188 – Yellow Plains Defense (1)

Immediately after the battle in the village of Seil, the Duke of Orléans convened a military council without even taking a break and brought the two counts together.

In normal times, it should be a meeting that should be a place to discuss policy in the forthcoming war.

When I entered a little later, I saw that the Duke of Orléans was swearing at Counts Isra and Illius, who were not even his direct vassals.

“These pagan idiots worse than heretics! How could you guys make such a mistake without leaving the concept behind in your mother’s belly!! Did the commander-in-chief, the Duke of Orléans, ask you for anything difficult! I just told them to prepare for a surprise attack by enemy knights from the rear… Why did you leave the location!!!”

After a while, the two counts who had been criticized began to appeal with expressions and voices that seemed to be unfair.

“As your Highness knows, unless Count Ilias and I cooperate, the rear has no choice but to be breached. However, Count Elias left the battle position… .”

“It was our duty to stop the knights from charging, and my knights and I did our best to fulfill that duty. So, towards the knights of Count Akitel, who were rushing forward, they attacked in a straight line and hit the side, and after that, they just chased after the momentum collapsed. It’s not an exit… ”

I saw children, no, low- to mid-level civil servants who had to follow someone’s instructions and move according to the set frame, making such excuses.

I couldn’t help but swallow what I was about to laugh out loud.

First of all, a person who becomes a duke, in terms of dignity, does not dare to curse at his parents even when he executes a heinous criminal in a place where other nobles like me can see.

No, even if the object of swearing was insulting the honor of his family and openly plundering the emperor’s count, who was not his vassal… I can’t curse like that.

Because, in any case, swearing at a noble who has a title directly appointed by the emperor is tantamount to going against the emperor.

However, since the commander of the Eastern Expeditionary Forces is the emperor’s deputy, he has somewhat transcendent authority, and those guys are criminals who have almost been sentenced to death for violating the commander’s orders.

In such a situation, if the things that should put the defense order first are blinded by the major, leading the knights in pursuit and failing to fulfill the rear defense duty… ?

If there was a guy under my command who did such crazy things, I would have killed him with my own sword.

And the duke felt the same way, but he kept yelling and saying that he couldn’t bear to kill the direct lord of the emperor.

“Say it! Damn me!! my!! After I finish this expedition, I will definitely hand over your disobedience to a military tribunal to His Majesty and put an end to this family!!”

That’s how I watched the Duke of Orléans swear and curse at the two Counts for about 10 minutes and then said,

“This battle, no, the war is not over. Please calm down, Commander, and prepare for the following. The chance of a comeback remains.”

I said that there is still a chance of a turnaround, but it is practically impossible to reverse the situation with such heavy damage.

That would be the case, though I inflicted a heavy blow on the armies of Marquis Simon and Count Laurent and forced them to retreat, resulting in a victory by decision.

This is because the Isra, Ilias, and Orleans corps, excluding the Creutel corps, lost their driving force to recover due to the pincer attack of the knights attacking from the rear and the front infantry.

However, it was necessary to say this in order to change the rigid atmosphere in which the two counts were only reprimanded.

When the Duke of Orléans heard my words, he realized that it would be neither porridge nor food if he kept getting angry like this, so he sighed and said,

“Huh, as you said, the war isn’t over yet. So, those damn things are going to be court-martialed, stripped of their titles, and decapitated anyway, so you won’t have to worry about it. then… First of all, I will tell you the situation of each corps myself.”

After the duke’s words were finished, the two counts’ faces turned white as if they had understood what their situation would be like.

In particular, Earl Ilias, who provided the cause of the collapse of the rear, was shocked so much that his eyes were temporarily opened.

Seeing that, I felt a little sorry because I had induced their defeat to some extent.

Of course, he never regretted pulling out the molars of an Elain Empire noble who could become a potential enemy.

After a while, the Duke of Orléans received a document from the administrator next to him and said while grinding it.

“First of all, 4,000 casualties and 2,000 missing in Count Ilias’ army, 2,500 casualties and 1,000 missing in Count Isra’s army. 14,000 casualties in the legion in Orléans… There are 2,000 missing. Marquis of Creutel… You have 1,800 casualties and less than 100 missing… ”

At the very end, the duke made a sarcastic remark about why I was the only one who suffered little damage to the soldiers, but I could easily overlook that much.

Because unless I openly betrayed him, I would not be able to diminish the status of the second-in-command who performed a miraculous performance in a crisis that almost destroyed the entire expeditionary force.

However, the relationship between the Duke and I ended anyway at the point where the Duke of Orléans and the two Counts shoveled in this battle.

So I responded in a humble voice.

“When dealing with soldiers, isn’t it the law to always be prepared for the odds? However, because I believed in the two counts, I only thoroughly prepared my corps.”

“Well, those idiots were wrong… It’s as if you and I are not at fault. But since the situation has already developed like this, I can’t help it.”

Even if the expedition failed because the army disintegrated because those two, as commanders, did not follow the orders given by the duke.

As the saying goes, the result is more important than the process, although the duke is only a defeat due to the trolling of his subordinates.

So, like those two counts, there is a high possibility that he will be happily dragged into a military tribunal.

Although, like Earl Ilias or Count Isra, he will not lose his nobility by confiscating his title and territory…

Perhaps he could receive a huge fine or confiscation of part of the territory, seeing that such a reality is so cruel that the commander himself says he is not at fault…

It seems like he wants to minimize his punishment, but I didn’t make any mistakes in this war, so it doesn’t matter at all.

Therefore, I changed the subject of conversation to get this guy what I was aiming for.

“By the way, isn’t it important what we do next? How did the allies secure the Earl of Iris now, but if the enemy counterattacks in the future, might the occupied territory be lost?”

The two counts, who had made a mistake in the first place and had no right to speak, were speechless, and the Duke of Orléans spoke in a bitter voice.

“If you’re not making fun of me… . don’t you know In this state, let alone advance, even the defense of Iris and the Earl of Akitel, which we barely occupied, is difficult! No, we have to go back to the territory as quickly as possible and use the remaining serfs to prepare for their counterattack. So, as commander, I am going to order the entire army to retreat.”

With the exception of our corps, about half of the other corps have been crushed, so after grasping the situation of our allies cornered in this way, thinking of Franchi’s army entering through the gap… The duke’s response was correct.

If Marquis Simon’s allied forces regain momentum, they will occupy the territories of Ilias and Count Isra.

Soon after that, they will ride the Countess of Iris and the Countess of Architel and attack my territory or the Duke of Orléans’ territory.

In that case, the losses suffered in the war are enormous, and the damage becomes more serious.

Also, His Majesty the Great Emperor will do his best to punish me like any ruthless king, no matter what method he uses based on the fact that only my troops suffer little damage.

The current commander, the Duke of Orléans, will do his best to survive and carry out the operation to destroy the Marquis of Creutel…

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My allies do not suffer too much loss thanks to the strategy I have established, and they are guarding the secret weapon to the end.

So, on the condition that they look after the rear when they retreat, if only I remain and win the battle against the Marquis Simon, I will create the basis for me to eat the Iris county…

All you have to do is reach out a hand of salvation to Ilias and Count Isra, who have plenty of room to blow their throats in the spirit of victory, and bring them under your command.

At that time, you can think about whether to make her a vassal and save her life by looking at the reaction, or if she will only allow the family to continue in exchange for dedicating the territory.

“good. However, in my judgment, the allies still need to fight against Franchi’s allied forces. So, my legion, which takes less damage, will hold them back. Wouldn’t His Majesty be happy to see you fighting so hard?”

At those words, the Duke of Orléans had even thought that even if he was defeated and returned from this expedition, he would have fulfilled a secret order that the emperor would have given… The expression on his face brightened slightly.

No, not only that, but if I lose, the impression that Marquis Creutel was the only one active in the battle will be blurred, and his own stigma will be slightly blurred…

And then he made a really sad expression and ordered.

“Marquis Ciel von Creutel, as commander, I order you to cover our retreat. Thank you for your dedication.”

You would have thought that you would have eaten me candy, but you didn’t even know that it was the other way around…

Have a nice dream for a moment.