episode_0021

“Tchcha!”

Ensign Mario was carrying something with both hands, so I looked closely and saw that it was a pile of paper.

“What is that?”

“This is a letter from the commander.”

“A letter?”

weird. I’ve never done anything to deserve so many letters. I thought so, but I could only understand it after reading the contents of the letter.

Most of the letters were from ordinary soldiers. Judging by the lack of seals on the letters and the miscellaneous letterhead, most of them appeared to have been written by ordinary soldiers. The contents of the letter…

[Last year I got frostbite because I didn’t have any gloves, but this year I got two gloves. They tell you to take as many blankets as you want. The supply officers became friendly, as if they were different people. Everyone is hissing, but there is no one who does not know that it is thanks to the Commander. Thank you, Commander. From a soldier whose name cannot be revealed.]

There were hundreds of letters with this content. Ensign Mario placed a pile of letters on my desk, straightened his glasses, and said:

“The public opinion about the commander is quite good among the soldiers. Among the officers, the fight between the commander and the deputy commander is nothing more than a factional fight, but among the soldiers, the existence of cold weather gear is directly connected to the question of life or death tonight, so they feel loyalty to the commander who recovered the cold weather gear. The atmosphere is soaring into the sky.”

It’s embarrassing. It’s not that I didn’t have any feelings for the soldiers, but in fact, I did it for myself.

“Public opinion among ordinary soldiers is a complete victory. Now, it would be nice if we could just change the minds of the officers.”

At that moment, I couldn’t help but feel nervous due to my anxious choice of words.

“Would you like it back?”

“Yes. Public sentiment among officers who advocate neutrality is not very good.”

“Why?”

“Because it was a bloody wind and blow for almost a month. 624 people were disciplined, 172 were sentenced to death (cutting off their wrists), 55 were dismissed, and 101 were hanged. Close to 30 percent of all officers in the North have been sentenced. From the officers’ point of view, the presence of the commander who called in the central investigator would be like a messenger. He will be portrayed as a fearful person who will do whatever it takes to win.”

That too… It’s not a lie. Although it was Captain Chloe’s idea, I was the one who ultimately approved it. It is not the drafter who has to shoulder that burden, but me, the final approver.

“To sum it up in one word, the commander gained the absolute loyalty of the soldiers, but also instilled the fear of the officers of the neutral faction. You gained one and lost one.”

At that moment, the door swings open.

“To be exact, I gained two and lost one.”

It was Chloe who appeared while saying that.

“At least the hands and feet of the Bernitz faction were cut off, right?”

Chloe shook the knight on the chessboard in front of the door and placed it back on the chessboard.

“If we had stayed still, our troops would have been defeated. There is a time limit for the allies, and a quick victory requires extreme medication.”

“Time limit? What do you mean by that?”

When Ensign Mario asked again, Chloe looked embarrassed. Chloe was nervously looking at me, wondering if I had revealed a secret without her knowledge. Perhaps Lieutenant Mario must have known this and leaked it.

Well, I thought it wouldn’t hurt to tell Ensign Mario at this point, so I opened my mouth before Ensign Chloe got into more trouble.

“Bine Franz will revolt.”

This is not my guess. In fact, in the game’s story, there is a rebellion soon. And upon hearing those words, Ensign Mario’s expression hardened.

“Rebellion… What do you mean?”

“Yes. It’s a rebellion.”

“Are you sure?”

“Yes. This is solid information from authentic sources.”

The source is knowledge from the game. However, the commanders of the three major regional armies also had the same opinion about the rebellion, so if necessary, they could sell their names.

“However, Vinnet Franz is a young man who has just been appointed commander of the Eastern Army. Moreover, the eastern region is a noble family… illustration. I made a mistake with my words. Since the central noble faction is in control, it will not be easy for Vinet Franz, who is from a new noble family, to take control.”

“It’s normal to think that way. But Biene Franz is no ordinary person. He’s a genius. I will soon take control of the eastern sector army and lead the eastern sector army to destroy the other regional forces one by one.”

“Are you Binet Franz?”

Ensign Mario asked back in disbelief.

“Yes. Vinet Franz.”

I answered several times as if confirming it.

Chloe was listening quietly next to me with a serious expression. I had already heard this story once, but because the scale of the story was so large, my mouth naturally fell silent.

“I finally understand everything.”

“What if everything?”

“Why did you bother to fight with Deputy Commander Bernitz, and why did you bother to attack someone who would be discharged if left alone?”

I nodded at those words. Ensign Mario is right. If I had stayed still, Deputy Commander Bernitz would have been discharged and the Northern Army would have been mine, but I could not stay still. Because there was no time to wait. If he had waited leisurely, he would have taken control of the northern army only after the empire was eaten by Vinnet Franz.

“It was necessary to take control of the Northern Army as quickly as possible. To that end, Deputy Commander Bernitz was in the way.”

“I see… ”

Ensign Mario suddenly stood up and lowered his head.

“Commander, you are truly a mirror of the imperial soldiers.”

“Yes?”

“Didn’t you make a decision to save the country to protect it even at the cost of your own safety? I respect you!”

Nope. This is because, if Vinnet Franz’s rebellion was successful, the order was to wipe out the family nobility first. But I hid my true feelings and helped Lieutenant Mario stand up.

“Anyone in my position would have done that.”

“Commander… ”

After the skit ended for a while, it wasn’t long before it was time for the real operation.

“Then, there are two challenges we face.”

“Regaining the public sentiment of the neutral faction officers who left and organizing the remaining Bernitz faction.”

“Both seem quite difficult.”

I nodded. This was because the neutral faction would not easily forget their fear of the commander, and the Bernitz faction would not easily forget the resentment suffered by their comrades.

“Does Captain Chloe have any ideas?”

Ensign Mario asked. Chloe responded with a sigh.

“Quit the captain. I’m a civilian now. Please call me Miss Chloe. Because Ensign Mario is much older.”

“Of course. Miss Chloe. Do you have any good ideas?”

“Unfortunately, there isn’t one this time. Also, it is obvious that borrowing the power of the central government will only lead to side effects. From now on, it’s a matter of the commander’s capabilities.”

“Definitely. This operation was possible because the commander was victorious. If you hadn’t won an unfavorable battle, the Commander’s faction wouldn’t have been as big as it is. In that sense, Commander, don’t you have any good ideas?”

Is this my idea? To be honest, I don’t really care about politics. It can be considered to be below the level of the general public. but…

“Ensign Mario.”

“Yes.”

“Under the Imperial Military Act, what is the punishment for mutiny?”

“It varies depending on the situation, but disobeying the orders of superiors during war or war-like situations is punishable by death.”

“I’m going to take advantage of that.”

“Are you referring to the previous chase incident? In that case, the scale is so large that punishment is difficult. There is a high possibility that this could be resolved due to confusion in orders… ”

“No. Create a new number.”

This is different when there is a difference in information. They don’t have information, but I have information. That is information about what kind of plot the commanders of the local forces are plotting.

Ensign Mario gave a puzzled look. Chloe didn’t understand either. Of course. This is because this operation is something only I know about at the moment. In this operation, I planned to take advantage of the plot being hatched by the commanders of the western, southern, and central armies.

—–

In the northeastern part of the empire, there is a country called the Dorok Kingdom. Although its name is a kingdom, in fact this country was not a country at first. It was merely an association formed by farmers gathering together. Therefore, the only weapons used were farming tools and a cheap crossbow purchased from the Batavia Dominion. However, they began to be recognized as a nation after defeating the imperial army several times with farming tools and crossbows. Although they were not a nation, they were natural fighters and natural mercenaries. Those who lived in the high mountain areas were exceptionally talented in fighting. And in modern times, the Dorok Kingdom uses well-trained polearm phalanxes as its main force.

Reinhard von Effenstein, who was beheaded in the Empire, was also from the Kingdom of Dorok. To be precise, he was a general from the Dorok Kingdom. Eppenstein’s grandfather’s grandfather’s grandfather, that is, the Effenstein family, has already been the general of the Kingdom of Dorok for six generations, and the Effenstein family has defeated the imperial army dozens of times, generation after generation. That is why the decapitation of Reinhard von Eppenstein in the center of the empire was a major incident.

And the Kingdom of Dorok was now plotting revenge on Effenstein. They were planning a re-invasion of the empire. The Kingdom of Dorok was preparing for an expedition by gathering a large amount of food, horses, and weapons, and the number of soldiers it had gathered seemed to be about 50,000.

And before the full-scale expedition began, the Kingdom of Dorok dispatched 5,000 elite soldiers to the north. It was a kind of preliminary battle. It was a process of checking how strong the Northern Army had become and making sure whether it was possible to attack them or not.

And in the process, the Kingdom of Dorok experiences an amazing experience.