RM Vol 4: War – Interlude: Pri Minister – Edited by Yovis
Paris is in chaos. The Loyalist High Command, slow to react because of its strategy of "thodical warfare", is now reeling from the shock of the Belkan offensive and is overtaken by defeatism.
Thus far, they haven't been able to adapt to the Belkans' Blitzkrieg. Their force deploynt is sluggish and uncoordinated. Their equipnt and training are not up to snuff. Their chain of command is inflexible and entrenched in the values of old. All of these have culminated in a chain of setbacks and defeats. Towns, cities, and Army Divisions are lost faster than the ti it takes for ssengers to report back to Paris. By the ti the Loyalists' top brass can make or redy a deploynt order, the unit that the order is ant for may have already been destroyed.
The Loyalists try to recover the situation by sending all of their reserves. Pulling out all the stops, the Reservist Divisions are to stabilize the frontline and aid the regular armies. Unfortunately, the addition of more units seems to have the opposite effect. Instead of news of victory, reports of constant defeats flood Paris even more. Ford from the bottom of the barrels of conscripts, these Reservist units can barely handle a contemporary enemy, much less the Belkans. Nevertheless, they still try and put up a fight anyway, at the very least they can still relieve the pressure off the regulars. It won't be a stretch to say that the Reservists form the only blockade between Paris and the Belkans.
Still, the lackluster results thus far force the Loyalists to face a grim reality. They're losing, and badly at that. At the sa ti, one can say that the war is not yet over with the still combat-capable Erusean Expeditionary Force fighting in Northern Maginot. The Loyalist Generals think that it's only a matter of ti before the Eruseans falter like they did. With most, if not all of their forces stuck in bitter combat one way or another, the Loyalists won't be able to defend themselves if the Belkans decides to attack Paris all of a sudden. In fact, it's a miracle that they haven't done so already. This unfortunate scenario ans that preparations to abandon Paris are already well underway. The city itself is not in a viable position to stage a last stand if the worst is to happen. If Paris is untenable, a swift retreat is a possible way for the Loyalists to reconsolidate their forces. However, this is only applicable if they still have any left by then.
Laying down the newspaper reporting of yet another major defeat, the Loyalist Pri Minister can't stop himself from humming. Truly, it's saying sothing when the press caught wind of battlefield results faster than their military ever could currently. This ans that Belka's agents are working overti to disseminate their victory all over Paris, if not the rest of Ustio. This move turns the already grim outlook of the Allied forces even more hopeless in the eyes of the public. When public trust in the governnt falters, it will bring along a host of sequelae that can cripple their faction whole. If not for the Pri Minister's vice grip over public security, protesters would have flooded the streets by now. Nevertheless, this is the only thing the Loyalists have been able to do.
Hell, most Loyalist nobles already evacuated from Ustio to different countries and colonies. These normally haughty enjoyers of luxury ran like dogs, bringing along with them a significant chunk of the Loyalist economy. If the pri minister had been a normal politician, he would have run for his money as well. However, he is unlike those chicken-shit money-grubbers. The Pri Minister doesn't care how many resources and lives he has to sacrifice so long as he can keep the Eruseans and Belkans fighting each other. If Ustio is run to the ground, then so be it. As long as the Eruseans are stuck in the sa boat as Ustio, all is well in the Pri Minister's opinion. To ensure this outco, he already gave his peer, Churchill, the general situation of the Loyalists. The picture he painted for Churchill was an alarming one, and the Pri Minister thought that his acting deserved an award. In the letter penned expressively for Churchill, the Loyalist Minister wrote:
"We have been defeated. We are beaten; we have lost the battle."
Without radio communication, a letter was the only way for the Loyaliys Pri Minister to communicate with Churchill. Knowing the fat Erusean, he will fly to Paris at the best speed to verify the situation himself. With so choice sentences here and there, the Loyalist Minister should be able to drag the Eruseans further down this sinkhole. Eruseans are almost always unwilling to admit that they have lost. As long as the Loyalist Minister can feed Churchill false hope, the fat man will keep on fighting a war that they all are destined to lose.
The winners take the crowns while the losers of this war... Well, they will lose everything, and boy, won't that be a sight for sore eyes. By this point, the Loyalist Pri Minister is one step closer to achieving his long-cherished wish. No matter what, Erusea must fall. It must lay in ruin with no hope to ever recover. Until such a thing cos to pass, the Pri Minister will continue to play his part dutifully, by hook or by crook.
The Pri Minister is pulled out of his musing when the door to his office is knocked upon, twice.
"The door's not locked." The man calls out to the person behind the door.
As the door opens, the Loyalist Minister leans back on his luxuriously comfy chair, enjoying a brief calm before the storm. The Minister greets. "Dana, so what've you gotten for ?"
Dana Elvidge, the Minister's secretary and personal friend, lays down a stack of docunts on his table while pushing a tray of refreshnts and snacks. Dana responds. "More battlefield reports. More nobles deserting. More concerns are raised when you haven't evacuated the King or pulled back armies to protect Paris. There are also updated information and forecasts concerning our economy for the next month... If we can even last that long."
The Pri Minister nods as Dana fills up a cup of tea for the man. "So just the usual Tuesday?"
"The usual Tuesday." Handing the man his drink, Dana says. "I have sorted the docunts for you. Do you need my help in tackling these files, however?"
The Pri Minister hums while picking up his expensive white and blue porcelain tea cup. "Sure. Your help will be much welco, Dana. We will have to clean up these docunts first. Tomorrow, we may be too busy otherwise."
Dana raises an eyebrow. "Is there sothing I need to know, sir?"
"Churchill may co tomorrow." The Pri Minister shrugs. "We may need to convene the command staff for a bit of a talk. If the fat man truly cos, then the outco of that talk will be strategically decisive."
Dana nods while taking notes of what she has to do if there's a big et and greet the next day. "Should I ask for the true aning behind this potential eting, sir? Or perhaps you will leave the reasoning as cryptic as usual." Dana says everything in a dry tone as if she already knows the answer.
The Pri Minister laughs. "You're a smart lady, Dana. By now you should have figured out so of my motives for kicking Ustio and Erusea into this ss."
"Right, you have a hate boner for the Eruseans." Dana comnts with a certain appraising look. "You're one vindicative old man to plunge millions of lives in a cesspool just for your personal vendetta. I know at least that much... What I can't figure out yet is the reason behind your hatred. One must be dealt a very bad hand by the Eruseans to do what you're doing right now."
The Pri Minister smirks, his teacup all but forgotten for a mont. "Let's just say that my posting as the Loyalist Pri Minister is but a consolation prize for what they did to ."
"I see... And I don't see at the sa ti." Dana comnts dryly with a shake of her head before continuing. "Anyway, should we start working on the files? They won't go away despite their overall uselessness."
"One more thing before we start." The Pri Minister speaks out to Dana.
"Yes, sir?"
"When this is all over and done with, you still want to be a teacher?"
"If I have the chance to, yes." Dana nods with a certain conviction in her bearing. "Despite what I am showing right now, the job is getting too stressful for my taste. Teaching can be a good way for to settle down in peace... Sowhere."
The Pri Minister nods. "Heard from a grapevine that teachers are in high demand in the Long Dynasty. You may want to try your luck there when the opportunity arises."
The Minister then drinks from his teacup. "But that ti is neither here nor there. Let's finish these papers."
Dana nods, seriously considering whether China is a good escapade or not. The life of a undercover agent has done much to wear her down over the years. After this war is over, Dana thinks she will ask for a transfer to sothing lighter if not retiring outright.
Reviews
All reviews (0)