality, the total number of foreigners in the corps was very small, and most of them only served as instructors and officers.
When it came to actual warfare, the main force of the foreign-equipped troops were still Qing Dynasty soldiers who had been recruited.
For these Qing soldiers, it didn't matter who they fought for—they were soldiers who earned their pay. Fighting for foreigners was no different.
Moreover, this foreign-trained corps had the Qing government's backing. They would receive higher salaries if they joined, and it would also be considered that they were serving the court. Why wouldn't they want to join?
Thinking about this, Rock suddenly realized that if he used these soldiers as the backbone, could he also build his own foreign gun squad?
However, all of this is contingent on him being able to acquire enough foreign guns. Otherwise, even if he had a large population quota, he wouldn't be able to waste it all on these guerrillas.
"Speaking of which, how exactly are these troops I recruited from the system supplied? Can the system replenish their food and ammunition?"
Rock suddenly remembered this and then curiously looked at the game instructions in the system.
He was greatly disappointed after reading it, because he discovered that the system did indeed have the function of replenishing food and ammunition, and even equipment, for these types of troops, but all of this required spending money.
For a fee equivalent to one-tenth of the unit's recruitment cost, Rock can obtain enough food and water to sustain the unit for seven days, or a base load of ammunition for that unit.
If you spend half the recruitment price of that unit, then Rock can obtain the full set of equipment for that unit, including warhorses, armor, and weapons.
When Rock saw this, his eyes lit up instantly.
He suddenly realized that, apart from fighting, the greatest use these guerrillas could offer him seemed to be supplying him with cheap muskets and gunpowder!