Chapter 53 Deploying Troops and Appointing Generals

  "Well, I'll take my leave first." Penelope wisely took the lead and left first.

  Alexander came up from behind and told everything that had happened in the Grand Palace today.

  The Russians came with a sealed letter from the King of Poland, demanding that we cease all commercial intercourse with the rebellious Kingdom of Poland and threatening to lay an embargo on the Empire if their demands were not complied with.

  "This is arrogance!" The Russians are obviously looking for trouble, actually wanting to sanction the Empire, what a joke.

  Alexander said disdainfully: "Isn't it? In the Grand Palace, both sides will soon be mutually sarcastic."

  "Are the Russians going to declare war on us just like that?" I was puzzled, this was obviously a probe, how could they start fighting?

  "The envoy of Russia certainly doesn't have this ability, but our father has a concubine who overturned the table, and the prince is too arrogant."

  It was our father Caesar who declared war on the Russians. He showed them the treaty given by the remnants of Poland, which were protected by the Empire in the lowlands along the Black Sea coast. The nominal enclave belonging to the Kingdom declared its separation from the Polish Kingdom and joined the Roman Empire, becoming an inviolable territory of the Empire, and demanded that the Russians return the city of Kiev. These two demands immediately blocked the Russians' retreat, leaving no room for negotiation.

  What was originally just a probe of the empire's attitude ended up being a declaration of war.

  Too unexpected!

  The entire empire was caught off guard!

  The Russians were also caught off guard!

  However, the war between the empire and Russia is inevitable. Whether it was the Ottoman Empire in the past or Rome today, because of its location in Constantinople, it has been directly facing the rising Russian army's edge, blocking the road to Russia's southward expansion.

  As soon as the declaration of war was issued, the reaction from all walks of life was basically the same, that is, their enthusiasm for participating in the war was extremely high!

  Poland's attempt to join the empire has greatly increased the prestige of the imperial people. Secondly, going to war means that the empire needs to expand its military, and many young people who are not satisfied with their current situation and do not have the intelligence to become rich can only achieve success by joining the army and earning military merit. This is also true for soldiers, as going to war means earning military merit, which in turn means access to noble titles, wealth, and social advancement!

  Ordinary businessmen have more complex emotions, war will destroy peace and without peace there can be no trade, so the empire has to declare war on Russia, but Russians tolerate Cossacks galloping in Polish plains, imperial merchants often suffer harassment, if fighting could drive away those guys it would also be a good choice. So they are somewhat ambivalent, but their attitude is still inclined to support this war.

  Arms dealers, oligarchs of the industry, are actually imperial nobles who are most enthusiastic about war!

  Whose family in the Carpathian Mountains does not have a garden of aromatic plants, when Russia expands southward, their interests will be threatened first. Since the Mongols' western conquest receded, the Lower Danube Plain became imperial territory. A hundred years after being conquered, the Lower Danube Plain, which was once part of the Bulgarian Kingdom, got a new name - the empire's cash cow. This vast land is divided into two by the Danube River: the northern part produces high-quality aromatic raw materials, and the southern part processes them into perfume, which flows into European countries and turns into gold that flows back to the empire. Secondly, if the empire expands its territory northward, more land will be available for purchase to increase wealth by expanding workshop materials. Finally, it is still the most important thing for all imperial people - military merit! Only military merit can be the capital for ordinary middle and lower nobles to squeeze into Constantinople!

  The disadvantages of sending troops are also obvious.

  The cheap father's policy of living and nurturing has been destroyed, not to mention that the low-lying areas along the Black Sea coast have more than 100,000 square kilometers. As a result, the imperial army also walked out of the Carpathian Mountains. The area to be defended expanded from the Black Sea estuary of the Dniester River to the entire Bordeaux Highlands and the Dnieper River Highlands, and this time the mobilized troops must not exceed 50,000, and the cost of marching will exceed 10 million.

  Take the initiative to attack the lowlands along the Black Sea coast, and let the imperial army have a fight with the Russian army in the lowlands of the Black Sea coast. Use a real intense collision to shock the small, if won, the empire will expand by more than 100,000 square kilometers, and the prestige of the Seoafano family will be greatly enhanced.

  As for the issue of defeat, since winning can bring great benefits, losing also comes with a huge price to pay. The loss of several elite legions is enough to make our old man cry, and the blow from a single defeat would be enough to tarnish the face of House Sefano. We must remember that we are currently in an awkward position, and all these years of recuperation were not just for the sake of preserving our dominant position within the empire. If the war is lost, it will be a crippling blow to the empire, and similarly devastating for House Sefano. And if someone takes advantage of House Sefano's fallen reputation to secretly plot... it would be another bloody storm.

  Will Roma lose?

  That's what I'm worried about!

  The empire is now also considered to be vast, with the western border marked by the Tisza River, which divides it from Austria's Habsburgs in the middle reaches of the Danube Plain. It has also occupied southern Naples and western Sicily. In the east, it has restored its traditional territory all the way to the Euphrates River, and then expanded its territory along the narrow coastline to Damascus, with the Black Sea and half of the Mediterranean included within its borders. This is even larger than the empire during the reign of Basil II after the Hellenization of Rome. However, for more than 20 years, the empire has not fought a major war, and the great generals have either died or grown old. Even if they wanted to find them, they would be reluctant to go to the northern border to fight, given their wealth and status. As for Russia, its territory is almost as large as that of Rome, although it has not yet defeated Sweden. Its territory has not expanded to the extent it was before Peter I's death, but it has been fighting major wars every three years and minor wars every year, and can rival the powerful Swedish kingdom that once dominated the entire Baltic Sea, even gaining the upper hand.

  "Hahaha! Haha! Ahahahaha!"

  Maurice has been subconsciously making the same laugh every time he sees me since he heard that the Empire declared war on Russia. For a warmonger like him, as long as there's a battle to be fought, nothing else matters. And there are still many people like this in the Imperial Army. I don't know which family's genes are so twisted, but they're so full of expansionism that they've occupied nearly half of the military department over the centuries.

  "For Rome!"

  Apart from these warlike frenzies, there were more Romans within the empire who viewed warfare as a mission.

  "Hail Rome!"

  Almost every moment, the whole army department was filled with such shouts.

  "Long live Rome!"

  In short, due to Russian provocation, this great war machine of Rome immersed for more than a decade began its operation again!

  The movement of the legions, the appointment of generals, the transportation of grain, the storage of ammunition and artillery, the deployment of fleets, everything made the entire military department busy beyond measure.

  And I, due to the influence of Russia's declaration of war, was left behind and followed Alexander to be demoted to the troops.

  The military department specially held a small meeting to discuss which legion is suitable for Alexander and me. The final discussion was that Alexander and I will enter two cavalry regiments from Anatolia as cavalry captains.

  Cavalry regiment, with a standard complement of 380 men, is the second largest tactical unit of cavalry and the second smallest strategic unit of cavalry.

  During a campaign, the smallest tactical cavalry unit of the Empire was the squadron, followed by the battalion, regiment and brigade.

  The largest strategic formation is the Byzantine Empire's Sacred Knights, which were formed separately in special times. However, the Byzantine Empire's Iron-clad Sacred Knights are just a distant legend, a product of the medieval era and the previous dynasty's excessive indulgence. In general, the larger the scale of an independent cavalry formation, the less suitable it is for modern times. Recently, only the massive number of over 20,000 cavalrymen gathered in one army has existed to counter the Green Sect's overwhelming cavalry offensive.

  After the military reform, the more flexible cavalry regiments are the main forces of the empire in various places. When the cavalry regiments in each legion gather together, the legion commander will organize them into a cavalry corps according to the situation.

  I rather look forward to being assigned to which cavalry regiment in Anatolia.

  A little later, news of our appointment was transmitted from the Imperial Department throughout the capital.

  I have two titles in addition to being the son of Seo Fano. One is the commander of the Second Byzantine Legion Cavalry Regiment, Imperial Cavalry Lieutenant Colonel, which was expected. The other is a retained observer at the Constantinople Military Academy's first term. This means that I won't be able to receive my graduation certificate from that military academy until I'm 24 years old, and during this time, I have to return to the military academy every year to write a thesis.

  Following the principle that one basket cannot hold two eggs, Alexander stayed in the second echelon, and a batch will be selected from thousands of military school students to come to my legion for internship.

  In just a few days, a series of orders were conveyed and executed, all legions, officers and supplies are on their way to the front line. So, who will be the commander-in-chief of the three armies this time? You can search for "Crossing in 18th century Europe DouDou Net" on Baidu.