163 – Ready for all-out war (7)

I, Joseph von Orléans, was born as the heir to the long-established family of Counts of Orléans, which has been around for hundreds of years since the Empire was founded.

Since I was young, I grew up watching the backs of my grandfather and father who firmly guarded my family, and I wanted to become a person like them.

Therefore, he did not hesitate to stand at the forefront of the war in which our family participated as an heir, as well as the manners, knowledge, military knowledge, martial arts, and knowledge required as a nobleman.

Deus was moved by that effort, and before I knew it, I became a competent heir and the next count, who was said to be the hope of Orléans.

Thanks to taking the side of the current emperor, who was the second prince at the time, in the civil war of the empire, where the survival of the family was at stake, he was granted a larger territory and duchy.

There was a time when he thought that everything would work out if the civil war was settled, but with the sudden expedition order, he was ready to take a risk again and began to prepare fully.

However, unforeseen variables always occur in war, and I am currently wringing my brains out to come up with a trick to solve that variable.

“Count Valière, so what?”

“Yes, Your Highness the Duke. Your Excellency, Marquis of Creutel, has sent you a letter. However, the contents are a bit peculiar.”

“Isn’t the other Marquis Ciel? I’m not surprised no matter what you do. I will read it myself.”

Count Valieri immediately handed me a letter, and inside it was written something really shocking.

Until the Marquis claims to be the vanguard, it will be in order to regain His Majesty’s trust, so even so, won’t you receive any reward in return?

If you do that, will you pay me well enough?

There is no way that a person with an army powerful enough to be noticed by His Majesty and an economic power enough to shake the country would make the greatest sacrifice and go to war for nothing in order to regain ‘His Majesty’s trust’.

“Count Vallière, I doubt whether this was written by the damned Marquis. Isn’t it?”

“However, the seal and signature used are clearly those of the Marquis. It seems that you have noticed the secret agreement between Your Majesty, His Highness the Regent of Brussels, and the Duke of Orléans. Or maybe someone exposed it… ”

First of all, as Valiere said, the possibility of exposing secret drugs is close to zero.

Because when we made this secret agreement, we signed it in the secret room of the imperial palace, and the only people who participated in it were me, the regent, and His Majesty.

Also, when we signed the secret agreement, we decided to inform only the head vassal we trusted the most.

And speaking of me, the regent, and the head vassal of His Majesty, I am a trustworthy vassal who has been loyal for several generations, more than a count.

There’s no way such people would give up the honor, prestige, and status that their family had built up over generations, and fire under the damned Marquis.

“You, Count of Ghent of the Ducal Family of Brussels, Countess of the Palatre Court under His Majesty… If everyone loses the trust of their masters, they will lose the trust and honor built up by their ancestors.”

“That’s right. then… ?”

“Isn’t it obvious? Looking at the mobilization of soldiers beyond the imposed military service and the fact that he took the lead… They guessed that we were trying to force attrition by sending the Marquis to the vanguard. Shit, it seems like they noticed it because it was a tactic they used too much when purging powerful noble families.”

At that, Valiere smiled and sighed in response.

“However, as long as His Highness the Duke is the commander-in-chief… Drive your Excellency the Marquis of Creutel at the forefront of a war that is intense and difficult to make achievements as a secret promise, and you can use reserve forces from the rear when fighting for territory conquest for the reason of ‘damage and reorganization of troops’. If you refuse, if you punish for violating the military order… .”

“If you want to purify other nobles, you can do that. However, the opponent is that Marquis Ciel von Kreuttel. Even if you are thrown into a ridiculously unfavorable situation, you will persevere and achieve victory in ways you can’t imagine. I had the confidence to do so, so I would have written such a provocative expression openly. And in a battlefield where it is difficult to establish a major, in other words, if you win there, you must give an overwhelming reward.”

“You don’t assume your Excellency’s failure.”

“He is a madman who destroyed the army of Count Aquitel, who was called the strongest in France, with only a loss of less than a thousand men. No matter how disadvantageous the battlefield is, it will definitely reap the results. That would put me and the other nobles at a disadvantage.”

If I hadn’t told him to put me in the vanguard, I would have stood up and forced him to bleed without having to worry like this…

As long as you openly heard the provocative words that you will play an overwhelming role in the vanguard, the next best thing is to deprive that guy of the opportunity to make a contribution.

Although the power of the Marquis of Creutel may not be reduced much, the situation will change if my family and other nobles make a big contribution in the expedition and occupy a large territory in the eastern part of France.

I will rule as the leader of the greatest power in the East and at the same time the leader of them.

If that happens, there will be no need to notice the Marquis of Creutel anymore.

Or rather, that guy whose power is weaker than our eastern part will crawl in front of me…

“Since it has become difficult to put Count Vallière and Marquis Ciel von Kreuttel at the forefront in this war and consume their strength… Our eastern nobles must expand their territory by mobilizing more soldiers to keep him in check. And at the center of it, of course, there must be our family, the Duke of Orléans. Now that this has happened, I, the commander-in-chief, will be in charge of spearheading this war.”

After hearing my words, Valiere hardened his expression as if he couldn’t help it.

“Yes, I understand. Then, how many troops will we gather?”

“At least 40,000. Conscript 50,000 if possible. The fate of our family depends on this war. Borrow money from the damned Medica family merchants and tax them on the condition that they allow monopoly trade in the newly acquired territories. If that’s still not enough, borrow it at the lowest possible interest rate.”

“I will follow your orders.”

The survival and prosperity of the family are all at stake in this war.

If we lose, our family will be ruined, and if we win, our family will grow to the extent that the Duke of Brussels, who serves as the regent, will not be envied.

“Ah, Count Valier. Deliver this news to His Majesty the Emperor, and order the other counts and barons to increase the prepared forces by 1.5 times.”

**

Two months after the letter was sent, a letter from the Duke of Orléans arrived along with the emperor’s edict.

[I, Joseph von Orléans, greatly admired your loyalty and determination, and at the same time, I was relieved that the person who would take my place was so strong-willed. So I also gladly recommended Ciel von Kreuttel to His Majesty the Emperor as the spearhead of this Eastern Command. However, His Majesty the Emperor refused, saying that the other lords should also be given a chance to make their mark. However, you have already declared that you will remember the passion and loyalty you tried to show by giving up rewards while doing things that others are reluctant to do. –Joseph von Orléans-]

[Tell the Marquis of Creutel. As I heard from the Duke of Orléans, there are still quite a few people in this empire who doubt the Lord’s loyalty. However, after hearing about his courage and boldness this time, there will be no one who does not believe in the loyalty of Ciel von Kreuttel, even those fools. Even though I couldn’t get what I wanted, I’ll lower the second commander’s baton and flag in exchange for loyalty, so prove it on the battlefield. I believe that the wonder will be the shield of the empire. -Adolph de Heline- ]

If I hadn’t said anything because they were already wary of me, they would have put them in the vanguard and forced ridiculous sacrifices.

For example, there are ways to force the role of the anvil by driving the vanguard, crushing the enemy by using the majority of the Eastern Command with a hammer, and so on.

Of course, even if you do that, if you use cannons, grenades, and a large amount of rifles, which are currently coming out, you can overcome and win.

If that happens, they will have to give me a huge territory and a high title in exchange for winning an impossible war.

Unlike conscripts who can be gathered like harvesting from a wheat field, soldiers who take a long time to train properly will die like crazy.

And I have to invest a long time to train the manpower to replace them, but there is no way the Romanian and French Empires and His Majesty the Emperor of Elaine will leave that gap.

So, if you stand in the vanguard, you’ve succeeded in making another person stand in his stead by deceiving that some evil plan will be revealed.

Now all I have to do is… It must be to pull out as many cannons and grenades as possible so that they can be dragged on a cart.

Also, if you do politics like that, I’ll do the same.

“Give an order to the intelligence headquarters to meet the heads or heirs of noble families under the age of 30 who are participating in the expeditionary force and tell them to solve the information secretly. At this time, we should go slightly lower and have them invest beauty and bribes.”

If I use it on a guy like Schwein, it becomes a magical ploy that completely allows me to move as I want, so what if it boosts the confidence of young nobles at least?

I’m sure a bunch of nobles, blinded by their exploits, will come and charge and take a ton of damage.

Then the emperor, the regent, and the Duke of Orléans, who harass me, will really like it.