SWDnovel #534 - Privy Counsellor
#534 - Privy Counsellor
Inside the assembly hall of the Uffizi Palace in Rapid Current City.
The murky afternoon sunlight filtered onto the ebony tables, illuminating the fifty to sixty important figures of Rapid Current City seated within the spacious hall.
Among them were various legion commanders, city council members, guild leaders, and key members of the city hall.
They sat around the oval table or behind the long rectangular tables on either side, each group subtly observing the confidential monks as they entered and exited.
These monks were tasked with serving tea and water, as well as posting charts and maps on a large wooden board.
The maps were accurate, but the positions of various legions and camps were deliberately blurred.
However, from Seizinger's perspective as an observer, the dense markings were still overwhelming.
Is it just a war? Why make it so complicated?
The nobles of North County often fought with the Lord of Noen across the Carla Mountains; before the fighting, only a few key nobles would meet.
They would draw a simple map on the ground, and each would take turns stabbing a dagger into it, marking their respective zones of combat, and then they would fight.
In fact, most wars within the Empire followed this pattern: a war council was held beforehand to allocate tasks, and then each party was responsible for their own deployment, conscription, and supply.
Even collective distribution of food and coordinated marching, as practiced by the Edict Legion, was considered advanced tactics.
Seizinger had never seen such meticulous planning as that of the Salvation Army.
Mittenier noticed Seizinger's confusion and simply handed him a cup of hot mulled wine: "The Salvation Army considers itself the Third Elven Empire, reviving many Elven traditions and mechanisms, such as this military advisor system.
This function belonged to the Senate's temporary military council during the Elven Empire, but His Majesty made it permanent, resulting in this detailed operational style."
Although not explicitly divided, the Privy Council was similarly divided into clerical and staff officers.
The primary role of the staff officers was to assist Horn in formulating operational plans and marching routes.
Currently, the number of staff officers was small, mostly promoted from legion scribes and accompanying priests.
As the attendees from Rapid Current City and the Salvation Army's high command arrived, the official master of ceremonies began to loudly maintain order until everyone was quiet.
Horn didn't waste any time with pleasantries; after briefly outlining the situation, he assigned the task of reporting to Pettier, Bernard, and several other staff officers.
According to the simplified staff system Horn introduced from later generations, the development of an operational plan was divided into five stages: enemy and friendly intelligence gathering, setting battle objectives, tactical execution plan, contingency plan, and order issuance coordination.
This pre-war meeting was to report the results of the first two stages.
"Currently, the enemy's total strength is approximately 5,000-9,000, with the main force concentrated around Shelley City, besieging it. The remaining light cavalry are plundering everywhere, having already captured three fortresses around Shelley City.
Based on the current situation, Shelley City will fall by mid-January, and some light cavalry have already reached the outskirts of the Shelley City Basin.
Our objectives, in order of importance, are to hold the South Nanaan River defense line, advance into the basin area, and restore the rule of Kasha County."
Facing the numerous high-ranking officials and legion commanders, Bernard remained composed, eloquently breaking down the current situation.
He even felt a sense of intoxication; it was simply too comfortable. There were no disruptive knights, no slanderous servants, and no stubborn, unreasonable nobles.
Most of his opinions and analyses could be solidly translated into operational intentions, clearly written on paper, and announced to officers willing to obey orders.
"This operation is divided into three stages. The first stage aims to stabilize the South Nanaan River defense line, the second stage is to advance the battle line to the front of the Blago Basin, and the third stage is to recapture the Blago Monastery."
After analyzing with several staff officers and Horn himself, it was absolutely too late to rescue the Blago Monastery.
Instead of supporting it, it was better to first consolidate the South Nanaan River defense line, ensuring that the enemy could not easily attack the core area of the homeland, and then gradually advance westward.
"Now, Pettier will explain the specific operational plan."
After Bernard bowed and left the stage, Horn called Pettier up.
Unlike Bernard, who liked to analyze the situation and propose campaign directions, Pettier was better at breaking down large campaigns into small tasks.
"Our current defense line on the South Nanaan River is over 200 kilometers long, and we only have 7 legions with 3,950 men, 600 combat cavalry, and 800 rangers.
The enemy army is about twice our size, the defense line is so long, and the enemy's main combat force is cavalry, while ours is infantry.
Therefore, the enemy can launch multiple surprise attacks to break through and cut off our supply lines; simply holding our ground is not a viable option.
Instead, we should take advantage of the enemy's difficulty in obtaining supplies and launch proactive attacks against them before they completely invade the South Nanaan River region.
The first step is to burn down most of the fords on the South Nanaan River, leaving only the most important ones, building temporary star forts, and having rangers constantly patrol the river.
The second step is to use the enemy's weakness in supply acquisition to constantly maneuver them.
Through our advantages of high mobility and rapid supply, we will constantly harass and eliminate small units, forcing the enemy to split their forces, and then concentrate on annihilating one part.
After repeated iterations, when the enemy's strength is reduced to a certain extent, we will be able to counterattack with Shelley City as the target.
Gentlemen, you can see this operational map behind me for the specific combat directions…"
This operational map was basically hand-drawn by Pettier. Because he came from a family of grocers, he followed his parents to transport goods from a young age.
To avoid tax checkpoints and reduce cargo transportation losses, Pettier developed a good habit of drawing maps, and the more accurate the better.
This skill was originally just a supporting skill, or even just a hobby, but it turned out to be very useful here.
"I have a question," said Rudylo, the commander of the Third Black Hat Legion, raising his hand.
"Please speak."
Rudylo coughed and stood up: "The Rakunio Church Army is mainly cavalry, and we are infantry, how can we outrun them?"
The newest novels are first published on Liu Jiu Jiu Shu Ba!
"It's simple. First, we have the South Nanaan River, which allows us to quickly deploy troops by boat. Second, we have the home-field advantage and can build supply points along the marching route in advance."
Picking up a small wooden stick, Pettier pointed to a road on the wooden map behind him.
"For example, this road, from here to here, would normally take about five to seven days to march, but if we build supply points at these two locations, we can reach it within four days.
Our brave infantry marches very fast, with almost no desertions or stragglers. The normal marching speed is about 20 kilometers per day.
After changing into standard uniforms and shoes, as long as we can ensure the supply of military rations along the way, the Guards Legion can achieve a marching speed of 30-35 kilometers per day during forced marches.
The enemy cavalry forces have difficulty abandoning their baggage, and their marching speed is slightly slower. Tactically, cavalry is faster, but strategically, we are definitely faster.
Not just infantry, even our cavalry is faster than their cavalry.
I've calculated everything. As long as we can build the temporary fortresses and supply points on the map on time, our message delivery speed will be about one day faster than theirs."
Pettier was explaining the operational plan, but Horn was not worried that the plan would be leaked.
The specific operational details were all in his head; they saw a static map, while in the eyes of Horn and Pettier, the map was dynamic.
What if they knew the general operational plan? The Church Army's flaws and weaknesses could not be changed, and neither could the terrain and system.
Based on these two facts that could not be changed in the short term, as long as the Holy Father didn't cause any trouble, the legions wouldn't need to have any outstanding performances to achieve victory.
However, the staff system was still being implemented for the first time. Horn carefully observed the legion commanders and city councilors of Rapid Current City, and most of them looked dismissive and hesitant.
Before achieving actual results, Horn would need to personally push the orders down.
"I invited you all here, do you all understand my meaning?" After Pettier stepped down, Horn stood on the stage and scanned the room.
"We'll fight the battle, but you'll have to do the work of building the camps, transporting the soldiers, and building the supply points."
The merchants and shipowners immediately began to whisper to each other, as if no one else was there, after all, this was a big project.
Although the Holy Grandson wouldn't freeload, this kind of work could bankrupt you, and risking your life was not worth it.
On the other hand, the stonemasons' guild of Rapid Current City eagerly inquired about the specific plan. Compared to their counterparts in Jeanneburg, their lives were much harder.
"Gentlemen, this is not my war, it is everyone's war."
After Horn's clear words reached everyone's ears, the discussion gradually subsided, and he cleared his throat: "I have said everything, are there any doubts now?"
The heads of these Rapid Current City citizens looked at each other, and finally no one raised their hand.
Horn clapped his hands with satisfaction: "Then let's do it this way."