467: Chapter 69, Small Staff Room_3 467: Chapter 69, Small Staff Room_3 Once the Orcs have finished mobilizing their troops, we’ll promptly take action.
Even if they wish to retreat, mobilizing a large army is not a task that can be completed within a day or two.
As long as our pace is swift enough, we can entirely be there before the Orc reinforcements arrive, and break the siege of Dapes.”
Seeing Marshal Hodge brimming with confidence, Hudson gave up on trying to dissuade him any further.
Whether it works or not, a battle is ultimately required to find out.
With such thorough preparations, throwing cold water on it at this moment would be too discourteous.
“No problem, as long as your National Army is capable of holding off the main Orc army and preventing their reinforcements.
The rest can be left to the Expeditionary Army.
However, for the issues of war horses and equipment, we should continue to urge for them.
The earlier they are ready, the greater our chances of victory will be.”
Hudson said boldly.
The sincerity of his voice left Marshal Hodge without a chance to refuse.
He wanted to speak up several times, but in the end, he swallowed his words.
It is, after all, a guest army.
It’s fine to ask them for help, but expecting them to take on the hardest tasks as the main force would be too burdensome.
What’s crucial is that even if Hudson agrees, the Expeditionary Army can’t hold off the Bimon Cavalry Regiment of the Orcs.
Mentioning things that are bound to be unachievable is pointless.
Only cavalry troops can really restrain the Bimon Cavalry Regiment.
Two cavalry corps + five knight corps, their strength on paper is already very similar to the Bimon Cavalry Regiment.
If they can draw some cavalry from different troops to participate in the war, they might even be able to gather another cavalry corps.
The strength gap between the two sides is not big, so there’s only a minuscule chance of failure in merely holding them off.
The real trouble is blocking reinforcements.
If they can’t block the Orc reinforcements, all the victories in the front will be useless.
If each of the Top Five Orc Courts sends an Elite Legion, the situation will be reversed again.
“His Excellency the Count can rest assured, once the war horses and equipment are in place, they will be distributed to the Expeditionary Army immediately.
As for the deployment in the great battle, it’s still too early to discuss.
Once the situation becomes clearer, we can slowly communicate and negotiate.”
Having insufficient confidence, Marshal Hodge dared not to give a definitive answer.
The shift in the Orcs’ strategic focus is just their conjecture based on changing battlefield conditions and it doesn’t mean it is certain to happen.
If it was just a bluff and they continued to attack fervently, setting their sights on destroying Moxi Duchy first, it could also be possible.
…
After seeing off Marshal Hodge, Hudson’s attention returned to military training.
Compared to before, there have been significant changes in recent times.
Though he hasn’t received explicit allegiance from his subordinates, the number of nobles showing goodwill towards him is increasing.
If they couldn’t be won over temporarily, friendship could still be made.
The world of adults is realistic, ultimately everything is a transaction.
“What can be gained, what needs to be given up.” will be the core factor influencing everyone’s decisions.
This sort of matter is to be dealt delicately, showing excessive eagerness, revealing demands prematurely will only place oneself in a passive position.
Most nobles are ambitious and will never swear allegiance unless absolutely necessary.
The best way to deal with these people is not to subdue them, but to act as political allies.
As long as the relationship is handled well, when the call to arms is raised in the future, there will naturally be people sending their offspring over.
Compared to these nobles with titles and fiefs, those noble children who have nothing are what Hudson can truly “afford”.
“His Excellency the Count, this is the reorganization plan for the Expeditionary Army, please review it!”
While speaking, Baron Katelai handed a document to Hudson.
This is also one of Hudson’s recent achievements.
Although he has not made drastic changes to the Expeditionary Army, he has established a small staff department internally.
Without altering the original military system, the newly formed small staff department’s authority is limited to staff functions and assisting in handling military affairs.
This change didn’t impact the nobility’s leadership over their private armies and didn’t violate anyone’s actual interests, so it naturally didn’t cause any ripples.
Including the current military reconfiguration, it still followed the tradition of Alpha kingdom, proceeding orderly with the expansion.
After briefly reviewing the officer’s list and troop allocation on the document, which did not deviate much from the pre-discussed plans, Hudson lightly nodded his head.
“Issue this list to the public according to the names on the document!”