No Battle No Life

Unlike in Aude, this was not a battle. It was a ma.s.sacre.

The scent of gunpowder mixed with the thick smell of blood made one want to puke. Bodies were strewn everywhere on the charred earth, many of which were unrecognisable. The battlefield of Aude had swords stuck in the ground and broken rifles, which could at least make for a tragic painting, but this was a clear picture that laid bare the sins of war.

“Quickly bury these soldiers and get a priest to pray for them so they may not need to suffer any further.” Tu couldn’t bear to see it, and though his generals did not understand his urgency, they still followed through.

In part because of their loyalty and respect for their king, and in part for their acknowledgement of their king.

“Looks like we have indeed chosen the right person to follow.” Murat said as he elbowed Ney.

“What good is there about this? He took credit for everything! Haha!”

“Haha…”

Tu did not pay attention to their conversation and directed his gaze toward the southern parts of France.

— What beautiful rivers and mountains…

“We’ll return to Paris by the main roads once the battlefield is cleaned up.”

— Paris oh Paris, looks like I can execute the plan on that side soon.

The news of their victory quickly reached the towns surrounding Fort Carré where many people awoke from the thunderous bombardment and had rushed out of their homes as they thought there was an earthquake only to witness Fort Carré be engulfed by flames.

And so word spread like wildfire and soon the entire southern region of France had heard of the fall of Fort Carré.

After cleaning up the mess at Fort Carré, Tu led his troops back to Paris along the main roads this time. Along the way, they received grateful welcomes from the people who were thankful that they no longer had to suffer humiliation by the Austrians.

Because the southern feudal lords required the protection by the Austrian Emperor, they would always pay tribute to the Austrian royal family annually– Though instead of tribute, it was more akin to a protection fee.

Of course, the feudal lords wouldn’t pay this out of their pocket and would raise the necessary funds through taxes levied on the ordinary people.

And so, the king who defeated the Austrians over and over was known as the liberator to the people.

To the southern feudal lords, it was like a horror show as their rightful king had descended upon their lands out of nowhere with his troops and had laid waste to the 20,000 strong personal army belonging to the leader of the 3 knights, Karl, at the cost of just 12 men.

The thunderous bombardment that broke the walls of Fort Carré also broke their will to resist and they realised that they would be fools to continue to swear fealty to the Austrians in Vienna.

And so every feudal lord opened their city gates and led cows and goats as a symbol of their surrendering of their lives and fates to their king, and swore fealty to Paris.

Tu laughed as he accepted their fealty and told them they could maintain the status quo of self-governance so long as they would adhere to orders from Paris before continuing on his way back.

It was a flawless and complete victory with the fealty of the belligerent south and the love of the people. But was that really the case?

Tu did not think so, and he knew that there still remained those with strong animosity towards Paris and he had to find a reason to rid France of all of such feudal lords.

But before that, Tu had something else to do. Though Karl had escaped, the strategy was a success and all that was left was the plan in Paris.

Now then, how should he conquer a certain someone?

A few days later, the suburbs of Paris

Because they had to accept the various feudal lords who came to surrender, Tu’s return to Paris was delayed by 1 day. But this did not impact Tu as it would not impact his upcoming plan.

Because for this plan, he still needed to wait for 1 more person.

“Your majesty, the captain of the palace guards is here.” Tu revealed a relaxed smile when he heard the words of his subordinate and the Joysword began to emit a fire red light that was so bright that even the sheath couldn’t hide it.

“Tell him to come in.”

“You majesty, I have followed your majesty’s orders and kept watch over the palace and a 100m radius around it for the past 2 days and have found evidence that the prisoner tried to communicate with the enemy.”

The captain brought out something like a letter from his sleeve. It was a slightly yellowed piece of paper that was rolled into a tiny scroll and gave off a faint smell of lavender.

Tu received the letter and slowly opened it. The only words were: [A storm approaches from the west, a clear future lies in the east.]

“That does fit her style… Does she think I won’t know what she means by writing it like this? Haha.” Tu laughed and placed the letter into his breast pocket.

“Are you sure of it? Where did you get it?”

“I am sure, your majesty. Our men observed her releasing a pigeon in the wee hours and we shot it down thereafter. We then retrieved her letter and made a forgery following her handwriting before sending it to Karl using an eagle. The one your majesty has is the original.”

— Not bad, she was able to sneak out of the palace despite being kept under watch by several dozen guards. Looks like I have not misjudged her.

“Your majesty, we are ready to arrest her at your order.”

“Arrest who? Let me tell you, that person is very important. She will decide our next battle. You may leave for now.”

“But your majesty…”

“This is her invitation letter to France! Hahaha!” Tu laughed as he pointed at his chest. All of a sudden, he thought of something and stopped laughing.

“Wait, don’t leave first. Let me tell you something…”