Chapter 172
Chapter 172
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 172
Chapter Title: In War, Deceiving the Enemy is the Proper Way (1)
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And the next day.
I was immediately summoned to the imperial palace.
If I had my way, I would've made some excuse about being sick from just returning from the war and turned down the summons.
Because all I wanted was to rest with my rabbit-like son and my fox-like beautiful wife.
Besides, I currently had no specific assignment and was on two months' leave, including commendation leave, consolation leave, and sick leave.
So I had every right to hole up in the mansion, playing with my adorable son during the day and tormenting Laura at night...
But the Empire was a strict hierarchical society, and ignoring a summons from the Emperor could lead to unimaginable consequences later.
'Forget all that. He wouldn't possibly tell me to forfeit my leave and get back to work right away. No way. He wouldn't do that. No, surely not.'
Like that, I—a legendary figure who had slain hundreds in battle against the enemy—entered His Majesty's office looking like a mere soldier desperately praying that my leave wouldn't be cut short when facing the Emperor.
"Lieutenant General Peter Jaeger pays respects to the Empire's sole sun."
"Raise your head. I'm truly sorry to summon you during your leave."
"If Your Majesty calls, must I not set aside even the most urgent matters and come at once?"
Hearing that, the Emperor had his attendants place a chair opposite him for me.
"Sit down for now. This might take a while."
"Yes, understood."
The butlers and maids inside the office promptly exited, and the Emperor let out a sigh before speaking.
"Lieutenant General, do you know how the Empire's political situation is unfolding right now? It's a complete mess."
In a way, this was such an obvious statement that even mentioning it was a pain.
After all, judging purely by the results of this expedition, one could say His Highness the Crown Prince had barely scraped a victory against the Swisserland army.
But that didn't change the fact that, due to His Highness's blunder, a legion of 50,000 men had nearly been wiped out.
That alone was enough to cost the heads of all involved high-ranking generals, and several families guilty of such a blatant mistake wouldn't be out of place if they were eradicated entirely.
Moreover, the Crown Prince himself—a figure who almost got captured by the enemy—was in a blunder far graver than even if those 50,000 Imperial troops had all perished.
It was better than the Emperor being caught, sure, but retrieving the Crown Prince would still require handing over several ducal territories and over a million attached subjects.
So this wasn't something that could be brushed off as "no major disaster happened, so we're good."
Additionally, no matter how much I'd credited the surprise attack on Dolphino Castle entirely to His Highness, the higher-ups would already know the truth.
"A quarter of the nobles from the faction supporting that fool Michael have switched to the Second and Third Princes' factions. And even among the nobles still around the Crown Prince, some are starting to show signs of jumping ship."
"......I find it regrettable."
"Indeed. If things had gone according to the original plan, after securing Swisserland's three cantons, I intended to declare that my age made it hard to bear the throne's burdens and hold an imperial election. Then this old man would retire to a separate palace with the Empress and concubines to live out a peaceful life."
At around fifty years old—a relatively young age for someone never plagued by illness—he was already planning a blissful retirement.
But as he said, subjugating Swisserland and claiming its territory had been a long-held dream of the Empire's emperors across generations.
The problem was Swisserland's terrain: beautiful to behold but nightmarishly rugged for outsiders to assault, coupled with the fiercely tough mountain bandits who lived there, making any expedition unthinkable.
However, this last expedition had seemed feasible because a double agent—none other than a count we could fully trust—had sided with the Empire.
If the count hadn't been a double agent, the expedition would have succeeded following the plan and design His Highness had personally crafted.
In that case, he would have become an iron-blooded Emperor wielding unassailable power that no one dared challenge.
The Emperor rose, gripped my hand tightly, and said with a benevolent smile.
"But Count Bern was a double agent, and the Crown Prince nearly died there with the 50,000 expeditionary force. To be honest, when I first heard the news, I thought, 'It's all over. The Empire has begun its path to ruin.'"
The Empire's geopolitical position meant it had a multitude of potential enemies.
So if the Crown Prince got captured by those Swisserland hillbilly yokels—who had nothing but mercenaries to boast of—and we had to cede several ducal territories?
Nations like Checobia, the Franco Republic, the Peronia City-State Alliance, and the Ostrica Archduchy would come swarming, saying, "Is this the famous Reich Empire everyone's talking about? Tasty."
At that point, the Empire would likely fail to handle wars breaking out on multiple fronts simultaneously and head down the road to defeat.
"Yet you and the 7th Guard Division stayed till the end, securing the retreat path, allowing the Crown Prince to return alive. You protected the Empire's soldiers, its pride and honor, and ultimately the safety of its people. Personally, I consider you my benefactor. And as long as Peter Jaeger lives, I shall never doubt the House of Jaeger."
Being called the Emperor's benefactor meant that, worst case, even if I gambled away the family fortune and piled up debts, he'd cover it from the national treasury or imperial budget.
And never doubting the family meant granting absolute trust, short of outright treason.
Seeing the prologue drag on, it seemed His Majesty had quite a bit he wanted to say...
I swallowed hard.
"I've kept you—a man in need of rest—here too long with my words. Now, to the main point. Is there no good way to restore the Crown Prince's position?"
There were countless methods to recover his standing.
For starters, His Highness could appear before the people, distribute his wealth to aid them, or promote officers like me and low-ranking administrators to gradually build his forces.
Or meet personally with the officers of the 7th Guard Division, leave a good impression, and sway their families to his side, among other approaches.
"First, what His Highness needs now is thorough remorse. He must clearly show that he won't repeat such mistakes and what efforts he'll make to prevent it, or the remaining faction nobles will keep defecting."
"The boy is reflecting deeply in his own way. He's gathering all taxes from the Brandenburg County to distribute to the casualties and their families. Thanks to that, he's living off only his court stipend."
"That's a bit lacking. At minimum, he should personally visit the homes of heroic officers and soldiers who died in battle around the capital Reichburg and its vicinity—or those posthumously awarded medals—offer words of comfort, and provide living expenses."
The Emperor's eyes widened in shock at first but then nodded, seeing the logic.
"Doing as you say will bruise his pride quite a bit. But once word spreads, it'll return as tenfold honor. Our Empire's nobles will also be moved by the Crown Prince's magnanimity and grace in consoling even common soldiers and junior officers."
Bowing to common soldiers and junior officers is tough, but nobles—who mostly had military experience—knew well.
That the Imperial Army didn't run solely on generals and senior officers.
To maintain the army at its peak, one must show respect and care for junior officers and enlisted men.
"Naturally, such tales of His Highness will spread nationwide organically. The nobles tempted to abandon his faction will hear of his tenderness—even grieving the deaths of lowly junior officers and soldiers—and see potential in him once more."
"Sound reasoning. Will you go with him, then?"
Honestly, I was dying to console the bereaved families of the 7th Division's fallen and the other units' troops.
Hell, I'd forfeit my entire leave to do it.
"I've already garnered far too much fame from this battle. So I cannot accompany His Highness right now."
I didn't say it, but the reaction to me going with the Crown Prince was obvious without seeing it.
The bereaved of other divisions' soldiers or the wounded would welcome His Highness, but the 7th Division would cheer me more than him.
Because, strategy or not, His Highness was the one who ultimately left the 7th Division as a shield and fled.
I was the general who stayed till the end on the battlefield, sword in hand, to send even one more of them home.
That would inevitably spark a rivalry over influence between His Highness and me, whether I intended it or not.
"So I'll truly hole up at home for these two months. In that time, if His Highness consoles them, it will greatly aid in maintaining his position."
Hearing that, the Emperor smiled in deep satisfaction and asked.
"Beyond what you've said, it feels like you have a much grander plan. Speak freely, without worry. It's just you and me, after all."