Ch.229Rotation (2)

“This person… Unfortunately, due to the rain, the wound has been severely contaminated with mud. It’s beyond what disinfection and medicine can handle. If we leave it as is, they will certainly die, so we need to amputate.”

“Am-amputation?! No, there must be another way—!”

“…Quickly, calm the patient down.”

No matter how overwhelming one’s military victories might be, unless there’s a technological gap equivalent to that between the medieval and industrial ages, casualties are inevitable.

Ellen, who serves as a high-ranking officer in the Rotaring army to supervise medical students serving as military doctors, orders her staff to calm down a patient who is causing a disturbance while refusing to have his arm amputated.

“Mmph— mmph—!!”

“Begin the operation.”

“Yes!!”

The medical students turned military doctors forcibly stuff the patient’s mouth with sorghum liquor and opium, then restrain his entire body before beginning to amputate the infected area. Ellen, being physically weak and responsible for supervising the military doctors, cannot participate in the amputation procedure herself. Instead, she watches carefully from behind, meticulously checking for any mistakes the doctors might make.

Sawing sound—

“Nnnnggghhh—!!”

They do not disappoint Ellen’s expectations.

The military doctors, following Ellen’s teachings, firmly secure the patient’s limbs, mouth, and head. They tightly bind the area above the amputation site with cloth and sticks to cut off blood flow. For hygiene purposes, they use an extremely simplified saw that has been sterilized by soaking in boiling water for an hour, and begin cutting away the patient’s infected arm.

Even though the patient’s mind is clouded by opium and alcohol, the pain of having a limb severed cannot be completely masked. The patient writhes in extreme agony, but seeing this, the military doctors don’t slow down—instead, they cut more strongly and quickly.

Because this is the only way to save the patient.

Amputating the arm as quickly as possible is the humane course of action that both reduces the patient’s suffering and prevents the risks of infection, excessive bleeding, and death from shock.

“…Good, everyone did excellently. Well done.”

Finally, after completely amputating the patient’s arm and sealing the stump with boiled rags, the procedure comes to an end.

Blood has splattered extensively around them, and the patient’s terrible sobbing has turned the faces of surrounding soldiers deathly pale. However, Ellen and the medical staff show little reaction, being quite accustomed to such situations.

“Um, excuse me… I…”

“Show me your wound properly.”

Moving to the next patient’s bedside, Ellen diligently performs her duty without paying much attention to how frightened the patient is from what they just witnessed.

“I’m really fine, so please treat someone else first— AAAH!”

“Hmm… This should be manageable with disinfection and medicine. Still, there’s some risk of infection, so make sure to get plenty of rest. Sleep is fundamental to immunity.”

The patient, who had been reluctant to show their wound, is forced to do so by Ellen’s attendants and is terrified of ending up like the previous patient. But Ellen pays little attention to this fear and simply continues performing her duties.

For her, this entire process is merely something that prevents her from being with His Majesty. Wasting mental energy on such trivial matters would only delay the completion of her work.

She must cut off interest in useless things and focus on her duties so she can meet His Majesty as soon as possible.

Unlike Chloe, Ines, and Jeanne, Ellen is legally present on the battlefield, giving her opportunities to meet His Majesty day or night. This gives her a sense of satisfaction and superiority over the other three women.

‘…Ugh.’

But there is one thing that bothers Ellen—the fact that His Majesty’s children will bear her family name rather than his.

Ellen, who had been basking in the satisfaction of being different from those three women, inwardly groans as she realizes that, unlike them, she alone cannot pass His Majesty’s surname to her children.

In medieval society, a child not bearing their father’s surname is a dishonor close to death. While noblewomen with strong family pride and ego might find some satisfaction in this, Ellen—who was born a commoner and truly loves His Majesty—finds it emotionally unbearable that her children would bear her surname instead of His Majesty’s.

If she could, Ellen would go back in time and stop her past self from accepting the surname Medici from His Majesty on the condition that her children would follow the maternal line.

“Next, please.”

Of course, Ellen doesn’t outwardly show any of these emotions.

No one, including Chloe and Ines, can tell what Ellen is thinking by observing her tone, expression, or behavior.

Having lived as a commoner for over 20 years since childhood, she’s accustomed to being cautious. Additionally, her long career as a professor at a university filled with high-status individuals and talented people, plus her time navigating the suffocating court environment while enduring constant checks from Chloe and Ines, has made concealing her emotions second nature to her.

‘…Still, there is one way.’

Ellen silently continues treating patients while contemplating the one possibility that would allow her children to bear His Majesty’s surname.

……….

“Hmm…”

“Umm… this is…”

Simon and I sigh simultaneously upon receiving the spy’s report.

We can’t help it—the empire’s mobilized forces are far beyond our expectations.

We had estimated the empire’s forces at 20,000 in the worst-case scenario, but their current available forces number 190,000. Even after losing 30,000 in the forest battle, they still have 190,000 remaining.

Moreover, this figure only accounts for combat troops. If we include the supply units, it’s hard to gauge how much larger the number would be.

‘Honestly, it’s a bit rich coming from me who mobilized 100,000, but… are these guys in their right mind?’

I understand that in pre-modern military systems, roughly two supply soldiers are needed for each combat soldier.

I believe during the Goguryeo-Sui War, the Sui dynasty mobilized 1 million combat troops and 2 million supply troops, which seems about right.

If that’s the case, the empire has mobilized close to 600,000 people… How is this possible? They’re not even rice-eating regions like India or East Asia where such numbers might be sustainable.

Even if the nobles wanted to help with the war by mobilizing troops, the emperor should have sent some back, thinking of the future…

At this rate, even if they win, it won’t be a victory for the empire.

‘…Could it be that they don’t care about the future?’

If the emperor has abandoned the future and is doing this solely to punish me… well… um…

This is truly maddening.

I was planning to win reasonably and use that as leverage for a peace treaty, but this complicates things.

Even if we achieve military success until the empire’s resources are completely exhausted, they likely won’t accept a peace treaty. Moreover, judging by the scale of troops mobilized by the empire’s nobles, they probably emotionally side with the emperor, making occupation of imperial territory extremely costly.

What’s even more troubling is the issue of the surrounded imperial troops.

It’s hard to imagine that an emperor who raised an army without considering the future would break his grand plan to rescue the surrounded 20,000 troops.

Rather, wouldn’t he be pleased that the surrounded 20,000 could tie down the Rotaring army, and keep his 190,000-strong force stationary to secure advantageous positions?

‘…No, that’s overthinking it.’

Reports from our spies strongly indicate that the imperial army is moving toward the forest where their troops are surrounded.

Above all, even an emperor consumed by madness couldn’t ignore 20,000 troops—it’s far too many. Even if the emperor chose to ignore them, his generals and ministers wouldn’t agree.

Still, as emperor, if he insisted, it wouldn’t be completely impossible to ignore the 20,000… hmm, I should ask my ministers.

“Lord Simon, how do you think the emperor will move?”

“Why, he’ll rush straight to rescue the surrounded imperial troops, won’t he?”

“Hmm…?”

Surprisingly, Simon answers my question without hesitation, as if it’s completely obvious.

“He is the emperor, after all. Though he attacked Your Majesty based on his senile ramblings, we can assume he has a certain moral code, foolish as he may be. Soldiers are fundamentally citizens, and it’s hard to imagine a morally upright monarch abandoning surrounded citizens.”

Looking around, I see that everyone agrees with Simon’s opinion.

With my modern sensibilities, I had assumed that despite his madness, the emperor would think rationally in strategic terms to win. But those living in the present naturally believe that despite his madness, as the pinnacle of the feudal system, he would fulfill his duties as a monarch.

“Is that so…? Well, I trust your judgment. In that case, we should establish fortifications around the forest where the imperial troops are surrounded, and build small fortresses if necessary.”

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

Since our spies also report that the imperial army is moving toward their surrounded troops, and all officers think the same way, Simon’s prediction is probably correct.

Sigh… I was overthinking things unnecessarily. No matter what, I still can’t get used to this.