268 – Side Story – Conquest of Britannia (3)
Obviously I didn’t plunder Londimium and its surrounding villages when I arrived.
Because it was to win the hearts of the local people that they brought the precious food of the Croytel Empire and distributed it to the local people as soon as they arrived at York Harbor in Brittany.
If you suddenly change your position just because you came to the vicinity of Londimium, the capital of Brittany, and rob the serfs in exchange for a few pennies of money and food, you will lose all of your investment in order to earn a single gold coin. Because it’s like sh*t
However, the scene unfolding in front of my eyes was desolation itself, as if it had been brutally plundered by merciless invader soldiers.
The house where the serfs lived, raising aged grandparents and young children, was not on fire, but it hadn’t been repaired in years, and the thatch roof was mostly rotten and had holes in it.
In the warehouse nearby, not even a single cockroach or weevil was seen, let alone a baby mouse.
Some people will ask if it is good if there are no insects or mice, but no matter how well food is stored, eventually there will be mice and insects that eat flour and grain in the warehouse.
So, in a warehouse full of grain, it’s just that it’s not noticeable, and when the warehouse is empty, it’s normal to see more or less of them.
The fact that there are no insects or rats in sight means that there has been no food in this warehouse for at least several months.
“It even feels like my head is pounding. Damn, what the hell did Brittanya do with their internal affairs, so that the people are starving? Crazy bastards…”
I grumbled like this, but it was me and my father who provided the cause of this civil war, so I felt uncomfortable and stabbed inside.
But if I could go back to that time, I would have made the same choices as before, and Brittany’s serfs and citizens would have had to suffer the same.
As the Crown Prince with the duty to work hard for the prosperity of the Creutel Empire in the future, and as a person who cannot avoid responsibility for causing the problem of the Britannia Civil War.
What I need to do is end the war as soon as possible, and make all of Britannia the territory of the Croytel Empire so that they can live in peace without starvation.
This is the only minimum I have to do, and the maximum.
So determined, I ordered the officers and knights around me.
“I will cook 300 servings of porridge every day with the pots that our allies have, including the large pots left in this village, to make three meals a day! Also, mobilize soldiers not only from the intelligence department but also from among the skirmishers and infiltrate Londimium Castle!”
“Okay. So, what about the siege warfare? Can we deploy a regiment of sappers a little further away and make weapons such as siege towers, battering rams, and catapults?”
Certainly, it’s not a bad choice to make a peaceful appearance of boiling porridge in a pot like this to catch the opponent off guard, and then mobilize soldiers and siege weapons in an instant to attack the castle as if it were a surprise attack.
However, given the situation in the region of Londimium and Brittany, where we are currently stepping, if we could move the hearts of the soldiers and people to our side, we would not have to use siege weapons and add to it without sacrificing a single soldier in Londimium. Can occupy the castle.
“There is no need for that. Siege weapons are not used. However, soldiers entering the castle must memorize a song before infiltrating it. Then the gates will open. The soldiers outside the castle make porridge every day, but when the gates open and everyone inside comes out, they must be thoroughly prepared to make enough for them to eat without delay.”
When she heard that, regardless of whether she was a noble or an officer, she made an expression of ‘What nonsense is His Highness the Crown Prince talking about?’
I didn’t pay attention to that, but muttered while reading the sheet music my father gave me.
“When I was young, I thought, as my father said, that one day I could become a better emperor than you, but the bigger my head gets, the more I feel like I will never catch up.”
**
And the next day, near the gates of Londimium.
In this place, as an example to spread and distribute to the people of Londimium who will come out of the castle at any time as I instructed, I started boiling porridge in three pots for 100 people every day, and at least hundreds of pots of the same size were placed around it. It became.
Then the nobles of Londimium, thinking that I might attack at any time, gathered their defenders there and prepared for a possible battle.
After hearing that, I checked once again to see if the armor was properly worn, and tried to get to the cauldron.
Lincoln grabbed me and said angrily.
“Your Highness is not allowed. Even if the person who should lead the future of the empire, not the other members of the royal family, is out of reach of a bow and gun. Why are you standing in front of the walls and trying to convince the Londimium guys? If His Majesty knew about the situation, he would grab the back of his neck and collapse! Please contact me!”
It is said that Lincoln is the heir to the Baltic Count family, which is the highest rank among the nobility that supports the Empire, but here he is only a major.
That’s why other star-bearing generals in the vicinity are able to pull him out by applying nefarious charges against him.
Far from issuing such an order, they were cheering them on by saying that they would remain silent, or even subtly do something worse.
But I didn’t intend to listen to him for now, so I said it firmly.
“My father, His Majesty the Emperor, personally led the guards to fight against the last remnants of the Elain Empire in the body of the king, and in addition, if necessary, he did not hesitate to encourage the soldiers from the vanguard. But if I, the crown prince, came up with a plan to save the blood of tens of thousands of soldiers on the battlefield and refused to go out because I was afraid, who would follow me?”
“But who the hell replaces the crown prince in this empire?”
“I will say it only once. Unless the enemy uses a catapult, a cannon, or even a sniper rifle, I can’t even reach the place where the cauldron is located. Moreover, the armor I wore is not pierced unless it is hit by a cannon ball. Moreover, you and other nobles will be guarding Lincoln around me. Do you think they can kill me? Take up your iron shield and follow me, Lincoln.”
Once I said this, the nobles realized that they couldn’t refute the word ‘responsibility as a future emperor’.
He quietly followed me with his steel shield in his armor.
From Noble mtl dot com
And when I stopped near the cauldron, the nobles lowered me with their iron shields wrapped around me.
I shouted loudly in the Brittany language I had studied so far.
“I am the commander-in-chief of this expeditionary force, William von Creutel, Crown Prince of the Creutel Empire! Today I have come to urge you to surrender, so the serfs and soldiers of Brittanya who have listened to me surrender and open the gates! Then I will give you what you want!”
With that said, the commanders and the rest of the soldiers standing on the Britannia walls turned their attention to where I was.
“I am not here to bring you misfortune! What I want is for you to live a peaceful life as you did before under the Kreutel Empire. On a cold winter day like now, sitting by the stove and eating a warm dish made from the grain you harvested with your own hands. Sowing seeds in the spring in anticipation of a bountiful harvest in the fall, and drinking a glass of cold beer after hard labor under the scorching sun in the summer. In the fall, a life of harvesting abundant food obtained through hard work with gratitude!”
When I said this, the numerous soldiers on the wall did not respond to me.
Compared to the fact that when I gave a speech to the people in the empire, everyone enthusiastically clapped and cheered before I finished a word.
Their non-response is very difficult for me, but they are enemies and they are in a state where they can neither cheer nor cheer due to the commander’s control.
Even our officers, who are blinded by military service and success, express their nostalgia by saying that they want to go home after three months on the battlefield.
Not to mention the hearts of the people who suffered from civil war and war for several years.
“Of course I know. It is not an easy decision for your people to abandon Edward, the lord they have served for generations, and join me. However, a king who puts your life into disaster and drives your family to death, is this the right image of the monarch you and your children will continue to serve? How many more tears will I have to shed under him? Are there any children, parents, wives or husbands who are still alive? Thank deus And be determined not to lose them by following the foolish king.”
I was the one who caused the civil war of pain, but now I want to end the war as quickly as possible to protect the precious lives and peace of my soldiers.
So, if necessary, I can do more of these kind words.
“So from now on, spend the rest of your time thinking about it. Will you follow a foolish and incompetent king and die with his family, starving, naked, and in fear? Or will you cast off the yoke of poverty and death that King Brittanya has imposed on you and return to a peaceful daily life as citizens of the Creutel Empire!”
Then I said nothing more and quietly but confidently walked into the barracks.