In Ark Simulator, why do I always get a tough start?

Chapter 54 The Conquest of Bolívar, the Tension of Casimir
Meanwhile, Marshal Hildegard and the interim chief of staff Gertrude had already led Army Group C on its march towards Bolívar.

With the green light given by Victoria and Colombia, they entered Bolivar without any obstacles in just one week.

Furthermore, because Letania reached different agreements with both Vitória and Colombia, the high-ranking officials of both countries held an extremely friendly attitude towards Letania's army group.

When the Leitanian army passed through the two countries, they not only received words of comfort but also a considerable amount of supplies voluntarily contributed by both nations.

Of course, Victoria sent the supplies because she assumed Letania was about to go to war with Colombia.

Colombia sent supplies because they knew Letania was a partner they were dealing with, and this was a gesture of goodwill.

Regardless of their purpose, the fact remains that after a week-long march, the Letanian army had suffered minimal supply depletion.

Even the mental and physical fatigue that marching brings to the soldiers is alleviated during the journey.

Now is the time when the morale of the Letanian army is at its highest.

This is also the best time to launch a full-scale invasion of Bolívar.

However, a small incident occurred that Hildergard hadn't anticipated.

[When she and Gertrude led Army Group C to the territory of the "Singas Dynasty," which was supported by Letania.]

The Singas dynasty's army not only refused to open the city gates for you, but also refused to allow the Letanian army to garrison the city.

Hildegard patiently verified with the city garrison their identities as Letanian troops, as well as providing them with official Letanian documents.

Ultimately, however, the Singas dynasty's army refused Hildergard's request to station troops there.

At this point, Hildergard understood.

This puppet government, supported by Letania, has forgotten who gave them a place in Bolívar after so long of independence.

Or perhaps, the king of this puppet government is unaware of the terror that the Letanian army has become.

He even thought that the Letanian army was still the same as before: its defenses were impregnable, but its offensive capabilities were utterly disastrous?

Hildegard quickly responded to King Singas's folly with Army Group C.

She did not have her army form ranks, nor did she make any preparations for a siege.

She only sent five Gestapo agents to infiltrate the city.

Within four hours, the five Gestapo officers had abducted King Singas from the palace unharmed.

[The King of Singas, who had been abducted by the Gestapo, was brought before Hildegard and could only kneel and beg for mercy.]

But Hildergard would not trust a traitor.

And so, in full view of everyone, Hildergard beheaded the King of Singas.

She used her crossbow to shoot King Singas's head, along with the edict copied by Qi, into the city walls.

Soon, under Hildergard's intimidation, the soldiers of the Singas dynasty threw their weapons over the city walls and surrendered.

Thus, the Singas dynasty was declared extinct within four hours.

Hildergard officially took over all affairs of the Singas dynasty, formally incorporating it into the territory of Letania.

After taking over the Singas dynasty, Hildegard did not rush to send troops to attack the remaining lands of Bolívar.

She knew very well that an army could not advance without a secure rear base.

Therefore, over the next month, she allowed the army to take over the defenses of all cities in the Singas Dynasty, firmly grasping control of the cities in her own hands.

[Hildergard began to show her sister's benevolent side towards the officials once appointed by the Singas dynasty.]

She stated that the officials were merely following the king's orders, and as long as they continued to serve the new King of Letania loyally, she would not hold them accountable.

Soon, after Hildergard killed the king and successfully established her authority, her benevolence and magnanimity had an effect.

Officials pledged their loyalty to Letania, and the internal problems in the newly occupied territory were brought to a close in a minimal manner.

Gertrude, upon arriving in Bolívar, quickly began building her own intelligence network.

She absorbed all the intelligence gathered within the Singas dynasty and devoted considerable effort to cultivating spies.

[Gerdrude did not choose the old nobles of the Singas dynasty for these new spies.]

Rather, it lies with the many native Bolivarians in the country.

[Especially in areas constantly contested by three powers: the Singas dynasty (belonging to Letania), the Independent State of Bolivar (controlled by Colombia), and the Bolivarian rebels.]

People in these areas move between the three factions, possessing the most intelligence and making them the easiest regions to cultivate subordinates and extract information.

Gertrude devoted considerable effort to cultivating a large number of new spies within a month, through bribery and threats.

[Innkeeper, bartender, merchant, blacksmith...]

All valuable members are being recruited by Gertrude for her own use, and she is developing even more downlines.

A large amount of intelligence began to converge on Gertrude from various regions, piecemeal but steadily, allowing her to gradually see the complex situation in Bolivar.

This provides further assurance for Hildergard's subsequent actions.

Three months later, having confirmed that her rear was largely secure, Hildergard once again summoned the main force of Army Group C.

"Ladies and gentlemen."

"Our conquest of Bolívar begins now."

Standing atop the steps of the old dynasty's palace, Hildergard, dressed in marshal's uniform, stood before the fervent gazes of the soldiers, their morale high.

She addressed the distant Bolívar, issuing the command everyone had been waiting for.

"Marching toward Bolívar!"

"Tear apart every enemy who dares to retaliate against Letania!"

"Victory belongs to Letania!"

"For victory!"

"For victory!" XN
Tens of thousands of hands, and a tsunami of frenzied shouts, responded to Hildergard, who stood at the highest point.

At this moment, she seemed to have once again become that valiant, cold-blooded "Black Queen."

……

One month later, in Lentinium, the capital of Victoria.

The eight dukes, who were usually at odds with each other and harbored their own ulterior motives, were surprisingly gathered here in the Imperial Council.

It should be noted that long after Emperor Victoria was hanged, the eight dukes had already begun to be wary of each other and did not allow any of them to enter Londinium without permission.

But today, they are all gathered together.

If they weren't trying to exchange ideas through duels.

Without a doubt, something major had happened that they all felt they had to discuss together, something that threatened the entire Victoria.

Inside the Imperial Council, the atmosphere among the eight dukes was extremely tense.

Of course, one duke had a completely different attitude.

Her emotions were extremely unstable; in fact, she was furious.

"Damn it! Damn it! *Victorian slang*!" "Damn Leitania! Damn the Leitanian Emperor! How dare he fool us?!"

The Duke of Windermere, his face ashen, slammed the newspaper he was holding onto the table.

Despite being a duke, she even forgot about etiquette and decorum, pacing around the round table of the Imperial Council in circles, spouting vulgar Victorian slang.

However, none of the other seven dukes present, who also had somber expressions, stopped Duke Windermere's actions.

Rather, it's fortunate that the Duke of Windermere acted as their mouthpiece, allowing them to barely maintain the decorum expected of gentlemen and ladies.

Otherwise, given the current situation, they could hardly guarantee they wouldn't curse.

The headline of the newspaper, which the Duke of Windermere had slammed onto the table, boldly proclaimed in black font:
Peace Breaks Down! Letania Annexes Bolívar, Declares Strategic Cooperation with Colombia!

The news headlines alone made the eight dukes realize that they had been deceived!

"I see……"

Among the eight dukes, the Duke of Kester, whose intelligence system was the most outstanding, finally spoke:
"It seems that this Emperor of Letania has been playing us for fools from the very beginning."

"He should have already reached a strategic cooperation agreement with the Colombian president. His friendly relations with us are just for show."

"He lulled us into a false sense of security, making us believe that Letania would go to war with Colombia."

"He was able to annex Bolivar so easily by taking advantage of our concessions."

"Moreover, in the future, they can join forces with Colombia to form a pincer movement against us, creating the most favorable conditions for war."

What's most infuriating is that the agreement allowing Letania to annex Bolívar bears the signatures of all eight of their dukes!
It can be said that the eight dukes shot themselves in the foot in this matter!
Leitania did not violate any provisions of the agreement from beginning to end.

The war they anticipated between Letania and Colombia simply did not occur.

This prevented the eight dukes from even asserting their "righteous cause" and demanding an explanation from Letania.

They could only swallow this bitter pill in silence!

"Then what should we do?"

After a moment of silence, Duke Godottin asked a question that struck at the heart of the matter:

"Now, to the northwest lies Colombia, and a bolivar is watching our rear."

"And this Emperor of Letania will definitely not be satisfied with the status quo; he will definitely find a way to get more territory and more resources."

"When he is truly prepared in the future, we will have no choice but to go to war with Letania."

"Hmph! Let them come!"

Meanwhile, the Duke of Windermere, having been fooled and become the laughingstock of all of Victoria, roared in fury:
"When they arrive, our steam knights will raze their ranks and crush their proud sorcerer order into mincemeat!"

"—Calm down, Duke Windermere."

Finally, the Duke of Normandy, who held the highest position among the eight dukes and had remained silent until now, spoke up to stop them:

"War is not a game; we should avoid war as much as possible."

"At the very least, we should make adequate preparations before the war breaks out."

"...I have a plan that might buy us some time."

After some deliberation, the Duke of Normandy presented what he considered to be the best solution to the seven dukes before him.

"First, we cannot ignore the threat from the northwest."

"Given that we have no reason to attack Bolívar now, the best course of action is to send one of our most powerful dukes to guard against the threat from the northwest."

"So... Duke Wellington, are you willing to take on this role?"

Soon, after the Duke of Normandy finished speaking, everyone's attention was focused on the oldest duke present.

The duke's hair and beard were completely white.

Even in the Imperial Diet, he remained silent, keeping his eyes closed.

But this old duke, who had distinguished himself in battle and had fought against the Witch King, Ursus, and even the Gallic Emperor, still exuded a majestic aura, like a sleeping lion.

When his name was called, the old duke merely raised his eyelids slightly and said indifferently:
“…Then that’s it.”

"Okay, I'm glad you're willing to take on the responsibility of protecting our country."

The Duke of Normandy breathed a sigh of relief, then gave further instructions:
"In addition, we hope that the Tara riots in your area can be resolved as soon as possible."

"Victoria is already in enough chaos; we can't let the Tara people cause any more trouble."

This time, Wellington did not respond to the Duke of Normandy's words.

Everyone could only interpret Wellington's silence as tacit approval.

"Furthermore, not only Tara, but we also need to strengthen our control over Lower Gaul."

The Duke of Normandy added:

"Ever since we allocated several mobile cities of Lower Gaul to the Letanian Empire, the Gaulish remnants of Lower Gaul have become quite restless."

"These foolish Gauls think that by joining Letania, they can have a better life."

"What a dream!"

"We must send troops to suppress the uprisings and rebellions in Gaul as much as possible."

"If necessary... the army and guards are permitted to use violence to suppress the unrest!"

"Even if we drive our chariots into the streets and answer these Gauls with guns, it doesn't matter!"

"I agree."

"I agree too."

The dukes had no objection to the suppression of the Gauls.

To them, the Gauls, whose country had already been destroyed, were not worth their attention. They were neither capable of instigating any uprisings nor of launching a rebellion.

All they need to do is provide a continuous supply of resources to the Victorian Empire, just like the infected slaves in the Ursus mines.

"The rest is to try our best to get cooperation from other countries."

“If that Emperor of Letania is unwilling to stop his conquests, then it’s not just our country that will be threatened.”

“I believe there must be other countries that are willing to cooperate with us to fight against Letania.”

However, just as the Duke of Normandy finished speaking, a cautious knock on the door interrupted the conversation.

In the Imperial Diet, anything that the guards would consider sufficient to disrupt the meetings of the eight dukes must be extremely urgent and important.

"Come in."

The council chamber doors slowly opened, revealing a fully armed guard who saluted at the highest military posture and replied respectfully:
“Your Graces, outside the council, the Minister of Foreign Affairs from Kazimir requests an audience.”

He said he was representing the head of state of Kazimir to express goodwill to Victoria.

"And... further strategic cooperation."

(End of this chapter)