I Became a Genius Commander at the Academy - Chapter 139
EP.139
Everyone’s attention was focused on His Highness the Crown Prince’s confident attitude, and there were three main reasons.
First, the response process will reveal how much the person closest to the position of next emperor in the empire understands about war and military affairs.
Second, through the answer to the first question, those who have joined another prince’s faction or remain neutral will check the prince’s abilities and consider whether or not to change factions.
The third is purely because I wanted to satisfy my curiosity about what was the least understood in this war plan.
“First of all, as you all know, isn’t the Principality of Switzerland, unlike other countries, run based on the mercenary dispatch project? And, according to information from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, a month ago they committed a huge number of mercenaries to the war between the Medison family and Spinola family and the war between the pagans and Corinthians.”
As the Crown Prince said, the foundational project of the Principality of Switzerland is to send its soldiers into other countries’ wars in return for money.
Therefore, although the number of soldiers in that country is overwhelmingly large compared to the population, if war breaks out in a neighboring country, soldiers are dispatched.
As such, the number of people capable of protecting Switzerland is inevitably reduced.
Moreover, if it is an opportunity to make money as a mercenary, they will not hesitate to engage in any fight, so their defense power would have plummeted by deploying mercenaries to a level close to the limit.
“Also, according to rumors, the Montegro family is going to war with the city of Milan, so it looks like more soldiers will be missing.”
Well, because more than half of the rumors about where and where there will be war are not true.
No way, Montegro and Milan will start a war before we declare war.
There is no guarantee that the federal government of the Principality of Switzerland, which is crazy about making money, will deploy more mercenaries.
The Republic of Switzerland has always been based on the mercenary business compared to other countries, so the ratio of soldiers to the number of citizens is high.
Not all farmers or artisans can fight in times of emergency with the same level of training as soldiers who have been trained for several years.
Considering the size and population of each canton, it would probably be possible to fight without problems even with each unit divided into one division.
No, in this situation, it is unconditionally advantageous for us to occupy a large area as quickly as possible, and the reason is…
“Furthermore, this is why we have no choice but to split our forces. “I know that our Imperial Army has used mercenaries from Switzerland several times, but their contracts include a clause that states that if wages are not paid on time or if their hometown is attacked by someone, they will return home regardless of the war situation in the place where they are deployed.”
If it were a standing army like the soldiers of the empire, they would not give up the battle to save the capital from a crisis when they were fighting against Czechoslovakia on the Western Front and there was no order to return even if the capital was attacked.
The mercenaries of the Republic of Switzerland are almost always winning the war, or there is a high probability of losing if they are left out.
If a problem that falls under those two clauses arises, they will hand over a contract to their employer and immediately return home to protect their homeland.
In the wars I participated in, Swiss mercenaries were never used, so I had never experienced or worried about such a thing.
If you look at the records of the Imperial Army, there are often stories of Swiss mercenaries deserting because their pay was delayed by two months, or returning to their homeland the next day because their hometown was attacked.
“So, while we are waging war, the mercenaries dispatched to Corinth may not be included, but the troops engaged in battle in the Peronia Cities Alliance will definitely join us. “At this time, in order to gain the upper hand in the war, I think we must occupy as large a territory as possible before the returning mercenaries arrive and reduce the number of soldiers that the enemy can mobilize.”
After saying that, the crown prince leisurely returned to his seat near the bulletin board and sat down, while the generals and officers, including me, applauded thunderously and heartily.
Even though it is a war that he personally leads, the fact that the crown prince knows the post-war situation in such detail and can plan a strategy.
It was the same as saying that if this person ascends the throne in the future, the empire will almost never be defeated by another country in a war.
Additionally, the generals next to me will wait until my brother comes out again.
“Up until now, I have remained neutral, but I think it would be better to support His Highness the Crown Prince. “If he rules the Reich Empire, won’t the borders definitely become stable?”
“Ahmmm… Still, I have been the 2nd Prince’s Highness for two years…”
“Brigadier general, don’t you plan on being promoted to major general? Unless you are someone like Major General Jaeger, who is sitting over there, or His Excellency, Minister of Military Affairs Otto, you have to take politics into consideration as well to get promoted.”
In Korea, there is a saying that in order to be promoted from a manager to a director, one must not only have outstanding abilities but also be good at internal politics.
The saying applies similarly here.
Especially after becoming a colonel or a brigadier general, only a few people survive the competition.
In most cases, if you are in a situation where your abilities are almost the same, you will eventually be able to get promoted only if you receive the power of the faction you belong to.
In that sense, Duke Otto von Moritz, who was promoted to Minister of Military Affairs without any interest in politics even though he was the head of the ducal family, can be said to be a monster in itself.
After everyone chatted for a while, my brother continued speaking by hitting the bulletin board with his baton.
“We will now continue with the operational announcement. Therefore, the Reich Empire’s Swiss Expeditionary Force will have His Highness the Crown Prince as the commander-in-chief, and the deputy commander will be Lieutenant General Erwin von Witzleben.”
Although he is a member of the Crown Prince Count Witzleben’s faction, he is not that close to Marquis Vener, so I have only had a few opportunities to see him.
According to what I heard through rumors, he is a warm and conscientious person who does not carelessly hit or curse at servants and even takes care of them on birthdays and wedding anniversaries.
Among junior officers and non-commissioned officers below the rank of captain, he is highly praised as a good-natured lieutenant general who truly cares about them.
For high-ranking officers and generals above the rank of major, he is said to be a general who is weak to the weak and strong to the strong, saying that even a small mistake can directly damage the joint.
“Besides that, you said that the composition of the remaining units will be notified after further review by the Chief of Staff. From now on, we will begin the explanation related to full-scale distribution.”
In this way, my brother continued to explain all the explanations related to the supply and detailed operational equipment in as detailed and easy-to-understand manner as possible.
Although I sometimes stuttered because I was nervous due to the large number of difficult questions that were asked along the way, I somehow managed to answer them well.
When about 4 hours had passed.
“Then, let me finish explaining the surprise operation on the Duchy of Switzerland planned by His Majesty the Crown Prince.”
With these words, my brother quietly left the room, and the generals and officers, including myself, applauded generously for the excellent presentation.
After that, I went straight to where my father-in-law, Captain Benner, was.
“Haha, now that I’m this age, I’m most happy to see my children growing up. My daughter already has a child, not to mention my son-in-law. Although he was a little ugly, my nephew, who will succeed me, has grown up to be so proud.”
As I looked around, there were a lot of scary people with 4 out of 3 stars gathered around Captain Benner.
Looking at the faces, they all seemed to belong to the anti-crown prince faction.
They sent a look to their colleagues around them as if they were trying to stop that scolded old man, but they gave in to the power of the next Marshal who received the Diamond Knight’s Sword medal.
I froze, unable to say anything.
Moreover, if you become a major at the age of 27, you are in the top 1-2% of the empire at a promotion rate, so to look at your nephew like that and say that he is not good enough.
It’s like he’s threatening the people here, saying that if you think your children are capable, you should switch to the Crown Prince faction, which gives more opportunities to young officers other than Major General Yeager.
just as expected.
“Your Majesty the Crown Prince is very fond of young talents. If your children have the ability, wouldn’t you have the opportunity to succeed? Also, to be honest, I am also honest. “Oh, that was too long.”
My father-in-law looked at me and chased after me like Captain Patton.
“This is our son-in-law. That’s just it. It feels good just to look at it. Then, I have a meal plan with my son-in-law today, so I’ll just go. “In addition, His Royal Highness doesn’t have any special plans today.”
Then, he took me with him, turned around and left the main hall of the imperial palace, whispering in my ear.
“Before I met you, those guys were subtly teasing me, saying I didn’t have a biological son, or making sarcastic remarks about your older brother’s slow advancement. But thanks to you, Max was quickly promoted to major, and my daughter Laura, with the body of a woman, is already a lieutenant colonel at the age of 25.”
“Haha, isn’t it because you and my wife are excellent?”
At those words, my father-in-law spoke in a serious voice.
“Laura would have been promoted to major by now even if you weren’t there. Captain Max would have been his limit. He’s very good, but he’s not a genius. So, please take good care of your son-in-law even if he inherits the marquis family line.”
And that day, my father-in-law actually came to my house and had dinner, saying he missed my unborn grandchild.
See next episode