62 – Pig Hunt (3)

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Mr. Clausewitz said, “It takes an hour to walk from the rear of an 8,000-man division to the position of the vanguard.” he said.

And because it takes a lot of time and effort to move so many people at once, he said that he usually only goes 3 to 5 miles a day.

Therefore, it was said that a wise commander should march by dividing the troops into as many small pieces as possible within the ‘range of mutual protection’.

And in fact, any commander who has ever commanded an army would agree.

It took me 20 days to march to the Ethlon Plain, which I could have reached in three days if I walked alone, even in the first round of the Ethlon Plain.

However, it is difficult to maintain ‘a range of protection’, and since the army of this era was mainly made up of serfs who were conscripted without pay, morale was hitting the bottom.

So, if you divide the army into small groups, desertion becomes easier, and as a result, you can see the magic that 10,000 people went and 6,000 to 7,000 people arrived.

However, unlike those half-assed guys, our army is a ‘standing army’, and it even provides welfare on time, which even modern European countries couldn’t, so we were able to split up our troops without worrying about desertion.

Also, to increase the speed of the soldiers’ march, they marched with food, tents, weapons, and armor all loaded onto carts…

We were able to march about 15 miles a day with a little exaggeration.

As a result.

“Your Excellency, according to Belladora-sama’s report, who went on a preliminary reconnaissance, it’s just an hour’s walk from here to the Strnheim Plain.”

Surely Schwein would never have thought that our army could come this far in just two weeks after the war started.

Also, let’s see where Schwein is by now, considering the distance from Nantes Castle to here… It will probably arrive in the next five days.

“Did you hear anything more from Chris?”

“As a result of Belladora-sama’s confirmation, it is said that all units have gathered and set up a military camp, except for the three companies that are currently coming after His Excellency. And please take this here.”

After that, the messenger dismounted and politely handed me the ‘map’ with both hands.

“Is this a map of the Sternheim Plain?”

“Yes, Belladora-sama told me to make sure to deliver it and to inform you of His Excellency’s reaction.”

“Okay.”

Hearing that, I quickly unfolded the map.

There is one village with about 1,000 people at the center of the vast plain, two villages with about 800 people, and 3,000 hectares of fields… From our camp to a huge river that flows about 30 minutes away…

The position to fight against the enemy army is on the riverside, and the enemy has to cross the river to attack us, so it is advantageous…

I can give 100 points out of 100 for this kind of research and design.

Unless you are an empty-headed commander, you can come up with a great strategy just by looking at this.

“Perfect, of course Chris. Let me tell you I admired it. And summon all commanders above the rank of captain so that the military council can begin as soon as I arrive.”

“Yes, I understand.”

After saying that, the messenger quickly mounted his horse and ran out to deliver my order.

Chris Belladora, a woman full of ambition who holds my secrets and tries to hold a ‘government office’ unbecoming a woman of this era.

Depending on the talent that matches that ambition, and the achievements made in this war, I will keep it by my side instead of Balt and raise it…

Baltic guys are all nice, but they can’t do more than what they’re told to do.

While thinking about such things, I spurred on the horse and hurriedly walked.

**

The camp of my army, which Chris would have led, was installed at a near-perfect level.

In the case of the barracks where the soldiers stayed, the camp was set up by dividing the area into 500 people to prepare for a possible night attack, and as I instructed, the cooking area and toilet were installed at a sufficient distance.

And the toilet only instructed me not to bury it in the ground near the camp, but Chris went a step further and installed a ‘big wooden barrel’ for each platoon, and even decided the order of the soldiers to blow it up…

The company I led was also able to set up a ‘camp’ in an hour faster than usual.

As a result, on the night of my arrival, I immediately gathered all the commanders and held a military council.

**

When I entered the largest tent I would use to participate in the military conference, there was already a temporary meeting table and chairs made by stacking shields, and the commanders were sitting.

Seeing me, all the commanders tried to stand up, but I raised my hand and instructed that it was not necessary.

And as I sat down, Chris came in and hung up a large copy of the map I had seen behind me to the left and started explaining.

“I, Chris Belladora, will brief you on the current situation by order of Your Excellency the Baron. After arriving here as a preceding unit, we began detailed reconnaissance of all areas within a three-day walking distance, but Schwein’s unit has not been found so far.”

No matter how short it is, we can afford to rest here for at least three days and reorganize our troops.

In addition, our location is a place where we can quickly capture Nantes Castle and the enemy’s key strategic points.

Therefore, the enemy will never try to drive us out of here quickly, even for a day, and they will fight us in a weary and untidy state.

“Okay, then how much do you guess the enemy’s army is?”

The one who answered those words was my father, Viscount Kreuttel.

“Assuming that the letters I exchanged with the other barons are correct, two of the eight barons will be left out… There will be about 1,600 knights and 18,000 foot soldiers.”

Except for the increase in the count’s direct jurisdiction and the number of vassal knights after taking over the Countess of Hellsmann…

Even my father, who claimed to be his guardian following the will of the previous Count of Nantes, is on our side, so why do those barons still side with the Schwein?

According to my prediction, I thought that by now, 4 out of 8 would leave, and about 1 would surrender to us at all…

“Father, why do the other barons side with Schwein? The justification for serving him as a lord has already been broken, and isn’t it a situation where just serving him will destroy your ‘honor’?”

Hearing that, the father put his hand on his head and said in an annoyed voice.

“We have a just cause, and the record we have shown so far is splendid… But isn’t there a difference of 8 times in the number of knights and 3 times in the number of soldiers? And the Count said he would allow unlimited plunder if he won this war.”

Crazy, crazy, the cost of fighting this war would be no joke, but ignoring such a situation and raising the morale of nobles and soldiers with ‘unlimited plunder’…

It’s amazing that you can run like that without thinking ahead!

If we allowed plundering of a place that overflowed with money and food compared to other territories, like our Kreutel, the morale of the conscripts would be higher than expected, thinking of grabbing a share and tasting women with this opportunity.

And after a while, the knights who were angry at the unlimited plundering got up and started shouting.

“Is that a human bastard!?”

“Oh, isn’t it Schwein? You pig, you are not human.”

“As expected, Your Excellency, the great Count of Nantes!! A pagan would be more honorable!!”

So, to boost morale, I also added one more word to their words.

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Mixed with some of the knights’ favorite explicit sexual jokes.

“When I was in Nantes, when Schwein saw a married woman, he was full of desire and ran like a pig in heat. According to the letters I received from the two maids I sent before, there are as many as two widows among the ‘concubines’! Even then, it wasn’t enough, so he’s an idiot who even tried to lay his hands on Ella.”

At that, all the knights started laughing like madmen, as if they had never been angry.

After a while I said, pointing the baton I was holding to the other side of the river where we were.

“We accordingly meet head-on with honor to greet the horned pig and his knights. Arrange the carts we brought in a circle at the location I pointed out to make it like a castle, and I will guard that place with my infantry.”

After hearing that, the knights and commanders looked at each other to see if they had heard the hallucinations.

And with your eyes, ‘Is this a true story?’ We had a silent conversation while doing this, and when we confirmed that it was correct, everyone stood up and protested at once.

“Your Excellency, that is not possible!! Would your honorable baron leave the knights alone and stand on the battlefield with infantry?”

“No matter how much I agree with His Excellency’s words, this is not enough. Rather use a woman as a commander. What bullshit are you talking about?”

“you’re right!!”

As they say, the ‘nobles’ of this era, especially the ‘lords with titles’ like me, never fight with foot soldiers.

Because it’s an age when it’s considered that there’s an insurmountable wall between a knight riding a horse and wearing armor and fighting on foot.

That’s why I fought with them in Ethlon even though I couldn’t charge with a lance.

But now, since I must stand at the vanguard of the infantry, I drew out my sword and slammed it on the desk to crush them.

“Be quiet!! It’s not that I don’t understand the words of the Lords, but the foot soldiers know their honor even though they are of a different status from you! Seeing people like Sergeant Mark, Sergeant Short, and Lieutenant Frost, how can you ignore the infantry!! And, where did the Lords learn to speak of ‘honor’ without listening to their lord’s words to the end!”

Because I had never taken a picture of the knights like this before, all the knights were in shock and just stared blankly at me.

“Listen carefully. The greatest dishonor is defeat, and the greatest honor is victory. I would rather win with a little humiliation than lose with honor. And I will share the fruits of that victory with you. I will stand on the same front as the infantry for him.”

And I continued the explanation by drawing a circle symbolizing a cart on the map.

“There are 150 carts to install, and each cart holds one platoon, and the platoon consists of 15 crossbowmen, 10 pikemen, and 5 halberds as already organized. I will enter the front cart facing the enemy. And the nearby infantry, who did not collide with the knights, waited in the formation made of carts, and at the moment the enemy’s charging power was broken, they turned around the enemy’s right side and left one side behind to encircle them. Do you have any questions so far?”

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My father listened to my words and asked as if representing everyone, as if representing their intentions.

“Can you stop the knights from attacking with just a cart? And no matter how foolish the enemy is, there is no way the enemy will charge when the enemy has set up a defensive line. Also, even if the knights were repulsed, the enemy’s infantry remained. How are you going to deal with the infantry?”

This is a reasonable point, because a horse and a knight riding on it in great iron armor can, with a little exaggeration, destroy even a thin-walled house.

Also, the strategy I proposed doesn’t touch the 18,000 ‘infantry’ at all, but if there is a commander to take care of them… ‘Because we are annihilated.’

“I don’t know if there’s a cart, but no matter how many knights have hearts of iron, they can’t keep their ‘speed’ perfectly in front of a barrage of arrows from crossbowmen. Besides, since the crossbow only travels in a ‘straight line’, it will give even greater terror to those and their horses in front… the speed will be reduced by about half. And I have given the crossbowmen a ‘goat’s foot’ that makes the reloading of a normal crossbow almost twice as fast. So 1/5 to 1/10 of the knights will charge at us already dead. But can you pierce our sturdy cart?”

All the knights must have imagined the scene of being showered with a rain of crossbow arrows, and some of them started to turn white.

“Knights in fear like that will surely keep charging and attacking us until the first knights that charge reach the cart, according to the honor built into their heads. After that, when you try to reorganize again, it will be a mess. If you don’t miss the timing and the knights attack the flank… the knights will be annihilated. The count who will be in it will also be captured.”

As a further objection, shall I say that I can bet my wrist that the infantry, demoralized by the loss of their knights, will surrender unconditionally?

But they all just stared blankly at me, as if they had all given up their objections.

So, in order to convince them, I calmly handed over the words of assurance of victory.

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Just like I always did when I practiced the four cycles, when I made sugar, when I won at Ethlon, when I captured Hellsman Castle with only 3000 soldiers.

“Nasiel von Kreuttel has already won. Sirs, raise your achievements in the war you have already won, and take from me the land and wealth for your wife and children. For those who give credit, I will give the knights a greater domain and a higher family status, officers with knighthood and noble honor, and soldiers with more land and a prosperous daily life.”

**

And after a week, I finally met the great Sir Schwein at a distance of about 100 meters.

Even from a distance, Schwein’s army was divided into ‘foolish foot soldiers who couldn’t even properly line up’ and elite knights.

That’s enough to say that you don’t expect anything from foot soldiers, but after all, Schwein is terribly pathetic.

So I opened my mouth to lure poor Schwein into my trap and end his life miserably.

With the provocation of trashy words called Dirty Garbage Talk, which marked the beginning of the war in the Middle Ages, and the ultimate keyboard warrior skill acquired while fighting against the reverse gallers who live in Korea but claim to be honorary citizens of the Japanese Empire.

“Schwein von Nantes!! When you see a married woman, you get horny and you can’t live unless you put your hands on it!! I tried to touch Ella, but I couldn’t. That look is very funny! Even when challenged to a duel, he couldn’t hit me even once, and I thought he’d get beaten until he turned into a schnitzel, then fried! It’s really a pity that I couldn’t fry you in front of everyone because of the title of count inherited from my father!!”

At that, my soldiers started laughing like crazy.

“Ah, I’m sorry Schwein. You already abandoned the loyal Baron Creutel family and had no honor because you were scum who broke away from the vanguard of the lance charge. Shouldn’t I be the only fool to insult a person without honor? Hello! I need a confession to forgive me for provoking a scum without honor according to the conventions of war!! Do you have holy water!”

Then someone sensibly brought me a glass of water, although it was not holy water.

Looking at his face, Mark, the deputy platoon leader of the platoon I trust the most…

After washing my mouth with that water, I shouted out loud to provoke Schwein.

“Poor honorable knights serving trash without honor! And his soldiers!! I sympathize with you. So, out of pity for that life, I will finally tell you what a ‘true honorable war’ is! However, since our knights are in a different position to face weaklings like you directly, I will greet them as infantry. Then run to the promised time tomorrow morning!! This old man himself will teach you honor as a gift to the underworld.”