"This ......"

Under the urging of many colleagues and staff officers, Marshal Vauban took out a handkerchief to wipe the oil and sweat off his head, and said in a deep voice:

"Guadalcanal had to move forward because the supply lines were too long, and the enemy's strong fortifications and geographical advantages prevented our army from fighting as originally intended. ”

"You say that the enemy army occupies strong fortifications? Isn't the Siegfried Line stronger than the fortifications on Guadalcanal? With a wider depth and more complete and convenient supplies?

The fist slammed on the table, the teacup jumped up with a ping, the shoulders of the marshals, generals, and staff officers shrank one after another, and the chief of the general staff, nicknamed "the father of the engineering troops", buried his red face deep into the shadows.

The participants present were well aware of the strength of the Siegfried Line, and some of the staff officers even ran to the front line, and watched through the telescopes the entire regiment and brigade of Charlemagne's soldiers turn into a sea of blood and mud under the blow of fully automatic fire.

But if you expect this to make the elite staff officers and the upper echelons of the army who are in a daze stop, it is too much to underestimate them, and this group of hob meat will not stop if it is not put into the coffin.

The Minister of War glanced at the Chief of General Staff in the jammed shell, coughed dryly, and said slowly:

"If you compare the situation to a patient, the current situation is a question of whether or not to have surgery. As the kingdom's supplies dwindle every minute, while the enemy's strength grows, the kingdom will be unable to sustain itself due to chronic poverty...... The Army believes that the only way out is to seize the opportunity to echo and coordinate with the patriotic people in the occupied areas, and solve the problem with major surgery in one go. ”

There was another dry cough, and the Marquis of Lois added before Minerva could speak:

"Your Highness, this is also the voice of all the people. ”

A deafening cry came at this moment, and Minerva closed her eyes and sat back down slowly from a distance that could still make the glass windows of the conference room tremble. A sense of powerlessness that penetrated the bone marrow spread throughout the body, and the snickering of the elite staff officers lingered faintly in their ears.

The Army's usual method of "getting down to the top" is to get things done first and then force the government to recognize the legitimacy of its actions. This time was no exception. Before the aftermath of the Champs-Élysées burned down the Champs-Élysées, the Army began to organize small forces to try to infiltrate the other side of the line and join the "free shooters" in the occupied territory (in order to avoid the legitimacy of the Wehrmacht's practice of not treating the militia as regular troops, Charlemagne's army used a unified name for all kinds of resistance in the occupied area) in an attempt to turn the tide of the war. As a result, he was naturally crushed by the defense forces after being violently beaten, and the whole process was broadcast live, which became the latest "powerful evidence" of Charlemagne's instigation of the riot, which further deepened Charlemagne's public opinion dilemma.

Originally, Minerva wanted to take advantage of the absence of the troublesome brother Wang from the War Department to rely on a series of failures to investigate the army's unauthorized initiation of infiltration operations. As a result, as soon as the meeting began, the General Staff Headquarters first handed over a "Operational Instruction for Launching an All-out Infiltration and Invasion" for her to sign. Note that it is a signature, not a review of the instructions. The end of the document was already filled with the necessary permits, the signatures of the supervisors, and the signatures of more than half of the members of the base camp. The units that have been drawn out have also departed. Minerva was no more than a formality of respect and a necessary procedure for the government to recognize the legitimacy of his actions. Regardless of the attitude of Her Royal Highness, the army will only follow its own intentions: "For the integrity and survival of the sacred territory of the kingdom, the only way to do this is to rise up, break through all obstacles, and fight to the death against the tyrannical heresy." ”

In the face of the so-called "briefing" that was almost humiliating, Minerva couldn't help but have a seizure no matter how good her cultivation was, so she simply tore her face and put the defeat and logic of the army on the table that could be used as a joke, so that they could see what kind of things they had made.

Sure enough, as soon as the battle of Guadalcanal was mentioned, the General Staff, which could speak well, was immediately stuck, and the Chief of the General Staff held back a set of clumsy statements that had no logic and could not justify themselves at all, and was exposed by Minerva on the spot. Just as Minerva was preparing to take advantage of the victory to pursue the attack, completely veto the battle plan of sending guerrillas, and strangle the army "going alone", which was bound to expand the flames of war, at the last moment, the treacherous and cunning army minister offered a killer weapon - public opinion.

The princess, who has been educated in imperial studies since childhood, originally only had a distant and abstract understanding of "public opinion", and the common people were just ignorant and harmless, and needed to be led by people with noble bloodlines. It was only after encountering Roland and coming into contact with many people from the civilian class that her perception began to change, and it was only after experiencing the rise of Charlemagne's nationalism and militarism, and then her own travels in Alfheim, which was dominated by the idea of total warfare, that Minerva fully understood the power of a fully mobilized people to explode towards a goal, at any cost and without fear of sacrifice. And when this force is led in the wrong direction, the damage caused is far beyond ordinary people's imagination.

Now Charlemagne's public opinion has been led by Alfheim and Charlemagne's internal main war faction to lead the wrong way of destruction. The blind and fanatical masses have no doubt about their patriotic fervor, let alone the slightest doubt about their own actions, and never think that their enthusiasm will be used as a shield against the evil deeds of fanatics, or even as a frenzy that pushes the country to ruin.

Even in the face of generals and colonels who regard war as child's play and often draw their swords and kill their ministers, Minerva will not be timid, but in the face of thousands of blinded people...... It's not a matter of courage and guts, as the central benchmark of the peace faction, she has to think more, she is not afraid to explain the importance and urgency of peace to people, even in the face of thousands of people, even if she is misunderstood and spurned, she will do her best to convince. But once Minerva, who is the central figure of the peace faction, stands on the opposite side of the people, the anger of the public will not be limited to the princess alone, and the faction she leads will also become the object of venting anger. Minerva, the symbol of the two pillars of the Parliamentary Faction, was defeated, and the Parliamentarian faction will be left with only the "Holy Maiden" to support it. The main battle faction with the royal power as the backstage and the public opinion as a shield will be more powerful and do whatever they want, and then everything will really be irreparable.

Public opinion cannot be violated, but it can be manipulated - this is a sentence that Roland has repeatedly repeated in recent days, and it is said that the original words were said by Li Lin, and a series of things that have happened since the military parade have also proved the correctness of this sentence.

Gray and correct, it will make people desperate.

Minerva now has two choices, either to be a mantis who is not afraid of the frenzy, or to be a temporary compromise appeaser for the sake of long-term planning;

For the first time, Minerva felt so isolated and hated before the raging undercurrents and imminent frenzy that could be seen but clearly felt by the naked eye. She understood once and for all that the Army would not rest and that Alfheim would not give up until he achieved his goal. If these two premises were true, there would have been only one choice left.

"I see...... I agree with the Army's plan of operations to send guerrillas. ”

The resolute and resolute voice a few minutes ago was weak at the moment, and the girl who did not give in to many men could not hide her exhaustion and disappointment, and sat limply in the chair. The three-hour meeting finally ended with a respectful and ecstatic "obey the king's orders".

The Marquis de Loire stepped forward with a gloating smile and comforted:

"Your Highness is well aware of the matter, and it is a blessing for the kingdom to be loyal to the country. Our soldiers can only fight to the death to repay Jun's grace. Please rest assured, Your Highness guarantees that the war will not last more than three months, and it will not affect Your Highness's peace plan!"

Minerva glanced at the red-filled face, and at the smug face in front of her, Minerva didn't even have the strength to spit and smile wryly.

After the specter of war, which had been finally suppressed, was it once again unleashed, the military department and the government were no longer able to subdue it, and after the flames of war that were about to be extinguished were rekindled, they would never be extinguished without turning the firefighters into ashes. The army is dragging the whole country off a cliff in high spirits, and the enemy must be applauding and laughing at the expected development.

The dilemma that could not be solved by tanks, planes, and artillery was solved without much effort by relying on the saliva of a group of arrogant and stupid soldiers and the irrational enthusiasm of the broad masses of the people. Alfheim must have awarded these fools a medal. Minerva looked at the ecstatic and almost dancing soldiers in front of her, and waves of absurdity and sorrow continued to hit the tired princess.

The generals and colonels who didn't take her in the slightest until just now have become loyal and patriotic "diligent kings", and they can't wait to kneel down and kiss the tips of the princess's shoes. A few minutes ago, the "Loyal Generals" who regarded their royal daughters as crazy people are now like a group of mentally ill people who have escaped from a mental hospital and are roaring and dancing in the streets.

Is she crazy, or are they crazy? Or is the country already crazy?

The mental pain was so great that Minerva had to hang her head and hold on to the armrests of her chair with both hands, so that she would not faint in the cry of the wolf.

The next day, with the approval of the cabinet meeting, Charlemagne issued a war mobilization order, "Letter to All Military and Civilians", and on the same day Alfheim also announced a general mobilization. At this point, the two sides officially entered a full-scale war, with the enthusiasm of the whole people and the beautiful idea of solving Alfheim in 3-4 months, Charlemagne once again decided to go astray, and walked into the battlefield of a full-scale decisive battle with restlessness, fanaticism, blind faith and a hint of luck. Except for a small number of sober-minded but helpless people, the whole Charlemagne did not notice at all, all the good things had long been away from them, everything in front of them was just an illusory illusion, an elaborate trap, a big soap bubble, when this bubble was punctured, it had already lost everything Charlemagne.