I Became a Genius Commander at the Academy - Chapter 168: Peter Yaeger’s Solo

Reich Empire’s Imperial Palace Conference Room.

The ministers of the empire gathered here had united beyond political factions and began to criticize the Director of Intelligence with that unity.

“What the hell were those affiliated with the Imperial Intelligence doing? Spending the budget on going to bars and touching women’s breasts? Thanks to them, His Highness the Crown Prince was almost captured by the Duke of Swiss Confederation.”

“I admit the fault of our intelligence department, Your Excellency the Minister of Finance. However, it was unavoidable; we could not have imagined that a count of a nation had been sharpening his knife for three years.”

“Considering that, it’s your negligence that put His Highness in danger. Aren’t you lucky to still have your head on your shoulders? In other circumstances, you and several others would have lost your heads!”

Hearing this, the Director of Intelligence gave up on further excuses and quietly bowed his head in apology.

And those who were reprimanding him knew, upon rational consideration, that detecting the Count of Bern’s role as a double agent was virtually impossible.

The Director of Intelligence had recently been dismissed and had paid a significant price, including the loss of a barony, for mistakes akin to natural disasters or acts of God.

As the ministers began to slowly change the subject, the door opened, and the Emperor entered with a visibly displeased expression.

The Emperor signaled the herald to be quiet, then sat down quietly in his place before speaking.

“From a strategic perspective, I consider this Swiss Confederation campaign to be essentially a failure. What does the Minister of Military Affairs think? Please speak from a neutral point of view.”

“Since we failed to achieve the original goal of capturing three cantons of the Swiss Confederation, we did not meet the strategic objective. However, since we successfully lured the Swiss army near Dolphino Castle and killed a vast number of enemy soldiers, it can be considered a tactical victory. Considering everything, it’s a decisive victory for the Imperial Army.”

“What about from a long-term perspective?”

Upon hearing this, Otto Moritz, the Minister of Military Affairs, paused to think before answering.

“The Swiss Confederation has lost as many as 40,000 soldiers. Thus, a drastic decrease in military strength is inevitable. However, unless the Duke is a fool, he will try to protect the interior by minimizing the number of mercenaries he dispatches. Therefore, it will be difficult for us to attack them again and occupy the land of the Swiss Confederation.”

Emperor Fernando gritted his teeth upon hearing this.

Because even he could see that this battle could not be called a victory since the strategic objectives were not achieved.

However, thanks to Lieutenant General Yeager’s strategy, which always produced miracles in the worst situations, many Swiss soldiers were killed.

Based on this, the plan to argue that the Crown Prince had won from a long-term strategic perspective was thwarted because we obtained an answer of strategic victory.

“Indeed. Before we discuss the rewards for the most important person, let’s first discuss the disciplinary actions of others who participated in this expedition. I plan to order the Deputy Commander and the five division commanders to retire before next year’s personnel announcement. Although they are not at fault, it is true that they put the Crown Prince in danger. However, I intend to ensure they receive the treatment of retired soldiers.”

The Emperor, saying this, felt regrettable about having to force the empire’s talents into retirement due to an unfortunate accident.

It was understandable since the Deputy Commander, along with over 2,000 knights, had done their best to safely return the Crown Prince to the Reich Empire.

During the operation, the other five division commanders, under the command of the Crown Prince, did not commit any strategic or tactical mistakes.

Following Lieutenant General Yeager’s orders, they fought hard to ensure the safe return of 50,000 expeditionary forces to their homeland.

The Emperor felt regrettable for having to blame them as key stakeholders, even though the Crown Prince might have been isolated in Switzerland and fallen into the hands of a duke without them.

“Even if they are discharged from service for putting the Crown Prince in danger, I must personally take the time to invite them and their families to the palace to console them and provide financial compensation. Moreover, I should give their relatives ample opportunities to earn merits and generously reward them.”

“In addition, some of the staff officers who approved this plan will face severe punishments such as demotion of title, dishonorable discharge, or rank reduction, depending on the severity of their mistakes. The Minister of Military Affairs will personally review and report this to the staff.”

“Yes, Your Majesty. Then, how do you plan to deal with those who designed the operation with the Crown Prince?”

“Originally, poorly designing the operation to endanger the Crown Prince could have been a capital offense. However, since the failure of the operation is due to the Intelligence Director’s incorrect judgment, the punishment will be mitigated. Everyone will be dishonorably discharged and stripped of their right to inherit titles. However, considering that Lieutenant Benner is the only male heir of the Benner Ducal Family, his punishment will be replaced by confiscating all personally owned properties.”

Dishonorable discharge and stripping of title inheritance rights were essentially a social burial of one’s noble status, sparing only their lives.

Once dishonorably discharged, they would be labeled as “dishonorably discharged” wherever they went in the Reich Empire.

Therefore, trying to start anew outside was impossible due to the stigma of being a dishonorably discharged person.

It would have been better if they could inherit their title, go down to their estate in the countryside, lay everything down, and live managing their estate from their mansion.

Being stripped of their title meant they were essentially branded as unable to do anything by the state.

The fact that Lieutenant Benner survived this sentence was simply because he belonged to the family of the Ducal Benner, a candidate for the next marshal, and Lieutenant General Yeager.

“Then, Minister of Military Affairs, what do you think about the reward for Lieutenant General Yeager?”

At that, Otto Moritz smiled and said in a serious tone,

“Lieutenant General Yeager, when trapped in a pitfall created by the Swiss army in the Ticino Canton, reversed the situation by killing 2,500 enemy soldiers, creating a path for Your Highness to escape. Furthermore, he was the first to detect that Count Bern was a double agent and informed the entire army of the enemy’s meticulous plot to capture the Crown Prince. He also devised an operation to safely retreat the entire army.”

The Minister of Military Affairs, Otto Moritz, said this, secretly admiring Lieutenant General Yeager.

“If I had been in that position, I could have safely returned the Crown Prince, and the loss of troops would have been limited to about 40%. However, I wouldn’t have dared to inflict significant damage on the enemy during a retreat.”

“He stood at the forefront every day as a lieutenant general to safely return the Crown Prince and save as many soldiers as possible. Over a month, he personally killed up to 240 Swiss soldiers.”

Upon hearing this, the ministers doubted their ears.

Even monsters called swordmasters often couldn’t face more than three knights on a battlefield, and situations where they couldn’t kill even one enemy in combat occurred.

The fact that a lieutenant general stood at the forefront and slaughtered 240 enemy soldiers was something beyond their common sense.

“Thanks to him, even though our forces were completely isolated during the Swiss expedition, our casualties were limited to about 10,000. In comparison, the Swiss lost nearly twice as many soldiers. And…”

He was about to continue, but the surprise attack at Dolphino Castle had been accepted as Lieutenant General Yeager’s request and designated as the Crown Prince’s achievement.

Therefore, the Minister of Military Affairs took a deep breath and said again,

“His achievements can be described as having saved the country from the brink of collapse on his own. Therefore, it would be appropriate to reward him generously as an example, Your Majesty.”

Upon hearing this, the perceptive ministers raised no objections, and the Emperor, with a determined expression, decisively said,

“Lieutenant General Peter Yeager is to be promoted to General in high regard for his achievements in saving the Crown Prince. Additionally, his title will be elevated to Count, and he will be granted the counties of Ingolstadt, Augsburg, and the barony of Angol. He will also be specially awarded the Diamond Knight’s Cross in recognition of his achievement in saving the Crown Prince. Lastly, in high regard for his achievement in saving the empire from crisis, the Twin Dragons Medal will be bestowed, and his name will be engraved on the pillar of the Imperial Palace to commemorate.”