industrial lord

Chapter 714: War Clouds Rise

With the rise of the Duchy of Wessen, the idea of ​​"building roads first to get rich" began to take root in people's minds.

In addition to building roads, bridges also needed to be built. The ship hired by Frederick stopped in a small town where a bridge was being built.

Perhaps in order to speed up the progress, the entire river was blocked by the bridge construction site. Each construction section was crowded with people. If one wanted to continue riding the boat, one had to walk ashore for dozens of meters and then find another boat.

Frederick asked the local shipping company and learned that they would have to wait two or three days for a suitable ship, so they stayed here.

Frederick did not know at this time that before this, Rudolf had received a secret messenger in the city of Hammar.

Baron Trins came from the Kingdom of Sverrieres with a proposal.

He said to Rudolf: "Your Majesty, the main force of the Danma Kingdom has been divided into two parts. The northernmost main force is trapped by the sea and is being besieged by our army."

"Flensburg is the only city left in the south, and the coordination between the north and the south is one of their confidences in resistance."

"We regret that your country once occupied Flensburg but had to give it up."

"If your country captures Flensburg again, we are willing to take the line ten kilometers north of Flensburg as the south. All the land on the Sembrica Peninsula will belong to your country, and the land in the north and the islands of the former Danmar Kingdom will belong to our country."

There is not too much sweet talk, the focus is on sharing the cake sincerely.

Rudolf did not reply immediately, but said: "You have come from a far distance and must be tired from the journey. Please go and have a rest."

After expressing his gratitude, Trins left. The fact that he was not driven away showed that there was hope.

Rudolf sat alone in the small reception room for a long time, thinking seriously about the proposal of the Kingdom of Sverrieres.

Flensburg is located 150 kilometers north of Hammar City. During the Battle of the Elbe, the Royal Mage Corps successfully launched a surprise attack, cutting off the retreat of the Danmar Kingdom's army and securing a huge bargaining chip for post-war negotiations.

Now the Kingdom of Danma is already a dying candle in the wind, with its main army in the north. The defense of Flensburg in the south is much weaker than that of the Rhine Alliance, so it is not a problem to take it down militarily.

From an economic perspective, this battle will allow us to seize more than 10,000 square kilometers of land, most of which can be reclaimed as farmland. In addition, there will be more than a dozen towns and cities.

Why has the Rhine Alliance had a large number of troops stationed in Hanma City for two years? Isn't it just waiting to take a bite when the Danma Kingdom is weak? Now the opportunity has appeared.

And this bite was full of fat meat. Not only Rudolf himself got some meat, but other nobles, big and small, also got a share.

Rudolf took a few deep breaths. The Danma Kingdom had become a broken house that could be knocked down with one foot. Now it was time to expand the territory and wipe out the reputation of being defeated every time on the battlefield.

As the saying goes, the bigger the matter, the fewer people attend the meeting.

Rudolf called two of his trusted confidants, Count Rank and Count Shuyunstiga, to discuss the matter together.

He explained the conditions of the envoy from the Kingdom of Sviria one by one, and the two began to think about it.

Although it was an established policy to bite the Danma Kingdom, the Rhine Alliance and the Sverrier Kingdom had secretly torn their faces because of the looting team. At this time, the Sverrier Kingdom suddenly proposed to divide the cake when it had an advantageous situation. There was a high possibility that there was a problem.

After analyzing the diplomatic relations between the two countries, Count Ranke said, "Your Majesty, I am worried that Kosdorf is using Flensburg as bait to lure our main force away from Hammar and take advantage of the departure of the main force to launch a surprise attack on Hammar."

"The Kingdom of Sveria is different from the Kingdom of Danmar and the Kingdom of Piast in the Battle of the Elbe. They have a large number of ships and can attack from the sea."

Rudolf thought what he said made sense. During the battle in the Lowlands, he was blinded by the bait and ended up being ambushed.

Count Rank continued, "The southern part of the Kingdom of Danmar is flat, which is conducive to military operations. We need to worry that the Kingdom of Sverrier will use this to set an ambush for us."

Rudolf felt that he was right. When they fought Frederick, they clearly besieged him from several directions with superior forces. However, Frederick used the advantages of roads and mobility to gain local advantages and fought all the way, and finally won the battle.

Although Count Ranke had no experience in leading troops in battle, he studied military history and had something to say about such macro-strategic issues.

Rudolf looked at Count Shuyunsdiga, who was the one who led the army in battle and was more adept at practical operations.

Count Shuyunsdiga said: "I think this battle can be fought, but it must be based on the enemy's conspiracy."

Rudolph nodded.

Count Shuyunsdiga continued, "The outcome of this battle will be decided before the war. We must first send an envoy to meet with Kosdorf in person, clarify the contradictions between the two countries, and see if Kosdorf is sincere in wanting to share the cake with us."

"Secondly, we need to conduct pre-war reconnaissance and understand the distribution of troops in the entire Danma Kingdom area, especially the deployment of troops near several major transportation routes, as well as the deployment of the main forces of the Sverie Kingdom."

"We can only go to war when we are sure that both of these points are correct at the same time."

Rudolph nodded. This battle could not afford to fail, and it could not be too cautious.

There were many more people at the meeting the next day. In addition to Count Rank and Count Shuyunstiga, there were also Minister of War Count Pisto, Commander of the Allied Forces Franz the Younger, Master of the Royal Mage Corps Becher, First Deputy Master of the Royal Knights Count Delden and Duke Heger, who had rushed back overnight from handling anti-corruption work in the royal territory.

In Frederick's absence, these few people formed the core of the Rhine Alliance's command. Rudolf summarized the proposals made by Count Ranke and Count Schünsteiger yesterday and said them again, treating them as his own ideas.

After hearing this, everyone started to study the sand table.

Rudolf glanced at little Franz from time to time. Little Franz was Frederick's spokesperson and the commander of the coalition forces. If he firmly opposed the war, this would not be possible.

Count Pisto was the first to speak: "Your Majesty has considered it very carefully. I think this battle can be fought, and it should be a big one."

"The Kingdom of Sverie has been fighting the Kingdom of Danma for two years and has lost some of its strength. If they want to plot something, we will eat their hook first. Then we may be able to take down the entire Kingdom of Danma in one fell swoop."

His views were much more radical than Rudolf's. He not only wanted the area south of Flensburg, but also the entire Kingdom of Danmar.

Rudolf was very happy as long as no one opposed him.

Earl Delden said: "The southern part of the Danmar Kingdom is flat and suitable for our cavalry to fight. We have a tactical advantage."

"The Royal Knights will be able to begin their reconnaissance mission tomorrow."

At this time, Count Pisto immediately said: "The Royal Knights' target is too obvious. It is better to let the army of other nobles do it. If they are discovered, they can use the excuse of robbery to get away with it."

Behind Count Delden is the professional army, the Royal Knights, while behind Count Pisto is Rudolf's small and medium-sized vassals. Both sides want to fight for the interests of their own groups.

Rudolf acted as an arbitrator and said to Count Delden: "The Royal Knights are a sharp sword that will be used for offense, and the reconnaissance will be left to other nobles."

Lord Delden said, "Yes, your majesty."

He noticed that Rudolf seemed to be using the Royal Knights as the main attacking force, rather than the Wesson Army, so there was no need to snatch the scraps.

When little Franz saw that both the local nobles and the royal knights wanted to fight, and that the situation on the battlefield meant that there was a possibility of winning, he remembered what Frederick had said before he went out, and made a decision in his heart.

He said: "If the enemy wants to plot, the most likely scenario is to surround the army and cut off the logistics supply stations."

"This area is flat, there are no dangerous passes, and you can break through anywhere, so the enemy needs a large number of troops to form an encirclement."

"I suggest that we choose a few places on the road from Hammar to Flensburg to set up camps. The primary task is to protect the logistics supply line. We can also let the enemy allocate most of its forces to deal with them, reducing the pressure on the main force. It is possible that we can cooperate with the main force to eliminate the enemies in the encirclement."

"At present, the logistics supplies are sufficient. The nobles in various places can recruit troops again to increase the total force. Perhaps the enemy will give up the idea of ​​plotting after considering the number of both sides."

The generals who led the battle, such as Count Shuyunsdiga, Count Delden and Count Pisto, felt that Franz the Younger's arrangement made sense. As long as the rear was stable, they would have the confidence to fight back even if there were slight setbacks in the front.

Rudolf had other ideas, but he suppressed them for the time being and waited until the official order was given.

After thinking for a while, he said, "Duke Heger, please go as an envoy to negotiate with Kosdorf."

The envoy should have been a civil official, but Rudolf chose a swordsman as the envoy with the intention of showing off his military power.

Duke Heger agreed. This task was easy for him.

Rudolf then said to Count Ranke: "You are fully responsible for the logistics support."

The previous military rations case was nominally investigated by Frederick, but was actually handled by Count Ranke, who also followed Frederick's example and hanged several people on the wall.

Now his reputation in the logistics system is almost as good as that of the God of Death, so it would be best if he was in charge of this area.

Rudolf said to Count Pisto: "The reconnaissance mission is very important. You must select capable people to do it."

Count Pistor immediately promised to select the best person to do the job.

Rudolf also ordered Count Delden and Becher to start reorganizing the army tomorrow and be ready to set off at any time.

Finally, he asked Franz the Younger to make battle plans, determine the location and size of the logistics camp, and be responsible for recruiting troops from local nobles.

Little Franz naturally ensured that the task was completed.

Rudolf finally said, "Everyone, please be prepared. We will not officially issue the order to start the war until the negotiations and reconnaissance are completed."

Count Rank and Count Schyunstiga looked at each other. Rudolf quietly took the command of the coalition forces, and little Franz did not say a word. This was a good thing.

As the meeting ended, news of war quickly spread throughout the coalition forces, and the people who had been holding back here for two years suddenly became excited.

The nobles' order to mobilize the army was quickly issued, and the war machine of the entire Rhine Alliance accelerated its operation, including the Duchy of Wessen.

(End of this chapter)