442 – Peter Yeager released the poison (2)
Inside the fairly large barracks, surprisingly, Francois’ soldiers could be seen eating hungrily in front of quite a lot of food.
Although I ate it without cooking it properly because I could get upset if the smell leaked out…
What they were all eating was the precious combat rations, beef jerky and biscuits.
Gabriel, who belonged to the same platoon as himself, said he would have no wish as long as he could always chew a piece of biscuits raw.
I grumbled while chewing the biscuits and beef jerky that I broke with a hammer.
“Oh, honestly, I think it would be really delicious if you put this in water and boil it.”
Then another soldier next to him laughed and laughed.
“Until three days ago, there was no beef jerky, and even the rats that came into the camp were considered valuable food, so they were caught and roasted and eager to eat each other. All they wanted was a lot.”
“Well, Mael, you… you ate a lot of biscuits and cheese yesterday.”
“If it’s unfair, you shouldn’t have come to work at that hour, idiot.”
The supply is so poor that not only the soldiers of Victor’s company that he knows, but even the noble and rich officers, do not know when they will have enough to eat.
How on earth can they, mere soldiers, be complaining in front of food?
Nolan, a private in the Francois Republic, did not understand.
“Why are these guys in the barracks doing so well? Unless my eye is sprained, those definitely look like biscuits and beef jerky. “Why is that precious thing here?”
It was supplied so commonly that it became tiresome in the Reich Imperial Army, but in the François Republic, which was experiencing a food shortage, it was simply a rare food.
“To put it bluntly, aren’t we supposed to eat only slightly rich wheat porridge or barley porridge? “Please talk to me, Sergeant Hugo.”
Instead of Hugo, the man inside the barracks responded to those words.
“I will answer that question.”
The man came to Nolan’s side and said.
“I am Nael, a sergeant in the Francois Republic Army and a spy for the Reich Empire Army.”
Hearing those words, Hugo immediately tried to touch the sword at his waist, but before Nael could say anything, the surrounding soldiers quickly stepped forward and pointed their swords at Hugo.
“Hey, newbie. Do you want to be a b*tch?”
“What’s the point in saying that I’m loyal to Francois?”
“You have to listen to what he’s going to say.”
Hugo, who did not want to die, raised both his hands.
“If you are the boss, you will use this opportunity to aim for a so-called promotion. “What does it mean for a wealthy person to work as a spy, and what does it mean to give food to insignificant people like us?”
Under normal circumstances, spies would not risk their lives to target individual soldiers.
Also, while there is a high risk of being caught internally, tricking more than a dozen soldiers like now is something that is avoided due to the lack of information and effectiveness.
Nolan, who was uneducated, did not know such complicated things, but he had enough intelligence to think that it was suspicious that a spy for the Empire would approach a novice like him in this way.
Nael also noticed this and smiled.
“I’ll tell you straight. “My role is to give you a way to live.”
“A way to live?”
Hugo was instantly taken aback by those words.
Honestly, it is inevitable that people will be tempted, and if things continue like this, everyone from the high-ranking people of the François Republic to the lowest-ranking soldiers will end up dead.
‘I also want to go back to my hometown, meet her mom and dad, get married to Emilia, her fiancee, and live happily ever after.’
Even though the situation is bad, there are overflowing reasons to want to live.
Nael asked, looking at him who had a momentary look on his face.
“If you continue to follow Captain Carlos, we will all end up dead. “Then wouldn’t it be so unfair for all of us, including you?”
It was in the form of a question being asked, but Nolan had no choice but to nod because the words were correct.
Because it was so unfair to die here at this age.
His senior Hugo, who was next to him, also helped.
“That’s right, the high-ranking people have been living in favor and comfort by sucking our backs, so even if we die right now, it might not be too unfair. We’re different, we’ve been exploited by high-ranking people all our lives. “I’ve lived without a single good day. If things continue like this, will I end up with nothing more than a pair of old shoes that I threw away?”
None of what Hugo and Nael said was wrong.
As they said, high-ranking people are responsible for the choices they made, and even if the war continues like this, the wealth and fame of those nobles will be maintained.
If a soldier like you was killed, you would hear some words of regret, but who would remember?
So Nolan had no choice but to nod his head at those words.
“That’s right. “Honestly, don’t those in high places care the least bit about how many of us die?”
When Nael heard that, he thought he had almost gotten over it.
‘This is how we bring in one person, one person at a time.’
From noble mtl dot com
“Those guys are so incompetent that if we continue like this, the only thing that will come back to us is death. So, I abandoned the path of death and found a way to live, joining the Reich Imperial Army.”
Because the foreshadowing had already been laid, Nael was not greatly shocked.
Then Sergeant Hugo said something shocking as if to drive a wedge into the situation.
“And I heard the story here, and it was said that Crown Prince Lina of the Empire really cares for our Francois people very much. “I heard from Sergeant Nael here, that our Francois soldiers who surrendered are already eating plenty of flour porridge and are eating their fill.”
“Is that really true?”
“Then shall I lie against you? And what these guys here are eating right now, these biscuits and beef jerky, were all provided by His Highness the Crown Prince.”
Hearing that they were given plenty of food completely broke down the barrier in Nolan’s mind, who had always suffered from hunger.
No, it made them think that they could trust His Imperial Highness Crown Prince Lina and the Reich Imperial Army to give food to lowly people like themselves.
Nael looked at Nolan’s expression and was sure that he had almost made it through.
“So what is the way to survive?”
“You are deserting. “You can either desert and return to your hometown, or, like me, go back and forth between the Francois Republic Army and the Reich Empire Army and act as a spy.”
“Wouldn’t it be a bit dangerous to come in and out of the military camp?”
Everyone, including Nael, laughed at those words.
“Hey, private. “Don’t you know the status of those on guard duty here?”
“If you give me a loaf of biscuits or some beef jerky, even if you’re a Reich spy, I’ll let you in right away!”
“And maybe because there were so many deserters, they didn’t even catch them these days.”
If supplies and discipline are in place, it is bound to be difficult for desertion and for the enemy to infiltrate the unit.
When supplies are poor and morale is low, even the guards have no will to stand guard.
In fact, unless you say, ‘I am a spy,’ most people just ignore it because it’s annoying.
Even those who are on guard leave them alone because they feel that if they want to protect their own lives, they should not get caught up in ‘nuisances’.
Now, if you offer the most precious food among Francois and his soldiers as a bribe, there will be people lining up to let you in, even if you are a real spy.
“Then what is the difference between the two?”
“Whether you return to your hometown or work as a spy, His Highness the Crown Prince will provide you with sufficient food. However, if you choose to go home, you will only save your life. “If you become a spy, you will be able to change your character.”
Let’s sell. The serfs actually gave up on repairing their arms and lived…
If the opportunity comes, who wouldn’t have the desire to escape from a life of poverty?
The war broke out and I had no choice but to be drafted, but it would be great if I could give my family and loved ones a better life than before when I returned.
Nolan was one of those ordinary people.
“I have already been selected to receive 10 hectares of land for my achievements so far. And the guys here are all guys who decided to become ‘spies’ under similar conditions.”
10 Hectares of field, of course, there will be people who cultivate this field and pay ‘rental fees’, so of course they are not nobles…
You will be able to become an adult in your neighborhood, and you will be able to live a life where you can sometimes feed meat to your family.
“Why don’t you try it? “It just so happens that I have a good mission to accomplish this time.”
Hearing those words, Nolan perked up his ears and asked.
“Is there still room?”
“Of course. If we gather a few more people in the future, we will carry out a destruction operation in conjunction with other spies. “This will be salty again.”
If you refuse here, you will simply be killed, and if you succeed, you may spread your fortune…
In fact, Nolan had no choice.
‘If you follow Francois like this anyway, you will only be exploited and killed.’
“Good. “I will.”
In other words, he became a member of the Reich Empire’s spies…
Then, over the next few days, Nolan and other spies captured by the Reich Empire helped Francois’ soldiers desert.
His colleagues gradually increased.
And when the date of execution as instructed by Peter Jaeger arrived, they set fire to the armory, food warehouse, and barracks of Francois’s camp.
Although many spies were killed in the process, the losses suffered by Francois’s camp were truly enormous.
In the aftermath, they collapsed rapidly and fell into a state where they could not recover.
This news was also relayed to Peter Yeager.