I will be crowned king

Chapter 346 The Curse of Carl Bain

"So why did I believe that bastard and come to this damn place?!"

The desperate Carl Bain opened two huge black eyes, held his head in his hands, and asked himself hoarsely at the ceiling.

In front of him, piles of "urgent documents" had flooded his desk. The not-so-spacious tent was also filled with all kinds of parchment documents and booklets, from tent doors to chairs, even There is no place to stay.

At the same time, the messengers outside were still trying their best to send more documents into his tent. There is a tendency for "Scroll Mountain" and "Sea of ​​Reports" to completely submerge him.

Looking at this pile of documents that seemed to be endless to read and sign, the Chief of Staff of the Storm Division who persisted in "fighting" for two days and two nights finally felt that there are limits to being a human being.

The cause of the matter was that after the battle in Reef Town was over, Carl Bain came to Claude Francois's military camp with Anson's orders; nominally serving as a "military advisor", he was actually the communication representative between the two sides. , responsible for reporting the dynamics and plans of the frontline army to Anson, so that the Storm Division can adjust its military deployment and march planning.

Claude Francois was "overjoyed" for the arrival of Carl Bain, and even enthusiastically prepared a welcome banquet for him, and publicly expressed his absolute trust in Carl at the banquet.

The reason is in line with the way of thinking of the Hantu nobles: Carl is Anson's close confidant, and Anson is a relative of the Francois family, so Carl is one of his own who can absolutely be trusted, it's as simple as that.

Of course, there is another small reason, and that is the "Hantu Supreme Staff".

Although Anson forcibly established such a thing in order to improve the efficiency of Hantu's mobilization and military execution; the problem is that no matter how good the organization is, it is composed of people, and no matter how brilliant the plans and strategies are, they are also executed by people.

The problem with Hantu is...she has no one.

To be precise, there is no large number of experienced staff officers, well-educated administrative staff, and correspondents and violent organs that ensure that every order can be accurately implemented.

More importantly, although they know that the "General Staff" is very powerful and efficient, they don't know how to use it to be effective, and they have no concept of it at all.

But Kal Bain does.

As the chief of staff of the Storm Division, in order to ensure that the Storm Division can keep up with Anson's "perfect plan" 24 hours a day, although he has only been in office for a few months, he has some experience in operating a staff department.

And to be very objective, he felt that he did a pretty good job - of course, mainly because he could barely maintain a high degree of consistency with Anson's "full of whimsical" brain circuits most of the time.

In this case, Claude was willing to delegate the work of the staff to Karl, which seemed to both of them to be a very correct choice.

In order to fully demonstrate that what he said was true, Claude I announced on the spot at the banquet that he had appointed Carl Bain to be fully responsible for the battle against the Imperial Expeditionary Force, and awarded him the medal and title of "Honorary Royal Advisor".

The reason why it is an "honor" is mainly because Karl is a Clovis man after all, and serving in a foreign country may have an impression of his domestic career.

Such "intimate" care flattered Karl, who had been taking the blame for many years. He once felt that after being an unlucky guy for so many years, he was finally getting lucky.

Then he discovered that things were not simple.

Because Claude Francois, like Anson, did not give him a decent staff department at all except for his position, not even the most basic grassroots team.

This was not a big deal in the Storm Division, because the Storm Division had a complete and independent logistics system, and no matter how miserable it was, it was still a standard Clovis Infantry Division, with all the other positions that should be available, pick and choose. Barely maintaining a military deployment of several thousand people is not as difficult as imagined.

But Hantu has an army of 300,000 people!

Three hundred thousand!

After just one day, Carl Bain was overwhelmed by countless documents - not to mention three hundred thousand, even one hundred thousand people's reports in one day could make him fight until the sky was dark.

Not to mention sleeping, even the time for taking a nap and eating has become extremely luxurious.

At this moment, Carl Bain was conflicted between "please approve the distribution of five thousand pairs of military boots" and "the matter of raising ten thousand shoelaces". He also had to face the "military camp planning regulations" and the "new rifle purchase agreement" "The cross firepower of the "Document Desk Position" welcomes the enemy's continuous reinforcements, and calculates how long it will take before our own side will completely "stop resistance" and surrender.

At the same time, the entire Hantu Army was full of complaints, and various important tasks had not been responded to for a long time. Before the Hantu soldiers had time to experience the "efficiency and convenience" brought by the General Staff, they first experienced a bureaucracy. The rigidity and slowness of doctrine.

Faced with the complaints from the people below, Claude Francois not only had no intention of sending more manpower to Karl, but instead remained silent and allowed the situation to continue to deteriorate.

As for why there is such a strange situation, people on both sides actually know it well.

Claude Francois...or rather the nobles of Hantu, did not want Clovis to continue to intervene and interfere in this war that determined the fate of Hantu.

Of course, he still needed the Storm Division to send reinforcements when necessary, and he needed arms supplies from Clovis; but beyond that, he hoped that the winner of this war would be Claude Francois, not Anson ·bach.

In the past, Claude could tolerate Anson Bach's influence on Han Tu and his various crazy behaviors to gain a sense of presence; because at that time he was only the "Grand Duke of Thun", and he needed someone who could surpass Han Tu. Allies above him to maintain the relationship between him and his allies and intimidate his enemies.

And now, he is the king of Hantu.

As the king of Hantu, he cannot lose the assistance from Clovis, but he cannot let Clovis dominate everything in Hantu and make himself a vassal of Clovis from the inside out.

Therefore, when it comes to treating Carl Bain, the name is of course absolute respect and trust, but in reality, we must try our best to prevent Anson's cronies from participating in specific military action decisions, so that the Hantu people can decide their own destiny in the battle. Become a foil.

Claude actually has some kind of "misunderstanding" about Karl. He has always been very supportive of letting the Hantu people end this war. After all, although the Storm Division is a group of scum and cannon fodder from top to bottom, no matter how cannon fodder it is, it is not worth it. To die for other people, for a war that had nothing to do with them.

This is also Anson's original intention of sending Karl to the Western Front to support Claude - in his "small group" of headquarters, although everyone is very cautious and good at "following the heart", and they also care about the life and death of those around them, but Karl has always been the guy who cares most about other people's lives.

When everyone only remembers escaping, only Carl Bain can still plan his escape route while thinking of the cannon fodder around him, and at the same time, he can find some unlucky people who have been left alone.

This guy may not be able to help others win, but he can ensure that they won't suffer too much when they lose.

Obviously, when thinking about this level, Anson did not think about the change in Claude Francois's mood brought about by his change in status, and the old unlucky Karl became the victim of his "lack of consideration". cost.

However, complaints are complaints, and Carl Bain still knows what he should and should not do; he must complain every time he should complain, and he must solve all the things that should be done. Only then can he be a qualified worker. The mentality you should have.

What's more, with his "rich and colorful" history of taking scapegoats, he has never encountered any kind of Party A, and what kind of boss has not experienced it. People who are well-informed have long forgotten what the fuss is.

Since he is an advisor and Claude Francois does not want to listen to military advice from a Clovis man, it is enough for him to make some reasonable suggestions and reminders at the right time.

All that's left is prayer.

I pray that my “new clients” will be luckier than all previous clients and bosses.

"...Therefore, although the empire has no signs of further invasion after conquering the Summit Tower Fortress, I still disapprove of you continuing to push the front westward."

Carl Bain, who was planning to make one last effort, or rather break the pot, said in a very sincere voice to Claude Francois, who had a gloomy face across from him.

"This will not only extend our supply lines and compress the strategic detour space, but more importantly, it only took the enemy three days to break through the summit tower fortress - far exceeding the at least one month we planned before the war. , and at the same time allow the opponent to occupy a stable base for advancement."

"According to the most basic military principles, once the premises change, the plan must also change accordingly, and all our current plans are in preparation for the final battle in almost twenty days."

"So my suggestion is to temporarily stop moving forward, look at the opponent's situation, and then decide what to do next."

In order to ensure that this would not hurt the other party's face and "interfere" with the "independent" military operations and plans of the Hantu Corps, he specially found a time when the other party was free to have a private meeting between the two; his tone was also very tactful. Be a thousand times gentler with some asshole.

But no matter how "gentle" you are, it doesn't mean that the other person will definitely appreciate it.

"My dear Karl, I don't understand what you are saying." Claude Francois sighed deeply, looking very helpless: "But the problem now is that even if there is danger ahead, I can't Stop!"

"Why?!"

Karl looked shocked. Is there anyone in this world who deliberately wants to die? !

"Why, because I am the King of Hantu, and the first king of the François Dynasty!" Claude beat his chest hard:

"Because I have a group of rebellious subjects who want a kingdom but don't want a king. There are a few powerful people who can overthrow me at any time! Visenia, Emmanuel... They are because of the empire. I had to kneel to me because of the threat, instead of really willingly kneeling down and surrendering to the Francois family!"

"Even for them, I can't be weak at all - because for traitors and extreme fanatics with ulterior motives, calmness and cowardship are basically synonyms." Claude sneered:

"Grand Duke Ayden should be more experienced than me in this regard; all Duke Emmanuel who were not tough enough were beheaded by the rebellious vassals."

"But we're not ready yet!" Karl spread his hands:

"I understand your difficulties, but now is really not the best time to march and fight decisively - the enemy has just captured the fortress and is waiting for work; if we don't change the plan, it means that the initiative is completely in the hands of the opponent!"

"And the Imperial Expeditionary Force is strong and highly mobile. If they are allowed to move at will to choose the battlefield, the situation will be extremely unfavorable to the Hantu Army!"

"On this point, please forgive me for not fully agreeing with you."

Claude Francois frowned slightly: "As far as I know, the main army of the empire is confronting Clovis, and it is impossible to mobilize enough manpower; even the commander sent is a retired royal. The members, plus a few unknown minor characters, are simply not enough to compare with the real elites of the empire."

"What's more, didn't the Storm Division easily win the two previous battles in Reef Town and Carindia Port?"

"Those were accidents!" Karl's mouth twitched slightly:

"On the one hand, there is certainly the factor of the enemy underestimating the enemy. On the other hand, it is also because there are many objective factors that limit the empire's performance, which is why the Storm Division won so lightly..."

"Please wait a moment."

Claude suddenly raised his hand to interrupt Karl, with an unpleasant expression on his face: "Dear Lord Carl Bain, I have no intention of doubting your judgment. After all, you are considered an expert in this field."

"But you don't mean, 'Because Hantu's army is inferior to Clovis, Hantu may lose a battle that Clovis can win'...right?"

That’s what I want to say. After saying this, can you promise not to throw me out? Karl, who rolled his eyes in his heart, looked upright:

"There is absolutely no idea in this regard - the heroic Hantu warriors just lack modern training and sufficient weapons and equipment. In terms of wisdom and bravery, they will not lose to any country!"

"But no matter what, it is indeed too aggressive to continue to advance! How about waiting a little, a few more days to observe the situation, or trying to gradually gather the advancing troops as much as possible, just in the name of preparing for the decisive battle?"

"If even this seems too...cautious, then it's okay to at least leave a part of the reserve army just in case, right?!"

Karl was almost in a pleading state.

Claude was silent for a while, and then slowly said: "I will leave three infantry divisions behind to protect the supply line. I will hand over this force to Henares, and you can communicate with him directly."

"I respect your professional judgment, Lord Carl Bain, but I think you may be overly cautious this time."

"Believe me, Your Majesty Claude, I am praying that my judgment is wrong..." Karl sighed with a self-deprecating smile on his face:

"I hope so more than you do."