I Became a Genius Commander at the Academy - Chapter 22

EP.22

As soon as the meeting with the crown prince was over, I went straight back to the guest accommodation prepared by the emperor.

The next day, as he had planned with the crown prince in advance, he told a heartbreaking story that he was so grateful for the ‘fatigue accumulated from fighting the war and the honor of receiving a medal directly from His Majesty the Emperor’ that he was so excited that he couldn’t go to the ball because his body was so feverish. An apology letter was sent to the emperor.

Then the emperor sent me this reply, as if he knew everything that I had met the crown prince separately and had decided to be on his side.

‘I was going to introduce you to the Crown Prince and Division Commander Stefan and tell you your story in detail, but I’m really regretting it. Everyone, including me, is hoping for your recovery, so I hope you take care of yourself and get better quickly. With that in mind, I have sent you 1,000 gold and some medicines that are good for stamina, so please get well quickly and work for the empire.’

If he really thought I was sick, he would have dispatched a good doctor, so this would actually be a payment for me to be on the ‘crown prince’s side’ under the pretext of ‘recovery’.

Also, among the nobles, ‘It’s lonely to be alone when you’re sick, so why not bring a wife or a maid to take care of you at night?’ He kindly encouraged me with these words:

Considering this situation, ‘I may not be sick, but I have no intention of deciding what side I will be on politically yet.’ I think he expressed his will.

Our country always welcomes talented individuals, so if you have any intention of joining us at any time, just let us know.

He has expressed his intention to work for me, who is so capable, because he will give me not only money, but also a wise wife and a beautiful maid.

Since I was unintentionally officially sick, I had to attend all the nobles’ social gatherings, starting with the ball, so I had to stay inside my room while I was in the royal capital.

In the meantime, in order to deal with boredom in a world without games or TV, I pulled out from my memory the flow and knowledge of the original work and organized them one by one that could be used in the new territory to be dispatched and the war to be fought.

In the process, I was able to ask the Crown Prince for the wizard I wanted to recruit, Teresa Greenwood, and get him to agree to send me the wizard.

Sergeant Schmitz, who had followed me since I started as a student platoon leader, was promoted to sergeant and decided to take on the role of chief sergeant of the battalion.

In addition, about 20 people from the Jaeger Company received discharge from the military due to their achievements in the previous battle, but changed their status to non-commissioned officers and followed me.

It would have been nice if the officers had also come along, but the other officers had already supported other front lines before my proposal in return for a faster promotion from lieutenant to captain.

It was unfortunate that I couldn’t take the officers, but I was able to take the veterans who fought with me on the Rhineland front, my first battle site, as non-commissioned officers.

Even if I can only take this much, there will be no shortage of non-commissioned officers in my battalion, and with the new officers I meet, I will be able to somehow create an elite battalion in a short period of time if I handle them appropriately.

After making all preparations, I headed to the new territory with the soldiers from Jaeger Company who had volunteered to remain under my command.

**

With renewed determination and high expectations, I arrived at the new territory of Bruno Castle, but the condition of the territory was much worse than I expected.

I know that in order to prove my abilities, I need to show a performance that revives a territory that seems impossible to rebuild.

No matter how much I led the Rhineland front to victory…

the imperial family and other nobles said, ‘Oh, I will give the smallest piece of land I ruled to the protagonist of the victory who led the Rhineland front to victory, so please take this.’ Because I won’t give it to you like this.

The best the crown prince could do would have been to give him a devastated estate that could be rebuilt depending on the lord’s abilities.

“Administrator Brandt! No matter how much you think about it, isn’t this true? How was the previous lord managing the territory so that the situation was like this? How on earth did you do it? “I doubt whether it is truly a place where people live.”

The villagers cannot even eat bread made of rye, so they eat porridge made from a mixture of wheat and bran as their staple food. The living conditions are so poor that even children have to wake up when the sun rises and do some work, such as farming or begging, until sunset to survive.

Because of this terrible environment, when there is a bad harvest in the village, pretty girls are sold to noble maids or courtesans to reduce their income.

It was a place without hope, where everyday life was just surviving the year with the little grains received in return.

If it were a feudal society where military, administrative, and judicial affairs were all left to the ability of the lord, then of course the military preparations and defenses of these fiefdoms would have to be in shambles… An

administrator who was dispatched in front of me around the same time said with a bitter smile.

“At least because this is the front line, military funding has been provided, so we have equipped the facilities as a fortress and have enough weapons, right?”

Hearing those words, I felt angry inside, but I couldn’t bear to scold or beat the administrator, who was my subordinate.

Because that person came here only a week before me, so he had no time to do anything other than understand the local situation and submit a report to me.

Hell, if you had been here as an administrator for a year or two and talked to me like that, I would have beaten you and asked if that was what you meant.

In that way, I tried to turn the rising anger towards the former lord, who had ruined the territory and was already imprisoned in the imperial prison, and tried to change the mood somehow.

“It was so absurd to see that there was no wizard company even though it was the front line. “At least the castle and weapons such as bows, arrows, spears, and swords were in good condition. If the military facilities were in disrepair, I would have gone to see the former lord and killed him right away.”

I’ve said it again and again, but it’s not really a joke.

If I’m given the chance, I have the confidence to kill the lord myself and make him worthless in this world.

“I agree. Until just 20 years ago, even though it was the front line, it was a place so prosperous that surrounding serfs came over… but since when did it start to change so horribly…” “

So, it is said that it is difficult to see more than 4 people in a generation, and they mismanaged the territory. Isn’t it the case that the former lord was deprived of his noble title for one crime? Ha… when the death penalty is sentenced, I will volunteer to serve as the executioner, having had to clean up the shit he spewed out in a flashy manner.”

This is sincere.

It’s a secret that hasn’t been announced yet, but I know it because I’ve read the original novel.

Within one year at the earliest or two years at the latest, the Reich Empire would invade Czechvia.

And the crown prince will use the territory near Bruno Castle, which I am in charge of, as an important base for supply.

Next, if I do not disappoint their expectations and achieve outstanding achievements in the invasion of Czechia, they will consider my ‘resurrection of a failing territory and my great performance in the war’ and give me higher status and higher power.

In addition, the crown prince will be recognized for his ability to place and support the right people in the places where they are needed, which is an emperor’s main virtue, and will overcome other competitors.

“From now on, let’s think about ways to rebuild the territory.”

“all right.”

“First of all, from what I heard, the reason food became scarce in this village was not because there was no land to cultivate even though it was on the front line, but because of the lord’s ruthless exploitation. Was there also exploitation by soldiers?”

“After looking at the records, I understand that the soldiers under the lord also participated to some extent. There is a rumor that a huge bribe was paid to Major Perls, who was stationed here.”

Usually, in a land of this size, a corrupt lord would join hands with either a soldier or an influential person to exploit the people of the territory.

If you say this, you may be asking if everyone needs to be an accomplice in order for it to last for a long time.

There must be a lot of food so that the soldiers, local influential people, and lords can all eat together and be full even if they share the food.

If so many people were to kill each other like this in a territory smaller than a baronial territory on the front line, it wouldn’t make a difference.

Moreover, in places where there are few hammocks, local influential people are at most respected village chiefs or hunters rather than vested interests, so they have no power.

It seems that the lord knew this and supported the army dispatched by the central government…

Damn, if this is the case, it is not even a show where the newly appointed person kills an evil powerful person and corrects wrong practices.

In addition, the image of soldiers will be the worst, so they will not listen to me, the new battalion commander here.

So, in this case, it would be best to tame the influential people with the gold coins I received and use them.

“This is the worst. What should I do…”

After about 30 minutes of silently thinking about it, a pretty good alternative that could be used came into my head.

“The people regard rice as heaven. That means that the best person is the one who feeds his or her fill. “It may not be right to release food without compensation, but I think we can come up with a good solution by using the influential people in this area.”

And I immediately spoke to Bruno, the administrator in front of me.

“Since we are running out of time, gather all the influential people. Also, don’t think about having a banquet or celebration to welcome the new lord, just make a generous stew with chicken.”

See next episode