Reincarnated Aristocrat Chapter 68: Strategy

　When Russell spoke the eyes of the aristocrats focused on Russell. Some began questioning his right to give an opinion. Suddenly it started to grow noisy.

　Russell was fidgeting badly, but he took one deep breath to calm his nerves.

　And soon he started talking.

“Oh, it seems that the plan is focused on defeating Alcantes, but the enemy army is focused on defending Alcantes, and Alcantes Castle is the most secured castle in Messiaen. It would be hard to make depend on a direct attack on the castle. I think we should make the eastern city of Beltud fall first.” (Russell)

“Beltud? We won’t win unless we conquer Alcantes.” (Noble)

“It may not be a win if we conquer Beltud, but it can lead to more victories. Because it’s an important place.” (Russell)

　The aristocrats begin to think about Russell’s remarks.

　If it is difficult to conquer the enemy’s main base, isn’t it better to take over its surrounding first?

　If we conquer Beltud, the aristocrats on Basamark-sama’s side may switch sides, seeing that Clan-sama has an advantage. Not a bad strategy.

“In Beltud, Basamark wouldn’t be as well-liked as in Alcantes. Even if we conquer Alcantes, riots will appear unless we quell it before the riots even start. But there will be no riots in Beltud. Moreover, Beltud castle It’s one of the oldest in Messiaen. It’s difficult to defend against siege attacks because it’s not modified to adapt to modern magical warfare… It’s a good strategy.” (Clan)

　Clan-sama also spoke in favor of Russell’s opinion.

“They will expect that the enemy will attack Alcantes, so first we pretend to head towards Alcantes. We bait the enemy soldiers, and then attack Beltud with a large army, it will easily be conquered.” (Russell)

　He also suggested a way to conquer Beltud.

　It seems that the aristocrats want to argue against Russell’s plan, but they can’t think of a way.

“May I add something?” (Russell)

　Ritsu said.

　The aristocrats look at us with a mixture of hostility and contempt.

“Ritsu-san, please speak.” (Robinson)

　Robinson allowed him to continue. The aristocrats seem to be unable to oppose if the right arm of Clan-sama allowed it.

“I don’t think it’s wrong to target Beltud as Russell said, but it’s not a good idea to bait them as a tactic. When the enemy notices they are being baited, they will send soldiers to Beltud. If you think about it, that may be the case, but if the enemy general is wise, he will send troops here to Sempler. If Sempler is taken, the effect on the war will be huge. Of course, if we receive information that the enemy will be aiming Sempler, we will have no choice but to have the soldiers retreat, but then the surprise attack on Beltud will fail.” (Ritsu)

　Ritsu pointed out holes in Russell’s proposal.

“That’s right. Then we have to leave some soldiers to defend Sempler or use more soldiers as a decoy.” (Russell)

“If we reduce the number of troops to Beltud, it will be more difficult to conquer.” (Ritsu)

“But if the enemy’s main force in Alcantes attacks Sempler, you can think of it as inviting the enemy to our side. If they are on our territory, it’s easy to ambush them, and we can fight under favorable conditions. Hopefully, we can siege and annihilate the enemy army.” (Russell)

“That is another way.” (Ritsu)

　Certainly, if the enemy invades our territory, we will be able to have the territorial advantage.

　But will it really work?

　The enemy has several powerful fighters.

　It seems that they are thinking about the risks of having Sempler attacked.

“Mireille, what do you think?”

　I also wanted to hear Mireille’s opinion, so I asked her.

　Mireille looked like she was about to fall asleep,

“I think that boy, Russell’s idea to capture Beltud first is a good idea. I saw Alcantes Castle with my own eyes, but I felt we wouldn’t be able to conquer it. But the strategy should be different. They won’t easily be caught in such a strategy. Basamark’s people aren’t as stupid as they look. They probably won’t attack Sempler. ” (Mireille)

　She said.

　Then the aristocrats saw Mireille,

“Well, wait, I’ve seen her somewhere.” “He said Mireille earlier …” “Maybe she’s that Mireille!?”

　The aristocrats began to make noise.

　Apparently, the aristocrats knew about Mireille.

　She was a former aristocrat, and it is natural to know something that can be considered public knowledge.

“It’s an honor to be remembered.” (Mireille)

“Clan-sama! She’s a troublemaker who was dismissed!” (Noble 1)

“And her younger brother is Basamark-sama’s confidant! Maybe she’s a spy!” (Noble 2)

　The aristocrats raise criticism.

“Wait, I already knew she was here. I approve of her being here. I decided to trust her this time.” (Clan)

　When Clan-sama said so the aristocrats stopped complaining.

“Basamark is quite cautious. He thinks about all kinds of scenarios and countermeasures. You can’t outsmart them that easy.” (Mireille)

“I understand his wisdom best, but how can we win the battle?” (Clan)

　Clan-sama asked.

“There are some strategies that can be quite difficult to deal with, even if they know about it. The state of Paradigm on the northwestern side of Messiaen is near the territory governed by Basamark. We could cooperate with the state of Paradigm.” (Mireille)

“Wait, the Governor of Paradigm hates Messiaen’s Governing family. They won’t be on Basamark’s side, but they won’t be on my side either.” (Clan)

“The Governor of Paradigm seems to have pledged allegiance to the Emperor, which is rare nowadays. So if we ask for an intermediary, they may side with us. The Emperor is currently in financial trouble and we should be able to take advantage of our strengths.” (Mireille)

“… I ask the Emperor to act as an intermediary … I see. I’m reluctant, but can I do it at this time? Basamark doesn’t have that much financial power, so he can’t use this strategy.” (Clan)

　Clan seems to think he can certainly use Mireille’s strategy.

“Okay, let’s put together the strategy that has been decided so far. The goal this time is the conquering of Alcantes castle, which is the base of the enemy. But first, do not aim for the castle of Alcantes, but conquer Beltud instead. Conquering Beltud can be started after we ally with Paradigm. Once we have Paradigm it will be quite the advantage.” (Clan)

　For the time being, a rough plan was decided.

　From here, we’ve decided to discuss a more detailed strategy.