Starting with the smashing of Dunkirk

Chapter 39: When you're being ganged up on, focus on the guy who yells "Brothers, let's fight side by side!" and beat him to a pulp.

As a time traveler, when asked "Why is there a chance on the Eastern Front in World War I?", he could easily answer the question if he was allowed to reveal that "I am a time traveler and know that the Lusa Empire will collapse on its own due to unfavorable circumstances in the future."

Unfortunately, I can't reveal it myself.

Therefore, Lelouch could only focus on the latter part of Marshal Leopold's question: What makes you think that no matter how well the Western Front plays, the best they can achieve is a draw?

Fortunately, he also had a ready-made answer to this question, and he could explain it clearly through rational deduction, without having to reveal any precognition.

This brings us to Hearts of Iron IV, which Lelouch played hundreds of times before his time travel.

When that game loads data, it displays a few famous quotes from World War II figures on the loading screen.

One of the lines, “Lundstätter: We should have thought of this back in 1918…,” Lelouch saw it many times.

At the time, he thought the sentence was incoherent and completely incomprehensible. But after it appeared many times, he became curious and specifically went to Baidu to look up the context.

Then he learned that this was a statement made by Marshal Lund in 1940 when the German army had destroyed Frankish territory, but Britannia still refused to negotiate.

This means they should have realized in 1918 that whether or not the Franks were destroyed wouldn't actually affect the overall situation. Because even if the Franks were destroyed, as long as Britannia maintained absolute naval superiority and the Empire couldn't land on those islands, they would never surrender or negotiate.

But the Demanians in 1918 did not realize this. So even after they had won a decisive victory on the Eastern Front in early 1918, they were still swayed by a few warmongers like Rodendorff, insisting on fighting the war on the Western Front to the bitter end, fantasizing that "we can destroy the Franks, then swallow them up, force Britannia to make peace, and divide the world."

Ultimately, driven by this overconfident mindset, he fought until his body exploded and he died.

When Lelouch first saw this, he merely made a casual remark about it.

But at this moment, when Marshal Leopold seriously asked him this question, this argument, which should have been summarized by Marshal Lun more than 20 years later, immediately came to Lelouch's mind.

……

"...Therefore, this is my view: if at the beginning of the war the Empire was only fighting against Lusa and the Franks, then the Empire could still expect to win on both the eastern and western fronts."

But in fact, the empire was deceived at the very beginning of the war. The moment those Breton financial troublemakers joined the war, the nature of everything changed.

Even if the Empire performs exceptionally well on the continental battlefield, can it really expect its existing fleet of battleships to annihilate the Royal Navy and land on those islands? As long as this cannot be achieved, Britannia will never surrender! Even the destruction of the Franks will not change that!
The emperor was obsessed with dealing with the Franks first because he kept fantasizing that "if the Franks are destroyed, Bretonnia will come to the negotiating table." The emperor also fantasized that the King of Bretonnia was his cousin, and that he might be able to play the emotional card—but any rational person could see that all of this was impossible.

Therefore, the victories on the Western Front were all illusions. Even if the Franks were destroyed, so what? Could the Franks' limited land and resources sustain the empire for a long time, preventing its people from starving or suffering from oil and rubber shortages, while its trade routes with other continents were permanently blocked? No.

Even with the Frankish ports bordering the Atlantic, the Empire's maritime trade would still be permanently blockaded by the Royal Navy of Britannia, and that remained unchanged.

Therefore, even if the empire achieves its best and most perfect goal, at best it can only hope to break through the eastern front, absorb its land, minerals, and resources, and secure a stable internal economic cycle that is not afraid of transoceanic trade blockades and can be self-sufficient.

Then consider using the Franks as leverage to threaten Britannia, without seeking to completely annihilate them on the western front, and offering them a relatively dignified ceasefire that does not require the western countries to cede territory or pay reparations.

If the Bretanians are unwilling to negotiate, and we then launch further military action against the Franks, the Franks might feel they have been used by Bretania, or held hostage, thus creating a rift between them. However, if Bretania is forced to agree to negotiations, we should establish a ceasefire with both France and Bretania.

For an empire, when a war has truly lasted for years, what it needs most is to lift the state of war, end the maritime trade blockade, and then bide its time to rebuild its strength...

Lelouch's eloquent and fluent speech incorporated a great deal of analysis of the lessons of World War I from later generations, as well as reflections from Marshal Lund more than twenty years later, and the reflections of a host of other strategists.

At the same time, it ensures that these insights are not too far ahead of their time, mainly focusing on the point that "all continental countries have been tricked by offshore balancing financial troublemakers," and repeatedly arguing from multiple angles.

At this moment, he was certainly not fighting alone.

Therefore, even Marshal Leopold, who was used to seeing great storms, couldn't help but waver after listening to his insightful and well-supported analysis.

"This war... can actually be analyzed from this perspective?! Indeed... the Franks' land, population, and resources are really insignificant. What difference does it make whether they are destroyed or not?"

The fundamental purpose of destroying the Franks was to force a peace treaty with the Kingdom of Burgh and break the permanent maritime trade blockade. If this fundamental goal couldn't be achieved, killing the Franks themselves wouldn't be of much significance…

Marshal Leopold had already vaguely accepted some of Lelouch's views, and couldn't help but mutter to himself, summarizing and organizing the points he had just heard.

Lelouch quickly continued to cite numerous sources to strengthen his argument: "Our great Demandian thinker, Marc Weber, once wrote in 'The New Ethics and the Spirit of Capitalism' that human rationality is divided into instrumental rationality and value rationality."

Just as money is the ultimate instrumental rationality, a means to achieve value rationality. Pursuing money is meant to help people achieve their life goals, but money should not be the life goal itself.

Similarly, 'suppressing the law' was merely a means for the empire to 'break through the maritime trade blockade,' not the end itself. However, how many of the empire's generals and commanders lost their way, mistaking the tool and means of suppressing the law for the goal itself in pursuit of personal glory and honor? Just as many who are lost in materialism mistake the pursuit of money for the ultimate purpose in life.

Lelouch's words finally made Marshal Leopold look at him with new respect and believe most of his views.

Unexpectedly, a top student who graduated from the Oreo Royal College of Art joined the army and sparked such a collision of ideas.

This young man's sharp thinking is unmatched by those military academy students who are taught in a rigid, formulaic way.

He was like a breath of fresh air, rational and calm, to the rigid Imperial Army.

"Rupprecht's high regard for you was certainly well-deserved. I initially thought your tactical acumen was exceptional, but it turns out your strategic and diplomatic insight is equally astounding." Marshal Leopold pondered for a long time, then sighed deeply and gently patted Lelouch's shoulder.

"I have one last question—since you say that the best the Empire can achieve in the future is only by abandoning its attempt to defeat the enemy on the western front, making a respectable truce with the Kingdom of Burkina Faso in exchange for ending the maritime trade blockade."

Don't those treacherous Burgundians know this? Back in Napoleon's era, they maintained a blockade against him for many years. Didn't they know that once a ceasefire was entered and the maritime trade blockade was lifted, the empire would quickly recover its strength, making it even harder to subdue next time?
If the Burgundians knew this, why would they negotiate? Since the Empire couldn't harm their homeland no matter how long the fighting lasted, they would certainly be willing to maintain the state of conflict for ten or eight years.

Lelouch also found this question quite tricky and couldn't answer it immediately.

The main issue is that some elements involve precognition of history, which he simply couldn't predict—

For example, he can't very well mention the Kansas City flu, a major historical factor that caused many countries to lose their wars, can he? That flu killed 50 million people in the warring nations, more than double the total number of people killed in the four-year war.

However, after organizing his thoughts, he still managed to summarize the points he could make:

“I also know that it will be difficult to force the people of Burkina Faso to give up their attempt to strangle the empire, which is why I said, ‘This is the upper limit that the empire can possibly achieve in this war.’ As for whether it can really be achieved and how it can be achieved, it still requires the utmost efforts of countless people of goodwill.”

In general, hope comes from the following aspects: First, it depends on how well the Empire can fight on the Eastern Front, how many resources it can occupy, and whether it can achieve resource self-sufficiency.

Does our wartime economic development have a sufficiently long-term plan, or does it appear to be short-sighted and unsustainable? The more self-sufficient we are, the more sustainable our economic development will be, and the less afraid we will be of trade embargoes and sanctions. This will weaken the enemy's motivation to impose embargoes on us at all costs. Secondly, we need to see how effective it will be to coerce the Franks and use them as 'hostages' to propose a comprehensive peace agreement.

Third, although the United States has not yet joined the war, the United States and the United Kingdom share the same language and culture. The United States is also a financial troublemaker and an offshore balancing dog. They will not give up the opportunity to tear Europe apart.

If the United States wants to join the war in the future, but has not yet completed full mobilization and needs time to complete the wartime economic transformation, then there is a possibility that the United States will temporarily cease hostilities with us—at that time, the situation will become a race for economic recovery after the ceasefire.

We will take advantage of the lifting of the trade blockade to quickly replenish the shortage of supplies and rebuild the economy, while the country will also look forward to using this time to allow the United States to complete its wartime economic transformation, make full war preparations, and complete the emergency training of its soldiers.

However, if it really comes to this, I think the final temporary ceasefire will definitely be more unstable, because once the U.S. finds that the time needed for the U.S. to mobilize is almost up, and if the ceasefire is extended further, their side will gain less than our side, and they will tear up the ceasefire agreement again at any time.

Even if they don't break the ceasefire on land, they will find an excuse to reinstate the economic embargo against us. In that case, the situation might enter a special state where "the ground war remains ceasefire, but the sea war continues," which would also be very disadvantageous for us.

In conclusion, there are many unforeseen events in the future, too numerous to be predicted by human imagination. We can only do our best and leave the rest to fate. Winning the eastern front and consolidating the spoils, and unconditionally securing a draw on the western front, is already the best possible outcome. Even this result requires the utmost effort from countless people; we must not underestimate our opponents.

The more Marshal Leopold listened, the more resolute his expression became. In the end, even the arm he was using to support himself with his cane showed bulging veins and taut muscles.

He walked slowly but firmly to the window and gazed at the snow-capped mountains that had remained unchanged for millennia.

After a long while, he turned around, staring intently at Lelouch's deep, blood-red, wounded left eye, and sighed deeply.
"I never imagined the Empire would be in such danger. Perhaps I'm just getting old and have been retired for too long. But the Empire will definitely survive this war, because Heaven has sent down so many insightful and wise men to help the Empire see the future clearly!"

Now that things have come to this, there are some things I might as well tell you: after the Battle of Ypres on the western front is over, the Emperor will ask me to officially return to service and lead troops to the southern flank of the eastern front to stop the Lusa people's attack and rescue our ally Oreo.

The emperor believed that the northern section of the eastern front was a direct conflict between the Prosenians and the Lusaians, and that the Prosenians should be the main force to take on the task.

However, the southern section of the eastern front is Oreo's home turf, and we, the Balians, have the best relationship with Oreo among all the empire's states, especially since my wife is Princess Oreo. The Emperor felt that sending us Balians would make us work even harder.

However, both army groups of the four southern German states are now tied up on the north and south sides of the Ypres salient, and it will be difficult for them to extricate themselves before the Battle of Ypres is over.

So you must fight well. The better you fight in Ypres, the more manpower we can free up after the battle, and the more people we can transfer to the Eastern Front.

By then, as the commander of the southern flank of the Eastern Front, I will give you more opportunities to distinguish yourself. Of course, by the time the Battle of Ypres ends, you will be more than just a company commander. I don't want you to become complacent because you think 'no matter how well we fought on the Western Front, it's all for naught.'"

Lelouch quickly saluted and solemnly declared, "Thank you for your appreciation, Marshal. I will not slack off. Moreover, I believe that the overall situation on the western front is unlikely to be completely won, but that does not mean that our efforts on the western front are meaningless."

Especially in the Battle of Ypres, we were fighting the Burkina Faso army, not the French army, so we had to do everything we could to inflict a heavy blow on them! Because whether the Western Front can eventually be pacified depends not on how much damage we have inflicted on the French army, but on how much damage we have inflicted on Burkina Faso!
The more ruthlessly we kill the Bu people, the greater our chance of ending the war. We must not let any battlefield on the western front, where we can inflict heavy losses on the Bu people, slip by. And even if we move to the eastern front, our enemy will not necessarily be just Lusha; we can still exert all our strength and seize every opportunity to inflict heavy losses on the Bu people on every battlefield we can find.

For example, the Blaises have historically been on good terms with Greece and hostile to our allies Turkey and Austria. The Blaises possess naval superiority, and they are likely to create chaos and disruption across the vast battlefields from Greece to the Middle East; they may also be inclined to court the Italians.

Therefore, in the future, on the Eastern Front, the Empire will likely have many more opportunities to inflict damage on Britannia. I have a wish: if possible, I hope that whenever the Empire has the opportunity to fight against the Britannian army, I can be transferred to that battlefield. I wonder if the Marshal can make things as convenient as possible within his authority in the future.

I didn't mean anything by it; I just felt that professionals should handle professional tasks. Since joining the army, I've mainly dealt with the Bretons and their puppets, not other major powers. Perhaps I'm not qualified to deal with the Franks and the Russo.

Marshal Leopold did not object to this strange request, but simply brushed it off without giving a clear answer.

However, Lelouch didn't mind. After all, it was just casual conversation, and he was simply stating his aspirations and establishing his persona.

From then on, the high-ranking members of the Baria royal family might regard him as an "expert in killing cloth," and think of him whenever they encounter such problems in the future.

Ideally, he would kill Britannian soldiers on the Western Front while they were on the Western Front.

He killed Britannian soldiers on the Eastern Front when they went there.

He killed Britannian soldiers on the southern front.

The change of travel route (west, east, and southeast) only affects the location of the business trip; the work itself remains the same.

It feels like a group fight. If one person is surrounded and beaten by a group of people, he is destined to lose to everyone. So he has to focus on one person and beat him to death. Only in this way can he possibly break the deadlock.

The best results would come if you could spot that scoundrel hiding in the back shouting things like, "Brothers, let's fight side by side! What's the point of talking about chivalry with those demonic cultists!" or "Brothers, let's fight side by side! Master Zhang can't possibly kill us all before he runs out of energy!"

……

After this earnest and lengthy conversation, the lonely old marshal unconsciously came to believe that this young man was worthy of being a close friend despite the age difference and receiving proper guidance.

The two talked for what seemed like an eternity until the Neuschwanstein Castle butler finally mustered the courage to come in and report: "Your Highness, Duke Rupprecht has returned, and the banquet is all ready..."

Marshal Leopold then stopped talking and beckoned Lelouch to follow.

Lelouch didn't have time to change into his military uniform, so he had to wear the camouflage uniform that he had just shown to the marshal and went downstairs, looking just like an adjutant.

Duke Rupprecht and his family, along with a few adjutants and other guests, were already in the banquet hall.

The Duke was somewhat surprised to see how quickly Lelouch had become familiar with his uncle.

After Lelouch finished his ceremony, the Duke took a moment to ask him in a low voice, "Your uncle is always very strict and rarely gives a young man a kind look. What exactly did you say to him?"

Lelouch then succinctly picked out the most appropriate points to discuss, explaining that they had merely chatted about strategic prospects, such as which front was more important, the Eastern or Western front, and that the old marshal greatly appreciated his strategic vision—that was all.

After listening, the Duke couldn't help but feel that this young man had given him an extra touch of mystery.

I only knew that he was very good at tactical tricks and had unique insights into the coordination of military equipment and tactics.

Unexpectedly, he also has remarkable insights into grand strategy and diplomacy—is this young man truly a genius born with innate knowledge? Can he really see into the future and foresee the apocalypse?
Since the old marshal had already inspected the helmet, camouflage uniform, and work boots, the Duke was too lazy to check the details carefully. He trusted his uncle's experience and judgment.

So the Duke only glanced at it briefly before instructing the butler to take Lelouch next door to change into his formal attire, and then they came out to eat.

There were no particularly noteworthy details at the banquet. In short, seeing how much the old marshal and the duke valued Lelouch, everyone else naturally abandoned their contempt and treated him with great courtesy.

After the meal, the Duke gave Lelouch some work instructions, telling him that after completing the inspection in the next two days, he should fly back to the Western Front to gather the soldiers and intensify their training of new tactics before they would be deployed to the Battle of Ypres.

(End of this chapter)