CHAPTER 329 A GOOD PLAN
"This time, Captain Rocky is really out of line! Is he in charge of army provisions and goods delivery?
Why should he deliver halfway through the journey and require other troops to coordinate with him?"
An Elite Commander protested heatedly. Rocky's suggestion seemed to evoke the ire of the majority in
the tent.
Currently, the room was in an uproar as nobody seemed willing to listen to any explanation. They were
busy as they aired out their complaints fiercely.
"Does Rocky realize how full he is of himself. If you look for hubris in a dictionary, his picture would be
right next to it. It's a joke how he thinks he can do this to us," Flank sneered. He had not forgotten what
Rocky had done to him. He felt vindicated as he heard how most of the Commanders insulted Rocky.
"Captain Rocky said he has explained why he wanted to do this in this paper. He said he wrote it very
clearly as it was of utmost importance for us to understand it." Louis felt sweat roll down his spine as he
talked. The Commanders weren't angry at him but that knowledge did not help when most of the
Commanders were intimidatingly glowering at him. Despite this, he focused on his task and tried to
maintain his calm. He took out the paper written by Rocky and handed it over to Isis.
Isis opened it carefully and grinned. "I wonder what he was thinking when he did this," murmured Isis.
When they heard that, the Commanders looked at each other, but it was obvious not one of them knew
what Isis was talking about. Well, except Marin, maybe.
"Commander Marin, please look at this and explain it to everyone." Isis passed over the paper to Marin All content is © N0velDrama.Org.
as they exchanged a knowing glance and a smirk that disappeared as quickly as it had come.
Marin nodded and read the paper loudly so the others would also hear. A look of pleasant surprise and
understanding quickly spread across her face.
"I devised this method to reduce the chance of interception by the enemy when the army provisions
and goods go through the perilous areas. As is known to all, the transportation squad has weak fighting
capability and no ability to compete with the troops in the frontier. Based on transportation records from
the last three months of war with Timber Deity Empire, the most vulnerable area was close to the
frontier. This was where the enemies blocked and intercepted a lot of the supplies and could be
considered the most dangerous place. Enemies intercepted our army provisions frequently by using
their mobile troops. As a result, the front suffered scarcity of provisions which caused their morale to
lower and the soldiers to weaken. We have to be careful of the lack of food or the soldiers could start a
mutiny. In dangerous areas, transportation squads could only protect themselves and have no ability to
protect the army provisions. If we use this method and our troops are able to escort the supplies from
the place close to the frontier, our enemies could not show their insolence through intercepting our
army provisions. They would have less to celebrate, and their confidence in battle could even
decrease. In this case, the risk of being intercepted declines drastically. Our army provisions will be
safer and the consumption during the journey will be reduced too." Marin observed Isis subtly as she
tried to understand her opinion on the matter through her body language.
"We would be fools to let our troops be scattered. If there is any emergency in the frontier, I am worried
that the frontier troop wouldn't have sufficient time to recover and travel back. If the enemies somehow
find out about our plans, they might use it to ambush us and defeat the smaller groups easily." One of
the Commanders shared his doubt after Marin explained Rocky's method.
"In this paper, he explained the emergency condition. If the coordination squad doesn't arrive within
four hours, the transportation squad will escort the army provisions by themselves," Marin added.
"If the transportation squad will only escort the supplies halfway to the destination, it's evident that it will
burden the troops at the frontier. The transportation team will have an easier time, yes. But that's a
good idea for Captain Rocky and not the whole army!" Flank said with cynicism.
"Commander Flank, I haven't finished yet!" Marin glared at Flank and continued, "With the original
transportation plan, the squad was only able to transport supplies to one front at once. There are only
three transportation squads but more than ten fronts. It would take at least two days to transport the
supplies to one front. If all three squads worked at the same time, it would take half a month to
transport to the ten fronts. The army provisions and supplies delivered by the transportation squad
each time could only sustain one front troop for ten days. So, the soldiers in the frontier have to lead a
meagre life; on some days, they don't eat at all. How could our soldiers fight properly when they are
hungry?"
Several of the Commanders nodded. It seemed that they were finally persuaded by Rocky's words.
Marin knew that this condition was not only factual, but was also a usual way of life for the troops. Most
of the soldiers in the frontier did not have enough food and warm clothes. If the war lasted for a long
time, there would definitely be a shortage that could greatly affect the result of the battle. "If we adopt
this way of transporting the army provisions, we would be able to stabilize the food supply so that our
soldiers could fight in a functional state.
In this new way, a squad could supply army provisions for three frontier troops in one go. So it would
take less days than the previous for these three squads to transport the goods for all troops. We could
avoid the shortage of army provisions. On the part of the frontier troops, they could just dispatch a team
to the coordination location every couple of days and it would take half a day to reach the coordination
location. I think it's better, than to wait and starve until the transportation squad arrives with provisions,"
Marin explained as she stared down each Commander, ready for any opposing opinion.
Surprisingly, the Commanders were startled but still accepted her explanation. They praised Rocky as
they realized what a big help he had provided. If it worked, it would solve the constant shortage of
provisions at the front. Everyone knew that the shortage of provisions was an issue that needed to be
addressed.
"I think you all understand this method very well now. Our previous method took longer time to supply
army provisions for all the frontier troops. Additionally, we couldn't guarantee that the supplies that were
transported would make them to the frontiers. In this new way, we can guarantee that each frontier
troop can get their supplies in a timely manner and our opponents will not be able to intercept our
supplies," Isis said firmly with a pleased smile. She felt that this was a really brilliant idea which
considered the actual condition of frontiers. Rocky made an elaborate and thoughtful roadmap.
"If you don't have any other concerns, we will use this method from now on. Please arrange teams to
receive your supplies according to this method," Isis ordered. Her voice demanded immediate
obedience and all the Commanders stood at once.
"Yes!" They all responded with a stiff salute.
"Considering the excellent performance of the logistics camp and that you just solved a big problem for
us, I therefore award them a merit citation second class," Isis added. She was strict with the rules and
executed disciplinary measures when needed, but she was fair when she deemed the troops deserving
a reward or two.
All of Commanders looked at Louis sharply. They were obviously jealous and envious, convinced that
Louis had only gotten this citation because of Rocky's brilliance. They thought of him as a beginner,
who had taken office just a few days earlier and now had a merit citation second class. They all thought
they could do better, if they were also in the right place at the right time just as he was.
"To be honest, Rocky worked out this plan and we owe everything to him. I couldn't take this credit. It
should be Rocky's," Louis said modestly as he arched his hands. He would not dare to take the credit
for himself.
"I think Rocky could not care less about the second-class merit. It belongs to you so take it. He might
have done this for something else," Isis said. She understood Rocky very well and knew that he would
refuse this second class merit anyway, just so he would not be promoted.
Louis smiled awkwardly and thought that he had promised Rocky a month of holiday for this plan.
Obviously, Rocky got what he wanted and lost nothing at all.
Isis knew the answer as soon as she saw Louis' reaction, but she opted not to ask him any further
questions. She just asked the Commanders and Louis to leave with the exception of Marin.
"What did I say, Marin? We'd better run along the bushes, instead of confronting Rocky directly. He
does not do well with direct orders but guiding him where we want to is more beneficial," Isis said to
Marin with a confident smile on her pretty face.
"He is the kind of man who will amaze the people with a brilliant feat once he promises to do it," Marin
said and then continued, "When do you plan to transfer him to the frontier?"
"I'm still waiting for the appropriate moment. I can feel it's not the right time yet. We need to wait
patiently..." Isis said, a pensive expression on her face.
Marin nodded in agreement. Waiting was always the most difficult part.