Quit being a knight and become a mercenary

89 – Battle of the Plain of Seine (1)

Once everyone was seated, the Count brought a huge bulletin board inside.

On the bulletin board, the Marseille Castle where we were located and the surrounding terrain were drawn in quite detail, and there were blue wooden pieces and red wooden pieces attached.

Isn’t it true that it sticks like a magnet?

“The original plan was for the friendly forces of the expeditionary force I command to join in Metz with the Commander-in-Chief, His Excellency the Marquis of Hohenzollern, and then defeat the enemy’s main force and occupy the surrounding castles by forcing them to surrender.”

It is easy for people who do not know much about war to mistakenly believe that when we occupy a city or castle, we do so by besieging and capturing each castle one by one.

Depending on the number of soldiers capable of protecting the castle, the morale of the allies, and the situation of the war, the lords of each castle decide whether to abandon the castle and run away or fight until allies arrive from the castle.

‘Honestly, even that Baron Sheikh would have retreated right away if Pappenheim had brought 2,000 men with him.’

From that perspective, it is natural to expect that if we defeat the enemy’s main army, the nobles who decided they cannot defend the castle will open their gates wide and welcome us.

Margrave Estelle sighed.

“However, due to an unexpected rainy season, the Mare River overflowed, making joining at Metz difficult. Therefore, the operation has changed, and this is how we will act from now on.”

Everyone, including me, brightened their eyes and focused at those words.

The Margrave immediately placed the blue wooden piece near Marseille, and it stuck together like a magnet on a refrigerator.

‘Is this the power of magic? Or did they use real magnets?’

After looking at it curiously for a moment, Estelle continued her explanation.

“According to what we have learned from our spies inside the Kingdom of Montmartre, the 20,000 left defenders sent from the Kingdom of Montmartre will move to Sedan through the Seine in a month. “Our troops plan to catch up and attack these guys before they join the main force.”

After hearing those words, one of the barons asked cautiously.

“Marquis, but the original order we received was to join us at Mez. But even if it is impossible for us to carry out orders on our own, is it okay for us to act as we please?”

The Count held out a letter with a seal in his arms and showed it to me.

“I sent Jeon Seo-gu to convey the general outline of this operation to His Excellency the Marquis, and permission was given, so there is no need to worry. There is also a reasonable reason why I decided to fight over 20,000 enemy soldiers with only 15,000.”

If Pappenheim had said this, I and other vassals would definitely have been scared.

Dalton must have prayed like this to Deus, who he doesn’t usually visit.

‘Please shut the mouth of that disaster.’

Because even though our Baron has 30,000 soldiers, he is so incompetent that he could be annihilated by 5,000 enemy soldiers.

However, Count Estelle’s words exuded sufficient persuasiveness and confidence.

“First of all, the enemy probably knows that we will join Mez. It doesn’t make sense now, but what if everything goes well as planned and we occupy and loot all the castles around Mez? “Put yourself in their shoes and think about the aftermath.”

The surrounding nobles thought for a moment, then shook their heads in agreement.

“Mez and its surroundings are a prosperous region that produces enormous amounts of food and materials and has numerous workshops. If that place is plundered, the morale and supply of our troops will improve, and their power will increase…”

“If we succeed in isolating the area around Mez Castle, the Mez Castle Gate may possibly be opened.”

“In addition, the King of Montmartre’s ability to respond to this situation will be questioned, and his position will be diminished.”

If the Margrave is the commander of the friendly army, I’m right, so it’s okay to just order him to follow, but he goes so far as to explain it in such detail.

‘There is a world of difference from a baron who takes advantage of other people’s public achievements.’

“So, those 20,000 troops are probably rushing towards us right now to prevent us from plundering and occupying the Meze, the large city of Montmartre, and the surrounding yellowish territory. And if you predict the path they will take…”

Estel Change Bag attached the red wooden piece to the bulletin board and then moved it by pushing it all the way to his left.

“It will go roughly like this. On this route, the closest place to Marseille will be the Seine Castle. Our troops will fight against the enemy here. “Is there anything you would like to suggest?”

With those words, Pappenheim came out with a sigh.

“Margrave Estelle, I have a good plan for Pappenheim!”

Does Estelle know Pappenheim’s abilities very well?

I noticed his eyebrows furrowing for a moment.

“Why don’t we carry out a surprise operation again this time? Since you have roughly predicted the enemy’s route, how about sending scouts there to find out the enemy’s march route and attack them?”

Hearing those words, the Count smiled empty-handed and sighed.

“Baron Pappenheim, your suggestion is very desirable. The Margrave thinks this is a somewhat hasty judgment. First of all, wouldn’t you be more wary of surprise attacks on the enemy since you already accomplished a feat of almost annihilating 5,000 troops at Pastek?”

When the Baron heard those words, he did not know what to do.

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‘Did that bastard go ahead with his plan without even thinking about it, and if it passed, did he even plan on stealing other people’s achievements?’

Really, this kid looks like a dwarf in some movie who is crazy about eating raw food.

“Yes.”

“Then there is a high probability that we will be caught attempting a surprise operation by the enemy. What do you think will happen after you get caught? “Do you think, Margrave Bonn, that if the enemy counterattacks, our troops will suffer great losses?”

“But if it succeeds…”

The Margrave sighed deeply.

“The odds of success are so slim, so slim. Moreover, this is not friendly territory, but enemy territory. So, we have to advance while keeping local citizens and serfs on guard, but is that possible?”

Pappenheim had no choice but to keep his mouth shut like a mute.

“Thank you, Margrave, but I think it would be better to fight them when they are exhausted from their hasty march.”

Pappenheim, who suffered more than 10 weeks of damage to his pride after being beaten all over his body with rational logic, said as if he were squeezing out.

“Then, please leave the vanguard to our Pappenheim unit. “I will show you better performance than I did during Pastek.”

Hearing those words, Margrave Estelle held his forehead and sighed.

“I really appreciate it, but I don’t think I can do that. After all, aren’t the Pappenheim regulars under your command suffering close to 35% losses during the last surprise attack and are in the process of reorganizing? In addition, it is said that many other mercenary units lost close to 20% of their soldiers on average.”

If more than 30% of soldiers are injured or killed in a war, it means that the unit can no longer fight on the battlefield.

Entering the war after losing nearly 20% of the soldiers is not much different from, with a bit of exaggeration, running a marathon on crutches.

“But, if Baron Hilder von Pappenheim commands his soldiers, I am sure they will repay you with more performance than you expected! Martin Mayer of the Whitebeard Mercenaries was able to play an active role in part because of his resourcefulness, but it was also largely because of my support that he was able to demonstrate his abilities.”

If you’re going to go crazy, you’re really going to go crazy. Why are you talking about such nonsense?

When he said that, the Count’s eyebrows narrowed and his eyes became sharp.

“Baron, come to your senses! It’s a 20% loss to your troops. It’s not brave, but foolish to step up and fight in such a situation. Therefore, the Margrave will resolutely reject that intention.”

“Ha…But…”

“I will respect your enthusiasm. However, apart from that, it is arrogant to go out and fight when you have already achieved great achievements and cannot fight! If a person is too greedy, he or she will ruin his or her life because of it. “Go away!”

When the Margrave, who had greater power and status than an ordinary earl, became angry, old Pappenheim had no choice but to put down his tail and retreat to his seat.

“… It was an opportunity to make my name known throughout the Rhine-Palatinate Empire…”

No, please shut up about this topic that you have not done anything other than take credit for all the achievements I gave you.

Also, how on earth do you command, and only 20% of the others die at most, but you are showing a miracle of annihilating your unit alone?

And then the Margrave turned his gaze towards Dalton.

“I heard that the Whitebeard mercenaries suffered small losses. From what I heard, I heard that we only lost about 5% of our troops, right?”

Perhaps because he was called so suddenly, Dalton looked a little embarrassed.

“Yes, that’s right.”

No matter how intense or unfavorable a battle is, the degree of loss and victory or defeat depend on the capabilities of the commander in charge.

As I said, Admiral Yi Sun-sin killed over a hundred Japanese soldiers in his first naval battle, the Battle of Okpo, but did not lose a single one of his allies.

“Okay, then, as of the current time, you will form a mercenary unit under my direct command under Baron Pappenheim.”

Then the Count looked towards me for a moment and said.

“I’m looking forward to it.”

The meeting lasted for several hours, and I was confident after seeing the reactions so far.

‘If the Margrave doesn’t trust Pappenheim, once this battle is over and his mercenaries gather their strength, he can kill the bastard.’