I Became a Genius Commander at the Academy - Chapter 207: War Is Diplomacy (2)

There’s an adage that applies to both diplomacy and war:

“Today’s ally becomes tomorrow’s enemy.”

This saying has been applied to numerous wars that have shaken the world and is an effective diplomatic strategy that has been used for centuries.

Among the most notable examples is when the Soviet Union, a leading socialist country, and the United States, a representative capitalist country, considered each other brothers and joined forces to fight against Nazi Germany.

After World War II, as they emerged as superpowers of their respective camps, they became enemies who could not share the same sky.

The important thing is that one of the strategies I’m about to use was inspired precisely by this.

“A good strategy even before the official war preparations. Alright, tell me everything.”

“The plan is to break the alliance between Stockholm and Swedia. Then, the Reich Empire and the Kingdom of Swedia will join hands to target the Stockholm Kingdom.”

“The Kingdom of Swedia and the Stockholm Kingdom have already formed a close alliance. How do you plan to break that relationship?”

Over the past few years, they have sent ambassadors to each other’s capitals, and the nobles near the border have actively demonstrated their good relations by alternately hosting social gatherings.

As a result, politicians and nobles across the Europa continent are somewhat certain that a marital alliance will soon take place between the two.

As His Majesty said, it seems virtually impossible to break the close relationship between the two countries by ordinary means…

“If the two countries had been in a marital alliance, honestly, I wouldn’t have dared to attempt anything. However, while Swedia and Stockholm maintain a friendly relationship, their alliance doesn’t greatly benefit Swedia’s side. That’s because Stockholm Kingdom’s reward to the Kingdom of Swedia after taking over the north would be just a few pieces of gold.”

“According to testimonies from those who followed Istvan, and reports submitted by the Empire’s Foreign Minister and the Intelligence Department, the two countries have formed an alliance to amicably divide the Empire’s northern territories. That means Swedia and Stockholm would split the northern territories equally, which would be a significant benefit to both countries, wouldn’t it?”

“As Your Majesty mentioned, the Stockholm Kingdom could split the newly acquired northern territories in half to keep its alliance promise with Swedia. However, look at the geographical conditions as shown on the map. The Kingdom of Swedia is about a day and a half away by boat from the Empire’s northern regions. It would be challenging to dispatch troops to protect and continuously supply food to the northern territories. Therefore, this war would ultimately only benefit the Stockholm Kingdom.”

No matter how important it is to expand territory, one should only conquer lands that can be maintained with their national power. Greed beyond that means the newly conquered land will not remain theirs and will eventually be lost.

Then, all the resources, cash, and human resources invested in conquering and maintaining that land will be wasted, resulting in significant losses.

Therefore, while it might be feasible for the Stockholm Kingdom, which is only about an hour away by warship from the northern territories, the Swedia Republic will find it very difficult to maintain half of the northern territories given by Stockholm.

Stockholm, having taken half of the newly conquered northern territories, will find all sorts of excuses to pick a quarrel with Swedia. Eventually, they might just give up the hard-to-manage territory to Stockholm, settling for a treaty that ends with receiving a small amount of money, thinking it’s better to cut their losses.

Through such a process, the Empire will ultimately lose complete control over the north.

Stockholm will find it easy to conquer the northern territories by drawing on Swedia’s strength, and after withstanding a bit of time, they will secure the vast territory as their own.

In short, it’s a war where only Stockholm stands to gain.

“As you said. Moreover, after securing the remaining half of the north from Swedia in that manner, they will move the Grand Duchy of Varshava to avoid our containment. Then, the Empire will be unable to turn its attention to the north occupied by Stockholm for a while.”

“Then, the Stockholm Kingdom will entrust Istvan with managing the north, fully incorporating the territory into Stockholm’s realm. From the Empire’s perspective, we will have one more country across our border.”

“Just thinking about it is irritating and infuriating. However, if Swedia forms an alliance with us as you suggest, the Empire’s north will become secure, right?”

Even if Swedia and the Reich Empire form an alliance, it doesn’t mean the northern border will immediately stabilize.

The root cause of this problem is the king of the Stockholm Kingdom, and unless he completely abandons his greed for the north.

As long as there are traitors like Istvan who betrayed and fled this time, they can shake the northern territories.

However, this issue can also be resolved if I directly engage Stockholm in combat and achieve a significant victory, effectively pulling their teeth, then the north will stabilize.

“For stability, as the commander of the Northern Army, I must achieve an overwhelming victory against Stockholm.”

“You have never failed my expectations. I won’t worry about not winning against those Stockholm youngsters. However, to persuade the Swedia folks this time, we need to offer something appropriate. Do you have any thoughts?”

“The Reich Empire should take part of southern Stockholm as a war prize, and Swedia the north. Additionally, we should offer tens of thousands in gold and a contract stamped with Your Majesty’s seal.”

The Emperor’s seal may be an excessive demand, but without it, Swedia might not even listen to us.

Still, such an alliance proposal, based on the draft I’ve provided, would not be unusual for the Foreign Minister, another minister, or the Chancellor to review and proceed with.

For some reason, His Majesty seemed to have high expectations for me, judging by his look.

“Ahem, ahem. Ahem, ahem. Unfortunately, the Chancellor is currently busy with territorial issues near Innsbruck, and the Foreign Minister will leave for the Francois Republic in a week. Ah, it’s concerning who to send.”

“Then, how about my father-in-law…”

“He’s currently on a week’s vacation. No need to specifically call him. Ah, the Crown Prince is also on his way to negotiate in Chekovia right now.”

“If Your Majesty entrusts me, although I am inexperienced and of low rank, I, Major General Peter Yaeger, will attempt to persuade the Kingdom of Swedia.”

As if he had been waiting just for this, the Emperor smiled broadly and said,

“Ah, to send you, still a major general, to distant Swedia. The other generals might feel a bit slighted, but don’t worry. I’ll explain everything properly. Set sail from the north to the Kingdom of Swedia in a fortnight. I’ll assign an Undersecretary of Foreign Affairs as your assistant and send the document detailing the authority you can exercise, along with my signet ring.”

“Thank you, Your Majesty. I will surely repay your kindness.”

“Go ahead then. Ah, and since you might attend social gatherings and such, even though it’s an official trip, it would be wise to take Louise with you. She is your lawful wife and the 4th Imperial Princess, which will elevate the envoy’s status. Also, it happens that she turns 20 in a month, so I hope you bring back good news upon your return.”

Hearing this, I was certain.

His Majesty is building my merits to promote me to general when the Crown Prince ascends the throne, and in the process, is even checking to prevent me from getting too friendly with the other generals.

And as I left the office, I heard something I wasn’t supposed to hear.

“Major General Yaeger is only 29 years old, so he can serve as a general for at least 25 years. No, by that time, he will have achieved unprecedented merits in the history of the Empire, so even if he reaches the retirement age for his rank, we can insert a special provision to allow him to serve until 100 years old…”

And two months later, I was led to the palace in Oslo, the capital of Swedia.

“Hello, Major General Yaeger. I am Amadeus von Brahe, the Foreign Minister of Swedia. It’s truly a pleasure to have you visit us from afar. Please, take a seat.”