novelraw Chapter 119: Revolution Defense War - Krafte (1)
Chapter 119: Revolution Defense War - Krafte (1)
Germania Empire.
It is a vast empire, centered on the Germanic peoples and occupying more than half of the central continent, but the territory actually ruled by the Emperor is less than half of that.
The remaining territories are ruled by Feudal Lords, each enjoying a status no different from a king, at least within their own domain.
Among them, the Krafte Kingdom, the hegemon of the northern Germania Empire and ruler of territory second only to the Emperor, was considered virtually an independent nation.
After all, the currently reigning King Karl II himself is hailed as ‘Great King’ for having waged war against the Emperor and seized wealthy territories, making it even more so.
Cecilia, Kaiserin of the Empire, gazed at Mittelburg, the capital of the Krafte Kingdom, from her carriage.
Despite being the capital of a rising power, the cityscape of Mittelburg, unlike Germanburg, the glory of the Empire, imbued with its radiant culture, is extremely monotonous and crude.
It was only natural, as it was merely the territory of a margrave, established to conquer pagans and expand the Empire's domain from the start.
However, when Cecilia arrived at the Great King’s palace beyond the center of Mittelburg after a considerable journey, she felt overwhelmed.
Was the palace more splendid than the Imperial Palace?No.
It could not even dare to compare to the brilliance of the Imperial Palace.
Had she not known her destination beforehand, she would never have thought this was where the king of a nation resided.
Though somewhat wide, the low palace, consisting of merely two floors, is smaller even than the palaces of mere dukes, not kings.
Despite being a palace devoid of luxury, splendor, or grandeur.
The vast training ground surrounding that small, simple palace lends it an air of intimidation.
The enormous training ground, large enough for tens of thousands of troops to assemble with room to spare, was empty.
That desolate sight, paradoxically, sent a chill down Cecilia’s spine.
For Cecilia, who disembarked from the carriage, there was no such thing as a reception befitting a state guest.
She was guided into the palace by a single attendant who had come out to meet her.
Enduring the humiliation, she passed through the short first-floor corridor and ascended to the second floor.
“Your Majesty the Great King, Her Highness Kaiserin Cecilia of the Germania Empire has arrived.”
Beyond the room, which resembled a strategy meeting room with its long table and rows of chairs more than a throne room, the man standing on the balcony overlooking the vast training ground slowly turned around.
The white-haired old man, not in the splendid attire of a king, but in a military uniform, spoke with an impassive face.
“Welcome, Kaiserin Cecilia. Karl II, Great King of the Krafte Kingdom and Margrave of the Empire, welcomes you.”
“……It has been a long time.”
The conversation was exceedingly simple, and Karl II waved his hand to dismiss the attendant.
There were no customary pleasantries, nor an offer of a seat or a drink.
Karl II simply stood there, his hands resting on his cane, silently observing Cecilia.
Cecilia looked at Karl II for a moment, then slowly opened her mouth.
“As Kaiserin of the Germania Empire, I have come to negotiate with the Great King.”
Karl II replied, his face still expressionless.
“Regrettably, Kaiserin. Negotiations are only possible when there are cards to exchange.”
Cecilia bit her lip.
But the hesitation was fleeting, and she slowly bent her waist and knelt before Karl II’s gaze.
Only then did something resembling an expression appear on Karl II’s previously impassive face.
Not the joy of seeing a silent surrender, nor the arrogance of a victor.
But revealing a very faint interest.
The greatest military commander of the central continent opened his mouth.
“Yes, you have come with at least the minimum resolve.”
*
The summer was almost over.
I was stationed in the Rhineland, the occupied border region of the Empire.
There was almost no resistance.
The Feudal Lord of the Rhineland seemed to have belatedly considered a mobilization order when the Grand Duke retreated to Metz, but by the time he heard news of the Grand Duke's defeat and issued the mobilization order, we were already entering the Rhineland.
As expected, the Feudal Lords of the Germania Empire rushed to declare their withdrawal from this war and their intention not to antagonize Francia.
Bringing back from the Feudal Lords the families of the Imperial soldiers who had surrendered to the Revolutionary Army proceeded with an anticlimactic smoothness.
The Empire’s Feudal Lords had figured out that the Imperial Army couldn't protect them anyway, and they seemed to have been properly threatened by the prospect of the Revolutionary Army advancing and their own territories ending up like the Rhineland.
However, the truly important reaction from the Empire was unfolding a little differently from what we expected.
“Ahem, ahem. Do you seem somewhat disappointed?”
Count Anjou, head of the central party, cleared his throat.
It's certainly a pity Christine isn't here, but she's busy, so the party leader came in her stead to make up the numbers; I should understand.
But that's not the problem right now.
“The Empire has refused peace negotiations?”
“Yes, they officially refused.”
I let out a mirthless laugh, dumbfounded.
The Empire’s Feudal Lords are competing to declare their withdrawal from this war and sending back the families of the surrendered soldiers.
They are, in effect, declaring surrender, and the Rhineland is also occupied. And they refuse peace negotiations here?
What on earth are they doing?
I heard rumors that Grand Duke Leopold had fallen, but has the Emperor gone mad? Or the Empress? Which one is it?
“I cannot understand.”
The deal with the demons is mere speculation, but the Feudal Lords wouldn't have provided support without reason, so the Empire is already saddled with debt.
Even when the Emperor was stronger, reneging on debts to the Feudal Lords would mean worrying about the aftermath and rebellion. What kind of nerve does the Empire show, whose regular army has been completely crushed by us?
I wasn't expecting it, but are they doing this because they really want to see a revolution erupt in the Empire?
“How about we just advance as we are and capture that damned Empire’s capital? If the Marquis makes the decision, the central party will unite and pass it.”
Count Anjou said with a subtly expectant face.
Actually, there's no need for the central party to unite or anything.
The advance into the Rhineland was passed almost unanimously in the National Assembly, so that's not an issue.
The members of the National Assembly want to collapse the Empire entirely if they can.
But I shook my head.
“Realistically, it’s impossible.”
Firstly, our occupation of the Rhineland and the ongoing threats are a kind of bluff.
“We are exporting large quantities of food to the Kingdom of Alps and the Iberian Peninsula, and this time we’ve taken in a large number of refugees from the Empire, including their families. Supplying enough food for an expedition of such a large force is impossible.”
The Kingdom of Francia is a land blessed with agriculture, but we are at war.
An army is a group that consumes without producing, so the mobilized troops are all a burden. Meanwhile, the Imperial refugees haven't been farming or anything, so we have to provide them with food while they settle.
Besides, logistics become more difficult the greater the distance.
Supply soldiers also need food to move, and the livestock carrying supplies also consume food, so the deeper we go into the Empire, the amount required increases exponentially.
At the very least, as long as we've raised the banner of revolution, decided to accept those from the Empire, and Eris is Queen, plundering for local supply is out of the question.
“Ahem, how about temporarily suspending grain exports……”
“Shall we stab our ally in the back who sent us reinforcements during the war, or shall we cut off the trade partner that Count Talleyrand painstakingly secured and is now exporting weapons to arm our army?”
I can guarantee that if we cut off food exports here, even that bold Kroxx will tremble with a sense of betrayal.
If we suggest cutting off trade with the Alps, Talleyrand himself will foam at the mouth.
“Well…… that is true.”
Count Anjou replied reluctantly.
“And even if we have enough food, our supply capacity is at its limit anyway.”
When Grand Duke Leopold brought the Storm Witch and went to war, the Revolutionary Army’s forces numbered only about 40,000.
But now we are operating a force of nearly 80,000.
Naturally, rapidly expanding forces like this without sufficient preparation leads to considerable side effects.
Securing supplies and transporting them to the army in time are completely separate issues.
Normally, we should have been struggling just with the supply problems of such a rapidly expanded army.
However, our current supply is handled by none other than the Aquitaine Merchants, who have managed extensive trade routes throughout Francia.
It was barely maintainable, thanks to Christine's management skills and Aquitaine's expanded infrastructure, and because the war had been fought only within domestic territory.
The Rhineland is a border region of Francia, and our army is stationed there but not in battle, so Christine is managing to maintain it somehow.
That alone is impressive, but going all the way to the Empire's capital?
However excellent Christine's abilities, she can somehow manage only within Francia, where Aquitaine Merchants have established infrastructure. It's impossible within the Empire, where there's nothing of the kind.
“Besides, if we go deep into the Empire's heartland, the Feudal Lords will side with the Emperor again.”
Right now, they think the war will end soon, so they're submitting to us as long as it doesn't affect them. But if we start advancing to crush the Empire, those who feel threatened will actively help the Emperor.
We've painstakingly reduced the Empire to dust, and now we're going to reunite them? What kind of foolishness would that be?
“Ahem, ahem. I see……”
The central party, mainly composed of former nobles of the Francia Kingdom, is good in many ways, but they're excessively hawkish.
“Forget about advancing to the Empire's capital. We just need to think about pressuring them towards peace negotiations somehow.”
Perhaps due to my gaze, Count Anjou looked a little reluctant and said.
“Speaking of which, there are rumors that the Krafte Kingdom might join the Empire's side in the war.”
“What did you say?”
No, are you crazy? You should have said that first!
Having waged war against the current Emperor and seized territory, the Great King of the Krafte Kingdom is naturally the leader of the anti-Emperor faction within the Empire.
It wasn't for nothing that we tried to establish diplomatic contact with the Krafte Kingdom.
I thought their interests aligned with ours, but they're siding with the Empire now?
“Why all of a sudden?”
“How would I know? But news has come in that their Empress personally visited the Krafte Kingdom and made a deal, which is now under discussion there. That's why I was about to suggest making the Empire surrender before they decide to join the war.”
“What on earth has Talleyrand been doing?”
He's our foreign affairs guy, isn't he?
Didn't he say he'd try to contact the Krafte Kingdom in the first place?
He's produced quite good diplomatic results so far, so I trusted him. But what if he fails in diplomacy with the most important country at this crucial juncture?
“I absolutely want to avoid fighting the Krafte Kingdom.”
The Krafte Kingdom is no joke.
Its national power may be weaker than the Empire's, but militarily, the Empire is no match for it.
For one thing, Grand Duke Leopold, the Empire's so-called greatest military commander, didn't become a hero because he won against the Great King of the Krafte Kingdom.
He came to be called a hero of the Empire because he ‘managed to fight back while losing moderately’ against that Great King, thus preventing a total defeat for the Empire.
That Great King inflicted defeat after defeat on the Grand Duke, who was a difficult opponent even for me, but he's not the only problem.
Krafte, despite having far less territory and population than Francia, maintains a standing army of over 100,000; it's a nation obsessed with its military.
We just barely beat the Empire, and now you want us to fight that Great King and a nation that seems to be the very embodiment of militarism?
“Even so, Talleyrand has requested a visit to their Great King. We also have the ships of the line that Countess Aquitaine just commissioned, and the Northern Allied Kingdom, seeing the Imperial Army collapse, has succumbed to our pressure.”
Oh, so the sea route to Krafte and the Eastern Empire is finally open.
That's hopeful news, at least.
“That’s a relief. Then we’ll have to wait for Talleyrand to bring good news.”
If nothing else, I can trust him in diplomacy.
“Ahem, we must.”
Count Anjou seemed somewhat dissatisfied.
Is he acting like that because I seem to trust Talleyrand, the leader of another party, quite a bit?
Come to think of it, his impression has changed a lot since I first met him.
He was very happy when Eris cured his youngest son, who was dying from a plague, and had a rather gentle impression when he accepted the radical proposal to hand over his territory and join the republic.
I recalled him raising his voice in the assembly, keeping other parties in check with a hardline stance, and also being wary of whether I or Christine harbored different thoughts from the central party.
Count Anjou has now become quite a figure focused on power and politics.
Did he always have ambitions, or does the position make the man?
While I was thinking that, a knock came at the door.
“Come in.”
The second lieutenant entered, saluted me, and spoke.
“A letter from the capital, Lumiere, Your Excellency Marquis.”
“Hmm.”
When I received the letter, it bore Talleyrand's crest.
“Well, now.”
“Hoho, speak of the devil and he shall appear, eh?”
“Indeed.”
I immediately broke the seal, unfolded the letter, and frowned slightly.
“What does it say to make you react like that? Don't tell me Krafte isn't responding to negotiations……”
“That’s not it, but……”
I handed the letter to Count Anjou and said,
“Their Great King has designated me as the negotiator.”
……Why on earth?