After the cabinet left, only the Duke, his eldest brother Ludwig, his second brother Henry, Eleanor and the Blue Sword were left in the study.
"We now have three choices," Ludwig analyzed. "We can either go south to reinforce the two mountainous areas of Jachenau and Achenkirch and continue to prevent the Wolf family's army from moving north."
"Either we send troops to the north to attack Franconia and cooperate with the Emperor's coalition forces to attack the Duke of Griffin from both sides. Or, we can do both at the same time and send troops from two directions."
"What are your opinions?" The Duke did not comment and asked (tested) everyone again.
"I support sending troops to the north to welcome His Majesty as soon as possible." Henry still insisted, "Even if we don't send troops to the south, the garrison in the mountains can hold out for a while. As long as His Majesty the Emperor leads the army to arrive, the Wolf family will have no chance of winning."
"I think it's better to send troops to the south for support." Since Henry chose one option, Ludwig could only choose the other. "Since we can only watch the garrison in the mountains being wiped out, while sending troops north to suffer losses on the battlefield in Franconia, it will cause too much loss to our family."
"On the other hand, if we send reinforcements southward to block the Wolf family's army, we can reduce the losses of the mountain garrisons on the one hand, and on the other hand, we can leave the task of breaking through the Franconian battlefield to the Emperor's coalition forces. This is naturally a more advantageous choice for us."
This may sound a bit selfish, but it is taken for granted in the Shinra family in today's feudal era.
Although ending the civil war in the empire as soon as possible would benefit everyone in one's own camp from a macro perspective, the prerequisite is that the family cannot invest too much cost.
On the other hand, if the civil war was eventually stopped and the Weisbach family paid a huge price for it, then although the emperor would give them certain compensation after the war in order to appease the people, it would definitely not be able to make up for their losses.
Because with the end of the war, the major families in the country resumed their competitive relationship. If the Weisbach family is weakened, other families will get more post-war benefits, including the emperor's dragon family. Everyone will have meat to eat, so they are naturally happy to sit back and watch it happen.
Therefore, how to help the faction win the civil war while ensuring that their family does not suffer too much loss is a political compulsory course for any noble in this era. In a sense, Ludwig's answer is higher than Henry's.
However, the Duke still did not speak, and silence meant dissatisfaction, so both sons became a little timid.
"Eleanor, what about you?" The Duke looked at his favorite youngest daughter.
Eleanor opened her mouth and heard Nora's voice in her mind:
"Listen, Ellie..."
Isn't this cheating? Eleanor didn't know whether to laugh or cry. Nora read her father's mind and told her the answer. It was just like asking the invigilator for the answer during an exam.
"I think we should go south to support the troops stationed in the mountains," she said stubbornly, "However, we can't just do nothing about the situation on the battlefield in Franconia."
"After the civil war ends, His Majesty the Emperor will certainly dispatch troops south to confront the Holy See and attack the Italian Peninsula. If we simply protect ourselves and do not contribute a single soldier to the current situation in the north, we will easily be attacked by people with ulterior motives after the war. At that time, in order to prove our innocence, we will be forced to contribute more troops to His Majesty the Emperor's southern expedition."