Conquer Europe from the West

Chapter 81 Tug of War

After taking off his most restrictive suit and sending Brinkman to the locker room, Ryan was immediately led by the waiter to the conference room which was converted from the banquet hall on the third floor.

Draven had left a good impression on him just now, because he seemed to be a very reasonable person.

But this seems normal, Ryan thought. After all, this is actually a time of war. For a country where the emperor wears military uniform as his daily wear, people like Draven should at least understand the importance of things.

But what made Ryan feel like something was wrong was that

Draven seemed to have used the word "scold" to describe the conversation between him and Hellingen.

Can a lieutenant general of the General Staff scold a general?

"The conference room is in front, Captain Flig." The waiter's respectful voice brought Ryan back to his senses.

"Okay, I can go by myself."

Ryan nodded to the other party, then walked straight towards the gate more than ten meters away.

A strong and choking smell of cigarette smoke filled the entire corridor. Even through the heavy door, one could still see the gray mist floating in the air.

Ryan stood in front of the door and was about to knock when he heard a series of shouting and cursing from inside.

The first voice to be heard was that of Hellingen.

"Fuck you stupid piece of shit Draven, I said three raids! I want three raids! What gives you the right to say I want more than that!"

Schubert's voice followed closely behind: "And you have to bring all the officers of your 101st Reserve Infantry Division to me! You have to give them to me today, whether you want or not!"

Then came the voice of an unfamiliar middle-aged man: "Bullshit! Those are my soldiers! Why don't you use yours?"

Schubert was so angry that he slammed his fist on the table. "I took it! Two whole platoons of artillery officers and a battalion of non-commissioned officers! Walbeck, don't think you can get away with it just because you're in charge of overseas garrisons! Now it's your turn!"

"Damn it! Do you think I have so many people under my command that I don't know where to use them?"

The man named Walbeck roared out directly.

Immediately afterwards, Ryan heard Draven's voice.

Draven first yelled, "Stop arguing!", then banged the floor with his cane, cursing, "I think you're all really fucking bold! If His Majesty knew you were going to assign three regiments to a captain, I'd bet he'd fire you all!"

"Is he worthy of this?" Schubert's slamming of the table intensified. Ryan could even imagine him glaring at Draven. "He was still in his mother's womb when I was conquering Prussia! He should still call me uncle!"

Then the sound suddenly stopped.

Maybe it was because the curse was indeed a bit dirty, or maybe it was because it involved people who were not in the game...

Anyway, Ryan knocked on the door: "Captain Ryan Flig reports in!"

The door was opened almost immediately, and light gray smoke was blown into the corridor by the wind like a wild horse. General Hellingen's daughter, Ms. Catherine, appeared in front of Ryan.

She seemed a little surprised that Ryan was only wearing a white shirt, but she didn't say anything. She just walked to the conference table and silently pulled out a chair.

Ryan didn't know what he should say, but he saluted and then took a seat.

He looked around at the people in the conference room.

In addition to Commander Hellingen and General Schubert, there were two generals and four colonels.

Lieutenant General Draven and the Lieutenant General named Walbeck were the generals sent by the General Staff. Walbeck wore a brown cowboy hat with one side tilted up, and his skin was tanned; he didn't look like a soldier. Several other colonels stood behind them. Ryan could tell from their insignia that three of them were from the General Staff, and the remaining colonel was Walbeck's adjutant.

Although the other party was a woman, Ryan was not surprised.

There are many female officers in the command level of the Imperial Army in the Imperial Capital, and now he has barely gotten used to it.

Draven could clearly tell from Ryan's expression that he had heard the previous quarrel, so he immediately coughed twice and changed his tone: "Since Captain Flig, the protagonist of this meeting, has arrived, let's start over."

But Schubert refused to accept it. He stared at Ryan with eyes as wide as a bull's: "Ask him for three regiments! Captain!"

Heilingen beside him immediately followed up: "No, that's not enough. Four regiments! Three main regiments and one reserve regiment! That's enough!"

"Bullshit, Blacklingen! You're raising the price, aren't you? Where can I find the men to fill four regiments for you?" Walbeck was so angry that his hat tilted. He even pulled out his pistol and slammed it on the table. "One platoon at most! No more!"

"I only have less than a thousand officers under my command. How can I defend my colony if I give them all to you?"

This made Ryan suddenly feel that it would be better for him not to get involved.

Ms. Catherine handed him a document with her handwritten words on the front page: "They are discussing the size of the troops you will train in the future, Captain. The commander thinks you can train three regiments, but Lieutenant General Draven of the General Staff disagrees."

It turned out to be the case.

Ryan now understood why this group of people were arguing so fiercely.

Then he thought, this group of people can really calm down and curse at each other. If it were people from the United Kingdom, they would probably have already started an unlimited fighting competition.

Ryan immediately looked at Hellingen and stood at attention, interrupting the ongoing quarrel.

"Commander, I believe that the number of training troops should not be too large at this time. A small number of elite soldiers will suffice."

"What do you mean?"

Heilingen immediately rolled his eyes at Ryan, with the words "How can you be so ungrateful, boy" written all over his face.

Helpless, Ryan could only explain in front of everyone: "The Imperial forces are still executing the attack order, and almost all units are short of manpower. Therefore, the most important thing right now is to prepare equipment, rather than to form a complete unit."

"Furthermore, large-scale personnel changes would also alert the enemy. The key point of the proposal is to maintain stability while delivering a surprise attack when the battle line stabilizes."

After just a few words, the tense atmosphere in the conference room disappeared almost immediately.

"Wait until the battle line stabilizes?" Draven narrowed his eyes, changing his previous expression and just looking at the copy of the paper in front of him.

He was just across from Ryan, so Ryan could clearly see all the words on the document.

Ryan swallowed.

He glanced at Hellingen, and after confirming that Hellingen nodded, he looked at Draven again.

Then he said what he had prepared long ago.

"The battle between the Empire and Farlan will turn into a massive stalemate."

"Until then, all actions are meaningless."

(End of this chapter)