When the Saintess Arrives, No King Exist-Chapter 575 - 553 Military Council and Deployment

In the conference room, they made do with a quick working meal; these high-ranking military and government officials did not even leave the Uffizi Palace before returning to continue the military council.

Given the urgency of the current situation, there was clearly no time to waste, and thus the council was held overnight.

The fall of Damp Dock left Hotam County wide open.

However, it wasn’t a simple matter of deploying the army—numerous issues needed careful arrangement.

The first issues to resolve were why they were fighting, what they were fighting for, and how they would fight.

On the black iron candelabra by the pointed arch windows, white beeswax candles were lit, their light mingling with the bright fluorite lamps on the ceiling to illuminate the entire room.

Though Horn found it still dim, others already felt it was quite bright.

Unlike the earlier briefings, now in the conference room, in addition to the curias at the front, only the various legion commanders and field officers remained.

"I’ve urgently ordered Jeska to dispatch two more legions to support Damp Dock and commanded the front line at Deer Horn Town to halt their attack and slowly withdraw,"

Horn, dressed in a Salvation Army uniform, crossed his hands on the lambskin map before him: "Our battle plan is to expel the Thousand River Valley Church and encircle and annihilate the devil’s representative, Prince Kongdai. Now, let’s discuss this."

At the outset of the meeting, Horn set the tone, answering the question of why they were fighting.

This was no ordinary war but the decisive battle of the Thousand River Valley.

If they won this fight, it would be the first phase victory of the Thousand River Valley War, marking the Thousand River Valley People’s initial seizure of Thousand River Valley’s power.

As for the second phase, it would be the battle to establish a nation.

But that was too far off to consider for the time being.

What the officers and curias needed to resolve were the questions of how to fight and what to fight for.

"I think we should bypass to Prince Kongdai’s rear through Damp Dock and attack him in tandem with Moliat," said Mira, the first to speak up.

Many legion commanders and Secret Faction members nodded in agreement, even Jeanne voiced her concurrence.

This was the most straightforward tactic; they originally intended to jointly attack Prince Kongdai but were blocked by Deer Horn Town and Damp Dock.

Now that Damp Dock had fallen, bypassing it to execute the original plan seemed almost a foregone conclusion.

But Horn didn’t immediately agree, instead turning to Hakuto and Catherine, who frowned on the other side.

"Hakuto, what do you think?"

"Your Grace, I believe we should sail south and attack Feiliu Castle."

"Why?"

"Attacking Prince Kongdai will result in either victory or defeat, but if we attack Feiliu Castle, whether we win or lose, we still win."

Hakuto’s reasoning was straightforward.

The gates of Damp Dock were wide open, having been seized by the Salvation Army; it was only a three to five day journey to Feiliu Castle from there.

From a tactical perspective, the optimal solution would be to bypass Deer Horn Town from Damp Dock and cut into Prince Kongdai’s rear.

This was the plan unanimously agreed upon by the Black Snake Bay Secret Faction and the legion commanders—first defeat Prince Kongdai, then seize Feiliu Castle.

However, in Hakuto’s view, the strategic optimal solution was to first take Feiliu Castle, then turn back to deal with Prince Kongdai.

Because if Feiliu Castle were occupied by the Salvation Army, it would cut off the Thousand River Valley’s external route, leaving Prince Kongdai with no foothold. 𝒻𝑟𝘦𝘦𝘸ℯ𝒷𝑛𝘰𝓋ℯ𝘭.𝘤𝘰𝘮

Then, when engaging with Prince Kongdai, they could retreat calmly if they lost, or achieve a total annihilation if they won.

If they were to first have a decisive battle with Prince Kongdai and win, all would be fine, but if they lost, it would be as if Damp Dock had been seized for nothing and the nobles’ uprising had been in vain.

Why should the Salvation Army gamble on this probability?

Capturing Feiliu Castle determines the overall outcome, while Prince Kongdai’s battlefield only affects temporary success or failure.

Moreover, he doubted that seeing the Salvation Army attacking Feiliu Castle, Prince Kongdai wouldn’t hurry over to intercept?

"What if Prince Kongdai grits his teeth and wipes out Moliat?" As soon as Hakuto finished, a legion commander immediately raised this objection.

Catherine, siding with Hakuto, opposed, "Even if Prince Kongdai can wipe out Moliat, can he establish himself in Shangruifo County? Can Mountain County supply his troops? Can the knights of Mountain County accept him?"

"I think we should lay an ambush along the road after capturing Damp Dock, to ambush Prince Kongdai!"

"Since we are fighting, why not cut off their supply lines?"

"If we attack Feiliu Castle and fail, what if Prince Kongdai attacks Rapids City from behind?"

Subsequently, the legion commanders and curias went back and forth, soon arguing so heatedly that their faces turned red.

Forcing the chief curia Madlan, who was chairing the meeting, to shout hoarsely, "Order! Maintain order!"

In the intense disputes and declarations, some even ignored protocol, frequently interrupting others’ speeches or resorting to personal attacks.

According to procedural rules, many were silenced or expelled from the room to cool off.

At one point, the meeting had to recess for twenty minutes.

The meeting lasted from the moon’s rise until its zenith, with one proposal after another being adopted, while others were dismissed.

The opinions gradually converged, lessening the noise as two march routes slowly emerged on the map.

The first route was to start from Rapids City, deploy downstream to seize Feiliu Castle, then turn back to engage the rescuing Prince Kongdai.

The second route was, after capturing Damp Dock, to first cut off Prince Kongdai’s supply and then attack him with Moliat from both sides.

By then, everyone was exhausted, with dry mouths, no longer speaking, but instead looking at the young Pope who was frowning and sketching on the map.

But regardless of the collective decision, the final verdict rested with Horn himself.

In the solemn atmosphere, Horn spoke up, but not about military strategy; instead, it was unrelated content.

"Since September 1444, when the Saint Master appointed me and the Holy Father descended, it’s been one and a half years until today.

During the initial military councils, I often spoke alone while the other curias listened.

To this day, not only can everyone speak, but they also speak with substance—quite a significant change from then."

Indeed, as Horn surveyed the room today, numerous unfamiliar faces had emerged.

Times had changed; besides those few familiar faces, only the dog head on the wall evoked a sense of the bygone Gulag era.

It was uncertain how many familiar faces would remain after this battle was over.

Taking a deep breath, Horn’s eyes burned with intensity: "As for these two routes, both are excellent strategies, but I wish to make some modifications."

Everyone held their breaths, listening to Horn’s instructions.

"We will deploy downstream from Damp Dock, without entering Feiliu Castle, land at Shuimi Town, and first attack Prince Kongdai’s Imperial Decree Camp.

Without the Imperial Decree Camp, Feiliu Castle’s defensive strength will be, in the eyes of us, and even the rebellious nobles, as fragile as a bubble.

Currently, the Leia Kingdom cannot send reinforcements to Feiliu Castle; it is a feast, but there’s no hurry to consume it. We can take it with the help of a detachment and local nobles.

If Prince Kongdai attacks Rapids City, we will proceed upriver to engage him in a familiar setting in Rapids City.

If Prince Kongdai rushes to aid Feiliu Castle, we will rely on Feiliu Castle’s supplies and advantageous terrain to meet him at leisure by the river."

This was not Horn speaking at random; it was the result of deliberation among him, and the two advisors, Bernardo and Petier.

"Why don’t we seize Feiliu Castle ourselves?" a legion commander couldn’t help but ask.

"The phrase ’besiege a city by leaving one side open’ means to leave an escape route for the enemy, but it can also mean giving the enemy hope.

If we took Feiliu Castle, Prince Kongdai would lose hope and may escape to Shattered Stone Plain," Horn said, looking at the map with the highlighted route, "But our goal is to destroy the core military force of the Empire in the Thousand River Valley Region to ensure three to five years of peace."

If Prince Kongdai used Shattered Stone Plain to escape, the situation would be very different from what he had envisioned.