Starting with the smashing of Dunkirk

Chapter 13 Spreading a Rumor Can Destroy a Nation

While the fierce battle was raging, Lelouch was busy directing the communications platoon to send out artillery fire correction information and didn't have time to observe the battlefield situation, so many details were temporarily overlooked by him.

The battle was finally over. After calming down, he carefully analyzed the situation and quickly discovered some unusual clues:
"By the way, just now our army used heavy firepower of 150mm guns to bombard the enemy, how come the enemy didn't retaliate at all? Didn't they have a cruiser providing fire support? I remember that ship was there all day yesterday and this morning, how come it disappeared at the critical moment? There must be a conspiracy!"

Lelouch was still unsure, so he quickly asked the officer in charge of reconnaissance and lookout:
"Lieutenant Barak, do you remember when we shelled the Belgian forces earlier? Did the enemy retaliate with 150mm heavy artillery? Is that cruiser still at sea?"

Lieutenant Barak recalled, "Yes! The observation post I set up on the church bell tower didn't see any warships at all!"

"So what do you think this means? Could it be that we've run out of shells?" Colonel Lister asked seriously.

Lelouch shook his head decisively: "I think it's unlikely. Their cumulative ammunition consumption shouldn't be that high—I suspect they were sent on a more important mission."

Colonel: "An even more important mission?"

Lelouch: "I can't be sure, but could it be that they've been scared and think that annihilating us and breaking out is hopeless, so they've decided to try to pick up the Belgian army by sea?"

Lelouch's words immediately caused an uproar in the regimental operations room; clearly, few people believed him.

"How many people can a cruiser carry? And Ostend doesn't even have a decent port."

Lelouch knew that his words were unfounded, so he humbly accepted everyone's doubts while his mind continued to race.

The reason why such a strange conjecture suddenly popped into his mind was because for a moment, he felt that the current situation was too similar to the Dunkirk evacuation in Earth's history, and the opposing navy was also from the country of Burkina Faso... wait!
Thinking of this, a piece of information suddenly flashed through Lelouch's mind:

"It's 1914 now, and isn't that Walton Spencer, the First Lord of the Navy in Burkina Faso? I remember he was forced to resign because of the defeat in the Dardanelles. Twenty-seven years later, during the next World War, he was the one who organized the real Dunkirk..."

Unbelievable! Twenty-seven years ahead of schedule, and the opponent is still that fat guy!
Is this destiny?

If it's him, then nothing is surprising!

Seeing that he didn't respond for a long time, the colonel couldn't help but pat him on the shoulder: "Say whatever comes to mind, don't feel guilty, this is just a discussion."

Lelouch took a deep breath and then organized his thoughts: "Indeed, a cruiser can't take away three divisions, but I think it can at least take away the royal family and the top cabinet members. I don't have conclusive evidence at the moment, but I read a lot of public information about the country before the war and I think I have some understanding of that British Navy Minister, Walton."

He's a man who'll stop at nothing to achieve his goals, and he's very risk-taking. The disappearance of that Linxian-class cruiser also corroborates my guess—right now, in these waters, what naval mission could be more important than shelling Neoport and providing fire support for the Belgian forces? Most likely, it's rescuing the King!

Everyone was taken aback by these words.

From a rational perspective, the colonel also felt that this argument was far-fetched.

However, considering that Lelouch had already made two miraculous and accurate insights before, and even saved his crew with this keen insight.

After careful consideration, the colonel decided to give him another chance to explain: "Personally, I'm willing to believe your judgment, but unfortunately, we can't convince our superiors with such speculation. And even if all of this were true, it would be too late for us to stop it, wouldn't it?"

Lelouch nodded in agreement: "Indeed! We can't intercept the King. If that Forest Fairy-class ship has already made its move, it will definitely be able to pick up the King and escape the Imperial Army's control of the coastline within three to five hours. And the Imperial Navy simply won't have enough time to get here from Wilhelmshaven..."

However, we can certainly exploit this possibility to gain other benefits. For example, we could request the division or army headquarters to organize another batch of reconnaissance planes, just as we did this morning, and print a new batch of leaflets with the message: 'The Bretonns have taken Albert I away, and you Belgian soldiers left behind in Ostend have been abandoned! What are you doing serving those despicable kings!'

The morale of the Belgian army has already dropped to the point where they are 'refusing to attack, but simply unwilling to surrender immediately.' If we give them another push, they might just surrender! That would be a great achievement!"

The morale of the Billy Kings was already on the verge of complete collapse. At this point, even the slightest spark could ignite a total explosion!

"If it succeeds, it means there's a possibility of annihilating the entire Billy King Army?" After understanding the potential benefits, the colonel finally got excited and decided to fully support Lelouch's plan.

His only worry now is how to persuade his boss.

But Lelouch's next words quickly dispelled his last doubts: "Sir! Are you worried that the evidence is insufficient to convince the division commander? I think there's absolutely no need to worry! Our goal is to demoralize the enemy, so we're willing to spread rumors! Do we need evidence to spread rumors?"
If I'm wrong, King Albert will definitely show up to appease the Belgian army, which will at least let us know that the king hasn't fled. And we ourselves won't suffer any loss; at most, the rumors will force the truth out.

If he can't show his face to refute the rumors, then it proves we didn't spread them, and at that point, the morale of the army will completely collapse!

"Hiss—" Colonel Lister and all the officers in the regimental office gasped at Lelouch's words.

How does this young man's brain work?

How can someone say things like "I'm just spreading rumors, what evidence do I need?" with such confidence?

For a fleeting moment, the colonel even had a thought: With your reputation, how dare you say that Minister Wharton on the other side is "unscrupulous"?
Little did they know, when it comes to playing dirty tricks... well, Lelouch was baptized in a world of intense battles between spreading and debunking rumors in his previous life.

"Alright, you've convinced me. I'll send a telegram to the division headquarters right now, requesting cooperation from above. But it's already past 3 PM, so there's definitely no time to act today. There's no need to rush. Let's prepare the reconnaissance plane and mimeographed leaflets tonight, and then act at dawn tomorrow."

Fortunately, the Belgian army has completely lost heart and refused to launch another attack. Tonight should be relatively easy to get through; we just need to hold off the French attack from the west. Lelouch, you focus on communicating with division headquarters about the psychological warfare strategy; the rest of the units are responsible for defensive positions.

The colonel made the final decision and assigned tasks to the officers.

He was also thinking, "Let's try our luck, even if it doesn't work out." Anyway, there's no loss if the rumor is debunked, but the gains are huge if it succeeds, so why not go for it!

In war, all's fair in deception.

……

Colonel Lister accepted Lelouch's judgment and approved Lelouch's plan.

Inside Ostend, in Albert I's temporary palace, Lieutenant General Felix was holding a telegram from the Burmese Navy Minister Walton, urging the king to prioritize the safety of the royal family and the nation.

"No! I will never abandon my army and my people! I will never leave the land of Bilijin! I will live and die with my country! And don't you know that at this critical juncture, if the news of me running away gets out, the morale of the army will collapse directly and completely! You're foolish! That would ruin everything!"

After reading the telegram, Albert I threw it away and loudly reprimanded his Chief of the General Staff.

Lieutenant General Felix didn't dare wipe the spittle off his face, and just listened quietly as His Majesty finished spitting.

Fortunately, before delivering the telegram, he had already privately discussed it with Minister Wharton of the allied nation, explaining the King's temperament and advising Minister Wharton not to have too high hopes.

The cunning and shrewd Minister Wharton had already prepared his responses and rehearsed his persuasive arguments. So, once His Majesty had calmed down a bit, Felix confidently and tactfully advised, "Your Majesty need not worry about leaks. During the retreat, the palace and entourage will not be moved in the slightest, and there will be no outward signs of anything amiss. Everything will be kept secret."

Furthermore, Minister Walton was very sincere. He said that if our army could hold out for a few more days, he would gather a fleet to rescue our entire army as much as possible; the Royal Navy of the Great Burma Empire had the capability to do so. Therefore, Your Majesty does not have the problem of abandoning your soldiers.

The reason for the need to depart in batches is simply that Ostend has shallow waters and a small harbor, which cannot accommodate too many ships at once. Large ships have to be moored in the open sea and transferred by small boats. His Majesty simply left a day or two earlier than the other soldiers, that's all.

Finally, Minister Walton added that he would not ask His Majesty to leave the territory of Biligin. The escort ships would sail within 12 nautical miles of the Biligin coast for the entire westward journey, and upon reaching the border river between France and Belgium, they would turn inland to transfer to smaller boats to proceed to Ypres.

Ypres is currently garrisoned by a powerful Britannian expeditionary force, and it is also part of our Biligin territory. How can Your Majesty's journey from one piece of our own territory through our own territorial waters to another befitting our own land be considered escapism?

The Ypres Promontory is located directly south of Neoport, Ostend, and de Panne, where the various factions are currently engaged in fierce fighting, and south of the floodplains of the Isère River.

Throughout Earth's history, the Ypres Promontory was defended and held by the Burkina Faso Expeditionary Force until the end of the war in 1918, never falling completely. The two sides fought four major battles here, almost one every year, resulting in a bloodbath of nearly a million casualties on both sides. Even the incident of the "little mustachioed corporal" suffering eye injuries from poison gas occurred during the Third Battle of Ypres.

This land is roughly equivalent to 5% of the total area of ​​the Belighi Kingdom. Historically, the Belighi Kingdom people have relied on the fact that they have not lost this small piece of land to insist that they have not lost their country and are not a government in exile.

So at this moment, when Albert I heard that his ally, Minister Wharton, had been so considerate, suggesting that he temporarily relocate to Ypres, which was also part of his country, rather than fleeing the country, Albert I's resolve finally wavered.

"Fine, since it's not an escape, but rather a change of location to continue the resistance, then I'll listen to you and make a strategic retreat! If I don't leave, how dare the other soldiers go first?" His Majesty the King finally made his decree.

Vice Admiral Felix: "Your Majesty is wise. The Royal Navy's light cruiser 'Bold' will be arriving soon. I will prepare to ferry it in small boats. We can take advantage of the night when the soldiers are asleep and pick it up without anyone noticing."

Albert I waved his hand dismissively: "You can handle those details yourself."

Lieutenant General Felix thought for a moment, then added another question: "So, will His Majesty personally draft the list of accompanying personnel?"

Albert I: "Just take all the members of the royal family and a small number of core guards. If there are still empty seats, you can decide which officers to take first. You can give priority to the wounded officers!"

"Yes, Your Majesty!"

Lieutenant General Felix had the authority to draft the evacuation list, which gave him the perfect opportunity to include his own agenda.

Two hours later, before midnight, Albert I and other leaders who were to be evacuated first boarded the cruiser HMS Daring safely by being repeatedly transferred by small boats.

The cruiser quietly accelerated, trying not to make too much noise from the boilers and chimneys, and never sounding the horn, and quietly left, heading towards Dunkirk, and then transferred to a smaller boat to head towards Ypres.

……

Albert I was making a strategic shift at the same time.

The telegram requesting instructions issued by Lelouch in the name of Colonel Lister also reached Major General Karl Luitpold, commander of the 12th Division.

When Major General Karl saw Lelouch's scheme, he was just as shocked as Colonel Lister.

"Hiss—they don't even have to pay any price, just spread a rumor and they can test the waters and find out the enemy's situation? If they're lucky, the rumor might even come true and cause the entire Belgian army to collapse? When did that guy Lister come up with so many ingenious schemes and tricks?"
His regiment definitely has geniuses! No! It's not him who's geniuses! It's the reconnaissance company and communications platoon that arrived as the vanguard that have geniuses! Otherwise, there's no way to explain how they had already come up with so many brilliant plans before Lister even arrived!

For a fleeting moment, Major General Karl felt that this sensitivity to conspiracy had surpassed the limits of a Demandian with a sense of honor.

But it must be said that having someone like that as a teammate is truly a blessing.

"Once the battle is over and we've rescued Lister's regiment, I must personally meet that amazing junior officer! I'll promote him to the highest rank! If his plan really does force Billy King's main force to surrender!"

Major General Karl became more and more excited as he thought about it, and even started rubbing his hands together as frequently as if they were flies.

He didn't know how many minutes he rubbed his hands until they felt hot and painful before he came to his senses.

He then hurriedly asked the communications officer to help him pick up his elder brother, the commander of the 6th Army, the crown prince of the Kingdom of Baria, an army general, and the Duke of Rupprecht.

Yesterday he was still communicating with his older brother by telegram, but today he's switched to telephone. This is mainly because after another day of emergency construction, the communications soldiers have already laid the emergency telephone branch line.

However, when at work, one should still address others by their official titles, so after the call connected, Major General Karl simply said, "Commander, the 16th Infantry Regiment within the encirclement has discovered some new information. The enemy's high command may have escaped. Perhaps we can use this to our advantage and plan a possible counter-offensive. Here's the details..."

"Hiss... I approve! Execute immediately!"

Duke Rupprecht, on the other end of the phone, gasped in shock upon hearing this, and then immediately approved it.

The reconnaissance plane that was just borrowed yesterday doesn't need to be returned. The mimeograph machine can be reused with some changes to the content.

After working through the night, the work was finally completed.

At daybreak, the freshly printed leaflets were once again scattered over the heads of the Billy King garrison and throughout the entire Ostend.

The Belgian soldiers were in an uproar the moment they received the leaflets.

Countless soldiers rushed to the temporary palace, wanting to confirm whether His Majesty the King had really fled and whether they had truly been abandoned.

-

P.S.: This is 4,500 words. I need to take my child to the doctor on Friday, and I need to handle some follow-up procedures for my child's school registration tomorrow, so I'll combine it into one big chapter.

In addition, I would like to announce two more divinely inspired book lovers, "Momo (Yun Ai (Yun Dai)" and "Xia Zhi Wei Luo" (forgive me for not recognizing the two characters in parentheses due to my lack of literacy; they are characters with the "Yun" radical and the character next to it).

They all came up with strategies for winning hearts and minds and defeating the enemy. I drew on their book reviews to write such a brilliant scheme.

Everyone applauds.

Please leave comments, follow updates, add to your favorites, and vote for my new book. Thank you!

(End of this chapter)