Continental Hero Senki

"I have no idea why the emperor is lying on the hospital bed."

Tsar Ligrad, the imperial capital of the Eastern Continental Empire, the Lord of the Chancellery Office standing outside its administrative district, abruptly said such a thing. The other person in the conversation is a friend and samurai officer who encourages him to do business with him in the office.

"What is it all of a sudden, my Lord Chancellor?"

In response to the words of the samurai samurai, the name of the man called His Excellency the Chancellor was Sergei Romanov. He is the nephew of the 59th Emperor of the Eastern Continental Empire, Ivan Romanov VII, who was given the post of Imperial Chancellor by the Emperor of the hospital bed a few days ago with the right to inherit the throne first. It is customary to call him "His Highness Sergei," but Sergei didn't really like being called "Your Highness" by his friends.

He returned his words to his friend as he scratched that distinctive silver hair that the Romanov Emperor's family attested to.

"You know what, Kreutzer? He really thought he could win such a crude war, didn't he?

The full name of that young man, known as Kreutzer, is Mikhail Kreutzer. As of the Spring War, he was in the position of captain of the Sergei SS, but is now a Major General and assistant to the Chancellor in his duties as Sergei's military attaché to the Chancellor.

Kreutzer was chilling his liver on Sergei, who would repeat words and actions that would fool the emperor, even if he were the empire's greatest authority. The office is currently only Sergei and Kreutzer, but I didn't care if they had eavesdropped on me.

For that reason, Kreutzer responds with as little volume as he can, but Sergei at the time does not even try to suppress his young and hectic voice.

"It is true that his differences in national power were historical. Even if that son of a bitch left his government behind properly, it wouldn't be enough for the Empire to manage to get around."

"If the national power difference is historical, the empire can't lose. That's inevitable, isn't it?

This word is not false. Unless the figures in the material submitted by the Imperial Statistical Office in front of him are false, the national power difference between the Eastern Continental Empire and the Kingdom of Silesia is not as different as between giants and babies.

"You'll say it often for a long time." No wonder you lost. "The losers have a reason to lose."

"… Your Excellency seems to have an idea of why"

"Right. There are three reasons why the Empire lost, as far as I can think of."

"... that's surprisingly a lot"

"Not really. I don't think there's any limit if you give me a good reason."

Sergei said so, putting his hands on the coffee in front of him. I use quality beans and fine ceramic cups just to say royalty, but what Sergei did to drink that coffee more than that was worthy of its magnificent appearance.

If I were to mention just one difficulty, it would be that the coffee contained five squares of sugar and plenty of milk.

"Aside from the fine reasons, there are three reasons why the Empire lost. Supply, timing, and purpose."

"... I somehow understand the replenishment, but the latter two?

"Right. Shall I tell you in turn? Well, not to mention the replenishment."

One of the reasons why the "Guinier Armistice Agreement" was concluded, in which the Eastern Continental Empire virtually granted the assignment of the former Silesian Valavilier, was due to the destruction of the rear supply base of the Valavilier by the activity of the Royal Army Cavalry.

"The amount of food supplies that you were able to muster, including spare parts, into 50 divisions with rear support units and a total of 600,000 large mobilization units, was negligible. The same is true of the fragile security posture of the supply base, but it cannot be wiped out that there were any shortcomings in the barracks. Looks like the Looting Department was working on a premise."

"Then, if the enemy had taken Operation Scorched Earth..."

"My Imperial Army would have resulted in a total loss of 400,000 frontal troops. The damage on the Silesian side would also have been considerably worse, but maybe Silesia would have carried out a counter-attack operation. Think of it like that. It was a lot of defeat."

Sergei said that with a slight self-derision. If Silesia had taken that measure, there is no doubt that he himself, seconded as a reserve force, had died in battle.

At the same time, however, Sergei knew that the Kingdom of Silesia was still drawing the wounds of its defeat during the First and Second Silesian Split Wars and could not afford it financially or economically. He understood that if we took Operation Scorched Earth, half of the national territory would burn down, and we would not be able to maintain as many barracks and troops as we could carry out counter-attack operations.

"We need to bottom up our national power first in order to maintain our barracks. National power refers to the ability to maintain military stations, and if the capability of military stations increases, it can provide for a large number of soldiers and maintain morale. This is what makes the difference in national power the decisive difference in war power."

"I see. It's impossible for His Majesty the Emperor to leave his internal affairs unattended. So?"

"That's what I'm talking about. And now Kreutzer says," Oh, my God. "

Sergei couldn't wait to hear what the friend had to say and do.

Because Kreutzer himself, who had previously seen his emperor's criticism in a panic, made a disrespectful statement.

Realizing that, Kreutzer coughed twice and misled it, darkly urging Sergei to follow.

"It's not like I don't have a voice in revenge against the Kingdom of Silesia, and I want to do it myself. But from the present tragedy of the Empire, this is not possible. I will try to restore my country for a while. There's no reason for Valavillier to stick to the border."

"We are certain that defeat is increasing the feeling of antiwar among the people, and the shortage of high-ranking officers is noticeable. You won't be able to fight again."

The Imperial Army has a normal battle strength of 400 divisions. The loss of force from the Spring War was quickly recoverable in an empire with a huge population. But making up for the loss of a high-ranking officer is not overnight. What is more, Sergei cannot use the aristocratic officers of the imperial faction, who are political enemies.

Most importantly, the loss of responsibility and maintenance due to the defeat of the Spring War is not all devastating because it is worn by emperors and imperial nobles.

Besides, Sergei himself was willing to reverse this situation and cut off internal affairs and military reform.

"Now, do you want to get the story back to the reason for the defeat?... I wonder what the other reason was"

He said it was time and purpose.

"It was. Let's start with the timing. Do you remember Kreutzer? the date on which this war was decided and the date on which the war actually began."

"I was wondering if it was decided at the end of 636, indeed, December 15. It's April 1st."

"That's right. I mean, there was about four months before the war, and in four months, even monkeys would be quite ready for the king."

Sergei is right, the Kingdom of Silesia effectively used its time of four months.

The transition to a wartime system, the drafting of specific and elaborate interception operations, the mobilisation and training and placement of reserve officers, the construction of defensive positions, the arrangement of supplies, the securing of other aspects of diplomacy and the gathering of information on the Imperial Army.

It was the young officers of the kingdom who did these, but Sergei did not yet know about them. But I had a clear understanding of its effectiveness.

"There is something called the 'principle of initiative'. The principle that it is important to keep ahead and always be in a position to create a favourable situation"

"But if you're obsessed with controlling the lead, you're going to be unprepared, aren't you? So there's no ex or kid?

"Of course minimum preparation is necessary, but lack of preparation is the same for the enemy. If the defense takes a quick offense before it's ready, some lack of preparation won't go unwillingly."

If Ivan Xue had any military talent, or had such a person nearby, he would not have given his enemies time, as Sergei put it.

What happens if, for example, Ivan XXI expresses his intention to invade the Kingdom of Silesia around March and opens a war in April? Reserve mobilisation in the Kingdom of Silesia would undoubtedly not have made it to war, and the construction of defensive positions should have been unavoidable. Diplomatic efforts by Yuzef are also running out of time, and after the war, information will be updated daily to a changing battlefield and intelligence gathering will be nearly impossible.

In order to make inter-water operations impossible, the Royal Silesian Army will have to take barren scorched-earth operations without being able to mobilize reserves. However, given the difference between the barracks coming from the difference in national power and the fact that the failure to conduct diplomatic negotiations could have left other anti-Silesian alliance countries speechless and forced Operation Four Fronts, that war should have been named the Third Silesian War of Split.

"Nevertheless, the Empire lost: 200,000 generals lost, the Emperor harmed his health, and finances and economy were on fire. Don't you think it's a good example of how giving your enemies time is dangerous?

With that said, Sergei drank his thirst out of an over-speaking recoil and held the coffee in front of him. Still, it's not enough to call for a graduate and hope for a third cup of coffee today.

"And the last cause of defeat," Purpose, "but this is a pretty big one, too."

"'Purpose'...... I'm not sure"

"You can put it this way." The Great Fame. "

Sergei hands on the third cup of coffee that has been carried with a smiling expression on his face. No matter, it's full of sugar and milk.

"Is it so important that something called 'The Great Name' or something?

"Importance. A war that can't make a name for itself can be tragic."

Kreutzer, hearing Sergei's words, was somewhat flashy. Because I felt like I heard a little ridiculous Imperial language called "Making a Big Name".

But Sergei didn't speak Imperial wrong.

"There are just some things that say 'grand nomenclature' to get two effects. domestic and international public opinion."

"... public opinion, is it?

Hearing Kreutzer's doubts, Sergei snorted deeply and at the same time hit him with a burgeoning question.

"By the way, do you like killing people?

"... Huh?

"Fine, what do you say?

Kreutzer panicked a little to the sudden question, but a few seconds later he was able to come up with an answer.

"Naturally, I hate it. I'd like to avoid it for the rest of my life if I could."

"Right. I hate you too. Most people do. If you want to meet people who like that, you can go to jail."

"... So, how does your Excellency and my murderous dislike relate?

"It has a lot to do with it. The point about war is killing people. A man of a profession called a soldier is called 'war' when he refers to the work of killing a man of an enemy country in accordance with military discipline in a workplace called a battlefield. Unless you have a fine definition."

"Huh."

"A man who hates killing must kill a man in war. Naturally, the morale of the soldiers falls. So what do we do? Easy, if only there was a reason to justify killing."

In the Spring War, what was the mood of the junior soldiers in both armies who were supposed to hate killing?

In the case of the Royal Silesian Army, the reasons are clear. Defeat the Evil Invader Eastern Continental Imperial Army to protect your beloved family and homeland. Even if it's a different stab. Even if you're about to lose, your heart is so unbroken that you're ready to die and protect your precious things.

Therefore, the morale of the Royal Army had increased to the end. An army with increased morale, both East and West, would be robust and powerful if proficiency were assured.

So what happened in the case of the Eastern Continental Imperial Army? The answer can be glimpsed in Marshal Rokosovski's speech before the war.

"Rokosovski was just talking about the grace prize before the war, and he told every conscripted serf, apparently. I mean, he named himself 'the invader'."

He was Marshal Rokosovski, who gave a speech that advertised himself as an evil invader, but at the time of his speech he was not yet a major failure. It wasn't much to be praised for, but it was certainly an effective aspect for a noble high-ranking officer. Because you can raise your status, wealth and fame by invading.

But the morale of a soldier led by such a nobleman was gloomy. The distrust of why we must fight for the future of the aristocracy, which deprives us of our wealth and freedom, was deeply ingrained. A serf-class human being, especially at the bottom of society, would have been a remarkable example of this.

And under such circumstances, what happens if the junior soldiers become aware of their disadvantages?

The noble officers go on offense with high morale and no thought ahead, thinking only about taking it away, but the junior soldiers only have a "don't want to die" feeling left.

What happens as a result is the breakdown of morale.

The most discernible example is Major General Yuri Sadirin's division in the Zalesier meeting, which took place during the Spring War.

The Sadirin division repeated its aggressive offensive and assault over and over again at the Zalesier meeting. But from the left dorsal side, morale collapsed at once when the 3rd Cavalry Regiment of the Kingsguard Division of the Royal Army struck back and one division of the Royal Army from the front. Sadilyn continued to command bravely, or barbarically, but the lower soldiers, whose morale had collapsed, did not follow its instructions.

As a result, the Sadirin Division has been ravaged vertically and horizontally by the Third Cavalry Regiment, and Sadirin himself has been killed in action.

"Morale can easily collapse when it comes to an invading army without a great name. That's why we have to create a useful generic name to maintain a morale comparable to that of the defense."

What would have happened if the Sadirin Division had been the Royal Army?

Perhaps even if they were sandwiched by the Imperial Army, they would have been able to maintain their morale. Because they have the psychology of what happens to their homeland if they run away here.

"I see. So you're saying that His Excellency the Chancellor and the Minister of Military Affairs are moving around a lot"

That's what Kreutzer pointed out.

In fact, the human movements of the Sergei faction here these days have been active. Count Benkendorf, Secretary of State for the Emperor, headed by the Minister of Military Affairs, Marquis Redigel, and Sergei diplomats who are sending them to other countries.

"I wonder what you mean"

Sergei looked so silly.

Shortly afterwards, he finished the paperwork he had been working on while talking to Kreutzer. Kreutzer confirms the entire document.

"... how dare you come up with this even though you just became prime minister"

"Whom do you think I am? The next emperor, huh? More than that, will you tell the Minister of Military Affairs, Marquis Redigel, and the Undersecretary of the Interior, Viscount Nazarov, to come to the Chancellery? He wants to talk to you about this."

Copy that, my lord.

It was only a matter of time before that document, which he had now completed, would mark a great deal in the history of the continent, but the results would be visible.