Chapter 189

Immediately after the military council, Duke Orleans and two counts began to prepare to return to their territory with their soldiers.

Additionally, it is customary to leave behind minimal support supplies as a gesture of thanks and apology for protecting the retreating allies.

However, they left behind everything except for their expensive armor and minimal food supplies, trying to reduce their burden as much as possible to return to their territory as quickly as possible.

Seeing this, our soldiers laughed derisively.

“It is certain that the nobles from the neighboring village have taken pity on us who remain behind. Otherwise, how could they afford to give away so many items for free?”

So, with a heart full of gratitude for those who passed everything onto us, I held a lavish banquet using the food they had provided.

Soon after, I moved the army to the Yellow Plains of Count Iris’s domain, located slightly inside, rather than near the village of Saint, which was unsuitable for defense.

I immediately sent out reconnaissance teams to assess the surrounding terrain and convened a military council with my subordinate commanders.

**

The military council takes place in my personal tent.

Outside the tent, Captain Short, who is likely to be promoted to Major if we win this war, along with his reconnaissance unit, are keeping a vigilant watch, while inside, the barons are exchanging opinions so loudly that they can be heard outside.

“I have always felt since I started serving your Excellency that… this operation is a bit reckless! The estimated enemy forces exceed 75,000, while our own is only around 25,000! Even if we are in a defensive position, this is just a barren plain! We should prepare better…”

“Beerman, calm down a bit. Didn’t you see the capabilities of the cannons and crossbowmen during the last training? I am sure that His Excellency the Marquis has planned everything.”

“Yes, calm down. Besides, the enemy sustained significant losses compared to our forces while engaging us, so time is still on our side. We can solidify our defense during this time and achieve victory without issues.”

While other barons believe that I will bring victory by any means necessary, Beerman insists that we need more preparation and advocates for a retreat.

From the outside, it may appear that Baron Beerman lacks courage compared to other lords, but…

He is not against the fight; he merely emphasizes the need for cautious preparation. Once he hears the measures I have planned, he will likely change his tune.

As always, I maintained an expression as if I hadn’t heard anything, entered the tent, greeted them, and began to speak.

“Under normal circumstances, I would like to start by praising your achievements, but it seems we do not have that luxury right now. Therefore, let’s begin directly with operational planning and preparation. First, as you may already know… our forces number only about 25,000, while the enemy will invade with a force of up to 75,000, consisting mainly of a rabble.”

As I mentioned the figure of 75,000, the atmosphere momentarily became chaotic, but I continued my speech without concern.

“However, the Eastern Franche garrison, led by Marquis Simon, must undertake recovery from the damage sustained in our skirmishes, unit reorganization, and prepare supplies necessary for the recapture of Count Iris and Count Architel’s domains. On our side, while we will find it difficult to receive additional troops, we will use this time to build a palisade fortress as quickly and securely as possible.”

The barons under my command, confused by my sudden declaration of building a fortress, showed perplexed expressions.

Among those reacting this way, Baron Frost cautiously asked me, “But, Your Excellency. This is a plain, and it’s difficult to procure timber. Therefore, if we are given a month’s time… we could only manage to construct a palisade or a large shield to block arrows and perhaps a watchtower at best. So, is it not a bit tight for building a palisade fortress?”

Indeed, there is a forest approximately 2 km away from our garrison, but…

While it may seem relatively close on the map, bringing back enough wood that could be used for the walls of the palisade fortress from there…

Without modern heavy machinery, there would naturally be limits in transporting timber over land.

“I have no intention of using the method you mentioned, where logs are cut from the forest and taken by carts or soldiers.”

“Then how do you plan to proceed with the construction?”

I pointed to the Yellow Harbor River flowing to the right of our garrison and said, “I intend to lumber logs for the palisade walls and other parts as required from the forest. After that, I will bind the large logs with ropes, float them down the river, and send them to the location where the fortress will be built. The freshly cut trees will not catch fire easily, but… just in case, I will ensure that all transported wood is thickly coated with mud.”

Having finished explaining this, I unfolded another map with a drawing on it.

This showed a massive fortress design I had sketched before embarking on the expedition to Franche.

Then, thinking that they might find it challenging to accept such new information too quickly, I allowed some time for them to cool their heads.

After a moment, the barons began to express admiration for the realistic idea I had proposed for constructing the fortress.

“As Your Excellency stated, there is a distance from the forest to the planned fortress site, but if we float the timber down the Yellow Harbor River, it will certainly require less effort and save us time.”

“Even if we are filled with elite troops, the enemy’s numbers will exceed ours by more than three times… it is indeed correct to focus on defense as Your Excellency suggests.”

“Typically, if a fortress is built in this way, the enemy would try to circumvent it… but Marquis Simon, their overall commander, has just suffered a defeat with a force 1.5 times larger in a direct confrontation and completely ruined our last battle. Therefore, if they cannot defeat us, they will politically lose their position entirely… even if our forces are entrenched in the fortress, they will not even consider retreat.”

My barons, rather than elite officers, are composed of commanders who may lack groundbreaking ideas but possess the capability to follow through on my plans.

Perhaps due to this, they reacted positively just by hearing that we could build a fortress.

“Furthermore, we will dig a moat in front of the fortress, and build a 2.5-meter wall with the mud-covered wood, stacking a 1-meter high base. I will also install a total of 80 openings on the north, south, east, and west sides for cannons to fire through. Additionally, I plan to arrange soldiers with matchlock rifles, crossbows, and pikes to facilitate defense. Moreover, considering the possibility of the enemy breaking through the fortress, I aim to construct the walls double-thick for solid defense.”

The barons seemed to visualize the fortress as I described it, swallowing their saliva and gazing at me in silence.

They were likely imagining the scene of cannons and crossbows demonstrated in the weapon exhibits being used against an army of 75,000 within the fortress built with the help of engineers.

While they might understand the power of the cannons and crossbows used in battle, their imagination of their effectiveness may not be precise.

Though I doubt they would entertain such a notion, they might envision cannons as having a power similar to a mere catapult.

Yet, in the historical reality, when cannons were fired at dense infantry formations, it would not be an exaggeration to say that cannons fired directly would sweep away grouped infantry like bowling pins.

Additionally, crossbow fire would explode in front and to the sides, tearing apart multiple enemies at once.

From that time, knights began to fall into despair, unable to find romance on the battlefield, fading into the annals of history.

Even though I may explain this now, my barons likely wouldn’t grasp it entirely, and for the time being, it wouldn’t hinder operational execution.

So, I spoke to them with a voice filled with confidence towards victory, fixing my gaze on them with a determination for assured success.

“After breaking the enemy’s momentum by using cannons, crossbows, and matchlock rifles, we will collapse part of the wall made of logs and send out infantry and knights to ambush the enemy forces. At that moment, if a ground battle ensues… the combat engineers will take action. And by the time the battle is concluding, we will use carts within the inner fort to resupply knights with lances, pursuing to ensure not a single enemy soldier returns safely.”

As I finished speaking, starting with Balt, the other barons suddenly raised their voices in a cheer.

“Long live Your Excellency the Marquis!”

“Let us seize our assured victory!”

Seeing them overflowing with confidence towards victory brought me great joy.

Riding that momentum, I stabbed my sword into the table and said, “I have already contracted with the serfs around this area to participate in lumbering and general construction work in exchange for proper food and pay, and we will commence extensive palisade construction work starting tomorrow. Moreover, even if the enemy arrives in a month, we must finish our work as quickly as possible! Therefore, all nobles, including myself, will take up shovels and join in the construction alongside the engineers and some supervisors, so you all may rest easy. That is all.”

The barons, while they were pleased to hear the urgency about finishing the work, looked at me with blank expressions upon hearing that all nobles, including myself, would be involved in the construction.

However, we truly had no choice this time; it was essential to construct a palisade fortress capable of accommodating 25,000 soldiers in under a month.