1035: Chapter 141, The Great Retreat 1035: Chapter 141, The Great Retreat “The enemy did not come, but it did not affect the Expeditionary Army’s relocation.
After a forced march of a hundred miles without discovering any trace of enemy troops, Hudson finally ordered the establishment of camp for rest.
The daytime battle was completely unexpected.
Up to now, Hudson had not figured out why the enemy had blundered into their mouths.
Perhaps it was a military miracle in history; history was not short of such coincidences.
After all, if everyone did not make mistakes in war, there would be no classic battles.
The climate on the great grassland is variable, with very large temperature differences between day and night, making warmth especially important.
After setting up the tents, Hudson immediately summoned the senior officers to a meeting.
‘We won a beautiful victory today, but our strategic objective was also prematurely exposed; the original plan is entirely canceled.
From the situation on the battlefield, the enemy is not to be underestimated.
They entangled with us for so long and only showed a flaw this time; it’s uncertain when the next opportunity will come.
The Expeditionary Army Corps has entered deep into the grasslands to create chaos, and to reduce the enemy’s potential for war; this strategic goal we have already exceeded, there is no need to waste more time here.
For the safety of the army, I have decided to withdraw tomorrow and return to the Kingdom for reorganization.’
His seemingly calm words sounded like a thunderclap to everyone’s ears.
Rumors of withdrawal were already in the air, but the situation now was different.
After gobbling up fifty thousand of the enemy’s cavalry, the balance of power between the two sides had shifted.
Even if the enemy regrouped the defeated troops, they no longer held absolute power over the Expeditionary Army Corps.
As for the hundred thousand infantry, they were directly ignored by all.
When cavalry clashed, it was not their turn to interfere.
According to Hudson’s usual style, encountering such an opportunity, he would not rest until the enemy was crushed; withdrawing now seemed clearly premature.
‘Marshal, within the enemy forces besieging our troops, there were only a hundred thousand cavalry in total, and half have been destroyed in combat today.
If we can take care of the other fifty thousand cavalry, we can smash the enemy’s encirclement plan and take the opportunity to devour this two hundred thousand strong army.
Without this force, the Orcs will have to withdraw troops from the front line.
Then, with a pincer attack from both sides, we have a complete chance to inflict another heavy blow to the Orc Empire.
If all goes well, perhaps the great achievement of annihilating the Orc Empire will be realized in our hands!’ Count Albert, Commander of the Army, said with an excited expression.
Annihilating the Orc Empire, that is the common wish of all the soldiers of the Alpha Kingdom, many of whom regard it as the pursuit of their lives.
The continuous victories of the Expedition Army Corps shattered the last concerns in everyone’s hearts, and their appetites began to swell.
The inner expectation had grown from initially repelling the Orc invasion to defeating the Orc Army, and now to annihilating the Orc Empire— a great ‘sublimation.’
‘Marshal, what Albert said is correct, it’s a rare opportunity!’ Marquis Medel, Commander of the Army, eagerly chimed in.
Then, a host of officers also spoke up one after another, as if the enemy was already meat on the chopping board, ready to be sliced at will.
‘Your ideas are very good, if this plan were implemented, the Kingdom indeed has the chance to annihilate the Orc Empire.
Regrettably, the Continent of Aslante is not only home to the Kingdom and the Orcs but also numerous major powers that jointly dominate.
Given the Kingdom’s strength, even if we could annihilate the Orc Empire, a great loss of vitality would be inevitable.
An optimistic estimate is that we might lose seventy percent of our military force and then make a wedding dress for others.’
Annihilating the Orc Empire was ultimately just a beautiful dream.
For the Alpha Kingdom to enforce this plan would only choke itself with its ambitions.
While it seemed the Kingdom had the upper hand on the battlefield, overall military strength still favored the Orcs, otherwise they would not have taken this military gamble.
With insufficient national power to digest such a large cake, to continue a protracted conflict with the Orc Empire would only kill two birds with one stone for those enjoying the show.
Because of interests, the relationship between the Alpha Kingdom and the Prairie Seven Kingdoms is not so good; their restoration on the grasslands represents a political disaster for the Kingdom.
‘Marshal, the strength of the Orcs remains robust; leaving them be will sooner or later be a disaster.
Once they recover, the Northern Border of the Kingdom will again face a threat.
Even if we cannot annihilate them now, we can still inflict heavy damage to prevent them from growing stronger!’ Count Albert strove to argue.
Clearly, he only saw the first layer of the problem: the threat of the Orcs to the Kingdom; but failed to see the second layer: the Alpha Kingdom now needed the threat of the Orcs.
Prosperity breeds complacency, crisis yields caution.
It was the threat of the Orcs that restrained the Alpha Kingdom’s myriad factions from tearing into each other in internal struggles, maintaining internal unity.
Once this threat was removed, the political struggles that followed would not be as moderate as they are now.
Looking at foreign political struggles, one can see that with every major reshuffle, countless aristocratic houses fall into decline from standing on the wrong side.
As a rising Major Noble, Hudson’s influence was almost entirely concentrated in the military and had not yet extended to political affairs.
Should internal struggle escalate, Hudson, who had gained a large share of the cake, could easily become everyone’s target and be among the first to fall out of favor.
In such a context, ‘keeping an enemy for one’s own use’ becomes particularly important.
As long as there is an external threat, he will always be the most revered Marshal of the Kingdom.