Ch.184Suppression (3)

“…damn bastard.”

No matter how the situation has unfolded, a lord is still a lord, and speaking respectfully is a basic courtesy that should be observed.

However, the Duke of Nevers is so consumed by emotion that he has completely forgotten such etiquette.

That’s because the King himself has thrown all such courtesies to the wind.

“Half of them, he really planned this. He absolutely planned this.”

Reportedly, half of their allies who had agreed to join forces were attacked by the royal army before they could reach the gathering point in Nevers territory. What’s more, the king had specifically targeted forces that were weak enough to be completely annihilated.

This indicates that the King had anticipated such an uprising and prepared plans for it well in advance.

Even within the country’s borders, detecting and intercepting half of the moving armies across this vast territory would be impossible without extensive preparation, such as deploying numerous spies or stationing soldiers in ambush positions.

In truth, this was possible thanks to the powerful administrative and intelligence networks Claude had established, but none of the nobles here realize this fact. They simply believe that Claude had prepared operations specifically for these interceptions.

“…This completely disproves the claim that this situation arose spontaneously.”

“Indeed, those damned slave-sons… Don’t they realize that if we die, they’ll be next?”

The radical nobles howl in frustration at this realization, thinking of the moderate nobles.

Wait and see how things develop? It might be a simple accident caused by coincidence?

How could this possibly be coincidence? Anyone can see this was meticulously prepared from the beginning.

“Damn it… we need to do something. If our gathering forces keep getting intercepted like this, we’re bound to lose. We either need to intercept their forces or go protect our own troops.”

“…”

The Duke of Nevers gives no response to this perfectly reasonable suggestion.

As if I don’t know that?

If we remain idle, we’ll slowly wither away. We need to either intercept their forces or prevent interceptions.

But that’s impossible.

Interception and escort operations require a well-organized military system capable of properly deploying divided forces, but such a system doesn’t exist in this coalition of nobles.

Most of them operate with improvised tactics, and there’s no absolute authority to serve as the focal point of military discipline.

“If we divide our forces to intercept the enemy or prevent interceptions, those divided forces might themselves become exposed to the king’s army.”

“Then we should move all at once… no, that would make our army too cumbersome. I misspoke.”

The nobles of Burgundy, caught between two great powers for decades, have certainly demonstrated valor and tactical insight in recent years during the Carolingian invasion, the Holy Empire conflict, and the war of succession.

However, they can only fully demonstrate their abilities under a unified command structure. Nobles with sky-high self-esteem wouldn’t bow their heads to a coalition leader who isn’t even their rightful lord.

Even their high tactical insight becomes a significant disadvantage in this state without unified authority. Each might insist their own opinion is correct, preventing operations from proceeding properly.

Moreover, examining their tactical insight more closely reveals that most rely on improvisation, tradition, and valor. They’re bound to fall short against a war-obsessed king who established military academies to study tactics.

“What happened to the graduates of the Dijon Military Academy and the cadets who were still studying?”

“There are too few graduates to expect much from them, and the cadets are being detained by the king. Not a single one has been rescued, as I recall.”

“…Tch.”

All the graduates are young nobles, making them politically burdensome to appoint as high commanders, yet too few in number to be effective as lower commanders.

…This won’t work.

If we remain idle, I can only see a future where we’re finished off by the royal army once their mobilization is complete. We need to attack or something—attack?

“—Then why don’t we just launch an attack now, as we are?”

“What?”

Suddenly, unexpected words from the Duke of Nevers echo through the room, words no one had anticipated.

The other nobles look at the Duke of Nevers with puzzlement as he mentions attack before their mobilization is even complete.

“If we just sit here, nothing will work out anyway, will it? The longer we wait, the stronger the king will become as he completes his mobilization. Rather, we should advance to Dijon with the forces we have now and confront him there. The troops still gathering should meet us near Dijon instead of coming to Nevers.”

“…I see.”

The puzzled faces of the nobles change to expressions of understanding.

It’s not an absurd idea.

If the situation doesn’t change, our gathering forces will continue to be intercepted, preventing us from fully assembling our troops, while the king safely gathers his forces. The gap in military strength will only widen with time.

So we strike first, before that happens.

‘It’s just an improvised thought, but it makes sense.’

Since we’re attacking as one force, we can minimize the need for detailed tactics like dividing the army.

…If we remain idle, our destruction is certain, so we must choose the option with even a slight chance of victory.

……….

“Father!!”

Meanwhile, Louis, the son of Duke Vermand, has returned to his domain to meet his father.

Louis’s face is filled with anger, but also bewilderment toward his father.

Why didn’t you join them? If father had joined that coalition, it would have been possible to overthrow the tyrant…!

“What are you doing here?!”

“Oh… you’ve grown quite forceful since I last saw you.”

The Duke admires his son’s disrespectful attitude rather than getting angry.

He’s simply surprised that his eldest son, who always acted like a girl, has changed so much in character just because of a broken heart.

“Why…? Surely you don’t intend to accept the tyrant’s oppression?!”

“Tyrant? You mean His Majesty Claude, the rightful ruler of two thrones and crowns? Tsk, that won’t do.”

“Father!!”

The Duke teases his son playfully, but Louis is in no mood for jokes.

The father I knew was jovial and frivolous, but also extremely ambitious and serious when the situation called for it… this is no time for jokes, is it?

I heard that Vermand’s duchy also suffered greatly under the tyrant’s oppression, and given father’s ambitious nature, he wouldn’t tolerate such treatment.

“It’s not too late, quickly gather the duchy’s forces and join the coalition—”

“Are you the Duke?”

“…Father.”

“If anyone should be angry, it should be me. Why are you the one getting angry? Is it because of that woman?”

“…!”

Louis can no longer say anything.

Nothing is more shocking than hearing directly from someone else a truth that you know but have been deliberately ignoring.

“Anyway… I thought your character had improved, but the motivation is laughable. Let me tell you, I have no intention of rebelling against His Majesty. He’s handling the troublesome and expensive administration for us—what a wonderful person, isn’t he?”

“…”

“Can’t even speak? Tch. Fine, since you’ve returned home, rest and look around a bit, then get back to Dijon.”

Duke Vermand dismisses his son, ordering him to leave.

The true reasons why the Duke hasn’t joined the coalition—whether it’s to gain benefits by siding with the king after the war, or because one shouldn’t fight battles that can’t be won, or because the family would be destroyed if they lost—are many, but the Duke doesn’t share these with his eldest son.

If the cause of his curiosity had been reasonable, the Duke would have explained his actions to some extent, but because the cause is an impure matter involving a woman, the Duke has completely lost interest.

‘That kid’s in big trouble. I hope he comes to his senses before succeeding me. Should I write to His Majesty asking him to help my son face harsh reality since he’s fallen for one of your concubines?’

The Duke thinks this while watching his son’s back as he silently leaves the office, but if the Duke had seen his son’s face instead of his back, he would have had entirely different thoughts.

……….

“…The enemy trapped in Nevers territory is suddenly charging out?”

This is rather perplexing.

I expected them to eventually explode and break out after I kept cutting off their branches, but this is too soon.

Neither I nor the rebels have completely finished mobilization, have we? To deploy an incomplete army—no, that’s precisely why they made this choice.

‘How clever.’

Generally speaking, launching a major attack with an incompletely mobilized army would be insane.

But if one assumes that the enemy’s mobilization is also incomplete, it’s not madness but a strategy.

…Tch, how troublesome.

I could win, but my plan to end this with minimal losses has been slightly derailed. Without machine guns, large-scale enemy attacks will inevitably cause casualties.

Above all, since these rebels are traditional Burgundian nobles who excel in combat, if I allow close combat, there could be significant casualties that can’t be ignored.

“For now, redirect some of the soldiers currently engaged in interception operations to delay the enemy’s advance. We need to buy time first.”

“Yes, Your Majesty. And… should we not send letters urging the nobles to surrender?”

“Surrender? That’s unnecessary. To preserve royal authority, one must never negotiate with rebels.”

The attendant suddenly asked me a question, and it turned out to be useless talk.

The nobles currently in rebellion can be considered the worst of the worst. They’re the essence of nobles with authoritarian tendencies—why should I accept their surrender and spare them?

It’s better to label them as rebels and eliminate them now, making future governance more manageable.