novelraw Chapter 165: Krafte War - The Decisive Move
Chapter 165: Krafte War - The Decisive Move
Barua, Eastern Francia, Revolutionary Army Headquarters.
“Welcome, Your Excellency, Marquis Lafayette!”
“Ah, everyone be seated.”
I answered naturally, but for some reason, the expressions on all the generals' faces were strange.
Well, what were they going to do about it?
I already had a hard time this morning overcoming the urge to take the day off and spend a little more time with her, and now these people were testing my patience.
“Did you have a good time, Marquis-nim?”
Ah.
I turned my head stiffly to see Eris smiling at me, quite openly.
Damn it, there was an opponent I couldn't crush with rank.Suppressing the sigh that was about to burst out, I tried to avoid Eris's mischievous gaze as I replied.
“Your Majesty the Queen, with all due respect, I would ask you to refrain from private talk in a military council.”
“Aha, yes! Private talk in a military council would be troublesome! After all, it's not like Marquis Lafayette was showing off his love in the middle of the camp, or doing such a thing in his military lodgings during a time of war.”
“Y-Your Majesty!”
Damn it, Karok and Shandra are here too!
For some reason, it was hard to bear the gazes of the one-eyed Orc, who was looking at me with a benevolent face, and Shandra, who was smiling with a cat-like expression.
The other generals were at least trying to hold back their laughter, making all sorts of funny faces, but in the midst of it all…
“Kek, phuht…”
Millbeau, you bastard. I will remember this.
Demian must have seen the look in my eyes because his smiling face immediately turned pale.
Still, thanks to him the embarrassment was somewhat less, so I cleared my throat and spoke.
“Anyway, let us begin. The Northern Allied Kingdom, the Duchy of Saxony, and the Duchy of Warsaw have risen up against Krafte. Their combined forces number 50,000, which should be enough to sweep through Krafte’s homeland.”
“Ooh, that was fast. As expected of Countess Aquitaine.”
Louis Desaix appeared quite surprised.
Yes, Christine is amazing. You could praise her a little more.
If she had not believed I would win against Krafte at least once, and had not spent a great deal of money to prepare the groundwork in advance, such a timely response would have been impossible.
Without her efforts, we might have been defeated in the second round with Krafte while trying to persuade and buy them off.
“But Your Excellency the Marquis, the damage from the last battle has not been fully repaired. There are wounded soldiers who need more time, and above all, the strength of the Cuirassiers, who suffered the most fatal blow, is still not intact.”
In response to Chief of Staff Alexandre Berthier's point, I nodded and replied.
“You are right. It is certain our army has not recovered from the damage of the last battle. But the Krafte side is probably in an even worse state.”
Unlike them, we have the definite support of divine power, so the recovery and return of the wounded is much faster.
“Ahem, ahem. If things go wrong, their homeland will be a mess, so the enemy will have no choice but to divide their forces. It is a golden opportunity. As expected of His Excellency Marquis Lafayette and Her Excellency Countess Aquitaine!”
Demian belatedly tried hard to flatter me, but I still remembered him laughing openly just moments before.
Well, that's that.
“Yes, this is an opportunity we created with great difficulty. If we are slow to respond and the Northern Allied Kingdom or the duchies within Krafte are wiped out first, the opportunity will be lost. Therefore, our army must also respond and prepare for a counterattack.”
It was not an empty saying; the price had not been light.
Christine had spent almost all the money the Aquitaine Merchant Guild had saved, believing solely in me. If I failed to seize this opportunity, I would have no face to show her.
“I understand, Your Excellency!”
“Then prepare thoroughly so we can launch an attack as soon as Krafte divides its army and sends it to its homeland.”
“Yes, sir!”
The cards Christine had prepared for this war are all used up now. We have gained a sufficient strategic advantage, so all that remains is the army’s victory.
I glared at the Krafte Army’s base in Alsace on the operation map.
Their chancellor is by no means incompetent. We must seize a decisive advantage before they recognize the unexpected situation and devise countermeasures.
We have already broken their spearhead, so if we win here, we can completely drive the Krafte Army out of Francia.
But our opponent is that Great King.
We have certainly cornered him, but can we easily overwhelm him?
Could he possibly launch a counterattack with a tactic I haven't even considered?
Karl II, that warmonger—what is he thinking?
*
Alsace, Eastern Francia, Krafte-occupied territory.
The Great King’s strategy meeting for the next battle was thrown into chaos by a messenger who had rushed from the homeland.
“Y-Your Majesty the Great King, it is a great crisis! The Northern Allied Kingdom has declared war and issued a mobilization order! Domestically, the Duke of Saxony and the Duke of Warsaw have joined the invaders and started a rebellion!”
“What? Is the Northern Allied Kingdom not on the side of the Empire? How did this happen?”
“The Duke of Saxony and Warsaw? Those who have been living like dead rats since their subjugation, why all of a sudden? No, more than that, what connection do they have with the Northern Allied Kingdom?”
“What is the scale of the enemy?”
“The Northern Allied Kingdom is estimated at 30,000, and the rebels, led by the Duke of Saxony and Warsaw and their collaborators, are around 20,000!”
“Good heavens!”
The conference hall became a complete mess.
“This is not a force that can appear without preparation!”
“Those vile traitors must have been colluding with the enemy!”
As the confusion deepened, the Great King’s roar erupted.
“Enough!”
The conference hall immediately fell silent.
The Great King slowly looked around at his generals and spoke calmly.
“Do not be alarmed. This is a trap by Francia.”
But even at the Great King's calm voice, the Krafte generals could not hide their bewilderment.
“F-Francia’s trap…”
“But Your Majesty the Great King, what connection could they, the Northerners, and the traitors in our country possibly have to have come to this…”
The Great King clicked his tongue with a grumble.
Right. There was no connection. That's why he hadn't expected it.
In the first place, the Northern Allied Kingdom had sided with the Empire and invaded, denying Francia's Saintess Queen. Just a few days prior, they had been an enemy nation hounded by the Francian navy.
The Duke of Saxony and Warsaw? They were nothing more than insignificant men who had sided with them in the war between Krafte and the Empire, only to be soundly defeated and subjugated by him.
But they, who should have had no connection to each other, had joined hands as if waiting for Francia’s victory and had risen up against Krafte.
It was clear this could not have happened without Francia's influence, but even the Great King could not understand how they had managed such a feat.
No, he had a rough idea of how they might have done it.
The Northern Allied Kingdom was the country suffering the most damage from Francia's commerce raiding, and they had been distraught at not receiving any of the promised compensation for their participation in the war from the Empire. Winning them over would have been possible if one tried.
The Dukes of Saxony and Warsaw, too, had only been quietly subjugated because they lacked power. They could not have been without complaints against Krafte.
At the point when the seemingly invincible Krafte had been defeated, it would not be strange for them to side with the enemy, just as they had with the Empire, given sufficient persuasion.
Krafte was not unaware of this possibility, but the problem was its timing.
The rebellion erupted at the perfect moment, just as Krafte was seeking a counterattack after its first defeat by Francia, as if to prevent Krafte from concentrating its forces.
For this to be possible, there was only one explanation.
They must have laid the groundwork in advance with sufficient effort, so these forces could be mobilized to coincide with Francia’s victory.
Without prior preparation, causing a response of that scale at such an opportune moment would be impossible.
Therefore.
“Haha, hahaha… They were confident they could win against Krafte, against me, and prepared for it in advance?”
Wondering what his chancellor's expression must be like right now, the Great King laughed as if he were enjoying himself.
Justin von Wittenfeld had reported that Countess Aquitaine was concentrating her military operations on the Krafte Army, which he had successfully thwarted.
At the same time, they had successfully carried out their own operations against the Francian army, so until now, even the Great King had thought that Krafte had the upper hand in the intelligence war.
However, their successes had been limited to the sabotage of the capital's armory and the success of the ambush in the initial cavalry battle.
In the Battle of Barua, they had acted as if they hadn't noticed the spy and used him in reverse, resulting in the ambush force's defeat. And now it had become clear that Countess Aquitaine's military interference attempts had been nothing more than bait.
“Splendid, splendid…”
Marquis Lafayette, the Saintess Queen, and Countess Aquitaine.
Were they not all far exceeding his expectations?
For the first time, the Great King felt a sense of crisis that if things continued like this, he might lose the war itself.
And even that situation brought him joy.
Even when he fought against the Empire as a mere electorate, the problem had not been his ability but the lack of Krafte’s national power.
But to be able to meet such opponents on the last battlefield he would face before he died, was that not a blessing?
“Your Majesty the Great King.”
“Oh, Heinrich. Speak.”
In the midst of it all, his heir stepped forward, and the Great King answered with a willing heart.
Although he had not shown a satisfactory side in his eyes so far, if his heir were to show an improved side, stimulated by the young heroes of Francia, would that not also be something to look forward to?
“Please give me just 20,000 of the standing army. I will subjugate both the Northern and the traitors in our country.”
“With 20,000, to face 50,000… Is it possible?”
“50,000 is nothing but a disorderly mob. It is perfectly possible.”
“Ooh, as expected of Prince Heinrich!”
The Great King, who had been staring at the declaring Heinrich and the admiring generals, finally opened his mouth.
“It is commendable, but you are still far from ready, Heinrich.”
“Pardon?”
Heinrich was bewildered, and all the generals who had been enthusiastically praising the prince fell silent.
“The losses to the standing army in the last battle were already great. Can we win against that Francia even after taking out 20,000 from there?”
While the Revolutionary Army had suffered 60,000 casualties, the Krafte Army's losses were 40,000. That could hardly be called only 40,000.
A significant portion of them were the elite standing army of Krafte who had led the charge to crush the enemy. They were not a force that could be replaced by conscripting the people.
“B-but Your Majesty the Great King. We cannot just leave our homeland as it is.”
“That is right, Your Majesty. Even if we cannot spare many, we certainly need a unit to defend our homeland.”
The Great King’s face contorted, and he spoke as if he found them pathetic.
“That the abilities of the proud generals of the Krafte Army who follow me are only this much, I cannot help but feel regret.”
“M-my apologies.”
Before the bewildered generals and Prince Heinrich, the Great King made his declaration.
“In the first place, dividing our forces to protect our homeland is exactly what they are hoping for. It is clear this operation was created for that very purpose, so how can you not know that?”
“My apologies…”
The Great King, who had glanced at the now quiet generals, looked at Prince Heinrich. The prince was feigning a polite bow but could not quite hide his dissatisfaction, and the King spoke.
“Remember this, Heinrich. The strong army we have raised is irreplaceable. Territory, even if temporarily lost, can be retaken, but if the army is lost, the war is lost.”
“But Your Majesty, the Great King. No matter what, the army is for protecting the nation. If the nation is devastated for the sake of the army—”
“That is common sense, and everyone would think so. But the moment you lose the opportunity for a comeback by dividing the army, only the result remains: being dragged into a sluggish war on two fronts and being defeated.”
In the end, even Heinrich fell silent.
Now, he had no choice but to admit it.
Marquis Lafayette, the Saintess Queen, and Countess Aquitaine.
He did not know about them individually, but Francia, with all of them gathered, was his equal or perhaps even more.
If so, he too had no choice but to bet everything and clash with all his might.
He was not unaware that this was an unreasonable task, and the aftereffects on Krafte would certainly not be negligible.
It was not that Prince Heinrich was foolish, but that they had pushed Krafte to the point where he had to go to such lengths and bet everything just to win.
“Even Francia, which has orchestrated this plot, will expect us to divide our army. No one could expect the entire army to launch an all-out offensive while its homeland is being devastated.”
Paying his respects to the young talents of Francia who had pushed him this far, the Great King made his declaration.
“We will strike their weakness. If we can inflict a fatal blow on the Revolutionary Army, we can easily wipe out the disorderly mob of the Northern and the rebels at any time.”