200 – Shaking Outside (2)
At those words, a senior knight opened his mouth.
“As the Count said, we are currently at war. The food currently supplied by war merchants is sufficient for our troops to eat, but it is realistically difficult to feed the people in Raseu Castle.”
Even in modern times when tens of tons of supplies can be transported at a time by rail, truck, or military aircraft, transporting food for tens of thousands of troops is not easy.
Even in this world where I live, no matter how big the carriage is, its payload cannot exceed 1 ton.
Horse-drawn carriages are slower than modern transportation and the road conditions are poor, so transportation takes a lot of time and costs.
Because the supply itself costs a lot of money, they rarely bring in enough supplies and do not make plans for it…
‘That is true.’
Other nobles also nodded their heads in agreement.
“We cannot allow our soldiers to starve to death while supplying food to the people.”
“What if you support me after the war is over?”
“No matter what, shouldn’t we put our allies first?”
It is true that everyone’s life is precious, but its value is always relative and different.
Especially on the battlefield, it is true that the life of one friendly soldier is more important than the lives of 100 enemy soldiers.
So, Baina agrees with their logic of prioritizing allies.
‘Although the logic of the argument is correct, it is an operation that does not fit the current situation.’
When Count Dion heard that, he groaned.
“Well, I agree with what you said. Then, I will go directly to His Majesty and suggest that we do it in a way that does not provide food to the people…”
When this agenda was about to be decided, he spoke as if he would quickly intervene.
“Count, there is a plan I would like to propose. Do you mind if I tell you about it?”
“Your suggestions are always welcome. Oh, except when I’m having fun at night.”
The atmosphere was gloomy because they were not allowed to drink alcohol, but this joke lightened the mood.
Some mercenary captains couldn’t hold back the sudden burst of laughter and started laughing.
“Foot.”
Well, how funny must it be that the Count, who was always strict, solemn, and serious, suddenly revealed that he likes playing with women like them.
If only this nobleman had had enough military power, he would have done quite well as a mercenary leader.
Furthermore, although he is usually solemn, the fact that he knows how to make a joke like this when necessary makes it a funny story, and it is not something that will diminish his reputation or dignity.
“Then I will tell you as quickly as possible and conclude.”
“Please.”
“Now, many people are opposed to distributing food to the people in Raseu Castle, but I think we should instead distribute food to the people.”
Everyone looked at me with strange eyes after hearing those words.
No matter how you look at me or what thoughts you have, the thoughts I have right now are very clear and clear.
Of course, there is no reason to change your mind.
“What makes you think that?”
I stretched out three fingers and opened my mouth.
“There are three main reasons. First of all, right now we are stationed here and monitoring the people to suppress any unrest or rebellion. Even on my way, I saw an innocent village girl trying to sell her body to her mercenaries to make a living.”
The nobles and mercenaries, including Count Dion, clicked their tongues when they heard those words.
Although she was a prostitute and was widely used and encountered by everyone from nobles above her to mere mercenaries and poor people, her social perception was not very good because her job was her job.
Once you step into this industry, there is no way out other than living as a prostitute and being bought by someone.
So, the only way to become a prostitute is for a woman whose husband dies at a young age and becomes a penniless widow, or who is in debt and has no means of making a living.
Therefore, becoming a prostitute is considered the final choice.
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But an ordinary village girl tries to sell her body knowing that the ban has been declared by military law?
‘Just by hearing this, a smart person would have understood well how sh*tty the current situation is.’
“It’s only like this now, but in a few days, a mob may form among the people and commit plunder and robbery against the imperial army. Or, to make a living, they will stick with those in the inner city and eat together.”
After hearing those words, everyone put their hands on their foreheads and showed signs of discomfort.
“The second reason is to lower the morale of the soldiers inside the castle.”
“It lowers morale…”
“Many of the soldiers currently inside the castle are people who lived here near Laceu Castle. And they must have been fighting to protect their families within the city of Raseu until we took over the outer castle.”
In all the wars that mankind has waged, from the tribal wars of the ancient Neolithic Age to the recent times, the most cited justification is to protect the family.
In fact, the motivation for our fathers to work overtime until 10 p.M. And work hard on weekends is solely because of family.
“But when they entered the inner city, they left their entire families behind…”
I paused for a moment.
“‘If you hold out until the end in this castle, reinforcements will come from the Kingdom of Barcelo. And they will try to maintain morale by saying, ‘If reinforcements come and drive out the Montmartre imperial army, you can protect your family who is being abused outside.'”
This way, the target of hatred can be directed to our Montmartre Imperial Army, not to the Barcelo idiots who abandoned their families and fled to the inner city.
But are we starving the people in this castle to save food?
Then, those inside the castle will fight to the death, burning their hatred towards us.
“I think I would have done the same.”
“And the third reason is that we have to think about the time when he will occupy and rule over this city of Lasseu in the future. The Montmartre Imperial Army distributed food even in difficult situations to prevent people from starving to death, and the Barcelo Kingdom abandoned its people regardless of whether they died or not. To which direction will the hearts of the people turn?”
In fact, it is none of my business to know why these nobles took over Laceu Castle, set it on fire, and sold the people of the city into slavery.
Why? Not only do we have no business receiving this land as territory, but we are mercenaries to begin with.
But aren’t employers bound to love employees more who have a sense of ownership and are considerate of their boss?
So, it is important to say this and show how much I think of Count Dion and the Emperor of Montmartre.
‘Just as they say that when in love, a man gives a woman even a star from the sky.’
“Then how much food should we give?”
I chuckled at those words.
“There is no need to give much. Just give them enough food to keep them from starving to death.”
The Count tilted his head and wondered.
“Since you said we should ration food, I thought you would argue that we should give a lot of food. “Is it okay to give just that much?”
For a person in an environment of starvation, both the person who feeds them to their fill and the person who gives them food to prevent them from starving to death are equally grateful people.
This would be better in terms of efficiency.
“It is better to give only that much.”
He said it as if he was trying to cheer up the count, who was even more puzzled.
“With that being said, shouldn’t we blame the source of all evil on the Barcelo nobles who are locked up in the castle?”
Isn’t the image making pretty good?
The Empire of Montmartre wants to feed the poor people in La Seu Castle, but it can’t give them any more food because of the Barcelos who abandoned you and stayed in the safe castle!
Then, the gratitude towards the person who gives food will naturally be directed towards Montmartre, and the resentment that arises from feeling hungry because the food was not enough will be focused on the people inside the castle.
“In addition, if food is provided, the people will also refrain from doing things such as risking their lives to plunder our soldiers or camps or violating military regulations. “The soldiers inside the castle will also lose their will to fight when they see us taking care of their families inside Raseu Castle.”
The majority of crimes, including looting, are ‘subsistence-type’ crimes, and the majority of ordinary soldiers fighting in the inner city are ‘commoners’.
These are people who value their families and peaceful daily lives more than the profits they gain from being loyal to the country.
“Wouldn’t it be worth a try?”
Everyone, including Count Dion, nodded.
“It’s a good idea.”
“If you give them the minimum amount of food, they will be able to survive to some extent.”
“Honestly, I had some reservations about letting them starve to death.”
When the flow became like this, Count Dion came forward and spoke.
“Okay, then let’s just do it. And is there anything else you’d like to suggest?”
I thought about that for a moment and then answered.
“I think it would be effective to have the people of Raseu surround the castle walls late at night and sing folk songs, or sing sad songs about how your family is waiting for you.”
It would be very easy to make soldiers homesick if they played folk songs or sad songs when they already wanted to go home.
It’s an extremely evil method, but wouldn’t the first priority be for our team to win?
“Good, I will do that.”