166 – Deception, and the Thirty-Six Commandments (4)
“I feel like I want to keep chatting with you who saved my life. Because the situation is not very favorable. “Let me do the rest of the chatting over dinner at the Yeager family mansion.”
“Yes, Your Majesty. Now, let me give you a plan on how to deal with this situation.”
“Please. “Major Jaeger.”
To sum up the current situation, the Duke of Switzerland almost gave up an earl as a hostage, and made a plan to capture His Royal Highness the Crown Prince over the course of 2-3 years, which failed.
Furthermore, in the process, we met a variable named Major General Peter Jaeger and failed to annihilate 50,000 of our expeditionary forces even though they were completely isolated in Switzerland.
No, the expeditionary force, including me, set up camp on Richen Hill, held out until the end, and succeeded in killing the enemy force, which was nearly twice as large as ours.
“Before that, I would like to ask you a question, Your Highness. Did our Swiss Expeditionary Force lose this war? “Have you achieved victory?”
Strictly speaking, it is correct to say that the war was lost because it failed to occupy three cantons, including Liechtenstein Castle, which was a strategic goal.
However, when limited to battle, we killed many more of their soldiers and did not give up a single inch of the empire’s territory.
We can declare that we have won the battle.
“We failed to achieve our strategic goal, but thanks to you and your soldiers’ dedication, we were able to achieve a narrow victory. So how can it be called a defeat?”
“Yes, we were not defeated. Even though no land was captured during the expedition, the majesty of the Reich Empire was fully demonstrated to the Duke of Switzerland.”
“Just as you said, they came after you and our expeditionary force for revenge after suffering huge troop losses. “Because we can’t take even a single step on the empire’s land, and the limit is to just stamp our feet.”
The Crown Prince and I saying these things may seem like we are achieving a mental victory.
No, honestly, it is right to admit that you lost to a certain extent and make an excuse like, ‘Even though we lost, we fought well, so it was okay.’
There is only one reason why I am paving the way with words like this.
“This war is not over yet. So, to be more precise, we neither won nor lost. However, they took away even the slightest chance of victory from the Swiss. In other words, we can make them pay more for killing our soldiers.”
If what someone else said, the only thing we can do with the rest of the expeditionary force led by the crown prince is to make them retreat.
You may think it is a bit absurd, but His Majesty was looking at me with eyes full of curiosity to see what kind of plan I would come up with.
“First of all, in this war, the Duke of Switzerland lost a huge number of soldiers, failing to achieve both conditions that had to be achieved in order to win the war. And this fact will naturally spread throughout Europe, and his reputation and that of the Swiss mercenaries will fall to the ground.”
The two conditions the Duke of Switzerland needs to win the war are simple.
The purpose is to capture His Royal Highness the Crown Prince and annihilate 50,000 soldiers from the entire empire for the expedition to Switzerland.
And if he succeeded in capturing His Royal Highness the Crown Prince, the duke could receive about one duchy of the empire as ransom.
If he had used chickens instead of pheasants to annihilate the 50,000-strong expeditionary force, he would have been able to save face by receiving one or two earldoms from the Emperor.
So the Duke of Switzerland put our expeditionary force in the most disadvantageous position, but since he failed to achieve any results, public opinion about Switzerland will change within Europa.
‘A country that was good at war and a country that lost even after completely pushing the enemy into a corner in the cradle of mercenaries.’
“Furthermore, this war is a carefully planned battle that the Duke of Switzerland has been preparing for several years, even risking the life of an earl. So the duke will not want to retreat without achieving any results. Because the moment he admits defeat, his standing will fall to the ground.”
The Duke’s current situation is the same as that of a stock investor who took a chance by saving all the money he could, including his soul, and suffered a huge loss.
So, if you organize everything here, you can minimize the loss and return, but if the investor cannot admit that he lost money.
Just as the duke has to bear more losses every day when the stock price falls, the duke only incurs losses day by day.
However, the reality before his eyes is so miserable that it will take some time for him to stop escaping from reality and come to his senses.
Well, even if we are facing reality properly, it is already too late.
“Even if the duke was wiser than I thought and was preparing to retreat when we arrived here. He won’t be able to run away right now. Because, if the soldiers who ran from Richen Hill to Dolfino Castle, where we are now, return without recovering their stamina. “Swiss soldiers who were exhausted during the march would die of exhaustion on their way home.”
“As you said, Major General Jaeger, the soldiers of the 7th Division who came on horseback from Richen Hill via Tishno Canton are too exhausted to go into battle. Moreover, the Swiss soldiers who ran a long distance on their own feet probably don’t even have the strength to fight properly now.”
“Yes, that’s right. They must be very exhausted. But they also know full well what kind of situation they are in, so deception is necessary.”
The crown prince was looking at me with great anticipation to see what kind of plan would come out of my mouth, but it wasn’t a particularly great idea.
However, in this situation, it is a secret tactic that will be more effective than I expected.
“As the head of the Swiss Expeditionary Force, since our Reich Imperial Army won, threaten to pay compensation and threaten war if it is not accepted. Then, the Duke of Switzerland and his nobles will feel relieved that, contrary to what they claim, they have no intention of fighting immediately.”
“If you want to stab them in the back, wouldn’t it be better to insist on peace?”
“In normal times, that would be the most effective, but now we went on an expedition and failed to take over the enemy’s territory and lost quite a few soldiers. In such a situation, if we try to moderately conclude peace negotiations, the enemies will be suspicious and think we are hiding something.”
The Duke of Switzerland and the Crown Prince are both people in a position where they cannot admit defeat.
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Because in the position of ruler, if a person admits that he has lost, he loses his power base in return.
So, it is more natural to shout like a dog barking and saying that I did not lose.
Because even though it seems very ugly to do that, it is humane.
‘Ah, that guy has absolutely no intention of fighting right now because he thinks he has already been defeated. ‘You’re saying such nonsense to protect your pride.’
Think like this and you will feel at ease.
“And when they are relieved, you can mobilize all the troops that can be mobilized for battle right now in the castle and launch a night attack. If you temporarily block the enemy’s retreat with cavalry and push back with infantry, you can easily win against the army led by the Duke of Switzerland.”
The crown prince looked intrigued by the plan I presented, nodded his head and asked.
“I understand, then are you planning to go to war?”
“It is difficult for me to be active on the battlefield because my body is like this. Even if my body is fine, it is not good for Your Majesty to be active here again. Because Your Majesty must take all the credit for this surprise operation.”
Hearing what I said, His Majesty looked moved again and answered in a voice filled with tears.
“Look, Director Jaeger…”
“However, the false information that I participated in the war will bring great fear to the Swiss infantry. So, dress the young officer with the best swordsmanship in my armor and uniform and make him look like Major General Peter Yeager has participated in the war. No, until the war is over, you must spread the rumor that I personally participated in the war.”
“Yes, you have often said that. In order to properly deceive your enemy, you must also deceive your allies. “I understand. Now rest in peace.”
Having said that, the crown prince touched both of my hands with a warm hand and walked away.
“Now, although His Majesty the Crown Prince has been defeated with this, he will be able to avoid suffering a very serious blow in the competition for the throne. “My work is done.”