Road to the Crown

Chapter 302: Talented but unexpected guest

30th September 1574

My current conflict with Ostros will most likely be classified by the chronicle writers as the first war of its own kind. Normally, after the grand battle would be won, the sides would usually either switch to the war of attrition, with the losing party desperately trying to assemble new army while the winner would do its utmost to close that window of opportunity for his enemies. 

But what was happening around me right now, could only be compared to the introduction of proxy warfare to the world, three hundred years before this type of conflict was first created.

Clearing out all the defensive lines of Ostros, took my forces entire damned week. But there was nothing that I could do about it without compromising on my priorities. Without the ample preparations to take each line of fortifications, I would have to throw my troops to the meatgrinder, quickly slaughtering my entire army before even putting Ostros capital to a siege. 

Yet, not everything was as bad as the current delay. By the time the last obstacle on our path to the hinterlands of my enemy, crowds upon crowds of workers managed to bring the train tracks all the way to its next designated stop in the seat of the Cheerio's household power, city of Cheery. With that done, the frontlines were now just half of a day away from the already operational train-station, turning the process of sending the injured back and receiving fresh reinforcements and supplies into something inconceivable in the current age.

"Sir, I would strongly advise pressing forward. Now, with the last bastion that blocked our path gone, we can make the use of our insane mobility to take Ostros down before they will be able to regroup and mobilise new forces!"

Sitting behind a table in the middle of the new camp, I looked up at the officer. From the look of agitation visible in his squinted eyes and tightened fists, it was obvious that he was not only frustrated with how slow our progress was during the last week but also how eager he was to put the end to the madness of this civil war.

"I already said it, didn't I? I'm quite worried about Ostros current manoeuvres. What's more, now that we are basically linked to the entire economical and industrial powerhouse of my lands, I don't think there is any point in rushing the things. We still have way more time than necessary to put them down. If we were to suddenly force-march my troops deeper into Ostros land, the supply lines that we finally managed to recover, would break once again. I'm not going to let my soldiers starve."

Back when I first saw the front of the enemy fortifications, I assumed that once they would be taken down, the war would come to a swift end. Either the other side would beg for peace and forgiveness, or I could simply push my forces for a bit to take over their capital city of Ostrog before anything else could happen.

Yet, all my expectations were betrayed. At first, I sank into the entire week worth of cleaning up the enemy fortifications, now I had to make sure that the train would be always within a single day of marching in order to ensure that my supplies would always be on the point, soon I would have to take care of the strange actions of the reminders of Ostros' knighthood that my scouts reported to be scourging their own land.

Instead of basking in the glory of the victory, I was constantly burdened with more and more problems. As if that wasn't enough, my own retainers failed to understand that we could win the entire battle rather easily not because of some random element of surprise or God's favour, but thanks to what they were so willing to abandon right now! 

The supplies.

"Sir! We arrested a strange man lurking at the periphery of the camp. He claims to be a former commander of the mercenaries that Ostros hired!"

The sides of the headquarters tent were all raised high up, to allow the daylight to enter its premises. That's why the sudden appearance of a messenger was nothing to be surprised about.

"Search him thoroughly and bring him to me."

After a moment of hesitation, I gave the order. Given what kind of suspicions I had about the Ostros, I highly doubted that this was nothing more but a desperate attempt at my life. Yet, in the off-chance that I was wrong, there would be no problem in listening to what that man had to say.

"Sir, are you sure it's a good idea?"

The same man that was trying to convince me into pushing my troops blindly into the enemy territory, was now worried whether my actions were not too rash and reckless? Even though this thought managed to curl the corners of my lips up for a bit, I had to quickly shake it off from my mind, as four guards of mine brought someone who looked like the worst kind of beggar in front of me.

"Speak."

Unwilling to bother with any kind of formality, I only cast a single glance at the tattered clothes of the man before turning my sight back to the papers outlining the logistical situation of the campaign. 

"Sir, I'm Hans Utter, former commander of the Galwarian Brotherhood. I came here to offer you my services."

Just as I was about to pick up a pen and write down some orders for the quartermasters to add the request for some wine rations to be brough from Tarnow in order to improve the mood and morale of my troops, the unexpected quest dropped a bomb right in the middle of the tent.

With the goose's feather falling down from my fingers and sprinkling the paper with dots of wasted ink, I moved my sight on top of the man with a look of ridicule.

"And what kind of services do you mean by that? I'm sorry, but you do not look like someone who could offer me anything of value."

Holding myself back from openly laughing at the outrageous offer that he brought, I was about to gesture at the guards to bring him away when the man wrestled his arms from the hold of my men.

Startled by this action, I jumped out from my chair, feeling my left leg wavering under the sudden increase of weight that it had to carry. Even after all this time, I still didn't fully recover from my injuries.

Thankfully, after being able to finally straighten himself up, the man didn't jump at me. He simply stood where he was, looking at me with eyes that belied his current attire and situation. Rather than pleading for mercy or help, his gaze was filled with pride and confidence, as if this was just yet another day in the job for him.

"Sir, I can offer you a way to end this war and insights at the atrocious events taking place at the Ostros court. That alone should be enough to make my services attractive, not to speak about fifteen years experience in the military out of which seven that I spent commanding my units. And with that authority in mind, I need to ask an important question."

Stopping his speech for a moment, Hans took a mouthful of air, before suddenly shouting.

"What the fuck are you doing with your army?"

This question was yet another action of this man that managed to make me speechless. While I knew there were several points that I understood incorrectly about my forces before actually using them on the field, but even after shedding all my self-pride, I still couldn't say that I grossly mismanaged my forces!

"First, I would advise you to watch your words. Secondly, you need to tell us what you know first, otherwise, I won't be able to judge how much that information is worth. If you really want to work under me, this is the bet that you will have to make."

As surprising as this man could be, as soon as I gave him the ultimatum, I pulled my attention right back to my papers. Scrubbing the still wet ink from the document in front of me, I picked up the feather, dipped it in the ink and signed the order.

"Then let me tell you two things. Ostros are somehow capable of forcing anyone under them into complete and unbreakable servitude. What kind of atrocities does that bring with it, you need to guess yourself. And right now, they are sending their knights everywhere around their lands to gather as many commoners as they can in their home fortress. That's all the knowledge that I can spare for now."

Instead of spilling all the beans right away in order to gain my trust or maybe even respect, this man actually managed to hit the jackpot. By withholding most of what he knew, even despite giving us two huge leads, he proved that he could at least take care of his own self- interests. That was what made me actually see him in a new, favourable light, leading to the next question of mine.

"Tell me then, since I'm not using my military correctly, what would you advise me to do?"

Saying those words, I took a quick peek at the officers that busied themselves all around the tent. Given from their anxious stares, they too were quite curious what this man had to say now.

"I get that you are waiting here for a reason, and I won't claim that it's a bad option. But unless you are willing to fight the entire population of the Ostros lands just to conquer barren and depopulated lands down the line, use those miraculous carriages of yours to stop Ostros' knights from rallying more troops. Doing so, would not only earn you some favours with the population but also stop the enemy from growing even stronger!"