After the new recruits enlisted, the task of integrating the Papal States' original forces seemed to have been completely forgotten by Duke, who took no action for a long time, spending his days, just like Karl, busy training new recruits and ignoring everything else.
Actually, he hadn't forgotten; it was Augustus's arrangement. Augustus was somewhat hesitant to fully entrust the integration of the Papal States' original forces to Duke, but it wasn't a major issue; he just needed to pay a little attention to a few areas himself.
Given Duke's nature, he would mostly resort to brute force. While this might be surprisingly effective in some aspects, doing so from the start, if it pushed people to rebellion and incited a 'cleanse the ruler' movement, would lead to a huge problem.
Even though the new army, in terms of both quantity and quality, was now completely unafraid of the original forces, a traitor from within was hard to guard against. If someone unexpectedly caused trouble, it would still be quite a burden. Even if they didn't succeed, it would severely undermine his prestige.
This possibility was actually very small, but it was still necessary to be prepared. Overestimating others' rationality was not wise; sometimes, foolish opponents were more troublesome than rational ones.
Augustus's strategy was very simple, and couldn't be complex; high difficulty would make it hard to execute. It was to have Duke first ignore the original forces, seize the time to train new recruits, firmly control them, and improve the army's cohesion and combat effectiveness.
The new recruits' treatment was, as promised in the recruitment propaganda, very generous. As for the original forces' treatment, it would remain unchanged and only be raised after the integration was complete.
Training new recruits diligently before integrating the forces could minimize their exposure to negative influences, allow them to quickly form their own team culture rather than assimilating into the original army's culture, and also prepare for unexpected situations.
Temporarily ignoring the original forces would make them realize they were no longer as important. With reduced importance, their demands would naturally not be outrageously high; to some extent, this was also marginalizing them. When people are marginalized, the most common reaction is to try to move back to the center, to integrate, which can greatly reduce resistance to integration.
The temporary unchanged treatment of the original forces had a greater impact, and no promises had been made to them in the first place, so doing nothing was perfectly fine.
Among the original forces, there were many children of nobles. They didn't worry about food or drink, and perhaps didn't care about the issue of treatment. But among ten thousand people, such nobles would certainly be a tiny minority; the Papal States had not reached the point where nobles were everywhere. And if nobles were everywhere, they could no longer be called nobles.
Commoner soldiers, watching their fellow Papal States soldiers receive much better treatment than themselves, could not possibly have no thoughts. If they knew that they could enjoy the same treatment after integration, they would hope for integration to come quickly. This would inevitably alienate them from the interest groups opposing integration, thus breaking free from their control. When integration arrived, the resistance could be further reduced, and this group might even become an aid.
Many people in the original army were not like this when they first joined; at that time, they did not know that the Papal States' army had completely deteriorated.
It was already very rare to emerge from the mud unblemished, and noble children could be considered cultured hooligans, holding many key positions. Illiterate commoners, in such an environment, were easily led astray and corrupted.
Normal people initially have dreams, but most people's dreams are extinguished by reality. In this situation, some external stimuli can awaken their dreams and allow them to be used for one's own purposes.
Augustus had no doubt that some people would be unwilling to integrate the forces; he just didn't know how strong the resistance would be.
The supreme commanders of each force, who were originally absolute rulers in their own domains, suddenly had a superior, and no one would be happy about that.
People who had adapted to and enjoyed idling in the army, previously living easily, without worries about food or drink, and gaining both fame and fortune, would find such good days coming to an end once they entered the newly established forces.
Not everyone was unaware of their own worth; many were clear that, in their current state, they would at best be reprimanded, and at worst be expelled. Rather than suffering hardship, exhaustion, and humiliation later, it was better to act first and spoil the matter.
Indeed, the plan to expand the army and integrate the original forces through it had already begun, even before Augustus released the news and recruitment started, as some people were already planning how to sabotage the integration.
By now, the plan to disrupt the army's integration was quite well-developed and systematic, and those who needed to communicate had already done so.
First, they instilled in their soldiers the idea that army integration would inevitably harm everyone's interests, making ordinary soldiers firmly resist army integration alongside them.
Secondly, they delved deeply into various information about Duke, attacking him from multiple angles such as his identity, nationality, and experience, spreading it openly and secretly, inside and outside the army. Besides true information, there were also many unsubstantiated and hard-to-distinguish rumors.
On one hand, they tried to make the Pope suspicious of Duke and no longer want to reuse him. On the other hand, they wanted to ruin Duke's reputation, making him disrespected by soldiers and despised by the public. They hoped he would retreat in the face of difficulty regarding integrating the forces, or at least increase his difficulties.
They just thought too optimistically. After they painstakingly managed to convey this news to the Pope, Augustus didn't take it seriously at all. They tried to spread these matters, but struggled with channels, and some even went to the Rome Newspaper for this matter, with predictable results.
Spreading news about Duke within their own forces faced no obstacles, but even they felt the method of spreading the news was stiff, and most soldiers had an attitude of 'what does it matter to me?', so how much effect it would have remained to be seen.
Next, if army integration was unavoidable, then after the integration, they would use all their power to influence the new recruits, making them like themselves, joining them, and resisting Duke's management together. As long as Duke managed poorly, the Pope might replace him, and if he was replaced, it was highly likely that they themselves would be promoted.
Finally, and most importantly, using their noble status, they would publicly humiliate Duke and make him lose face. If he endured it, his prestige in the army would inevitably plummet; if he punished them, and they then subtly guided public opinion, they could use this to pit him against the entire noble class. Even the Pope would not become an enemy of the entire noble class, and at that time, to appease public anger, he would have no choice but to replace Duke.
Besides these crucial points, there were also efforts made in various open and hidden ways. Now, they were on high alert, just waiting for the integration to begin to launch a full-scale offensive against Duke.
Duke, of course, was unaware of these things. He simply strictly followed Augustus's requirements, focusing only on training new recruits for now. After all, he didn't like dealing with those rotten apples, and even less did he want to see them pollute the army.
Days passed, and Augustus made no mention of integrating the original forces at the meeting, nor did Duke take any action.
Those who opposed the integration had been full of vigor, but the news of integration was long in coming, and they suddenly deflated like a punctured ball. Could it be that their previous efforts had already paid off, that the Pope had changed his mind and no longer intended to integrate their forces? No, even if he wasn't integrating, there should be some news.
Or did the Pope have some other conspiracy? Thinking of this, cold sweat trickled down his back.