In the Name of the Queen

Good news: Helenzburg is still holding out.

Bad news: Helenz is still holding out.

In the Governor's Mansion, in the combat command room, Christine sat in the main seat, watching the battle report from the front line, changing the status of the chess pieces on the sand table according to the latest developments, and then fell into deep thought.

The Helenzburg defense war has exceeded everyone's imagination.

When Helenzburg was attacked in the inner city on the fourth day of its defense, Christine was so worried that she couldn't sleep all night. At that time, the pocket formation of Hansa City had not been arranged, the artillery had not entered the ambush position, and Mr. Norton's decisive weapon was far away.

When Helenzburg held out for the eighth day, Christine was happy. The results of the defense war had exceeded her expectations. The pocket formation was basically set up, waiting for the enemy to come.

However, Helenzburg is still holding out.

Fifteen days have passed, and the defenders of Helenzburg have not broken through. The besieged Oden Kingdom army has lost thousands of people and is still bleeding.

Not only that, the artificial flood had long since receded, the Fourth Fleet re-entered the canal, and Helensburg could even get a small amount of supplies.

Christine was a little confused. The script was perfect, but the supporting role was too much of a show. What should she do?

Should she abandon Helensburg as planned and fight a decisive battle with the Oden Kingdom Army in Hansa City?

If she decided so, Roland and Sif would not object, because she was the commander-in-chief.

More than a dozen days ago, Roland appointed her as the commander-in-chief of the battle, responsible for the entire battle.

Everyone in the governor's jurisdiction had to obey her orders, including Roland and Sif.

Only the queen was not within her command authority.

If she needed Sif to charge in person, it would be Count Tyrone and the Knight of the White Rose who would appear.

Roland kept his word and never interfered with her command, and even showed an attitude of humbly learning.

Christine thought Roland was keeping his promise and trusted his employees, but she didn't know that Roland was just self-aware and his learning was from the heart.

Should Helensburg be saved?

If not, it would hurt morale.

Rescue, damage the war situation.

In Christine's plan, Helensburg was a discarded piece.

She sent out 500 temple warriors and high-level temple Joseph, and sent cavalry troops to harass and support from the periphery, just to make this discarded piece look not like a discarded piece.

Joseph was extremely powerful and had a way to escape alone. The 500 temple warriors could take as many as they could, and if they couldn't, they would return to the embrace of the goddess of light.

In war, human lives are just numbers, and as a commander, you must be as cold as a butcher.

Usually she would treat the soldiers gently and try her best to gain benefits for them, but everyone on the battlefield was a consumable.

She knew that kind people could not control the battlefield. As long as she took over the command, she would become a ruthless killing demon and cold-bloodedly calculate the value of each chess piece.

Abandon, exchange, and kill.

This is Christine's philosophy of war.

At first, she was a little worried that Roland would not understand and Sif would not accept it. Fortunately, they just watched silently and never opposed any of her instructions.

She successfully deceived Sven VII, so that King Oden did not think that this was a pawn, and also made them pay a heavy price for taking Helensburg.

In the past ten days of holding on, the loss of thousands of soldiers by the Oden Kingdom Army was secondary, and their biggest loss was their spirit and morale.

Sven VII, who boasted that he would take the three Hansa provinces in a short time, was beaten to a bloody pulp in the small Helensburg, and could not move an inch. The soldiers under his command would definitely doubt their lives.

They would also have doubts, can His Majesty the King do it?

Sven VII must pay a heavier price to take Helensburg as soon as possible, otherwise the attack on the three overseas provinces will become a big joke.

However, a disguise that is too successful is not necessarily a good thing.

The deception and disguise of this bait operation was so good that the new army of the Governor's District also felt that Helensburg was not a pawn.

Christine could not tell other officers not to support and directly abandon Helensburg. She could think so and do so, but she could never say it.

A magical scene happened just like that.

Everyone thought Christine was going to die to protect Helensburg, but only she knew that this was a sacrifice.

She stared at the sand table blankly, and suddenly felt guilty.

She remembered what her military teacher Chushko said, that war is not a chessboard art, but a cruel contest of life and death. Everyone in the war has thoughts, but the chess pieces do not. If you treat war as a chess game, you will be at a loss when facing lively chess pieces.

At that time, she did not take the teacher's words too seriously, but now she finally understands the teacher.

If it is a war chess deduction, the defenders representing Helensburg are at most an elite infantry brigade, which will quickly lose their organization and combat effectiveness in the crazy attack of tens of thousands of troops and artillery units, and become white chess pieces with only organization but no combat effectiveness, and may even be thrown directly into the box of abandoned chess pieces.

However, this is not a war chess deduction.

The miracle of dozens of chess pieces not eating a single chess piece happened just like that.

Facing the miracle created by the frontline warriors with their lives, Christine didn't know whether to laugh or cry.

The frontline troops have exceeded their mission and beaten the enemy to a pulp. She should be happy, but she is not happy at all.

If Helensburg has always held on, and the Kingdom of Oden has failed to capture it for a long time and directly retreats, allowing the Governor's New Army to cross the border to pursue, it will be the Governor's New Army that will face logistical difficulties.

The equipment and morale of the new army are excellent, but they have little combat experience and poor adaptability.

In the battle to defend the city, they are defending their homes. They have a solid position and no way to retreat behind them. Their fighting will is very firm and they can fight to the last man.

In the pursuit battle, their combat effectiveness can only be used at half.

Kristine bit her lip, took a deep breath, suppressed the guilt in her heart, and prepared to give cold-blooded and correct orders.

For some reason, her fingertips were trembling slightly.

She commanded major battles.

Three years ago, during the War of Succession to the Wende Empire, she commanded the suppression of the rebels. She ruthlessly used 5,000 Praetorian Guards as bait to annihilate the rebels in the Oder River Plain.

Replacing the main force of 70,000 to 80,000 rebels with 5,000 men is a perfect battle template that can be recorded in military textbooks.

She was also known as the cold-blooded witch because of this victory.

In the Hanseatic province, she wanted to repeat the successful battle, but she did not expect to run into trouble.

The trouble did not come from the enemy, but from herself, which made her a little confused.

Roland looked at Christine's profile in awe.

She is worthy of being a cold-blooded witch, facing such a critical battle situation she can still respond calmly and without any expression on her face.

There is an old saying in my hometown: He who has thunder in his chest and face like a flat lake can be a general!

Christine clearly has such potential.

She is only less than 20 years old, and there is still a lot of room for improvement.

It's a pity that such a military genius was poisoned by religion and had to become a saint.

I really hope she fails in the saint selection, then he will recruit her with the best treatment.

If you know how to fight, why should you recite sutras? Wouldn't it be better to establish meritorious deeds, obtain titles, and leave wealth to future generations?

Roland complained silently.

Looking at Christine's profile, Sif also felt a little more admiration.

A ruthless character worthy of being called a cold-blooded witch, she actually blocked the main force of the Kingdom of Oden and bought time for the defense of Hanseatic City.

I just don’t know how she can be sure to defend Helenzburg?

Gotta learn a little bit.

Sif sat up straight and waited for Teacher Christine to perform.

Just when Roland and Sif were pretending to be students, Teacher Christine could not make up her mind after all.

She paid attention to the morale of the army and was interested in the private discussions of the soldiers. She knew that the brave men who defended Helenzburg had been given more meaning.

They became a symbol in the hearts of other New Army soldiers, a symbol of bravery, fearlessness and victory.

It’s okay to treat ordinary troops as outcasts, but treating heroic troops as outcasts will cause turmoil in the entire army.

She hesitated again and again and decided to return the problem to Roland and Sif.

These two bastards are the Queen and the Governor of the Empire. They don’t make their own decisions and let her decide everything. Are they really going to sit there and listen to lectures like students?

Christine cleared her throat and asked softly: "Roland, Sif, what do you think Helenzburg should do next?"

"We listen to you!" X2

Roland and Sif answered at the same time.

Kristine's face turned pale slightly, and she clenched her fists subconsciously. There was a tightness in her chest, and she was so angry at these two bastards.

She said coldly: "I'm asking you!"

Before Sif could speak, Roland wrote a line of small words on her palm.

"Quiz in class."

Sif suddenly realized.

It turns out that Teacher Christine, like Roland, attaches great importance to interaction in teaching.

Thinking that Roland would definitely be able to give a high-scoring answer, in order to prevent herself from being made to look like a fool, Sif hurriedly answered the question first.

"I think the objectives of the Helenzburg Blockade have been achieved, okay."

Sif suddenly stopped speaking mid-sentence.

Wait, this definitely won't work.

Although these warriors joined the new army of the Governor-General for promotion and wealth, they were also somewhat loyal to her.

Even if nine percent of it is for profit, who dares to say that there is no loyalty at all?

We cannot chill their hearts.

"Well, General Christine, you don't want to throw them away as abandoned children, do you?"

Christine stared at Sif expressionlessly, "I'm asking you, Count Sif."

"All right."

Sif shrugged, with a smile on her lips, not paying attention to Christine's somewhat stiff attitude.

Teacher, you should be stricter.

She didn't care when Teacher Walder taught her in a more stern manner.

Sif's brain was working rapidly, and when she was about to speak, she suddenly remembered that Roland had reminded her.

War is bloodless politics, and war is the continuation of politics.

Therefore, the rules of war must also comply with political principles and must adhere to the principle of advantage.

There are three options now.

Abandon Helenzburg and fight decisively in Hanseatic City.

Rescue Helenzburg and move the decisive battle location forward.

Rescue Helenzburg and cover the defenders' breakout. The decisive battle location is still Hanseatic City.

The first option is the optimal military solution, but it may not be the optimal solution comprehensively.

The second option is the worst military solution. Even if there are other bonus points, it may not be better than the first option.

The third option seems to be a separate option, but is actually similar to the first option.

The outer city of Helenzburg was completely occupied, and supplies from the canal were limited. To save face and frighten his enemies, Sweyn VII might burn Helenzburg to the ground and kill everyone.

In doing so, Helenzburg is essentially still an abandoned child, but it is packaged better.

Sif thought about it and finally decided to choose three.

It sounds very bad to directly abandon the warriors who fought bloody battles. Not only must they be saved, but they must be saved with all their strength.

Sif was about to answer but stopped abruptly.

She held Roland's hand with some guilt and quickly wrote words on his palm with her fingertips.

"How much of a blow to morale would it be to abandon the beleaguered friendly forces?"

Roland was stunned for a few seconds, thinking of some friendly teams that remained unmoved when they were in trouble, and slowly wrote a "" on Sif's palm.

Watching Sif and Roland exchange glances with their fingertips, Christine felt a little sick.

This is the headquarters, not a place for love!

She turned her head and stared at the sand table where the battle situation was frozen, in a daze.

Seeing the question mark written by Roland, Sif stuck out her tongue embarrassedly.

She had the answer.

"General Christine, if I were the commander, I would do my best to rescue Helensburg and create an opportunity for the defenders to break out."

"How to rescue, how sure are you to break out?" Christine looked up suddenly, her tone a little aggressive.

"Select elite troops, led by General Jess, to rescue with all their strength. At the same time, send the inland gunboats of the Fourth Fleet for fire support."

Christine snorted lightly, and pointed her slender fingers at the sand table.

She meant it very clearly, don't just talk about it, come to SOLO.

Sif looked back at Roland, and her confidence quickly grew in the encouraging eyes. She stood tall and proud in front of Christine.

She picked up the chess piece representing the light cavalry, placed it upstream of the canal, and whispered:

"Cross the river at night!"

At this time, there was an inland gunboat on the blue paper tape representing the canal, which could provide fire support. The water flow in the canal was gentle, so crossing the river was indeed not difficult.

Christine didn't care about this unit at all, and directly aimed the muzzle of the highland artillery at the inland gunboat.

"Fire suppression!"

Sif's face changed slightly.

Inland gunboats are different from regular battleships, with poor protection and speed. Although they have good firepower, their defense capabilities are very poor.

Inland gunboats are not superior to shore artillery.

If it is a shore artillery with a solid artillery fort, it can easily teach the small gunboat a lesson.

According to intelligence, the Oden Kingdom Army has occupied the hilly area near Helensburg and set up artillery on it.

These artillery pieces did not do much damage to the inner city where the tunnels were dug, but they were simply a dimensionality reduction attack on the inland gunboats that were almost fixed targets.

Sif's face changed slightly, and she knocked on the inner city, "Breakout."

Christine sneered and pointed at the inner city, "Arson."

Fire and water are merciless, arson and breaking the dam to release water are very unethical tactics, but the damage is huge.

Most of the ground in the inner city of Helensburg was lost, and the enemy could easily ignite the city as long as they arranged firewood, alcohol and kerosene for arson.

It was almost impossible for the defenders of Helensburg to break out.

Sif's face was numb, and she kept throwing in the troops she could mobilize.

In the end, the rescue battle turned into a disaster.

The Oden Kingdom Army took the opportunity to cross the Gill Canal and continued to divide and surround the Hansa New Army.

According to the rules, although the initial morale of the new army was high, it collapsed very quickly under a series of attacks.

As the chess pieces representing independent combat units turned white one by one, the rescue turned into a rout.

The defeat on the front line caused the already scarce military force to be stretched to its limits, which eventually affected the defense line of Hansa City.

Christine stopped in time and looked at Sif with a half-smile, the meaning was obvious.

You have already sent it.

Sif's face was pale, and cold sweat kept sliding down her cheeks.

Was she wrong? Was she really going to throw away the defenders of Helensburg as abandoned pawns and conceal the truth of this battle?

If she really did this, even if she won the battle, her promise not to abandon anyone would become a joke.

Although the monarchs of this era often broke their promises, she didn't want to do this.

Sif was sweating profusely and almost wanted to turn around and run.

Fortunately, she only took a step back and thought of a solution.

"Roland, what do you think we should do?"

Roland took a few steps forward, stood beside Sif and said with a smile: "Giving up Helensburg is absolutely not an option. This will lead to the complete bankruptcy of our political credit, and the bulls we have blown out will fall and kill us."

"Since a small number of troops cannot rescue us, then the location of the decisive battle will be moved forward."

Christine stared at Roland unhappily and snorted, "Our army is outnumbered, and our overall combat effectiveness is not as good as the enemy's. Moreover, the enemy has front-line artillery positions. How can we fight a decisive battle?"

Roland smiled and explained: "Our army has at least five major advantages! First, as long as we find a way to destroy the enemy's artillery positions, we have inland gunboat support and superior firepower. Second, in terms of supplies, we have the Gill Canal shipping, while the enemy can only transport by land, and logistics are superior. Third, our army held on to Helensburg to destroy the enemy's offensive, and morale was superior. Fourth, our army has excellent commanders, and command is superior. Fifth, we have absolute trust in the commander, and the enemy has expelled the veteran Goode, and has an advantage in personnel!"

Although Roland wanted to compile ten advantages, he couldn't think of them for a while, so he could only make up five temporarily.

After talking about the five advantages, he smiled and looked at Christine.

"Please ask the best commander in the world, Saint Christine, to lead us to victory!"

Christine: "."

Forget it, it's useless to ask these two military rookies.

But they are right, the decisive battle that seems to be the worst solution is actually the best solution.

The new army has the potential to become an ace army, and it only needs time.

Even if it can't completely wipe out the Oden Kingdom Army this time, as long as it wins a beautiful victory, it can completely reverse the situation.

The combat effectiveness of the new army will gradually take shape, and the Oden Kingdom will only go downhill after the defeat.

Although Roland is boastful, she is full of confidence in herself.

Who says she can't be the best commander in the world?

Iron ore needs to be tempered by blood and fire to become the best steel.

She is the same.

Christine was full of fighting spirit.

Winning was nothing, she wanted to fight a beautiful annihilation battle.