363 – Danger in the East (4)
Reich Imperial Palace, small conference room.
“Your Majesty, right now the Archduke of Warsaw and the rest are openly talking about attacking us with 1 million men. Assuming that is true, we must use the clear-night tactic. So, when they enter the empire, we need to make it as difficult as possible for them to secure local drinking water and food. “I think it would be enough to burn the fields and sprinkle all kinds of filth in the wells so that they could not be drunk.”
After hearing those words, the emperor and the prime ministers and ministers present did not hide their discomfort.
“Clear field tactics, even if the purpose is to cut off the enemy’s supply, isn’t it too extreme? Burning the fields that the serfs worked so hard to care for and pouring a lot of excrement into the well…”
“Even if you provide food, if you pour all kinds of feces into the well… Ugh, it will take years just to purify it! This means that the land will become uninhabitable for a while! “I understand Marshal Jaeger’s intention to defeat the enemy by inflicting damage on them, but what is the point if the land becomes uninhabitable after the enemy is defeated?”
“To put it bluntly, wouldn’t this be a policy of the empire forcibly creating wanderers?”
His Majesty seems to think that what the ministers are saying makes sense, but he is not angry or offering a counterargument, and the ministers are taking turns attacking my proposal, saying it is wrong.
It is only natural for such a claim to be made.
War on the continent of Europa involves ‘plunder’, but since the owner of the territory may change at any moment, it is a risky affair, so severe destruction is extremely refrained so that only people can take the land and plant it so that the land can be used.
However, the operation to pollute the well I just mentioned would take several years or more to restore, and in that case, the village could turn into a ‘wasteland’ in the meantime.
Furthermore, the reason for their opposition is that they greatly took into account the public sentiment of the people.
If you think about it with common sense, you would feel annoyed even if the enemy army came in and plundered, but how would you feel if the imperial soldiers who were supposed to be on your side and protect you burned the fields they worked so hard to cultivate and even poured feces into the well? Rebellion will become urgent.
But I am confident that my argument is correct.
“Your Majesty, as Marshal of the Imperial Army, I dare to speak to you. When our imperial army utilizes its reserve forces, it can operate a large army of up to 2 million people in case of emergency. However, it takes at least a year to gather those troops in a specific location.”
“If we were to gather half that amount, 1 million troops, wouldn’t it take a little less time than that?”
The reason why it is possible to conscript 2 million troops and dispatch them to a specific region in just one year is very simple.
Thanks to the cooperation between me and the Chief of Staff, each corps and division headquarters of the Imperial Army, and local administrative agencies in each region over the past three years.
With just an order from the emperor, almost all the young men in the village, no matter how remote, could be conscripted immediately, and food to feed them was stored for more than four months.
Of course, as the administrative unit grows, the food reserves and supply period for soldiers increase exponentially.
Even if you operate an army of 2 million people, unless they stay in one place, in theory, you can feed them for about two years with biscuits and beef jerky alone, even if you do not implement a ‘special requisition of materials’ or a ‘food rationing system’.
‘However, if the number of troops mobilized is reduced by half, the distance the soldiers must move will be reduced accordingly, so the effort will be reduced by approximately 1/6.’
If the number is set at around 1 million, that number can be reached by conscription only from Austria, Czechia, Warsaw, and the eastern part of the empire close to Stockholm.
In that case, the distance to move soldiers will be reduced, and the food and time lost during supply will also be reduced.
So, it will be possible to quickly move it to a specific location within 3 to 4 months.
“If there are no major problems in the troop mobilization process, it will take about 3 to 4 months.”
“It was worth preparing. But is it really necessary to use that damn blue field tactic?”
“You must use it. This is because it is much better for the empire if they scurry around with their fighting power lowered because they are not properly supplied with drinking water and food, rather than marching forward with vigor while eating and drinking the wheat, grain, food, and water that our serfs worked hard to grow. Please keep in mind that infectious diseases may spread among our enemies, especially if clean drinking water is not available.”
Without exaggeration, the most powerful weapon of this era is neither a competent general nor an elite force with powerful combat power.
It can be said that infectious diseases break out under the pretext of poor hygiene management.
If that is the reason, when I think of my memories of Korea, which are now almost faded except for military science and a rough understanding of history…
‘Isn’t it true that the biggest cause of the collapse of the Mayan civilization was infectious diseases like smallpox brought by Europeans? Then, even in the military of this era, if an epidemic strikes, thousands or tens of thousands of people will simply die regardless of the battle.’
What if there is a shortage of clean water and food with over 1 million troops moving around and an epidemic breaks out? Wouldn’t about 100,000 people just die regardless of the battle?
“If the enemy cannot plunder local food, the marching speed will also slow down, giving the Reich Empire more time to gather troops.”
While I was talking like that, one of the palace chamberlains opened the door and came inside.
Everyone’s attention was focused on the uninvited guest who suddenly barged into an important event, and the Chamberlain immediately spoke as if he had something urgent to say.
“The Ambassador of the Grand Duchy of Warsaw is urgently requesting an audience with Your Majesty. “Judging by his expression and complexion, it seems like this is a very urgent matter.”
The chamberlain is a monster who has been in the imperial palace for at least 30 years, so there is no way he would barge into a military strategy meeting like this unless it is a very urgent matter.
Because he knew all that, the emperor said without blaming the chamberlain.
“Let’s all go to the throne room and listen to what the ambassador has to say. I think it’s probably a declaration of war. “What do you think?”
Everyone answered those words with a bright smile.
“When discussing military operations just now, didn’t you assume an invasion by an enemy country, including the Grand Duchy of Warsaw? “This is a bet we lose 100 percent.”
“How about showing your Majesty some leisure and mercy, and betting that the ambassador from Warsaw definitely brought good news?”
“I’m looking forward to seeing what nonsense he’ll say.”
After a little chat, we walked to the throne room.
He was supposed to show his respect first when he saw His Majesty, but today he seemed to have made up his mind and instead of showing his respect, he kept holding the declaration of war in his hand.
Seeing that, the people of the empire who were there were once again convinced that there would be a ‘declaration of war.’
“Hello, Your Majesty, Emperor of the Reich Empire. “I’m here today to bring you some rather unfortunate news.”
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When His Majesty heard that, he chuckled.
“It looks like you came here to declare war. Are you really confident?”
“The will of His Majesty the Grand Duke of Warsaw is firm. So, won’t we face each other directly on the battlefield next time?”
“I hope you don’t regret those words. So, are you planning to read that declaration of war here?”
The Warsaw ambassador smiled and said.
“Isn’t it obvious?”
When he said that and was about to open the document, I quickly asked,
“Are you ready to leave the embassy?”
In response to my question, His Majesty and other ministers looked at each other as if asking ‘Why are you asking such an obvious question?’ But the Warsaw Ambassador stiffened slightly as a look of embarrassment flashed across his face.
“Shouldn’t we leave quickly because we might take the ambassador hostage?”
“hahahaha, thank you for your concern. “We’ve already made preparations for moving out, so you don’t have to worry about that.”
Even though he said that, the Warsaw Ambassador’s face still didn’t look comfortable.
One of the common sense rules for diplomats on the Europa continent is to leave immediately after reading the declaration of war, as they may be taken hostage if war breaks out.
If the Warsaw guys weren’t stupid, they would have given the ambassador enough time to prepare for ‘eviction’, but I could see from the Warsaw ambassador’s reaction that they didn’t do that.
He probably expressed his desire to proceed with the operation quickly enough to hide it from even the ambassadors at the top of the pyramid among the nobles under him.
This means that in the worst case scenario, after declaring war, they will immediately cross the border with an army of 1 million.
After reading all the words written in the declaration of war, the Ambassador to Warsaw quietly and quickly left the throne room.
When everyone was angry at the rude declaration of war and was about to say something, I spoke with a serious expression.
“The war has already begun.”