NOVEL NEXT chapter 28
28 – Crown Prince vs Northern Grand Duke – 12
“I have a trick.”
When Charles raised his hand, the nobles were shocked.
“cheeky! To express your opinion in front of the Crown Prince!”
“All of the people here are nobles and royalty, and this is not a place for academy cadets to speak!”
The old-fashioned people made a fuss for a while, but soon the prince raised his hand.
“done. That person is Dian’s agent. While serving as assistant manager, he should be treated equally with Dian. I refrain from speaking.”
At those words, the aristocrats put on a puzzled expression, but since it was the words of the crown prince, they couldn’t help but lower their heads.
Charles took out the map he had prepared in advance and showed it to the prince.
“This is the castle called Tallinn now.”
At this, the prince nodded. And Charles’s finger turned to the right.
“And this is Crotea Castle. There are 1,000 defenders guarding it, but it will only be a matter of time before the castle falls.”
“Sir Huan is a competent commander. I’m sure it will last a long time.”
“It is not known whether we will last long or short, but if we stay still, we will fall someday. Then the question is, how should we move to protect Crotea Castle?”
“Do you protect it?”
The prince’s eyes widened. It was because he did not think he would be able to protect Crotea Castle.
“Let’s think calmly. Why can’t our 15,000 soldiers stationed in Tallinn go to rescue Crotea Castle?”
“That’s it… Seizu Castle is blocking it from the center, isn’t it?”
There was Sayizu Castle between Tallinn Castle and Crotea Castle, and there was a mountain to the north of Sayizu Castle and a sea to the south, so it was impossible to enter Crotea Castle without passing through Sayizu Castle. The problem was that only Chronor Army 1 was stationed at Says Castle. If you try to cross Seizu Castle, you will surely be intercepted by Kronor’s forces. However…
“To be precise, Seizu Castle is not blocking the way.”
After saying that, Charles pointed somewhere.
“Precisely, the sea is blocking it.”
Yes. There was a sea between Tallinn and Crotea Castle. However, when they tried to go to land, they were blocked by Seizu Castle.
“I am going across the sea. Directly from Tallinn Castle to Crotea Castle.”
“… ”
“… ”
after a while of silence.
the prince asked. However, it was not for Charles, but for his own subordinates.
“Liam.”
“Yes.”
Liam de Bordeaux. Although not as good as Charles, in his late 20s, he was the young prince’s schemer in his own way. They were the same age as the prince, so they got along well.
Although it does not occupy the top spot in the ranking of bookmakers in the world view.
It was a decent bookstore that was unfortunately usable as if it were not there. However, there is a crucial downside, his personality is not good. These guys’ men are going to have a hard time.
And the prince asked such Liam de Bordeaux.
“Do you think Charles Jean Rochepole’s strategy is realistic?”
At that, Liam pondered for a while…
“This is the operation I was thinking of.”
That’s what I was saying. Soon, the hall started to become noisy. The nobles began to whisper.
“but.”
As Liam continued, the nobles’ whispers began to subside.
“After reviewing it, the stomach was lacking. Even if all the ships anchored in Tallinn Castle and surrounding cities were pulled together, there were only 30 merchant ships. Even if you empty the luggage compartment completely, it is impossible to carry all 15,000 allies.”
At those words, the prince sighed. Soon the prince said.
“Then I will dismiss the operation… ”
“It is possible with 3,000 people!”
The prince stopped talking at the words of Charles who suddenly raised his hand.
“what?”
“Currently, the number of remaining Balboa troops is only about 3,000, excluding wounded soldiers. I will take responsibility as the temporary commander of the Balboa Army and cross over to the Crotea Peninsula with the Balboa Army alone.”
“… !”
A groaning sound began to erupt from all over the place. And after a while of silence, it was Liam, the prince’s schemer, who spoke.
“Did you say Charles Jean Rochepole?”
“Yes.”
“Charles. I have a question for you. What would happen if 3,000 of Kronor’s forces boarded ships and invaded the vicinity of Tallinn Castle?”
The moment he heard that, Charles was able to figure out Liam’s intentions.
‘Liam de Bordeaux. damn child. You’re trying to eat sh*t like this.’
But the answer should be good here. If he evaded an answer here, in the eyes of the crown prince, Charles would appear to have lost to Liam. In order not to be pushed back in a battle of strength, it is better to go straight ahead.
“Kronor’s detached force will be surrounded by allies, cut off food supply, and starve to death.”
At those words, exclamations of nobles flowed from all over the place.
“Charles Jean Rochepole. If so, wouldn’t the same situation unfold if 3,000 of our allies sailed to the enemy’s rear? It seems that he is surrounded by the enemy’s rear and his supply route is cut off and he is about to die. I am worried about you now.”
A bitch to worry about. I’m guessing it’s the same bookkeeper.
Even as I thought about it, my mouth didn’t rest. It was because if there was a time lag even for a second, Liam could look like he was inducing the situation. In a debate, whether or not you actually win is more important than whether you appear to win.
“The difference between the allies and the enemy is that they can link up with the main unit.”
“I’ll connect with the main unit.”
“As soon as the Balboa army crosses over to the Crotea Peninsula, His Highness the Crown Prince advances to Seize Castle. In that case, the enemy’s main force will not be able to send reinforcements to the siege force of Crotea Castle as it will face off with His Highness the Crown Prince. In the meantime, I join forces with the defenders of Crotea Castle to destroy the siege forces and cut off the enemy’s supply lines. It is rather the Kronor Siege Forces who are isolated in this operation, not me.”
Liam’s eyes widened at Charles’ words. It seemed that he hadn’t even thought of such an operation. And before long, Liam started laughing out loud.
“ha ha ha!”
Liam’s laughter made the nobles look puzzled. The same was true of the crown prince.
“I was surprised. To be honest, it was a very interesting operation. Charles Jean Rochepole, you are a capable academy cadet.”
“… ”
It’s strange. Liam isn’t the type to praise people lightly.
“But there is one blind spot in your strategy.”
Then it is. What else are you going to catch?
“That is the situation where 35,000 of our army lost to 15,000 of Chronor. Right now, the enemy’s morale is soaring from a great victory. His Highness’ army 12,000 Kronor 10,000… If the confrontation continues, it will be as you say, but won’t the Kronor army really try to advance to attack His Highness the Crown Prince’s army?”
To be honest, that was what I was expecting. Unexpectedly, this point was also induced by Charles. Liam de Bordeaux fell into Charles’ trap. The reason is that Liam doesn’t know about Charles.
‘From now on, it’s a battle of emotions, not logic. Take care, Liam. This is how you deal with an incompetent monarch like Prince Leonhard.’
Thinking so, Charles turned his head away from Liam with a meaningful smile. that’s right…
“Your Highness the Crown Prince.”
Charles knelt down towards the crown prince.
“Can I ask you just one question, risking disrespect?”
The prince quickly replied.
“It’s okay.”
And Charles brought out a word he had prepared in advance.
“Are your allies weaker than your enemies?”
“… ”
“… ”
All of a sudden, the suddenly thrown question made everyone quiet.
And Liam de Bordeaux soon frowned as if he had made a mistake. Liam was also a competent bookkeeper to some extent, so he immediately figured out what his mistake was. Liam felt defeat in that moment.
Meanwhile, the prince was worried. 35,000 of our troops lost to 15,000 of the enemy. An ally may be weaker than an enemy. To the extent that it was defeated with an army more than twice as large. But what would happen to his face as the crown prince if he said it? The nobles here are all one-stranded. If you show weakness in front of such people, how will you be treated when you go back?
However, if we insisted on being strong, we lost to less than half the enemy. It would be disrespectful to insist that our allies are strong after a ridiculous defeat. That’s why the prince couldn’t do this or that and kept his mouth shut. Just when I thought I had given up on the question for no reason, the cheeky kid who had asked a difficult question opened his mouth again.
“His Highness the Crown Prince’s army is very strong.”
“!?”
“what?”
Charles’ unexpected words surprised the nobles as well as the crown prince. How strong is an army defeated by an enemy that is not even half as strong? Everyone thought so, but no one said it. It was because saying it in itself would hurt the crown prince’s face. And, Charles continued to speak.
“His Highness the Crown Prince’s army is strong! They have very high morale, good gear, and good numbers. The previous day’s defeat was due to fighting on the river. Ask the soldiers. Do you think the enemy lost because it was too strong? no. They lost because of excessively cold thin ice and mud that penetrated their armor. I have already heard such testimonies from dozens of soldiers.”
“… ”
“Our allies don’t know that, and they think they lost because they were weak, but the enemy knows that very well. Because of this, the enemy will not try to attack first if confronted again. Because there is no guarantee that we will win when we fight again.”
A muffled sound began to be heard from all over the place. It was a debate about whether that statement was right or wrong. But there was only one person, a person who reached a conclusion in his heart. That was the crown prince.
“That’s right… ”
“Yes?”
“Your Highness, what did you just say… ?”
The prince was so ashamed of the previous defeat. He was proud of having the world’s strongest army, but lost to less than half the enemy, and the northern army, which he thought was much weaker than the central army. The prince felt ashamed and wanted to die. That’s why he really liked what Charles said about the prince’s strength.
“That’s right! Allies are not weak! Our team lost because we simply fought in the wrong terrain! If we fight again, we can win!”
The nobles whispered at the prince’s reaction, but only one, Charles, grinned as if he had expected it. Charles had cleared the game as Crown Prince Leonhard von Arcadia. So, Charles was well aware of Leonhard’s personality. A proud and arrogant personality. A character who always thinks he is the best. I thought there was no way Leonhardt would completely admit defeat, and he dug into that point.
“Liam de Bordeaux.”
At the prince’s call, Liam quietly lowered his head.
“Charles is right. Allies are strong. If the main forces of the allies and the main forces of the enemy fight again, the allies will win. It seems to be your mistake that you did not know that and thought that our army would only lose to Cronor-kun or something.”
Liam thought. To be honest, there were over a hundred things I wanted to refute, but the most stupid thing for the prince was to answer the prince. So I just lowered my head and said this.
“Yes. It is my negligence.”
“If you understand, follow Charles Jean Rochepole’s strategy. Assemble a ship for Balboa to board. Right now.”
At that, Liam put on an expression of embarrassment, and Charles calmly accepted the victory.