93 – Civil War – 4
“Messenger!!! Messenger!!!”
The messenger’s voice rang out through the crowd. The subjects who were holding the meeting waited for the messenger to enter the meeting hall. And…
“What’s going on?”
When Leonia asked, the messenger answered as follows.
“Crown Prince Leonhard von Arcadia is gathering at Crotea Castle. “It is said that the number of troops is approximately 22,000.”
“22,000… “
“Damn, there are so many.”
The subjects murmured. 22,000. It was a number of troops that was difficult to even imagine. The Crown Prince must have suffered great casualties in the North, and yet he has already recovered to 22,000? As expected, the productivity of Vinebia, the crown prince’s territory, was not normal.
“Everyone, don’t panic. “What is to come has come.”
Leonia’s words made her associates feel somewhat reassured in the hopeless situation. He wondered if his superior, Leonia, was so calm and had something in mind.
“I wonder if Her Majesty the Princess has any way to win…” “
In response to the subject’s question, Princess Leonia stood up from her seat.
“The Crown Prince has the wealthiest province and most powerful army in the world. It was fully expected that such a prince would one day embark on a conquest project, and the fact that the target would be us was also fully expected. But I never once thought about surrender. Because the only thing that makes the Crown Prince better than me is that he was born first! Although the Crown Prince’s army is strong, the Crown Prince personally is not a good military commander. “We will focus on that and win.”
After saying that, Leonia shouted to her subjects.
“Yuria, Isabel. You guys follow me. And let the rest finish preparing for war.”
“Yes.”
“Yes!”
—–
After a while.
“To be honest, our troops are in a very difficult situation right now.”
Isabel and Yuria were taken aback by Leonia’s sudden words.
“Yes? What is that… “
“Have you ever seen the sky?”
Yuria and Isabelle looked puzzled at the sudden remark.
“Go out and see.”
Two people went outside and looked at the sky. Only then were the two able to understand Leonia’s words.
“The sky… “It’s cloudy.”
“Okay. In the Claudia region, the rainy season comes around this time every year. It’s going to rain for a long time. When it rains, the accuracy of a bow decreases, but guns are more lethal. “Because the matchlock doesn’t catch fire, shooting a gun becomes nearly impossible.”
The muskets of this period were of the matchlock type, meaning they were fired by lighting the matchlock. That means that if it rains, the fireworks will not catch fire, making shooting a gun very difficult, if not impossible.
“Then…” Does that mean I can’t shoot?”
“For two weeks during the rainy season.”
“The enemy is 22,000. “It must be difficult to get through those two weeks.”
“I have thought about that.”
The princess took out a map. The map showed large and small castles in the Claudia region.
“As you know, our army has 6,000 soldiers. However, in reality, it can be considered as 8,000 to 9,000.”
“Why?”
“This is because reinforcements will be sent from various forces that want to keep the crown prince in check. For example, if the Claudia region is handed over to the Crown Prince, Prince Leonhard will border the northeastern part of the Taspilia Peninsula. The Principality of Plos, which has not yet been unified, will not want the Crown Prince to intervene in the Taspilia Peninsula, so he will definitely send mercenaries. “Please hold on just a little longer.”
Isabel nodded her head. Yuria also seemed to understand.
“The same goes for the Grand Duchy of Kazan. Since the Grand Duchy of Chronor has already been invaded, they must be shaking with anxiety that they too could be invaded. They will also send reinforcements to us. “Considering the various powers that will be sending reinforcements, I think we can easily get to 9,000.”
“9,000 To 22,000. “It’s more than twice as much.”
“Okay. “It’s very difficult to win, but not impossible.”
If you spin on the plain, 9,000 can never beat 22,000. However, if you take advantage of the defender’s advantage and use the terrain, it is quite possible to defeat 22,000 with 9,000. Just as Grand Duke Chronor defeated the crown prince’s army, which was more than twice as large, with 15,000 soldiers.
“Then the point is…” “
“It’s time. This battle will be one where time is more important than anything else. “If we succeed in stopping the time for two weeks when the rainy season ends, our troops will be able to use muskets, which will increase our victory rate. If we fail to stop the time, our troops will be destroyed in an instant.”
“It’s time… “
When the princess said it was time, Isabel immediately stood up.
“If it’s a race against time, I don’t think there will be time to do this. “I will immediately plan the layout of the fort for deep defense.”
Depth defense was a formation in which forts were arranged in a straight line to force the enemy to breach the fort and consume men and supplies. This was a formation that was consistently used regardless of the era.
“As expected, Isabel, you are quick to understand. “Then Yuria, what should you do?”
“I think that if reinforcements come from various countries, they should not be mixed up. Because we won’t be able to communicate with each other. So, in the future, we will divide the arriving reinforcements by nationality so that those of the same nationality can be deployed to the fortress.”
“That’s great. “You are my right and left arms.”
Yuria and Isabel each bowed to the princess and left. It was true that these two people were the princess’s right and left arms. Isabel, who understood the princess’s intentions at once, was her right arm, and Yuria, an outstanding martial artist, was her left arm. However, the princess felt that something was still lacking. She had arms but no brain. They were well aware of what they needed to do right now, but they failed to notice what was really important.
The important thing was how to win this war. They were good at understanding the princess’s intentions and finding out what needed to be done, but they did not have the ability to draw the big picture together with the princess. In that respect, the princess needed not only people who would be her limbs and work hard, but also people who would be her brains and plan out her grand strategy together. And the person who will be her brains…
“I said that if you win this war, you will become my subject.”
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She was thinking of getting it herself.
—–
“They say the enemy is preparing a deep defense.”
The Crown Prince’s counselor, Liam de Bordeaux, spoke. The crown prince clicked his tongue at Liam’s words.
“Tsk, you’re just trying to kill time. Are you saying there is no pride as part of the royal family? “It’s pathetic.”
The Crown Prince also received training as her successor since she was young, so she knew at least what deep defense was. It was a formation to prolong time and increase the enemy’s consumption when the enemy was stronger than the allies.
“Anyway, just because time passes doesn’t mean they have a chance of winning, so what’s the point of wasting time?”
Liam could not easily answer those words. Then, one of the subjects waiting in the distance spoke cautiously.
“I believe it is because of the new weapon.”
“New weapon?”
The crown prince raised his head in the direction where the voice came from. There stood a small girl with long, beautiful silver hair.
“You… “
“This is Luna von Ruytwert, the next successor to the Ruytwert family. She entered the war in place of her father, leading 3,000 troops of Louis Wert’s army.”
“Is this the daughter of the Luitbert family? “I had heard her say that she had great talent.”
Liam looked anxious at those words. She was anxious that the crown prince’s favor might shift from her to Louis Tbert.
“Anyway, what does it mean to be a new weapon?”
“She says that the princess’s army is training thousands of musketeers. This is information obtained from the Taspilia Peninsula, and it appears to be reliable information as it is said that the princess purchased most of the musket production from the workshops on the Taspilia Peninsula.”
“Ah, do you mean muskets by new weapons?”
“Yes.”
The crown prince also knew about muskets. This is because she had already considered the introduction of muskets several times at the suggestion of several of her subjects.
“Muskets are difficult to use when it rains. And soon the rainy season will begin in the Claudia region. “You can’t use muskets while it’s raining, so I think they’re going to stay in the fort until it stops raining, waste time on their troops, and then try to win the game all at once.”
Luna said so, but the crown prince scoffed at her.
“That musket was a foolish object that could not even be called a new weapon. Isn’t it? Liam?”
“Yes. The rate of fire was considerably lower than that of a bow, so it could only fire 1-2 shots per minute, and since it couldn’t be fired howling, it couldn’t be fired when allies were in front. Of course, they had some firepower, but in all other respects, bows and crossbows were more dominant.”
“That’s right. Our troops also already knew of the existence of muskets, but decided that there was no need to introduce them, so they simply did not introduce them. “If what Leonia believes in is such a new weapon, then our army’s victory is all but certain.”
Luna von Ruit Wert could not hide her embarrassment. As far as Luna knew, her musket was a formidable thing, capable of piercing even her knight’s plate armor. Moreover, the true value of a musket comes from its salvo fire. If you compare it 1 to 1 with a bow, of course the bow is better, but you don’t fight 1 to 1 on the battlefield. The crown prince had made the wrong comparison in the first place. So that…
“Your Highness! The musket is a weapon that cannot be underestimated… “
“Your Highness, it seems to me that there is another reason.”
Luna tried to protest, but Liam cut her off.
“Any other reasons?”
“I think they think that if they wait, other forces will attack our troops’ rear.”
“For example, someone like Archduke Chronor?”
“Yes.”
Luna thought. It’s not entirely unlikely, but she said it would be small. In the first place, Leonia is not the kind of person who would entrust her fate to someone else. She would be grateful if other forces helped her, but after examining her at the academy, she was not someone who could be 100% dependent on it. However, Liam was saying that Leonia was biding her time, hoping for reinforcements from other forces. I’m just saying this because I don’t know much about Leonia.
Luna tried to protest against Liam’s words, but after a while she realized everything.
“Liam, you are right. If it were Leonia, it wouldn’t be surprising if she had such vain hopes. She will send a messenger to Binevia to keep the rear guard on full alert.”
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
Luna thought that there was a lack of talented people around the crown prince, and she thought that she would become one. But she realized that she was hugely mistaken. She must have had many talented people around the crown prince. However, the crown prince did not have the vision to recognize the right talent.
Ah, Luna finally realized the Crown Prince was an idiot lol.