I Became a Genius Commander at the Academy - Chapter 184: Preparing To Invade Ostarica (4)

And six months later, one week before the departure of the expeditionary force to Ostarica.

“From now on, we will disclose all top-secret information related to the expedition to officers of colonel rank and above.”

With this declaration, everyone’s gaze was collectively drawn to the staff officer presenting at the front.

Most of the officers here, not knowing what secrets would be disclosed, looked full of anticipation, worry, and a bit of concern.

The Crown Prince and I, already aware of all the information, truly felt that the expedition had now officially begun.

“First, the Ostarica expeditionary force is composed of a total of 14 divisions, with a total force of 115,000 men. The supreme commander is His Highness Michael von Reich, the Crown Prince, and the deputy commander is General Peter Yaeger. In addition, the general staff consists of personnel, transportation, administration, and intelligence staff officers.”

Normally, even if His Highness the Crown Prince went as the supreme commander, for a force exceeding 100,000, it would be appropriate for a commander of general rank to accompany as deputy commander.

Thanks to the numerous achievements I had accumulated so far, and the strong support from His Majesty and my father-in-law, I was able to serve as deputy commander with the rank of general.

Furthermore, the command of the 7th Guard Division was also vested in me.

“According to reports from the Imperial Intelligence Department and the units stationed in the direction of Chekovia, the Grand Duchy of Chekovia currently has 80,000 troops stationed around Charlesburg Castle near Bisochea. For defense, they have dispatched an additional 30,000 troops as reinforcements.”

Upon hearing that, generals and officers, including the Crown Prince and I, wore expressions full of concern and said,

“If the offense is at a much greater disadvantage than the defense, fighting as is would mean we’re practically losing the war against Chekovia, wouldn’t it?”

“Our deputy commander is General Yaeger. He must have something in mind.”

“That may be so, but Colonel Gafel… it’s somewhat unsettling nonetheless.”

If I were planning to attack Chekovia, upon receiving this information, I would have changed the target of the attack immediately.

Because no matter how great a general I might be, unless I were a walking natural disaster of a general, attacking with forces nearly equal to the defending forces would be madness.

“In addition, the Grand Duke of the Ostarica Grand Duchy, Baitman von Ostarica, has assembled a large army of 130,000 in western Ostarica centered around Linz. Furthermore, Ostarica and Chekovia have formed a military alliance, agreeing to jointly strike the Imperial forces if the Reich Empire’s soldiers attack western Chekovia or northern Ostarica through Bisochea.”

This would lead to the worst-case scenario, where if we attacked Chekovia, we would have to face a grand army totaling 240,000.

So, the officers’ faces seemed to be saying, “Aren’t we all going to fail together?”

I was also incredibly shocked when I heard about the number of soldiers the Ostaricans had gathered and the military alliance they had formed with the other country.

If they had acted only on the information I leaked, the Grand Duke of Ostarica had no reason to form a military alliance with Chekovia.

Indeed, Ostarica would be at a definite loss if it had signed a treaty to send reinforcements in case Chekovia was attacked.

So, based on these facts, this conclusion could be drawn.

“The Ostaricans already know through the double agents I dispatched that they, not the Chekovians, are being attacked. But the Duke of Chekovia must be grateful to the Ostaricans for making such a treaty, thinking that they are the targeted country.”

“However, the Empire’s target this time is the western part of the Grand Duchy of Ostarica, with a path of advance from Innsbruck to Linz. Therefore, the reinforcements sent by the Chekovian army will not come.”

It might sound somewhat absurd that the Grand Duchy of Ostarica’s western part was being attacked under a mutual defense treaty, and yet the Grand Duchy of Chekovia was not sending reinforcements.

However, most treaties in this era were made as a joke, laying the groundwork for striking the opponent hard in the back.

Even if a single letter in the treaty differed, it was common to nitpick and not implement any treaty that was unfavorable to oneself.

In extreme cases, the world was such that an agent tearing up the treaty might bring the wrong seal of the king and claim it was invalid.

In this era, treaties were essentially unreliable, except for those determined by the outcomes of wars.

“…General Yeager has done it again. To gather an army of over 130,000 in Linz, they would have had to pull troops from across the Grand Duchy…”

“From Innsbruck to Linz, it’s practically empty aside from the minimum defensive forces, isn’t it?”

“Raiding an empty house is always fun. Plus, unless the Grand Duke of Ostarica is a fool, they’ll have to give up the defensive advantage to intercept us. The enemy won’t be able to utilize the defender’s advantage.”

The staff here were jumping for joy, but the Crown Prince and I couldn’t just view this situation with blind optimism.

Because, among others, Matthias and four other double agents we had planted turned against us.

Our beautiful plan to strike them hard had collapsed, leaving us to fight in a more disadvantageous position than we had anticipated.

Therefore, much of the confidential information about the Ostarican army received from those playing the role of double agents proved to be unreliable…

So, the Crown Prince, seated at the highest place to my right, seemed about to stand up and shout, “This is a trap,” but…

I grabbed the hem of His Highness’s robe and shook my head to signal him.

“Let’s blatantly pretend to be fooled now. It’s a more effective way to screw them over, Your Highness.”

The most lethal tactic from the deceiver’s standpoint was to pretend to be deceived until the moment before the decisive action.

And then to counterattack at the crucial moment for maximum effect.

“Although I can’t reveal their identities yet, we have dispatched several spies to Ostarica at the moment, and some of them are currently serving as officers in the Ostarican army.”

Upon hearing this, the officers here cheered.

“As expected of His Highness the Crown Prince and General Yeager. It’s difficult to persuade officers of the Ostarican army, yet you skillfully planted our officers among them.”

“It’s like having the enemy in the palm of our hand, isn’t it?”

“This expedition seems like it will be quite easy.”

…No, we were the ones backstabbed. Yet, by pretending not to know and then striking back at the Ostarican army, we aimed to turn the tables.

Thankfully, we were prepared and managed to bait them into withdrawing their troops from the western side towards Innsbruck.

If we had given accurate information to Matthias, acting as a reverse double agent, we would have had to abandon this expedition altogether.

His Highness the Crown Prince must have thought the same, but it really aged us ten years.

“Therefore, the General Staff and the Staff College believe this expedition will proceed without major issues. With that, I will conclude this brief presentation.”

As soon as he finished speaking, applause broke out everywhere, and other generals had already started counting their chickens before they hatched.

I quietly took out a fountain pen and wrote on the paper on my desk.

[Lieutenant Matthias and four others have betrayed us. Otherwise, Chekovia and the Grand Duchy of Ostarica would never have formed an alliance. However, since we sent them so meticulously, the Grand Duchy of Ostarica must think they have deceived us, so it would be best to proceed as originally planned, excluding the route of advance.]

Then, I passed that note to His Highness, who was sitting next to me.

Thus, we spent the next three hours listening to the operational briefing, and afterward, the Crown Prince cautiously called me aside to ask,

“General Yeager, what is our situation now? Is it the worst, or is it the best?”

Given that Matthias, who was acting as a double agent, betrayed us, the fact that the route of advance had been changed meant reinforcements from Chekovia wouldn’t come.

So, it was definitely not the worst situation.

However, since the double agents and various secrets we planted had gone to waste, it couldn’t be considered the best either.

“It depends on what we do, Your Highness. However, as long as Your Highness and I work together, even if it’s the worst case, we can overcome it, can’t we?”

Hearing this, His Highness laughed heartily and said,

“With you and me together, it’s always the best. That was a needless question.”

Then, grinding his teeth, he said,

“Matthias, Bolton, Ludwig, Billy, Joseph… To think you betrayed the empire even after I gave you a chance. I swear to Deus, after this expedition, you will be torn limb from limb. And to think you had betrayed us and still play right into General Yeager’s hands, it’s truly laughable.”