Trench Bolts and Magic

Chapter 197 Captain Morin, please sit down and talk.

Upon hearing Morin's words, General Bilo's smile froze completely on his face.

He and Ludendorff exchanged a glance, both seeing the same astonishment and a hint of bewilderment in each other's eyes.

Is this kid crazy?

A captain speaking to an army group commander and chief of staff in this tone?
Ludendorff's face instantly turned serious, not for any other reason than that he was actually very optimistic about Morin's future development.

Therefore, he didn't want Morin to act impulsively now, lest he gain a reputation for disrespecting his superiors, which would not be good for his future development in the military.

However, just as he was about to say something, he was stopped by a subtle look from General Bilo.

The commander of the Second Army was rapidly calculating in his mind.

He knew very well that Morin was no ordinary captain; he was a young officer personally handpicked and promoted by the Crown Prince.

The training assault battalion is hailed as a testing ground for the entire army's reforms and a seed for the future.

In any case, he couldn't possibly have a real conflict with Morin; that would just be asking for trouble.

What's more, they just led a battalion and withstood an attack by an entire division, achieving a near-mythical feat.

It was precisely because of their fighting that the Second Army was able to complete its combat mission within the territory of the United Kingdom of Flanders with ease.

With such an immense achievement right here, let alone if he were to merely ask a question, or even if he were to point his finger at him and hurl insults now...
General Bilo felt that he would at most retort with a few words.
What's even more striking is that the young captain's current appearance is simply too impactful.

In fact, after Morin arrived at the temporary command post, the officer who led the way suggested that he do some cleaning, but Morin declined on the grounds that 'time is precious'.

So he is still wearing that military uniform stained with dark brown blood.

His face was blackened and whitened by gunpowder, and his eyes were frighteningly calm.

There was no anger, no excitement in his eyes, only a deathly stillness.

It looked like they had just been pulled out of Charleroi, a place of mountains of corpses and seas of blood.

In a situation like this, you talk to him about official rank and rules?
Morin would probably just throw the blood-stained boots at your face.

"cough"

Bilo cleared his throat, his facial muscles twitched, and he forced out a smile that looked worse than a grimace.

"Captain Morin, please...please sit down and talk."

He gestured to the chair next to him, and his tone softened considerably.

"You must be exhausted after fighting for so long."

After saying that, he immediately turned around and shouted towards the tent entrance, "Lieutenant! Lieutenant!"

A young adjutant rushed in upon hearing the noise, stood at attention, and saluted: "General!"

"Didn't I give the order beforehand? As soon as Captain Morin arrived, bring up the prepared food and hot coffee! What's going on? He's here, but where's the stuff?"

Bilo’s tone was clearly reproachful, but his eyes were frantically signaling to his adjutant.

The adjutant was taken aback at first, then his mind raced.

No, when did I receive this order? General, you didn't say anything either.
But he was, after all, someone who worked alongside the general, and he had that much sense; he immediately understood what his superior meant.

"Reporting, General! It was my oversight! The food was ready, but I forgot to have it brought in. I'll arrange it right away!"

The adjutant snapped to attention and firmly took the blame upon himself.

"Go!"

Bilo waved his hand impatiently, then, as if remembering something, added with deliberate emphasis:

"Remember, Captain Morin is a hero of our Second Army! There must be absolutely no neglect of him, understand?"

"Yes! General!"

The adjutant responded loudly again, then turned and quickly left the tent.

Morin watched the two of them sing in unison, and suddenly understood what 'talking about other things' meant.
He didn't point it out, and simply followed Bilo's gesture, sitting down in the chair with an air of nonchalance.

Then, without saying a word, he leaned back in his chair and looked at the two army leaders in front of him.

Seeing this, Ludendorff quickly picked up a clean cup and coffee pot from the table next to him and personally poured Maureen a steaming cup of coffee.

"Come on, Captain Morin! Have some coffee. These beans are General Bilo's private stash; not everyone can get their hands on them."

He pushed the coffee cup toward Morin, forcing a smile on his face.

Look, two top officers from the army group are serving only me.
The thought flashed through Morin's mind, but he remained silent, instead looking at Billow and Ludendorff with his calm eyes.

The atmosphere inside the tent once again became eerily oppressive.

The air seemed to freeze, with only the steam from the coffee rising gently.

Bilo and Ludendorff felt extremely uncomfortable under his gaze, as if they were being stared at by a beast that had just crawled out of hell, and cold sweat broke out on their backs.

They were all seasoned generals who had seen countless battles, but they had never been so pressured by a junior officer's gaze.

What on earth does this kid want to do?
Finally, General Bilo couldn't take it anymore. He felt that if he didn't speak up soon, the awkward atmosphere would suffocate him.

"Cough cough,"

General Bilo coughed twice more, trying to break the suffocating silence.

He paused, a hint of helplessness on his face, and began to explain:
"Captain Morin, I know you're angry and resentful. Leaving your training assault battalion alone in Charleroi this time was indeed putting you under tremendous risk and pressure."

His tone sounded very sincere, as if he were confiding in a sullen junior.

"But you must understand that this is a last resort. From the perspective of the overall war, we must open up the road to Gaul as soon as possible!"

“Charleroi is the most critical obstacle in our path! We must remove it at all costs, or at least keep it firmly under our control.”

General Bilo stood up, walked to the map, and pointed to the location of Charleroi.

"In hindsight, leaving you there was undoubtedly the most correct decision."

"Facts have proven that, apart from your training assault battalion, the entire Second Army, and even the entire Saxon Army, cannot find another unit that can withstand the repeated attacks of a Gaulish division with just one battalion and hold out for three whole days!"

As he said this, there was a hint of smugness in his tone, as if he were praising his own unique insight.

"You have bought the most valuable time for the main force of the entire army group to deploy. No one can match this achievement."

Morin listened quietly, but a cold laugh ripped through his heart.

Well said.

What is the 'most correct decision'?
So, aren't they just treating the training assault battalion as expendable resources and chips in this high-stakes gamble? Is this how they use their troops?
"so what?"

Morin finally spoke, his voice like a cold knife, directly piercing the loophole in General Bilo's words.

"So, for the sake of this 'correct decision,' we can throw a training unit, tasked with exploring future tactics for the entire army, into a meat grinder like a brick and send them to fight a positional defense war that they shouldn't have to fight at all?"

General Bilo's face instantly turned ugly. He opened his mouth, but found himself at a loss for words.

Yes, there was definitely an element of gambling involved when he gave that order.

He bet the training assault battalion could hold out, but he never considered what the consequences would be if they couldn't.

Or rather, he subconsciously avoided thinking about the problem.

The atmosphere inside the tent plummeted to freezing point once again.

Seeing that things were not going well, Ludendorff quickly stepped forward to try to smooth things over.

"Captain Morin, calm down. The main responsibility for this matter lies with me."

Ludendorff took the blame upon himself.

"I admit that I seriously underestimated the speed of the Gallic Fifth Army and their determination to attack!"

"According to our pre-war analysis, even if they were to attack Charleroi, they should first send out a small reconnaissance force for a probing attack, and it would take at least two to three days for the main force to assemble and deploy."

“With this back and forth, the main force of our army group will catch up, and the pressure on you will not be as great as it is now.”

General Bilo quickly seized this opportunity to back down, nodding repeatedly in agreement:

“That’s right, exactly! Who would have thought the Gauls would go crazy like this? You barely arrived in Charleroi before they amassed a division and attacked! This is completely illogical!”

"Judging from the time their main force arrived in Charleroi, the fact that they began their full-speed maneuver in this direction almost on the same day you set off was truly unexpected for all of us."

The two men spoke in perfect harmony, their words so sincere and earnest, as if the current situation was truly caused by the enemy's cunning, and that their command was entirely without fault.

Mo Lin almost burst out laughing in exasperation as he watched the two of them, one playing the red face and the other the white face, working together flawlessly.

Goodness, these two are really wasting their talents by not becoming crosstalk performers.

By shifting all the blame to the Gauls, can they absolve themselves of all responsibility?

"Unexpected?"

Morin sneered, interrupting their clumsy performance:

"Generals, anything can happen on the battlefield in an instant. Is it the mindset of a commander to pin the hope of victory on the assumption that 'the enemy will make a mistake' or 'the enemy will follow our script'?"

He paused, took a deep breath, and knew that arguing with these old bureaucrats about right and wrong was useless; they always had countless ways to turn black into white.

So he decided to try a different approach.

"Fine, even if the Gauls' speed of action exceeded your expectations, I won't argue with you about that."

Morin waved his hand and lay back in his chair.

"Then I'd like to ask another question."

He raised his head, his eyes sharp as an eagle's, staring intently at Ludendorff.

Why aren't you providing support?

(End of this chapter)