"Intelligent beings, when they are single-minded in their pursuit of victory, tend to do far more despicable things than they can think of. ”

The teaspoon stirred the brandy-infused black tea, and the sound of a mixture of childish immaturity and middle-aged burniness echoed across the bridge.

In the past few days, all kinds of communications and instructions have been sent one after another, and the work of decrypting, translating, composing, and replying to letters alone has kept the communications team busy, and the staff officers have been so busy dealing with all kinds of administrative documents that they have been hit in the back of the head. So no one has the time to pay attention to the spitting of the shopkeeper.

Thankfully, Parsifal had a decent audience member by his side.

"Does the colonel feel that the economic war has hurt Charlemagne's people too much?"

Plugging the cork into the neck of the bottle, Thurlett asked.

Parsifal shook his head slightly.

"Rather than indiscriminately bombing and massacring cities to intimidate the people of the occupied territories and force them to submit. Economic warfare is neither bloody nor cruel, and it is better to control the occupied territories in the long run by lowering blood sugar to force Charlemagne's to recognize reality than to kill people. By any measure, economic warfare is a relatively mild mode of warfare that minimizes bloodshed – weeks of starvation compared to millions of heads falling to the ground. ”

"Kill millions of people or something......"

"If it is really necessary, exchanging millions of lives for a generation of peace is still a very cost-effective business, let alone economic warfare, at least economic warfare can really calm down the emotional people and think about the question of 'whether patriotic slogans can be used to fill their stomachs' and face the reality. ”

Putting down the teacup, Parsifal tucked his short white-blond hair.

"Your Excellency the Dictator's intention and method of making the war may be disputed, but the Lord did make the battle plan on the premise of 'making as few sacrifices as possible.' And what about Charlemagne, as an opponent, shouting, 'You must endure for the sake of victory,' and 'All sacrifices are worth it for the sake of the country.'" Behind the rhetoric, he pushed other people's husbands, brothers, and sons to the front line, but he sat in a safe place to reap the benefits. There is nothing more despicable and decent. In comparison, the ancient kings personally commanded the battle on the front line, and no matter whether they won or lost, they were morally higher than those parasites. ”

A state or dynasty is a huge creature in a sense, just as when the human body ages and suffers from disease, most of them will react first to the spirit and brain. When a country is in decline, the most intuitive manifestation is the low level of ethics and morality at the top. In Charlemagne's case, it is the collective degeneration of the state management class, which covers the military, political, economic, and moral spheres.

For example, the indifferent use of positions for profit and speculation;

For example, the empty treasury is carried out in a grand manner;

For example, without blinking his eyes, he shouted the slogan of patriotism and loyalty, and when he turned around, he exchanged various secrets for a second salary from Alfheim;

For example, sending others to war, while they and their families try their best to stay in a safe place and use the war to make a fortune.

"The more people who stay behind the safety of the rear, the more belligerent they are – that's what happened. ”

The words that swept both friend and foe into the bridge finally gave a reaction to the gaze that was cast at Parsifal with a third of stunned, a third of distressed, and a third of the subtleties and complexities that could not be glimpsed.

If there is a gendarmerie or a stacy in it, after about ten minutes, the gendarmerie will greet Parsifal with great enthusiasm for their special coffee.

Fortunately, there were no such figures on the scene, and the masters of the intelligence and gendarmerie system had something to do and had no time to take care of Parsifal's poisonous mouth.

"However, it is time for the curtain to come to an end on this farce. ”

As if sensing that he had gone too far, Parsifal brought the already crooked topic back on track.

Charlemagne's army had advanced to the extreme, and Army Group A of the Defense Army had retreated to the extreme. Now the entire Rhine front is under the pressure of Charlemagne's army, and the Alfheim defense army is pressed to the Rhine to fight a last battle. For a time, Charlemagne's domestic and international public opinion appeared with voices such as "the fall of Alfheim is imminent" and "Charlemagne's army will once again create a miracle". But in fact?

Mud, lack of supplies, resistance everywhere, complete collapse of the railway line, lack of medical care...... Charlemagne's army was not so much attacking as crawling in a bottomless quagmire, stubbornly crawling all the way to the Rhine, without the strength to move forward. The defense forces have greatly shortened the distance from the rear supply base because of their active retreat, and the troops who retreated unharmed have greatly enriched the strength of the defensive line, and they not only have enough strength to withstand the exhausted Charlemagne, but it is also a matter of minutes to drive the Charlemagnes back to their hometowns.

But it was impossible for them to do so, on the one hand, because the poor traffic conditions of Argent Toratong treated no one equally, and the same problems that afflicted Charlemagne today could torment the Wehrmacht tomorrow. On the other hand, there is the overall strategic imperative - before the right wing can successfully turn back to the back of Charlemagne's army, the left wing must attract the full attention of the opponent and not let them focus on what they should not be focusing on.

It wasn't until this afternoon that part of the "yellow plan" was conveyed to Parsifal. Although he had some premonitions in advance, after learning the inside story, Parsifal could not help but be deeply impressed by the grandeur and subtlety of the "revolving door" tactic. In light of the recent changes in Charlemagne's territory, he is increasingly convinced that now is the best time to solve Charlemagne's problem in an all-round way.

The economic war not only destroyed Charlemagne's confidence in the government, but also fundamentally destroyed the economic and psychological capital of Charlemagne's resistance to Alfheim's domination. As the Mark became the only currency in circulation in Charlemagne, it was much more convenient to use the Mark to collect materials in the future march to Charlemagne, which was a great help to rebuild the economic order and recover Charlemagne's hearts after the war.

For people who are hungry and cold, filling their stomachs is the most important thing, and only a government that can do this is worthy of trust, and even working for it. Since the Charlemagne government can't do this, what's wrong with shouting a few "Long live the dictator" and "good co-prosperity and coexistence" to lead the way for the sharp-eared Taijun to come to a great show where the people of Charlemagne welcome the elven king to establish a royal paradise of co-prosperity and coexistence, in exchange for food, mark, and safety?

The populace always stands with the victors.

The time is ripe, and judging by the actions of the higher authorities in issuing a summary of the "yellow plan", I am afraid that a full-scale counterattack will be launched within a day or two.

No.

It doesn't even take a day or two so long. It may have been at this moment that the right-wing assault force had already set off.

(If so, the order will be given within a few hours for the left flank to launch a diversionary counterattack, creating a window of at least 60 hours for the right flank to advance...... Alas, alas, I'm really thinking too much. ）

The young admiral, who didn't know how accurate he had deduced, picked up his teacup again and gently blew away the cognac-scented mist.