Chapter 57: War, I'm Here

  A few days later, the military department announced the news. It turned out that Duke Brinckman was appointed as the supervisor of the Imperial Slavic Army, and Duke Brinckman's subsequent arrangements proved that my idea was not wrong.

  Given the vastness of the Eastern European plain, the empire's main force against Russia consists of three legions stationed in the Black Sea coastal corridor, with a total of 15 legions and 96,000 men. One legion will be garrisoned in the corridor without moving, while the other 14 legions will set foot on the land of Eastern European plain.

  The First Cohort, the Kyiv Aspect Legion, consists of five legions: the Second Byzantium Legion, the Third Spartan Legion, the Tenth Spartan Legion, the Fifth Rheinstein Legion, and the Eighth Mograine Legion.

  I'm so fed up with that guy from the previous term, Mograine. Any player who has played World of Warcraft should have heard of the classic dialogue "Resurrect, my champion" from the Blood Prince Council? This phrase is actually referring to a tragic figure called "Mograine"... What's even more mind-boggling is that any legion named after Mograine can't seem to escape having a similar legion motto like "Resurrect, my champion". Like the 8th Mograine Legion, which is "Phoenix Reborn, I have been reborn".

  Is there a more collapsed reality than this?

  Some, the Roman Empire's military rank system from the mid-13th century to the 15th century was surprisingly a copy or modified version of World of Warcraft's Horde! Grand Marshal, Marshal, General, High Commander, Commander, Centurion, Legionnaire, Honorary titles include, Double-headed Eagle Guardian, Blood Guard, Imperial Guard.

  Although the military reform in the mid-15th century modified some of the outdated military ranks, similar titles such as Du Jun and Jun Tuan Zhang were retained. For example, the honorary title of High-ranking Du Jun was conferred upon Lao Zhi when he died, while the position of Jun Tuan Zhang evolved from the imperial military system to a role similar to that of a division commander.

  Thereafter, the Duke of Oldenburg assembled the main generals of the First Corps and at the meeting his demand was that five regiments, whether or not they had arrived, as soon as we reached Odessa, if there were more than two regiments in strength, to advance immediately northwards.

  The three legions that were originally in the coastal corridor have taken over the local area, so we can safely advance. If the legion advancing north encounters a considerable enemy army, it is best not to launch any attacks easily, cut off their supply lines, and force the enemy to retreat. If encountering a large number of enemy troops, all legions participating in this attack must preserve their strength and maneuver with the enemy, and if necessary, retreat to fortified fortifications. But if no enemy army is encountered, which is also the most likely possibility, besiege Kiev, send out light cavalry to raid the Russian territory behind Kiev.

  The old Duke of Burlingas stood at the door before everyone left the conference building and said to each noble who passed by: "Fight for Rome."

  "My Glory."

  When it was my turn, the old duke clenched his fist.

  Orders are conveyed and executed immediately.

  The big ships bound for Odessa were waiting for us at the Imperial Harbour.

  When I left, there were beautiful noblewomen and young ladies from aristocratic families everywhere on the dock. Even Old Man Cheap came to see me off.

  This time there are many people following, and Cheap Dad has sent me eighty guards to serve as my personal guard, the son of the head of the guards, Leon, has been transferred over to be my head of security.

  The old-fashioned cargo-carrying sailing ships could carry many more people than this.

  Valens, along with over a hundred cadets from the Constantinople Military Academy, and Valens' father, Duke Orontes of Chrysos, as well as more than thirty imperial nobles accompanied by their guards, boarded without feeling crowded. Our mounts, however, had to be transported on two other large ships; after all, no one wanted the entire ship to reek.

  Valens' father Olybrius was the highest-ranking noble in our entire retinue, and he commanded our first cohort.

  Uncle Zimisqia is about the same age as me and Valens, and was a companion of my cheap father. When he was young, he followed my cheap father to Damascus and served as a military officer in charge of military law. Later, he served as the governor of Aleppo's defense zone for several years, where he became notorious for his coldness. It is said that when Valens' mother first met her future husband, she asked her family if Valens' father would bring people to their home to rob and kill them. This made Valens' uncle so angry that he brought his own soldiers to the man's house to ask him what was going on. As a result, Valens' mother suffered a tragedy, but Valens' father stood up and took responsibility for most of the blame, and in the end, the two families became one through marriage. So, although Uncle Zimisqia often has a stern expression, he is actually a warm-hearted person.

  On the fourth night at sea, a gentle breeze blew over the Black Sea. After dinner, everyone went up to the deck for a stroll. It was then that Count Zichy arrived in my cabin.

  As an elder of the Seo family, he asked about my situation and what I thought about going into battle.

  There's a bit of tension, a bit of fear, but more than that, I've endured so much hardship, and finally, I can't wait to show off what I've learned with excitement. However, if you want me to shout loudly like a native Roman "For Rome!", I think I still can't do it, because I still remember that I come from another ancient country just like Rome. But I won't back down, because as a traverser, I want to prove that I'm not much worse than my predecessors!

  "Who does Your Highness think the Russians will send to take command this time?" Uncle Zimisya carelessly shifted the conversation to the military situation.

  Examine me?

  This is not a difficult problem.

  "The commander of the army determines the fate of the battle, no matter how good the soldiers and equipment are, if they have a fool as their leader, they will not be able to win. So I think Elizabeth of Russia won't send all her lovers to fight.

  I narrowed down the scope, there are only a few Russian generals with names and surnames left: Peter Lacy, Burkhard Christoph von Münnich, Vasily Vladimirovich Dolgorukiy. The combination of Peter and Burkhard has proven to be the most effective among all Russian generals. If we don't fight along the Black Sea coast, it's highly likely that we'll encounter these two."

  "Does Your Highness mean that we won't run into those two again?" asked Uncle Zimisya with a smile.

  "Yes, Burkhard is a German, and he is not familiar with the southern part of Eastern Europe at all. Sending him here is no better than leaving him in the north. After all, his wars against Sweden have always been won more often than lost, and he can still play a deterrent role against Sweden there. If Burkhard cannot come, then Peter's role in the south will also be greatly discounted. The war example in Sweden has proven that this old brother either wins with ease or loses miserably. Moreover, as a newly risen military nobleman, he has always been suspected by Vasily, who is afraid that the former will one day replace his position. Since Peter cannot partner with Burkhard, it is even more impossible to pair him with Vasily. The two men not only disagree in the palace but also have their own ideas about command, making it difficult to avoid disagreements and each doing their own thing, leading to a collapse of the battle situation."

  "Sounds like Vasily will be in command of this Russian expedition to the south," said Uncle Zimisya, narrowing his eyes with a smile.

  "Vasily Vladimirovich Dolgorukiy, who came from the illustrious Dolgorukiy family that had spread across Eastern Europe before the Mongols arrived, and although many of these Russian principalities were destroyed over the centuries, there are still many descendants left. It can be said that Vasily is still highly respected in this land, a local snake with an advantage over Peter and Burkhard. Moreover, he has experience in several battles where he was forced to retreat and rout the enemy army, so even if he loses, it won't be too disastrous. More importantly, even if Vasily loses, it will be beneficial for the Russians!"

  There are benefits to losing hidden plot, and the whole world can only be triggered by Russia.

  Why?

  Elizabeth of Russia was a nun in a convent before she became queen, and had no foundation at home. Later, the seizure of power relied entirely on the domestic powers. Vasily not only is the most powerful among the powers, but also has the great merit of helping Elizabeth to the throne, although it can't be seen that Vasily has any signs of rebellion, his power is too great. If Vasily loses the war, this is a good opportunity for Elizabeth to kick away the Russian nobles who are holding her back.

  "The young master's idea coincides with General Duxing." Qimisqia uncle gave me a commendatory evaluation before leaving.

  On the fifth day at noon, in early October, we arrived at the Imperial military port of Odessa.

  War, I'm coming! EU4 is really great, I played it last month and got hooked for two days. I was playing as Byzantium...