Since Shiks would no longer be a threat to the war theatre in the next six months, why would the ministry of the army send a major-general to take over his post and bring a folk of royal guard with him? What was their goal?
Were they going to hide the bow when the birds were gone?
Claude shook his head slightly. That was impossible.
Ever since he took over as the war theatre's highest commanding officer, he had been following the rules and hadn't done anything out of the ordinary.
Not to mention, he had just done a great service for the kingdom by wiping out three of Shiks' main corps.
If the ministry of the army really wanted to deal with him, there was no need for them to make such a big fuss. They could've just ordered him to return to the royal capital to report on his duties.
Besides, sending a high-ranking general of the kingdom to bring an Imperial Guard Division to deal with him was overestimating him.
This was only a colony of Nubissia. For the high-ranking figures of the kingdom, being sent there was no different from being exiled.
How else would he have become the highest commanding officer of the war theatre as a mere major-general and honorary baron? While Marshal Michelic's recommendation was one thing, the fact that the high-ranking figures of the kingdom weren't willing to take up the post was another important factor.
From another perspective, if he wasn't dealing with me or any of the senior generals in the theater of operations, did that General Aljes Kai Osmolin, the hereditary earl, offend a powerful figure in the capital when he came to the theater of operations? Was he really exiled here as I guessed?
That wasn't very likely. If he was really exiled, he wouldn't have the authority to bring a folk of royal guard with him.
Claude started flipping through the newspapers Weyblon brought him from the royal capital and handwritten gossip. It was obvious that the newspapers were all official articles. While the news about the other kingdoms were in dire straits, the news about his own kingdom was all positive and thriving.
News about the great victory of the third colonial war took up most of the pages. Claude suddenly found himself with dozens of lovers and more than ten illegitimate children.
Headlines like 'My Past with the General' and 'The Kingdom's Bravest General' filled the third page of the papers. It was nothing more than some beautiful young noble lady reminiscing about the wonderful times she had spent with Claude.
Or perhaps some famous lady in the royal capital recalled how she fell in love with General Claude at first sight at a certain ball and promised to marry him. However, the general left for the colonies to serve the country and the two were forced to part ways …
Claude roared, "Can I sue these newspapers for defamation?"
Weyblon sipped his tea leisurely while he waited for Claude to finish reading the newspapers and handwritten documents he had brought.
Hearing Claude's question, he raised his eyebrows without batting an eyelid. "You can't win …"
"Why?" Claude was surprised.
Mr. Weyblon put down his teacup. "It's simple. The third page of every newspaper has a general name. Look at the tiny line at the top. It says that all articles on this page are made up by the people. Any similarities are purely coincidental, and the newspaper is not responsible.
Therefore, the third page of the newspaper was also called the rumor page.
It said that it was just a rumor. If you were to sue it, it would become a joke.
It's not like no one has ever sued them before, but none of them won.
For example, look at that lady reminiscing about the wonderful times she had with Claude. Even though you don't know this lady, she knows another Claude. She's not talking about you. You're just sharing the same name.
Also, that famous socialite said that she gave birth to an illegitimate child for General Claude. That's even simpler. The name of the man she knows is General Claude, not Claude. So, you're suing her because you misunderstood … "
Huh?
Is that even possible? Claude was speechless.
However, the tidbits of news in the newspaper made him feel a lot less worried.
Truth be told, the newspapers in the royal capital didn't have much value. It would be better to analyze the truth from the gossip in the papers.
Claude started reading the documents Mr. Weyblon brought him. They were all private gossip in the royal capital and were much more useful than the ones in the papers.
For example, General Aljess Kay Osmolin's appointment to the war theatre was mentioned in the documents as well. Even the ranks of the royal guard he brought with him were recorded in detail.
What was noteworthy was that there were some personnel changes in the royal guard before they set off. Dozens of high-ranking officers from old noble families joined the royal guard.
Apart from that, there was no other news about General Aljess Kay Osmolin and the royal guard.
Claude looked at Mr. Weyblon and asked, "Your association already knows that General Aljess Kay Osmolin is coming to the war theatre to take up the post of commander-in-chief. Do you have any more information about him?"
Mr. Weyblon smiled. "General, I came here tonight to let you know that some news can't be spread on paper, lest others use it against us. We can only spread it by word of mouth.
Out of my mouth, into your ears. Outside, I won't admit that I said these words.
Actually, General Aljess Kay Osmolin only has one goal in coming to the war theatre. He wants to lead all the troops in the war theatre to attack Port Vebator and take over all the Shiksan colonies on Nubissia to end the colonial war and pave the way for his promotion to grand marshal. "
Claude came to a sudden realization.
He had been wondering why the ministry of the army took so long to report the results of the third colonial war and delayed it for more than two months. So it turned out that the ministry of the army was paying attention to Shiks' reaction.
Naturally, the ministry of the army was able to analyse what he found out from the articles in the newspapers of the neighbouring kingdoms.
After receiving the conclusion that Shiks wouldn't be able to provide military support to the colonies on Nubissia within half a year to a year, the ministry of the army decided to end the endless colonial war.
Claude recalled what Bolonik had told him about Aljess Kai Osmolin. He was the best general in the kingdom in terms of positional warfare. No matter what kind of stronghold or castle it was, he would be able to take them all.
The only regret was that the troops under his command would suffer heavy casualties …
The kingdom wanted to end the colonial war with Shiks. Given that Shiks refused to negotiate, the best way was to give them an eye for an eye and take over all the Shiksan colonies on Nubissia.
Without their colonies, Shiks would have no foothold and would no longer be able to send their troops to Nubissia to fight for supremacy.
Perhaps they could send Seaking to harass them in the future, but the pirates would only need to set up some cannons at the ports to deal with them. They wouldn't be able to occupy any territory if they couldn't get ashore.
That was why General Aljess Kay Osmolin came to take up the post with a folk of the royal guard. He was worried that he wouldn't be able to command the five folk in the war theatre and needed a trusted force to supervise them.
As the former commander of the Imperial Guard Corps, he was able to easily get the Ministry of the Army to dispatch a division of troops.
"By the way, you mentioned that General Aljess Kay Osmolin wants to be promoted to the position of grand marshal?" Claude asked.
Weyblon nodded. "That's his only chance. After all, the kingdom is still at war in our war theatre, so this is the only place where he can earn merit.
In the Eastern Regional War five years ago, General Aljes Kai Osmolin commanded the Imperial Guard to attack the Principality of Rimodra. The battle lasted for three months, and although they made some progress, the Imperial Guard and the secondary corps that assisted in the attack suffered heavy casualties.
Prince Hansbach had no choice but to let the royal guard rest and remove him from his post.
Given the intensity of his attacks, the kingdom would have to pay at least a million casualties by the time they conquered Rimodra. That was a price no one could afford to pay.
Because of this, General Aljes Khai Osmolin was unable to become the kingdom's Field Marshal during the war in the Eastern Region.
This time, he volunteered to take on the role of field marshal in order to take Port Vebator and gain merit to be promoted to grand marshal. "
Claude gave it some thought. "Does that mean that General Aljess Kay Osmolin isn't one of the first prince's men?"
Weyblon smiled. "General, the general who will be taking over your post isn't one of Prince Hansbach's men to begin with. He's a representative of the older noble houses in the kingdom's military.
They're neutral in the fight for the throne and don't support either the first or second prince.
Our association believes that he was chosen to replace you as the Supreme Commander of the Theater of Operations mainly because he saw this opportunity.
Port Vebator is only defended by a single Shiksan corps at the moment. He's confident that he can take down the walls and take the entire city. It's just that he'll suffer some casualties. "
If Claude hadn't led Thundercrash to wipe out three of Shiks' standing corps, Aljess Kay Osmolin would've stayed in the royal capital to enjoy his life instead of rushing over to fight for merit.
The high general's plan was quite worth it. Shiks couldn't provide any military support at the moment and there was only a single folk left in Port Vebator.
With his own Royal Guard division and the five reinforced divisions, he had about three corps in total. The difference in strength between offense and defense was about three to one, which was more than enough to take down Port Vebator.
Even if the enemy's defences were boosted by Seaking's fleet, it wouldn't matter. It would only result in more casualties.
As long as he could take down the walls, the entire city would fall into his hands.
All he wanted was the achievement of taking down the city. With that, he could be promoted to the position of a marshal and return to the royal capital, leaving behind a mess for the theatre to clean up.
What Claude was considering was whether he should attack Port Vebator before Khai Osmolin arrived. That way, the general who wanted to be promoted to grand marshal wouldn't be able to make a wasted trip.
However, he quickly dismissed the idea. It wasn't that he couldn't take down Port Vebator, but that there was no need to offend the veteran nobles of the military.
Another reason was that he was worried that if he led Thundercrash to attack Vebator, the high-spirited general would be left to fend for himself.
If he could lead his troops to capture Port Vebator, then he would be promoted to a marshal and return to the royal capital without a hitch.
But if he came and found out that Port Vebator had already been taken down, he would definitely see him as a thorn in his side.
Not to mention, without the achievement of taking down the city, he wouldn't be able to be promoted to a marshal. Who knew how long he would have to stay in his post?
It was obvious that as long as he stayed in his post, he would definitely make things difficult for Claude. It was Claude's fault for destroying his dream of being promoted to a marshal.
That was all Claude could think of.
But now that he knew why Aljess Kay Osmolin was here, Claude breathed a sigh of relief.
Thundercrash was a light cavalry field corps anyway. Even though they won the third colonial war, they suffered heavy casualties. A third of the soldiers were still recovering in the infirmary and the thousands of soldiers who had died hadn't been replenished yet.
When the general arrived, he would receive an official order from the ministry of the army to form Thundercrash. That way, he would be able to avoid the general who was eager to make a contribution and go to Wickhamsburg to organize his troops. There would be no need for him to stay in HQ and listen to orders.
"By the way, my friend, do you have any news for me?" Claude asked Weyblon with a smile as he leaned back in his chair.
"Yes, General."
This time, Weyblon was more alert. He put down the teacup in his hand and stood up from the sofa. He went to his desk and said in a hushed voice, "There's news from the royal capital. It's said that His Majesty will only last another four to five months before he returns to Wargod's kingdom."
"What?" Claude was stunned. "Is that true?"
How many years has Stellin X been bedridden?
Claude had truly forgotten about it. After the eastern war, it was said that His Majesty wasn't in good health and was bedridden. He entrusted the kingdom's affairs to the first prince, the prime minister, and the ministers.
It had been almost eight years now and everyone was used to His Majesty being bedridden. He didn't expect to hear that he would die in a few months.
"It's true. The source of the news can't be revealed, but it's reliable.
His Majesty suffered a stroke in the second half of last year. He can't even speak clearly and his mind fluctuates between clear and muddled.
It's said that the ministers' greatest wish is for His Majesty to appoint a prince as his successor before he passes away so that the two princes won't fight and ruin the kingdom's situation. "
Claude shook his head. "What right does the second prince have to fight the first prince? The first prince has been handling the kingdom's affairs while His Majesty was bedridden. He's done a good job already.
Also, the army is on the first prince's side. I think it'll be better if the second prince admits defeat. Otherwise, the first prince might exile him to another kingdom after he succeeds. "
Mr. Vybator laughed. "General, you can't be so sure. Many of the kingdom's higher-ups are against the crown prince's succession. At least, the navy has been opposing the army. Also, five months ago, when you were on the battlefield, there was an assassination attempt on the crown prince's life in the capital.
The eldest prince was fine, but Marshal Michaelic, who was with him, was severely injured and was still recuperating.
The assassins were captured on the spot, but they managed to find an opportunity to commit suicide by poisoning themselves.
The enraged first prince ordered his guards to chop the assassins into meat paste and throw them into a cesspit. He then ran to the second prince's manor and caused a huge ruckus. The second prince swore that he wasn't the one who ordered the assassins and that he wouldn't send them to harm his family.
Only then did the first prince let him go. However, many people thought that the future king of the kingdom shouldn't be so rash. "