It wasn’t all that surprising that the enemy had cannons.
It was just that gunpowder weapons hadn’t fully taken hold in the German regions yet. Our eternal enemy, France, and England across the sea were both pouring resources into developing gunpowder weapons.
What surprised me was that I couldn’t even guess how the rebels had managed to build up an artillery corps in such a short time. Gunners were one thing, but training artillerymen takes a considerable amount of time.
Had they been hiding it thoroughly from the very start?
And the number of cannons the enemy had mobilized was sixteen.
That was four more than our side had.
Until the southern rebels collapsed? It didn’t add up. The reason they’d bought up so much gunpowder in Strasbourg was that they needed black powder to operate artillery.
Disrupting our own gunpowder supply had been nothing more than a bonus. Slowly observing the enemy forces, I was able to confirm that most of them were levies, with some being mercenary companies that had come over from Bavaria.
Their numbers were roughly four thousand.
That was definitely more troops than we had.
The Western Lords’ Army that had occupied Kellerheim had shrunk to about three thousand. They’d sent back the levies they’d hastily summoned and trimmed down to a core of elite soldiers and mercenaries.
While analyzing the enemy forces with the Commander Scouter, I learned who was leading them as supreme commander. It was an unexpected figure I never would have guessed. But he did have a powerful justification.
There was nothing to gain by being spotted by the enemy, so we hurriedly erased our traces and retreated. We got lost, but fortunately we calculated the enemy’s line of advance and made it back to Kellerheim safely.
The moment we returned, without a chance to rest, I walked into the council chamber where the crown prince and the lords were bickering. The crown prince was always itching to do something, and the lords were always pushing back against him.
A perfectly ordinary, run-of-the-mill day.
The news I delivered shut down their squabbling in an instant.
"Duke Radensdorf must be in Breisburg, so then who is the enemy commander?"
Duke Radensdorf was currently tied up on the Breisburg front. The only ones capable of raising an army in this vast domain were of Altringen blood.
Count Essenbach asked the crown prince.
"Are Your Highness’s younger cousins of an age to lead an army?"
"Do you think children not even ten years old raised an army?"
"Oh, they’re that young? And it wouldn’t be the duchess, surely."
"...It could only be Louis."
The supreme commander marching on Kellerheim was, astonishingly, Prince Louis. When I first saw the enemy unit information that came up on the Commander Scouter, I’d doubted the scouter too.
A prince in poor health, out on the battlefield?
I knew about his health, having seen it before.
In all likelihood, Prince Louis had staked everything on this battle. The appearance of the Radensdorf artillery corps, which hadn’t shown itself until now, proved this was total war.
The presence of the artillery corps became a worry for the lords as well.
"Hmm, since the enemy has cannons too, shouldn’t we mobilize ours as well?"
"The difference is that the enemy’s are mobile cannons, while ours are the fixed type."
"Aside from the major difference in mobility, is there any other disadvantage?"
"Why don’t we ask the expert?"
The lords’ eyes turned to me.
I was the closest thing to an expert, so I had no choice but to explain. I stressed that there was a huge difference between cannons used for sieges and those used in field battles, and that the cannons our side had were siege weapons.
"So your judgment is that they’re suited for sieges but disadvantageous in the field?"
"If I’m judging purely by efficiency, I’m against committing them to a field battle."
There was a risk that our cannons, which had no mobility whatsoever, could be damaged. Committing them to the battlefield despite that risk was no different from gambling. The lords, however, saw it differently.
"If we were to fight without the Royal Artillery Corps, our side would take cannon fire from the enemy with no way to return it. The mere sound and force of the cannons could affect morale."
"Hmm, so it’s a psychological problem? Well, with no friendly cannons to support us, that would be unavoidable."
Morale matters enormously on the battlefield. Without artillery, the battle would center on heavy cavalry charges, and the key would be how long our heavy infantry line could hold. That’s how it would go in an ordinary battle, anyway.
The problem was the presence of enemy cannons threatening the heavy infantry. The accuracy was terrible, but just having shells land nearby—a terrifying attack they’d never experienced before—could have a major impact on morale.
That was exactly the problem the lords were pointing out.
So from an expert standpoint, I couldn’t pursue efficiency alone, and in the end it was unanimously decided that the Royal Artillery Corps would join the fight. The crown prince also seemed to be secretly looking forward to an artillery duel.
Count Euz called out to stop me as I was leaving the chamber.
"I’m sorry we disregarded your opinion as artillery commander, but we can’t fight a battle on efficiency alone."
"I understand. If we prepare thoroughly, we may be able to deal the enemy a heavy blow."
"Is there anything I can do to help?"
"I’ll need an escort force to protect the Royal Artillery Corps."
"An escort, hm..... Would the Swiss mercenary company satisfy you?"
"That’s more than enough, but are you sure? They’re a very expensive elite mercenary company."
When Fried returned to Euz, he had handed his mercenary company over to the count. The Swiss mercenary company was the core of Euz’s elite forces. And yet he was offering to assign them as the Royal Artillery Corps’ escort.
"I’ll attach them to your command temporarily."
Count Euz readily handed the Swiss mercenaries over to me. I didn’t know what his intentions were, but it was an enormous show of support, so I gladly accepted. Though it surely wouldn’t come free.
"Ohh, we are Odin’s spear that scatters lightning, the Royal Artillery Corps!"
"Ah, Captain! Could you please stop singing that embarrassing song?"
"Marco! You stupid Hund! It’s our era now!"
Royal Artillery Corps captain Schneider and Marco had risen in the world to a degree incomparable to their down-and-out days. As their standing grew, people began to look at the artillery corps with envy.
Apparently there were already more than a hundred volunteers.
So the smiles never left their faces.
"Quite a good singing voice you’ve got there."
"Oh! Welcome, Supreme Commander!"
It wasn’t even evening yet, but Schneider, who already seemed drunk, welcomed me with a bright grin. This damn fool had been guzzling mead again. Marco shook his head as if he’d given up.
"Heh heh heh, this is all thanks to you, Supreme Commander. Now nobody can treat us like maggots anymore!"
"Supreme Commander, the captain seems to have lost his mind right now, so please bear with him. Marriage proposals have been coming in, and that’s why he’s like this."
"Marriage proposals have been coming in for you too! You’re the one who did a happy little butt dance over it!"
Schneider and Marco were single men in their mid-twenties who were well past prime marrying age, but thanks to the artillery corps’ achievements, their skills and worth had come to be recognized. As commanders, they now had matchmakers lining up for them.
"Most of these are court nobles. If it’s all right with you, may I make a recommendation?"
"Oh, does that mean we’re joining the greater Streit faction now?"
The greater Streit faction? There was such a thing? I thought about it for a while, and it seemed what these fellows were talking about was the War Minister’s family connections. And that wasn’t actually wrong.