Chapter 1457: Chapter 28: Negotiation (5)
[Six Days Ago]
[Kingsfort]
“I’m still somewhat worried, Minister…” Lanco Boyle hesitantly asked, “What if the rebels refuse a prisoner exchange, how will negotiations continue?”
“It doesn’t matter, the focus has never been on ‘exchange’, but on ‘order’,” said Cornelius, looking at the quietly flowing River Shijian, where it’s said the ten tribes of ancient Paratu swore their arrow-bending allegiance.
“The situation is clear,” Cornelius continued, “the primary casualties in the Battle of River Valley Village were in Gessa Adonis’ and Skur Meklen’s units.
“These two are native Paratu people but are not politically inclined towards the Blue Blood Faction. If handled properly, they could have been won over… but it’s too late to say that now.
“In short, for the native faction within the rebels, the Battle of River Valley Village was a Pyrrhic victory that significantly altered the power dynamics within the rebels.
“Thus, they urgently need dependable Paratu officers like Claire Ronald to replenish their losses.
“And Winters Montagne would probably prefer to exchange his Vineta compatriots first.
“This is your entry point.”
Cornelius turned to look at Lanco Boyle, “The rebels have never been a unified entity, just like the Kingsfort Great Council has factions between the United Provincials and the natives, the rebels can also be divided into the Vineta Faction and the native faction.
“The struggle over direction is the elephant in the room for the rebels.
“Don’t rush to disturb the elephant; that would only backfire. But you must make them aware of the elephant’s existence.
“In short, if the rebels are already aware of different factions within them, guide them to further discover the points of interest conflict among these factions.
“If the rebels don’t think they have internal factions, implant the concept of the Vineta Faction and the native faction into their minds — this is your mission.”
Lanco Boyle nodded thoughtfully, pondered for a moment, and then asked, “But if they have both our people and Paratu people in their hands, and they agree to the exchange, who should we prioritize getting back?”
“Haven’t I told you? A battle in Paratu can only be won by the Paratu people,” Cornelius replied without hesitation, “Do your best to induce the rebels to believe that I want the United Provinces officers more. Then, prioritize getting the Red Rose personnel back.”
—————–
[Present]
[Maplestone City]
“Exchange?” Gessa shouted, “Exchange my ass! Cornelius, that old sly fox sent this little slippery one to stall for time!”
Gessa threw the report in his hand heavily onto the table.
Standing in front of the table, he pressed his hands down on it, looking dauntingly at the other three members of the temporary Supreme Military Council, and said aggressively:
“Look for yourself! The United Provinces troops that originally garrisoned Birch Fort, Pelan Fort, and Trifork City have all withdrawn to Kingsfort.
“Think about it, if Cornelius really brought a substantial reinforcement, why would they abandon these outer strongholds?
“Without these outer strongholds, how can the United Provincials still play their turtle tactics? Knowing it’s a dead end, why would they choose to give up these outer positions voluntarily?”
“I’ll bet my last half-decent face!” Gessa Adonis pointed to his right face and said menacingly, “This so-called Southern Army from Jansen Cornelius is definitely just for show!
“Four corps? If they can gather one corps in Kingsfort, I’ll tear half of my face off for them!
“That’s why the old sly fox sent this little slick one, pretending to negotiate prisoner exchanges and return families, but it’s actually all about stalling for time!
“Right now! As we speak! Kingsfort is bustling with construction! They’re hectic in fortifying it! It’s getting tougher to conquer by the day!”
Gessa slammed the table hard again, gritted his teeth, and glared, “Damn it! We can’t delay the battle for Kingsfort any longer! We just can’t!
“Every second we waste now means more lives we’ll have to fill in later!
“We must deploy immediately, right now! Even if we can’t take it in one go, we have to disrupt the United Provincials’ actions! Lock them inside the city! We can’t let them dig up dirt in broad daylight!”
Gessa’s expression turned menacing, and he slammed the table again, “Once they finish building their damn turtle shell, everything will be damn over!”
After the resounding noise of his fist echoed, the meeting room fell silent, only the beast-like panting of Colonel Gessa was heard.
“Calm down, Colonel Gessa,” Magash Colvin broke the silence, calmly saying, “You also mentioned, without the support of the outer positions, no matter how strong the city is, it’s just a solitary one. And its fall will be the inevitable fate of a lone city. So, as long as we proceed steadily, Kingsfort will eventually be ours…”
“A lone city?” Colonel Gessa interrupted Magash, aggressively questioning, “Behind Kingsfort is the Ashen Stream River! As long as the river doesn’t dry up, as long as the United Provincials remain on it, Kingsfort can never be a solitary city! Did you forget how the old marshal defended Guidao City?”
“The assistance the United Provincials can provide isn’t endless, and they can’t occupy the Ashen Stream River forever,” Lieutenant Colonel Magash calmly replied, “If Cornelius thinks he can replicate the old marshal’s feat, it’ll end in a very ugly death for him.”
Then, Lieutenant Colonel Magash shifted gears, “And to be honest, I don’t trust Lanco Boyle, nor Jansen Cornelius whom Lanco Boyle claims to fully represent.
“Although they speak nicely now, promising the safety of our imprisoned officers, promising the safety of our families and friends, who can guarantee they won’t act like desperate dogs?”
Lieutenant Colonel Magash stated firmly, “So, I think we can talk to them first.”
“Talking doesn’t delay fighting! Fighting doesn’t delay talking!” Gessa impatiently waved his hand, “And I tell you, the more you fight the easier it is to talk! The more you talk the harder it is to fight! If you want to talk, then fight while talking! Talk while fighting!”
Lieutenant Colonel Magash gave a resigned smile and turned to look at Colonel Skur.
Next to him, Colonel Skur, who had fallen into deep thought, returned to his senses, took a moment to organize his thoughts, and calmly analyzed, “Fighting while talking, fighting easier while talking, makes some sense.
“And I believe that returning families is an open and honest deceit.
“Even if Kingsfort truly returns the families of officers of all levels unconditionally as Lanco Boyle promised, the back and forth can buy them a lot of time.”
“So, if we deploy the troops now,” Colonel Skur stroked his chin, speaking startlingly, “we might just catch Jansen Cornelius by surprise.”
However, in the next moment, Colonel Skur cautiously added, “But we must also consider whether Jansen Cornelius is deliberately luring us into hastily attacking Kingsfort. After all… Anyway, we need to gather more intelligence.”
Lieutenant Colonel Magash Colvin chuckled dryly and, seeing no support from Colonel Skur, turned to the Vineta junior officer sitting opposite him, “What do you think, Captain Montaigne?”
“Colonel Skur is quite right,” said Winters Montagne, who was also deep in thought, ambiguously answering, “More intelligence is needed to make an accurate judgment.”
Winters continued, “However, rather than focusing on the intelligence from Kingsfort, I think we need more attention on the situation concerning Rainbow Creek—have the four corps of the ‘Western Army’ really deployed? Or is Kingsfort bluffing? What is Rainbow Creek’s response?”
Winters looked expectantly at the three officers: “You three have more information than I do, I wonder if you have…”
“Why are you concerned about that old ghost Alpade?” Gessa glared.
“If the United Provincials eliminate the Rainbow River Military Government, their next target will definitely be us,” Winters replied seriously, “So we cannot ignore it.”
“Let them truly eliminate that old ghost Alpade before we speak!” Gessa impatiently knocked on the table, “The pressing task is to resolve the ‘Southern Army’ right in front of us; there’ll be plenty of time to study matters in the North later!”
“Indeed,” Lieutenant Colonel Magash chimed in, laughing, “Don’t worry about General Alpade, the Blue Blood Faction has deep roots in Jiangbei Province, they’re not so easily dealt with. If the United Provincials underestimate General Alpade, they might suffer a great loss.
“So, before the battle on the North Shore reaches a conclusion, pacifying the area south of Ashen Stream River is our top priority.”
Colonel Skur listened, nodding slowly, acknowledging Lieutenant Colonel Magash’s analysis—though it was unclear which part he agreed with.
“Enough talk!” Colonel Gessa, unable to bear it, slammed the table, “Let’s vote! I’m really fed up! Transfer the troops and attack Kingsfort immediately, who agrees?”
No one raised their hand.
Lieutenant Colonel Magash coughed lightly, “I still suggest prioritizing advancement towards Northern Foothills Province, does anyone support this?”
Again, no one raised their hand.
“What are you two up to?” Gessa asked Skur and Winters angrily, “Colluding?”
“I think more intelligence is still needed…” Skur frowned.
“I support Colonel Skur.” Winters’ reply was exceedingly concise.
The first formal vote of the temporary Supreme Military Committee of the New Republic of Paratu ended in a one-to-two-to-three awkward result.
If Colonel John Jeska were present, he would certainly laugh wildly and mark a striking note in the annals of military history.
But none of the attendees shared Colonel John Jeska’s good humor.
Thus, the meeting ended in discord.
—————–
[Evening]
[Montaigne Mansion]
“Are you… really sure you want to do this?” Bard asked solemnly, his eyes full of concern.
“Hey, leave him alone,” Andre said discontentedly, pouring wine as he spoke, “When has he ever changed his mind once it’s made up?”
Andre tilted his head back and poured the wine down his throat, wiped his mouth, and couldn’t hold back as he angrily smashed the cup, “[Expletive]!”
“It’s alright,” Winters patted Andre’s back consolingly, “This is actually the best solution—it resolves all the issues.”
Andre grunted a few times.
“Senior,” Winters looked at Senior Mason sincerely, “What do you think?”
“Oh, don’t ask me,” Mason seemed to have touched a hot iron plate, waving his hands repeatedly, “If you think it’s fine, it’s fine. I… I have no objections.”
“I want to hear your opinion,” Winters insisted.
Mason showed a troubled expression, hesitated for a moment, bit his lip, and said with difficulty, “Indeed… this… is currently… the best problem-solving approach.”
“With you saying that,” Winters sighed deeply with relief, “I’m reassured.”
After sending off his companions, Winters and Anna cleared the plates together.
“What do you think?” Winters asked Anna softly, “Dear.”
“You’ve already made your decision, why ask me?” Anna feigned anger.
Winters held Anna’s hand, “I want to know how you feel.”
Anna embraced Winters, resting her forehead on his chest, softly saying, “Actually, I’m really happy.”
“That’s wonderful,” Winters smiled for the first time that evening.
The dim fire, the warm embrace, the heartbeat of a lover… If possible, Winters wished he could stay in this moment forever.
But the abrupt knocking interrupted their tender moment.
“Sir,” Xial’s voice came from outside the door, “Colonel Gessa is here.”