Chapter 1532: Chapter 66: Siege (36)_2
Using the Imperial Calendar year 515 as a dividing line, an invisible high wall divided the United Provinces Army officers into two distinct groups.
In terms of ability, literacy, and vision, the graduates of the Army Academy were confident that they were no worse than their predecessors. Even if they currently lacked so experience, given ti, they would surely catch up and surpass them.
However, they won the war that established the nation, and just that fact overshadowed everything else.
As for the “old guard” in the United Provinces Army, although they were mortal enemies with the civilian governnt, when it ca to suppressing the new generation within the military, both sides showed a surprising agreent.
Thus, generational conflict began to accumulate.
So when Vansco Alda returned to his holand after finishing the Imperial Succession War, he found that even though he was no longer that inexperienced young man who only talked tactics on paper, there was still no place for him in the Permanent Army, let alone any thought of a position in the Army Headquarters’ direct affiliations.
In a fit of anger, Alda once again left the Mountain Front Territory and went overseas, spending another three years in vain.
It wasn’t until the fourth year, with the formation of the “National Guard” as an opportunity, that Vansco Alda was able to return to the United Provinces and formally serve as a military officer in a local unit.
In fact, the so-called “National Guard” was actually an initiative by the younger faction of the United Provinces Army to break free from the old guard’s control by starting anew.
…
Incidentally, the Paratu Army originally also had the potential to follow the path of the United Provinces Army, but since Paratu was constantly at war, and war causes casualties, deaths ant vacant positions, so the flow of blood was relatively smooth, on the whole.
However, even so, there were still conflicts within the Paratu Army between noble factions.
By comparison, Vineta’s land and sea conflicts seed less ugly.
As for the Van Republic and Monta Republic, their situations were closer to Vineta rather than the United Provinces, so they were not further elaborated.
…
In the days following, Alda was promoted steadily.
But he could only reach the rank of Commander in the National Guard, unable to go beyond that.
Even his military rank was stuck at Colonel, unmoving for years.
Any thought of commanding the [Victory Goddess] and [Torrent River] was out of the question, as those were other people’s territories, and even joining them as so spineless contemporaries and juniors did, one had to wait in line.
Moreover, Vansco Alda would never bow his head.
That was as far as it went, at least until those old fossils died.
Unless…
Unless sothing could change the very fabric of the United Provinces.
That foolish Jansen Cornelius thought that stirring up a few young hotheads, launching a military coup, and overthrowing a State Secretary could sohow transform the United Provinces.
Utterly foolish.
The holand was already critically ill; what it truly needed was a major purge.
And to achieve that, the outco of the Kingsfort siege had to be rewritten first.
The Amber River, the Jade Crossing, Vansco Alda was patiently waiting for a chance that could completely rewrite the siege’s outco, even the fate of the entire Paratu, or even the entire Alliance.
Except, he didn’t know his opponent was doing the sa.
…
[Ti goes back two days]
Outside the Jade Crossing, hearing Winters’ bold words about “devouring [Steadfast].”
The veterans from Mont Blanc County and the Thunder Group Army were first startled, thinking they misheard. When they realized what Winters was actually saying, a sense of insult imdiately welled up within them.
The atmosphere instantly beca delicate, and everyone’s expressions turned cold.
Luosong had no choice but to step in to ease the situation, but even he didn’t quite know how to respond to Winters’ words, struggling before finally blurting out, “How to eat?”
On the surface, he was asking, “How to devour Steadfast?”
In reality, he was asking, “Previously, with full personnel, we couldn’t take Kingsfort. Now, with losses and damages, how can we defeat a stronger [Steadfast]?”
“Follow ,” Winters said succinctly, not wasting words, and turned to walk back.
The veterans exchanged glances but eventually followed.
The group of officers first retrieved their horses, then followed Winters to that sa naless hill that he had examined twice himself and had also brought Mason to see once.
“Assuming there is indeed only one legion of [Steadfast] in front of us,” Winters first carefully set the premise, “then the combat strength of their infantry is roughly equivalent to ours. We have a larger number, but their training compensates for their nurical disadvantage.”
Winters looked around at the officers, “Do any of you, sirs, have any objections?”
The officers from Mont Blanc County and Thunder Group County were noncommittal—this assessnt was already very considerate of the allied troops’ face. If one were to confront [Steadfast] head-on, having a few more people wouldn’t make much difference.
“Artillery,” Winters expressed so regret, “though I don’t know how many cannons Alda has exactly, judging by the Kingsfort situation, it definitely isn’t fewer than ours. The only ones genuinely useful on our side are three six-pound long cannons. As for those old siege guns—honestly, they should be lted down sooner and cast into smaller ones.”
“So, their artillery is stronger,” Winters slightly raised his voice, “but don’t forget, we have an absolute advantage in cavalry, both in quality and quantity. The Paratu Cavalry’s superiority is unmatched worldwide, as has been proven ti and again.”
“Alright, enough flattery,” a veteran from the Thunder Group County snorted with a laugh, “So what if we have more sabers? Can they climb walls? Can they board ships? You don’t an to have us dismount and fight as infantry, do you?”
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