I Became a Genius Commander at the Academy - Chapter 157

EP.157

After sending His Royal Highness the Crown Prince and about 2,000 knights through Ticino Canton, our expeditionary force also began to slowly retreat over several days.

It was a natural result, but morale, which had been maintained high until now because it was thought that the whole war was going smoothly as predicted by His Royal Highness the Crown Prince, immediately plummeted to the ground.

“Until yesterday, I liked it because it was easy and easy, but damn. what’s this. “If this continues, won’t we all die?”

“Sergeant, if it gets into the ears of the military police, their heads will be blown off. “Don’t you know?”

“That shitty military law and all that. “With three months left until my discharge, I came all the way to Switzerland to earn a little extra money… But what is this?”

I think they think that since they’re standing guard in a remote area, other people won’t be able to hear their conversation. In a quiet camp where everyone is asleep except for the guards, you can hear it very well even if you are not nearby.

So, when I looked around closely, I saw conscripted military police officers in similar situations and non-commissioned officers who were busy listening.

Under normal circumstances, they would have been executed either summarily or the next day in front of everyone before the start of the march.

However, in a situation where people are in such a corner and their morale is at its lowest, killing them carelessly will have a huge negative effect unless they are people who are spreading false information at will.

Of course, we can’t let those guys continue with their actions that are destroying the military’s already low morale and sending it all the way underground.

“I don’t need anything, I just wish I could go back alive. Isn’t that right? Then, I have the money I have saved up until now. “With that money, I should marry Sylvia, who is waiting for me in my hometown, buy a house, a field, and have a baby who looks like Sylvia.”

“…………”

“Oh, that’s right, Private Milton. You said that since you were born, you have never held hands and danced with a woman at a village festival, right? Oh shit. “I had been fussing about having sex with Sylvia until now, but in the end I couldn’t do it and just walked into the house.”

When I quietly walked up behind the sergeant who was talking about how he didn’t want to die without having sex, Private Milton was so shocked that he froze on the spot with his mouth open.

The sergeant looked around and wondered if something had happened to put the child in this state.

When he encountered the dignity of the two stars, he must have immediately realized that he had been caught talking about something, so instead of saluting, he got down on both knees and without hesitation pressed his forehead into the ground.

“Director Jaeger, please just save me. I will never use my mouth carelessly again. So please, just spare my life. I have a fiancee who I promised to marry when I return. I don’t want to die a virgin. “Please save me.”

When I heard that, I was troubled.

Of course, rather than a cold and cold approach such as ‘How can I kill this guy to maintain the morale of the army?’, it is more about ‘What words should I comfort this guy with so that this becomes a story and raises the morale of the army?’

While I was lost in thought, the sergeant kept banging his head and begging me to save him.

The private who was standing guard was trembling because he thought his senior officer was about to fly away.

I immediately moistened the handkerchief I had with water from the canteen and handed it to the sergeant.

“First, stand up and use this handkerchief to properly clean the wound on your forehead. “Actually, according to principle, Sergeant, you are definitely subject to execution according to military law, but I will let it pass for this time.”

“Thank you, thank you, Director. “I will never let this damn bastard run his mouth again.”

“That’s the way it should be.”

Normally, it would be a great story if we just pretended not to notice that the soldier made a huge mistake.

Now that he is completely isolated in enemy territory and his morale is at an all-time low, he might be thankful right away that I saved that guy instead of killing him.

The next day after turning away, rumors like this may spread among the soldiers.

‘How dangerous are the higher-ups thinking that this war is that they will overlook it even after hearing me say that our troops will be defeated in this war and that we are all dead?’

So, I guess I should completely move the hearts of the two people here by showing them good will.

“Instead, can I talk to you over the fire for a moment? “For some reason, I can’t sleep.”

The sergeant and private looked puzzled at those words, but they did not dare to disobey the instructions of the division commander, who each had two stars.

I spoke first to lead the conversation with them.

“From now on, if you just answer honestly, I won’t hold you responsible in any way. So, sergeant, please answer honestly. “I swear on my honor.”

The honor of a nobleman is, without exaggeration, as important as life, and sometimes even more important than one’s own life.

So, by asking that question, you are clearly promising that no matter what answer you give, you will not be disadvantaged to the sergeant.

So, that guy will answer honestly no matter what question I ask.

“I heard that you plan to marry a woman named Sylvia when you are discharged from the military. So, I said it would be very unfair if you died on this horribly unfavorable battlefield. “Isn’t that right?”

“Yes that’s right. If I die here, Sylvia will marry someone other than me. I don’t know how hard I’ve worked so far to marry her. I endured even when other soldiers went out to play to raise money. “But it drove me crazy to think that it was all in vain.”

“I agree too. If I were like you, I have been steadily saving up money to get married and have a happy family, I have endured everything I want to do, and I am not far away from being discharged from the military. How unfair would it be to die in a place like this? “I agree with that sentiment.”

In the Reich Empire, nobles did not have human conversations with commoners or serfs except in very exceptional cases.

And 80-90% of those exceptional cases are when a male noble like me touches a commoner woman and makes her his lover.

Except for me, the majority of nobles are biologically the same as commoners, but they do not acknowledge this and consider themselves noble beings with a different color of blood. I never say that I sympathize with the position of the common people.

Perhaps that’s why the sergeant’s face showed both embarrassment and emotion.

“I’m saying this because I think people like Major General Nari will wonder how he can understand my feelings. Now, a few years after getting married, I have my first child in my wife’s belly. But if I die here, I will die without ever holding that child in my arms. “It’s such a terrible thing to even think about.”

In fact, just thinking about that thought makes me feel sick and sad, as if my heart is being torn apart.

That’s right, ever since I became a colonel, Laura has been actively asking for me, saying she really wants to have my beloved child as soon as possible.

When I had free time, I asked my nannies and people who had experience raising other children about how it felt to give birth or raise a child and what to watch out for, and I truly envied them.

So, when she heard from the doctor that she was pregnant, she cried and was happy. After that, she stroked her stomach every day and smiled happier than anyone else in the world.

That’s Laura.

If it were not me to visit the woman who had just given birth and was happily holding the baby in her arms as if she had everything in the world, but rather it was a notice that I had been killed on the battlefield…

“So I want to go back alive by any means necessary. That way, I will be able to see the face and hold my child, whom my wife gave birth to. “You are not married yet, so you may not have any children, but when you return, you will have a fiancé named Sylvia waiting for you, right?”

“Yes that’s right.”

“In that sense, you and I are similar. Then I’ll ask again. “What do you think I will do next?”

The sergeant said with a puzzled expression after hearing that.

“Aren’t you going to safely retreat His Highness the Crown Prince and the other soldiers from here?”

“That’s right. What I have to do is send your Majesty and all of our expeditionary force back home no matter what. “It is my duty to safely return soldiers who have people like you waiting for them in their homes and hometowns.”

In Korea, company commanders, battalion commanders, and sometimes training center commanders say that it is their duty to return your son safely, but that is not a special story.

For the officers of the Reich Empire, the mission was to achieve victory with minimal damage and thus build honor and wealth.

Therefore, the sergeant must have never seen a general speak like this.

“But because of my shortcomings, I ended up putting you in danger. So, in order to send at least one more of you back to your hometown. In this battle, I will be at the forefront and risk my life. “I think that is my duty as a noble and what I should do as a general.”

In fact, the reason why I am trying to stand on the front line is of course to reduce sacrifices, but when I think rationally, there is a risk that the army will collapse if I do not stand at the front and fight at the risk of death.

That’s because the entire army fell into an enemy trap and was completely isolated in enemy territory, so they had to fight a retreat where more than half of the troops usually died.

This is because officers will somehow be able to endure with their pride as nobles, but ordinary soldiers will be pushed to their mental limits.

To prevent that, I, as a high being, must risk my life and become an example.

The sergeant asked when he heard that I would fight to the death with the soldiers here.

“Are you really going to do that? Are you really risking your lives with us for us…?”

To that question, I answered by quoting the words of a master general who was warmer to the soldiers than anyone else in an army made up of human horses that were useful in this situation.

“If his beloved lover, wife, and child are in danger, a man must go through heavy snow, dark, and dangerous roads to protect them. All the soldiers on this front, including you, are like my children. So, I will risk my life to protect even one more soldier.”

“……”

“So, I hope you don’t give up and believe in me and the generals of the imperial army until the end.”

After saying that, I stood up.

“If you return here alive and marry your fiancé, be sure to contact the Viscount Jaeger family. “You will give me a generous gift for my wedding.”

Then, I walked to the barracks without looking back, but I heard the crying sound of the soldier I had just been talking to behind me.

You seem to have been very moved by your conversation with me.

“Ha, now I can finally fight.”

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