Above the main hall, although there are braziers burning around it. But the flames seemed unable to dispel the cold air above the hall.
And the cold is not caused by the weather!
Above the hall, Prince Regent Chen's expression was grim and gloomy. Sitting on a throne. He fell silent.
And below. Dozens of important ministers of the empire gathered together. But everyone's face sank like water, just because. above the steps. A court ceremonial officer. Is using a tense voice. Loudly read the latest battle report from the front line!
The voice of the court ceremonial officer was originally loud. But when reading the battle report at this moment, his face is getting paler and paler. The voice also became hoarse because of being too nervous, and the voice came to the back, trembling slightly...
"Report: On the afternoon of March 31st, the enemy forces forcibly crossed the river defense. The Sixth Infantry Division and the Ninth Infantry Division of our Stormwind Legion. The Third Cavalry Battalion and the directly subordinate Heavy Engineering Corps were stationed at the river defense. The eastern fortress was stationed The squadron went to battle in the river and fought fiercely until evening. Our fleet was wiped out. Most of our sailors were martyred. In the evening, a total of 151 airship brigades stationed in our eastern fortress fought the enemy over the river defense. One hundred of our troops Fifty-one airships were also shot down, and none of the 1,043 air force personnel survived.
It's night, the first strong river defense. The Sixth Division of our department suffered heavy losses. The Ninth Infantry Division suffered more than 40% casualties. Due to the loss of the fleet, we were unable to block the river. It was also powerless to prevent the enemy from erecting floating bridges to cross the river. After a fierce battle overnight until dawn on April 1, the enemy forcefully crossed the river and occupied the shoal to land. We are powerless to resist. Forced to withdraw the defense of the fortress.
This battle. The air force and navy on the eastern defense line were completely lost. Belongs to the Sixth Infantry Division. From the commander of the division, Major General Fink, there were a total of 20,923 officers and soldiers in the division, all of whom died in battle! The Ninth Division suffered more than 40% damage. And most of them are injured, and they have been ordered to retreat and reorganize. Now about 100,000 enemy troops have successfully crossed the river. Chen Bing was under the city. before sending the letter. Has repelled the enemy's three sieges. Huge damage! Chen is the deputy head of the Storm Legion. Lieutenant General Dominguez sincerely feared to plead guilty. The death of a minister is not enough to offset the crime of defeat. However, the war in the east is urgent. I don't regret my life alone. And our soldiers on the eastern front will swear to the death to live and die with the city defense.
There is a shortage of troops in the city, so please ask the military department to send reinforcements quickly. If the reinforcements don't arrive within a month, the eastern fortress may no longer be owned by the empire! "
At the end of the reading, the palace etiquette officer's forehead was covered with cold sweat. I couldn't help but wiped it twice with my sleeve. Only then did he take a deep breath, and finished reading the last sentence: "Commander of the Eastern Front, Dominguez, deputy head of the Storm Legion, is frightened and frightened, so he wrote a letter."
Wow, finally put away the battle report. The court etiquette officer seemed to be unable to stand up straight. Quickly turned around and bent down to the Regent, re-submitting the battle report with both hands.
for a while. The hall fell into an extreme silence, no one said anything, not even a cough. All the important ministers of the empire held their breath, not daring to take a breath, quietly looking at the regent sitting on it, waiting for the king to speak—mortals are worried, I am afraid, what will happen next. It's the Thunder Wrath of the Regent...
This silent scene. It lasted nearly five minutes. The regent doesn't speak, how can anyone below dare to speak
Finally, the prince Chen who had been sitting there was as cold as frost. Little by little, the corners of the mouth pulled into a smile_that smile was certainly not joy. But with an infinite chill.
"Hehe...hehehe..." There was a ruthless taste in the laughter. Prince Chen stood up slowly, his eyes swept over the crowd, and finally fell on the Minister of Military Affairs Kamisiro. He just opened his mouth.
"Very good! Very good! The eastern fortress. Eight sea soul-class warships, thousands of navies, lost in one battle! One hundred and fifty airships, one thousand air force. The whole army was wiped out! A reorganized main battle of the empire The infantry division of the legion. 20,000 people died in battle. Even the division commander was martyred, and a main battle division was completely maimed! I heard that the accumulated corpses blocked the river! The river was red for days Don't retreat! Haha... This kind of fiasco... Everyone. Since the beginning of my Augustinian dynasty, it has never happened in the past!"
talking. He stared at Camisiro with serious eyes: "Camisiro, tell me, even 30 years ago, we didn't experience such a disastrous defeat in the battle with the people in the Northwest Grassland, right? "
Camisiro's expression tightened. As the minister of military affairs, he had to take a step forward and coughed. Cautiously said: "Your Highness is right. Thirty years ago, the empire went on an expedition to the grassland. That war lasted for nearly three years. The imperial army has never suffered such a disastrous defeat."
"The eastern fortress originally had three main battle divisions stationed there, as well as 60,000 garrison troops drawn from other places, and 40,000 heavy engineering soldiers... The strength of the entire city originally exceeded 200,000! But now, they actually came to ask for reinforcements! With 200,000 people and plenty of food, grass and weapons, they can’t even defend a city!!”
With the last shout, Prince Chen slapped the table vigorously, and a cup in front of him was shaken to the ground, and with a ding, it was shattered into pieces!
"What is your military department doing? I heard that those enemy troops have races that can haunt underwater! I learned about this kind of thing a few months ago! But why haven't you been prepared to deal with it! Thousands of The sailors died tragically. Do you want to let tens of thousands of people die next time? Is your military department starting to pay attention!! And the air force... don’t the frontlines know that the other side has air combat units!!”
Camisiro was also aggrieved. But as the minister of military affairs, he had to stand here at this moment. Bearing the wrath of the Regent.
It's just that seeing Prince Chen's anger becoming more and more uncontrollable, his chest heaved. He was short of breath, and at the end of the speech, he suddenly swayed, took half a step back, stretched out his hand to grab the armrest of the throne, and stroked his chest with one hand. Coughed violently.
Gritting his teeth, Camisiro knelt down on one knee, aggrieved patiently. Finally, when Prince Chen finished coughing, he said slowly: "Your Highness... the frontline strength, as the Minister of Military Affairs of the Empire, I naturally have an inescapable responsibility, but..."
"Just? Just what?" Prince Chen's eyes were serious. After gasping for a while, the coughing stopped. Staring at Camisiro coldly: "Do you still have any difficulties! Huh, I will hand over the military department to you. Now that you have lost the battle, you want to shirk responsibility?!"
In the last sentence, there was a chill in that tone. In this instant. That icy look made Kamisiro shiver uncontrollably!
in memory. It seems that Prince Chen has not shown such a thunderous and angry side for a long time!
Since he came to power, he has always looked like an inscrutable emperor, never revealing his emotions easily, and on weekdays, he mostly shows a tolerant and kind emperor attitude towards his courtiers.
But don't forget... this prince Chen is definitely not that kind of simple, kind and kind person! He... started his career through a coup d'état! At the beginning, he killed his brother. Putting his own father under house arrest, a ruthless man who took away the imperial power only to rise to power!
Think here. Camisiro shook his body, but managed to calm down, raised his head, and looked at Prince Chen. Although his tone is respectful. But also with a trace of firmness: "Your Highness! I dare not shirk my responsibility. As the Minister of Military Affairs, I am the most disadvantaged in the formulation of the battle plan in the headquarters. If there are mistakes and omissions, I, as the head of the military department, naturally have the responsibility. I am willing to bear your punishment! But... "
"But what?" Prince Chen said coldly.
"But..." Camisiro felt that he was covered by the other party's eyes, and a cold sweat ran down his spine. Bite the bullet and said: "However. In my opinion, there are two main reasons for the defeat of this battle! One is that the navy on the river was defeated! We lost our warships and lost our water superiority, so we cannot block the river. The big river Although it is long, it is almost impossible to defend against! In this regard, although it has been known that the opponent has an underwater race a few months ago, the high command has been planning for a long time, but they have not been able to come up with a perfect countermeasure. The result has been delayed until today! I am willing to accept the punishment myself! And the second is the fiasco of the Air Force!"
Speaking of the paleness of the air force, Camisiro seemed to be more confident and knelt there. The spine is also straightened. Facing Prince Chen's eyes, he boldly said loudly: "The air force suffered a disastrous defeat, and this battle is even more meaningful! We lost the river course. We just lost the river defense. We only need to defend the city. It is bad, but there is still room for salvation. It is far from the worst time, but the air force has suffered a disastrous defeat, and the enemy actually has a fighting race that can fly in the air. This kind of thing has the greatest impact on us! The opponent has such A power. It can fly in the sky and come and go like the wind... In this way, no matter how strong the Kaspersky defense line on our front line is, it cannot defend against the enemy in the sky! As long as the enemy is willing, their air combat race can easily Flying over the front line, it can even reach the inner land of the empire! Even if it is a raid on the imperial capital, I am afraid... "
The last sentence was a bit too shocking, but at this moment, I had to say it. Camisiro gritted his teeth fiercely, and said boldly, "I'm afraid it's not impossible!"
As soon as these words came out, the faces of many ministers in the hall suddenly changed, and they couldn't help but whispered to each other.
"Shut up!!" Prince Chen glared suddenly. The murderous eyes swept over. Immediately, those ministers quickly lowered their heads and closed their mouths.
Prince Chen took a step down. Staring at Camisiro: "Go on!"
"Yes, Your Highness." Kamisiro paused. Then he continued: "Aerial combat. The airship army is a new type of weapon after all, and the air army is also the first of its kind in the empire... no. It should be said to be the first of its kind in human history! This unprecedented A new type of weapon. An unprecedented new type of combat concept. After all, it has only appeared in a few short years. This time, the high command officially controls this kind of thing. It is actually used in the war of the empire. It is full of plans. It has only been a dozen months!
After all, this is a new weapon, a brand new concept. Although the military command has many experienced imperial generals and many civilian staff members who are familiar with various strategies and tactics, after all, before this. No one has come into contact with this new thing. Let alone experience, I have never even thought about it. In this way. In this short time. It is difficult for the high command to completely control this new combat concept. It is still difficult to come up with a complete set of air combat methods, and we are slowly groping, Your Highness. I venture to say that such an epoch-making new weapon and combat concept. I am afraid that it is definitely not possible to control the land in just one to two years or three to five years! To find out a complete set of concepts. Accumulating experience may be a long process.
So, this Air Force fiasco. It's not that I'm shirking responsibility. Rather, I think. This responsibility is not in the military, not in personnel affairs, but in current affairs! It's not that the princes of the command department don't work hard. But really... we don't understand! "
What he said was true. After all, if a new concept wants to be fully controlled and mastered, it is indeed not something that can be achieved in a short period of time.
Although Du Wei came up with the air force. But even in Du Wei's previous life. From the appearance of the first aircraft in human history (1903), to the first air battle in military history (1914). How many years have passed since the first large-scale application of air combat concepts (late World War I)
On the continent of Koroland. How long did it take for the airship to appear? How long has it been used in the military field
What's more, this is from the Cold War. Jump directly into the air to fight, this kind of leap forward. The lack of sufficient military theoretical basis for war made those in the command department. Even if you try your best, you can't figure it out. Feeling helpless.
Everyone knows this stuff is good. But how? How can I use it well? This is not something that can be perfected in a day or two.
Prince Chen was silent, he was silent for a while - after all he is also a wise king. He is not a stupid person, and at this moment he also understands that what Camisiro said is the truth.
"Then. What do you mean?" Prince Chen lowered his voice and stared intently at Camisiro.
Camisiro took a deep breath: "Your Highness! The fiasco of the air force. The impact on us is not as simple as the defeat in this field! The enemy's air superiority is so huge. If they cross the line of defense recklessly and attack the interior of the empire .Even, raiding the imperial capital, these things are what we must pay attention to! I want to come now. The field of air combat is really unpredictable, and those enemies seem to be far ahead of us in this respect. So... "
"Just say what you have to say, I don't blame you." Prince Chen's eyes flickered.
"So. I often think about it. To be able to invent this new type of weapon, and to think of applying it to the military field - Mo's founder, Lord Tulip Duke. It is really amazing. The sky is so talented. It is extremely admirable! And This new type of field, and now the front line is defeated, not because the air force is useless, but because we don't know how to use it, so I think that in the field of air combat, no one else is competent.
I am afraid that only the Duke of Tulip can be invited to preside over it. Only the most effective! After all, this thing was invented by him. It was also the first time he used it in the military! Others are not as good at this field as he is, and. The Duke of Tulip is extremely heroic, and he has made great contributions in the battle to pacify the Northwest and repel the steppe tigers and wolves from the outside of the empire. He is also a good minister with outstanding military exploits..."
Camisiro was talking. Just vaguely felt that there were many colleagues around. They are all looking at themselves with all kinds of surprised and complicated eyes, even the regent above. Looking at his own eyes. It also became more and more ambiguous and weird.
But at this moment, he didn't hesitate at all. He could only grit his teeth, and said generously: "I would like to recommend the Duke of Tulip, Mr. Duwei Rollin Rudolph, as the commander of the eastern front of the war zone. Go to the eastern front to preside over the overall situation and clean up the corrupt situation!!"
hum!
The last two words were spoken loudly, and immediately everyone in the hall changed color, and each of them immediately became noisy. for a while. Everyone in the main hall sighed and whispered to each other, and the court etiquette officer next to him reminded him again and again. But he couldn't stop the discussions of these bigwigs.
Recommend the Duke of Tulip to the front line as the coach
Camisiro... Is this guy stupid? A few days ago, the royal family made it clear that there was a conflict with the Tulip family. Even the regent still had nostalgia for the past, and he still had some favor and appreciation for Duke Tulip—but in this situation, whether it was public or private, even if it was just for the sake of avoid arousing suspicion. Then Duke Tulip is definitely not suitable to hold military power anymore! !
This is the case now. It is best for the Duke of Tulip to stay in the imperial capital obediently, honestly and peacefully, otherwise, once he is allowed to take power. And it's the military power on the front line. So once there is a situation where the monarch and his ministers are suspicious...
Everyone thought that this fellow Camisiro must have lost his mind. That's why I came up with such an idea! and. Some people even think that Camisiro pushed Duke Tulip onto the fire to roast on purpose!
this time. It's too late to hide. If you go to grasp the power again, it will be the way to seek doubts!
There was a discussion in the hall for a while, but no one dared to speak out, while Prince Chen seemed to ponder for a moment. Face to heavy expression. In the end, it turned into a slight smile on the corner of his mouth.
After a long time, he raised his hand and shouted in dissatisfaction: "What are you arguing about! Could this be your own banquet hall!"
It was only because of his anger that the hall became quiet again.
Prince Chen walked down the steps, but this time he walked directly in front of Camisiro and stood right in front of him. condescending. Staring at Kamisiro who was kneeling there, Prince Chen's eyes flickered, he paused every word, and said in a deep voice: "Camisiro, you are recommending Du Wei to go to the front to preside over the overall situation. Isn't it?"
"… yes!"
Prince Chen seemed to think it wasn't enough, so he took a deep breath. Repeated again. This time, he deliberately deepened his tone: "You mean, you want Du Wei to be the commander-in-chief, and go to the eastern front to command the front-line troops?"
"... yes!" Camisiro was already sweating profusely. But he suddenly nodded, gritted his teeth and said, "That's right. That's what I mean."
In the main hall, there was complete silence, and everyone stared nervously at Prince Chen.
The regent closed his eyes. Take a deep breath.
When he opened his eyes again. There was a strange light in his eyes, and a word was slowly spit out from his mouth!
"allow!"
After the meeting. Camisiro walked out of the hall and came to the palace square. But the whole person seemed to have collapsed. He only felt that his legs were fluttering and limp, and he couldn't even walk steadily. When the cold wind blew, his body shivered. My underwear has already been soaked in sweat!
No matter how…
He subconsciously turned around to look at the palace hall behind him, and clenched his fists unstoppably.
No matter what... My bet was right.
But. I couldn't help but smile bitterly in my heart.
Old Prime Minister... You taught me what it means to recommend Du Wei to take control of the military power in public today...
I remember that battle report, in fact, I read it first last night, last night. at home. The old prime minister Robeschell stared at himself. At that time, the old man looked serious, but without hesitation, he told himself resolutely: At tomorrow's meeting, don't worry about it, just recommend Du Wei directly!
At the same time, the old man also said something inscrutable:
"Don't be afraid of worries. Don't worry that the regent will suspect you! At this time, if you openly recommend Du Wei, it will only make your "clearance" more obvious! And... if I guessed correctly, I'm afraid even if you don't say it In a few days, the regent will also send Du Wei to the front line."
Sure enough, that old man who was about to die guessed right!