episode_0133

Ioanes smiles at the report he received in the afternoon.

“Yes. They say Duke Leopold has surrendered. What do you think? Savinelli?”

Savinelli, sitting to the right of Ioanes, speaks with a smile.

“Congratulations. Finally, we obtained the Duchy of Dupol and secured a bridgehead to attack the Kingdom of Eren and Bohemi.”

Ioanes felt good inside after hearing those words.

He continues:

“Yes. I got it faster than I expected. In the worst case, I expected two months.”

If they were to fight to the end, they were even thinking of dividing their forces to attack the Kingdoms of Bohemi and Eren.

Although he is currently declared an enemy of the state, the situation is not bad.

In particular, it has absolute power in the navy, but is somewhat lacking in land power.

However, it is only a matter of time before I gain the kingdoms of Ern and Bohemi, defend them, and overwhelm the remaining capabilities of the empire.

If you acquire two locations and transport all Babylonian mercenaries to Egypt and Epirus, you will not be able to move easily in the empire.

“First, what should we do with Duke Leopold?”

Alexander answers that question.

“The Viola family, which disloyally became independent from the Kingdom of Nicaea, must be punished and their territory recovered.”

The Viola family, who were Nicaeans to their core, were responsible for one of their country’s shameful histories.

They had been lords of the Dupol family for generations, but one day they betrayed and became independent from Nicaea.

For them, it can be said that it is natural since they have been discriminated against to a large or small extent because it is different from their main culture, the Dupol culture, and the mainstream culture of Nicaea…

For their king and their people, the fact that Nicaea was defeated by the Dupol Allies and had to recognize its independence was nothing short of a humiliation that would not heal for hundreds of years.

but.

“Senator Alexander. I understand that Dupol’s independence is a disgrace to the Nicaeans, but I don’t think they should treat the surrendered lord carelessly. Probably when Eren and the lord or king of Bohemi surrender. It will have a bad impact. It makes sense to be lenient.”

I also agree with Savinelli.

It would be difficult for Ioanes if Eren and Bohemi died for no reason and started a water war.

Currently, the empire’s summons has already been issued.

If troops are drawn from all territories within the empire and join Eren and Bohemi in earnest, Nicaea will become more dangerous.

“First of all, I will recognize Duke Leopold’s ownership of the territory, but I will rule it myself until the war ends. And deliver the consolation money to the Leopold and Viola families.”

I think the image that he is generous and different from the shrewd Archduke will be important.

A man’s voice is heard along with a commotion outside the tent.

“His Majesty Ioannes! This is an urgent report!”

I scream at the sudden sound.

“What’s going on?”

Skirmishers came in by opening the tent.

The three scouts kneel on one knee, bow their waists, and speak.

“Charge. It is said that this is Job, who has dispatched scouts to the kingdoms of Eren and Bohemi in compliance with His Majesty’s orders.”

Seeing a familiar face, I nod and say.

“Yes. I know. You’ve been following me for a while, so there’s no way I don’t know. So what kind of emergency report is this?”

Job responds urgently to my words.

“Eren and Bohemi both have more than 30,000 people on the border. A total of 60,000 are deployed.”

I feel embarrassed by those words.

“Is that possible? I remember that even before the move, both border areas had less than 10,000 people. 60,000 already? What does that mean?”

Job bows his head and responds to my words.

“We don’t know the details, but the number of troops in major castles, cities, and fortresses has increased.”

Squeezing that amount of troops in a short period of time is not easy.

Unless you had prepared for war a month or two in advance.

“It’s strange… It’s strange. What are their supplies like?”

Bohemi and Eren If I were to become an enemy of the state and make hasty preparations…

Obviously, there is a shortage of supplies, so all they have to do is try to match the assortment.

“Well… Considering that dozens of carts of war materials are being moved to castles and downtown areas every day, it seems like quite a lot of progress has been made.”

damn. How could this happen…

No matter how much he was declared an enemy of the state, no matter how much he took control of Egypt and Epirus.

It makes no sense to prepare so quickly.

War isn’t just kids fighting with swords.

Considering food, supplies, weapons, and military movements, it takes more time than expected.

“It looks like the Archduke leaked information…”

Savinelli’s words came to my senses and I asked a question.

“The Archduke is leaking information? The young lion must not have known when we would attack, right?”

So wasn’t Savinelli’s plan successful by easily emptying Roman?

But if we had known when to attack…

Even if it is your sister’s wedding, it makes sense that it should not be held in Romance.

“No. His absence created an opening for us to attack. It seems like that gap was probably created intentionally. That’s how they made us attack and also gave us a hint that we would be targeting Eren and Bohemi.”

Savinelli’s words make me lost in thought.

The newly created Intelligence Department.

I understand that it is a secret department that mainly handles information.

So did they use that place to find out in advance our war preparations?

-thud!

The situation is unusual.

When he imagines that he might be hung on the gallows if he makes a mistake, he shakes his head and calls Savinelli.

“Savinelli. If our army and the enemy army go to war… can we win before the empire’s reinforcements arrive?”

Our military’s basic strategy is to attack the unprepared Eren and Bohemi, obtain their surrender, and wait for time by relying on the Yoren Mountains.

If Eren is somewhat prepared, the war against the Bohemian Kingdom will take more time than expected.

If reinforcements from the empire arrive in the meantime, the situation will be greatly disadvantageous… no, the entire grand strategy will collapse.

Savinelli frowns at my words and is lost in thought.

He hesitates and opens his mouth.

“I understand that to attack an enemy, you need two to three times more troops than the enemy. It will not be easy as it is currently less than double, let alone triple. If the standoff continues, we may be forced to deploy a double front.”

Currently, Nicaea and Bohemia have two borders.

On one side is the Dupol border and on the other is the Jarl Plain border.

Therefore, if the imperial army, which has gained numerical superiority, begins to attack in both directions, it will not be easy to stop it.

“Damn… Damn… What a sneaky guy!”

-thud!

Was it me who took the bait?

When I feel anxious. Alexander speaks cautiously.

“If a large army of 60,000 people from the Kingdom of Boheme and Eren had been gathered and deployed in the direction of Dupol, the Plain of Jarl would have been weakened that much. Additionally, the Jarl Plain is not a good location for defense, so why not aim there instead?”

With those words, I carefully look at the war map.

There are only a few soldiers deployed on the Jarl side.

There is a record of a war centered on several strong fortresses behind the Jarl Plain, whether in Nicaea or Bohemian.

If the defenses there are thin, you can easily reach the capital of Bohemia by just taking a few forts.

But no matter how much I look at the map, I can’t see any available troops.

Currently, most of the important troops that can move are deployed in Dupol, Epirus, and Ezip, so there is no way to go out toward the Plain of Jarl.

But let’s take out the troops of Epirus and Egypt. Both of those places are areas that cannot be given away easily.

“Troop… not enough troops.”

To advance to the plains of Jarl, you need about 50,000 to 70,000 men to enter the center of Bohemia.

Since it is a large area, the range that the fortress can protect is not very wide, so if you take only a few forts and make them supply only, you will have minimal troops once you enter the interior of Bohemi.

But where can we get a large army of 70,000 right now?

Alexander answers my mumbling.

“Charge. There are still many mercenary groups in the Babylonian Empire. Why not hire more of them?”

Mercenaries of the Babylonian Empire…

If they are transported by ship to the Adriatic Sea, they can reach the Jarl Plain in two weeks.

However, Savinelli steps forward and opposes Alexander’s words.

“Your Majesty, I am against it. Mercenaries cannot be trusted, and if they become deviant, it becomes uncontrollable.”

Currently, the number of Nicaea’s regular army and continental mercenaries is greater than that of the Babylon Empire’s mercenaries.

But the moment we hire 70,000 more people.

The number of mercenaries in the Babylonian Empire becomes larger than that of Nicaea’s regular army and the continent’s mercenaries.

“It’s dangerous, but… if we don’t do it now…”

As time goes by, we become more disadvantaged.

Because it is so disadvantageous, it will gradually lose strength and even the ability to run the current army will disappear.

Epirus and Ezip.

Neither place is connected by land to Nicaea.

In other words, it is only a matter of time before the empire conquers both places.

I close my eyes and try to think of other ways, but there is no right way.

As time goes by, when the imperial army joins… they will pass through the plains and enter Nicaea.

In the end, I thought about it in many ways, but the only way was to hire more mercenaries and capture the kingdoms of Bohemi and Erne before the imperial army was ready.

“Damn… Alexander! No matter how much it costs, hire more mercenaries from the Babylonian Empire right now and transport them to the Adriatic Sea.

Savinelli shouts at my instructions with a worried face and Alexander nods.

“Your Majesty!”

“This is a wise decision. majesty. In a war to conquer an empire, you can never avoid taking risks. Then I will send someone to Babylon right away.”

And then gives the command.

“Vasily, issue an order to the admirals of all sea regions to transport additional hired Babylonian mercenaries to the Adriatic Sea!”

I hear an answer from behind me.

“I accept orders.”

“And order the commander-in-chief of Dupol to lead all troops and attack both Eren and Bohemi! In particular, tell them to destroy the Bohemian Kingdom first!”

Debian… I thought you were too easy.

A shrewd guy. I won’t leave you alone.