Imperial Elite

Chapter 90 Joe's Little Plan

In fact, before the Lucia Left Wing decided to slow down its northern operations and wait and see, a senior officer approached Constantine to ask if reinforcing his troops would give him a chance to deliver a crushing blow to Joe when he first arrived in Aitis.

Upon hearing this question, Constantine looked at the high-ranking officer with an expression as if he were seeing an alien.

You know who we're talking about, right?

The senior officer nodded with some surprise and said, "Yeah, I know him, Joe Harrison. What's wrong? We all have two shoulders and one head. What could he possibly have that's more than us?"

Constantine shook his head. "If he just has something more than us, then things are simple. You know the Americans also organized armored forces, right? That armored force fought all the way from Paris to the Hindenburg Line."

The senior officer continued nodding. "Of course I know that, but what does that have to do with our topic?"

"Of course."

Constantine sighed.

"Back then, Joe was able to drive a tank and destroy an entire American tank company in an exercise, while I was only about 60/40 against the Americans. What do you think would happen if we faced Joe now?"

Upon hearing Constantine's words, the senior officer looked at Constantine as if he hadn't said that Joe could take on an entire armored company single-handedly, but rather that Constantine was actually a Martian.

"So, according to this logic, we have no way to deal with Harrison?"

Constantine sighed.

"It's not that there's no way. Joe has always placed great importance on battlefield reconnaissance, so it would be difficult to ambush him. However, if we can catch him off guard while he's attacking others, it's not impossible to defeat him. Or, as you know, tank units consume a huge amount of resources every day, especially Joe's units. They have more heavy equipment, so their consumption is even greater. If we can cut off their supplies, we might be able to defeat them without a fight."

Joe had no idea that his good student was plotting how to defeat him. Even if he did, Joe would probably just sigh and say, "That's a good kid, he's got guts." Then he'd start thinking about how to strike first and teach his good student a lesson so he wouldn't mess with him.

There's no such thing as a thousand days of thievery, but a thousand days of guarding against thieves.

Especially after Joe brought Wagner to Tallinn, he discovered that although the situation in the East seemed chaotic according to intelligence reports, the actual situation was even more chaotic than the intelligence suggested.

Whether viewed from a map or geographical perspective, these three countries, if not for their coastal location, would essentially be a bunch of impoverished, desolate places. Indeed, this was the case; as soon as Joe disembarked, he felt the heavy weight of history.

But in this godforsaken place, after meeting Patz, the self-proclaimed president, and Raidone, the army's commander-in-chief, Joe realized that this small place was actually a mixture of Lucia's left and right-wing forces, who were stuck here trying to do something, calling themselves the "Iron Division," the former Teutonic Eastern Front occupation forces, militias who had opinions about the local provisional government, wandering Cossack bandits, and the troops of their neighbor.

Yes, there are also issues concerning their neighboring countries.

Although both were pitiful victims of the Russian Empire in history, it was precisely because of their experience of being annexed by the Russian Empire that some border issues arose between them.

Historically, the border demarcation between the three kingdoms was not very clear, especially with the aristocratic system characteristic of the Old World, which kept the borders between countries in a state of constant dynamic adjustment.

Then, after being annexed by the Russian Empire, the residents along the original border of the three countries began to live together even more. Then, when the Russian Empire collapsed and local nationalists wanted independence, these highly motivated nationalists discovered that the old border was no longer usable.

Because if we follow the historical border demarcation, then many people of the same ethnicity will live outside the border. This is unacceptable to nationalist countries. However, if we want to include the places where those people live in our territory, then the neighbors will certainly be unhappy, because they also have people living on their own territory.

So things just stalled.

Although everyone knows that the biggest enemies now are the Lucias and Teutons, it doesn't stop some hot-blooded extremists from manually making claims on the border.

If the nationalists from the neighboring country are merely making some claims on the border, then the Teutons who remain here, calling themselves the Iron Army, are preparing to rebuild the Teutons in the East.

These Teutons, who had been winning one victory after another in the East, not only refused to acknowledge defeat, but there were even rumors that they were preparing to send someone to invite the emperor here to rebuild the Teutons.

To rebuild the Teutonic Kingdom, land was naturally required.

With their formidable fighting prowess, the Teutons seized considerable territory, and after taking control of Parnu, they received substantial manpower support from the Teutons.

If it weren't for the overwhelming numerical superiority of the Lucias, who, in addition to fighting amongst themselves, also harbored some resentment towards the Teutons, these Teutons would have become the most powerful force in the East.

In short, compared to Estée at this time, the Dark Continent was quite orderly.

Even though Joe was mentally prepared before coming, she still felt that the situation was terrible after discovering what she was facing.

Given this chaotic situation, even if he brought the Guards Armored Training Regiment with him, let alone the fact that he only had a severely understaffed light armored regiment, he would still have to proceed with caution.

However, there was some good news for Joe as well. The good news was that since this place was almost on the edge of the world, his understanding of the world mainly came from reports by mainstream media.

Even among those founding nationalists, who were tough, decisive, and highly proactive, Joe could tell that they were somewhat afraid of him, or rather, filled with awe of him.

Even though, in principle, he was just a mercenary they hired, and as long as the money was paid, the rest was Joe's business, they still arranged the best accommodations and what could be called luxurious food for the military for Wagner.

Qiao pondered, if the Aitis who hired him were so respectful of him, wouldn't the other forces around him be even more afraid of him?
The so-called fear you have of me is the source of my power. Joe felt that since you are so afraid of me, wouldn't it be a shame not to do something?

Especially now that Joe's good friend has been forced into becoming the planet's governor, he has gone to great lengths to pay his tithe.

After witnessing his good friend's gameplay, Joe felt it was time to start copying his own strategies.

So on the third day after arriving in Tallinn, Joe found the commander-in-chief of the Estites and said that although you may not have noticed when you signed the contract, our Wagner Defense Contractors are actually very different from those mercenaries of the past.

Defending your homeland is only part of our business. We can also provide you with military training and military modernization services. Although we initially signed a purely defense contract, as Wagner's first client, I can offer you some value-added services, such as training some troops for you. Would you like to consider it?
For Joe, the price the Aestes were willing to pay wasn't too high, after all, a newly independent poor country really didn't have much money. But for the Aestes, the money they gave Joe wasn't exactly bankrupt, but it was practically a matter of selling everything they owned.

Seeing that Joe is now willing to provide them with free value-added services, how could they possibly refuse?

And who is Joe? A hero of Paris, the number one villain in Brittany, the most dangerous man in the Old World. Just look at the group of female guards around him and you'll know he's a man among men. Now that Joe is willing to provide free training, only a fool would refuse.

The commander of the Aitis army, Raidone, immediately nodded vigorously, "Yes! Yes! It's our honor that General Joe is willing to train us!"

Then Joe said that since we were going to conduct training, we needed to do a rehearsal first. He wanted to see what level you were at so that he could provide you with personalized training services tailored to your individual needs.

Upon hearing Joe's words, the senior Aitis officers, including Raidone, immediately thought, "Look at them, they conduct exercises before providing training to see what level we are at. That's what you call professional."

So they nodded vigorously again, "No problem, no problem, it's just an exercise, right? We're willing!" And so preparations began.

Seeing that the Aetis had agreed to the exercise, Joe said, "Although it's an exercise, I can't bully you. How about this, no matter how many of you come, I'll only send one battalion. Let's prepare like this."

Hearing Joe say that, the Esti people immediately felt that Joe was indeed worthy of the name. The old artist was indeed confident. No matter how many people we sent, he would only send one battalion. If we sent two regiments, how would you deal with that?
The Aitis had their own thoughts about sending two regiments at once. After all, Joe's reputation was well-known. If two regiments were defeated by Joe's battalion, it wouldn't be a disgrace for them. However, if Joe was defeated by them, it would be considered a victory against overwhelming odds.

That would be a great honor for them. They had defeated Joe, whom even the Teutons couldn't beat. Does that mean they can establish a foothold in the East?

So, with the principle that one should have dreams, in case they come true, the Aetis began to mobilize their troops.

Joe also arrived at Wagner's First Battalion.

Although Joe's Wagner Group was touted as a light armored regiment, the term "light armored regiment" needs to be redefined.

Because the company operated on a self-financing basis, Joe didn't equip the Wagner Group with heavy artillery, or even self-propelled artillery. Instead, they opted for a full range of mechanized equipment, from Unyielding off-road vehicles to six-wheeled trucks and armored vehicles that even the Bonitania army had few of. Hound tanks and assault guns modified from Royal Fist tanks were also readily available. With such luxurious equipment, the personnel were naturally equally impressive.

Because Joe had commanded almost all of the Britannia Guard, and although the fighting was fierce, the soldiers had a very clear memory of how they had won all the way under Joe's command.

So when Joe was preparing to recruit, a group of veterans immediately came to join him.

The war not only changed the world, but also changed many people, especially the veterans who were constantly deployed to the battlefield as elite troops. They found that when they returned to Bonitania, the air was no longer filled with the smell of gunpowder, the sound of explosions was no longer heard, and they no longer needed to carry weapons and be ready to fight at any time, they were somewhat unaccustomed to it.

They have completely transformed into the shape of war and are no longer able to live a peaceful life.

For the Britannians, this was not a big deal. With such vast colonies and so many unruly people in them, how could they not have wars to fight? They could just submit a report and serve in the colonial troops.

These men were initially prepared to do the same, but when they discovered that Joe was planning to establish Wagner and offer higher salaries than the colonial troops, memories of victory resurfaced in the veterans' minds.

If one must go to the battlefield, then why not go with an officer who is certain to win? At least these veterans have witnessed Joe personally driving a tank to send those Teutons flying when breaking through the Low Countries and Hindenburg lines.

Joe didn't say much to the veterans who came to join him. He directly assigned those veterans who had at least one medal to the Wagner First Battalion, while those with relatively little service experience or no medals were assigned to the Second Battalion. As for the Third Battalion, which was just a shell, it was simply a training and replenishment unit that served as a manpower pool.

Now that the Estites needed a little Wagner shock, Joe naturally assigned the task to the formidable First Battalion.

In general, even in Buntania, there are very few units like Wagner's 1st Battalion that rely entirely on wheels and tracks for marching. If you include this group of veterans, there are even fewer.

Britannia doesn't have many troops, and in impoverished Esti, they don't even have any, let alone any.

In the exercise, facing the armored assault launched by Wagner's 1st Battalion, which seemed like aliens, the Estites quickly collapsed and were left without even a chance to reorganize before being released by Wagner's 1st Battalion.

Faced with such an overwhelming defeat, the senior Estite officer's expression became indescribable. Although he had initially considered the possibility of losing, losing like this was simply too humiliating.

But when they thought about how powerful Joe was, they felt that their money was well spent.

So when Joe began his post-battle debriefing after the exercise, they nodded frantically nod at everything he said.

Joe said, "Your infantry are courageous, but they are seriously lacking in proper training."

Officer Esty nodded. "Teacher Joe is right."

Joe continued, "Infantry collapse quickly when they encounter tanks because they haven't been trained to deal with tanks, so this aspect needs to be strengthened."

Officer Esty continued nodding, "Just as Teacher Joe said."

Seeing that Officer Esti was still nodding, Joe continued, "Your equipment is too chaotic, with some being Lucia's and others Teutonic. This puts too much pressure on logistics. You should standardize your equipment. I think the equipment from Brittany is quite good."

This time, the officers at Esti refused to agree.

Everyone knows the importance of standardized equipment, especially after seeing Wagner's equipment. It's impossible for them not to be envious of Wagner's equipment. However, there is a small problem: As a small country that has not even been recognized by others, Esti really doesn't have much money.

Looking at the quiet, chicken-like Estée officers in front of him, Joe sighed, "Well, what can I do? This is my first business deal. I have some connections in Bonitania, so I can provide you with some standard equipment currently in service in Bonitania. That should be enough to arm a battalion of you."

Upon hearing that there was a discount on weapons, the Esti officers quickly smiled and nodded, expressing their gratitude to Teacher Joe.

Soon the first batch of weapons arrived in Esti. Although Joe sold a batch of weapons, he not only didn't make any money from them, but he also put in a lot of his own money to get the weapons to arrive as quickly as possible.

Because Joe realized that he didn't have much time left. After the defeat in the Battle of Kiev, the military government was now divided into the north and south due to the cutoff of supply lines, and the troops stationed in Minsk in the north were now at risk of being surrounded.

If the Russian left-wing government can take Minsk, then the military government will have to withdraw from the Cossack territory, and the situation will be very different after that.

Therefore, I must speed things up now.

As the weapons arrived, while handing them over to the Estians, Joe also told them, "Since the weapons have arrived and I promised to train some troops for you, why don't you just send a battalion of men for me to train? After all, I have some experience with the equipment of the Bunitania."

Given that Joe did indeed have some knowledge of the standard equipment of the Britannia, and given that Joe strictly disciplined his troops after arriving in Esti, he usually stayed in his own camp unless someone needed to contact him, and did not see anyone except Esti officers, appearing as a professional soldier who did not concern himself with worldly affairs.

The Estites trusted Joe quite a bit, after all, what could possibly happen when they were just training a battalion of troops?
Then, when Joe saw the officers and soldiers of this battalion, the first thing he did was to look for people among these officers and soldiers who had come for training who had a good impression of Buntania.

Soon, during rigorous training, Joe discovered a talented individual: Bridget, a young man from an aristocratic family.

Although Esti was a poor place, Bridget's family had some wealth, enough to support his travels to the Old World before their factory was destroyed in the war between the Teutons and the Lusians.

During her travels through the Old World, the bustling city of London naturally gave Brigitte a slight shock, making her yearn for Bonitania.

This man, who had some personal grudges against the Lucias and Teutons, and at the same time had a good impression of Buntania, suddenly became Joe's main focus.

Soon after training ended, Joe would stop Bridget and ask if he had noticed the problem he had just encountered. After pointing out the problem, Joe would invite Bridget and the Esty officers who got along with Bridget to have a drink.

With the help of alcohol, Joe quickly became acquainted with Bridget and the others.

Then, during a drunken revelry, Catherine gave Joe a document to sign.

After seeing the document, Joe was stunned for a moment, then his face lit up with ecstasy. After shouting "Good!" seven times in a row, Joe took out a pen and signed the document. As he handed the document back to Catherine, he gave her a hard slap on the bottom, which made her scream in surprise. Then she glared at Joe before leaving with the document in her arms.

Bridget was naturally very curious about Joe's sudden unrestrained behavior. What had Joe just seen that made him so excited that he lost his composure, since Joe usually maintained a serious demeanor?

Joe, who looked about 70% drunk, smiled and waved to Bridget, indicating that besides being a soldier, he was also an engineer.

I also have some knowledge of engineering. Just now, my lab in Brittany sent me an experiment request to conduct a public broadcasting experiment. Do you know what public broadcasting is?
At this point, Joby gestured wildly, saying that once this thing is built, people will only need to buy a radio to enjoy magnificent operas from the opera house without having to leave home, and the government will be able to notify every household of any news immediately.

Even someone living in Birmingham could simply turn on the radio and listen to musicals or news broadcast in London or even Paris, and from then on, times were different.

Upon hearing Joe's words, Bridget couldn't help but show an envious expression and quickly asked Estée if she could also possess such a thing.

Joe seemed a bit tipsy, casually waving his hand to indicate, "Bridget, we're friends, I respect you, but frankly, I don't think Esther has any future. After receiving the defense contract and coming here, I originally thought I could quickly resolve the problems here through offensive and defensive tactics, and then move on to my next job. But look at what those generals and the government have me do? Wasting time in the military camp every day, they seem to only want me here to intimidate others... Sigh..."

Qiao let out a long sigh.

“If this continues, I probably won’t renew the contract when it expires. I didn’t come to the East to waste my time here. Even the Teutons are trying to rebuild the Teutonic tradition here, while I’m wasting my time in the military camp…”

After saying that, Joe seemed to have had enough to drink, and he leaned back in his chair and fell asleep, the wine glass in his hand falling to the ground and rolling away.

The red liquid soaked the floor, making the rolling glass look like a head.

Brigitte, who had also drunk quite a bit, looked at Joe, who was fast asleep leaning back in his chair, with a flicker in her eyes, as if she was thinking about something.

After a while, he put down his wine glass on the coffee table, took a coat from the coat rack and draped it over Qiao's shoulders, then put on his own coat, pushed open the door, and stepped into the wind and snow outside.

(End of this chapter)