Chapter 30: The Generous Crown Prince (4)
Count Benner seemed quite satisfied with my response.
“It’s very good to see you preparing with all your might for the remaining one and a half years of the war. As expected from an officer who, at such an age, received the Silver Knight Sword Medal directly from His Majesty the Emperor, your meticulous preparedness is truly excellent. The young ones nowadays really should learn from you.”
“You’re too kind.”
“It seems like something a lieutenant, especially one who is even a battalion commander at that age, shouldn’t be saying. My only daughter is also being hailed as a genius who only appears once in ten years in the Imperial Academy, despite being a woman, but she would be pale in comparison in front of you.”
I tried to show humility at his words, but Count Benner spoke firmly, as if he would not allow any more humility or contradiction from me.
“I’ll give you one piece of advice, given that you have come this far from being a commoner, no, an orphan. I think you have developed a habit of downplaying yourself to avoid making enemies as much as possible. But don’t belittle yourself too much now. You’ll only make more enemies. Do you understand why?”
“I’m not sure.”
“It’s simple. You’ve already accomplished too much for your age. Therefore, everyone will now be wary of a man named Peter Yaeger because they’re envious and jealous. Most nobles will refrain from doing anything crazy against you since you are under the patronage of His Highness the Crown Prince, but some will see your achievements as something they could also achieve if they were put in the same situation and will be waiting for an opportunity to claim merit. They might think that if you were gone, they could also achieve the same merits and rise. Having an overly humble attitude will make those people look down on you.”
In Korea, where I lived, similar thoughts were often shared on the internet.
It was about bullies or nasty individuals who were found to be acting unfairly against someone who turned out to be the son of a chairman or a high-ranking individual who was concealing their identity.
Once the high-ranking person’s identity was revealed, the person who had been mistreated would impart a life lesson to the bully with proper education.
But here, in the Reich Empire, I was a newbie who had just entered the high nobility, and above me were many nobles and officers with greater authority.
Being overly humble and looking too submissive here might lead to me being consumed by the nobles, who were gripped by jealousy and an inferiority complex.
I think I should show a confident attitude, as long as it doesn’t appear arrogant.
“I will keep that in mind, Count.”
“Being proud is good, but accepting one’s own shortcomings is also a virtue of the generals who left their names in history. One more thing, I have a proposal that you must accept this time. Read this.”
“Even if there are competent students in the academy, how long can they last against a genius who has reached the rank of lieutenant at your age? Principal von Braun often says, ‘Students need to see what real combat is like.’ So, prepare for a battalion-sized mock battle, where you will face an actual battalion commander and his battalion serving on the front lines.”
“So, being a battalion commander myself, does that mean I will have to call my battalion and personally conduct a mock battle?”
“That’s right. However, that would leave your territory temporarily devoid of troops. So, to counteract that, a battalion from the division stationed in the neighboring Schlieffen will be temporarily assigned to maintain peace and protect the border, so rest assured.”
I had no intention of backing down, but seeing him kindly remove any excuse to say ‘it will be difficult,’ gave me chills.
However, whether Count Benner knew my feelings or not, he spoke with a meaningful smile.
“Of course, even if you lose here, you will graduate, but for Lieutenant Peter Yaeger, who is directly supported by His Highness the Crown Prince, to lose would be like dishonoring His Highness. So, you must win.”
Indeed, if an officer directly vouched for by someone as significant as the Crown Prince were to lose to a battalion commander of the same rank, it would be a disgrace like no other.
Of course, this wouldn’t result in me being abandoned by the Crown Prince, but the cost would be greater than imagined.
Feeling tense, I swallowed my saliva, and Count Benner looked at me, smiled, and spoke.
“The mock battle will be in two months at the branch of Mount Ferlain near the Academy. You and the opposing battalion commander will fight inside the branch, and around it, there will be many students of the academy, high-ranking officers, and nobles watching. They will be watching to see whether the rising star of the Reich Empire will fall or shine brightly.”
“I will do my best to meet your expectations.”
“That’s a good attitude. However, if you achieve an overwhelming victory in this mock battle, try for a promotion to major at the end-of-year performance evaluation. It’s unprecedented, but if you can show you can perfectly command a battalion considering the great merits you had earned in the previous battle in the Raintlant front, you might persuade the personnel director of the General Staff Headquarters. Then, I’ll take my leave now.”
Saying so, Count Benner turned his back and left the workshop.
A month after that, 512 infantrymen under my command exchanged duties with the soldiers from the neighboring battalion that came to support us, and then we headed to the capital.
There, for a month, I rigorously trained my infantrymen in square formation tactics.
And as time passed, the day of the mock battle, on which my official promotion to battalion commander depended, approached.
