Chapter 1260 - 1183:
Everybody knows where the camp of the death cuirassiers is. The area is so small; how hard can it be to find the camp?
Just press the whole army forward, and if they submit, they’re as close as brothers. If they don’t, kill them all to avoid aiding the enemies or adding unexpected factors to the upcoming battle.
Talk about negotiations, how womanish!
"I saw His Majesty Saint Sun giving soldiers high pay, thinking that was the secret to loyalty."
But actually, it’s not.
While high pay is important, it can’t stand alone.
Training, equipment, officers, tactics... and one particularly important aspect is morale.
History has too many examples where everything surpasses the enemy, but low morale led to defeat by a weaker foe.
Not to mention examples of higher-paid soldiers being defeated by lower-paid ones, most typically the Imperial Knights and the Salvation Army.
Pay can only solve the issue of "why not fight" but can’t solve "why fight."
The issue of morale is even linked to problems like training and tactics, which was the most neglected subject for Alexei at the Saint Danji School.
Politics class.
After returning, I must go over the notes on politics class again.
Alexei silently made up his mind.
"Your Highness, at least today our biggest gain is that they won’t defect to the vampires for a while." Gloev cautiously asked.
"No, today’s biggest gain is a good lesson learned." Alexei suddenly shouted across the prairie, scaring a few rabbits, then chuckled, "I was too impatient; let’s go back to the Salted Meat Castle."
"What about those death cuirassiers..."
"Without Giovanni the Butcher, do we still have to eat hairy pigs?" Alexei spread out his hands, "First, we shrink the defensive line and train a batch of cuirassiers ourselves."
Seeing Alexei’s state restored, everyone naturally breathed a sigh of relief and continued forward.
But shortly after, they heard a rapid clattering of hooves from behind.
Turning around, it was the bald cuirassier who initially led the way. He glanced at Alexei and then spoke to Gloev, "He’s the child of Duke Petrov, and we don’t want to see the duke’s bloodline end, so I’m reporting a piece of intel we’ve scouted."
"Please go on." Knowing the importance of the information, Alexei stood up straight.
"Lakunio has mobilized a large troop, encircling you..."
"Impossible." Before Alexei spoke, Gloev exclaimed, "Why haven’t we heard anything about it?"
"By the time you hear of it, they’ve already completed the encirclement." The bald cuirassier tugged the reins, "They marched by boat during the day."
"Such a large-scale mobilization; it’s impossible no whispers got out."
"They advanced simultaneously."
"Marching simultaneously? That’s even more impossible; when did the Vampire armies achieve such discipline?"
The bald cuirassier sneered at him, "Do you still think the current Royal Army is like before?"
"Wait a minute." Gloev grabbed the bald cuirassier’s beard, "Aren’t you doing anything?"
"We preserve the bloodline of our Duke Petrov. What else can we do?" The bald cuirassier glanced at Alexei, who seemed to be still in a daze, "Thirty thousand vampire main force troops, including blood knights, and you only have three thousand infantry.
All around is wilderness, without mountainous terrain like the Thousand River Valley, nor the sturdy fortress of the Shattered Stone Plain. Even if we intervene, what can we do?"
Raising the whip, the cuirassier quickly galloped away, as if afraid of being grabbed again by Gloev.