In the Name of Empress-Chapter 492 - 323: Perfect Footsteps

Hansa City, Governor’s Mansion.

This is the focal point of the entire Sussex Empire and even the whole Freedom Alliance.

Although Hansa is not the Imperial Capital, both the Empress and the Vice Emperor are here, so the core of the Empire’s power is naturally here.

Everyone in the Governor’s Mansion was hastily running around.

The expressions on the staff’s faces were not relaxed, but rather anxious.

Just a few days ago, the gateway of the Empire’s overseas territory, Frank Castle, fell, opening the door to Hansa City, with an unobstructed path to Hansa.

To minimize unnecessary casualties, Roland ordered the abandonment of several cities along the way.

Those who couldn’t evacuate in time were left in place, with only the military withdrawn.

According to the conventions of the times, demilitarized cities that surrender promptly will be treated well.

The Vladimir Empire and the Prudon Kingdom, after all, are members of the Civilized World and naturally would not violate these principles.

Of course, Roland did not intend to leave anything for the enemy.

Everything that could be destroyed had to be destroyed, especially strategic materials.

Better to spend money on rebuilding after the war than to let the enemy gain an advantage during it.

March is the spring planting season, and to ensure the enemy would not harvest grain from the land this year, he ordered hardy wild grass to be sown on the farmland.

The vitality of wild grass far exceeds that of wheat. As long as the fields are covered with wild grass, the crops this year won’t just see a sharp decline in yield; they will likely yield nothing at all.

In this era where the chemical industry is still in its exploratory phase and the invention of pesticides is far off, once wild grass occupies an ecological niche, it’s tough for wheat to make a comeback.

Only through weeding, plowing, and burning can the grass be eradicated.

By the time all this is done, the spring planting time would be over.

Turning large tracts of fertile land into grassland is cruel, but Roland had no choice. On this issue, he refused any opposition.

In the fifth-floor office of the Governor’s Mansion, Roland was standing at the window, gazing eastward.

These days, all that came from that direction were bad news.

No matter how justifiable the reasons, the fall of Frank Castle was still a heavy blow to military morale.

He could see that this "defeat" not only affected military morale but even caused some unrest in Hansa City.

Staring blankly out of the window for a while, he returned to his desk, his gaze fixed on the sand table in front of him, constantly moving the pieces representing troop deployments, frowning in deep thought.

During this time, the return of Mr. Wald made him a lot more at ease.

Since the old man was willing to take on the burden, Roland was naturally unreserved in delegating many affairs to him, focusing his own energy mainly on military matters, planning to personally... observe Christine’s micro-management.

Roland had a clear understanding of his own military ability.

A top theorist who mastered the military theories from ancient to modern times, of two worlds, a qualified military commander with insufficient practical experience.

Simply put, in the Otherworld, he was like a grand strategist who had no problem dealing with ordinary enemies but would collapse when faced with top generals.

His military theories combined with Christine’s concrete implementation were invincible. His outstanding contribution in it was probably equivalent to "scoring 81 points with Kobe."

He was very self-aware, never engaged in micro-management and boldly delegated power.

Staring at the sand table, Roland felt a headache coming on.

Although the residents of the Northern Plains had been evacuated and the necessary destruction carried out to ensure that even if the enemy occupied it, they would gain nothing, he still had to face a severe problem.

How to block the pursuing Prudon Army.

His defensive focus was on Val City, and the decisive battle location was the White Mountain, but that did not mean he could abandon Hansa City and flee.

To give up the Vice Capital before the battle even started, anyone would know there was a problem.

Hansa City had to be defended, and the enemy had to feel that he had no choice but to relinquish it.

However, tens of thousands of Prudon elite troops were about to cross the ruins of Frank Castle and march west.

With Hansa City’s current defensive capabilities, could it withstand this blow?

If perspiring before the Prudon’s offensive, what could stop the mightier Vladimir army?

Looking at Frank Castle marked in red and the four redesigned Prudon Kingdom’s armies stationed nearby, Roland felt a bit overwhelmed.

Defeating this army might not be difficult, but to offset the negative impact of the fall of the fortress, they must be annihilated or heavily crippled, not merely defeated or repelled.

According to the usual deployment of five times the force in an encirclement battle, at least five hundred thousand great troops would be needed to achieve this strategic goal.

That would be too embarrassing.

Roland was somewhat curious about how Miss Saintess would break the situation. After thinking it over, Roland could only come up with the conventional tactic of holding Hansa City, blunt the enemy’s momentum, and then encircle and annihilate them.

The benefit of this tactic was its steadiness, but its downside was that it was too steady.

If the enemy was not reckless, but instead stayed at Frank Castle, continually eroding the territory and compressing his living space, it would be difficult to encircle and annihilate them.

After careful consideration, Roland ultimately made the right choice.

Pass the ball to Kobe.

Oops, handing the problem to Christine.

Christine was still on the front line these days, so let’s wait until she returns.

As soon as he thought about taking it easy, he felt as if a great weight was lifted.

Staying in the combat command room was of little use, better to go elsewhere and have a look.

On the way to the Affairs Hall, no matter how anxious the staff were, they would stop and salute him.

Looking at Roland’s calm expression, these staff members had eyes full of genuine admiration.

No wonder he is the great Caesar, still so composed. He must have a way to deal with the enemy!

If these staff members knew that their most admired Lord Caesar was leisurely taking it easy, they might faint and fall flat on the ground.