When the Saint comes, she does not collect food

Chapter 1216 is not a problem
The following day, after review by the exorcism court and other cardinal institutions, and after extensive discussions, the originally scheduled appointments took effect.

Not long after being promoted to war marshal, Jeanne immediately convened her first military conference.

The meeting took place in an operations staff room on the second floor of the Holy See Building.

The staff room has paneling on three sides and a huge glass window on one side.

In the center of the room was a long white wooden table, and on the white wall hung a life-sized map of the Eastern Continent.

The Privy Council officers paced back and forth in front of the map.

In several different locations, they hammered nails with different colored heads to indicate that a combat group was stationed there.

The table was filled with chapter commanders and priests dressed in the uniforms of high-ranking officers of the Holy Alliance.

They were holding coffee, munching on snacks, and sitting with their legs crossed, chatting with friends they hadn't seen in a long time.

Despite the noise behind her, Jeanne remained calm.

She stood in front of the map and knew how many nails there were without even counting them.

Eight.

Since the Battle of Grey Robe Hill, the Holy Alliance's chapters have always consisted of eight chapters, without any change.

These are the eight battle groups currently in the Holy Alliance's combat sequence.

Based on geography, the battle groups were divided into four categories: inner and outer.

The Royal Guards stationed at the Holy Citadel, the Black Crowns stationed at Jeanne d'Arc, the Faithful Guards stationed at Charlemagne, and the Wild Wolves stationed at Coldspring Keep.

This is the Fourth Battle Group of the Inner County.

This includes the Ironfist Chapter stationed in Silver Bay, the Salamander Chapter stationed in the New Five Counties, the Shadow Raven Chapter stationed in Long Causeway, and the Divine Punishment Chapter stationed in Solla Fortress.

They all belong to the Fourth Battle Group of the Outer County.

As per Horn's request, the Outer County Fourth Regiment, located on the border, retained half to full strength, while the Inner County Fourth Regiment retained only a quarter to half of its strength.

In addition, there were cavalry units in various places, and their numbers were also considerable.

However, Jeanne can retrieve a clear number from the Exorcist Court's archives.

According to the rules and regulations set by Horn, each chapter's clerk and chief priest must submit a monthly report and update the chapter's unit badges.

The so-called monthly report is a record of work; all the actions of the battle group this month must be reported.

In particular, all meeting minutes must be recorded, including who made what remarks.

The battle group unit badge contains the commander's name and file, the subordinate units, the actual troop strength, the weapons inventory, and the personnel roster.

According to the latest monthly report and the summary of battle group troop counts, the Holy Alliance currently has a total of 34527 active personnel and 58991 reserve personnel (defenders of the Faith).

This is more than enough for the first phase of expansion and recruitment.

However, we need to inform the Exorcism Court that the restrictions can be lifted and large-scale training of the reserves can begin.

"Ahem." Zhan Shuairangna coughed, and the previously noisy conference room immediately fell silent.

The officers sat upright, their backs ramrod straight, like raw recruits fresh out of boot camp.

"Alright, stop pretending." Jeanne slapped Coleman on the back of the head as he made faces. "Just because I'm wearing a war marshal's hat doesn't mean you don't recognize me?"

"Hehe." Coleman laughed.

The others also relaxed, and the atmosphere was no longer as tense as before.

"Alright, let's get down to business."

Jeanne instructed the Privy Council monks to distribute the briefing of the Holy Alliance Exorcism Court's monthly report.

“According to Your Majesty’s plan, we will definitely need to expand our army.” Jeanne paused for a moment. “However, we need to make a decision about who should expand first and who should expand first, as well as personnel arrangements. My suggestion is to expand the army in the Western Theater Command first.”

As Jeanne spoke, the officers and staff around her nodded in agreement.

"Why expand the Western Battle Group Army first? The Western region already has the Faith Battle Group and the Fire Lizard Battle Group. We only need to recruit one more battle group to meet the requirements for a Battle Group Army."

A young officer sitting in the middle to back raised his hand. Jeanne caught a glimpse of it out of the corner of her eye and immediately turned to ask, "Speak."

The officer was none other than Laurent, who had been appointed commander of the Chongxin Battle Group just last year.

He slowly lowered his hand and asked in a clear accent, "Are you in such a hurry to recruit new battle groups because you're going to wage war against Xianshidian?"

“Yes.” Jeanne looked him over. “Very intelligent, Mr. Laurent.”

"You flatter me." Laurent smiled slightly, glanced around at his colleagues, and then pursed his lips.

The officers' expressions immediately changed; they looked down at their coffee or glared back, their disgust written all over their faces.

In fact, apart from a few old friends like Jurdane, Laurent's reputation among officers had always been lukewarm.

Even Jeanne didn't like him much. The reason was his arrogant and attention-seeking personality, and his tendency to always put others down while trying to elevate himself.

Just now, this kind of thing happened more than once.

However, he treated his subordinates very well, and was highly praised by the soldiers, showing a somewhat arrogant attitude towards superiors but not towards inferiors.

Sitting next to Laurent, Juldan squeezed his arm, signaling him to calm down.

Juldan knew what Laurent had gone through as a child, so it was normal for him to develop this kind of personality.

At this moment, Jeanne walked back to the long table and instructed the Privy Councillors to pass on the information: "One copy for each person."

The folder, marked "Top Secret," was torn open by the officers, who pulled on the ropes, spilling out a stack of documents.

Those who could sit in this position were naturally literate, and before long, the officers craned their necks and began whispering among themselves.

"No way?"

"Right now?"

"Hmph, I'll make sure he never leaves alive."

Standing at the head of the table, Jeanne spoke up: "Yes, you read that right. Several lords of Fairy Stone City are very likely to defect to the vampires."

"But the Treaty of Black Mud Fortress was just signed, wasn't it?" Munsset couldn't help but ask.

Laurent slammed the folder onto the table: "It's just a few sheets of paper. Do you really expect vampires to abide by this?"

“The vampires skirted the rules.” Victor tapped the table with his knuckles. “They entered Piana Castle as mercenaries.”

"But why? What would they gain by inviting vampires?"

Sitting to the side, the chief priest of the Faith Chapter, Mudiay, remained calm: "They are too close to the Dawn Federation and the Holy Alliance, and too far from Windmill Land."

The moment these words were spoken, the entire conference room fell silent as the officers immediately realized the implications.

Two counties of Xianshidian were taken by the Holy Alliance, and the Dawn Federation is located to its southwest.

If war breaks out in the future, the Holy Alliance will certainly want to border the Dawn Federation, and the Dawn Federation will do the same.

Originally, with the Fran Legion stationed there, the lords of Xianshidian were not afraid.

But now, that damn Lorenzo is pulling some kind of strategic retreat, calling Leia's legions back.

This is almost a default attitude: exchanging territory for the support of the Holy Alliance—holy seeds, moon mercury, and clockwork cannons.

The lords of Xianshidian are truly aggrieved. They paid the money and you ran away. What should be done about Xianshidian, which is sandwiched between the Dawn Federation and the Holy Alliance?
Everyone has witnessed how the Holy Alliance has dealt with the nobility.

Ninety-five percent of the family fortune was cut off; you know best the methods of the Holy Grandson.

As for the royal court, putting aside their lenient policies towards the lords, the distance alone makes it impossible for them to exert their influence.

The Holy Alliance was powerless to intervene in the Windmill Land conflict, just as Windmill Land was powerless to intervene in the Holy Alliance conflict.

Therefore, Horn and Jeanne's strategy has always been to bring the enemy to their doorstep and fight them.

Firstly, the transportation route is short; secondly, the information transmission speed is fast; and thirdly, there is the home advantage.

The battlefield they chose happened to be in the area between Dawn Island and Xianshidian.

The lords of Leia, with their keen sense of smell, immediately noticed this, but their intelligence was insufficient to comprehend it.

So, under the guise of suppressing a rebellion of displaced people in his territory, the magistrate hired vampire soldiers.

According to the intelligence provided by Cheka, approximately three to four thousand vampire mercenaries have arrived at Piana Castle.

Dodrus V clearly intended to intimidate the Holy Alliance in this way, but he succeeded in making Jeanne laugh.

Originally, we could have chosen not to fight you; the Holy Alliance also needed time to prepare.

But if you invite the vampires to Piana Castle, which is within the territory of Fairy Stone City, then a fight is inevitable.

“The Holy Alliance must seize the initiative.” Jeanne placed her hands on the table. “Therefore, the time for us to send troops is before the spring planting next year.”

We are going to launch a swift, lightning-fast offensive.

We must acquire the resources of the entire Immortal Stone Plains, forge an alliance with the Dawn Federation, and test our army!

That means that from now until next spring planting season, the Western Battle Group must first replenish its ranks and then recruit a new battle group of 5,000 men.

According to the empire's thinking, such rampant conscription would inevitably lead to a decline in the quality and combat effectiveness of the soldiers.

However, the officers present did not seem nervous at all, as if this was not a difficult problem.

Indeed, this is not a difficult problem.

(End of this chapter)