280 – There is no militarism in our empire (2)
You must be very careful when trying to stop a person with enormous power.
As a person’s status increases and his power strengthens, he becomes more self-righteous and tends to believe that his thoughts are unconditionally correct.
At this time, if someone raises an opposing opinion… No matter how much I am the person favored by His Majesty, if I offend him, I may lose all trust in him in an instant.
Still, I don’t think His Majesty Michael is the kind of person who will just tell me to write a discharge application and disappear before His Majesty’s eyes just because I expressed an opposing opinion.
So, in order to maintain a good relationship with His Majesty in the future, we must respect His Majesty’s wishes and will, but we must stop him on realistic grounds and ask him to wait a little longer.
I took a deep breath and spoke in a polite, soft voice.
“As your Majesty says, I also want to make the Reich Empire the strongest country on the Europa continent. “This is the dream of every officer on the Reich Continent.”
His Majesty was happy to hear what I said and nodded his head sharply.
“As long as Your Majesty trusts me, as a nobleman and captain with the title of Marquis of the Reich Empire, I will do my best and reward you with the best performance until the end of my life. If the achievements of the imperial army, including mine, gradually accumulate, the empire will be able to assume hegemony over the continent of Europa during your reign. “I swear on the name of Peter Yeager.”
“Really? Yes, it’s not that Minister of Military Affairs Keitel or Marshal Benner are untrustworthy, but you are more important to me than either of them. Since you say you support my will, as Lieutenant General Manstein said, the empire will now be able to spread its wings and fly like an eagle.”
I was heartbroken when I heard that he valued me, who was one step below me, more than the current Minister of Military Affairs and Marshal, but my heart became even heavier.
Because words will soon come out of my mouth that will dampen Your Majesty’s expectations.
However, unless the young people at the Chiefs of Staff, including Lieutenant General Manstein, who is now in his early to mid-50s, do not eliminate the nonsense they have been putting on His Majesty, the Empire will be defeated.
In the process of flying toward hegemony, defeat means falling, and once you fall, many countries that have envied the empire until now will bite your homeland.
Because I could not see my country becoming like that, and because I love the Reich Empire with my life, I decided to stop His Majesty.
“Yes. “But could you please listen a little more to my story?”
“Your story is always welcome. Okay, tell me! Where should we plan to attack? Where would you like to be in a few years? Czechia, Austria?”
His Majesty looked at me, waiting for my answer, as if he were considering which product to choose among the products he wanted, but the answer I would give was already decided.
“Now the Reich Empire must stop the war and rest. The Black Eagle (the emblem at the center of the Reich Empire’s flag and a symbol of the Empire) must now fold its wings and return to its nest to rest. Otherwise, the empire, the empire…”
His Majesty grabbed my shoulder and gave me an expression asking me not to say anything more.
I continued what I had to say next.
“Black eagles can become jealous of other birds around them and become unable to fly for long periods of time. “This is a fact I can swear at.”
“……”
“Your Majesty, the Empire has fought too many large-scale battles in the last ten years. Although victory was achieved in the end, the people’s livelihood and national finances were slowly facing a crisis. “Over 10 years, more than 5 large-scale battles took place, producing many heroes and stories of heroism, but the suffering of the people followed with enormous increases in taxes.”
As a member of the military, it may seem like an overreach of authority that has nothing to do with my job for me to mention the people’s household chores, but the supply and capabilities of the military are determined by the taxes paid by the people.
If taxes are collected well, supplies will increase and the army will become stronger, but if taxes are not collected properly, the operation of the army will be hindered and proper battles cannot be fought.
For such circumstances, if you are given 4 stars and the rank of captain, you will not be able to discuss people’s livelihood issues with ministers belonging to the imperial administration, but you can mention the people’s lives for the reason of supply.
His Majesty knew this, so he didn’t scold me and say I was ‘exceeding my authority’.
But… He just looked at me with a look in his eyes that was a mix of betrayal and displeasure, with the message, ‘How could you even say that…?’
“As the commander who gave your Majesty the coastal area west of Warsaw, the Duchy of Königsburg, and numerous other territories, I dare to say more. “Can you give me permission?”
His Majesty spoke, showing signs of discomfort at having his wishes denied.
“Keep talking.”
Perhaps, if it were not me but my father-in-law or the Minister of Military Affairs who had said this, he might have yelled at me in a loud voice or told me to stop talking because he did not want to hear any more.
“To put it bluntly, with the exception of Visuccia and Strasbourg, our empire has not been able to assimilate all of the newly acquired territory. For example, in the northern region, where I was previously appointed, isn’t the military commander, rather than an administrative official such as a northern governor or governor, exercising military command and administrative authority at the same time?”
“Ha, that’s true.”
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“Have you ever thought about this? “Those territories can be easily lost if they are attacked by the enemy at any time.”
His Majesty’s expression became distorted.
“Are you really referring to defeat against me, the emperor of the empire? “No matter how much you do it, I think you’ve crossed the line…”
Instead of apologizing for those words, I looked straight into His Majesty’s eyes and spoke.
“Your Majesty, my role is to lead your empire on the path to victory when it goes to war. For his sake, I have always been and will always be in the forefront when necessary. In Lichen, I led the soldiers of the 7th Guards Division to stop 100,000 troops. In this battle against Warsaw, I fought so fiercely that I personally cut down more than 20 enemies in a naval battle that everyone thought would be impossible.”
After pausing for a moment, I placed my hand on my chest and spoke.
“In the process, I received six wounds on my body that barely escaped fatal injuries. Although I was able to avoid the wounds on my face, I can’t even count the big and small wounds on my body other than my face. “The reason I endured these injuries and fought at the forefront was solely for the victory of His Majesty and the Empire.”
“There will be no citizen or noble in the empire who can deny your devotion. “Me too.”
“So, even though I know it is against Your Majesty’s wishes, I am telling you that now is the time for the empire to rest. Even if the next war is won under the current conditions, the empire will not be able to assimilate the newly acquired territory, and the people will suffer. If that happens, the hegemony of the continent will become estranged. This is directly related to the fact that all countries on the Europa continent do not want the empire to become stronger.”
No matter how strong the Reich Empire is, its current imperial power alone cannot handle if two or three countries join hands and launch an all-out war.
This fact is known to all countries on the Europa continent, so if someone properly prepares the plan, countries such as Warsaw, Czechia, and Austria will unite and attack the empire like a pack of hyenas.
Your Majesty will surely understand when I say this, because Michael von Reich is a wise monarch with the qualities of a good emperor.
I knelt down on one knee in front of the emperor and said while paying my respects.
“Stop the war. Expansion must be paused for a moment to completely stabilize the newly acquired land. “It is time to strengthen the military.”
After hearing my words, His Majesty clenched his molars and shook his head from side to side, then sighed once and asked.
“Then I will ask. If war is to be stopped, how long does it have to stop? If it stops and flies again, will the black eagle be able to take hegemony over Europa?”
“Order the empire to take a five-year break. Then the black eagle can soar again toward hegemony on the Europa continent.”
“You can’t say that you will achieve hegemony.”
“I’m sorry… I’m not good enough.”
“…… If your abilities were lacking even a little, I wouldn’t be here right now. He must have been captured in an unsightly manner on Richen Hill and experienced a life of captivity, or he must have lost most of his soldiers and become the adopted son of a count or marquis family. “Like other princes.”
After a while, His Majesty handed me the sword that was at his side and said,
“Because something like that happened, I trust you, even though I don’t know any other subjects. So you must repay my trust. Then ask again. What will Lieutenant General Manstein do? “Other countries will want to continue fighting the Empire… How are you going to stop them without fighting?”
“I will personally persuade Lieutenant General Manstein and other young people at the Chiefs of Staff. If you don’t listen, we will handle it appropriately. Also, how to prevent the empire from being attacked by other countries…”
There is only one method that comes to mind in the current situation, but rather than explaining that method, it would be important to first discourage the pro-war supporters who are seething within the Imperial Army.
“I will think of a way.”
“I only trust you.”
After saying those words, His Majesty gave me the treasured sword he wore with the imperial and emperor’s emblems engraved on it as a sign of trust.
What this means is that, if the move is wrong, you can do things like physically cutting off the heads of generals or eliminating a family, as long as it does not infringe on the authority of the emperor alone.
And the next day, I headed to the Chief of Staff.