Section 11 Military Arts

"War is a very terrible thing. If you are not afraid of war, you should not be a general."

"Mr. Thomas, what you mean..." Ashu Rufate asked hesitantly.

But Thomas did not answer, but continued to speak on his own.

"When I was just an ordinary knight, although I had to charge, I was not afraid of war. But when I started commanding the army, I began to be afraid. My every move, a command, and a strategy was no longer about me, but about the life and death of many people."

"I tried my best to shirk this responsibility. But our King was forced to do something and forced me to command the troops. Some people said I was arrogant and rude, but I was just afraid; some people said I was planning, but I was just guessing with my brain; some people said I was invincible, but I was just lucky. I looked confident on the outside, but I actually had nothing in my heart."

"But...but...you are indeed winning! And it's constantly winning." Ashu Rufate became more and more puzzled the more he heard it. "For example, this time you have completely calculated the enemy's route of progress, clearly judged their movements, and adopted the best tactics."

"As long as you have learned these things, you will definitely know them." Thomas sighed again, "I will give you the military book I wrote, where have you read?"

"About the march, the precautions for camping and the part that judges the size of the enemy."

"Well, the progress is very good. You should know that these are common principles. All military books have almost all, and at most they only have different angles and focus. Even illiterate robber leaders or barbaric green-skinned orcs, they will naturally act according to these rules. If they do not act according to these rules, there is no need to fight and their army will collapse. Using these rules to guess the enemy's actions is basically the same. Light fast troops will occasionally break the rules, but the main forces must definitely abide by it. Therefore, it is easy to judge the enemy's movements."

"For example, this time the Greyhound Knights. They had to go from a route and follow the river. Because there was no water source when taking other routes. If they chose an inexplicable route regardless of the water source, what impact would it have on me? There was almost no impact. Our army could choose another place to fight. But they had to face the crisis of water shortage, and thirst would make the soldiers lose their physical strength. So they could only come here."

"But there are several natural springs in these mountains!"

"Even if they do, I can let the spies and scouts poison. Ashu Rufate, don't try to violate these rules. Because violations of these rules are usually boring risks that are not worth the effort. The benefits are small, and the risks are huge."

"But, no matter what, aren't you very accurate? Today they didn't expect that we would take the initiative to attack and were unprepared. Not to mention muskets, they didn't even line up the spear formation..."

He stopped because another footsteps sounded. Then someone approached the tent. Ashu Rufate saw Ryan's face.

"Teacher Thomas." Ryan didn't seem to see Ash Rufate at all. He obviously drank a lot of wine, his face turned red, his steps were a little flushed, and his expression was excited.

"What's wrong, Ryan, are you still upset?"

"No, Mr. Thomas, you misunderstood. I'm sorry for my recklessness at that time. Because I was so excited at that time, you know, I could get the head of the enemy general when I first went to the battlefield... So seeing you don't care, I made me feel sorry for a moment... In short, I'm sorry. I should have thought that these things were already as you expected, and only fools like me would be excited. I'm here to ask you for advice."

"What do you ask?"

"Mr. Thomas, please guide me as a real general. Today, I realized how naive I am when I see your strategizing style. I actually think that ‘defense and counterattack’ is the best strategy... Please tell me how to judge the enemy’s arrangement and thus choose our best combat strategy? For example, how did you judge today?"

Thomas let out a long sigh.

"Lyn, do you remember the legendary Gilles? The famous general who has been known as the best general in history? Do you remember the most outstanding and outstanding battle he had?"

"Of course I remember that when I was in the academy, he was the one I admired the most. Of course, he was only an ancient man recorded in history, but you were the one who was truly in front of me, the general who really commanded us to fight..."

"The most brilliant and outstanding battle of Gilles was to use 40,000 troops to annihilate 70,000 enemies. In other words, even if the military talent only appears once a thousand years, the advantage that can be offset is only twice the strength of the troops. Not to mention that there is a great component of luck. Ryan, if you have three times the opponent's army on hand, even Gilles will be defeated by you."

"I don't want you to learn about my 'strategic style'. You must know that I was forced to gamble like this. I hope you - just like I said - gather superior troops, protect your logistics, use troops in a simple way, and win in a simple way. This is the kingdom of war."

"But...but... Lord Thomas, you won a great victory today." Perhaps he was completely unaware of the answer, and Ryan looked a little flustered.

"I'm doing a gamble that doesn't win much, but I'm just winning because of my luck. There's really nothing to boast about."

The master and apprentice looked at each other for a long time, and they were silent.

"Teacher Thomas, I am really... I am really... I want to learn from you, the way of commanding..."

Thomas smiled bitterly.

"Lian, do you know why I asked the apprentice knights as a reserve and pursue the pursuit today, let the knights attack first, let the archers and militias follow? Because the apprentice knights are eager to make achievements, if they are on the front line, they are likely to launch a rash attack because of impulse. But if they are pursuing troops, the apprentice knights will pursue their lives because they are eager for military achievements and will never retreat halfway. The knights are well-equipped, skilled and full of courage, but they value honor. When attacking the enemy, the knights can move forward, but once the enemy flees, the knights are disdainful to pursue them. Although the militias are not strong in combat and are not determined enough, they are large in number. When they see the situation is favorable, they can also exert good combat power..."

"I understand all this!" Ryan interrupted Thomas' explanation.

"Master Thomas," before he knew it, his name had gone from a special title like "teacher" to a common title like "master". "I have known this for a long time that the right army does the right thing. What I want to know is how to judge the enemy's actions, how to arrange the correct tactics for the enemy's actions, when to set up ambush, when to attack head-on, how to surprise, how to defeat the crowd with few. I want to become a famous general, instead of those mediocre and stupid generals who know nothing except military disciplines!"

"If you can really master the military teachings thoroughly, there will be not many people in the world who can beat you." Thomas shook his head and said sadly.

Ryan didn't say anything, but Ashu Rufate could see that the enthusiasm in his eyes had gradually cooled down.

"Is there anything else? Ryan?"

"Yes, Lord Thomas, I heard that you will enthrone a group of knights, including two militia captains."

"Yes, I do plan that. They performed very bravely today. Such heroic behavior should be rewarded."

"But I suggest you think carefully. Those militias... they did almost nothing today. Although the results of today's battles are brilliant, they are not their turn to share the glory. It is not in line with the spirit of the knights that enthrone these lowly militias."

"Your Highness the Princess has authorized me to this point. I will consider your opinion. Go back."

Ryan turned around and left. Ashu Rufate felt that before he left, he glared at him fiercely. This made Ashu Rufate feel inexplicable.

"Ashu Rufat, the gorgeous military use is something that every young man dreams of, but in fact this kind of thing does not exist. For me, if I had more than one hundred knights or more than three hundred militias, I would have adopted the defensive counterattack strategy without hesitation."

"I still don't understand." Ashu Rufate answered sincerely.

"Young man, when I saw you at first, I thought you were an excellent warrior. Your body was calm enough to be tempered. You should...at least you believed at that time that you were sure that you could break up and escape, right?"

"Yes." Ashu Rufate replied.

"This is the reason. Only when you are afraid of war can you be a good general. Because of fear, you will not take risks where risks outweigh returns. You should feel fear, but you must overcome fear... However, you cannot understand this today. Maybe one day you will understand."

"I can understand one day?"

"You are the only man among the people I have ever met who has the potential to command the army."

"This also requires potential? I think..."

"Of course, two hundred and five are two hundred and five. Two two hundred and five stand together or two twenty hundred and five will not become Wu Bai. Even if you repeatedly educate and instill those principles, even if you use cruel training to change his habits, it is useless. Once you reach a critical moment of real crisis, your instinct will still be exposed. Brave people will choose to fight, and weak people will escape; calm people will make decisive decisions, while idiots will bet on the wrong treasure and will also bring others to die together... Can Ashu Rufate help me get that piano?"

Ashu Rufat obeyed the order, Thomas picked up the piano and began to play, singing strange songs. This song was sad and desolate, and was definitely not the joy after victory.

Ashurufate knew that Thomas was unwilling to be disturbed again, so he also withdrew from the tent. Now there was silence near the tent, and only singing came from the tent from time to time.

"... Things change and stars change for several years, and the war is ready before it arrives... I plan for great things and never give up on fire and water..."
Chapter completed!