186 – Move the Emperor (3)
Exretherm Castle, the Emperor’s temporary office.
The Emperor of the Montmartre Empire, Louis von Montpellier, was not thinking about strategies to repel enemy soldiers at his desk, but how he could be active.
“Holy sh*t! If we continue like this, we will end up having people like the Count of Dion, the Marquis of Gastagne, the Margrave of Marche, and the Duke of Chartres do only good things!”
Emperor Louis was angry as he hung his head.
“I raised money by ripping off military funds from the central nobles and other nobles to judge Barceló’s crazy nonsense, but what if the war ends without any achievements I personally achieved! They will definitely use it as an excuse to dethrone me by claiming that I did nothing! “aaah!”
The emperor thought that most of the nobles of Montmartre were poisonous snakes seeking his power.
It was a war that started because in order to survive as an emperor and rule like an emperor, an achievement that no one could refute was necessary.
However, the only ones active in this war are the nobles under his command, and since they do not have any specialties of their own, this will be a perfect source of gossip for those who like to bite the emperor.
“In order to raise a large army, I also robbed the royal family’s fiefdoms, taxes, and rewards from merchants, as well as the treasure trove. So what remains is to make a solid achievement in my name that no one can blame.”
As time passed, the emperor began to become more and more anxious, and as he became more impatient, his horizons gradually began to narrow.
Then, there was someone knocking on the door.
‘Is the chamberlain looking into my mood and trying to get a village girl to sleep with me?’
I was grateful for the kindness, but the emperor was not in the mood to change his mind by playing around with women.
“Chief Chamberlain, I am grateful. “But I’m not in the mood right now, so pay the woman you brought me with some money and send her back.”
However, contrary to the emperor’s expectations, the person outside the door was the Marshal of the Imperial Army of Montmartre.
“Your Majesty, it is me.”
“It’s Marshal Armand, come in.”
When Armand came in, the emperor blushed and cleared his throat.
“Ahem, ahem. Forget what I just said. These days, I sometimes say nonsense. Understand.”
Arman sighed after hearing the emperor’s ridiculous excuse.
“The Chamberlain knows and I know very well that His Majesty is deeply worried. So I’ll forget about it.”
“Thank you. “By the way, seeing as you’re here at this hour, it seems like you have very important business to attend to.”
When Marshal Armand heard those words, he immediately mentioned the purpose for which he was here.
“The Count of Dion occupied the Casa Castle, right in front of the Castle of La Massana. In addition, he is said to have killed or captured all of the remaining castle defenders on the route to Ramasana Castle.”
“If you conquered Casa Castle, shouldn’t you have also conquered the six castles in front of it? “I doubt this is a false report.”
Only conquering Casa Castle, which is at the end of the road on the way to La Massana Castle, and excluding the six castles in front of it, is tantamount to madness.
Because it gives him the power of life and death, allowing him to cut off the supply routes of his troops at any time from the six castles left behind, isolate Count Dion, and kill him.
The emperor got angry by hastily hitting the desk.
“Damn it… Count Dion ruined everything! Didn’t you know that if you did that, the six unconquered provinces would cut off your supply routes at some point and you would be isolated!”
As the head of the empire, Armand stopped the emperor from misunderstanding and delusion.
“Your Majesty. They even annihilated the rest of the castle’s defenders. Therefore, there are no troops to cut off supplies from the six castles that Count Dion passed through, and no castle lords to give orders to cut off supplies.”
The emperor only lacked the ability to command the military, but he was a fairly wise monarch in other areas.
So, as soon as I heard this, a smile came to my face.
“It’s pretty good, it’s pretty good. Very good job. I heard that those idiots from Gastagne, Marche, and Chartres have only destroyed two castles and that it will take two more months to lay siege to their respective target locations. Count Dion has already obtained Casa Castle.”
However, as he thought back on what he had said, this would only lead to the belief that only the Count of Dion was competent.
Realizing that there was nothing to prove his abilities, the emperor quietly gritted his teeth and showed an expression of displeasure.
“Arman, it’s good that the war situation is good. Marquis Armand Grammont, you know him well, right? “Why did I go to war myself after hearing crazy calls to give up the Duchy of Tulua?”
Marshal of the Empire and number one in the Imperial Army are the closest of the closest aides who are like one arm of the Emperor, along with the Prime Minister who governs the imperial officials.
So, of course, Armand had no choice but to be the core of the pro-emperor faction.
The stronger the emperor’s power, the stronger his power becomes, and the more territory and money he can receive from the emperor.
So the emperor believed and trusted Armand.
“Of course. Didn’t Your Majesty come to establish a solid achievement that no one can refute? However, this is not the only report sent by Count Dion. Please read it.”
“Give it somewhere.”
As the Emperor read the letter sent by Count Dion, a smile grew on his face.
This is because the content written in it was full of things that scratched the emperor’s itch.
The emperor, who had already read the operation plan sent by Count Dion, asked with his eyes shining brightly.
“Arman, does this seem like a possibility? “I asked if you could see it!”
“Your Majesty, I do not know the details of the operation.”
“I’m sorry. “Because it is an operation that seems very attractive and reasonable.”
“Can I read it and tell you?”
“Please do so. “I’ll just have a light meal in the meantime.”
The Emperor happily went out to eat for the first time in almost a month, and Armand read the plan and thoroughly analyzed it one by one.
The emperor, who returned after a long meal that lasted two hours, had a relaxed expression on his face.
“Okay, what about this strategy? Do you think it will succeed?”
Armand nodded his head.
“Yes, Your Majesty will be doing you a great service just by leading a large army to Ramasana Castle.”
“What is the reason?”
The emperor already knew it because he had read it all, but he didn’t bother to ask.
‘Please, what Armand says must match this report.’
“After suffering a major defeat in this battle, the Barceló guys are trying to buy time by using the four castles of La Massana, Girona, Merengas, and Loria as bases until the troops arrive to defend Laceu Castle. “I will.”
Although the area around a castle like Lamasana is a decent area with quite a few people living, Laceu and Terrassa in front of it are important bases that are incomparable to those areas.
“However, it was only known that His Majesty was leading 20,000 troops to join Count Dion.
There is no doubt that Lamasana Castle will just be opened. In addition, I think we will be able to siege Raseu Castle before other corps commanders arrive.”
“35,000. If you take into account the soldiers who died in the corps under Count Dion, the total number of troops is about 33,000, so it would be possible. So?”
“So, the castle lords of Girona, Merengas, and Loria Castle will also withdraw all their troops and move to Laceu. Then, His Majesty just moves with his large army and accomplishes the feat of making them give up the three regions.”
When the emperor heard that, he was so excited that his face turned red.
“Hmm, hmm. Very good! Then, do you think we can take over Raseu Castle!?”
Arman sighed inwardly at the way he spoke, as if his dignity had already been lost somewhere.
‘Apart from the fact that His Majesty trusts me, the fact that he is too obsessed with public achievements is a bit…’
Of course, it was not that he couldn’t understand that feeling, so he had no intention of saying anything bitter about it.
Besides, isn’t everything going well now?
“It depends on local circumstances. However, the Barcelo guys didn’t lose very badly either. They will gather all their forces at Raseu… And it is expected to be a difficult battle.”
The emperor’s expression crumpled for a moment at those words, but…
“However, if you just occupy Lamasana, Loria, Merengas, and Girona, you can secure the territory of one duchy. In addition, if you consider post-war negotiations, you could gain territory equivalent to two duchies. “This is not a major victory that will go down in history, but it is a victory that goes far beyond proving His Majesty’s military capabilities.”
Arman’s sincere words without any flattery brought a smile to his face.
“It couldn’t be this good. Then how long will it take before we go to Lamasana?”
“We have thoroughly prepared for the march in advance, so it will be possible the day after tomorrow.”
“Let us start the march at dawn the day after tomorrow and arrive at Ramasana within 10 days. “Then I’ll just take a break.”
The person who said he was resting did not look tired, but it was obvious what his shoulders were twitching.
As the emperor was about to leave his office, the name of the plan proposer written at the end of the report suddenly appeared in his mind.
“Is it Martin Mayer of the Whitebeard mercenaries who proposed this operation to Count Dion? “The friend who saved that idiot baron.”
I couldn’t remember Armand for a moment, but I was soon able to recall his name.
“Aren’t you the mercenary leader who defeated 2,000 enemy troops in a week-long battle with only 500 mercenaries?”
“That guy proposed this operation. If the Castle of La Massana is opened as Count Dion proposed, I will have to give this friend a special reward.”
And two days later, the emperor quickly left for Lamasana Castle with 20,000 troops.