Chapter 83: Northern Conquest War (1)
A year after the subjugation of the T?ner Tribe, significant changes occurred in the plan for the Northern Conquest operation.
First, the Emperor declared that evil barbarians like the Ludwig Tribe should not exist in this world and that mobilizing only 50,000 troops would be insufficient.
As a result, we managed to pull out 20,000 troops from the relatively free Eastern Chekovia and the Southern Front, leading to a large-scale expedition with a total of about 70,000 troops.
What remained unchanged was that the initial tactics of this expedition were based on the conquest operation for the Northern Conquest that I had proposed.
In such a situation, the secret letters frequently sent by His Highness the Crown Prince indicated that if I made even a small contribution to this battle, earning a star would be certain.
‘Count Benner, no, General, has been eager for a promotion to Field Marshal lately. Make sure you assist him well.’
However, I felt the weight on my shoulders from the pressure to be of help to such a high-ranking person.
The opportunity to create a war by applying the tactics I had devised amidst the expectations of many made my heart race.
I entered the strategic meeting room of Nodfort Castle, the Northern Army’s base, where the command headquarters for leading over 70,000 troops was located.
“The T?ner brats and their tribe’s soldiers were defeated by that guy, weren’t they?”
“Just 24 years old, no, now barely 25, such a kid.”
“They say the foundation of this operation came from the report written by that guy… I wonder what kind of operation he will show.”
I heard words tinged with envy and jealousy directed at me.
Initially, when I was a student platoon leader, whatever I did was met with contempt and disregard, and after my activities at the Raintlant Front, there were two simultaneous reactions: a deliberate attempt to ignore and a slight acknowledgment.
After my performance on the Chekovia Front, I truly established myself as a definite competitor among the high-ranking nobility.
Now, due to my numerous achievements, even among the many starred generals gathered here, there were those who envied and admired me.
It made me think about how time flies and how the fate of a person changes even faster than that.
As the planner of this subjugation operation, I stood at the podium next to Count Benner, the General Commander of the Barbarian Subjugation Army, to present the initial draft of the operation before everyone.
“Yes, so, son-in-law. No, I mean, Colonel Yaeger. How have you been?”
Normally, in a setting where one was explaining an operation, it was unusual for the General Commander to ask about one’s well-being in such a warm voice for everyone to hear.
In this case, Count Benner must have asked deliberately to show off how close he was with me.
“Although the North is a bit cold, I am doing well, thanks to your concern, General. Also, I enjoyed the top-quality wine you sent last time with Lieutenant Laura.”
As expected, Count Benner laughed heartily and patted my shoulder a few times in response.
“Is that so? It’s good to hear that. I’d like to stay up all night and share stories, but… let’s unwind slowly after the expedition is over. Now, let’s start with the operation explanation.”
Simultaneously, I tapped the map-covered board with the silver baton gifted by the Crown Prince and said,
“I will now proceed with a detailed explanation of the operation. I request the attention of all the generals and officers present here. Our Barbarian Subjugation Army will attack the enemy based on a Scorched Earth strategy, and we will maintain the same approach in subsequent policies.”
The strategic goal of the Northern Army was to completely absorb the peninsula seized by them into our empire’s territory.
To achieve this, we would burn down all the villages used by the barbarians and turn their fields into wastelands, making the land uninhabitable.
Those who did not receive land to cultivate in the empire and had to go out for day labor, such as the second and third sons or daughters of the barbarians, were being relocated here to establish a new foundation.
On the other hand, male barbarian prisoners over the age of 15 would be killed, and the rest would be treated harshly and sent to various hard jobs in the empire or used for agricultural development.
“Therefore, before we launch a surprise attack on the enemy, we will openly threaten them that if they do not surrender, all men will be killed, and their villages will be burned.”
Usually, when threatened in this manner, other nations would claim that such threats indicate that they would be killed even if they surrendered, in an attempt to boost morale.
However, the semi-agrarian, semi-nomadic barbarians we were dealing with had a concept of tribal groups but lacked a sense of belonging to something larger than a tribe, like a nation.
Therefore, while wielding this whip, we must also offer such carrots.
“In addition, as we begin our full-scale subjugation and invade the tribes following Ludwig, we’ll spread this word: even if they surrender during the battle, we’ll preserve their villages, property, and families. This will lead Ludwig, who hasn’t completely controlled the tribal chiefs, to suspect betrayal among them, and the subordinate chiefs will consider betrayal if the situation worsens.”
If a noble in the imperial army betrayed and surrendered on his own, he risked losing the property that he had left behind and his honor as a consequence.
His cherished family could even be executed for treason, leading to a general refusal to surrender, except in special cases recognized by military law.
Thus, many choose to fight to the death rather than surrender, even in desperate situations.
It was highly unlikely that many would risk their lives for someone like Ludwig, who forced other tribes and barbarians to follow him through his own power.
This was because the empire compensated the families of commanders or nobles who died fighting without surrendering, whereas the barbarians didn’t compensate the families of heroes who died for their tribe; instead, the survivors often divided up the hero’s wife and children.
“By sowing distrust among them and slowly moving north, Ludwig will become anxious and hasten his actions. Just like when T?ner rushed out after our regiment scorched just two villages. Then, Ludwig will be forced to fight in an unfavorable situation with demoralized troops, wavering between fighting or surrendering before the war even starts.”
“But there’s also the possibility they might abandon their villages and flee, right?”
“I think there’s no need to worry about that. It only happened during the subjugation of the T?ner Tribe. Seeing Ludwig neglect the burned villages, the tribespeople and chiefs will be afraid of having lost their livelihoods and having nowhere to return and will likely decide to behead Ludwig and offer his head to us.”
It was one thing to reluctantly submit and work under a chieftain to protect one’s own property, but it was another thing to expect them to serve for free after losing their family and tribal livelihood.
In that case, they would rather choose to surrender to the empire to protect their property and tribe.
“Furthermore, let me tell you the lesson we learned from dealing with the T?ner Tribe last time. Although their archers are powerful, as long as we don’t fall for their provocations, the imperial army will surely win.”
This was because their infantry was weak; it was easier to defeat the majority of their forces, which were infantry.
Even including losses to arrows, if we properly equipped protective gear, we could repel the barbarians with fewer casualties than fighting a regular army like Chekovia or Francois.
“Therefore, we should heavily arm our soldiers and deploy knights and infantry to inflict maximum damage on the enemy’s central forces. Additionally, we must prepare as many shields and armor as possible to counter their archers on horseback. We also need measures to defend against fire arrows.”
Upon saying this, everyone, including Count Benner, nodded their heads in agreement.
“Indeed, upon analyzing the records of defeats against them, it’s often due to trying to catch their archers with infantry or cavalry.”
“Since we can’t catch them at speed, we will ignore it and attack the weaker units first. It is a novel and effective strategy indeed.”
Having completed the explanation of the general tactics and strategy, I returned to my seat.
The generals fought as if to seize the opportunity to earn great merit, as if shooting lasers from their eyes.
“Our brigade will take the vanguard! Please entrust it to us.”
“No, that’s not it. I, Brandenburg, will fight in the vanguard to demonstrate the empire’s dignity.”
“Just put Colonel Yaeger’s regiment in the vanguard again…”
Watching this, I secretly approached Count Benner and said,
“Please give me the far left of the left-wing or the far right of the right-wing. I’ll fight moderately and then strike at an opening.”
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