Sword of Dawnbreaker

Chapter 405 - 404: Cleanup and Reorganization

Cecil territory, Intelligence Agency, the intelligence from the frontlines of the corps quickly reached Gawain’s hands.

Seeing Byron’s report about constructing a temporary prisoner-of-war camp on site and using the grain warehouses from the Hosman Territory to sustain the prisoners, Gawain showed a satisfied expression: "Byron is indeed talented... to even come up with the idea of having those prisoners build a camp to imprison themselves, solving the problem with five thousand axes."

Standing beside him, Amber rolled her eyes incessantly: "I knew right away that this kind of idea definitely aligns with your thoughts... I just don’t know how ideas like this come out of the minds of people like you..."

"The battlefield is ever-changing, only those with equally flexible minds can seize the initiative." Gawain said earnestly.

"Alright, alright, you’re the expert," Amber replied perfunctorily, then showed a somewhat sentimental expression, "But speaking of which, this is really a long chase... At Broken Stone Ridge, Sir Philip crushed the Noble Coalition Army in less than two hours, but then it took us over ten days to circle around with those fleeing enemies... I thought it would take at most two or three days."

Gawain shook his head with a smile: "It was a deliberate order I gave to Sir Philip, to prolong the pursuit as much as possible—don’t put too much pressure on the enemy, don’t chase too closely, always intimidate from the border of the ’Persuader’ Rail Cannon’s range, and occasionally use light infantry for harassment, to maintain this ten-day chase."

Amber looked utterly confused: "Why?"

"Without this, how could three thousand men take down thirty to forty thousand enemies?" Gawain looked into Amber’s eyes, "The Noble Coalition Army indeed shattered at the slightest touch, but that’s just in terms of frontal combat strength; in terms of numbers, they still have thirty to forty thousand survivors, and they are fit, their minds clear, among them, the Transcendent professionals serving as rearguards might still hold some will to resist because those at the back likely didn’t even see the cannon bombardment—under such circumstances, the Combat Corps led by Sir Philip can defeat them head-on but cannot annihilate them all, cannot prevent their escape, and cannot ensure their own safety while capturing them."

Amber finally got the gist: "So that’s why you had Sir Philip chase those routed soldiers around with cannon fire for a whole ten days?"

"Northerners hunt Red Mountain Wolves before winter sets in, they use ’ringing arrows’ that make loud whistle sounds and gongs to drive the Red Mountain Wolves across the entire mountain, day and night, rotating teams into the mountains and resting, forcing the Red Mountain Wolves, more numerous than people in the northern mountains, to jump off cliffs en masse, and those Noble Coalition Army... their will is no match for the Red Mountain Wolves, driving them for ten days is about enough," Gawain shook his head, "Only by wearing down their will to its limits, exhausting their physical strength, slowing their thoughts, making them lose the most basic judgment, can Sir Philip’s three thousand securely take over thirty to forty thousand prisoners, otherwise why do you think when Byron handed those prisoners five thousand axes, they obediently cut down trees and built a prisoner-of-war camp to lock themselves up?"

Amber looked Gawain up and down with admiration, unable to resist admiring: "Truly worthy of a seven-hundred-year-old veteran, truly seasoned..."

Then, before Gawain could randomly grab something and smack her against the wall, she quickly changed the subject: "But speaking of which... this ten-day pursuit, let alone those aristocratic soldiers, probably no one in all of Anzu has ever witnessed such a thing... After all, you’re the first in history to refuse a ceasefire in a noble war."

"I will accept a ceasefire, once they are completely annihilated or all surrender, naturally the war will end," Gawain said casually, "And I believe that day won’t be too far off."

"Speaking of the next step, what do you plan to do?" Amber looked at Gawain curiously, "The Noble Coalition Army is completely wiped out, their leaders are staying in the prisoner-of-war camp at the edge of Count Hosman’s Territory, there are dozens of noble territories in the southern borders waiting for you to take over; on the other hand, based on the intelligence I’ve received, about one-third to one-quarter of the Noble Coalition Army’s members escaped Sir Philip’s pursuit in the plains, these people probably don’t dare to return to their territories, if they keep wandering around, they might become a big problem."

Despite usually being an unreliable and carefree person, Amber, after serving as Gawain’s personal guard for a year and now being the leader of the Intelligence Agency, accumulated some experience in handling serious matters, her analysis somewhat making sense this time.

"Of course, I will take over the lands of the southern borders..." Gawain said, while moving to the large map of the southern borders hanging in his office, "But I need to carefully think through the specific plan for taking over. As for those who escaped... it’s within expectations, after all, Sir Philip’s manpower is limited, the fact that he only let such a small number slip is beyond my expectations. Don’t worry about those escaped nobles and their remnant forces, they will be dealt with properly."

As he spoke, Gawain’s gaze moved upwards along the map, finally stopping at the top.

Rocky ridges Fortress, the northern gate of the southern borders fell at the center of his vision.

Staring at the fortress for a moment, Gawain retracted his gaze, sweeping it across the various big and small aristocratic territories scattered in the southern borders.

"Send a messenger to the Hosman Prisoner of War Camp. Have Sir Philip and Byron escort all the aristocratic leaders and Transcendents back to the territory, and let Knight Wald Peric take over the camp. Also, inform Aunt Heidi and all officials of the internal affairs department to gather at the Administrative Office. I have matters to discuss with them—although the southern borders haven’t been pacified, it’s time to take over some of the land."

The war was not yet over, with remnants of some nobles still fleeing. Even those nobles already captured clung to the naive belief of a "noble war game," waiting for Gawain to negotiate with them, hoping to be ransomed back to continue as leaders. However, from the beginning, Gawain never considered negotiating with the southern borders’ aristocratic order.

The scenario he demanded had to be achieved, and now that the forces capable of obstructing him had been defeated, he was ready to proceed with the next plan.

Not long after, Gawain appeared before the crowd in the Administrative Office located in the territory’s center.

The officials from the Administrative Office collectively stood up, paying their respects to their leader with reverence.

The war had been ongoing for over ten days. Through convenient channels such as newspapers and bulletin boards within the territory, almost everyone was aware of the two overwhelming victories at Broken Stone Ridge and the White River, as well as the subsequent "great pursuit" by the Cecil military. The results of this war not only shocked the enemy but also the Cecil Clan themselves. Except for Gawain, who had anticipated such an outcome, hardly anyone expected this new era of warfare to appear in this manner—their reverence wasn’t just for Gawain himself but also for the changes he brought and for the reverence of this new era.

Before revealing his plans, Gawain first inquired about the changes in the territory during this period.

"Ancestor, the territory is currently operating smoothly, and social order is as usual," Aunt Heidi, as the highest supervisor of the internal affairs department, reported on what she knew. "The newspapers have played a significant role—they provide the people with the most up-to-date information, preventing unwarranted tension and panic, especially since Mister Godwin’s commentary articles have been very popular. Additionally, due to the newspapers’ accurate coverage of front-line information, the recruitment of a new round of training soldiers has proceeded smoothly, currently reaching the expected target."

Gawain believed he should be thankful for this era where the public was not yet enlightened. The role that this new media, "newspapers," played on the territory exceeded his imagination. In this era, people did not question authority, and the newspapers and those who published them were seen as "authority" in their minds, leading them to almost unconditionally believe whatever was said in the newspapers. To be fair, this wasn’t what Gawain initially aimed for; in fact, his higher goal in enlightening was to break this "monopoly of authority." Yet at this stage, the influence of newspapers on the populace was precisely what he needed.

After understanding the current situation of the territory, Gawain cleared his throat and stated, "Gentlemen, this war is not over yet. Some nobles have evaded our pursuit, escaping with their remnants into the northwestern wilderness. Soon, we will find and eliminate them, but before that, it’s time to make arrangements for post-war affairs. First is the large-scale migration of the population..."

Gawain explained his plan in detail, a plan that, without a doubt, would leave everyone present feeling astonished, even dumbfounded.

He demanded that all the population in the southern borders migrate towards several major cities—nearly one-third of the population would concentrate in the Cecil territory, while the remaining two-thirds would be redistributed around four major regions: the Hosman Region, Leslie Region, Gran Region, and Kant Region.

"...All villages far from cities, non-arable knight garrisons, estates, and villages and towns damaged in this war... all these are included in the migration list, moving according to the proximity principle into the major cities I just mentioned. In those locations, Grade 2 Bureau of Affairs will be established, led by officials and clerks trained in Cecil, and in the later stages will recruit local intellectuals for training to supplement the Administrative Office personnel; all migratory populations in the southern area will be moved to Cecil, settled in the northern banks Development Lands, forming new urban areas..."

Gawain laid out his plan one item at a time. Naturally, this massive population migration plan encompassed countless details and practical implementation methods, including ensuring farmland, resettling the migrant population, food and material consumption, specific implementation timeframes, publicity and appeasement work, details of the new administrative office’s formation, urban construction, and numerous other issues awaiting him and his team of officials to resolve. Hence, what he presented here was merely a draft, his "requirements," and after laying these out, it was the "question time" he left for the Administrative Office crowd.

"I have roughly finished stating my requirements. Now everyone may ask questions."

Gawain placed his hand on the table, his gaze slowly sweeping around the room. However, after half a minute following his remark, no one spoke.

It seemed as though no one had yet reacted—they first felt astonishment, then exchanged glances among themselves, some appearing thoughtful, having grasped certain key points, but not one among them actually opened their mouths to ask questions.

They all didn’t know where to begin with their questions.

Gawain had anticipated this situation long ago. He patiently waited until two minutes later when Aunt Heidi finally broke the silence: "Ancestor... I would like to ask, why do you want to implement such a population migration?"