"I believe the three of you have never been out of the army before, right?" Claude asked calmly as he looked at the aggressive Darrick.
The captain seemed a little annoyed. "I don't think that has anything to do with us.
Captain Claude, you can deny Lieutenant Haritchik's calculations, but you can't deny that 1st Ranger Tribe wasted rations. "
"No, I won't admit that 1st Ranger Tribe wasted rations in any way."
Claude looked at the three captains and turned to Lieutenant-Colonel Wali on his left. "Lieutenant-Colonel, can you guarantee that the three of them are official officers of the kingdom?
I suspect that they are impersonating officers, so I'd like to request an investigation.
At the same time, I would like to check your proof of identity. Please forgive me, but this matter is too strange, so I have no choice but to be cautious. "
"You … How dare you!"
Darrick was a little flustered and furious. Claude actually suspected their identities as officers. That was the biggest insult to him.
"Lieutenant-Colonel Durioro, you are a witness. Do you think there's anything wrong with my suspicions?"
Claude asked Durioro, who was behind him. This was actually the territory of the garrison camp's commandant.
"No, your suspicions are correct. I'm also suspecting their identities.
As official officers of the kingdom, there's no one who doesn't know the rules of war, yet the three of them seem to know nothing about it.
If the staff officers of frontline command are only at their level, I can only be pessimistic about the future of the royal army, "Durioro said as he opened the door to summon the guards.
"Wait, wait, Lieutenant-Colonel Claude, Lieutenant-Colonel Durioro, this is just a small misunderstanding." Lieutenant-Colonel Wali had lost his composure and hurried over to stop them with sweat beading on his forehead.
Claude and Durioro looked at each other and immediately understood that something was amiss.
Claude was intentionally causing a scene, while Durioro was just going with the flow. The two of them didn't mind giving the four nobles who claimed to be from frontline command a hard time.
"Please stay where you are!"
Claude warned, "Lieutenant Colonel Wali, please show me your ID and military ID. Otherwise, I'll assume you're in cahoots with these three imposters!"
"You are the liar! How dare you frame the three of us nobles!" Captain Darrick was furious and berated him.
However, it seemed more like he was bluffing.
"Whether I'm a liar or not, you know it in your hearts. Now, please show me your identification and military officer IDs!"
Captain Duriolo walked forward, and a small group of guards entered behind him, filling the office to the brim.
"We, we didn't bring any identification. Our military IDs are all at the frontline command center. You can follow us back to get them …" The face of the bespectacled, horse-faced first lieutenant named Halychik instantly turned pale.
"You didn't bring your ID or your military ID?
Hehe, if you didn't bring anything, then why are you here on official business?
Arrest him! "
Duriolo ordered the soldiers behind him before turning to Claude. "Brother, you're the best. You've seen through their mask so quickly.
I was wondering why there were people who didn't even know the military regulations during wartime and actually used such a retarded excuse to make things difficult for you. What the hell … "
His arms had already been twisted to the back by the guards, and the arrogant first lieutenant named Sydes was still unconvinced. "What's so strange about not knowing the military regulations during wartime? Our frontline command center is so busy that it's normal for us to forget such a small matter.
On the other hand, the two of you actually dared to offend your superiors. Just wait to be dealt with by military law.
I swear I won't let the two of you off … "
Captain Duriolo laughed heartily as he walked over. He raised his hand and gave the kid a slap, directly sending his cap flying.
Then, he grabbed his hair and pulled it to the left, causing the kid to cry out in pain.
"Kid, you won't let me off? Hehe, I won't let you off either.
Do you know?
You probably don't know what kind of crime it is to impersonate an official of the kingdom, do you? It's a crime punishable by death and might even implicate your family.
As for the military regulations during wartime, if you think it's a small matter, open your dog eyes wide and see that it's hanging on the wall in front of you!
Look carefully. The second part is about logistics. Every soldier must be provided with sufficient food and three meals a day. There's a set amount for each meal and those on duty at night will be given extra meals. That's an important guarantee for the Royal Army to maintain its fighting strength. It's also a regulation issued by frontline command center to every unit.
If you don't even know that, where did you get the courage to impersonate an official of the kingdom to make things difficult for Captain Claude? "
Duriolo let go of his hair and waved to the guards. "Take them away and lock them up. I'll deal with them when I have time."
Captain Duriolo turned around with a sinister smile on his face. "Mr. Lieutenant Colonel, please prove your identity and show me your military ID."
Lieutenant Colonel Wally's face was pale and his body was trembling. Large beads of sweat could be seen on his forehead.
No matter what, he was already involved in the matter of impersonating an official of the kingdom and couldn't get out of it.
"I-I have identification. I-I'm an official military officer of the kingdom. No, I'm not an imposter …" Lieutenant Colonel Waoli unbuttoned his uniform with trembling hands and took out his military identification and identification documents from his inner pocket.
Durioro took the ID and Claude saw it clearly. It was an official military ID of the kingdom. But when he opened it, he only gave it a glance and ordered, "Arrest him!"
"No, I'm an official of the kingdom! I'm a lieutenant colonel! You can't arrest me …" Wally fell limp to the ground and started howling.
"I can't arrest you?"
Duriolo waved the identification document in his hand. "You're Lieutenant Colonel Wally, right? You're indeed an official of the kingdom. But the problem is, why would someone in charge of the warehouse impersonate an officer of the frontline command? I don't think it's an issue with the military law, right?
You should just stay here and wait for your superiors to investigate you! "
"No … …" Lieutenant Colonel Wally was dragged out by the two guards like a dead pig.
Captain Duriolo waved his hand, and two scribes walked over. They had already recorded everything that had happened.
They handed the documents to Claude and Duriolo after they signed them and left. Only the two of them were left in the office.
"Hahaha …" Captain Duriolo laughed heartily, his face full of joy: "Brother, this is a very good opportunity for us.
The nobles made a wrong move. I really don't understand what they were thinking. They actually gave us such a huge hold on us. "
"Opportunity?
Hold on us? "
Claude still couldn't figure out what was going on. He had originally suspected the identity of the four officers and wanted to embarrass them.
He didn't think that Duriolo would accept the matter so easily and even look so happy.
"Don't you understand?"
Duriolo knew Claude's situation well. He knew that Claude was a peasant from a small town and didn't know much about the politics and politics of the upper class.
He was in a good mood and could explain it to Claude in detail.
"Brother, I can only say that you're really lucky. I don't know what the nobles at frontline command are thinking. They actually let a lieutenant colonel in charge of the warehouse impersonate someone from the military law department and brought three nobles pretending to be staff officers to cause trouble for 1st Ranger.
If we hadn't seen through them, nothing would've happened. But now that they've been discovered and arrested, this isn't good news for the nobles at all.
This will become a serious matter that will cause a huge uproar in the royal court and the ministry of the army. Many people involved will be implicated as well.
Impersonating a military post and impersonating an official officer of the kingdom was a very serious crime. Regardless of whether the other party was a noble or a commoner, the punishment would range from execution to ten years of hard labor. Furthermore, there was no possibility of pardon.
I suspect that the nobles at frontline command have gotten too carried away with their actions because there's no one to control them. How could they have made such a huge mistake?
What we need to do now is to immediately publicize this matter. The more people who know about this, the better. If those noble officers want to save these people, they will have to pay a high price. Perhaps we can make some requests for them to do so … "
Claude wasn't interested in how Duriolo, the representative of the new nobles, was scheming against the nobles at frontline command. He had always believed that living a simple life was the best way to make one's life more relaxed and happy.
But that didn't mean that he didn't understand it. He just couldn't be bothered to care about it.
"Then, can we use these unlucky fakes to force the nobles to release Major Skri?" That was the only thing he cared about at the moment.
"Uh …" Captain Duriolo thought for a moment and shook his head: "That's impossible. The noble officers were instructed by the old noble families behind them. They wanted to use Major Skri's incident to meddle in the division of benefits in the newly conquered territory. They wanted to suppress the rise of the civilian officers in the Royal Army. They also wanted to seize the investment from the nobles in the newly conquered territory and force the Royal Family to start anew in the military industry that they monopolized.
If I want them to give up on their plans and release Major Skri for the sake of these unlucky fellows whose identities were exposed by me, then they might as well just give up on these noble children.
They can compromise, but the price they have to pay has to match their bottom line.
I have to go and interrogate them immediately to see how much these unlucky bastards' identities and family backgrounds are worth. "
"Alright, I'll leave this matter to you. I'll wait for your news." Claude nodded.
Early the next morning, Captain Duriolo sent someone to invite Claude over. He looked exhausted and probably hadn't slept all night.
"The matter has been investigated," Duriolo said as he pointed to a file on the table. "Sydes Van Lulmke, 23 years old. Corporal, bodyguard of First Lieutenant Henderlier of the Logistics Management Department.
Darik San Krenzot, 28 years old. Staff sergeant, bodyguard of First Lieutenant Metz of the Communication Management Department.
Harik Ro Wodeoni, 26 years old. He's an officer, but only an honorary lieutenant. He's not an official officer of the kingdom. He's a refugee relief worker from Rimodra.
Do you see that? Van Lulmke, San Krenzot and Ro Wodeoni are all old noble houses. Even though they aren't the best, they're still in the middle.
Due to the war that engulfed the entire eastern part of the continent, they had no choice but to send their children into the military.
But they used tricks to let the noble officers who had roots in the army choose their children as guards, or pay for honorary military titles to be in charge of local affairs. This way, their children could avoid the fate of being sent to the battlefield.
As for that Lieutenant-Colonel Waoli, he's a maggot without any foundation in the logistics department. He has some connections with the military industries of the old noble houses, so he's always cozying up to them.
This time, he volunteered to bring the three nobles here to take down a knighthood like you and improve his future. "
Claude flipped through the file. The four unlucky fellows' confessions were more or less the same as what Duriolo said.
"I'm a little curious. Did the noble officers at Frontline Command allow them to pass themselves off as officers when they first arrived?" Claude asked.
Duriolo laughed heartily. "I have to admit that you're quite lucky, Brother Claude.
Truth be told, the noble officers at Frontline Command really didn't know anything about it. Firstly, they were busy taking over the so-called enemy's assets. That was a huge matter that would make their own pockets bulge. They wouldn't do it through the hands of others and couldn't find the time to do it.
Another reason was Major Skree's stubbornness. He insisted that the evacuation of Count Krylaus' castle was his own idea and that the rest of 1st Ranger Battalion was only carrying out his orders as their superior.
As he shouldered all the responsibility alone, the noble officers couldn't do anything about it even if they wanted to. They couldn't even find a reason to drag you down with them.
The four unlucky fellows were involved in the noble officers' plot and knew that you were on the list of commoners they wanted to deal with. They hoped to use you to implicate Lieutenant-Colonel Ledefonk, who was in charge of the military industry in the three southern prefectures.
So, they came here without the noble officers' knowledge, thinking that they would be able to force you to submit by pretending to be a staff officer of Frontline Command. That way, they would be able to show off in front of the noble officers.