234 – Emperor Election and Change (1)
Reich Imperial Palace, Conference Room.
“Lieutenant General Peter Yeager, is that guy really a person? This operation he led is completely incomprehensible. “I couldn’t believe my eyes when I read the operation report.”
“One might think that inflicting close to 100,000 casualties out of 200,000 enemy soldiers with 110,000 casualties was a great victory achieved through excellent operations. Ha, it didn’t stop there, it surrounded the enemy’s capital and forced its king to surrender.”
“I heard that during the negotiations, His Majesty King Christian of Stockholm was threatened that if he did not accept the negotiation plan proposed by the expeditionary force, he would cooperate with the Swedish army and capture the royal castle. “In fact, I know very well that it will never be possible with the empire’s supply capacity.”
“The fact that it was possible to supply supplies to Oslo was also achieved through Captain Keitel’s cleverness.”
The ministers continued to talk behind their backs about how out of common sense Lieutenant General Yeager, who was not present, was.
Many emotions were crossing in their hearts as they chatted behind their backs.
The expectation was that they would also be recognized for their administrative achievements in supporting the victory on the mainland and that the Congo would be depleted.
Thank you for bringing me a victory feat that makes me feel proud as a noble of the empire.
At the same time, they are jealous of him who has outstanding capabilities that cannot be compared to their own.
I feel pitiful when I think of my children who are similar in age to Lieutenant General Jaeger, but are far behind in terms of capabilities.
These feelings were uniting the prince who normally supported him and the ministers who had different factions and did not care about anything other than minimal greetings and social meetings.
However, because the Minister of Military Affairs had not yet been appointed, only Marshal Benner, who represented the Minister of Military Affairs, could not participate in the meeting.
On the outside, it may seem like he was an outcast, but in fact, Marshal Benner felt superiority and pity on the inside as he looked at the pitiful people who did not have outstanding sons-in-law.
At that time, “His Majesty Fernando von Reich came. Everyone please show respect!”
The ministers simultaneously stopped all chatter and stood up to bow to the emperor.
“Everyone, please sit comfortably.”
The ministers sat quietly in their seats, and the emperor spoke in a voice filled with joy.
“Thanks to General Gernhard von Keitel, Lieutenant General Peter Jaeger, and Colonel Anastasia Kergit, we were able to achieve a great victory in this war. Even though they are not here, we celebrate their achievements and cheers!”
At the same time as those words were spoken, the finest wine was poured into the glasses in front of the ministers, and everyone emptied their glasses at once.
“Then first, let’s talk about the results achieved in this war.”
“I succeeded in escaping from the crisis of almost losing the northern territory I had acquired by killing Ludvik due to Ishtaven, the traitor of the North. He also succeeded in directly punishing the traitor Ishtaven and his followers. Furthermore, he was able to kill, seriously wound, or capture 100,000 enemy soldiers on the Osby Plain, raising the status of the Reich Imperial Army and securing a huge ransom.”
Because it was a story that everyone knew through reports, there was not a single person present who seemed surprised.
For ministers who were proud to be members of the Reich Empire, it was a very refreshing report to hear again.
“In addition, Lieutenant General Peter Jaeger’s change of strategy led to the siege of Oslo Castle, the capital of the Kingdom of Stockholm, spreading the strength of the Imperial Army throughout the Europa continent. As a result, in the peace agreement, all territory within 50km south of the Osby Plain was formally transferred, Your Majesty.”
Emperor Ferdinand of the Reich Empire was merely reconfirming what he already knew, but when he heard it again, his heart could not stop pounding rapidly.
And even though he felt grateful to Deus for giving the crown prince the good fortune of picking up Peter Jaeger, he asked back in a cold voice on the outside.
“Is that really true?”
“Yes, Your Majesty. Taking all of this into account, according to the analysis produced by the Chief of Staff, the northern part of the empire will remain quiet for the next several decades.”
“General Keitel and Lieutenant General Jaeger have done a truly great job. Colonel Kergit added a hand to that, hehehe. Okay, now let’s start talking about the first, second, and third most successful people in this battle. First of all, if you have an opinion about Captain Gernhard von Keitel, please let me know.”
In fact, except in very special cases, there was no case where a deputy commander-level person exceeded the achievements of the commander-in-chief.
Even the ministers who had carried out this type of illegal practice several times were at a loss as to what to do about this problem.
After a while, the Prime Minister stood up from his seat and spoke carefully.
“Admiral Keitel’s achievements seem somewhat pale compared to that of Vice-Admiral Jaeger, who personally commanded the Battle of Osby, besieged the capital of Oslo, and accepted the surrender of the King of Stockholm. However, as stated in Lieutenant General Jaeger’s report, the reason why the Battle of Osby Plain was completed and the subsequent siege of the capital was possible was because of Captain Keitel’s excellent supply support ability. So he deserves a big reward.”
“How do you think specifically should be rewarded?”
“It is difficult to discuss promotion in the position of captain, so I think it would be right to bestow medals, territory, and rewards appropriate to the rank. “How about granting one earldom and other territories?”
In normal times, an earldom with a population of about 100,000 would rarely be granted to a captain who was considered to have made the second greatest contribution in a battle.
This victory not only raised the status of the empire, but also allowed it to occupy a very large territory, so it was necessary to reward it generously.
“Then what do you think about Lieutenant General Jaeger’s award, Prime Minister?”
The Prime Minister heard those words and was lost in his thoughts.
‘Lieutenant General Yeager’s promotion to captain is already confirmed, but it is not yet time to mention his promotion to rank. In this case, if he was given a high-level medal, he might be able to reduce the size of the territory to be awarded… But it’s difficult.’
Even as he was worrying so much, he came up with and spoke of the most appropriate reward plan as a prime minister of an empire.
“Although he is very young, his abilities are already recognized as ‘equal to or better than theirs’ by other captains of the empire. His accomplishments are so great that even discussing them is meaningless. Therefore, he must be promoted to captain and work further for the empire.”
The Emperor nodded with a satisfied smile, thinking that he would later give the Prime Minister a little more bonus for speaking as he intended.
“I also think it would be good to not spare a reward in consideration of their achievements, so how about giving all the places where Ishtaven and the traitors who followed him lived as fiefdom? However, it is expected that it will take a lot of effort to rebuild the territory, so you must provide competent administrators and ample money.”
“Isn’t it too much of a barren land to be given to a lieutenant general who has made great contributions?”
“The land of the North looked barren on the outside, but as Prime Minister I examined it, it was because the agricultural technology of the Northerners was so poor. In fact, it is currently producing the same amount of produce as other fields in the empire, so I don’t think you need to worry.”
From the emperor’s perspective, the Prime Minister’s words were not bad at all.
Because in His Majesty Fernando’s mind, Peter Jaeger and Anastasia Kergit were placed there as symbols of the North.
They were trying to completely attract northerners, and the northern region had not yet been ‘developed’, so the level of territory was low compared to land productivity and economic power.
This is because, as a count, he will be able to easily be granted quite large fiefdoms in the future.
“Then I will do it. I will order Lieutenant General Peter Jaeger to be promoted to captain and grant the territory where Ishtaven and the tribes that follow him live. In addition, the territory given to him is somewhat barren, so I am giving 100,000 gold out of consideration for Lieutenant General Jaeger and the northerners who live there.”
The other ministers who heard the story seriously wondered whether they should bring up their children, who were currently rolling around in the military, and nag them.
Marshal Benner smiled brightly, confident that the Marquis Benner’s family would continue to prosper in the future as his son-in-law had been promoted to captain.
Others here saw him with a smile on his face as he had a successful son-in-law and sharpened their swords, saying that one day he would take revenge by throwing away a pile of work.
“Finally, Colonel Anastasia Kergit recognizes the achievement of beheading Ishtaven, promotes him to brigadier general, grants him the title of Viscount, bestows the Hove area, and makes it the Viscounty of Hove. Also, the Chief of Staff should reward the northern chiefs and soldiers who have made great achievements this time as generously as possible.”
After saying that, the emperor stood up and left, saying that the other generals would discuss their work tomorrow.
Then, I wrote a letter to the crown prince from his office and sent it to him.
[The election to select the next emperor will begin, so do your best.]