165 – Ready for all-out war (9)

“In this war, the allies are in charge of the rear, not the vanguard, to avoid engagement as much as possible. When I am with other nobles, I do not plan to use cannons, grenades, or combat engineers except for matchlocks in war.”

The enemy will be wary of the allies even with just one gun that breaks the balance of the battlefield, but if you use a cannon that can efficiently slaughter more troops than a gun… ?

Unless the nobles in the enemy army are stupid idiots, they will stalemate the front by leaving a minimum of troops in the front and then mobilize knights to attack us, the troublemakers in the rear.

By doing so, the only way to reduce damage is to harpoon opponents who use long-range attacks with cannons that they cannot counter at all.

In addition, guns and grenade launchers are less effective against knights with faster mobility than infantry, as they can attack less often within the same effective range.

In particular, since the gun has been released to the world once, it is highly likely that it will not be able to show its absolute superiority as before.

Then the Duke of Orléans would use this opportunity to slowly crush the French soldiers in the front, then leave us and the enemy to engage in a fierce battle of attrition.

And taking advantage of that gap, he will use us as an anvil, force sacrifices, and exploit the pretext that his strategy as the commander-in-chief was correct, and use the privilege of the high-ranking person to become the first public servant of the Eastern Expeditionary Force.

At the same time, using the position of an ally, we will investigate and secure the number of our trumps that will be potential enemies as much as possible, and then find a countermeasure.

So, it is much more efficient to just hold a matchlock with a range of about 50 meters and repel the enemies approaching from the rear.

Then there will be no reason to be overly alert and attacked by Franchi’s Eastern Defense Forces, and there will be no reason for the enemy to find out about our trump card.

“In that way, we will only play the role of protecting the rear of the Eastern Command and replenishing the broken line as a reserve. First of all, let me ask you questions.”

“Then, wouldn’t it be necessary to organize cannons, grenades, and combat engineers? In particular, it takes one wagon pulled by one horse to transport one cannon. I think it’s a way to save a lot of money rather than dragging it.”

No matter how wealthy our family is compared to other nobles…

It is not a good idea to go to war with weapons that you will never use, wasting grain and manpower for transportation.

So, that’s probably what you’re saying.

“That only applies if the Eastern Expeditionary Force led by His Highness the Duke of Orléans wins this war without any problems. However, looking at the current situation, it is clear that this war will fail. And he’s about to use the new weapons we’ve prepared. Then, first of all, let me point out the reasons why this expedition is not successful.”

Then, I drew a line connecting Architel, Count Iris, and Marquis Simon on the map with a pen and said.

“First of all, an expeditionary force of 70,000 was initially organized for this expedition, including the Duke of Orléans, the Counts of Elias, the Counts of Isra, and myself. However, after I mobilized 30,000 troops, I heard that according to intelligence, the Duke of Orléans gathered serfs and mercenaries for 40,000, Ilias 20,000, and Isra 15,000. It is certainly a large force, but with this force it is difficult to occupy and maintain the Counties of Aquitel, Iris, and Simon.”

Of course, the serfs would not resist to the extent of engaging in guerrilla battles like the righteous soldiers of the Joseon Dynasty.

However, the number of nobles, knights, and soldiers in the Eastern Expedition Army would gradually decrease as they fought several rotations or sieges.

Also, even if war merchants provide some supply… When you go on an expedition, at least you have to take care of the war merchants so that they don’t get attacked by serfs who lost their villages and food and became bandits.

And considering the soldiers who would desert in the middle of the war… It is impossible to acquire and maintain all three territories.

“The second reason is the passion of young nobles like Count Ilias in our expeditionary force. And these days, they were blinded by the will to fight because of the encouragement of the concubines I sent in the sense of goodwill and the victory in the civil war. Some of those guys will disobey the commander’s orders and try to charge or attack. In the aftermath, there is a high possibility that the entire army will suffer further damage and lose.”

So why am I saying this as a joke in Modern Warfare?

‘If there is a human trying to be a hero around you, run away from him or kill him. Otherwise, you too will die because of that aspiring hero.’

In addition, the military of this era is still in the era where, with the exception of our Kreutel army, it is an era that attracts attention for doing honorable work if only a major is established, even if it violates the ‘order’ to some extent.

In such an era, the army led by ambitious nobles will shut up and charge at the slightest opening of the enemy.

“For this reason, it is very likely that our expeditionary force will be defeated in a rotation in the Countess of Iris or the Marquis of Simon. If so… His Highness, the Duke of Orléans, will order us in the rear to wait while our troops retreat.”

Then, it would be best for the Duke of Orléans, the commander of the Eastern Army who created such a situation, to take responsibility and take charge of the rear…

His Highness the Duke is doing such a thing in order to safely return his remaining troops to the Duchy of Orléans.

At the same time, if I succeed in severely cutting my forces, one of the goals of this expedition, consuming as many soldiers as possible, will be achieved.

So, His Majesty the Emperor must be gracious and lower the level of punishment.

But if you disobey the order… ‘The reason our empire was defeated is because of that Creutel traitor!!’ Saying that, he will lead the defeated soldiers, expand the territory, and cover up his mistakes using the ‘traitor’.

“At that time, we will inevitably face the enemy’s large army from the rear as ordered. And then the cannons, grenades, and combat engineers we have prepared will shine.”

Throwing a grenade kills a few soldiers approaching in close formation, but a cannon is a weapon that fires steel balls at speeds exceeding dozens of kilometers per hour.

So, if you hit the incoming soldiers with square formations, at least a few people, at most dozens, will die in one shot.

In addition, after shooting with a matchlock and completely destroying the square using combat engineers, if you enter close combat…

Even if you face an army that is several times larger, you will be able to win.

The barons also spoke with hopeful voices even in difficult situations, as if they had believed in me who had led them to victory no matter how adverse circumstances approached.

“There hasn’t been anything wrong with His Excellency’s words so far. Especially in war. What more could we suspect?”

“A war that must be fought anyway, we will follow only Your Excellency.”

“To protect the retreat of the other units after a heavy defeat to His Excellency’s lookout… It annoys me that protecting is a ploy to sacrifice us… I believe you will reward us that much.”

And I smiled at them and said

“Sounds natural. Anyway, we are a large army with 105,000 men. So, no matter how badly you try, you will be able to invade the Iris county. There, we will send our defeated allies alone and face the enemy’s large army… ”

He paused for a moment, then immediately opened his mouth.

“No matter how much the Duke of Orléans dislikes us, if we retreat the enemy’s large army and stabilize the territory in that state… can you star All achievements obtained from the capture and defense of the Earl of Iris and the Earl of Akitel go back to our family. Then you guys… No, let’s reward them without regret.”

For a moment, silence passed between us.

Because I called them by the title ‘Kyung’, which is used by emperors to call vassals under their direct control, and that means that I will seize this opportunity and become independent from the Elain Empire.

“Also, don’t worry about the conflict that will arise during the occupation, you just have to follow my orders there and keep it. So, don’t worry about anything and prepare for the war that will be in a year. dissolution.”

**

So we thoroughly prepared for the war for a year.

As a result, 20 light cannons with a capacity of 500 kg, 500 combat engineers and grenadiers, and 30,000 troops were safely recruited.

It would have been nice if there were more than 20 cannons…

Even during the Thirty Years’ War, he fought on the battlefield with about 10 gates, so this should be enough.

Then, I led all my troops and marched to the first assembly point, Champagne Castle.