I Became a Genius Commander at the Academy

Chapter 27: The Generous Crown Prince (1)

Every day was hell for the people of Bruno, who were suffering from starvation. Even though they were granted life, they had to endure each day and couldn’t even take their own lives, paying 90% of their income in taxes and being pursued for other taxes and death duties.

The Emperor, belatedly realizing the evil lord’s tyranny that led the inhabitants to the brink of starvation, had the malevolent lord removed from his post and imprisoned him for trial.

Then, I, Peter Yaeger, was appointed as the next lord of Bruno.

Although I could manage a considerable amount of money with the support of the Crown Prince and the Emperor, it would be deemed a significant accomplishment to be able to supply food to the starving inhabitants of the territory until the next harvest, lend a cow per household to facilitate farming and attain a level where regular taxes could be collected from next year, just like in other regions.

Because just like how fixing a broken machine was strenuous, it was at a point where people would rather buy new ones than repair them. I received a nearly broken territory and managed to reform it over a few months, making it operable like a normal territory if it could hold out until the next harvest.

However, sadly, the orders I, Lieutenant Peter Yaeger had received were to normalize this territory within two years and to prosper it to the point it could serve as a relay base in the upcoming war.

So, at the current rate of development, it would be difficult to meet the requirements that the Crown Prince and the Emperor wanted.

Holding the rough blueprints of a few machines that would change the history, I mumbled,

“I have to meet the Crown Prince and report on the territory’s current situation and about the advance base, and I also need to pull every possible support, starting with an excellent engineer.”

After making that decision, I immediately rode to the capital after finishing all preparations to meet the Crown Prince.

Two weeks later, in the Crown Prince’s residence reception room.

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Gold-plated walls shining in golden color, silk flags engraved with the symbol of the Crown Prince, and high-quality furniture made of premium wood like ebony and sandalwood.

A place where only invited guests of the Crown Prince, clad in armor and weapons engraved with gold, jewels, and paintings symbolizing the Crown Prince’s achievements, could enter.

I felt an overwhelming sense of pressure, realizing I’d now officially become a low-ranking noble of the Empire upon entering this room.

I looked around, paying no attention to the butler… rather, the higher-ranking butler beside me.

Instead of blaming me for my frivolity, the butler of the Crown Prince’s residence spoke in a teaching tone.

“Sit here on the sofa, have some tea, and wait. The Crown Prince will arrive soon.”

Upon hearing this, I wondered if I should apologize for ignoring the butler and getting distracted by the luxurious interior, but he seemed to understand my feelings and gestured for me to sit and wait.

After about an hour of waiting, the Crown Prince entered and spoke to me.

“So, Lieutenant Yaeger. Seeing you brings joy to my heart. Normally, with your rank, you can’t command a battalion, but I’ve appointed a formal battalion commander on paper so I could give you the actual duties. Are there any results? It’d be disappointing if there weren’t any solid results.”

“Bruno is expected to recover to the level of other territories if it safely harvests next year, thanks to my best efforts to repay the trust of Your Highness. However…”

The Crown Prince’s face turned serious at my ‘however’.

“To assign the 12 knights and mages squad you requested, the commander has to be at least a major. Normally, to command a unit including a knight and a mage squad, one must be at least a lieutenant colonel, but since it’s your request, I’ll especially grant it. So, please consider.”

Normally, an infantry battalion was basically equipped with a mage squad of 16 mages. But to get the mages I wanted, I had to negotiate for them. So, I thought of asking for the 12 knights to be reduced and then requesting for more mages.

Yet the Crown Prince was unexpectedly giving me the knights and mages. But what I truly needed from the Crown Prince wasn’t knights or mages, but… support.

So, I spoke with a very regretful expression and voice.

“To act on the next front line, I need knights and mages. However, I need more support to make Bruno and its surroundings a ‘war base’ within 2 years rather than organizing my battalion now.”

The Crown Prince’s face fell, but he didn’t raise any objections or questions, realizing that preparing within a year was impossible unless a miracle occurred and that building a city capable of serving as a supply point on the front line in two years wasn’t easy.

So, he asked me with a face full of worry,

“I’ve put everything on this Chekovia expedition. So, tell me if you need support.”

“Thank you for Your Highness the Crown Prince’s favor. Then, please have a look at this first.”

Then I brought out a scroll made of paper from my bosom and handed it over to him.

“It contains the formal training method and ‘drill’ I devised and directly trained my soldiers with so the capabilities of the imperial soldiers can be enhanced. It’s an education method known to make recruits strong as quickly as possible. Please read it.”

In other fantasy novels, protagonists usually hide the new methods they use to train soldiers. However, formal training and drill-like methods were difficult to create initially, but once created, they were quite simple to do and highly effective, so they could be copied easily.

So even if I hadn’t handed over the written training methods to the Crown Prince, the Reich Empire and the men of the Francois Republic, who had experienced them, would have already copied these training methods through the spies sent into the territory.

I would just be robbed of the technique and could only watch, sucking my fingers.

So it was best to voluntarily hand it over to the Crown Prince, my biggest ally, and receive an appropriate reward.

The Crown Prince, not caring whether I thought this way, read the documents I handed over with intense focus.

“I had expectations seeing this secret training method since you, known to have acted as a student platoon leader throughout Raintlant, trained the soldiers. It wonderfully explains why this training method is needed and what methods are advantageous when solidifying soldiers, with a proper introduction, development, turn, and conclusion.”

“I merely brought it, thinking it might be of a little help to Your Highness in training the soldiers. I don’t know what to do with such high praise.”

Although I said ‘a little,’ that was just modesty.

In reality, if the contents recorded in the scroll were introduced to the military, the training time of the soldiers would be reduced by at least 1/3, and their proficiency would increase more than 1.5 times the original.

This difference would stand out significantly on the battlefield, where ‘the soldiers who are better trained and more coordinated’ determine victory or defeat.

Additionally, wouldn’t my promotion speed up a bit if the higher-ups of the general staff read this?

“Stop being modest. Anyway, considering you came here without my summons, you must have something urgent to say. Speak.”

I said anything was fine, but if I honestly said that it was difficult to prepare the territory of Bruno as a war base within 2 years, my military life might be over.

“As Your Highness knows, to recover the Bruno territory to the point of being functional as an important area in the war within 2 years, massive support from the military is necessary. Also, I believe the most powerful base city on the front line should be a prosperous city surrounded by developed, sturdy walls.”

These words would be able to tactfully persuade the Crown Prince, even if I made a little unreasonable request afterward.

“To do so, we need to create workshops to produce military supplies, but in Bruno territory, we lack the craftsmen and people to work needed to build factories. Therefore, although it may seem like an excessive proposal, please buy as many freelancers from other territories with Your Highness’s money and grant them to my territory.”

What I said was equivalent to a small company president asking a large company’s president for a daring request to support us with machine equipment investment and talented personnel.

Normally, I would have been scolded by the Crown Prince for such nonsense.

But maybe because of the precious military training method I just created, as it was an issue tied to his ‘political position as the future emperor’?

“….If it’s absolutely necessary so the Chekovia expedition would succeed… Alright, I’ll introduce you to a craftsman, so discuss the detailed plans with him and come up with the necessary measures. Then I’ll support you accordingly.”

It seemed like the Crown Prince was generously providing somewhat unreasonable support that he would normally not provide.

Was this why some businessmen say wartime was the best time to make money?