Chapter 85 : Military Rebellion (2)

The borders of the Navre Kingdom are quite complicated.

To the west lies the Kram Empire, to the north the Allein Kingdom.

To the east, it borders the Artium Empire, and to the south, the Helvetia Republic.

Recently, by occupying a large part of Artium’s territory, a path to the Great Prairie was also connected.

“It’s literally enemies on all sides.”

Surrounded in all directions like this, they even have a sea.

Currently, the peninsula territory taken by the Helvetia Republic and the adjacent coastal area—since it’s a small maritime territory—has a very thorough defense.

A solid fleet consisting mainly of battleships, coastal fortresses, coastal artillery, and so on.

They’ve covered the place with all kinds of weapons.

If this area were lost, the passage to the sea would disappear, so the country has managed it with utmost care.

“How many ships do we have left now?”

“Nine battleships, fourteen frigates, and including corvettes and liaison ships… a little over forty.”

“That’s more than enough to guard the harbor.”

“But not enough to drive out the enemy.”

Though the country has to focus mainly on its army by nature, its naval power is quite formidable.

If they wanted, they could engage in a fleet battle at a decent scale.

However, since their main opponent—the Helvetia navy—is stronger, realistically it’s difficult.

“Still, we’ve held out for two years without giving up any territory. We’ve even launched counterattacks into enemy territory from time to time.”

Because of this, the soldiers of the Navre navy, regardless of rank, took great pride in themselves.

Officers and soldiers alike believed with confidence that they were an elite force protecting their country’s seas.

They had pride in their missions and skills.

And their actual achievements were excellent, so they deserved it.

“Um… There’s a message from the General Headquarters. It’s a decision made after discussion with His Majesty and the conscripts.”

“Is it something serious? Let me see.”

And so, their country ordered them to die.

A suicidal special attack wrapped in the name of a glorious final battle.

“…Is this for real? Are they really going to waste the precious fleet built over decades like this?”

“They’re basically telling us to all die!! They don’t need us anymore and just want to sink everything!!”

“We’ve given our lives for the country for 20 years, and they’re going to use and discard us like this?!”

The order was simple.

[Lead all available forces and sortie.

Defeat every enemy encountered and strike their bases.

Regardless of how many losses occur, focus on inflicting as much damage on the enemy as possible.

Deadline: Indefinite.]

It wasn’t a tactic or anything.

It was nonsense telling them to just rush in as a group, smash into the enemy, and die.

If they seriously thought about defeating the Helvetia navy, such an idea would never come out.

The deadline was even undefined.

Though it said to return after completing the mission, who sets the success criteria for such a mission?

Enemy bases are scattered all over the peninsula.

Even with ten times the current fleet, it wouldn’t be enough to subdue them all.

“The country has abandoned us.”

And so they quickly realized.

This was a case of being used and thrown away.

The country was cunningly trying to use the useless hunting dogs until the very end.

“Hey, did you hear the news?”

“We’re going to be…”

The news spread quickly.

Among the navy’s junior officers, non-commissioned officers, and even soldiers.

Though the higher-ups ordered secrecy, it was useless.

Since it was such a crucial piece of information, they wanted to keep it confidential, but it leaked out from somewhere.

Because their lives and those of their comrades were at stake, the rumor spread quickly from person to person.

“Damn it, do you think we’ll just die quietly?”

“Everyone! Grab your weapons!!”

The truth brought shock, the shock turned into anger.

Eventually, that anger transformed into madness.

Sailors, officers, and non-commissioned officers, armed with the determination not to die in a meaningless mission, united and started a rebellion.

“S-Stay back! If you advance any further, I’ll shoot—”

Bang!

“Get lost, you pig bastards! We’re going to live!”

“If we’re going to die at sea listening to you, it’s better to resist and get shot!”

They suppressed the tiny handful of loyalists who still hadn’t come to their senses and attacked the headquarters that tried to hide the truth.

Fueled by resentment for almost being sacrificed under the guise of following orders.

There was resistance, but it quickly vanished.

Because the rebel forces were so large.

More than 90% of the navy had joined—how could a few military police and officers stop them?

“Ad-Admiral.”

“So it’s come to this. I thought it was possible…”

The naval commander-in-chief, the one who had hidden the order despite receiving it, was dragged before everyone.

His uniform torn, beaten until his face was swollen, looking utterly miserable.

“Why did you do this, Admiral? Why did you try to hide it from us?”

“The country ordered me to command the navy’s special attack. My mission was to kill you.”

“Then why didn’t you do it straightforwardly?! Why did you leak information to us and cause this situation! Because of your negligence, people who shouldn’t have died ended up dying!”

“They did their duty. At least as soldiers, they fulfilled their mission and died honorably.”

“That’s a coward’s excuse!!!”

Bang!

With a single gunshot, a hole was made between the commander’s eyebrows.

The rebels, who had forsaken their duty to defend the seas, left the base all together and marched.

Northward, toward the homeland’s capital.

“Let’s go, comrades!”

“We’re going to die anyway, so let’s make one last desperate fight!”

Their goal was one:

To take revenge on those who tried to kill them.

*****

“…A naval rebellion, huh.”

“Foolish bastards. They don’t even understand what is for the greater good.”

“What can you expect from scoundrels and sailors who don’t know honor?”

The leadership of Navre sighed.

The butterfly effect brought on by their reckless decision.

They had made a bold move to respond to the emergency of sharply reduced supplies, but the lower ranks couldn’t accept it.

How stupid.

They gave them a chance to die honorably in battle, so how could they refuse it?

Did they not want their names remembered in history as warriors who gave their lives for the great homeland?

“No matter the reason, they are now rebels. We have no choice but to suppress them, even if it means mobilizing the army.”

“Let’s deploy the reserve units. As far as I know, there’s still a regiment nearby…”

“We’ll send the cavalry battalion that recently completed training. After all, cavalry are best for pursuit and annihilation battles.”

Even by the mid-20th century, high-ranking officials wouldn’t entertain such foolish ideas, but this is the early modern era.

The caste system is firmly in place, and lords and feudalism still breathe life into society.

Those steeped in a sense of privilege and chivalric ideals couldn’t understand that honor held no meaning to the common people.

Nor did they grasp that the people valued food and the safety of their families more than such useless things.

‘They’ve probably never once considered the viewpoint of the oppressed.’

So, instead of conciliatory measures or appeasement, they chose a thorough hardline approach again.

No mercy for those involved—they would be suppressed and punished.

But what they didn’t know was that most soldiers were already fed up with the upper echelons’ orders.

“…You want us to crush the navy? Not Helvetia or Allein, but our own country’s navy?”

“What exactly did they do wrong?”

“My brother enlisted as a sailor last year! Are you telling me to go kill my own brother?!”

The guerrilla ideology sparked by Ishmael’s novels had now spread through almost the entire army.

Even the elite and best-treated cavalry battalion was no exception.

Because so many young men, who would never have dreamed of joining the military in peacetime, were conscripted en masse, there was strong camaraderie across units.

Everyone recognized each other as pitiful fellows dragged here, risking their lives and suffering together.

But now, to violently suppress them.

Is this right?

Can’t this be solved by talking?

Such skeptical opinions inevitably arose.

“A rebellion caused by the suicide special attack order… Spread this everywhere. Use newspapers and propaganda leaflets to reveal the truth.”

“Yes, branch chief!”

“Should we inform the military units as well?”

“Is that even a question? Of course. Don’t worry about the cost or methods—just make sure everyone knows.”

With the quick-witted Navre branch chief stoking the fire, public sentiment inevitably erupted.

“Damn, they had such a shitty reason!!”

“They deserved to rebel! I’d do the same!!”

“Let’s just join them! I’m tired of being treated like dogs all the time!!”

“I can’t take it anymore, let’s overthrow everything! War or no war, I just want to go home and sleep!”

The rebellion grew uncontrollably.

It grew so large that internal suppression became impossible.

*****

“Wow… this is insane.”

I couldn’t help but be amazed.

It’s not easy to politically mess things up this badly.

But here it is.

They forced missions saying they had no money to spare, and when met with resistance, they tried to violently suppress it.

And now they’ve failed, and the capital is under threat.

‘Are they idiots?’

Why couldn’t they just issue a simple disbandment order?

Everyone does that.

Disband the unnecessary units, reassign the personnel, and thank those who served.

Isn’t that basic?

Anyway, no matter how many years I live in this pre-modern era, some things just don’t make sense.

Beyond ignorance, it feels like common sense is being betrayed.

“Ishmael, are you almost ready? The carriage is about to leave.”

But that’s someone else’s problem.

For me now, there was a much more important matter.

“I’ll be out soon, just wait a moment.”

“Hurry up. If we delay any longer, it’ll get dark.”

My father-in-law called me again to the great steppe.

For the Artium Empire invasion operation.