Capítulo 1940: Chapter 1933: The Official Offensive
“Speaking of which,” Luo’er proactively said to ease the situation, “wouldn’t His Majesty the King be very upset about your defection, sir?”
“No worries,” Oklo Laf waved his hand and said, “The King and I are family, even if I were at fault, he couldn’t hold it against my relatives, after all, they are his elders.”
Luo’er wasn’t very clear about the situation of the Otland royal family, but since Oklo Laf was so composed, it seed there shouldn’t be any problems.
“We’ve been dealing with each other for months now, how do you find us, Lipei?” Luo’er continued to ask.
“Your army is truly a righteous force, and you, sir, are cordial and approachable, without the arrogance typical of the nobility. Sotis I can’t quite understand your way of life, but it seems it’s alright.”
Oklo Laf shrugged and spoke his mind.
“We are only doing what everyone expects,” Luo’er paused and continued, “We do not oppose Otland tracing its roots, but we oppose His Majesty’s violent coercion of other Aud states into forced rger…”
“Back then, the Aud Empire thrived precisely because it followed people’s wishes, but now tis are very different from those days, blindly pursuing unchanged goals, I think, is wrong.”
“His Majesty is… a very ambitious person, we are rely following his intent. The Aud Empire… that was a very distant past, except for His Majesty, most people have already forgotten…”
“The Fiolonte Family and the Alafasia Family have long ceased to have blood ties, and are even connected by marriage, alas…” Oklo Laf sighed, “That era is over, His Majesty insists on pursuing it, there’s really nothing we can do.”
“Do you not agree with the King’s vision to rebuild the Aud Empire?” Luo’er asked.
“Each era has its way of survival,” Oklo Laf spread his hands and said, “Now is a ti of great transformation, with Earth and this world being increasingly connected, we should be exploring better ways of living, rather than blindly pursuing a so-called great empire…”
“As far as I know, the empires on Earth have long perished over a hundred years ago. You Earthlings no longer acknowledge the so-called great empire, and this is precisely why I am not optimistic about His Majesty’s ideas.”
“How he thinks is his business,” Luo’er said, “but he cannot therefore undermine others’ interests, annexing other countries for his personal gain, seriously violating national sovereignty is a grave matter, and we will not sit idly by.”
“I hope His Majesty realizes this.” Oklo Laf shrugged and said.
After entertaining Oklo Laf and others, it marked the successful end of a stage in this war. The Lipei army, using diplomatic propaganda and other channels, unexpectedly blocked the attack of an enemy force ten tis larger, and even managed to sway quite a few to defect.
But troubles soon followed one after another, with Oklo Laf’s defection aning that the greatest obstacle to Aud Army’s advance was gone.
Next, once the Aud Army regains size, there will inevitably be a full-scale attack without any reservations, so Luo’er must consider new coping strategies.
After a round of ideological education, these staff mbers finally proved their worth, offering Luo’er two ideas as references.
First, take the initiative to strike.
Taking advantage of the Aud Army’s retreat, the Lipei forces initiated an attack, even going deep into Otland territory.
As long as the West Corps can be decimated, even if the rear sends reinforcents, it will take Aud Army lots of ti to regroup, enough ti for Lipei forces to prepare for the next round of defense.
Second, recruit the defected Aud Army.
Since Lipei’s advantage lies in united front propaganda, they should fully utilize this advantage, integrating these defected Aud soldiers through ideological transformation, as a supplent to Lipei’s defense force combat strength.
The staff’s ideas were not fantastical because these surrendered Aud soldiers are professional military, having undergone formal training, inherently superior in quality compared to temporarily drafted militia.
However, Luo’er did not agree to either of these options, instead indicating that further discussion was needed. The staff proposed fantastical ideas, but Luo’er had to be much more cautious in making decisions.
Firstly, they certainly cannot easily take the initiative to strike, let alone invade Otland territory.
Because up till now, Lipei Defense Forces have been fighting defensive wars, condemning Aud Army for invading, keeping Lipei on the moral high ground.
If Lipei Defense Forces take the initiative in attacking, this moral advantage would easily be broken, turning the battle into dog-eat-dog, negatively impacting public opinion.
Unless Lipei holds solid evidence proving external forces aiding Otland’s outward expansion.
Currently, no such situation has been discovered, so Luo’er must maintain composure and not be easily swayed.
Secondly, regarding whether to recruit Aud POWs as Lipei’s combat strength, Luo’er also harbors reservations.
Previously, he only encouraged Aud POWs to go to the front line in small numbers, primarily for persuading defection, not participating in defense battles.
If truly all turning POW Aud soldiers into Lipei Defense Forces, many troubles still exist.
Foremost is the issue of how to settle these soldiers post-war, whether to stay in Lipei or return ho.
It’s sothing to consider from the start because if others’ future plans aren’t settled, how could they willingly risk their lives?
Lipei long stopped accepting immigrants, only wanting to maintain the current scale, if the population expands again, unquestionably, the Ministry of Civil Affairs would bear the greatest pressure.
Of course, Luo’er secretly harbors another thought: if Otland announces surrender, then shouldn’t Lipei seize an opportunity from this war, perhaps even carve out so territory from Otland to continue expanding Lipei’s scale.
For this, he specially consulted on Earth, receiving a vague response. Important figures indicated, Lipei is Lipei’s people’s Lipei, they don’t bother with such matters, which ans tacit approval.
With this tacit approval, Luo’er harbors expansion intent.
His goals, initially resisting Otland invasion, maintaining links with Church Court, had shifted to defeating Otland and expanding Lipei.
This thought, however, Luo’er had never told anyone, including his closest confidant Cheng Ziang, burying it deeply in his heart.
The collapse of the West Corps intensely enraged King Gudelv. Upon hearing of Oklo Laf defecting to Lipei, in a fit of madness, he almost planned to execute Oklo Laf’s family, fortunately halted by ministers.
In his fury, Gudelv finally had to reassess Lipei. Despite dispatching 200,000 troops, they couldn’t take this city-state, without even having many direct confrontations, the West Corps mysteriously failed.
If all failure reasons were blad on Oklo Laf, clearly that wouldn’t be right. But right now, Gudelv seems to have no other options, he must find a scapegoat, while also reevaluating Lipei.
Consequently, he again pulls another 200,000 troops from the frontline, replenishing the West Corps’ lost manpower, appointing the escaped Brolan as the Grand Corps Commander, leading troops to conquer Lipei.
Appointing Brolan as Grand Corps Commander serves as a placatory gesture, the saying is: minor mistake minor action, major mistake major action, Gudelv plans for him to redeem himself with victory.
Excitedly, Brolan pledged he would conquer Lipei within the stipulated ti, redeeming himself with achievent.
This maneuver by the Aud Army indeed got Luo’er worried.
Brolan, unlike Oklo Laf, offers no room for negotiation, conflict’s eruption seems inevitable. In other words, a decisive battle between Lipei forces and Aud Army is about to comnce.
Faced with this bad news, Luo’er approved the staff’s proposed active striking strategy on one hand, while strengthening the ideological transformation work of Aud POWs on the other, aiming to convert these Aud POWs into combat power before the decisive battle.
Reviews
All reviews (0)