CH 368

Chapter 368 – Chrysanthemum War II (9)

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“We will win against the Duke of Milano but lose against the Grand Duke of Florence.”

This was the plan that Laura devised.

We were dealing with the Duke of Milano and the Grand Duke of Florence in opposite ways.

The two high nobles were going through an internal dispute. However, they probably weren’t so foolish that they would completely divide with an enemy in front of them. We have to scheme more meticulously to deepen their divide.

First, the Duke of Milano.

This old aristocrat has been trickling out detached units every now and then. He was probably trying to keep us in check after hearing that the Grand Duke of Florence was advancing northward.

We crushed these detached units.

Every time a detached unit of a hundred fifty or three hundred came running out, we crushed them underneath our feet without any hesitation. We struck their detached units like a cat catching mice.

Once this unfortunate event happened about five times, the Duke of Milano threw his hands up. He flat-out locked his gates and refused to come out. He most likely felt that the cavalrymen that barely made it out alive from the Battle of Ticinus would simply end up dying here instead if he continued to send them out.

How unfortunate, Duke.

Losing your cavalrymen from the beginning was too great of a loss. You shouldn’t have offered your cavalrymen as reinforcement for the Earl of Pavia. It would have been better if you squeezed out about five thousand civilian soldiers.

Of course, those civilians would’ve been wiped out, but that’s okay. Using them as disposable cards would’ve been fine.

You’d be losing five thousand civilian soldiers, but still have all of your elite troops. That would’ve been more than enough to protect your city.

Your situation would’ve been much better than what you’re in now. If you had used five thousand cavalrymen with some knights mixed in as your detached unit, then they wouldn’t have been squashed by us like bugs. They could’ve harassed us by performing guerilla tactics like hit and runs…….

Not only that.

It would’ve made it so that the Duke of Milano offered civilian soldiers to save a neighboring city. This would have definitely weakened the complaints directed at him. If anything, the blame would have fallen more on the Earl of Pavia for forcing the Duke to make such a hasty decision.

He would’ve gained both a military and political advantage. It would’ve helped his situation immensely……. In the end, that would have put our imperial army in a difficult position.

However, the Duke sent his elite cavalrymen instead of civilian soldiers. This was an undeniable mistake.

He most likely never imagined that a cavalry unit of about 5,000 troops would get wiped out by a single ambush. In other words, he underestimated Laura as a commander.

Did he believe that Laura defeated Brittany by pure luck? Did he think of her as nothing more than a girl in her early twenties……? What a fool. Throughout history, there haven’t been that many humans in their teenage years that have made large contributions to wars, but that doesn’t mean they don’t exist. Laura was more than worthy to be treated as an exception and be remembered throughout history.

From now on, the continent will be split into those who figure this out and those who don’t. Unfortunately, you belong to the latter group, Duke. The name Ludovico de Sforza will be remembered by future generations as an example of those who do not heed these warning signs.

The Duke no longer has a way to hold us in check now. He’s no match for us in terms of mobility. At this point, the northern region of Novara, Milano, and Pavia was now under the control of the imperial army, not Sardinia.

In this era, having an absolute advantage in terms of mobility meant that you also had a clear advantage in information warfare.

We sent out scouts in all directions like we were deploying a spider web. The scouts gathered information without receiving any interference whatsoever. Thanks to this, we were able to learn exactly where the Grand Duke of Florence’s army was coming from, when they would arrive, and where they were headed.

The Grand Duke of Florence was speeding northward.

He wasn’t only fast. The Grand Duke made sure to acquire harbors as supply bases before he advanced further. He drafted civilian soldiers and used them as a navy. He put them in charge of the supply ships. He left combat to the mercenaries and his supplies to the civilian soldiers who were used to seafaring.

Laura was impressed by his speedy and organized actions.

“He’s fast, but not rushing things. His decisions are also rational. I heard that the Grand Duke of Florence belonged to a subsidiary line in the Medici family, but I see there is a reason why he was able to defeat his competitors and become the head of the family…….”

There was no unnecessity in his actions. This summarized the Grand Duke of Florence perfectly.

Furthermore, the Grand Duke didn’t only focus on his supplies and speed. Similar to how we sent out our scouts, the Grand Duke also dispatched scouts of his own. Thanks to this, there was a war of nerves between the scouts.

“This has become an annoyance. People with this personality are simple and honest, but they are also careful. I thought the Grand Duke would be a little more impatient since I heard he was 26 years old, but it seems a completely opposite individual has shown himself.”

“Dear me. It seems that Sardinia has a fair number of competent nobles.”

I glanced at Laura. Laura was also from Sardinia, so I was tossing out a joke.

Laura laughed bitterly once she understood my joke.

“Despite everything, they were in a civil war for almost 30 years, after all. Only the competent individuals were likely able to survive…….”

Indeed. When the Black Death swept through the continent, Sardinia was the only nation that incurred little losses. Even though Sardinia was also where the Black Death first occurred. The competency of their ruling class was proven in that regard.

Looking at this the other way around, this meant that the House of Farnese was more incompetent than them. Not only did they not realize the potential of their daughter, but they completely fell to ruin due to the civil war as well. There was a moment of silence. Laura was looking down at the map impassively. Was she thinking about her parents……?

I pretended to not notice the mood as I spoke in a lively tone.

“What should we do? There is no need to waste our cavalrymen needlessly when this is a battle of nerves. I personally recommend calling our scouts back.”

“I am saying that we cannot do that, Lord.”

The impassive look on Laura’s face had disappeared as she let out a chuckle. Happy to see this, I contorted my expression. Of course, this was a performance. However, it stops being a simple performance once the other party knows that it’s a performance.

“I believe my idea is rather rational.”

“Haha, do not sulk, Lord. I might end up mistaking you for someone who is cute.”

“I am cute, though.”

I then approached Laura and bit her earlobe. Laura let out a squeal before speaking with a pleasantly annoyed tone. People are capable of being pleasantly annoyed.

“We are in a military base! You are truly like a dog that is constantly in heat!”

“I believe that I will stop being in heat if you acknowledge that I am the cutest man in the world.”

“What kind of nonsense is that!? A vampire would rub garlic on their eyes if they heard you……! Ahh!? Fine, fine, I get it! You are the sweetest and cutest man in the world! Now please stop using your tongue!”

“Please also add that I am the most handsome man in the world.”

“Do you not have even the slightest bit of shame……!?”

The two of us played around like this for a while.

We resumed our strategy meeting after that pleasant exchange. Oh right, I forgot to mention that we were in the middle of a strategy meeting. Although our antics earlier would happen for thirty minutes on an hourly basis, it was still a strategy meeting.

I spoke haughtily as I sat on my chair and crossed my legs.

“Now then, Laura. I present to you, Laura, the opportunity to explain your reasoning to the greatest man in the world. Try explaining yourself with that small wisdom of yours.”

“……I am getting a strong desire to just give up and lose this war, but I will endure since I am more mature than you, Lord.”

“Haha, you flatter me.”

“That was not a compliment, foolish Lord!”

It almost looked like a vein was going to pop on Laura’s forehead.

“Sheesh. In any case, we must not call our cavalrymen back.”

“Why is that?”

“This will give the impression that we cherish our cavalrymen. They will interpret our action as trying to preserve our troops as much as possible before the deciding battle. If that happens, then the Grand Duke of Florence will do whatever he can to join forces with the Duke of Milano.”

So we cannot make it appear as if we cherish our troops. Is that what she’s saying?

I thought having a grand and decisive battle was something that we wanted.

They already have an advantage over us in terms of numbers. Each and every single one of our soldiers is precious. It would simply make things difficult for us if we were to let our scouts perish needlessly when we already have a grasp of the enemy’s military power and location.

“Do not misunderstand, Lord.”

Laura spoke flatly as if she could see exactly what was going through my head.

“Even if we were to lose five hundred or even a thousand of our cavalrymen, it would still be worth it if it means we can keep the Grand Duke of Florence and the Duke of Milano thoroughly apart. Conversely, five hundred cavalrymen would mean nothing if they were to join forces.”

“……I see. Five hundred troops would not be the issue at that point.”

I agreed.

“Then what should we do?”

“We will continue to dispatch scouts. Even more so than before.”

Laura spoke as if she were giving an obvious answer.

“However, scouting will not be their objective. Their aim will be to harass the Grand Duke of Florence persistently as he advances. No, I guess it would be better to say that their goal will be to make it appear as if they are harassing him persistently.”

“Hm.”

I placed my hand against my chin.

“We will need a unit with at least a thousand troops if we want to hinder their advance.”

“I already said that we do not have to actually hinder them. It will be enough if we make it seem like we are.”

Laura grinned.

“We will continuously send a hundred scouts.”

“If we do that, then they will easily be defeated by the enemy’s outpost troo—Oh. So that is what you are trying to do?”

I came to a realization mid-sentence. I figured out Laura’s intention.

However, I pointed out a potential flaw out of concern.

“I understand the premise of making the Grand Duke of Florence conceited by presenting him with victories, but would he truly become conceited after defeating some scouts? As you said earlier, the Grand Duke is simple and honest.”

“It is fine.”

Laura answered confidently.

“I have a plan.”

There was no need to say anything more if she was that confident.

Laura’s plan was immediately put into motion.

While the Duke of Milano shut himself further inside his city, the Grand Duke of Florence kept experiencing victory after victory.

“Our scouts were routed at Parma!”

“The squadron that was keeping an eye on Cremona has retreated!”

“Your Highness, the enemy has captured Piacenza!”

The scouts we had spread all over for their superior mobility were defeated one after another.

Continental calendar: Year 1512, Month 6, Day 25.

The Grand Duke of Florence finally arrived right in front of our noses.

They approximately had over thirty thousand soldiers. I thought they would be wasting time trying to draft soldiers, but he managed to lead a rather sizable army here.

The army of thirty thousand from the kingdom set up their camp on a hill called Piacenza. It was a name that, apart from leaving an impression of how humans name everything in the world, didn’t evoke any particular inspiration or excitement. I have no reason to waste the precious storage space in my head to memorize an insignificant name like this.

In any case, it was called Piacenza. This place was also a superior location.

To the west, they could aim for Pavia which had become a stronghold for our forces, and to the north, they could cooperate with Milano. They could keep us in check while also coordinating with an ally.

Attacking Milano would reveal our backs to the Grand Duke of Florence and attacking the Grand Duke would open us up to Milano. I guess you could compare this to two guys aiming for one girl. As expected of Sardinians. I unexpectedly ended up being in awe of their perversion.

The issue, however, is the fact that one of the two guys is an old man with a limp dick. The Duke of Milano. This old man was misunderstanding something as he believed that the girl would come crawling to him herself.

When a rich old man falls into delusions, there’s no end to them. What a pitiful soul. Time is not on your side. I’m personally looking forward to seeing the moment you come to this realization.

Laura gave a new order at this point.

“Burn Pavia to the ground!”

The cityscape of Pavia which had been left alone until now was destroyed mercilessly.

The civilians came out crying for forgiveness. It was the city that their parents and grandparents had built, but Laura remained firm with her order.

Once they realized this, a portion of the civilians escaped from the city.

They risked their lives to slip out from the ironclad security. In truth, about two hundred civilians had died. However, roughly ten managed to escape. The escapees made their way east, in the direction of Piacenza.

This wasn’t a coincidence.

The western, southern, and northern gates were sealed shut beforehand. We deliberately positioned fewer guards at the east gate. Making sure that the escapees would only succeed in going east was planned.

“Let us send the cavalry to pursue them. Do you have anything else to command, commander?”

Laura laughed.

The following three-worded command she gave was a quote that will remain in the history books.

“Do it half-assed.”