Chapter 50
Chapter 50
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 50
Chapter Title: Operation Snare (5)
-----------------------------------------------------------------
To sum up our army's current situation in one phrase, it's like 'a cat that has completely cornered a rat.'
It's already been a full month since we surrounded Helsman City, and if Sergeant Major Short's report is accurate, they must be completely out of food—not even enough strength left for the soldiers to grip their weapons.
In a situation where the soldiers can't even hold their weapons, the civilians—who rank even lower in food distribution—must be slowly starving to death inside the city walls...
It's better to wait for them to open the gates themselves than to charge in now.
Because if we launch a clumsy siege, we could suffer heavy losses, just like the saying about a cornered rat biting the cat.
Besides, in a situation where supplies are completely depleted, any cool-headed commander of the garrison would surely use the civilians as human shields to improve their internal food situation...
That would mean needless loss of innocent civilian lives, public sentiment, and our own soldiers.
And if, in that state, Count Nant ignored all advice and launched a reckless attack on 'Helsman,' got thoroughly defeated, and then came charging at us with that momentum, we'd be 100% wiped out.
Therefore, to avoid the worst-case scenario, we should put 'capturing the castle' as second priority and continue the siege.
As I was lost in these thoughts, pen in hand, about to jot down our future course of action on paper, Ella called out to me.
"Master."
"Yeah, who's here?"
"A messenger has arrived with a letter from Viscount Kroitel."
"Send him in."
A moment later, the messenger knelt on one knee and handed the letter to Ella.
I took it and read it, only to find content I had never even imagined.
Shocked, I forgot all decorum, rushed over to the messenger, shook his shoulders, and demanded,
"Messenger, is this seal truly my father's? Does this even make sense!!"
The messenger, who had done nothing wrong, looked at me with a wronged expression and replied,
"I don't even know what's written in it. I was simply ordered to deliver it to Baron Kroitel as quickly as possible."
Of course. Yelling at a mere messenger won't change anything.
Then, I let out a deep breath, patted the messenger's shoulder, and said,
"Sorry about that. It wasn't your fault. I took it out on you."
"No, it's fine."
"No, really. Have you eaten?"
Hearing that, the messenger scratched his head and answered,
"I haven't eaten anything since yesterday; I've been riding nonstop."
"Stay here and rest today before you go. And since I snapped at you, as an apology, we'll give you a knights' meal. Do you like beef?"
The messenger's eyes lit up at those words, and he nodded vigorously.
"Have two beef steaks for dinner before you leave. Tell the soldier in charge it's my order, and he'll grill them for you."
"Yes, thank you!"
With that, the messenger dashed out.
After he left, the letter on my desk contained news that was the second-worst thing after a defeat for me right now.
[In the war declared to seize the County of Helsman, soldiers under Count Nant committed rape, plunder, and murder against women and children in a village near the Linz Plains.]
We could've negotiated with the enemy garrison commander in just one more month of holding out and entered the city without losing a single soldier...
Why is this pig Schwein throwing sand in the rice now?
Once this news gets in, they'll think starving to death here is better than having their families raped and plundered—they'll burn with enmity.
At this point, I have no choice but to use that tactic to utterly crush the enemy's morale.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ The next day, I summoned all captains and above from the encirclement positions—already completed the day I received the letter—to my camp tent.
The knights sat casually in their spots, but the captains, unaccustomed to being personally called to strategy meetings by me, a 'baron,' dithered about whether to stand behind the knights or squeeze into the corner seats.
Seeing them like that, I said,
"Everyone, take a seat. I'll start once you're all seated."
At those words, the hesitant captains began sitting in the prepared spots in the tent, just like the knights.
"According to the message from my father yesterday, the count has plundered a village near the Linz Plains. I view this situation with great concern."
Hearing that, one knight raised his hand and asked in a voice full of doubt,
"Pardon? Your Excellency, isn't plunder common on the battlefield? On the contrary, it's rare for the Kroitel barony to carry 'all' its food supplies—usually, a significant portion is covered by plundering enemy territory, right? And bad things happen in the process."
As he said, in this era, all armies generally eat their own transported supplies or get resupplied from villages when marching through friendly territory.
And when entering enemy territory, they consume transported supplies if available; otherwise, they plunder to feed the soldiers.
Moreover, to console soldiers fighting without pay, raping women or killing for fun happens quite often.
So what the knight said is perfectly natural...
"As you say, plunder is common in war. However, the problem is... once this news reaches the enemy, their thinking changes. As Sergeant Major Short reported before, the enemy's current low morale comes from believing surrender will save their lives. But if my liege, Count Nant, plunders another village...?"
The knight who asked me replied with a serious expression,
"The civilians and soldiers inside the castle will unite, thinking, 'We're dead anyway, so let's fight.'"
"Exactly. And if the castle's food runs out, making them decide they'd rather open the gates and fight us than starve, we'll suffer no small losses. We could even lose. The enemy garrison is only 1,500, but including everyone inside, there are over 5,000 men. Even rabble, when they're ready to die charging in, are different, aren't they?"
In fact, from the attacker's side, even with forces dozens of times smaller—like in the First Crusade, where just 100 knights ready to die took Jerusalem...
Even in ridiculously unfavorable situations, miracles like that can happen when they're desperate.
No guarantee it won't happen here.
Then, Frost, sitting in the highest seat among the knights, looked at me and asked,
"Then, Your Excellency, what countermeasures do you have?"
"I have a countermeasure. A simple but certain stratagem."
Remembering how I said 'I have a stratagem' before crushing Celt and Baron Santoburg, the knights' eyes sparkled.
To meet their expectations, I unrolled a map roughly showing Helsman Castle and our surrounding camps, and continued the explanation.
"First, since we've completely surrounded the enemy, they probably don't know yet that Count Nant has plundered them. So, maintain strict vigilance to keep the 'plunder news' from reaching them. And you, supply officer—how long can we hold with our current food supplies?"
Suddenly called, the supply officer looked at me seriously and replied,
"Even generously supplied, we can last 7 months. If we economize a bit, up to 9 months."
Even though we're up against a river, discouraging large-scale maneuvers, the end should come within a month no matter how long those two drag it out.
That means our chance to take this castle alone lasts at most another month...
"Then, how long if we hold banquets every day?"
"Banquets consume about twice the normal supplies, so roughly 3 months."
I personally went over and patted the supply officer's shoulder for his quick answer to the unexpected question.
"Very capable. Thank you."
"You're welcome."
Then I returned to my seat and continued,
"And to sow discord among the enemy and crush their internal morale, repeat every day: 'If you surrender, no one will be killed.' At the same time, hold banquets and revelries every day out of arrow range."
The knights looked at me puzzled upon hearing that.
But they seemed to acknowledge it would definitely demoralize the enemy as I described—no one raised an objection.
"Also, to avoid lax vigilance, form pairs of two companies: one pair mans the watchtowers for the day, the other rests and plays. Give the resting pair time for naps if they want. Additionally, slaughter the pigs brought from the villages, clean their bladders thoroughly in water, inflate them with air, sew them up, and bring them. Dismissed."
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ The day after the military conference ended, at dawn, the sounds of slaughtering pigs and cows echoed loudly from our camp.
"Squeeee!!"
"Moooo~!!"
At those sounds, the enemy soldiers peered from the walls, and our soldiers jumped out of their tents from sleep.
"What, why slaughter cows at dawn?"
"No way, is His Excellency feeding us beef from morning because we're suffering?"
"They told us in training we'd only get hardtack in war."
I passed the confused soldiers and headed to where they were butchering the cows and pigs.
Seeing the soldiers—and loud enough for the enemy to hear—I shouted,
"Brave soldiers of Kroitel! I thank you for your dedication. Thus, prepare a banquet—eat, drink, and rest to your hearts' content!! Except for those on watch until further orders, eat, sleep, and play as you please."
With those words, cheers erupted from our soldiers.
"Long live Baron Kroitel!!"
"Who'd have thought the day would come to banquet in front of starving enemies..."
"Haha, this is fun!! Now I get why the highborn say the enemy's pain is our pleasure!!"
Leaving the cheers behind, I shouted toward the enemy soldiers,
"Pitiful people of Helsman starving to death! Open the gates now, and I'll give you food and guarantee your lives! Just like I spared your serfs from the countryside before!!!"
