343: Chapter 22, The Crown Prince Arrives_1 343: Chapter 22, The Crown Prince Arrives_1 While speed is crucial in warfare, achieving it is often an ideal scenario.
Despite the Kingdom’s swift response to the call for aid and quick decision to dispatch relief troops, it still took significantly more time than desired.
Augustusburg fell in early May of 99988 in the Sacred Calendar.
By the time the aid forces from Layton County were officially dispatched, it was already the end of the month.
In light of such speed, Hudson was verbally praised by the King’s Special Envoy.
Compared to his colleagues who were still arguing, his swift response was commendable.
Without any surprises, Hudson’s Layton County Legion became the first team to respond to the rescue.
Anything related to politics becomes extraordinary when you are the first at it.
Hudson was reluctant about being thrust into the spotlight.
Who knew his colleagues would show incredibly strong resistance?
Even knowing they couldn’t escape their duty, they groundlessly wasted time.
Rescue is not a task where safety increases with delay.
If Moxi Duchy’s army collapses, the little aid from Alpha Kingdom wouldn’t be enough to fill the gap.
As his colleagues failed to act, the credit for the rescue fell squarely on Hudson’s shoulders.
Unfortunately, there was no real benefit beyond a slight increase in reputation.
The Alpha Kingdom was very clear about the role of their army – to “aid”.
In simple terms, this meant that they were to serve a support role on the battlefield, performing tasks such as defending cities, or fighting against minor Orc forces.
Even the most optimistic person in the capital wouldn’t dare dream of battling against the main force of the Orcs.
Geographically, Alpha Kingdom’s southeastern region comprised seven provinces.
Fengyun Province was still fighting at the frontier, so they were naturally exempted from the reinforcement duty.
The remaining six southeastern provinces were named to each delegate forces from one county for the war.
However, this led to numerous problems in execution.
Some smaller counties failed to gather an elite 15,000.
The deficits had to be made up by forces from other counties within the province.
If there was intense in-fighting within a province, and nobody willing to undertake the task, the burden would have to be shared equally among all counties.
Such a piecemeal army was typically characterized by chaos in command.
An interim legion commander would have limited authority over the nobles from different regions.
It took more than ten days for Hudson’s Layton County Legion to set out, yet two provinces’ reinforcement forces were still organizing their internal relationships.
There were logistical supply lines along the way and no need to worry about transportation.
They only needed to focus on the march.
Naturally, the marching speed was a tad faster than usual.
On the first day, Hudson’s troops advanced 60 miles.
But then naturally, the speed slowed down.
The good performance on the first day was because the King’s Special Envoy was there, masking his presence by accompanying the army as a send-off.
It was necessary to perform well in front of superiors.
Were it not for fear of overdoing it, and then not being able to rein it back in, they could easily march another 20 or 30 miles.
After all, this was a home-turf march, safe and secure, with no need for the troops to maintain combat readiness at all times.
Even camp-making and cooking duties were taken care of for them.
The nobles’ mobilization and coordination abilities alone seemed miraculous, especially when placed in a semi-slave feudal society.
However, such coordination would not be possible anywhere other than the Alpha Kingdom.
Nobles from other kingdoms on the continent would definitely not be this collaborative.
All these actions were thanks to the Orc Empire, shaping our cooperation skills over hundreds of years through the tireless efforts of the Orc army.
The nobles along the route provided full support, while those involved in combat strictly maintained military discipline—it was as though all parties had an unspoken agreement.
…
In the Jade Palace, Caesar III took in the reports with a fire in his eyes.
While the reinforcements had arrived, the performance of this ‘200,000-strong’ army was unspeakable.
Aside from Hudson’s Layton County Legion that departed on time, the rest of the reinforcements were all delayed.
The reasons were myriad, but the outcome was the same.
To prompt all reinforcement forces to set out, Count Jose, who was responsible for coordination, had no choice but to complain to the King.
“Your Majesty, as it is a bitter task to offer aid to Moxi Duchy, it is very normal for the people below to show resistance.
The forced conscription we previously initiated also brought difficulties to all the provinces involved in the execution.
Count Jose’s prestige is limited.
Until now, none of the local nobles had heard of his name, so it is normal that he cannot dominate the ambitious soldiers.
Perhaps we should replace him with a more prestigious noble to take up the position of Coalition Commander.”
Duke Newfoundland persuaded.
As the chancellor, he had a clear understanding of the difficulties faced at the local level.
Lethargy stemmed primarily from two aspects: the reluctance of the executing nobility and the chaos in piecing together forces.
The latter had a greater impact.
Compared to the pieced-together forces, those a few forces that managed to organize on the basis of a county performed much better.
The more complex the team, the higher the demands on the commander.
In theory, it’s perfectly fine to appoint a Count to command the Allied Forces.
Regrettably, Count Jose was a Court Count appointed by the King.
His title might sound high, but that was far from enough to command a complex Allied Forces.
Were it not for respect towards the King, giving some semblance of respect to this “King’s Special Envoy,” he’d likely be ignored by everyone.
Respect is one thing, execution is another.
A commander simply bearing a title wouldn’t even have the authority to make an example of people.