163 – Deception, and the Thirty-Six Commandments (1)
Duke Christian von Switzerland, the ruler of the Duchy of Switzerland, was in a very bad mood.
No, every day from the time I woke up in the field bed prepared in the barracks until I went to sleep at night, my frustration and anger boiled up like fire.
It may seem that Duke Christian has an anger management disorder, but there was only one reason why he was uncomfortable 24 hours a day.
He often swore and shouted the name of the crazy person who was disturbing his mind.
“Ugh! Director Peter Yeager, you filthy bastard, worse than this dog! “If I capture you, I will cut up and chew every single piece of flesh on your body!”
Normally, even if you swear like this on the battlefield, if you kill the opponent, you kill him. There are no crazy people who practice what they say.
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If the Duke of Switzerland truly captured Major General Jaeger, he was thinking of locking him in his own prison and tearing off every piece of his flesh.
However, the reality is that for over a month, the Swiss army of about 100,000 soldiers was in a good position to defend with a small number of troops.
Since they had not yet been able to break through the unit commanded by Major General Jaeger, which numbered just over 6,000 men, it was just a dream that could not yet be achieved.
However, Christian knew that the more anger he vented, the lower the morale of the entire army would fall.
“Phew, first of all, I’ve finished all the urgent work I have to do today. “I should patrol the camp, give some admonitions to be on high alert, and discuss future measures with the nobles.”
He got up from the chair in his barracks and went outside to inspect.
Outside, soldiers were gathering in groups of twos and threes to prepare a meal using the pots provided to each squad.
“Squad leader Hans, what are you doing? “You have to tear up some flour, cheese, or beef jerky with water and eat it.”
“I feel sorry for you guys eating, so I’m going to bring some flat rocks from my barracks and bake some dough mixed with flour and water on them.”
“As expected, squad leader, the time is different.”
“Put it away, and tell the others to stop rolling up the flour and eating it. “It’s much better to wrap it in flour dough with cheese and beef jerky.”
The duke was so angry that he didn’t even think he was hungry, but he couldn’t ignore the proverb he heard among the mercenaries.
‘Mercenaries are always hungry, cold, and tired. That’s why I’m always hungry.’
I don’t know who said it, but I smiled bitterly at the fact that even I, a duke who rules a country, could not be an exception to these words.
After completing his patrol, he continued his walk with the thought of having a late-night snack and a meeting with the nobles.
“Be alert up front. Because you never know when that damned Director Jaeger will attack. “The moment you miss it, it’s over.”
“I understand, Senior Sergeant Peter.”
“And don’t keep your posture so straight. We’re not even good guards guarding the gates of nobles’ mansions. “I just keep an eye on the front, and if I’m not lucky, I get stuck after work and have a hard time.”
As Senior Sergeant Peter said, it was not recommended among mercenaries to remain on guard in a static posture, no matter how urgent the situation.
Because holding a spear in one hand and not moving in an uncomfortable position that looks good was wasting more stamina than necessary.
So, according to the principle, one had to stand guard with a well-angled posture, but there was no commander or noble who forced this on the battlefield.
However, Duke Christian was swayed by complex emotions such as anger, wariness, and fear toward the man named Director Jaeger.
I have become a person who has no choice but to pay more attention than necessary and react excessively when I see even the slightest weakness.
“You idiots! If you are soldiers of the proud Principality of Switzerland, how could you be so negligent in your guard! Then, how can you take responsibility if you don’t properly see the Reich Empire’s soldiers making a surprise attack!”
The senior soldier who heard those words had a strong feeling that this was not right, even though it was said by a duke.
The original posture of standing guard is to fully erect your back, hold a spear in your right hand, and maintain an angle of 15 degrees with your arm fully extended.
No matter how important boundaries are, you can see them as long as you keep your mind right even if you don’t maintain this posture.
Besides, they are going to die hard today as they have to fight that blood-crazed guy from sunrise to sunset until they return…
So I felt like saying this wasn’t right, but I was afraid that if I talked back to the Duke, my head would fall on his shoulders.
“Sorry! Please forgive me!”
“Don’t be complacent! The moment you become complacent and try to deviate even a little from the norm, you will be destroyed by the Reichs led by that damn Jaeger! “Are you trying to relax when you’re on guard and ready to fight to the death, but it’s not enough?”
“……I’m sorry.”
“If you say sorry, the war will end, and if you say sorry, Director Jaeger, that son of a b*tch, will die! Are you still a mercenary from Switzerland? “Why don’t you give up your mercenary status and just wear a skirt?”
A soldier named Peter was directly harassed by the Duke for as long as 30 minutes, and Christian warned him on his way back.
“Yes, he belongs to Baron Evian. “I understand. There’s a meeting coming up soon, and when I see his face, I’ll clearly tell him that Senior Sergeant Peter is neglecting his guard!”
The duke wanted to check the alert status of other units, but the strategy meeting was more important, so he turned around.
And while he was on his way to the command barracks, he received a report from a spy who had succeeded in secretly sending him to the Reich Imperial Army.
‘Director Jaeger and his soldiers are frantically hunting down spies, so we can’t find out their size or detailed information. Instead, what is certain is that the Crown Prince has already fled, and by the day after tomorrow, the entire Reich Imperial Army will have fled.’
**
The military command barracks of the Principality of Switzerland.
Numerous vassals of the Duke of Switzerland waited quietly for the Duke to open his mouth, and the Duke spoke as if he could not waste time.
“Let me start with the main point: the crown prince ran away. And it is said that the Reich Imperial Army will run away from Richen Hill the day after tomorrow.”
Hearing those words, the nobles’ faces were filled with worry.
Because in this war, the Duchy of Switzerland conscripted soldiers that reached the limit of what it could mobilize.
No matter what happened, I had to catch the crown prince and receive a huge amount of the empire’s rich territory.
The fact that our top strategic goal has escaped means that we have declared that we have fallen into a situation in which we can never win strategically, even if it is not from a tactical point of view.
Furthermore, the Duke and other nobles were under the illusion that the Crown Prince was guarding the rear with that damn Jaeger until the end, so the shock was even greater.
And the reason for such misunderstanding had sufficient grounds.
According to common sense, there is no way for a 26-year-old young general, the viscount and major general of the empire, to be in the vanguard unless it is to protect the crown prince.
Also, the imperial army camp always had flags symbolizing the imperial prince.
“So, we will launch an all-out attack over two days and somehow cut off the head of that damn son of a b*tch, Major General Jaeger, who invaded our Principality of Switzerland. In addition, not a single Reich soldier over there can be sent back alive.”
The nobles who heard those words resented the duke in their hearts, but did not say it out loud.
Because, as the Duke said, out of the 100,000 Swiss, 10,000 were killed and 6,000 were seriously injured, so they had to kill the crazy guy first.
“Be sure to prepare thoroughly. “With the honor of the Swiss mercenaries at stake, we cannot send Major General Jaeger alive.”
Having said that, when everyone was about to leave, the Duke caught Baron Evian.
“Among the senior soldiers under your command, there is a guy named Peter, and that damn bastard is not careful. “Just know.”
The duke was so angry at Director Jaeger that he committed a crazy act of repaying even the slightest mistake with great anger.
The next day, a shocking report came to the Duke of Switzerland.
“Your Excellency the Duke, we are in big trouble! The camp where the Reich Army is stationed is on fire! The fire is so strong that we can’t chase it without putting out the fire!”
After hearing those words, the Duke went outside and sat down upon seeing the burning Reich Imperial Army camp with a devastated expression.
And then, unable to say anything, all he could do was sigh and say, ‘Ah, ah…’.
And at this time, Major General Yeager had somehow managed to get all of the soldiers except the dead soldiers on horses and was moving very quickly.
Thanks to this, we are taking the injured person with us, but we are moving at a speed that is nearly twice the normal marching speed.
Swiss soldiers were given cruel orders to catch them at any cost.
“Jump to your death and cut off Director Jaeger’s head! “If we don’t kill that guy, there will be no future in Switzerland!”