Chapter 8: The Road to Free Capital (2)

“I will depart tomorrow morning! Before that, make sure to have a good meal and rest up!”

“All soldiers who have sustained even the smallest injury are to gather at the field hospital! We still have enough medical supplies, so we will treat you!”

“All officers of Colonel rank or higher from each unit are to gather at the command headquarters! General Roitel has called for a military council meeting!”

War is always more troublesome after the fighting ends than during the battle itself.

Clearing the bodies scattered on the ground, cleaning up the blood, burning or burying the corpses to prevent the spread of disease… Ah, and then there’s tallying the consumption of supplies and reorganizing the units.

Regardless of the scale of the battle, there’s a mountain of tasks and paperwork that is forced upon you.

Moreover, what we’re dealing with right now is a civil war. Both sides are part of the same kingdom.

We must confirm and record the identities of all the casualties from both sides, which is quite a meticulous task. A single mistake could quickly lead to a morale issue for the entire unit.

“Vaden, I’m leaving the unit management to you.”

“…Are you talking about our revolutionary army and the 19th Division that joined us this time?”

“Yes. I can’t handle both strategy and administration at the same time.”

“I’ve never handled such a large-scale unit before…”

“If you want to get promoted and become a commander, you need to gain this kind of experience. Once we occupy the capital, I’ll add a star to your rank. So, do your best.”

“As a Major General? I’ll do my best!!”

If it were during my time in the Northern Army, I would have handled this myself, but now there are too many other tasks. I’ve entrusted it to Colonel Vaden, who is in charge of the unit.

His field command skills might be a bit lacking, but he’s talented in administration, and I’ve been keeping an eye on him.

At first, he hesitated, saying he wasn’t confident, but when I told him I’d make him a three-star general, his eyes lit up. After all, nothing motivates a soldier like promotion.

In truth, as a deputy commander, I don’t have the authority to decide ranks or personnel assignments… but well, it doesn’t really matter, does it? Once we take the capital and overthrow the nobility, we’ll be able to do things our way. After all, once you take the palace and suppress the nobles, the one with power becomes the law.

“Well then, good luck. I’m going to the meeting.”

“Yes! General, please take care as well!”

Liberated from paperwork, the next day after the battle, I called together the core officers of the revolutionary army to the barracks.

The purpose of the meeting was none other than to determine the future route of advance and strategy.

“Has everyone arrived?”

“Everyone is here except for the medical officers.”

“Those guys aren’t soldiers but doctors, so it doesn’t matter. Anyway, let’s get to the point.”

I spread out a map of the kingdom across the desk.

It was a valuable, detailed map, one of the few that covered the entire Northern Army, showing cities, terrain, and transportation routes.

“Thanks to the comrades from the 19th Division joining us, our strength is now about 48,000. It’s certainly not a small force, but it’s still not enough to directly assault the capital.”

In the capital, there are quite a few elite forces stationed, including the royal guard and the central standing army. If we directly confronted them, we’d take significant losses.

“Therefore, before the attack, we’ll need to reinforce our strength and weaken the enemy’s power.”

“So you plan to subdue nearby units to win them over?”

“Not all of them, but a few. It’s too late to take them all, so we’ll focus on those closest to us.”

I raised my head and looked at Brigadier General Elan, who had been the deputy commander of the 19th Division.

“According to the map, the nearest units are the 15th Division and the 39th Grenadier Regiment. Do you know anything about their commanders?”

“The 39th Regiment… I believe it’s commanded by Colonel Holland. It’s a local force, so most of the soldiers and officers are from the southern region.”

“I’m from the south as well, so I should be able to talk to them. What’s their political stance?”

“They’re more loyal to their hometown than the royal family. I met him once, and there weren’t really any patriotic statements from him at the time.”

That’s an excellent condition. If things go well, with the right persuasion, they might join us without much trouble.

The grenadiers are elite troops specialized in handling grenades. Such a unit could definitely strengthen the revolutionary army’s power.

This will be a great help in reinforcing our position.

“Then, what about the 15th Division?”

“I’ve heard… they have a similar disposition to our former division commander.”

“Meaning they’re a lost cause.”

On the other hand, they are like Colonel Heimburck, so they’ll be treated the same way. Instead of attacking from the top, let’s target the lower ranks and subdue them.

“How much paper stock do we have left in the unit?”

“There should still be several hundred thousand sheets. Why do you ask?”

“Let’s make a bunch of leaflets with that. Spread the word that anyone who kills or captures the division commander and the officers who support him will be given a generous reward. And add that anyone who resists should be ready to face total annihilation.”

It’s not hundreds of people, just three or four. If the division commander and a handful of officers are killed and delivered to us, the safety of their entire unit will be guaranteed.

The 19th Division, which was quickly annihilated and absorbed into our army, is now a threat to them. Who wouldn’t be tempted by such a promise after receiving such leaflets?

Even if the soldiers’ loyalty is strong, a few troublemakers will inevitably appear. After the assassination attempt, the officers will lose mutual trust out of fear of when they might be next.

This strategy, regardless of its success or failure, is designed to spread distrust and suspicion within the 15th Division.

If the unit doesn’t want to fall apart, they’ll have no choice but to surrender and join us. It’s unlikely, given the division commander’s disposition, but we’ll see.

“I’ll also write in detail about our cause and the reasons for starting the revolution.”

“The content can be made up as you see fit. After all, this is just a small trick and doesn’t need to succeed.”

The result doesn’t matter at all.

As long as we achieve the goal of creating internal strife within the unit, that’s enough. The 19th Division just needs to stay quiet until we enter the capital. That’s all that matters.

In a medieval fantasy world, paper is a valuable resource, but for the cost of taking down a single division, it’s actually quite cheap.

“While we subdue and sway these two divisions, we’ll continue moving south. Around… this point. We’ll stop once we cross the Tiora River.”

I pointed to a large river on the map, which ran across the kingdom’s territory from east to west.

“Isn’t that a bit too close to the capital? At an average marching speed, we could cover that distance in five days.”

“That’s the point. We’ll get the noble armies holed up in the capital to come running out on their own.”

The Tiora River is similar in meaning to the Rubicon River in the Roman Empire. It’s the river where Caesar supposedly said, “The die is cast” before crossing.

Once we cross it, we’ll be too close to the nation’s heart, and the water is shallow. Therefore, unless it’s a special unit like the Imperial Guard, the crossing of the river is prohibited.

This makes it the perfect place to show our resolve.

We’ll cross a line we’re not supposed to cross, and if that’s not rebellion, then what is?

The central nobles and royalty will surely turn red in the face when they see it. They’ll be immediately demanding that we be caught, no doubt about it.

The officers who heard my plan tilted their heads and asked skeptically.

“General, your idea seems plausible, but… do you really think it will go as planned?”

“What if the pigs in the capital ignore us and hide in the palace?”

That’s a valid point.

Logically speaking, the chance of defeating us would increase if they just kept holed up in the palace. The conventional approach would be to expect them to remain silent and not respond to our provocation.

But let me tell you something. Are you guys forgetting something? When did this country ever have any ‘common sense’?

“Do you think the bastards who are too busy squandering money to fund the front lines are capable of making that kind of rational decision?”

“Ah.”

With just a single word of criticism, the officers instantly came to a realization at lightning speed.

Right, this country doesn’t run on logic. Let go of those preconceived notions. You’ll be much more at ease if you do.

“We’ll cross the Tiora River and set up a defensive position. Fortunately, the surrounding terrain is mostly flat plains, with hardly any hills or ridges. It’s the perfect place for a maneuver.”

It’s about a ten-day march to the Tiora River.

Once the capital hears about our rebellion and organizes a suppression army, even if they move as quickly as possible, it’ll still take them about two weeks.

They’ll need time for marching and reconnaissance, so we have about two and a half weeks of leeway.

After marching for a long time and resting for a few days, we can have a proper confrontation, which seems like a pretty good schedule.

“From there, we’ll wipe out the suppression army and carry that momentum to defeat the remaining forces in the capital. There’s nothing difficult about this.”

“What if we encounter other units along the way? There are still the 15th Division and the 39th Regiment, and other obstacles remain.”

We’ll deal with them the same way we did with the 15th Division. There’s no time to handle every single nuisance individually.

The longer we delay, the higher the chances the royals and nobles will escape from the capital. Speed is crucial; it’s our most important task.

“We’ll end the meeting here. Everyone, go back and get some rest.”

As expected, Carolus’ prediction was spot on.

“How dare they refuse His Majesty’s grace and stage a rebellion?! Summon the Imperial Guard immediately! I will lead my forces and crush them, restoring order to the kingdom!”

A few days later, upon hearing about the formation of the revolutionary army, Duke Alexander marched out of the capital with the main forces, leading them outside the city walls.