189 – Move the Emperor (6)
The conference room of Ramasana Castle.
In this place where the emperor had not yet arrived, nobles were gathered together and mercenary captains were chatting among themselves.
Of course, I mixed in with the mercenary leaders, kept my ears open, and concentrated on getting as much new information as possible.
“It seems that His Majesty the Empire of Montmartre is a very sincere person. “How can you think of planning a strategy as soon as you get here?”
“That’s not a bad thing, is it?”
“Honestly, it would be best if you just let me rest after I’ve finished everything I have to do. And these things need to be decided in advance so it’s easier for those in charge of supply.”
I wanted to join in on this chatter and say something, but I decided to keep my mouth shut and refrain.
I am just a mercenary leader and have been praised by the emperor in front of everyone, so if I join in on the conversation and say something, there is a high probability that I will hear sarcasm and say that you are a good person.
‘Even in small talk like this, there is often extremely important information hidden, so it is beneficial to quietly eavesdrop.’
Apart from that, I also thought about giving an appropriate greeting gift to the mercenaries under Count Dion for the upcoming war.
While I was thinking about various things, the nobles next to me told an interesting story.
“Haven’t you always been this sincere? According to a court administrator I know…”
“Uh-huh, this person.”
“Lord Leon is the only one who doesn’t know. “His Majesty often devotes himself to creating heirs even during the day…”
“Are you saying that because you don’t know how important it is?”
“There are already six princes alone. And it is true that work often gets delayed.”
I can’t say it was very important information, but I could see that the emperor was quite the type of person who moved as he pleased.
And in fact, this kind of talk is nothing more than just talking about something that happened, so even if it reaches the emperor’s ears, he just laughs it off.
“Your Majesty the Emperor!”
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Everyone who was chatting with those words stood up and bowed.
Standing on one side of the emperor as he entered, there was an old knight wearing armor made of the famous orichalcon, although it was simpler than the armor the emperor wore.
Just looking at him, he gave off a solemn and serious atmosphere that seemed to show that I was the leader of the Knights Guards, and for a moment I felt overwhelmed.
I didn’t feel this when I saw Baron Ainz, but now that I’m getting this feeling, I wonder if as my skills improve, I realize how noble and great the level of becoming an Auror Master is and automatically become wary.
“Everyone, please sit down.”
As we sat down, an elderly knight in his 60s with a long light yellow beard stood behind the emperor and introduced himself in a serious voice.
“I will speak for the mercenaries who see me for the first time. My name is Marquis Armand von Grammont, Marshal of the Empire of Montmartre. “To help everyone understand, I will explain this operation myself.”
Marshal of the Empire, nominally first in military rank of the Montmartre Empire and a position with the power to actually command the emperor’s army.
The Count here, the Emperor’s Sword, who has much more influence than his Marquesses, will personally explain the operation?
Is this a sight that can only be seen because it is the Emperor’s personal residence?
“Thanks to the strategy proposed by Count Dion to His Majesty, our troops were able to occupy Castle Lamasana, which was on the direct route to Castle Laceu, without making great sacrifices. However, there are still approximately 14,000 troops each stationed in Girona, Merangas, and Loria Castle.”
The three castles have a combined number of approximately 42,000, which means that if left alone, the number of additional troops that will be reinforced in Raseu Castle will be 42,000.
If something is not done, the advance of our troops will inevitably be blocked.
Of course, it was a great achievement for the emperor to get this far, so it would have helped raise his dignity to some extent.
‘There is no way the emperor will stop here. He will try to eat at least as far as La Seu.’
“According to the original plan, we were going to divide our forces into four branches, occupy Girona, Merangas, and Loria at the same time, and then push into Laceu.”
Marshal Armand glanced in my direction for a moment.
“Thanks to Count Dion’s excellent performance and early capture of Lamasana, we were able to invade Laceu about a month and a half earlier than planned. Therefore, we will change our operations accordingly.”
When the marshal made a gesture, the knights nearby came inside holding a bulletin board with a large map attached.
On the map, Girona-La Massana-Merangas-Loria were located almost in a straight line, and all four castles were connected to Laceu.
“According to His Majesty’s prediction, if more than 30,000 troops are stationed in Lamasana, those stationed in Girona and other castles will definitely have no choice but to defeat the troops in Laceu. “I won’t tell you the reason because you already know it.”
If Laceu is breached, there is Terasasi behind it, and if it is lost, the Kingdom of Barcelo will lose millions of citizens and enormous interests.
‘Compared to Terrassa, the other three castles may not be worth a penny, but their importance is clearly different.’
If Terasashi is a metropolitan city, the other three urban areas are merely local small and medium-sized cities.
“And if the guys stationed in those three castles aren’t idiots, they would have already received a message from a messenger and heard that Raseu is in danger.”
To be honest, Count Dion deliberately released some captured messengers while reporting to the emperor in advance.
Once the news gets out, the guys using those three castles as defense bases will attack the army in a hurry.
“So, they will move quickly to support the defense of Raceu Castle within a few days at the earliest.”
If we arrive first at Raseu Castle, surround it, and engage in a siege, the reinforcements from far away and the soldiers inside the castle will join forces to attack our troops.
If not, they would go into the castle and cooperate in protecting it.
It is a tactic that will cause great difficulty to the allies, no matter which direction they are moving towards.
“Therefore, rather than moving straight to Raseu Castle and getting in trouble, we plan to divide our troops and ambush them on the way to join the enemy army to defend the castle, then attack and repel them.”
I don’t know whether this plan was planned by the Emperor or the Marshal, but I think it is a very good plan.
If you succeed in blocking and repelling those who come to join to defend the castle, you can reduce the number of those who join to defend the castle.
In addition, you can avoid the worst situation of being surrounded by a castle and being attacked from the inside and outside.
The Marshal said, pointing with his baton at the road leading from Merangas and Lori Fort to La Seu.
“Marshal Bonn believes that the garrison forces guarding the Merangas and Loria regions will join at Guarantee Castle and quickly head to Laceu Castle. Therefore, our troops will be stationed here at Troyes Hill, which is the best place to ambush and deal with the enemy on this road, and will attack those who retreat as if running away. I think that will be enough to repel the enemy. Does anyone have an opinion?”
I thought about coming forward for a moment, but after careful consideration, I decided to keep my mouth shut.
If I am doing well and the image of being outgoing is added, it will have a negative impact on my evaluation.
Furthermore, there are no major errors in this operation, so it will most likely be successful.
“This is Baron Eclair. Marshal, the enemy may not pass Trois Hill but take a side road. “What do you plan to do in that case?”
“There are certainly several paths that do not pass through Troyes Hill… But that will only be possible if we use a lot of scouts to accurately figure out their route. “As long as we know the passing route, our troops can ambush us and attack us.”
In the past, when I defeated 2,000 enemy troops with 600 troops, I made extremely thorough preparations, and if the enemy did not pass the precisely prepared point, the operation would be aborted…
Now that the number of allies and enemies is almost the same, even if it is not a perfectly prepared ambush, it will be possible to sneak in the enemy’s side and completely destroy them.
“As expected, you are the enemy.”
“That was a good point. Trois Hill is certainly on the best route for the enemy to march, but since they have occupied Lamasana, they will be on guard as they fear that we might attack at any moment. Then, even though it is a very urgent situation, there is a high probability that you will use another side road to avoid the unexpected situation of being attacked. “Indeed, he is the count’s vassal.”
You can’t see Count Dion’s expression in the distance, but he’s probably twitching the corner of his mouth.
“In three days from now, the infantry of the army directly led by His Majesty will arrive. We need to give them plenty of rest as they are exhausted from the long march, so we will depart in six days. Additionally, to encourage you who have suffered a lot during this war, His Majesty will hold a large banquet today. He will hold another banquet in three days for the infantry who have not yet arrived. “Let’s all enjoy today and rest to our heart’s content.”
Six days after that, we led an army of about 28,000 and advanced to Trois Hill, leaving only 6,000 troops to guard the castle of La Massana.