Chapter 224

EP.224

Reich Imperial Army Command Headquarters Barracks.

“A toast to the Stockholm idiots and Warsaw barbarians who died with their heads broken!”

“Corporal, if you drink alcohol so quickly, you will be in big trouble. “Take a bite of the meat here first.”

“Long live the Baumann Platoon!”

Outside the barracks, junior officers and soldiers are eating and drinking as much as they want, celebrating victory in the war.

However, instead of eating and drinking, we in the barracks had to work without resting according to Captain Keitel’s orders, even though we had won the war.

Even though they had won the war and completely defeated the enemy, their desperate gaze was focused on me, the second-in-command, asking for help to get them out of this terrible situation where they could not play.

The captain spoke in a cool voice to all the officers gathered at the table.

“We won the war, but now there is so much to do. In this situation, decisions must be made as quickly as possible. “Isn’t that right?”

There was not a single mistake in what Captain Keitel said.

Because it was a completely principle-based instruction, if you object to that statement, you will receive a lengthy rebuttal full of logic and rationality.

As a mere second-in-command, I dared to ask him, ‘Can you please give me some rest for today?’ I couldn’t get the words out.

“Furthermore, I did not convene like this because I did not want to give the victors a break. I also want to rest. However, I am doing this because as the commander of the empire, I have to decide on a future policy and move forward. So, everyone, just do what you have to do and rest in peace.”

Of course, if you haven’t finished everything you have to do, you should finish it and rest.

This is because if you don’t, you don’t know what kind of repercussions will come back later.

“You guys know very well. “I, Gernhard von Keitel, will not touch you as long as you do everything you need to do and rest.”

Usually, people who say things like this often say things even if they are resting after completing all the work they really have to do.

Captain Kaitel is a person who encourages you to rest more by buying you beer or meat when you take a break after completing all your work.

In other words, no matter what we did, we couldn’t secure a reason to escape from the ‘work’ that this person created and presented...

“So, let’s finish our work and run to rest. First, let’s discuss what our future strategy should be. Under normal circumstances, we would have to enter into end-of-war negotiations here... but before that, what do you guys think? Anyone who is in favor of entering into negotiations for the end of the war as is, please raise your hand.”

At those words, most of the officers except me raised their hands.

“This is Major General Battenburg, commander of the 23rd Division. Although the imperial army has now achieved a major victory, further supply support is expected to be difficult. So shouldn’t we pretend to be generous to the enemy and enter into negotiations?”

“In such a situation, it is difficult to gather additional soldiers, so it is impossible for them to mobilize more troops than us and engage in battle just because they have surrounded the capital. So the battle will lead to a siege.”

For your information, I have no intention of attacking the royal capital directly.

The reason is that the walls that protect any kingdom or capital are so solid that if we attack them carelessly, we will be the only ones left broken.

However, since it will take a really long time for reinforcements to arrive, it will be possible to at least bring endless fear to those trapped within the capital.

“We either directly surround the royal capital and attack the walls along the way with long-range siege weapons such as arrows and magic catapult ballistas. “The traitors under Ishtaven’s command among the captured prisoners will be cartwheeled according to the customs of the northerners.”

“The nobles trapped within the castle walls will be very scared.”

“After the siege is over, I will of course cut off information and often use prisoners from the Kingdom of Stockholm to reduce their morale.”

If Stockholm prisoners could at least sing a song from their hometown for the poor people trapped in the capital who cannot go home because the capital is under siege, they would be so happy and shed tears.

In addition, when a castle is surrounded, from the king above to the soldiers below, food is controlled and they have no choice but to live a hungry life... If

there is no problem with supply, our soldiers often avoid the commander’s eyes and drink some alcohol, rest, and eat meat. You can bake it and eat it.

This is because, although it would be a lot of fun to eat and drink for the besieging allies, it would be a morale-lowering operation that would bring more stress and fear than you can imagine to the residents who have lived in a place that has been directly attacked only a handful of times in the history of the Kingdom of Stockholm.

“I feel like I want to start a civil unrest, but to do that, I would have to lay siege for six months to a year. So, let’s not go to that extent and just instill fear of the Reich Empire in their hearts.”

When he said that, some of the officers present applauded loudly.

At that time, Captain Keitel asked as if pouring cold water on it.

“What if? “What happens if the plan you mentioned goes astray?”

Normally, I would have denied it and said there was no reason for it, but now I didn’t think it was even necessary.

Even if enemy support suddenly arrived in the middle and we were to lift the siege, the mere fact that the imperial army had reached the royal capital had great political and strategic significance.

“The biggest meaning of this operation is to show the enemy that ‘you are cornered to the point where the royal capital is threatened.’ So just by moving more soldiers and showing the siege of the royal capital, we can say that we have achieved sufficient results.”

The operation I proposed was passed without a hitch, and Captain Keitel decided to take charge of rear support and command of the entire army as the commander-in-chief near the Osby Plain.

Then, I was entrusted with 85,000 troops and, as second-in-command, took on the role of besieging the royal capital, Oslo.

A word from the author (author review)

Thank you, reader.

See next episode