398 – Desperate Revenge (2)
His Majesty blinked his eyes as if he was quite embarrassed after hearing what I said.
Then he grabbed my shoulders very tightly and shook me.
“You must be very tired. Well, it’s quite possible since we were in a hellish battlefield where nearly 70% of the troops in the castle were killed for over a month. Originally, I would have liked you to use some of your strength to restore the empire. It won’t work like this. “Please rest for a month or two.”
His Majesty looked at me with sincere concern.
It’s not that I don’t understand. No, I understand why you say that.
You must be thinking that I’m suffering from some kind of mental illness, or perhaps an aftereffect of war.
War aftereffects refer to the phenomenon of mental wear and tear of people who fought like dogs in war.
This is classified as one of the injuries sustained in war.
In fact, among non-commissioned officers and officers, there are quite a few who survive a terrible battlefield and are so emotionally traumatized that they are no longer able to serve, and the Empire provides them with a corporal pension.
“Former senior general Patton says that only mentally weak people suffer from the aftereffects of war, but that’s because he’s unique. According to many experiences, I think rest is the best. I’ll give you the imperial villa, so you can rest without thinking about it for two months. “I will give you the order right now.”
I answered those words with a low voice.
“Your Majesty, I am perfectly normal. “Not only am I not suffering from the aftereffects of the war, I haven’t lost my mind due to my desire for revenge.”
“Is that so? But doesn’t it make no sense to say that there are 1 million troops? “Now the empire has suffered enormous damage from being splashed with the excrement of the Archduke of Warsaw, a piece of trash that would be enough to kill him, so we must do our best to restore it more than anything else.”
Thanks to the performance of the soldiers who fought with me at Bastion Castle, I was able to successfully protect the second defense line and even succeeded in annihilating the Allied Forces.
Thanks to this, the damage to the empire was minimized.
However, 13% of the empire’s land area and 16% of its population were quickly devastated. We have to restore everything from there.
The enormous costs incurred in the war must be repaid step by step.
This is the standard method, but I don’t want to do it.
It’s not like we don’t have any power, so are we supposed to treat the entire recovery cost with the ‘imperial budget’ while being beat up like a weakling who can’t survive if we don’t pretend to be good?
“Your Majesty, war is not a natural disaster. And good and evil in war are divided into victory and defeat. “The defeated person is unconditionally evil, and the victorious person is unconditionally good.”
Even if history does not evaluate it that way, the immediate results are that way.
“And our army won this war. Therefore, our allies are good, while the countries belonging to the Allied Forces are evil.”
His Majesty must have seen the madness in my eyes, and for a moment his body trembled.
However, I will abandon all human emotions such as morality and conscience until I punish the entire Allied Powers.
But that doesn’t mean we’re going to commit unnecessary massacre of civilians, no, we won’t just massacre civilians…
“Your Majesty, good and evil are distinct. So the cost of rebuilding the empire, the toil, the suffering, the blood, all of this must not be filled with the imperial coffers. “This is the Allied bastards’ share to pay.”
“……Aren’t you crazy? “What on earth are you trying to do in this situation by raising an army of 1 million people?”
Now is the time for a strategic explanation, so I guess I should put all my emotions aside.
I took a deep breath and explained step by step.
“First, we will mobilize a million-strong army and wipe out the Grand Duchy of Warsaw from the world.”
“Even if we mobilize 1 million people, will we be able to destroy the Grand Duchy of Warsaw now? “Even though the Grand Duchy may look like that, it is a country with a population of about 15 million.”
Even if we mobilize an army of 1 million, there are no weapons such as tanks, railroads, trucks, or cannons in this era.
In addition, in this era, there are defense bases such as castles and a huge number of castles, so it is difficult to directly eat up the territory.
Why would Mr. Clausewitz say this for no reason?
‘f*ck war, it’s not important to eat other people’s land! There is no need for anything, you must first destroy the opponent’s will to fight. And they’re threatening me to give up the land!’
But these bastards have no will to fight, which is the most important element in war.
“In general, yes. But think about it. “Can the Grand Duchy now be sane and wage war?”
His Majesty shook his head.
“That’s not true. I heard that the Archduke of Warsaw’s head was cut off by you, and only about 30,000 people, including prisoners, survived from the 1 million-strong Allied army. “After experiencing such terrible horrors, you will probably pee your pants when you see the imperial army.”
“So, if you tell them to open the castle gate, most of the officers will not have the will to resist, so they will start to worry about whether or not to open the castle, and the soldiers and people will not follow even if they are told to protect the castle from above. “They probably don’t want to fight me, who slaughtered more than half of the 360,000 soldiers with only 50,000 soldiers and annihilated an army of over 1 million soldiers.”
“Well, there are probably other generals in the Chiefs of Staff who would rather resign than fight with you. But what about those who suffered directly?”
“But don’t you think that this alone is not enough?”
“……What on earth is lacking in leading an army of 1 million people?”
I promised to explain to His Majesty, who was perplexed, one by one, as if teaching a child, and I remembered a general who loved the Stone Age.
Ah, General Curtis LeMay.
“Your Majesty, the ultimate goal of this war is to collapse the Grand Duchy of Warsaw and force the remaining three countries to bow to the majesty of the Empire. Wouldn’t that require just revenge, a cause and overwhelming fear?”
“……”
“Therefore, when I siege a castle or wage war in this war, I plan to give those who did not surrender an experience of ‘Bastion.'”
“But aren’t the majority of those being sacrificed civilians and ordinary soldiers?”
I smiled and said to His Majesty who said such things.
“Your Majesty, there are no innocent civilians in this world.”
When His Majesty heard those words, his pupils fluttered and fluttered.
“Think about it. Last time, when we mobilized a million troops, a farmer named Miso Si donated food. The blacksmith Ush made weapons, and a man named Chesław baked biscuits. In one form or another, civilians participated in the war and cheered it on.”
“That’s true.”
“In addition, their children would have done something to help the war effort in some small way.”
“That’s right. But, this is too dangerous…”
I bowed my head and asked for understanding from His Majesty who said that.
“Your Majesty, war is inherently cruel. That’s why I always say that war is the worst means of diplomacy. Once the high-ranking people draw their swords and start a war, ordinary soldiers and civilians suffer. But what can you do? For the hegemony and safety of the empire, all those who resist must be killed. So, I will take on all of those sins. May your majesty enjoy only the glory.”
“Are you really thinking about retiring once this war is over?”
At those words, I smiled and submitted my resignation.
“If, as a mere soldier, I destroy Warsaw and achieve what I want, Your Majesty will feel very burdened by me. So, Laura, Anya, and I decided to retire from the military and go fishing leisurely. Although I may say this in front of your Majesty, I am already almost 40 years old. However, due to the blessing of Deus, his physical strength and appearance are not much different from those in his early to mid-20s… It would be quite fun to spend time doing lewd things like making love to four wives from day to night. However, please believe that Frederick and my sons, whether they become officials or officers, will be as loyal to the Empire and to Your Majesty as I was. “If given the chance, he will definitely do better than this incompetent bastard.”
“… Why would someone as talented as you retire…?”
“I did too much. I have already enjoyed too much glory. So, it would be beautiful to know the time and step back. However, please leave full authority to me when it comes to punishing those who invaded the empire this time. “I will offer this to you by achieving a victory unprecedented in history.”
His Majesty nodded and handed me one of his signet rings.
“It is a ring bestowed on the person who fully acts on behalf of the Emperor’s military command, operational authority, and commander-in-chief. When it comes to matters related to the military, documents with this seal have the same effect as an imperial decree. “Not only the Empress but also the Crown Prince cannot disobey the orders stamped with this ring.”
I got down on both knees and very politely accepted the ring and put it on my finger.
“Then, I will immediately come up with a plan to raise the morale of the empire’s nobles and people to the extreme and show it as an outcome.”
“I’ll just trust you. Enemy.”
And I strictly ordered to immediately find the home countries of the captured prisoners and return them to each country.
Except for just one person.