CHAPTER 563: CHAPTER 541: SPRING OFFENSIVE?

February 18th, the first day of spring in the 1446 agricultural calendar.

On this day, with the unanimous consent of 55 senior monks of the Juanist Faction, Martin Calvin became the new Abbot of Blago Monastery.

After all, most of the powerful figures of the Juanist Faction were locked in the dungeons of Shelley City, so according to protocol and seniority, Martin was next in line.

Yet everyone knew that the decisive factor lay not with those casting the votes, but with those in the observer’s seats.

As the senior Juanist monks wrote down names and waited for the votes to be announced, there was always someone stealing glances at the absent-minded Saint Son Horn in the observation seat.

He sat with his legs crossed, expressionless and lost in thought, betraying no hint of the formidable War God Pope he was known to be.

With the brewing and promotion over this period, the saying of the Twin Jewels of Thousand River Valley has been subtly spreading in Kasha County, including Lower Reif County.

As for who these Twin Jewels are, it’s naturally Moliat and Horn.

The people of Kasha County have a very complex view of these Twin Jewels.

On one hand, the people of Kasha County realize that currently in Thousand River Valley, only these two can lead to victory and independence, and both hail from a branch of the Juanist Faction, supposedly their saviors.

Yet on the other hand, both of them are uncharacteristically radical.

Whether it’s Moliat’s advocacy for monarchial autocracy and militarized governance, or Horn’s push for a theocratic egalitarian land redistribution, they both would undermine the "orthodox Juanist Faction’s" interests.

Many narrow-minded citizens find it laughable, haven’t the Juanist Faction’s proposals of public ownership of church property already damaged the orthodox faction’s interests?

The orthodox faction finds the Juanist Faction too radical, while the Juanist Faction finds the Holy Path Faction and Moliat too radical.

It’s just that with the current circumstances, the Juanist Faction, no matter how dissatisfied, cannot voice it.

Given the current situation where Shelley City and more than half of Kasha County have fallen, whatever they say feels somewhat lacking in confidence.

Moreover, considering the terrifying Cheka and gendarmerie in Saint Son’s hands, for their own safety, they have to maintain a cautious demeanor in front of Horn’s daily smiling face.

When the senior monks left the city hall of Xiaochi City, upon turning back, they still saw the lone figure of the young pope.

Just before the door closed, many senior monks swear they saw the new Abbot kneeling in allegiance to Saint Son.

This is actually nonsense; the Salvation Army has long abandoned such allegiance rituals.

"Why is it that I, a thirty-year-old monk, have become the Abbot of Blago Monastery?" Martin asked Horn with helplessness and distress, "I don’t even know how to govern a county."

"Don’t worry, I’ll help you."

This is the true allegiance ceremony within the Salvation Army.

A relieved Martin sat across from Horn: "What happened during the voting? You seemed absent-minded."

"This morning, I received urgent messages from the Hotam County rebels and the Gray Horse Knights," Horn rubbed his temples, "Three days ago, Prince Kongdai set out with nearly ten thousand troops and should have besieged Sentry Fort by now."

"What?" Martin exclaimed, taking the letter from Horn and began reading quickly.

Upon receiving this information, Horn had to admit that Lakunio was a difficult opponent.

The timing was perfect.

The Salvation Army always regarded the Papal Order as their adversary, but never considered Prince Kongdai a major enemy.

With the war progressing and internal discussions, the Imperial Cardinals have realized that Prince Kongdai rarely has plans or strategic thinking.

He always takes it step by step, knowing how to win battles but not what to fight and why.

So he always wins, wins, wins, only to lose everything in the end.

When the Old Pope Johnny VIII was still around, he could hide his nature and complete some famous battles.

After the Old Pope and Mizam’s deaths, this imperial general, having lost his advisors and constraints, began a series of blunders.

Perhaps the ancestors of the Golden Finch Family didn’t want to see their descendants fall, and sent him this old captain Lakunio.

Though unknown, Horn found him much stronger than Prince Kongdai, or filling the prince’s greatest shortcoming.

Martin quickly finished reading all the messages and asked anxiously, "Having received the news, why didn’t they flee?"

Horn shook his head, "They say it’s a surprise attack, where can they flee to? Do you really think they’d abandon their offensive just because we said so?

Frankly, being able to retreat into the castle after the Papal Order’s surprise attack, that must have been Lakunio’s intention—choosing to lay siege to attract aid.

As for this reinforcements, it’s likely to be Moliat, who is closer, rather than us.

Prince Kongdai is quite confident, hoping to first deal with Moliat, and then turn back to wipe us out, isolated and without aid."

Lakunio’s plan was clear to Horn and sounded simple enough.

In essence, it was about sending a side army into Kasha County to engage the Salvation Army, freeing up a hand to deal with Moliat.

High-end warfare often only requires simple strategies because the more complex the steps, the higher the chances of mistakes.

Lakunio first requested reinforcements from Thorn Garden, then sent people to assassinate Ludvik.

Taking advantage of Ludvik’s death and the chaos in Kasha County, he led the Thorn Garden army in to force the spare Salvation Army troops into defensive positions in Kasha County.

Though Horn was now clear about Prince Kongdai’s movements, allowing him to confidently strategize in Kasha County, he couldn’t partake in this battle determining the fate of Thousand River Valley.

The Salvation Army, from attacking and capturing cities, would take at least half a month just to reach Shelley City, and taking down Shelley City might take another half a month or even longer.

This timeline drags on to a month and a half or even two months.

Seeking help from the Black Snake Bay People or the Falans was even less reliable; the back-and-forth would take even more time.

By that time, it would be too late.

"Didn’t the Hotam County rebels say that the Hotam County nobles had a fallout with Prince Kongdai? Can’t we exploit this?" Martin asked, pointing at the letter’s contents.

"It’s difficult," Horn shook his head, his voice echoing in the spacious meeting hall, "If fence-sitters were willing to tear up with one side, would they still be fence-sitters?

Had Prince Kongdai executed Count Gelinon when he captured him, they would have been cornered.

Although entering the army was a road to death for Gelinon, but being openly hanged is different from dying incidentally in battle.

They, at most, will only dare to sneak in small actions on the side; true rebellion? Unless all hope is lost, otherwise, they lack the courage."

Horn couldn’t pass Damp Dock to the west nor cross Deer Horn Town to the north.

The forces of Kasha County, if not returned, couldn’t be united to confront Prince Kongdai.

If the forces returned, the South Nao’an River defensive line would fall, and there would be instability at the back.

This was likely Lakunio’s prediction of Horn’s next move.

Horn almost wanted to applaud him, but his only miscalculation was the Salvation Army’s ability to recruit and speed of deployment.

The Defensive Army might not be able to stop the knights led by Puzilio outright, but they were more than enough to hinder their attack.

Although it didn’t break out of the constraints Lakunio set for them, it gave more room for maneuver.

"Martin, you’ve lived in Kasha County for a long time, if we retreat, can the local Juanist Faction forces handle those Land Servants on their own?"

Martin showed an awkward smile, coughed, and stifled his words.

"Alright, I’ll order the recruitment of 2000 Defensive Army soldiers to bolster the South Nao’an River line, leaving two Black Crown Battle Groups to coordinate with the local forces, which should be enough to resist Puzilio’s attack."

With such arrangements, the remaining Guard Battle Group could move north to attack Deer Horn Town.

With determination, if we exhaust all remaining Dragon’s Breath and push a strong offense, accounting for marching time, we should reach the outskirts of Sentry Fort in about three weeks.

Although the condition may be poor by then, at least there’s still Moliat as an ally.

So, the following issues are down to just two:

First, whether the Salvation Army’s pace of attacking Deer Horn Town can be faster than Puzilio’s assault on the South Nao’an River.

Second, whether Moliat can hold Prince Kongdai long enough until the Salvation Army’s arrival.

Horn couldn’t help but reflect.

Plans change faster than we’d like. What was supposed to be a grand summer counteroffensive now had to be pushed forward to a spring counteroffensive!