217 – Siege of Falcon Fortress (3)
After taking Falcon Castle, I immediately ordered my soldiers to rest for a week.
I want to take my soldiers right now and go into the County of Alas, but my soldiers are exhausted from fighting in two shifts one day and doing manual labor digging holes the other day.
I am also 30 years old, and thanks to the shovel and pickaxe that I used to do in the army, my back seems to be a little out. Commanders who are older than me don’t speak in front of me, so it won’t be much different from me.
In such a situation where everyone is exhausted, if the march is forced to go even one day faster, the soldiers’ bodies will suffer from bone disease, and only non-combat losses will increase like crazy.
Also, the mad emperor of the Elaine Empire would never have dreamed that we would capture Falcon Fortress at such a speed…
It would be good for everyone to take a break, recharge and go up again.
Also, in the military, usually after training, even if a high-ranking officer gives an order to rest, isn’t it rare to actually do nothing and rest?
As if the public servants talked about hygiene on the weekend, ordered a general cleaning, sun-dried, maintained weapons and armor, etc. My unit is also working again for future operations.
Though it is the prisoners captured at Fort Perius who are using their bodies, and our soldiers are supervising them while eating generously rationed food under the shade.
For a moment, I thought about going outside and seeing the soldiers supervising the enemy prisoners, but I soon gave up on that idea.
Because Count Farriers, who was captured along with Major Short, who was in charge of intelligence, appeared.
Major Short was as expressionless as always, but Earl Farius had an expression full of resentment toward me.
Well, from Count Farius’ point of view, I couldn’t use my hands or feet and was unilaterally beaten, so there’s no way I’d look good.
No, even in this situation, if I had acted like Count Akitel, who pretended to congratulate the victory calmly and sincerely for the sake of his own dignity, I would have been nervous and embarrassed on my part.
When dealing with such an opponent, there were times when I felt like I was being defeated and being taken captive by the enemy even though I had won.
“Major Short, release Count Ferius from his chains and get him a chair so he can sit down. Do you treat a precious person like that?”
“Sorry, Your Highness. Your Excellency, Earl Farius, I will release your restraints immediately.”
Saying that, Major Short untied the losers who had lost the war absurdly and guided them to their seats.
As soon as the restraints were released, Count Farriers looked at me and said with a look of resentment.
“The traitor child. f*ck it, kill it. The resolution is made.”
If that guy was really prepared to die, he would have said it calmly, as if he were going to eat.
Because if you really want to go up to the scaffold with a real readiness for death, ‘I might die! sh*t, but I’m going to die and protect my honor!’
This is because you need the courage to take on all the responsibilities and accept them.
So Farriers must be bluffing and trying to forget his fears.
At that thought, Count Farriers looked like a pufferfish that inflated its body with water to survive its predators.
I asked him in a questioning voice from the bottom of my heart.
“Why am I killing you? No, the hell should our kingdom kill the Count of the Farius family? It’s not even worth it.”
Earl Farius made a shocked expression when he saw me saying that I was worthless, even though I was the king of a victorious country that had completely occupied his county.
However, from my point of view, I think it would be better for me to write a transfer letter stating that the county owned by the Farius family was handed over, or to release him after receiving a ransom, rather than killing the count now and hearing the rumors of a murderer and a vampire.
Therefore, I have no reason to kill Count Farius.
“I am serious. So rest assured. I will never take your life.”
Ferious heard that and said with a puzzled expression.
“Thank you. Then, are you going to get a ransom, or are you going to have them write a contract to hand over the territory?”
That bastard really… Since he had virtually lost all of his territory, he knew that I could not get a ransom, so he did that.
Also, if the war ends with Emperor Elaine’s side winning after the territory transfer contract, they’ll ignore it with a drip saying, ‘There was such a contract, but there wasn’t.’
So, since I said that I would not kill myself, I must have made a clever decision that no matter which of the remaining two options I chose, I had nothing to lose.
If you kill them in a fit of anger, however, the prejudice against these territories that they killed the former lord for no justifiable cause will get in the way, which will hinder their rule.
Ha, what to do with this piece of trash…
While thinking that, a pretty good idea popped into my head. If done well, the bond between the lords gathered under the emperor’s command could be weakened, and Count Farius could be decapitated.
Of course, the possibility that the real emperor will kill the Count is slim, but it might be worth letting him go even if it’s just an altercation.
Because a count without land and soldiers is a money-eater, like a member of parliament who has no right to speak or vote in the National Assembly.
I looked at the madman who was bragging like that and said with genuine admiration.
“No matter how customary it is for kings and nobles not to kill each other, I really liked that I was able to show such a dignified figure here. Elaine also had a pretty good figure, even though she was defeated.”
Perhaps it was because he changed his attitude like a manic-depressive person, Count Farius in front of me stared at me with an expression of ‘what a trick this is again’.
“I’m serious.. Although I won this battle, I admit that I fought to the best of my ability. So, I won’t be harsh on you. If you sign a contract to hand over the territory to me, I will immediately release you and the 30 knights under your command. Let’s join the emperor of Elaine on that path, and let’s fight fair again.”
Of course, letting him go like that was a choice with a high degree of strategic judgment in order to screw him and the emperor.
Nevertheless, it is a relatively common custom to release a lord who has lost effective control of a territory after losing a war, instead of accepting control.
Did Earl Farriers think that it was part of such a policy? He said with a look on his face that he couldn’t help it.
“Your Majesty now needs at least one more knight, so it would be better to bring at least one more. Also, as long as the war isn’t over anyway, the territory delivery documents are just scraps of paper… “
“Then sign and leave. Because I already signed it.”
Hearing that, the idiot in front of me sighed as if he couldn’t help it, read through all the documents, put his seal on the territory guidance document, and left.
Seeing Count Farriers leave, I winked at Major Short, who tried to follow him.
“Take together 28 knights belonging to the Ferius family and 2 of our spies to go with that idiot. Give them all a horse when they go out.”
“Yes, what should I do next?”
“The day after Count Farius met the Emperor, tell his spies that Count Farius has betrayed the Emperor and signed a contract with me to return the territory in return for joining me.”
Even the emperor, who is in the final stage of his suspicious illness, would not believe the words that the Count betrayed him and joined me under normal circumstances.
This kind of strategy in which the enemy induces division between allies was very common.
But what if the count brought 30 other vassals, not just the count, in exchange for writing a territory delivery document that could be overturned at any time depending on the circumstances of the war?
There is a high possibility that the suspicious emperor would think that there was a secret pact between me and Earl Farius, and that I had done something to lose money.
If the secret service members disguised as Earl Farius’ vassals risk their lives to inform them, suspicion will begin to sprout.
At the same time, reinforcements from the Duke of Brussels, the Emperor, and Count Alas were mixed in Fort Falcon, where Count Farriers was in charge of defense… Even if I put my spy inside, it won’t be easy to find.
“Also, from now on, collect a few rebellious soldiers from among the soldiers led by Earl Farius and send them off on your own.”
“Such soldiers must be gathered and managed. I will also order our intelligence unit members and security unit members to pretend they didn’t see them while patrolling and send them in moderation.”
In this way, the few soldiers who escaped and returned with the consideration of Aung-sik blindfolded by Croytel soldiers will be organized under the command of Earl Farius in the army of Emperor Elaine. In the Kingdom Army, even though they ordered a lot of work, they gave a lot of meals,’ he would complain, not complain.
When the emperor hears about it, he will arbitrarily mistakenly think that the reason why Farius came back is to spread the news that his army is less well supplied and has a lower chance of winning than Creutel’s army.
Because, since he has already brought 30 vassals and has been informed, everything about Count Farius will look suspicious.
If that happens, the relationship between Farius and the Emperor will come to an end.
At the same time, the nobles will also complain about the emperor’s suspicious illness on the meager grounds of the count returning from captivity.
If things get worse like this, either Perius will run away, or the Emperor will lose a lot of control over the nobles, or one of the two…
There’s nothing wrong with me either way.
“Lastly, treat the 30 knights you are sending with Earl Farius with utmost generosity… No, just supply meals that are rationed to nobles above barons, and make them as comfortable as possible. To make you look like an important person in your army.”
From Noble mtl dot com