230 – Before the Fall of the Elain Empire (1)
A mouse that is bitten by a corner sometimes bites a cat that is 10 times bigger than itself.
Because the result of dying anyway is the same, whether you accept death in fear or die after making the minimum effort to live.
So, whether it means that I want to see the cat trying to kill me, even if it dies, even if it dies, or if I see the hope that I can survive, I bite it first and see.
Cats that are resisted are usually injured to the extent that only a small amount of blood is shed when bitten by a mouse, so it may seem meaningless, but…
At the very least, the fact that it caused pain to the cat, or even go further, can make use of the moment when the cat struggles in pain to escape and survive.
However, even though the emperor and regent were defeated by me… If we are perfectly cornered, we may unleash some potential to harass us.
No, humans are much bigger and smarter than rats, so in the worst case, our allies could suffer significant losses.
After organizing my thoughts like that, I replied to my father who was facing me in my barracks.
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“Father, no matter how incompetent the emperor is, he still has close to 100,000 soldiers left.”
“You know that, but soldiers who think the war is over with this victory will want to go home. Also, already, His Majesty the Emperor of Elaine… No, the soldiers belonging to the emperor were already divided into several masses. So, even if nominally the emperor seems to be in command, he will quickly fall apart and become a ragtag when he invades. For the soldiers, it doesn’t matter who the king or emperor is anyway.”
Serfs, who make up 95% of the territory’s population, have not suffered a peasant uprising by the vast majority of the subjects of the territory, except for the single attempt of rebellion by the ruling class in the newly occupied territory. From the field’s point of view, literally no matter who became the monarch, it was not a part-time job as long as his daily bread and the right to farm were guaranteed.
Also, now that the emperor, duke, and count who lead the soldiers are fighting for the initiative to defer responsibility for the defeat to each other, it is obvious that cooperation will not work well.
No, according to the occasional report from the intelligence unit, there was even a situation where the count and the like openly refuted the emperor as if to f*ck him.
So, even if I attack, there is plenty of room for the battle for leadership to continue.
“Everything makes sense, but… Father, they are smarter than Count Schwein. Also, they suffered irreversible damage to us leading a large force of 180,000 and 150,000.”
My father listened to me and said with a look that he couldn’t understand.
“So, if you are going to go into the Emperor Elaine’s direct jurisdiction, aren’t you saying let’s go in now? When that fear remains in the hearts of soldiers and nobles, they will urinate and try to run away just seeing you swinging a sword from a distance.”
Certainly, some soldiers might just hear the news of my coming and run away while peeing…
If I were an emperor driven into a corner, if I were a noble… If you were to capture frightened soldiers and ask them what choice they would make.
The answer is surprisingly simple.
“At the time my father joined, those who would have already deserted had their throats cut while attempting to desert from the emperor’s army, or they would have succeeded in deserting. So even if we approach, the remaining ones will not panic and try to run away. No, they might see us and resist with a stronger will than last time.”
Hearing that, my father looked at me with an expression as if I had gone crazy because I overworked myself in the process of preparing for the war.
It’s a situation that is likely to be true even by common sense standards.
If my persuasion fails here, I think my father will convince the other counts to send me by force to his wives in Orléans, and then calm down…
“You may not believe me, but most people lose their ability to think complexly when a knife is put to their throat. Because, once you don’t dodge the sword, you die. So, if I advance now… In order to survive, the nobles who have lost their territory will risk everything and cooperate with the emperor in the slightest possibility of defeating us and regaining their territory.”
Hearing that, my father nodded his head, recognizing that there was a point.
As expected, an insight worthy of a competent person who protected the county of Nantes while being a viscount for two years under the damn Schwein.
“At the same time, if the cornered nobles decide to fight against us… I think they are probably using their fear towards us to brainwash the soldiers.”
“Brainwashing? I don’t understand. Unlike the nobles, serf soldiers, if they only have their lives attached to them even if they lose the war, who are they under? No, you must have heard rumors that even the most deaf serfs can lead a prosperous life under you… Will brainwashing work in this situation?”
If you think about it with common sense, but… Brainwashing often has the power to make us believe things that make no sense to common sense.
In particular, it would be easier for the soldiers of the Elaine Empire, who have extreme fear towards our kingdom army, to incite them.
This is evidenced by history.
“Under normal circumstances, yes. However, they are suffering from extreme fear towards me as they suffered such a devastating defeat that more than 50,000 were killed out of 180,000 troops. If I were the emperor, I would spread rumors like this as soon as the army is reorganized. ‘Ciel von Kreuttel hates the Elaine Empire, and if I find you fighting loyally for the Elaine Empire to the end, I will have your limbs torn off, molten iron poured into your eyes, and ashes thrown alive’ .”
Of course, most people wouldn’t believe such a terrible story at first.
Because I have never done a needless massacre, let alone a needless murder, towards civilians in occupied territories.
I’m sure there will be people who refute that statement.
“Those who object or doubt they do so kill the voice of dissent by cutting their throats. Then, every day, reminding me of the painful death that will happen if I and the kingdom army catch me… There will be guys out there who think that’s true. And their misunderstanding will soon spread to the entire army.”
As for the dissent, just like the Nazi Party and the Axis powers did, all of them were killed and suppressed after suppressing their voices.
If you succeed in injecting overwhelming fear into the soldiers one-sidedly.
“If that happens, the nobles, who have no other choice but to follow the emperor, will insist on a thorough fight against the soldiers. Then, whether it’s a siege battle or a night battle in the plains, the Eleans who have been brainwashed by the terrible fear of death will take considerable damage to their allies. Because the soldiers would rather be killed by the swords, bullets and cannons fired by our soldiers than to sit still and be horribly killed.”
Even in ancient times or even in the modern era, such characteristics were used to classify death sentences.
Beheading by cutting only the neck, killing by cutting off the waist to inflict greater pain, tearing off the limbs and neck, and killing by cutting the entire body into thousands of slices.
When conciliating traitors, it was possible to do crazy things such as threatening to punish the traitors and commuting the sentence by beheading if all were blown.
In addition, there were many cases of people dying with sincere gratitude for the grace of being able to die more comfortably if the sentence was commuted from the death penalty to beheading.
My father heard that and said with a serious expression, as if he understood the seriousness of the problem.
“But, if you’ve seen it so far, there must be a countermeasure… What is it?”
At that, I replied with a smile.
“It’s simple. No matter how much the emperor tries to indoctrinate them with fear, it’s a tactic that works only when nobles gather around him. So, I will open a way to live for the aristocrats who are pushed into the corner over there.”
“Is this an alien book? It’s a good method, but you’ll need a pretty big bait to catch them.”
I’m sure I’ll have to give them a huge bait, or maybe a whole county, to catch them completely and harass them, but…
It’s far cheaper than fighting the armies under Emperor Elaine, united by great fear.
And if you sit still and wait for them to collapse, the French Empire will enter the direct control of the Elean family with soiled feet…
“Spread letters to all the nobles in there above the baron, and if they cooperate with me, they will not only save their lives… I will say that I will return the original territory to the person who made the biggest contribution. Then, can they really trust each other?”