Around eleven at night, in the royal guard camp near Emis.
About thirty meters away from the command tent, there was a row of very ordinary tents.
Nobody would've thought that the first heir to the throne, Prince Hansbach, would be living in such a simple tent. It was also his personal office.
Prince Hansbach had not rested yet. He was standing in front of a table, looking at a gun on it. It was the newly equipped Rimodran soldiers had just received from the Ranger Camp that afternoon. It was a precision shooting gun.
"Captain Skri, what did Grandmaster Kerrado say about it?" asked the first prince.
A captain standing at the side replied: "Master Crillado believes that this is a product of the Sidinese Kingdom's Uora Gun Factory. It's an imitation of our Aubass Mark III standard musket, and it's used for accurate shooting.
For reasons known to all, the performance of their muskets lags far behind that of our kingdom, so that this gun is only half as good as the standard aubass mark III matchlock in terms of accuracy and continuous fire.
"But if they're equipped with this replica gun in large quantities, they might be able to use their defensive facilities as cover and deal heavy casualties to our soldiers when we attack."
If Claude could hear Skree's words, he would definitely be impressed that Master Crillado shared the same view as him. Great minds think alike.
Crown Prince Hansbach nodded and began to walk around the tent with his chin in his hand. Everyone in the tent stood still and did not make a sound.
As the first prince's attendants, they knew that the first prince was deep in thought. They were afraid that any noise would disrupt his train of thought.
After a long while, the first prince stopped and said in a soft but clear voice, "Looks like we'll have to attack earlier than planned. We might be able to catch the enemy off guard.
In any case, all of our armies have already been deployed. The Gryphon Legion has also concealed their tracks and changed into the uniforms of the second line armies.
Perhaps the Nasri generals didn't expect us to set a trap for them in Sidinske. "
The eldest prince stopped talking to himself and walked to the table where the gun was placed. He picked it up and tested its weight. "Who seized this gun?"
"It's a Sergeant Major called Claude. He brought a squad to carry out an ambush and wiped out a squad of Canas scouts. Then, they were ambushed by a squad of Rimodra soldiers. They fought back and wiped out nine of their enemies. They took the guns with them, but they lost more than half of their own men."
"Claude?
That name sounds familiar. I think I've heard it somewhere before. "
The prince frowned and thought for a moment before ordering, "Go get Lieutenant Colonel Rossler of the Ranger Battalion. No, get Captain Ledefonk here."
Captain Ledefonk was the officer in charge of logistics in the Ranger Camp. He was also a nail the eldest prince had planted in the camp.
His job wasn't to interfere with Rossler's day-to-day management of the camp. Instead, he was to record everything that happened in the camp and hand it over to the first prince so that he could observe the experimental unit from a bystander's point of view and come to a conclusion.
More than an hour later, after listening to Lieutenant Ledefonk's report, the eldest prince remembered who Claude was. "You mean that Sergeant Major Claude has a bad relationship with Rossler, and Rossler is afraid of him but can't do anything to him? At the same time, Rossler has the intention to frame and kill him and often orders him to carry out some difficult tasks, but Sergeant Major Claude can complete the tasks perfectly every time?"
"Yes, Your Highness.
In fact, more than a third of the soldiers in the upper camp trust Claude and are willing to follow him on ambush missions.
When we discuss among ourselves, we think that some of his suggestions are reasonable.
However, Lieutenant Colonel Rossler is against it and refuses to accept it.
We don't understand why Lieutenant Colonel Rossler wants to suppress Claude and doesn't even want to report his achievements.
I've recorded it and found that Claude has obtained the ID tags of nearly 70 enemies. Even though he only leads a small squad on missions, no one can deny that he's the archer with the highest number of kills in the camp.
However, Lieutenant Colonel Rossler refuses to acknowledge his achievements and distributes the ID tags to the soldiers who go with him. Actually, with Claude's achievements, he should've been promoted to second lieutenant long ago. "
"Do you think Lieutenant Colonel Rossler's actions are right or wrong?" asked the first prince curiously.
Captain Ledefonk shook his head. "I don't know, Your Highness. You sent me to the Ranger Camp with only my eyes and ears, not my mouth.
So, I'll only report what I see and hear to you. I won't comment on it. "
The first prince chuckled. "You've done well. I'm very satisfied.
Actually, the reason I gave this Ranger Camp to Lieutenant Colonel Rossler was because of his loyalty. He wholeheartedly carried out my orders and the missions I gave him without any hesitation.
As you all know, the reason I set up the Ranger Camp was to find a way to use the aubass mark 3 matchlock on the battlefield. It seems that Lieutenant Colonel Rossler has done a good job. At the very least, he has completed the mission I gave him. He has made it impossible for the enemy scouts to enter our territory and spy on us.
But as you all know, Lieutenant Colonel Rossler was born a commoner, so he doesn't have the magnanimity of a noble. He doesn't understand that he's only qualified as a leader if his subordinates are outstanding.
It's a simple principle, but he doesn't understand it.
He only wants to perform well and doesn't want his subordinates to overshadow him. Perhaps that's why he's been suppressing Claude.
How should I put it? Being born a commoner doesn't change his pettiness. Jealousy will stop him from becoming a true noble.
As for Claude, I have to admit that he's talented.
Unfortunately, he's too young. He's only 20 years old. That's why he's arrogant and often gets into conflict with Rossler. His temperament needs to be polished. Otherwise, promoting him now will only make him more arrogant and make him a thorn in the side of the army in the future.
So, let him endure under Rossler for a while. Put aside his achievements for now and promote him after this battle. "
Claude didn't know that the first prince's short speech had caused his achievements to be suppressed by Rossler in the camp.
But the attendants in the tent all cried out in admiration, "Your Highness is wise!"
The first prince smiled and said to Lieutenant Ledefonk, "Go tell Rossler that although Claude needs polishing, his reasonable suggestions must be accepted and implemented with an open mind.
By the way, I remember that Claude is an acting platoon jarl with the rank of sergeant major. Fill up his platoon tomorrow.
Let him continue to be an acting platoon jarl.
Since he's talented, we need to give him room to display his talents. Tell Rossler that Claude's platoon only needs to be given tasks in the future and doesn't need to be guided. All the training and tasks will be up to him.
I want to see how far he can take the platoon. Perhaps he'll give us an idea on how to use the Ranger Battalion.
Rossler turned the Ranger Battalion into a mercenary battalion. I think that's likely to be a detour.
On the contrary, I strongly agree with Grandmaster Crillado's evaluation that the Aubass Mark III standard musket will rely on the defensive facilities to provide a large amount of damage to the attacking enemy and reduce the casualties of our defending troops.
Perhaps we can try training a corps of recruits to specialize in using the Aubass Mark III matchlock to serve in a defensive role in battle.
Captain Skri, record this down and send an eagle message to the Ministry of War tomorrow. Let them choose one of the newly formed secondary corps and have them all be equipped with Aubass mark 3 matchlock muskets. Also, select a group of veteran soldiers with experience in defense to teach them. The most important thing is to teach them how to accurately aim and fire in a defensive battle. "
"Yes, Your Highness." Captain Skri saluted.
"Alright, disperse. It's getting late. There's a meeting every morning to discuss the preparations for the attack. Go get some rest." The first prince waved his hand to dismiss his attendants.
Claude didn't expect to be summoned to the battalion's office early in the morning. In front of Rossler, Lieutenant Ledefonk, who was in charge of logistics, gave him an order with a warm smile. He was to continue acting as a platoon jarl with the rank of sergeant major and fill up the platoon's personnel. He would be in charge of the platoon's training and missions in the future. He could get the required supplies and equipment from the logistics department.
From then on, he would be the one to decide who would carry out the missions and how they would be carried out.
The reason the higher-ups gave him such an order was because they wanted him to be part of the experimental unit. As he ranked first in the platoon, they wanted him to figure out an effective way to train the soldiers of the platoon. That way, he would be able to ascertain the future effectiveness of the platoon and its place in the kingdom's military.
Claude walked out of the office with a puzzled look on his face. The weird thing about the order was that Claude had to pick the soldiers he deemed suitable to be part of his platoon.
The problem was that he was only a sergeant major and could be a squad jarl. What did acting as a platoon jarl mean?
It wasn't like he was going to get a promotion and it was a fully staffed platoon with four squads. It wasn't like the previous garrison platoon that only had two and a half squads.
The only thing he could be sure of was that he would be able to bypass the mustachioed Rosler in the future and wouldn't have to listen to him anymore.
Just now, Liedefonk's words revealed that it was an order from the higher-ups. Everyone knew that the platoon was an experimental unit set up by the first prince. Didn't the higher-ups mean that the first prince himself gave the order?
There wouldn't be any specific instructions given in the future.
It meant that Claude would be sent to carry out certain missions, such as guarding a certain area or setting up an ambush. As for how to carry out the missions and which squads to send, that would be up to him to decide.
There wouldn't be any more ridiculous incidents like when Rosler ordered Claude to get ten enemy identity tags before he could return to camp.
Perhaps that was the biggest benefit. It meant that Claude was now the first prince's target of attention and Rosler wouldn't be able to target or suppress him anymore.
As for the issue of contribution points, Claude didn't know what the first prince meant by that. Was he purposely ignoring it or giving Rosler face? However, being able to act as a platoon jarl was already a great deal.
Just as Claude was busy setting up his platoon in the platoon, the war that had lasted for half a year flared up once more.
The Aueran army, under the command of the first prince, launched a fierce assault on the anti-Aueran alliance's defensive line. The Battle of Amelia Flatlands began with more than a million soldiers from both sides clashing on Amelia Flatlands. After the battle, Amelia Flatlands came to be known as the Bloody Fields by the survivors.
The Aueran army numbered 460,000 soldiers, consisting of seven corps and more than 30 battalions.
With the royal guard and two second-line corps as the vanguard, they launched a fierce attack on the anti-Aueran alliance that numbered 580,000.
Under the bombardment of close to 400 cannons, they easily tore through the defensive lines of Askilin, Rimodra and Canas and advanced towards the capital of Sidins, Efenasburg.