443 – Peter Jäger released the poison (3)
Commander barracks for the Francois Expeditionary Force of the Reich Empire.
I, Peter Yeager, carefully observed the officers gathered here.
Some guy is holding a beer in one hand and laughing while drinking it.
“Brigadier General Ohm, do you have a position where you would like to go after this war is over?”
There was another guy who was already predicting which territory he would receive from Francois.
“Hmm, I don’t want anything big, just one ordinance is enough. “I laid the foundation for Lieutenant Friedrich to be active, so you can expect that much.”
He may be a general, but he has a very good sense of humor.
After reviewing the records of the division commander who said that, it seemed like the Imperial General Staff Headquarters would offer just that level of reward…
He has an objective view of his achievements, so I think he should be put in the personnel headquarters of the Chief of Staff.
After the war is over, you will have to work overtime six days a week…
The promotion will be better, so it will be good for that friend and his family.
Perhaps thanks to the complete defeat of the 250,000 French Republican Army, the minds of all officers of the Imperial Army now seem to be in flower fields.
“Attention.”
I didn’t raise my voice very loudly, but when I said that, their expressions instantly changed and their eyes turned towards me.
“As you all know, this time we injected spies into the Francois Republic army and achieved tremendous results. “According to information sent by the military staff of the Francois Republic army, who are in communication with us, four months’ worth of a year’s worth of food was burned.”
Everyone liked those words.
“In addition, nearly 1,000 soldiers are deserting every day, and the number of people revealing their intention to become spies continues to increase. Therefore, in Grand Marshal Bonn’s view, the Francois Republic Army will collapse on its own if left alone.”
Close to 0.5% Of soldiers are deserting every day, and the number of people wanting to become spies is constantly increasing, so this kind of army can’t really be called an army.
If we give a signal, they will open the castle gate like an automatic door, and if we fight on the plains, they will immediately surrender or kill the superiors who oppose surrender and cut off the branches of their heads and offer them up.
Those guys are just a group of military players who are enemies in appearance only.
“You will be able to find out all other details by reading the report given to you. Now, then, is there anyone who can give an opinion on future operational actions?”
At those words, Laura stood up.
“Currently, the Republic Army is extremely weak. In addition, Her Royal Highness Princess Lina is being accepted as a symbol of hope by the people of the Francois Republic, and the public sentiment is completely turning to the side of the empire.”
“That’s right. Even if our imperial army surrounded the castle and boiled the flour porridge, the citizens and serfs inside the castle would open the gates, shouting ‘Long live His Majesty the Crown Prince Lina!'”
Thanks to this, as many as 20 castles of the Francois Republic have already fallen to us.
2 Large cities with a population of 50,000 or more, 6 medium-sized cities with a population of 10,000 or more, and 12 other small provinces.
If a siege had been fought, a considerable amount of time would have been lost…
Thanks to them opening the gate as if they had been waiting, the march only took some time…
‘At this level, it is safe to say that there is no time loss at all.’
When I agreed, Laura said with a confident smile.
“So, Excellency, in fact, there is no force within the Francois Republic that can offer meaningful resistance to us other than the ‘Republican Army.’ Therefore, we must quickly pursue the Francois Republic army and inflict a heavy blow.”
The other generals also agreed with those words, their eyes shining.
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Not everyone, but even those who were somewhat pushed out at the meeting due to their low rank got up and spoke.
“We must annihilate the Francois Republic army now! As Captain Laura said, we must kill them as quickly as possible.”
“Attack when you are weak. “Isn’t this what your Excellency said, and isn’t it what all professors at the General Staff College teach as the basis of tactics?”
“If we attack them now, Francois will become part of the Empire.”
I agree with that.
A healthy person will not die if one or two bones are broken, but a very weak elderly person can die from pneumonia and sepsis if he or she breaks just one rib.
An army that has already suffered great damage can be instantly annihilated with just a slight beating.
‘However, our strategic goal is not the annihilation of the enemy army, but to make Francois’ people’s sentiments the empire’s…’
From that perspective, I feel sorry for Laura, but this operation is dismissed.
“Marshal Bonn also agrees with that statement. But he cannot agree to that operation.”
At those words, silence fell in the command barracks.
“……?”
In silence, as the commander in chief, I knocked on the desk a few times and spoke.
“There is certainly nothing wrong with what the scriptures say. But let’s think a little deeper. What do you think the Francois Republic Army will do in the future? Will they do their best to protect the people, or will they exploit the people for the sake of an army that will protect their interests?”
Everyone’s eyes widened at those words and they looked at me with their mouths open.
Then he nodded his head so loudly that it seemed exaggerated.
“The military is a monster that devours human lives, food, and supplies. So they will continue to conscript soldiers and constantly extort food and supplies. Then the Republic Army will completely lose public support. In addition, from now on, we plan to issue documents guaranteeing the preservation of life and property to those who surrender.”
I would like to revolutionaryly ‘execute’ all the Francois nobles and confiscate their property, but…
You never know when the dead people will quietly become glorified and spark a rebellion, so it would be much better to just leave them a little bit of property and send them off to some strange corner of the country to live out their lives.
Then you can label them as human trash who abandoned the people for their own survival.
In addition, we can spread propaganda to other countries that our Majesty is such a generous person.
“If the officers of the French Republic army had any sense of humor, they would know that there was no way to defeat the imperial army. “It will fall apart on its own.”
The important thing for nobles in any era is ‘protecting their lives, property, and family members.’ So they would rather surrender than die under an already ruined country.
No, just by instilling that kind of doubt, they could fight each other by the collar and fall apart on their own.
“Therefore, the Marshal sees no need to attack them now.”
“Then do you plan to attack the United Kingdom’s army next time?”
I shook my head at those words.
“We have no intention of fighting them ‘now.’ Therefore, we will disperse our troops and occupy the castle and city while avoiding Francois’s army as much as possible.”
Even if the Francois Republic army is collapsing on its own, if they see the imperial army, which is much smaller than them…
They will see this as an opportunity to defeat us individually and attack us, and our troops, who are much smaller in number, will be defeated by them.
So, it would be much better to kill them slowly, as if strangling them, by narrowing their radius of activity as much as possible and reducing the number of villages and cities where they can obtain soldiers and supplies.
“At the same time, the Grand Marshal of the United Kingdom will propose a peace treaty to them in the name of His Highness the Crown Prince and His Highness the Queen. “It would be detrimental to fight further here, so let’s end this on good terms.”
The United Kingdom will definitely reject this.
Why? So far, the United Kingdom has invested its national power over several years in the occupation of Francois, but if it stops here, it will have to take the loss of its investment and leave.
So, they will probably try to get better conditions by dragging out the negotiations to force them to make concessions to our side.
Everyone did not hide their curiosity about what I was thinking.
“What on earth are you thinking, Your Excellency?”
“Didn’t His Majesty order you to occupy the whole of Francois?”
“But negotiations here…”
No, strictly speaking, I think I even have some doubts about whether I am trying to go against the ‘Empire’s command’…
‘Am I crazy enough to do something that would lead to treason?’
“We will only pretend to negotiate. The condition we presented to them from the beginning was that they retreat peacefully, leaving only Calais and the surrounding area. Even if the United Kingdom dies and wakes up, it will not be able to accept those conditions. But wouldn’t the army, which had already been greatly exhausted in the war with the Francois Republic, not be able to handle our troops? So, I will try to finish at the right point…”
I pretended to slit my throat with my fingers.
“Since ancient times, attacking after a peace negotiation has been concluded is subject to excommunication, but attacking while a peace negotiation is being concluded is excommunication and does not constitute excommunication or anything like that. Therefore, we will catch them off guard and take them by surprise.”