142 – Battle of Waine Plains (15)

As soon as the duke heard my terms, he angrily said that they weren’t even worth negotiating.

“I agree to cede the northern part of the Duchy of Architel. However, does it make sense to cede the northern part of the dukedom and ask for another 600,000 gold coins?”

As the duke said, in a normal war, if you receive territory, you pay only a little money in terms of ransom for the knights, and the war ends.

However, the general war referred to here means a case in which the victorious side does not have an absolute advantage over the defeated side.

And now, in this war, we have won overwhelmingly, and Duke Architel’s army has lost so much that it can’t even think of fighting against us.

So, the common sense that the nobleman speaks of does not apply in this negotiation.

Because right now, if I don’t like what the duke is doing, I can capture the duke’s troops here and advance while destroying the castles of the other vassals under the command of Architel one by one.

I said sarcastically in a voice that seemed to ridicule Dukes who find logic in war negotiations.

“If you really don’t want to end the war… I can’t help it. Let’s keep fighting.”

“What do you mean? To continue the war… Are you crazy? We have already fought fair and square in the name of God in Waine, and the winner and the loser are divided, but we cannot continue the war.”

The duke said that there was no need to continue the war, as the outcome had already been decided.

I also somewhat agree with that statement.

Because war is a killing game in which it is difficult to overturn the strategic advantage at the point where victory and defeat are divided.

It would be better to end the battle neatly when victory and defeat are the difference, than to have more serfs and citizens killed by the loser who dares to overturn his advantage.

However, in a situation where overwhelming victory has been secured, the goodwill that gives the enemy a chance to recover will surely drive allies to ruin.

So, if you don’t accept my terms, you should be prepared to split the ship.

I spoke calmly to the duke, who was scolding me, as if he were telling the obvious.

“There is a winner and a loser, and the war ends when both are satisfied with the conditions presented. Your Highness the Duke.”

“Ciel von Kreuttel… Are you insane… ? Thousands of soldiers have died, do you intend to see more blood here?”

At that, I nodded, looked the duke straight in the eyes, and said,

“Even if we see more blood here and now, we will make sure that His Highness the Duke cannot rise again. Only then will we be able to keep everyone living in the Earl of Creutel safe.”

War is a gigantic game that takes place in order to take away a certain advantage that the other party has and make it one’s own.

The Thirty Years’ War was also a war that started in the name of religion, but in reality it became a game of taking advantage of the tax collection right of the Free City belonging to the Holy Roman Empire.

However, war, unlike games, does not end once won.

So the master of war… Using the victory in the war, I must do the work of making sure that no enemies who can challenge me in the future arise.

Even if more blood is shed by our allies now, in order to prevent the same war from repeating itself in the future.

“Anyway, the war is already over, and we have an overwhelming advantage, so I just want to be honest. No, let me guess what His Highness the Duke would do.”

After hearing my words, the duke swallowed quietly and said,

“Tell me.”

“First, His Highness the Duke will go to His Majesty the Emperor immediately after this war is over and say this. ‘Your Majesty, for the future of Franchi, we must defeat that Earl of Creutel. Otherwise, the author will snowball and thrust a dagger into your throat.’”

“Funny, since you’ve already argued that Winnie can’t even be an illegitimate child… After losing this battle, there was no reason to attack again, and my honor fell to the ground. By the way, how can I claim war with you? My young friend’s imagination is going too far… His Majesty the Emperor will not listen to me.”

“I heard that His Highness the Duke saved His Majesty the Emperor from the point of being captured when he overturned an overwhelmingly unfavorable situation in the Battle of Villeune in the past. If the fact that such a duke was defeated by a child like me is known, the nobles throughout France will feel a sense of crisis. In that situation, if His Highness the Duke said that… Everyone will sympathize with and agree with Your Highness’ opinion.”

After that, it’s a video even if you don’t have to say it.

After the duke insisted like that, once they got together to some extent, everyone would think like this.

‘The Earldom of Creutel is a very large and rich land. There are even rumors that the baron here lives more prosperously than the count in other countries. So, by making a great achievement, I might… If I get even one of the baronials here, I’ll be able to get my hands on wealth and power.’

When the greed-blinded nobles’ desire, the emperor’s anxiety, and the logic advocated by Duke Architel are combined…

“If such an opinion gathers and begins to prepare for war… Of course you need a place to be an outpost, right? And geographically, the Southern Duchy of Akitel will be chosen, of course.”

The duke said in a stuttering voice, as if embarrassed to have figured out his plan.

“you… now… What the hell are you thinking?”

Either way, I continued my story to block the duke’s retreat.

“Then all the nobles of France will say: ‘Even though it caused a war without a cause, all of this was for the French Empire. Therefore, Duke Roh is a patriot who cares about the interests of the empire!’ In that way, you will naturally be able to restore the reputation that has been lost due to this war.”

“… … ”

“Also, if the Duchy of Akitel is designated as an outpost, of course, the payment of debts will be suspended or reduced by the Emperor’s decree. At the same time, Your Highness will raise money to repay the debt by selling at a very high price the wheat, barley, etc. that you have been saving and taxing from the serfs.”

Korea has also been designated as a supply base for the US military during the Vietnam War in the past, and there is a record of making huge profits from the production and brokerage of various military supplies.

In addition to this, from a historical point of view, there are not a few cases in which the country has been revived by raising enormous income by serving as an outpost in war.

In particular, transportation is not developed, and supply is difficult in this era.

When the outpost closest to the battlefield faces a war special, things like grain prices suddenly rise 2-3 times, and the value of the product rises rapidly.

Then the duke will find a hole to survive by hitting the jackpot with a stock price of +100% or +200%.

“Is that all? No matter how strong we are, we can’t beat the overwhelming numbers of Franchi’s allied forces. So we will definitely lose. After that, His Highness the Duke will, of course, receive more fiefs in addition to the territories lost to us as first-class subjects. Isn’t that what you’re thinking?”

The duke looked at me with a dignified expression and said, even though his plan had already been discovered.

“… … . It’s a real monstrous wisdom. OK, so what are you going to do now? I guess I’ll have to be more lenient on the terms if I’m not going to do what you said.”

No matter how lenient the conditions were, it would only delay the time when the dukes invaded by a few months or even a few years.

That’s why, if you bow down here, it’s nothing but a hogu.

So, it would be best to present the original condition.

The duke’s safe would be empty anyway, so the condition was to take it as real estate.

“good. In exchange for 600,000 gold coins, give me 1/4 of the territory. Isn’t that a pretty satisfying deal?”

“Pick up the bullshit… ”

I interrupted the angry Duke and said with a smile.

“Didn’t I already tell you that I was reading the Duke’s number? Also, if I’m going to ruin this plan, it’s the most convenient and sure way for me to just eat up the Duchy of Akitel. If you are not satisfied, I will lead my soldiers and completely occupy the territory.”

At those words, the duke looked at me with eyes as if he had given up on everything, as if feeling the sadness of a loser, and said,

“Good… I will end this war by handing over Winnie von Hellsman and 3/4 of my lands… ”

I quickly wrote the clause down on a prepared piece of paper and gave it to the duke, and I succeeded in obtaining the duke’s signature.

Then, I backed away and spoke with bluff.

“Your Highness, the Duke, please don’t even think about coming in as planned. We already have plans for what to do.”