War Is Deception
The Expeditionary Force Commander called for me the moment he entered the city.
As soon as I arrived at his office, he opened the conversation.
“Honestly, I never imagined you’d actually capture the city with just one regiment. That is truly remarkable.”
“Thank you for the praise, sir.”
“It is a great relief to the Empire that we have an officer like you. If not for you, the bastards from the Dolce Republic would have used Como City as a base to torment us. Just thinking about it is terrifying.”
War is a form of land-grabbing.
It is common to grind thousands of soldiers into dust just to secure a favorable piece of land, or even a single mountain.
If that is the case for a mere hill, it goes without saying for a strategic hub where people actually live.
“However, I am not the one who deserves the most credit for the capture of Como City. I only gave the orders; it was Sergeant Wilhelm who actually opened the city gates.”
“Is that so?”
“Yes, sir. I paid a massive sum to some disgruntled thugs to cooperate in opening the gates.”
“We must reward him handsomely.”
“I intend to give him an opportunity to become an officer.”
The Commander chuckled at my words.
“It is usually unheard of for a mere soldier to become an officer, but if he has performed an exceptional feat, we must make an exception. I, the Commander-in-Chief, will write the recommendation letter myself.”
“Thank you, Excellency.”
“Then, let us proceed with the handover of Como City’s governance. Hand over the mayor’s seal.”
In any era, in any country, a seal is the symbol of power.
Even in stories like the Romance of the Three Kingdoms, people are always making a racket, shouting, ‘The Imperial Seal! The Imperial Seal!’
Even in the West, there was traditionally a position called the Lord Privy Seal, a minister dedicated solely to managing the seal.
Therefore, handing over the seal is the most important act in the transfer of power.
“What have you done with the mayor and the nobles?”
“The mayor, the deputy mayor, the chairman of the city council, and all other officials above the bureau director level have been dismissed. As for the city council members, since they are the local notables of this city and the surrounding areas, I have decided to allow them to retain their status on the condition that they cooperate with the Imperial system.”
“You have been generous. Do you have no intention of confiscating their property at all?”
“The difficulty of maintaining logistics will vary greatly depending on whether the city’s influential figures cooperate. I cannot ruin the war effort just to scrape together a little more military funding.”
A subtle smile spread across the Commander’s face.
It seemed he was pleased with the policy I had adopted after occupying the city.
“I, the Commander-in-Chief, shall respect your policy.”
“Thank you.”
“Your soldiers did not engage in any violent acts like looting or rape, either. Thanks to that, there will be no issues for the Imperial supply corps to pass through Como City.”
“Thank you.”
One of the most important things when conducting a war is the public sentiment of the occupied territory.
Rarely does an occupied population welcome an invading army.
Therefore, one should never expect sincere loyalty from them from the start.
‘The important thing is not to incite resentment.’
If this is hard to understand, it is easy to think of the Imjin War.
During the Imjin War, the Japanese forces occupied Joseon in an instant, based on a military force that was among the top five in the world at the time.
However, because they imposed excessive taxes on the people of Joseon, they completely lost the public’s heart...
And every man, woman, and child in Joseon became one to join the righteous armies to kill the Japanese invaders.
If I were to lose the public sentiment in Como City...
The people here might bow their heads on the outside, but behind our backs, they would form righteous armies and torment us like crazy.
“That is all for the handover.”
“I see. You have worked hard.”
“Thank you.”
“And there is one more thing I need you to do.”
In this world, there is a beautiful culture of piling more work onto those who do their jobs well.
Since I have continued to rack up achievements, are they going to make me work again?
Thanks to this, I will end up with a massive amount of war merit in this war as well.
Still, even if my body is tired, it’s better than having nothing to do...
There are a truckload of guys who get discharged without ever getting a chance to earn merit, even while they are willing to grind their bodies to dust.
“What would you like me to do?”
“Scout the area around Como City.”
“Now that we have secured Como City as a bridgehead, shouldn’t we use this as a base to push deeper inside?”
The Empire declared war at a time the Dolce Republic never expected.
We pushed in without giving them any time to react.
Since they wouldn’t have fully prepared their defenses yet, it would be advantageous to keep digging in like splitting bamboo, wouldn’t it...?
‘Why on earth are they reluctant to advance?’
Is the Commander I met incompetent...?
No, wait. He might just be the type with a very cautious personality.
In this world, there are generals who think charging blindly like Lu Bu is the answer, and others who think advancing very slowly is the answer.
Well, either way, as long as he isn’t incompetent, it’s fine.
As long as he doesn’t act like the dark independent army leader, Lieutenant General Mutaguchi Renya, claiming the Imperial Army are herbivores, or force soldiers holding guns to only use swords and charge, it’s fine.
“I fully understand your perspective. However, we are currently in enemy territory, are we not?”
“Yes, that is correct.”
“That means if we move the army, we never know when or where we might be ambushed.”
Of course, the Dolce Republic bastards are in a daze due to our sudden declaration of war...
So, the probability that an ambush would cause significant damage to the Imperial Army is low.
It’s not like I’m one to talk, having taken a single battalion to inflict massive damage on a division-sized supply unit...
War is a place where countless things that I never predicted, things that shouldn’t happen according to common sense, happen all the time, but...
‘Such things rarely happen in the first place.’
It is common for a small number to defeat a large number, but things that are logically impossible almost never happen.
That is why everyone commands according to common sense when operating an army.
“Of course, the probability of our side suffering great damage from an ambush by the Dolce Republic army is significantly low. However, isn’t it a situation where a large enemy force is currently approaching to repel us?”
“Yes, that is correct.”
“Let’s change our perspective a little.”
A smile spread across our Commander’s face.
That smile is one that can only be shown by someone with a strong will to screw someone over.
What kind of operation is he planning?
“If we go outside Como City, we will be in a position where we have to break through the enemy’s defenses. However, if we fight a field battle near Como City...?”
“Our side will be in a position to defend against the enemy’s attack.”
“Yes, that is correct.”
“We are luring the enemy into a battlefield favorable to us. And after annihilating the enemy’s large force, we advance all at once.”
They say that finding a prime location is the most important thing to succeed in opening a restaurant.
You have to secure a good spot to get the chance to sell delicious food and get word-of-mouth, right?
War and battle are similar.
You have to forcibly lure them into a battlefield that is unfavorable to the enemy and favorable to your side to increase your chances of winning.
“Reconnaissance is essential to find a favorable battlefield. Don’t you agree?”
“Yes, that is correct.”
“That is why I gave you the reconnaissance order. Move your troops, search near Como City, and find out everything—where the mouse holes are, and even which tree the birds have built their nests in.”
“I will search every nook and cranny, even down to where the ants are crawling.”
At first, I wondered what kind of strange things the Commander in front of me was saying.
But hearing it like this, I was glad to feel his philosophy.
Usually, commanders just give orders without explaining why they are doing it...
‘He provides a clear motivation for why he is assigning the work.’
He has already reached the rank of General, but a person like that will eventually be promoted to Grand Marshal.
Even if not, he is a person with much to learn from; he is an elder worthy of respect.
“Thank you for answering even my trivial questions in detail.”
“An old man like me, the Commander-in-Chief, will soon be lying in a coffin, having nails driven into the lid. Then, won’t your era arrive?”
“You will live a long and healthy life.”
“At this age, living a long time doesn’t seem to be all that good. My only grandson is failing out of the military academy, and my granddaughter is such a tomboy that everyone avoids her.”
A shadow fell over the face of our Commander-in-Chief.
Then he looked at me and sighed.
“......Ha, I wonder what will become of our Model Viscount family. I have no face to see the founder, Lord Walter...”
In this situation, saying nothing is the best course of action.
If I try to comfort him for no reason, I’ll just end up looking like a weirdo.
The Commander grumbled for a moment, then looked at me and said.
“I only trust you.”
“Leave it to me.”
***
Following the orders of the Commander-in-Chief, we scouted the vicinity of Como City.
At the same time, we investigated all sorts of terrain information.
Things like where certain trees were located, and roughly how many meters high the hills were.
Complaints began to pour out among the soldiers.
“......I understand reconnaissance, but why on earth are we investigating the height of the hills?”
“It’s not like we’re making a map or anything.”
I pretended not to hear them.
Because sometimes, a person has to pretend to be deaf.
And while we were scouting... we finally found it.
“......This place looks good.”