Civil War – Battlefield of Lafayette (1)
As soon as the autumn harvest was over, King Louis declared a large-scale suppression of traitors, summoned a large army from the capital Lumière, and began moving south.
In order to respond, the former 1st Prince faction also marched out with soldiers.
The leadership gathered at Charlaison in the center of the kingdom, located about halfway between the Marquis of Lafayette in the south and the Duchy of Lorraine in the east, and held a strategy meeting.
And the atmosphere of the meeting was gloomy and despairing.
“They have over 20,000 troops? “Are you sure?”
Everyone’s expressions turned blue at the question of Christophe de Lorraine, Duke of Lorraine, the de facto head of the faction.
“Isn’t there some kind of mistake? The troops that confronted them before the plague broke out were much smaller than that. “No matter how much they secure the North, it’s not like they suddenly have money that wasn’t there before, so how on earth do they come up with such troops?”
Count Felford, one of the Duke of Lorraine’s confidants, opened his mouth, but my father, the Marquis de Lafayette, answered indifferently.
“The cross-verification has already been completed. “Unless Ganja and the scouts saw something for nothing, then you’re right.”
A heavy silence fell.
After suffering great damage from the plague, the lords in the northern region lost their sphere of influence.
Our troops barely exceed 10,000 even after gathering all available numbers.
Even for me, this situation is embarrassing.
Even before his return, King Louis launched an offensive to end the remnants of the First Prince faction, but his troops were at most only slightly larger than ours.
Therefore, it was possible to somehow prevent it even without the Blue Knights, and it was possible to reconcile with King Louis, who realized that the revolution, which had been dismissed as a simple revolt by the common people, was a bigger problem than he thought.
But suddenly they attack us with more than twice as many troops.
Is it possible that the Blue Knight Marquis is still alive?
They may be alarmed because the Marquis is alive, but even so, when my victory was certain, the previously hostile nobles suddenly doubled their troops?
It is not a territory war against a neighboring territory, and a war of this scale cannot be fought by simply conscripting peasants and dragging them in.
How much does it cost to feed, clothe, and arm that many troops? Where on earth can those who fought that long civil war get that kind of money?
Did these damn bastards run a large-scale slave trade against the Abyss Corporation?
“Isn’t the troop gap too big? If this happens, it would be better to retreat and fight a defensive battle….”
“Their territory is in good condition in the north, so we can take turns pillaging the territory and wither away. “If we leave here, we will all be destroyed individually.”
In the midst of the confusion, another piece of information came in.
“It is said that the enemy has divided their army into three and are advancing. An army of about 6,000 led by the Duke of Orléans is approaching in the direction of Trois, an army of about 4,000 led by the Duke of Brittany is approaching in the direction of Berry, and an army of about 10,000 led by King Louis is approaching this way.”
“Are they planning to attack our base?”
There was silence.
The enemy forces advancing east of Trwa are clearly targeting the Duke of Lorraine’s territory.
the problem is.
“4000 towards Berry?”
The Marquis furrowed his brows.
The only base of the 1st Prince faction in the direction of Berry, that is, in the southwest, is the Marquis de Lafayette, which is far away.
It is understandable to put pressure on the Duke of Lorraine, who is in fact the core and main force, with 6,000 troops, but Lafayette is in a position to block King Louis’s main army that is moving south anyway, so why send 4,000 troops in a direction where no one other than Lafayette is involved?
The Duke of Lorraine’s territory is in the east, so if you look at power costs, most of the power is invested in Lafayette and other southern families, and the troops opposing the Duke of Lorraine are only assorted for the purpose of keeping him in check.
“It seems that King Louis wants to defeat Lafayette and the southern families first.”
Count Lionel of the neighboring estate opened his mouth heavily.
That’s obvious. But why?
Although it was important to avoid being captured by the revolutionary army, the reason he stopped the Marquis from trying to enthrone Eris was to avoid a situation that needlessly attracted King Louis’ attention.
The Blue Knights’ prestige must be great, but the leader of the faction is obviously the Duke of Lorraine, so why bother dispersing their power and giving Lafayette a hard time?
“…I guess we’ll have to divide our forces too.”
When the Marquis opened his mouth, before another word could come out, the Duke of Lorraine spoke quickly.
“The enemies coming to my territory are not that formidable. “There are as many as 6,000, so my army will have to deal with the Duke of Orléans.”
My eyebrows naturally furrow.
The Duke of Lorraine and his faction, the Eastern Lords, have an army of 5000.
Of course, it is a little small compared to the Duke of Orléans’s forces, but the enemy is sending most of their forces to the south, so you want to take half of them from here?
Before the return, when I was a marquis, we weren’t at this much of a disadvantage, so the impression was that we were just arrogant high-ranking nobles, but as soon as we were pushed into a corner, we were indecent and exposed.
The Marquis’ comment that he was an incompetent pig suddenly struck me.
“If that happens, the whole South will fall!”
Lafayette’s neighboring fief, Count Lionel, was the first to retort –
“If we are annihilated, you will not be safe either, Duke.”
As the Marquis spoke coldly, the Duke took out a handkerchief and wiped the sweat from his chubby face.
“Even if you lose your territory, it’s not the same. We can’t solve the problem of being outgunned because we have so few troops to begin with. Yes, then I will send 1,000 people to the south. “I believe that the Marquis of the ‘Blue Knight’ will do something like that.”
In this case, the number of enemies coming to the south is 14,000, and our army to defend it is 6,000.
Even though we have blue knights, is it possible to overcome this level of inferiority?
“Okay, then, stop the Duke of Brittany with 2000, and use the rest to defeat King Louis-”
“Wait!”
The Marquis, who was interrupted by the Duke of Lorraine, raised his eyebrows, but the Duke of Lorraine did not stop.
“I risk my territory and lend 1/5 of my valuable troops, but the Marquis will send 1/3 of my already insufficient troops to protect my territory?”
“Then what do you mean?”
“No matter how much the Marquis is a ‘blue knight’, there is no way he could defeat 10,000 men, including the king’s elite army, with only 4,000 troops. “If it’s a battlefield we can’t win anyway, wouldn’t it be better to lead all my troops and achieve victory in the east?”
The Marquis’ face turned red at the Duke of Lorraine’s absurd words.
I think I now understand the source of the Marquis’ anger.
No, the Duke of Lorraine, this pig is really…
So, if he takes all 5,000, he can win against the Duke of Orléans’ 6,000, right?
“But, Duke. If the Marquis de Lafayette collapses, other neighboring territories in the south will also collapse in succession. “We cannot just ignore their southward migration.”
Count Lionel, who was our neighbor and would be in danger if we collapsed, helped us, but the Duke of Lorraine was a more amazing person than we thought.
“Of course not. I am not saying to completely neglect it. Since this is a dangerous battlefield for all of us anyway, shouldn’t we share the risk appropriately? I sent 1000 troops to help you despite the risk. So, how about delaying the Marquis’s southbound troops to 1,000 as much as possible?”
So, if a person wants to take back 1,000 of his troops because he is worried that he won’t be able to stop 10,000 with 4,000, why not stop 4,000 with 1,000?
“Anyway, after passing through the plains of the Berry region, the road to the Marquis’ territory is a forest area. “The pace of advance cannot be fast, so we can help if we achieve victory in the central and eastern regions while a small number of troops hold us back as much as possible.”
Although it is packaged like that, the Duke of Lorraine’s true intentions are obvious.
If it is breached anyway, the Marquis de Lafayette will suffer damage, and since it is in the opposite direction to the Duke of Lorraine’s territory, it is completely someone else’s business.
On the other hand, if the main force in the central region collapses, King Louis’ main force could threaten the Duke of Lorraine at any given time.
The Marquis is seething, but there is no way if the Duke of Lorraine, who will give him troops, says he doesn’t want to.
It’s terrible to think that before returning, we fought against the revolutionary army with these guys. Twice is absolutely not a specification.
“Then who will command the 1,000 from the west to stop the Duke of Brittany’s 4,000?”
Even if you do your best, you have to take time while taking as little damage as possible, and there is a high probability that you will be crushed by overwhelming forces.
The one who is threatened is the Marquis de Lafayette, but since there is no one other than the ‘Blue Knights’ who can deal with the king’s army that is twice as large, the Marquis is out of the question from the beginning.
Of course, no one would step forward in a situation like this, so I opened my mouth.
“I will go.”
–
I walked out without hearing comments that I had no intention of hearing, such as saying that I was indeed the son of a blue knight, or that I was looking forward to the performance of a new star who defeated the Count Mirbeau.
I can’t figure out why Lafayette was chosen as the main target, but I can’t help what has already happened.
Now that things are like this, we have no choice but to use what we have accumulated in preparation for the revolution.
I pulled out an arrow of a different color than the others from the quiver I was carrying on my back and held it in my hand.
If you swing the sword a few times without Eris, your sacred power will be consumed, so I asked for an arrow to prepare for an unexpected blow.
Eris prayed to me for a few days before going on a mission, and the overflowing divine power seemed to stabilize my mind.
“What are you thinking?”
When I looked back, the Marquis was following me.
“Isn’t it about protecting our territory anyway? “There is no way a person who has been forced into a position where he is sure to lose can fight properly, so it would be better for me to take command and fight.”
The Marquis looked at me quietly and smiled strangely satisfied.
“You really grew up well. “He became worthy of the name Lafayette.”
Oh, I see.
After the last meeting, I was on guard that the Marquis might have an accident, but he was almost speechless and didn’t make much movement.
Then it seems that the Marquis came to his own conclusion. Since it looks like he can’t control me anyway, I just think of him as a proud son.
I couldn’t help but laugh.
“Your Excellency, may I ask you a question?”
“what?”
“Didn’t you know that Gaston and I are capable of overpowering ordinary knights?”
The marquis did not answer.
That silence became the clearest answer than anything else.
“A person who recognized the sword of a royal guard knight he saw years ago wouldn’t have been able to tell that much apart. Why? Was it because, in your opinion, both my sword and Gaston’s sword were so insignificant that they were worthless?”
That wouldn’t have happened. After becoming a marquess, he held a knighthood ceremony every year until the year I participated, and each time he selected the top winners as knights and took them to the battlefield.
Not to mention Gaston, I would not have been inferior to them before I returned.
“Your Excellency, I was not a son to be cherished, but a competitor who threatened your position, wasn’t I?”
“…okay. You are right Pierre. But now I realize. A lion’s child cannot be a cat. Even if you suppress it-”
“Then just treat him as you have done before, Excellency.”
“….”
“I did not grow up with your Excellency’s support. “I am standing here now, like a weed that has grown despite your Excellency trampling it with all your might.”
I wasted my time under the cold treatment and contempt of the Marquis, and after the revolution broke out, I went through many hardships and had my head cut off on the guillotine, only to come this far.
A place that was barely reached through the miracle of returning, which would have been impossible in the first place.
It took too long for me to break away from his influence, and the shadow of the marquis who died in vain from the plague or something else dominated my whole life.
Thanks to the hardships and miracles, we managed to get this far, but instead of helping, the man who only hindered us is your father and will use that to satisfy himself?
“So now, don’t try to include me in Your Excellency’s public opinion. “I am Lafayette, but I am not Lafayette. I am your rival who, contrary to your wishes, has not been broken and has grown.”
“You are so arrogant. “You are on your own without Lafayette’s name?”
“Yes sir. “I plan to prove it.”
Is this a card you threw away anyway? Are you glad it buys you some time? Don’t talk nonsense.
At the end of the war against the revolutionary army, I experienced several more desperate situations than this.
Now, I have cards that I can use, but I can’t save my face in a battle that feels like a prelude to the revolution.
“So, instead of showing unbecoming concern for your son, please show a ‘blue knight’ attitude, Your Excellency. “Because I intend to win.”
“Ha, I hope you show performance that matches your arrogance.”
“Isn’t this arrogance something you received from Your Excellency? Your Excellency, please live up to the name of the strongest knight in the kingdom.”
This is an opportunity to prove my worth on the same battlefield as the Marquis, which I did not get before returning.
I said, looking at the Marquis with fire in his eyes.
“If you cannot do so, Your Excellency, I intend to make sure that when people hear the name Lafayette, they think of me and not ‘the Blue Knight.’”
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