Chapter 1446: Chapter 24: Negotiations (Part 2)

“You might think that gathering all our forces together would be better for defense.

“But in fact, that would only lead us to be wiped out more quickly, all at once.

“In our current situation, abandoning the strongholds on the periphery and withdrawing all troops to Kingsfort is the most foolish act.

“If the enemy actually reached the walls of Kingsfort, not even four battalions, let alone eight, would make a difference.

“So the best scenario you can hope for is that the New Reclaimed Land Rebel Army will chew through the strongholds on the outskirts, wasting time on sieging them, thereby buying you a few more days to bring reinforcements from the homeland!

“That is assuming the enemy doesn’t get impulsively reckless and bypass the peripheral strongholds, directly coming at us.

“If I withdraw the troops, then I tell you, in the towns west of Kingsfort, there will be no gun or sword to stop the Paratu people from surrendering to the rebels.

“It’s possible that if I pull the troops back tonight, by the time you wake up in the morning, everything outside will have changed!

“Besides, don’t you intend to bluff the New Reclaimed Land Rebel Army with an empty show?

“If I pull the troops back, can your bluff hold up?

“The rebels will immediately see through it!”

By the end of William Lodewijk’s speech, he was nearly in tears: “Do you really think I want to leave my subordinates isolated in one stronghold after another, watching helplessly as they get wiped out?

“Isn’t it all to buy time for you and the Southern Army?!

“I’m begging you to let me go on a suicide mission now, don’t you get it, Commander!!!”

But Jansen Cornelius still politely and firmly demanded that Colonel Ludwick withdraw his forward-deployed troops.

The two departed on bad terms.

…

“I’m still worried about Colonel Ludwick,” Fritz said with an unshakeable concern furrowed on his brow, “Commander.”

“William Lodewijk is a competent soldier; he’ll be very angry, but he’ll obey orders,” Cornelius said indifferently, “No need to over-explain to him.”

“Yes…”

“But I still have to say it, Minister,” said Colonel Montekucoli seriously, “even if we gather Colonel Ludwick’s troops, we still have too few soldiers—for this city.

“Even Constantinople had eight thousand warriors. But we only have four battalions, and two of them are new recruits.

“Of course, we have four battalions of the Paratu People. But I really don’t know whether it’s better to have them or not.

“So, Minister, even without considering the forces possibly needed for monitoring the city’s movements, the walls of Kingsfort are too long for us.”

Cornelius, with his back to the others, gazed mesmerized into the distance and suddenly spoke: “Less than eight thousand.”

“Uh… what did you say?” Montekucoli didn’t immediately catch on.

“I said,” Cornelius turned around, glancing over his subordinates, including the artillery director, and corrected with a serious yet smiling demeanor, “Constantinople’s garrison, less than eight thousand.”

Cornelius recounted with relish, “According to the memoirs of the last Emperor of Rome’s secretary, there were only four thousand seven hundred seventy-three Greeks and fewer than three thousand foreigners in Constantinople’s garrison, so, Constantinople’s garrison was ‘less than eight thousand.’

“And of those, only those three thousand foreigners were truly militarily trained—which is quite similar to our situation.”

As a senior faculty member of the Alliance Army Academy, Montekucoli was long accustomed to his superior’s encyclopedic knowledge, to the point of being mildly irked by the Minister’s habit of quoting examples and throwing data around.

Thus, banking on his seniority, the head of the artillery teaching and research office retorted irritably in front of others: “Even less than eight thousand is more than we have now! And don’t forget, Constantinople eventually fell!”

Cornelius, ever tolerant with those he admired, patiently countered:

“But the enemy we deal with is not as ‘numerous as the stars’ as the Flemish. The walls of Kingsfort, too, are shorter than those of Constantinople.

“Have faith, Raymond. Most fortresses are breached from within, and a stronghold falls mostly from losing heart.”

Montekucoli snorted slightly: “Confidence alone will not help us hold Kingsfort.”

“That’s why I’ve also brought your cannons,” Cornelius answered calmly.

The artillery director appreciated this and stopped making sarcastic remarks.

“Indeed, our forces are too few for the walls of Kingsfort,” Cornelius first affirmed the artillery director’s conclusion, then shifted his tone, “So we can’t rely on the walls, and it’s difficult to expect these stone and mortar walls to hold for long under heavy artillery fire.”

Cornelius pointed to the fields outside the walls of New Town: “Therefore, we must hold firm outside the walls— we need to build an outpost here, and also build another outside the Old Town.”

Montekucoli folded his arms, measuring the land with his eyes, silently estimating the construction time.

Building fortifications outside the walls was one of the several plans repeatedly discussed between Montekucoli and Cornelius in advance.

Other plans included but were not limited to: directly building a polygonal bastion on the foundation of the walls, completely encompassing the walls with triangular forts and trenches, and fortifying New Town.

However, the reality, which was worse than expected, ruled out other plans for the strategists of the Southern Front.

The Paratu Grand Council now only had four battalions available.

Two of these battalions belong to the Fifth and Sixth Battalions’ garrison troops, the weakest part of the two legions—but still the best of this thin gruel.

Because the remaining two battalions are from the temporary “strong” men recruited by Grof Magnus from the city’s poor and unemployed, after the news of the Battle of River Valley Village reached Kingsfort, with questionable combat strength and loyalty.

As for the local troops—village militias, county defense teams, and city guards, they no longer respond to orders or commands and are completely out of Kingsfort’s control.

The Southern Front now has to defend not only against external enemies but also against internal traitors.

So of all the envisioned plans, only building an additional outpost outside the city remains feasible.

Because an independent outpost can block external artillery and also defend against backstabbing.

“Not enough!” Montekucoli concluded decisively, “Two outposts are not enough!”

He pointed to Riverheart Island upstream of River Shijian: “There, a fort also needs to be built.”

Everyone present was a bit confused because Riverheart Island is some distance from the urban area, and it’s very barren, with almost nothing valuable except for a monastery and an already abandoned Summer Palace.

“Two outposts, plus the walls, our forces are already stretched thin, do we need to spread them even more?” Fritz cautiously objected, recalling the archives he reviewed before departing, “I don’t recall any records of battles over the island in Kingsfort’s military history—the Paratu People also do not defend it.”

“The Paratu don’t defend it because they are Paratu,” the artillery director glanced at the major, “but we are not Paratu, and the New Reclaimed Land Rebel Army are not Hurders.

“Hurders could have a hundred trebuchets on the island and still not land a wool thread here. But as long as the New Reclaimed Land Rebel Army sets up a heavy cannon there, they can bombard Kingsfort without restriction.

“Most importantly, they will be able to block the river and restrict our warships’ movements.”

“Times have changed, just watch,” Montekucoli curled his lips, “from now on, Magit Island is the new meat grinder.”

“Will there be enough time?” Cornelius asked calmly.

Montekucoli frowned, telling an artillery joke, “How many ladles does it take to empty the Inner Sea? Doesn’t it depend on how big the ladle is? Will there be enough time? Doesn’t it depend on when the New Reclaimed Land Rebel Army arrives?

“Get Grof Magnus to gather all the laborers he can find, and I’ll do my best.”

Cornelius nodded, then looked at another handsome young officer:

“Whether there’s enough time or not, it depends on how well your negotiations go.”

…

[One day earlier]

[During the private conversation between Jansen Cornelius and William Lodewijk]

“What makes you so confident?” William Lodewijk was almost roaring, “Will the rebels definitely negotiate with you?”

“Because,” Cornelius answered coldly, “I have something they can’t do without.”