Steel, gunpowder, and spellcasters

Chapter 546 Negotiation (Part 5)

[Six days ago]
[Kings' Castle]
“I still have some concerns, Chief of Staff…” Ranco Boyle asked hesitantly, “If the rebels refuse to exchange prisoners, how can the negotiations continue?”

“It doesn’t matter. The point is never ‘exchange’ but ‘order’,” Cornelius said, gazing at the quietly flowing Ten Arrows River, where, according to legend, the ten tribes of the ancient Parat people swore an oath by breaking arrows.

“The situation is clear,” Cornelius said. “The casualties in the Battle of River Valley were mainly the troops of Gaisa Adonis and Skul Mekren.”

"These two are native Parat people, but they are not politically inclined towards the Blue Blood faction. If handled properly, they could have been won over... but it's too late to say that now."

"In short, for the local faction within the rebels, the Battle of River Valley was a Pyrrhic victory that significantly altered the balance of power within the rebels."

"Therefore, they urgently need reliable Paratist officers like Claire Ronald to replenish their losses."

"And Winters Montagne, barring any unforeseen circumstances, should be more inclined to prioritize exchanging his fellow Vineta.

"This is your entry point."

Cornelius turned and looked at Ranco Boyle. “The rebels have never been a monolithic entity. Just as there are provincial and native factions in the Grand Council of Kingsburg, the rebels can also be divided into Venetta factions and native factions.”

"The struggle over the right to choose a course of action is like the elephant in the room for the rebels."

"Don't rush to disturb the elephants, that will only backfire. But you must make them aware of the elephants' presence."

"In short, if the rebels have realized that there are different factions within them, you should guide them to further discover the conflicting interests of these factions."

“If the rebels don’t see factionalism within them, your mission is to instill the concepts of the Venetians and the natives in their minds.”

Ranco Boyle nodded thoughtfully, then after a moment of contemplation, asked, "But the rebels have both our people and the Paratians in their hands. If the rebels agree to an exchange, who should we exchange for first?"

“Didn’t I tell you? Only the Paratites can win the battles of Paratulus,” Cornelius replied without hesitation. “Do your best to mislead the rebels into thinking that I want the provincial officers more. Then, prioritize exchanging the Red Roses back.”
-
[Current situation]
Maplestone City
"Change?" Gaisa shouted. "Change my ass! That old fox Cornelius sent this little fox just to buy time!"

Gaisa slammed the report he was holding onto the table.

He stood before the table, his hands firmly on the surface, looking down at the other three members of the Provisional Supreme Military Council with an imposing air, and said aggressively:

"See for yourself! The allied provincial troops originally stationed in Baihuabao, Peranbao, and Sanchahe City have all withdrawn to Zhuwangbao."

"Think about it, if Cornelius really brings a large number of reinforcements, how could they possibly abandon these outlying strongholds?"

"Without these outposts, can the United Provinces' quack tactics still work? Knowing it's a dead end, why would they willingly abandon these outposts?"

“I bet my last good cheek that I can’t believe it!” Gaisa Adonis pointed to his right cheek and said sternly, “Jansen Cornelius’s so-called Southern Army is nothing but a showpiece!”

"Four legions? If the Kings' Castle can gather a legion, I'll tear half my face off and give it to them!"
"That's why that old fox sent this little fox, pretending to exchange prisoners and send families back, but actually just to buy time!"
"Right now! Right now, as we're speaking! Zhuwang Fort is undergoing massive construction! They're rapidly expanding their fortifications! It's becoming more and more difficult to attack every day!"

Gaisa slammed his fist on the table, gritting his teeth and glaring angrily, "[intense profanity]! This battle at Zhuwangbao cannot be delayed any longer! It cannot be!"
"Every second we waste now will cost us a life in the future!"
"We must send troops immediately, now, right now! Even if we can't take them all in one go, we must disrupt the United Provinces' operations! Lock them up in the city! We can't let them dig in the dirt openly anymore!"

Gaisa's expression even turned ferocious, and he slammed his fist heavily on the table again: "Once they actually fucking fix the turtle shell, they're all fucking finished!"

After the loud thud of fists slamming against the table subsided, the conference room fell silent, save for Colonel Gaisa's beast-like panting.

“Please calm down, Colonel Gaisa,” Matthias Korwin broke the silence, speaking calmly. “As you yourself said, without the support of outer outposts, even the most fortified city is ultimately just an isolated fortress. And its fall is the inevitable fate of an isolated fortress. Therefore, as long as we advance steadily and surely, Kingsburg will ultimately be ours…”

"An isolated city?" Colonel Gaisa interrupted Matthias, pressing him aggressively. "Behind Kings' Fortress lies the Jinliu River! As long as the Jinliu River doesn't dry up, as long as the people of the United Provinces are still on the Jinliu River, Kings' Fortress will never be an isolated city! Have you forgotten how the old marshal defended Guitu City?"

“The aid that the United Provinces can provide is not inexhaustible, and the United Provinces cannot occupy the Jinliu River forever,” Lieutenant Colonel Matthias replied calmly. “If Cornelius thinks he can replicate the old marshal’s feats, he will only die a very ugly death.”

Immediately, Lieutenant Colonel Matthias changed the subject, "Moreover, to be honest, I don't trust Ranco Boyle, nor does I trust Jason Cornelis, who claims to be Ranco Boyle's plenipotentiary representative."

"Although he is saying nice things now, promising the safety of the detained officers and the safety of our families and friends, who can guarantee that they won't do something desperate?"

Lieutenant Colonel Matthias said firmly, "So I think we can talk to them first."

"Talks won't stop the fighting! Fighting won't stop the talks!" Gaisa waved his hand impatiently. "And let me tell you, the more we fight, the easier it is to talk! The more we talk, the harder it is to fight! If you want to talk, then we'll talk while we fight! We'll fight while we talk!"

Lieutenant Colonel Matthias smiled helplessly and turned to look at Colonel Skul.

Colonel Skull, who had been deep in thought, came to his senses, took some time to organize his thoughts, and then calmly analyzed, "There is some truth to the idea that fighting while negotiating, and that the more you fight, the easier it is to negotiate."

"Moreover, I believe that returning them to their families is a blatant and legitimate scheme."

"Even if the Kingsburg really does return the families of officers of all ranks without any conditions, as Lanco Boyle has promised, the round trip will buy them a lot of time."

“So, if we send troops now,” Colonel Skull said, stroking his chin, “we might be able to catch Jason Cornelius off guard.”

However, the next second, Colonel Skull carefully added, "But we can't ignore the possibility that Jason Cornelis is deliberately trying to lure us into a hasty attack on Kingsburg. After all... in short, we still need to gather more intelligence."

Lieutenant Colonel Matthias Korwin chuckled, and seeing that he had failed to gain support from Colonel Skull, he turned to Lieutenant-Captain Veneta sitting opposite him. "What do you think, Captain Montagne?"

“Colonel Skul is quite right,” Winters Montagne, who was also deep in thought, replied ambiguously. “More intelligence is needed to make an accurate judgment.” Winters then added, “However, I think we need to pay more attention to the situation in Hongchuan than to the intelligence from the Fort of Kings—have the four corps of the ‘Western Front’ really set out? Or is the Fort of Kings just bluffing? And what is Hongchuan’s reaction?”

Winters looked at the three officers expectantly: "Your information is much better than mine, I wonder if you have any..."

"Why do you care about that old devil Alpad?" Gaisa glared at him.

“If the United Provinces wipe out the Hongchuan military government, their next target will definitely be us,” Winters replied seriously, “so we can’t ignore it.”

"Let's talk about that after they've really wiped out that old devil Alpad!" Geza slammed his fist on the table impatiently. "The most urgent thing is to deal with the 'Southern Front Army' right now. We'll have plenty of time to study the northern situation later!"

“Yes,” Lieutenant Colonel Matthias chimed in, smiling, “Don’t worry about General Alpad. The Blue Blood Faction has been deeply entrenched in Jiangbei Province for many years and won’t be so easy to deal with. If the people of the United Province dare to underestimate General Alpad, they might suffer a great loss.”

"Therefore, before the battle on the north bank is decided, pacifying the area south of the Jinliu River is our top priority."

Upon hearing this, Colonel Skul nodded slowly, indicating his agreement with Lieutenant Colonel Matthias's analysis—though it was unclear which statement he actually agreed with.

"Enough with the nonsense!" Colonel Gaisa slammed his fist on the table, unable to contain himself any longer. "Let's vote! I can't take it anymore! Who agrees to mobilize troops and immediately send them to Kings' Fortress?"

No one raised their hand.

Lieutenant Colonel Matthias cleared his throat. "I still recommend prioritizing development in the Northern Foothills Province. Does anyone support this?"

As a result, no one raised their hand.

"What are you two up to?" Gaisa asked Skul and Winters angrily. "Have you conspired together?"

“I think we still need more intelligence…” Skul frowned.

“I support Colonel Skull,” Winters replied succinctly.

The first formal vote of the Provisional Supreme Military Council of the New Paratu Republic ended in an embarrassing 1-2-3 score.

If Colonel John Jessica were here, he would surely be laughing hysterically as he recorded this momentous event in the annals of war.

However, the attendees did not share Colonel John Jessica's good attitude.

The meeting ended unhappily.
-
[evening]
Montagne
"Are you... really sure you want to do this?" Bard asked seriously, his eyes full of concern.

“Hey, stop bothering him,” Andrei said sullenly as he poured himself a drink. “When has he ever changed his mind about something he’s made up his mind?”

Andrei tilted his head back and downed the wine, wiped his mouth, and finally couldn't hold back any longer. He angrily slammed the glass down, yelling, "[Swearing]!"

“It’s alright,” Winters patted Andrei on the back, reassuring him, “This is actually the best solution—it solves everything.”

Andrei groaned a few times.

“Senior,” Winters looked at Mason and asked sincerely, “what do you think?”

“Oh, don’t ask me,” Mason said, waving his hands repeatedly as if he had touched a hot iron plate. “If you think it’s okay, then it’s okay. I… I have no objection.”

“I would like to hear your opinion,” Winters insisted.

Mason looked troubled. He hesitated for a moment, bit his lip, and said with difficulty, "This...is indeed...the best solution at the moment."

“With you saying that,” Winters breathed a sigh of relief, “I’m relieved.”

After seeing their friends off, Winters and Anna cleaned up the dishes together.

"What do you think?" Winters asked Anna softly, "Darling."

"You've already made your decision, why are you asking me?" Anna feigned anger.

Winslet held Anna's hand. "I want to know what you think."

Anna hugged Winters, pressed her forehead against his chest, and whispered, "Actually, I'm very happy."

“That’s wonderful,” Winters said, a smile appearing on his face for the first time that evening.

The dim fire, the burning embrace, the heartbeat of her lover... If she could, Winters wished she could stay in this moment forever.

But a sudden knock on the door interrupted their tender moment.

“Sir,” Charles’s voice came from outside the door, “Colonel Gaisa has arrived.”

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