248 – Siege of Gryfino Castle (2)
There are rules of war that have not changed from the past to modern warfare.
That is, no matter who the envoy sent by the enemy is, no matter what message they convey, you must never kill them.
The reason why the custom of not killing envoys arose is because, no matter how much they fight, there is a need for a means of exchanging ‘minimum communication’.
On the continent of Europa where I live, acting as an envoy and killing someone who tries to communicate is considered a greater evil than mass murder of civilians in war.
If I had enough courage as a man, even I, a 4-star captain, could deliver the message and return very safely.
“Well, if the Warsaw guys were cornered and cornered to the point where they couldn’t even think about such things, they would have lost their minds and tried to cut down any envoy, nabal, or 4-star head they saw. “I would never do something like this.”
In addition, if Spiegelman, a Baron of the Grand Duchy of Warsaw, cuts off my head, the Grand Duke of Warsaw will secretly say he is happy.
In any case, in order to avoid having an extremely dirty reputation on his hands, there is a high possibility that he will destroy not only Baron Spiegelmann but also the three clans under him.
So, if the Baron cares about his life and the lives of his family, he wouldn’t be able to cut off my head.
As I trudged along like that, I remembered the time I had been ripped off by Laura and Anya under the pretext of a meeting.
Originally, using a personal relationship to express an opinion to me, my superior, could have been problematic, but…
Lieutenant General Werner, the deputy commander, said, ‘An exception is made to stop the commander from taking too risky actions,’ and thanks to the support of several officers, it passed without any problems.
While wandering around like that, when I arrived near the Reich Imperial Army camp and the Gryfino Castle moat, I stopped.
Then the attention of the soldiers and citizens standing on the castle wall all turned to me.
“That bastard is here again, damn it. “They’re going to tell me to surrender again this time, right?”
“You dirty bastard who destroyed the foundation we had barely built and pretended to be good, die! “You son of a b*tch!”
“Okay, come and attack us!” “I’ll make sure your grave is here!”
I have heard voices warning me with all kinds of evil, but based on my experience of hearing enemy soldiers utter threatening words several times…
A slight tremor was felt in the voices of the people on the walls of Gryfino.
The fact that they are shouting loudly even though their voices are trembling means that they are trying to kill the fear even though they are afraid that we will invade and massacre them.
So now, with just a little touch, the door to this castle ruled by Baron Spiegelmann may be opened.
“I, Peter Jaeger, commander of the Reich Imperial Army’s Expeditionary Force to the Grand Duchy of Warsaw, express my sincere respect to you who are protecting the walls to the end even in this hopeless situation.”
It may seem funny that someone recommending surrender praises you for fighting well so far,
I sincerely want to applaud their courage.
Even though we know that we can occupy that castle if we want to, and that after that, all those who attacked that castle with spears and swords will be killed in droves.
Overcoming the fear of death and holding on in that castle is not an easy task.
So, as a soldier of the empire, you should praise what is worthy of praise, criticize what is worthy of criticism, and use with all your might what can be exploited.
“But I will ask you again. Do you really think that you can win against our 100,000-strong army by relying on these low walls? “If there are any who are so mistaken, I will let you know as a final tribute to your courage.”
Then I paused for a moment and pointed to a few people.
“You who are holding a spear, an old man wearing rags and holding a hoe, let alone armor, a woman holding a stone, you who are standing at the front with your blood boiling at the thought of protecting your hometown! Not a single person holding a weapon will leave this city alive. “I, Count Peter von Jaeger, swear that anyone who resists with weapons will only be able to come out as a corpse.”
If you don’t listen to me today and open the gate, I’m going to go back after throwing stones with a catapult and advising you to surrender for about two days.
When scaring someone, you should make them as scared as possible by pulling out a knife and threatening to hit their neck at any time.
Only in this way will the other person not be able to come to their senses and offer up what they want, fearing that a crazy person like me might pull out a sword and attack at any moment.
Then I held out my hand to Vincent, who was pulling a cart with wine barrels next to me, and he handed me a glass filled with wine.
The taste was unusually refreshing and rich, perhaps because it was drunk right in front of enemy lines.
“You dirty predator! “Are you still a human being?”
“f*ck, f*ck!!”
“… I don’t want to die like this, please save me…”
A guy who cries that he doesn’t want to die, a guy whose only words are swearing, and a guy who relies on justice, which has no great value in the current situation.
Showing such diverse reactions means that the atmosphere has gradually reached a point where it is difficult for the officers to control it.
I decided to continue talking, ignoring the officers up there scolding, soothing, and cajoling the soldiers.
“I just said that I would make the last recommendation, but in fact, there was something I couldn’t say, so I’ll continue to say it. Your homeland, the Grand Duchy of Warsaw, has abandoned you. Otherwise, when a large army of 100,000 is coming, there is no way that a castle with such low walls and only 8,000 soldiers would give an order to defend a castle with only around 30,000 men at best! Isn’t your country truly trash? “I don’t know if it’s nobles with knighthood, but citizens and serfs who have no obligation to fight except when conscripted are also being driven to death!”
The reason I point out this fact is to break the last stronghold of the soldiers in that castle.
I and the imperial army officers and other nobles in that castle know that in this situation, this castle will fall before reinforcements arrive.
Nevertheless, when officers and nobles change their affiliation, not only do they lose the privileges they have enjoyed so far, but they have also been indoctrinated to be loyal to the country, the Grand Duke, and the Grand Duke’s family to a degree that borders on brainwashing.
Even if it is an unreasonable order, we have no choice but to follow it.
However, if you tell the commoners and citizens to die for the Archduke who has never seen his face and only rips off their taxes, they will not listen.
Guarding Griffino Castle would at least instill false hope that the hundreds of thousands of troops led by the Archduke would defeat the Reich Imperial Army led by the evil Peter Jaeger.
“If what I said is a lie, ask the officers you trusted and followed! “When will reinforcements come?”
After saying that, I took another glass of wine from Vincent and drank it.
Meanwhile, at the walls of the castle, numerous soldiers were questioning the officers so harshly that they were on the verge of collapse.
It’s as if they want to prove that reinforcements are really not coming and that this guy named Peter Yeager is talking nonsense.
“It’s noisy! If you ask any more questions, they’ll think it’s a protest or an attempt to lower morale, and they’ll hit your head! “Go back to your original position immediately!”
“Don’t listen to the enemy! Won, Won-gun will definitely come!”
“If you hold out just a little longer, His Majesty the Archduke of Warsaw will defeat the Reich Army!”
The officers, perhaps because they were afraid of dying, were unable to say things like ‘When will reinforcements arrive’ resolutely and calmly, so their morale plummeted.
You idiots, in times like that, you should act like a man and act evilly and at least lie to them about when reinforcements will come to encourage them to fight till the end.
Even if he is prepared to die, if he is so scared of death that he cannot lie even to himself, who will believe the soldiers under his command?
I spoke as I took another glass of wine, mocking those nobles.
“All of you brave loyalists to His Majesty the Archduke of Warsaw will die here, so how could you not pay homage as a knight! So I bring you all the best drink to bid farewell to this world! And one last time, I want to speak directly with your leader, Mayor Spiegelman, so open the door quickly!”
I drove it this far, so I guess I couldn’t have opened the door…
Immediately the castle gate opened, and Baron Spiegelmann cautiously came out and spoke.
“Please come in.”