Chapter 72: Land Strategy
First, let me explain the current situation.
Lord Raul and Lord Aquicurl have raised their armies, but they aren’t going to march towards the capital… anytime soon. Both parties are in the process of gathering troops, preparing supplies, and working on the ‘handover’.
The transfer of authority is done in stages. If all those stages are done in a rush, then you can lose everything you have built up… just like me. A lot of the authority and vassals that the Emperor had was not passed to me when my father and grandfather died, and I suddenly became the ‘Emperor’. Many of the former Crown Prince Jean’s vassals worked for Lord Warung, not me. It was inevitable that they would follow their master after losing Crown Prince Jean.
The same thing was happening to Duke Raul and Duke Aquicurl due to the purge at the coronation ceremony. Well, unlike me, they are starting from a place where they have some power, but sudden changes create huge backlashes. Their power must be really fragile.
Or, if Duke Raul, who had a large private army, had managed to control his army, then it would be possible for him to direct them towards the capital… but they are now pinned down on the eastern frontier by the Gotilova Tribe.
“He can’t make a move at the moment, but we can. The choice is ours. Should we strike from the east or from the west? I want your opinion on this.”
We couldn’t strike at both armies. I could divide the forces into defence and diversion units, but I would like to have our main forces in one place.
By the way, this isn’t the current course of action but the ‘next’ course of action. My current course of action is to bring the southern part of the Empire under my complete control. So, I am conducting various operations in Count Bunra fief to achieve this.
All that remained to be seen was if Anslem… Marquis Dzran will follow me now that he has defeated his parents and brothers. I have already sent a message to summon him to the capital. If he doesn’t come, then the first step would be to attack Marquis Dzran.