“Every action has consequences. At times though people did them hoping for the exact consequences it would elicit out of others.” - Old military proverb.
When Reinhardt walked towards the tent Nestor stayed in later that night, he happened to pass a group of military officers from Algenverr who happened to have just left said tent. It had not escaped his notice how a few of the older officers had conflicted looks on their faces, with one old officer in particular having his mien twisted in a combination of anger and loathing.
On the other hand, the looks on the faces of the younger officers were more of a mixture of gloating and worship, which formed a great contrast and divide amongst the group. He put that consideration on the back of his mind as he approached the tent - a rather simple one considering the status of its occupant - and ducked underneath the opening as he entered.
“You asked for my presence, Your Grace?” he asked as he stood up to his full height once inside the tent. Fortunately the young Duke’s tent was tall enough to accommodate his full height of over two meters and a tenth. Other than its size, though, it was far more sparsely decorated than he expected, and he inwardly nodded in approval at the young nobleman.
“Thank you for making time to come, Captain Edelstein,” said the young nobleman as he steepled his hands before him, a pose that Reinhardt had associated with the man being immersed in his thoughts. While there were two knights posted outside the tents as guards, Nestor kept no other guards within. He was alone other than Griselda standing before him, though Reinhardt felt that unless the noblewoman had slacked off on her training after her marriage, her presence alone was probably enough to guard the young nobleman and keep him safe.
“To what do I owe this pleasure, Your Grace?” he asked once more.
“A simple question, Captain Edelstein. I would like to hear your honest opinion on how the battle today was handled,” said the young nobleman without preamble. The way he stressed his words made Reinhardt wonder if it had to do with the faces of the officers he saw on his way in. In the end, he decided to give Nestor exactly what he asked for. His honest opinion on the matter.
“It was an efficient display of force, if there were some wasted resources that went up in flames together with the fort,” said Reinhardt bluntly, to which he noticed the edges of the young nobleman’s lips quirk upwards slightly. “Considering the amount of supplies you told us to prepare prior to our departure, I would assume that you deemed the extra supplies as unnecessary and instead chose to deny them from the enemy in a permanent way instead. Otherwise, it was a very effective and efficient choice. A victory with no casualties on our side achieved in the least possible time.”
A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.
“Glad to hear someone from the outside agreed with that,” said Griselda with a slight chuckle from her husband’s side. Given how the noblewoman had kept a stoic face since he came in and had looked a bit annoyed herself back then, he guessed that the looks on the officers faces must have been related to Nestor’s question just now. His methods and approaches to the battle.
“You probably guessed it, Captain Edelstein, but sadly there are some amongst my own people who refuse to accept that times had changed and that their traditional, honorable methods can be fed to a pig,” said Nestor with some vehemence in his voice. “People who thought that the honorable way would have been to challenge and storm that fort from the front. No consideration to the casualties we would have taken that way, because it was the honorable and right thing to do in their minds.”
“Amongst those from our professions, we just call that stupidity, Your Grace,” remarked Reinhardt with a smirk that bared his fangs. “No offense intended.”
“Oh, go ahead and offend them for all I care. It is exactly what you have just said. Utter folly and stupidity from minds that were far too entrenched in tradition and other silly things,” said Nestor with a long-suffering sigh. From the way he acted Reinhardt guessed that it was not the first time he had this sort of conversation before. “Did you know that prior to this civil war, Posuin had never fought other people outside of small internal skirmishes for over a century, Captain?”
“I must admit that I am no student of history, Your Grace,” admitted Reinhardt. There used to be some older veterans who seemed to always know all the history related to their employers and the region up to centuries in the past, but those men, much like many of the older mercenaries, perished in Theodinaz.
“Well, it’s true nevertheless. As a result, most of the military knowledge that we have here? Either learned from tutors who likewise had never been truly involved in any proper wars themselves, or learned from books written by people from centuries ago,” explained Nestor. “Those of us from the border duchies had more experience fighting due to the occasional beast outbreaks we had to deal with, but not even we had much experience fighting other people.”
“Ah. So you intend to say that most of the people we are facing would likely be armchair generals,” said Reinhardt in understanding.
“Precisely so, doubly so for the older ones who are even more entrenched in their ways. We cannot afford such folly amongst our own army, especially since what I did will likely incense the old farts at Kolitschei and make them take us more seriously,” replied Nestor with a nod. “As such, I intend to discuss the next opponent we are likely to face with you and yours, as I feel that your people might well be the best suited to turn the tables against our opponents. Can I expect to see you and your lieutenants for a meeting say… after dinner tonight, Captain?”
“Consider it done, your Grace.”