Warhammer

After all, it was the first territory that the empire officially incorporated into its border territory, and it also had the first batch of expeditionary vanguards that went into the mountains to support the war.

There is also a God-Emperor, the Chosen One of God, the Living Saint of the Empire there.

Whatever the considerations, we should provide support as soon as possible.

But Augustine just pondered for a while and said: "This time, the mission of our army is to expand the influence of the empire in the border city-states as much as possible, and it would be best if..." He did not finish his words, but looked at his adjutant.

The latter obviously understood what he meant.

To expand influence, is there anything more influential than becoming “one of our own” in a physical sense?

Altdorf is the capital!

The emperor of the empire is the father!

Now that we belong to the same country, what is the point of talking about "influence" at this point?

In the process of conquering Tyrell, Aiur was able to use weapons, power, coercion and inducement to gain local supporters for himself. This was certainly because he came with the power of a quick victory, making people feel unstoppable and having to obey him. But in the final analysis, hard bones are rare, so aren't soft bones hard to find?

Resistance in the heart and obedience in the body can coexist. Among the so-called gentry representatives and senators of a hundred border city-states, ninety-nine of them may still hope that their small "state" can continue to be a small country with a small population as in the past. However, this does not prevent the imperial people from finding thirty, forty, or even more "people who know the times" among them who are loyal to His Majesty the Emperor and the Empire of Mankind.

They even have great advantages in morality and legal principles because of the absolute power gap and blood relationship - the southern border territory and the northern Kislev, in the past empire, the relationship between the three is like that between two poor neighbors of a local tyrant, one in the south and one in the north. Either something happens at home today (the Yankees go south) or there is a disaster tomorrow (the greenskins rebel), the local tyrant will "generously donate" to support them.

Among the three major expeditions of the Wanli period of the Ming Dynasty, after the Korean campaign, the whole country of Korea unanimously believed that Da Meng had "saved the country" for Korea.

"For the past two hundred years, the happiness and benefits that the people have enjoyed are all gifts from the gods and emperors."

Throughout its long history, the Empire has provided support to its neighbors in the north and south many times, big and small. Although we cannot ignore the principle of "the lips and the teeth are cold when the teeth are cold" - will the Northerners not harm the Empire even if they destroy Kislev? Or can't the Chaos people attack the Empire at the same time as they attack Kislev?

But the empires of the past have indeed relied on real efforts, repeated "international aid", "international volunteers" and personal involvement to consolidate their status as the big brother of the Western order in the Old Continent.

If we ask the border people which of the four directions they are closer to and more dependent on, it is undoubtedly the big brother in the north. Of course, the issue of merger is another matter.

The Empire expanded southwards. Not to mention the blood and geographical ties, just take the most recent Battle of Blackfire Pass as an example. His Majesty Justinian the Great led the Imperial Legion, faced with the green wave that was about to sweep the world, and turned the tide to destroy it. This not only ensured the safety of the Empire, but also saved the border territories that were almost massacred by my army like in the Great War.

This is a huge "life-saving" favor to the entire border princedom at the national level.

At that time, the Greenskin God's Chosen Brother Gao Mao Gao was a very proud and ambitious warlord. He first besieged the Sea Gate Pass, forcing the dwarves to drill holes and go out to sea, sealed the fortress, and lived drifting on the warship; then he besieged the Eternal Peak and almost broke the walls of Karazha a Karak twice.

Akendorf's location and geography are perfect. To the north is the Empire's Blackfire Pass trade channel, to the east is the Silver Road Eternal Peak, to the south and southwest are dwarf fortresses or small human states, and to the west as far as Matoka there is no rival that can compete with it. Because it is the first stop for immigrants heading south, and it is the fastest country in the entire borderland to recover after the Great Holy War, why has it never become the "number one in the border" and has never caught up with Mirmidon in the southwest, which has no advantages except for Lingang and the peninsula.

It is because my brother Mao Gao caused trouble once, and the border princely territory was divided into east and west. At that time, it was occupied by the greenskins, and the eastern princely territory, which was the main battlefield later, was destroyed again by the war, so its development is not as good as that of the west.

.......

The adjutant named Julius thought for a moment and understood what the Chief of the Expedition meant. He looked confused but still insisted, "Sir, this does not violate our mission."

Augustine nodded slightly and continued, "We need time. Before we deal with the enemy, we need to liberate the border city-states from the barbarity of the greenskins in the name of 'aid'. This will ensure that the empire can better control the border after the war."

"As for Matoka... Rhine has nearly 100,000 troops under his command, and with Her Excellency Celestine in charge, it should be no problem for them to hold on for the time being."

The chief of the expedition pondered for a moment and uttered something so unbelievable.

Julius glanced at Augustine in surprise, as if he was wondering if the chief of the expedition in front of him was impersonated by someone. But at the moment, he could only suppress his doubts and disrespectful thoughts, and tried his best to remind the other party in a rational and calm voice:

"Your Excellency, according to the news sent by the Vanguard, the defenders in Matoka are mostly militias who lack training, weapons, and even have questionable fighting spirit. There are only 7,000 of our soldiers there, and according to intelligence, they are facing more than 200,000 greenskins who have obtained a large amount of resources from the border city-states through levies and even formed special artillery and gunner units."

"The walls there are also not strong enough to support the responsibility of the Screen Guard Corps because of the short-sightedness of the Matoka people in the past. I have enough confidence in the bravery of Sir Celestine and the command ability of Rhine, but..."

Gradually, his voice lowered and he glanced at the man not far away who was staring at the map in a daze, seemingly not paying any attention to the conversation.

"In war, we cannot ignore any unexpected factors or the possibility of any accidents. If the enemy is too strong... Matoka is lost... Lords Celestine and Rhine and the expeditionary forces they led will die in battle..."

"All right!"

Augustine suddenly interrupted him loudly, interrupting the terrible yet reasonable inference.

The chief of the expedition stood with his hands behind his back, also staring at the map on the table, without saying a word.

There was silence in the barracks.

The other officers could only communicate through eye contact at this time and remained silent.

The air just became quiet.

After the uncomfortable silence lasted for a while, the man who had been staring at the map in a daze suddenly said, "Mr. Chief, the room is a bit stuffy. I'm going outside to get some fresh air."

Augustine remained silent, but nodded slightly to show that he understood.

The man decisively pushed open the curtain and walked out.

When only his own people were left in the barracks, the Chief of the Expedition's expression of worry obviously eased a little. He chewed his thoughts over and over again, pondered for a while, and then made up his mind. He pressed a chess piece heavily on a point marked "Matoka" on the map and said in a deep voice:

"Bruno, Murray, Malenzov, you take the First and Second Cavalry Corps and prepare to go to Matoka immediately. Leave me 2,000 cavalrymen."

"Bruno..." The expedition chief turned his head to look at Adjutant Julius, who was holding his head high and chest out to accept the order. His brows were still furrowed, but for some reason he looked a little "softer". I wonder if it was an illusion.

"Go and ask the Knights' mentors to come over, and then have them cooperate with you to support Matoka."

212: Augustine's Anxiety

When the generals who were called took the order and left, Augustine thought again and again, and finally stopped the three of them and said to them solemnly:

"Counting from the day you set out, tell Rhine... he still needs to hold out for fifteen days." The Chief of the Expedition paused, and then said in a deep voice: "If... the situation does not allow it, feel free to ask the dwarves for help and evacuate Matoka with your troops. His efforts are enough."

After the chief finished speaking, he waved his hand and said no more.

All three were very competent officers and would certainly take his words literally, and he believed that the clever young man should be able to understand the meaning of his mentor's words.

Two cavalry armies plus a knightly regiment, 10,000 well-trained cavalry, as well as elite chivalrous knights, knight mentors, and priests... Although this kind of combat power is not enough to break the siege of Matoka, it can support the defense of the city, and most importantly:

Bring confidence of victory to the defenders in the city.

Totally enough.

In a situation where the domestic situation seems calm on the surface but is actually turbulent, the chief general has to face pressure from all aspects of the country even if he is in a situation where he is "abroad".

.........

The emperor wanted to expand his territory in the border territories, to replicate the glory of the past emperor with a small version of the "Battle of Blackfire Pass" and a victory over the greenskins in the south. At the same time, he wanted to use the large tracts of blank, ownerless virgin land in the border territories to divert the increasingly serious contradictions in the country. After all, not everyone has the courage to cross the ocean and risk never returning to try his luck in the New World, and most of the poor people don't have the capital or knowledge to do so.

The Ecumenical Council agreed with this approach in principle. Diverting domestic pressure, alleviating conflicts can also ease factional struggles within the church, but they are more likely to take this opportunity to weaken the ambitious challenger faction... Of course, it would be best if they could not only weaken the strength of competitors, use the greenskins to severely damage the elite armed forces of the returnees, but also successfully expand the blessing of the Hammer Bearer to the entire border territory and enhance the prestige of the state religion.

As for the factory elites and trade "lords" represented by Nuln and Marienburg, it is not yet known what they think about the population transfer and resettlement after the successful expansion, and the weakening of their low-cost and cheap labor force.

Nobles... traditional nobility... the Electorate...

The human empire established by Sigmar has grown larger and larger, but its "brainpower" - the system has not been updated in a timely manner, and most of it is still the same as before, appearing increasingly bloated and sluggish.

The system of "Glorious Tradition" guarantees the power of noble people in this country, but nowadays, the mismatch between power and responsibility is becoming more and more common; factory owners and businessmen rise up with money, and are ambitious to fight for "power in the Senate" for themselves, while the vast majority of poor people who are barely clothed have chaotic thoughts, and no one can truly represent them and make it clear what they want. They live in confusion due to the pressure and suffering of life, like a plague zombie controlled by Nurgle...

The empire is a giant beast with a thousand legs and a thousand arms. It is so huge that every part may have its own consciousness, because this is also the foundation of the empire laid from the very beginning by the electoral decentralization system adopted in the past for various reasons.

But it is conceivable.

From Altdorf to the local capital, from the Senate to the local city council, most people in power will not have any good feelings towards the "returnists" who want to change the current system and harm their interests. This is the simplest problem of the butt.

Of course, no one would openly shout out in the face of all the internal and external pressures Augustine faced:

"Ah~ In order to prevent those crazy priests who chant sutras without boots from taking away the property of the respectable, wealthy, gentry, and nobles in the name of Sigmar and distributing it to the poor, we must kill the "returnists" and the chosen one who is inclined to them at the border! Let the greenskins kill them! We can just watch from the sidelines!"

The priests of the Restoration Party often walked among the people and in the countryside. In order to show their closeness to the common people, they did not wear traditional priest or noble boots, but mainly wore straw shoes. Their feet were often covered in mud, so they were ridiculed as "crazy sutra-chanting people without boots."

They just need to exert their influence in some "small" areas where no one can point out any fault.

such as:

Since the southern expedition to the border territories is intended to expand the influence of the empire, why not take advantage of the opportunity when the greenskins are attracted to expand rapidly and "liberate" those territories occupied by barbarians?

Isn’t this the best and fastest way to expand your influence?

It is hard to say whether we can win by making a long journey to Matoka to fight the greenskins. Even if we win, it would be too slow and stupid to rely on this place to expand to other areas.

The emperor's flag arrived as a liberator and was planted on the city walls of those states. Do they dare to take it down?

As for whether Matoka can be saved...of course he can be saved!

But they have “one hundred thousand!” “one hundred thousand people!”, can’t they hold on a little longer?

Every minute and every second that the expeditionary force persists in Matoka and drags the greenskin army, the Western Chief Expeditionary Force can expand the Empire's influence on the border. If Matoka persists for one more day, the Empire may be able to "liberate" two more city-states!

Believe!

Give full play to subjective initiative!

Think of our predecessor, the God-Emperor (referring to Sigmar), who defeated the greenskins at Blackfire Pass with a small force. More recently, His Majesty Justinian the Great, made two expeditions to the southern border and finally wiped out the green plague and cleansed the world!

You have 100,000 against 200,000, and you are still defending a city. Why can't you hold on a little longer?

Of course, the greenskin army, which is elite and led by a "legendary warlord", also has the advantage in equipment; compared with the untrained and weak-willed militia of Matoka, who actually do not have the so-called "100,000 combat-ready soldiers", it goes without saying which is stronger.

In other words, there is still terrain that can be used. If it were used in a field battle, the Mao Liang gang would have been defeated and driven out in less than a day.

Reality can't be a game. No matter how powerful Celestine is, as long as Sigma can't directly send two heavenly interventions to clean up the mess, she can't be like the lords and heroes in the game, bathing in the sea of ​​soldiers alone and ignoring the swords and weapons around her.

But those who formulate strategies, plan programs, and have the ability to influence these do not need to do so. Or even if they know, they just need to pretend not to know and be tacitly confused for a while. Everything is within a "reasonable" range.

To put it another way, even if the gap in strength is huge, there is a world of difference between them. If I ask you to defend, can't you do it?

Altdorf back then, Middenheim back then... they were also facing fierce and unstoppable enemies, didn't they all hold on to the end?

Chapter 213: Generals and Supervisors, Undercurrents

As long as we uphold the concept of "putting the overall situation first", it would be no problem to add more burdens to the Matoka defenders.

If we win, everyone will be happy. But if the city is lost and the most terrible situation occurs... if the chosen one dies in battle and the expeditionary force is destroyed... everyone will cry together, wear mourning clothes, and work together to avenge the hero!

Still a happy ending.

perfect.

They received orders from home one after another, asking the expeditionary army of the Chief of the War to try their best to liberate the nearby border city-states in order to expand their influence. According to the proposal of the Senate, they had a preconceived notion that Matoka had the Chosen of God and a large army, and it would not be a problem to delay for a month or two. And it would be best for the Chief of the War to unite these places under the banner of the Empire after liberating the western regions, and ask all places to send troops to join the expeditionary army in the form of "reinforcements", and then drive the greenskins eastward in one go.

This was undoubtedly treating Matoka as a pawn and putting it on the fire, and even the imperial court meeting could not agree to it.

Then the oral order from the court hinted to Augustine:

"In matters of decisive battle, it is of utmost caution and full preparation. It is not advisable to start a war lightly, which would otherwise ruin the chance to open up the border. As for the siege of Matoka, we have the support of the dwarves outside and the unity of the people inside, so it should not be a problem for ten days... You can weigh the pros and cons for yourself."

That's okay.

To some extent, the court is the largest faction among the vested interests, but it is also a semi-independent party and it is difficult to say whether it has a firm stance on either side.

Still holding on to the idea of ​​smoothing things over.

This was very obvious to Augustine, who had watched the ups and downs of the empire's political situation for decades and had sat in the position of "chief of war" for more than ten years without a battle in twenty years.

Although he did not think so much and did not come to the terrible conclusion that Rhine and Celestine had: there were forces in the empire who wanted to kill someone with a borrowed knife and that large-scale political struggles were probably approaching, he could still know that the dispute over the direction in the country, especially within the state religion, had become very serious.

He knew that some people were dissatisfied with the defenders of Matoka, mainly the 7,000 expedition vanguards led by the Julius siblings, so they were trying to hinder him in various ways.

The people above want to be perfunctory, and Augustine can be perfunctory too, be confused for a while. Since you let me think about it myself, then I think Matoka is probably doomed. Go to support at full speed immediately. You can't call him back after we arrive at the place, right?

However, the Senate envoy with a background in the Ecumenical Council who was sent to the marching tent of the chief commander of the expedition to "command the army" really made him feel restricted. He could not "make his own decisions" on many matters and had to consider the consequences of going against the orders he had received.

The "special envoy" actually performed the duties of a "military supervisor", especially as he was also responsible for promoting authority and pacifying various places as a representative of the Imperial Senate. He had an independent position in the army, and even because of his supervisory responsibilities for the legions, he suppressed Augustine in some aspects.

During the reign of the late Emperor, His Majesty Albert Franz, the father of the current His Majesty Otto Franz, his policy of indulgence towards the merchant class represented by Marienburg had caused widespread dissatisfaction among the aristocracy. Coupled with the corruption of the military system, there had been several mutinies and unrest. Albert, who was afraid of coups and military rebellions, had been committed to weakening the power of the aristocracy, especially in the army.

Relying on the financial support of wealthy businessmen in Marienburg, Nuln and other places, Albert successfully used the tactic of throwing money to disintegrate the military nobles who did not really want to enter the palace with swords, put an end to the chaos and explain the benefits. Of course, they could not do this without the support of the soldiers.

Then came the creation and splitting of the marshal rank, and the birth of the position of "military supervisor" in the palace.

The emperor would appoint someone he trusted to serve as a nominal adjutant in the army, who would be responsible for reporting information about the legion's situation to the court and play a practical supervisory role.

Sometimes this position is appointed by the Senate, and most of the time the emperor, his conclave and the Senate can reach an agreement.

Although its effect is not obvious... After all, if the emperor did a good job, even if he was just a normal person, which general would think of leading a large army back to Altdorf to seize the throne?

If someone with a stupid brain really came up with an imperial version of the "Chenqiao Mutiny", the result would probably be that Rick's old guards, who had "enjoyed the emperor's salary and received the country's grace for generations", would be captured on the spot by the traitors and taken back to Altdorf.

But this control over the army has indeed meant that the main enemies have changed from the Chaos-worshipping Yankees in the north, the Beastmen in the woods (the Greenskins who will come to beat up the Empire whenever a big guy rises), and the Chaos Army that will lead its army to the south to destroy the world every once in a while... to the Emperor who is "one of their own", and those in power have a kind of false comfort in their minds.

The Chief of the expedition was weighing and analyzing the conflicts behind this expedition all the way.

He couldn't just ignore Rhine.

Not to mention that the latter is his disciple, not to mention emotional issues, just from the perspective of personal interests:

Julius has been a prominent military family in the empire since Emperor Justinian. Because they have always adhered to the tradition of never touching matters other than military affairs, they were reused during the reign of Emperor Albert when the overall weakening of military power occurred. Rhine even has the potential to be the next generation head of the family and the commander of the legion. If he does not help and sits back and watches the other side being besieged and destroyed, then who will the anger of the Julius family and the nobles be directed at when the rabbit dies and the fox mourns?

A grand-sounding ecumenical council?

The senator who speaks with confidence? Or the court behind the curtain...