230 – 99% Truth, 1% Lie (1)
In elementary and middle school, it was an implicit belief that when a fight broke out, the one who got a nosebleed first or cried first would lose. There was an agreement.
So, in my case, when I had an argument with a friend and ended up in a so-called confrontation, it was important to hit the person I was fighting with at least one more time.
More importantly, no matter how many times I got hit, I had to grit my teeth and grit my teeth in order not to cry.
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I thought that after spending that kind of time and growing up and attending the Military Academy, I would no longer have to fight or negotiate like that.
I worked in the military, and although the rules of war between countries were a bit more sophisticated, the proposition that ‘the one who cries first loses’ always prevailed.
“Deputy Commander, His Excellency the Minister of Military Affairs of Oxenburg of the Kingdom of Stockholm has arrived. Shall I let you in?”
“Let me serve you.”
With those words, a fairly tall man who looked to be in his mid-60s came into the barracks where I was.
His hair was completely white, but he must have trained his body very consistently, so instead of showing off his belly, which is a symbol of middle age, his angry muscles were showing his identity beyond his blue uniform.
I personally liked the way he looked confident and even arrogant even though he came to request peace negotiations.
A soldier, especially a commander who carries the lives of tens of thousands of subordinates on his shoulders, is someone who must not be afraid or servile towards the enemy no matter what situation he is on the battlefield.
“This is Anders von Oxenburg, Minister of Military Affairs. He is very happy to see you in person, the so-called hero of the Reich Empire.”
“This is Peter Jaeger, who has been awarded the rank of lieutenant general in the Reich Empire. “I have heard of your Excellency many times, and I also wanted to meet you.”
“Thank you so much, even if it’s just empty words. “Let’s sit back and talk.”
At the same time as I said that, I pointed to the tea served in front of the Minister of Military Affairs and offered it to him, and we drank the tea before starting a full-fledged conversation.
The tea that Charlotte personally brews is always fragrant, but these days, I guess it’s because she’s in a good mood after giving the Stockholm kingdom a big thumbs up.
The scent of the tea felt about 1.5 Times stronger and sweeter.
Then the Minister of Military Affairs smiled kindly at me and held out his hand.
“Congratulations on your victory, Lieutenant General. I haven’t seen your command in person, but with 110,000 troops, you can defeat our Stockholm Kingdom army of over 200,000 troops. “It’s really amazing.”
If you just listen to what he says, you might be mistaken as a believer in fair play, someone who even fights closely in sports games and accepts defeat gracefully.
However, if you look at the Minister of Military Affairs’ face, he is smiling, but if you look closely at the corner of his mouth, you can see that he is clenching his teeth to control his anger.
If you listen closely to his voice, he is shaking a little, like someone trying to hide how angry he is.
If this is going to be the case, there’s no need to just smile and congratulate him, but since he’s showing off in this situation, I think it makes sense to give him a treat too.
“I’m not that great of a guy. I just got lucky. “If I had been a little unlucky that day, the Reich army could have suffered greatly.”
A synonym for what I said is what people who always get first place in exams say after the exam, ‘I completely failed the exam.’
When I gave him sweet taffy wrapped as a favor, His Excellency the Minister of Military Affairs seemed to be very satisfied, and his face turned as red as a bright red apple.
If I weren’t the second-in-command of the Reich Imperial Army, I feel like I would have been slapped in the face.
“How about holding a banquet later after the end-of-war negotiations have been completed and discussing the conditions for the end of the war in earnest? “Aren’t we both busy?”
“Yes, good. “Then what are the conditions you want from the Kingdom of Stockholm?”
“We will hand over the entire territory 350km south of the Osby Plain. “This has already been approved by His Majesty the King of Stockholm.”
After saying that, the Minister of Military Affairs of the Kingdom of Stockholm handed me a contract.
It seemed like they were asking me to sign here, but I wondered what authority they had to ask me to sign.
But when I thought about it closely, I was the one who actually commanded the Battle of Osby Plain, which decided the outcome of this war.
They probably thought that if I supported this proposal, they would be able to conclude an end-of-war agreement like this.
“Isn’t it too small if it’s less than 350km south of the Osby Plain?”
“It is a land similar to Altoran in Stockholm, and in terms of area, it is similar to the Principality of Morenzia. And even then, it’s still less? “Isn’t that too greedy?”
“We surrounded the capital. If you want, I have the confidence to open the gate right now. As proof, a few days ago, we set fire to an armory and a facility temporarily housing residents within the castle. Was that not enough?”
At those words, His Excellency Oxenburg’s Minister of Military Affairs’ face turned red and began to burn to a very dark red level.
Then he got up from his seat, slammed his desk and said,
“Are you planning to mock me now? Don’t you know that if we want to, we can bring in the troops stationed in the west and attack you?”
I felt no reason or need to respond to those words, so I chose complete silence.
Instead, I began to take another look at the repercussions of playing with fire this time.
It is unknown how many soldiers and people stationed in Oslo suffered damage due to playing with fire.
However, the soldiers, citizens, and nobles stationed inside Oslo Castle must have believed and relied on the fact that they would be safe within the walls, but they must have gone crazy when they realized that the walls could not protect them either.
Of course, morale has hit rock bottom, and the King of Stockholm will probably be worried about a civil war by now as an internal rebellion breaks out.
“Yes, we were very embarrassed by that play with fire. But it doesn’t work the second time. “Let me tell you specifically, I killed all 30 traitors who were captured and joined you because they didn’t have the courage to die!”
“There were only 30 prisoners we sent in, but you managed to find them.”
“Strange guys who wear armor but act suspiciously and can’t properly identify their unit are either traitors or spies. And the defenses have been checked very tightly, so it will be impossible to open the gate.”
As Napoleon Bonaparte said, ‘There is no impossible in my dictionary,’ it is very foolish to discuss the impossible when dealing with military tactics and strategy.
If you ask why, the carnival of the Punic Wars also performed the miracle of crossing the Alps with elephants in the BC era.
In fact, something that is impossible is because it will inevitably be broken by someone someday.
“It is certainly impossible to open the gates in the same way as before.”
Even though I said this, I have no intention of opening the castle gate.
However, after we started the fire, even lieutenant colonel and colonel level officers came over and handed over information before heading back.
I was itching to ridicule him by saying that, but since ancient times, it has been our duty to protect traitors who are helpful to us.
I tried to answer with a nonchalant expression.
“But is it difficult to do it once or twice?”
It is relatively easy for someone who has passed a difficult exam to study and pass another exam.
However, it is true that it is difficult to re-enter the once collapsed security posture in this way.
But that doesn’t mean we can’t just say yes, yes.
If we do that, it would be like giving away one of the tactical advantages we have against them for free.
“And I don’t know why you have the illusion that we will open the gates.”
“Illusion? No, if I were in your shoes, I would open the gates and threaten His Majesty the King and the nobles and people in Oslo Castle to get better terms…”
I wanted to express my respect to him for perfectly reading the strategy I was trying to use.
If this were a sport like a math battle, it would have been nice to at least applaud and say that the teacher was right.
War is not a sport; it is a state of chaos where the winner is the only one who wins.
So, I decided to show him the basics of ‘making him misjudge by threatening him with a knife.’
Although it is a plan put together on the spot, it seems to work quite well.
“We surrounded the royal capital of the Kingdom of Stockholm with only 85,000 men. “It is only a small portion of the total forces of the Kingdom of Stockholm. Why did you come here instead of driving out the Reich Imperial Army?”