44 – Preparing to part with the pig (3)

The Count looked at me and asked with a puzzled expression.

“No, it’s not that we’re attacking by setting up a separate camp at some distance away when we attack, but that we’re going to go ahead and encircle it… isn’t that an act that goes against the common sense of battle?”

As the saying goes, entering enemy territory and dividing the army is against common sense, and it is an action that commanders should refrain from.

Even if you think simply mathematically, the power of Count Helsman is 10 and the power of Countess of Nantes is about 20 including me.

If I fall out, I will only have a 1.5x advantage.

And of course, since I went to battle with an enemy more than twice as many as the vanguard, I will already be broken and return…

However, everything depends on how I act and the timing.

“you’re right. As you said, in a normal fight, we’re dealing with more than twice as many enemies, so we’re more likely to take near-annihilation damage. But… everyone, please look at the map.”

After that, I moved the words symbolizing the count of Nantes and Hellsmann’s army to the ‘Plain of Linz’, the place where we would meet, with my baton stuck in my waist, and then continued.

“That’s why we, Kreutel, march together to the vicinity of the Linz Plain. And here, at the point where we and Count Helsman confront each other, the Kreutel army makes a separate detour to the city of Helsman.”

After I finished speaking, I moved my baton and placed the ‘chess piece’, the symbol of Baron Creutel’s army, right in front of the city of Helsman.

As soon as I moved on, the Count of Nantes signaled with a wink at the Baron of Circleland.

Then, a moment later, Baron Circleland presented a counterargument.

“Not a bad operation. However, wouldn’t the main unit be divided in Count Helsmann’s territory? If I were Hellsman, I’d turn my army around and hit your army as soon as I got the move. You guys have a lot of heads, but aren’t the majority infantry? I don’t think I can withstand the knights’ charge.”

The charge of a knight on horseback is very powerful.

If you’re dealing with serfs who don’t wear proper armor, you can take down up to three people with one lance, and if you think about the deaths of foot soldiers who get hit by horses on the way…

If the knights charge into a square made entirely of serfs, they can kill roughly 2-5 serfs per knight.

Of course, our unit won’t die like that because we’ve equipped everyone with breastplates and received proper military training…

Even with the polearm fully deployed, it will take a ton of damage.

Therefore, I nodded, threw a message agreeing with Baron Crescent’s words, and said.

“As you said, although our foot soldiers are slightly armed, they cannot withstand the knights’ charge. However, as you said, the chances of our Kreutel army facing the enemy’s intact army are close to ‘0’.”

Hearing that, the Count looked at me and asked.

“Why?”

“First of all, our marching speed is much faster than their army’s marching speed. So if you start from a similar place, you can get to Hellsman City much faster than they do. And unless Count Hellsman is an idiot, is he crazy and will he turn his back to His Excellency Count of Nantes’ army, who has a numerical superiority 1.5 times greater?”

In fact, Creutel’s army marches with only portable food such as biscuits and salted meat, and since everyone is a ‘trained standing army’, they can march much faster than an army made up of only serfs.

Read at noblemtl.com

Just a month ago, right before we went to fight the Celtic Barons and the Barons of Santoburg, even on a 40km march, we were able to move 1.5 times faster than a typical army of this era.

Therefore, if we start from a similar location, of course we have no choice but to arrive at Helsman City before them.

No, even if we march much slower than they do, if we hit us, we will be attacked by a pincer attack from the count of Nantes and us, Creutel…

When that happens, they fall into a trap from which they cannot escape.

Count Hellsman, a commanding officer with common sense, couldn’t think of such a thing, and he would certainly send the army of Baron Creutel first, even if it meant putting the capital of his county under siege.

That way, after defeating the Count of Nantes with all your might, you’ll be able to attack us with relative ease.

I went on and on to highlight the good points of my tactics.

“And think about it. Since the Linz Plain, which was used as a decisive battleground, is located about 7 days away from the enemy’s stronghold, reinforcements are not immediately recruited from the city… Even if they last for only a week, they will not be able to receive reinforcements that have not exhausted their strength at all. there is. However, if I have their castle under siege, I will not dare to send reinforcements easily.”

An irrefutable strategy was put forward, but this time Baron Hiber opposed it.

“There are 10,000 citizens living in the city of Hellsmann, and over 150,000 people live in the Countess of Hellsman alone! So, if you are in danger, you can recruit them to fight back!! In that case, you may be isolated.”

It sounds plausible at first glance, but this is nothing more than bullshit.

Because if you have already robbed the army of the barons under Earl Hellsmann and recruited 10,000 men, the remaining military resources will all be ‘old or obscure enough to be used as soldiers’.

And if you go further, if you are untrained soldiers, even if you bring 5,000 men, we will win.

Going even further…

I snorted at that, and deliberately pretended to be angry, throwing off my gloves and saying as if I was going to challenge a duel.

“stop!! No matter how much the baron is older than me, it’s not rude!! If you leave and gather 10,000 citizens and guards in the city, no matter how many times you hit it, it will be around 1,500. Then we Kreutel will be surrounded by soldiers with a difference of twice as much and lose!! Also, it will take at least a month to conscript and gather all the serfs in Count Helsman’s territory, so are you even sure that the Count will not be able to win even with 1.5 times as many troops by that time?!”

Having said this, however, if you are the Count, who views war as a romantic story in chivalric literature, to put it bluntly, I think you will lose anyway.

Now, he pretends to accept the common sense advice of the barons around him, but when a ‘decisive situation’ approaches, that type of monarch always steps in when he shouldn’t.

In fact, that nobleman didn’t even come to a situation where I had to protect me because of the declaration of war, and he ripped off 3,000 gold coins based on a feudal contract that had already lost its justification.

After I said that in a loud voice, Count Nantes walked in front of Baron Hiber and scolded him loudly.

“Baron Creutel is right! Even if you put up with everything else, do you really think that I will lose my right arm and be defeated by an older count’s army that is outnumbered by ours?! Baron Hiber!!! How dare you insult my honor!!”

I intended it, but it’s easy to deal with because I didn’t really have it in my head.

Hearing those words, Baron Heiber knelt down and begged the Count for forgiveness.

“I dare not insult the count’s honor. Please forgive me, sir, for wanting to cherish the count.”

Seeing the baron, much older than himself, forgetting his face and begging for forgiveness under the weight of his authority, the Count smiled and said, holding out his right hand.

“I will forgive you.”

“I am embarrassed, Your Excellency.”

“Be a little more careful next time. Even though I’m going to the first battle… Wouldn’t it be much better than the first battle of my vassal, Baron Creutel?”

After all, you don’t even know your subject.

Certainly, the conditions for ‘first appearance’ are the same as me and that guy, but the level of preparation for you and me is different.

I guaranteed my soldiers one year of training, good equipment, large salaries, plenty of food, and a future…

Schwein, you are just a newbie who leads the retainers of Nantes to the first battle without thinking.

However, Baron Hiber and Baron Crescent were blown away by the words and flattered, probably because that new chick was also a count.

“Is that so? Your Excellency… I look forward to it.”

“I believe that if we win this battle, we will be rewarded quite a bit. I heard that the village of Count Helsmann’s territory is very rich…”

“No, the battle hasn’t even started yet, so why are you already eating soup before dinner! Aren’t I a burden?”

He said it was burdensome, but the Count had a rather natural look on his face.

Except for those two barons, the other barons also had expressions of a little awakening at the reaction, but not one of them, including me, showed that emotion.

And we talked for two hours about who would be in charge of the spearhead and how to supply.

The Count of Nantes took a serious part only when talking about the vanguard, and showed no interest in the ‘simple business’ of supplies, marches, and soldiers’ salaries.

No, on the contrary, he rubbed his eyes as if he was sleepy.

Seeing that, I even thought that it would be less damaging to fight with only Count Hellsman and our Kreutel army than to fight that idiot.

I don’t give importance to the most basic things, because there’s no way the army will work properly.

I really think I’ll stay up all night looking forward to how miserable that pig will become after this battle.

But on the other hand, even if I possess Ciel von Creutel and have only seen him for a few days, when I think of the viscount who trusted me and handed over his title to me, he would be worried and sad…

It’s resentful to the point of grinding teeth, but the fact that this is the best… I felt even more sad.

**

After the strategy meeting, I partly avoided the other barons and returned to my quarters.

Today, I asked the servant who will be waiting at the inn, and after a long time… I’m going to have a drink alone and sleep.

When I went back to the inn with that in mind, Balt stood in front of my door as if he had been waiting for me to come.

So I joked with Balt to ease his gloomy heart.

“Balt, what are you doing when you haven’t slept yet? Have you run out of money to meet a girl? I can’t help it. It’s a good feeling because it’s before the march! I’ll give you a gold coin. Bring the guards with you.”

Hearing that, Balt looked at me with a serious expression and said.

“Your Excellency, you don’t look good… Do you have any concerns?”

I waved my hands and pretended to be okay.

“No, go in and sleep today. Let’s play tomorrow, and the day after tomorrow will tell us how to behave.”

After saying that, I forcibly put a gold coin into Balt’s hand.

After Balt received the gold coin, he quietly left me without saying anything, muttering to himself.

“I don’t know what kind of worries or thoughts you have, but… We, the vassals of Kreutel, will follow His Excellency no matter what choice you make. So, call us if you need us.”

In Balt’s muttered words, I could feel his sincere heart.

After hearing that, I called a servant and had him bring me a bottle of the finest wine and cheese.

Then, as I locked the door and drank quietly, I swallowed the guilt of what I had done.

At the same time, I was determined to realize the plan I was about to commit.

**

And the next day, after confirming that Balt and the other soldiers went out as I intended.

Then I ordered a servant to prepare twenty gold coins and a letter for the two maids whom I had sent to Schwein and who had become concubines.

In the letter he wrote:

[His Excellency, Count of Nantes, is about to embark on his first campaign and will probably be anxious, so you guys should wholeheartedly comfort him in bed. And at the head of the bed, in his ear, ‘Your Excellency, you can perform more wonderfully than the knights in chivalric literature.’ comfort me saying -Ciel von Kreuttel-]

As long as he goes this far, he will definitely pull out the teeth of the Count of Nantes in this battle.