Chapter 14: Those Who Don’t Submit To Me Will Be Dragged Through The Mud Even In Death
“Where is the King!”
“Did all the high-ranking officials of the kingdom flee! Abandoning us! Abandoning the people and running away!”
“If he didn’t run, then let His Majesty the King come out! We want to see the King!”
“Are the interests of those dogs at the London Stock Exchange higher than the nation, the people, and the army! Give us an explanation!”
In the Belgian Army’s last stronghold of Ostend, after German Army leaflets were scattered everywhere, the remnants of the Belgian 1st Division, 4th Division, and 6th Division were completely in chaos.
Countless soldiers surged to the location of the former king’s palace, demanding an explanation, and the chaos was impossible to control.
What many people cared about wasn’t even the truth; it was just that after repeated defeats, morale had already plummeted to the bottom, and the pent-up frustration in their hearts had nowhere to vent, so they needed an excuse to release it.
At such a time, as long as they were given an excuse, it would be like throwing a lit match into a powder keg, tearing apart everything standing in the way.
Among the Belgian Army’s last three divisions, the Belgian 1st Division’s situation was relatively the best; they still had some combat effectiveness, and the time they had been used as cannon fodder for consumption was relatively short.
Meanwhile, the Belgian 4th Division and 6th Division were basically done for, especially the Belgian 4th Division, which had suffered the heaviest casualties and losses during the previous breakout.
The three division commanders gathered together, their expressions extremely grave.
As high-ranking officials at the division commander level, their intelligence was naturally reliable, and they had learned in advance last night that the king had fled. It was Chief of Staff Felix who personally notified them in private, instructing them to keep it confidential, try their best to stabilize the situation, and promising that the Royal Navy of Great Britain would soon evacuate everyone.
But none of the three had expected the news to leak so quickly, directly leading to mutiny in the army.
The despicable Germanians had actually resorted to the same trick again, directly air-dropping leaflets! When did that rigid enemy nation become so adept at propaganda war?
Now, they could only discuss emergency countermeasures among themselves, but after talking for a long time, they couldn’t come up with a feasible way to suppress the troops.
Major General Dejizer of the Belgian 4th Division, who harbored the most resentment, even showed signs of surrendering, but he was sternly rebuked by Lieutenant General Berghgham, who had the highest prestige and rank.
Major General Viktor of the Belgian 6th Division played the role of mediator, as his division’s losses and accumulated resentment were at average levels.
After the first secret meeting ended unhappily, Lieutenant General Berghgham had no choice but to go out alone to desperately maintain order in the troops and prevent rebellion. Fortunately, he still had some prestige; by putting out fires everywhere and making random promises, he managed to stabilize things for the time being.
Lieutenant General Berghgham’s main rhetoric was nothing more than deceiving the other Belgian Army officers and soldiers, saying things like “The Royal Navy of Great Britain will not abandon everyone; all can be picked up by warships, the next batch of warships is coming soon, and as long as they line up orderly, they can board the ships.”
This rhetoric temporarily fooled quite a few people; hearing there was a chance to board ships and leave, they weren’t in a hurry to surrender to the German Army immediately.
Meanwhile, Dejizer, who had been reprimanded by Berghgham, pulled Viktor aside for another private talk, as Dejizer very much wanted Viktor to support him too.
“Major General Viktor! Think about it, it’s impossible for everyone to withdraw! There must be troops left to cover the rear, otherwise no one guards the city, the German Army can reach the port in an hour, and even with ships, evacuation would be impossible! Berghgham is just a lapdog of the high command; he’s always the best at flattering the royal family, the Minister of Defense, and the Chief of Staff. In the end, won’t it be you and me arranged to cover the rear and die!”
Viktor knew there was some truth to what he said, but he was still hesitating, leaving the situation in a standoff for the moment.
“Even if someone has to cover the rear and die, it would definitely be your 4th Division first—who made you fall out with him… As long as I stay neutral and offend neither side, maybe I can still get a ticket on a ship…” Such thoughts naturally bubbled up in Viktor’s mind; this was the most real and common face of all fence-sitters.
Everyone was a thousand-year-old fox, all shrewd as hell; no one was fooling anyone.
Seeing him evade, Major General Dejizer naturally realized what he was thinking, so the two became estranged on the inside while maintaining a brotherly facade on the surface, each seeking their own way out.
Major General Dejizer returned to his position and immediately had his division headquarters open the radio, preparing to communicate with the German Army opposite and secretly inquire about surrender terms to gauge the market.
After Major General Viktor returned to camp, he too hurriedly used the radio; everyone started negotiating their own deals, everyone seeking their own way out.
……
Meanwhile, in London.
Naval Minister Walton’s phone was quickly blown up.
It was King Albert I of the Belgians, who had just withdrawn to Ypres, calling and strongly demanding that he be sent back.
“Minister Walton! Didn’t you say everything would be kept secret! And that after I left, my troops could be picked up within two or three days! Why did it leak so quickly! There must be a traitor in your Naval Ministry! Germanian spies!”
It turned out that the king had just received a relayed notification from Lieutenant General Berghgham, learning that mutiny had broken out in Ostend, which was trapped in the enemy encirclement!
The king, burning with anxiety, of course immediately sought help, complained, and vented to the British Navy Minister. A torrent of emotions surged out, catching Minister Walton off guard.
“Impossible! The Royal Navy leadership absolutely has no spies! Moreover, all ships involved maintained absolute radio silence! King Albert, could the problem be on your side?”
Then came a round of mutual accusations between the two sides, until Minister Walton finally suppressed his anger and pointed out that they should look forward and solve the problem first.
He then assured King Albert: “Rest assured, the Royal Navy is the most responsible; we will dispatch high-speed destroyers to rush to Ostend at the fastest speed, picking up as many as we can, and other fleets will also set sail soon to provide support! Now is not the time to pursue who leaked the intelligence; let’s solve the problem first! I guarantee that high-speed destroyers will arrive in Ostend ahead of schedule within five hours!”
After hanging up, Minister Walton hurriedly made arrangements, even breaking radio silence to have the Channel Fleet’s destroyers patrolling near Belgian waters head there first, while the rest of the fleet accelerated preparations to set sail.
Unfortunately, those pre-dreadnoughts built in the 1890s of the last century started far too slowly; preheating coal boilers took half a day, so only the relatively modern cruisers could serve as the main force for the evacuation.
After hanging up in anger, the furious Minister Walton slammed his hefty body into the sofa chair, his mind once again calculating which mastermind in the enemy ranks could be responsible for this.
“This absolutely isn’t wisdom the Germanians should have! They couldn’t possibly have probed this information; could it be a blind cat stumbling on a dead mouse, just making up rumors to bluff us?”
If someone had a God’s-eye view at that moment, they would probably sigh: Minister Walton truly lived up to being the top old schemer of the Western Hemisphere; his guess was quite accurate.
Unfortunately, when a Yu is born, how can a Liang exist? Lelouch had transmigrated over, so Walton’s title as the top old schemer of the Western Hemisphere had to yield.
……
The story branches in three directions, each to be told in turn.
At the same moment, at the 16th Regiment headquarters in Nieuwpoort.
Sergeant Major Lelouch, from early this morning, had been in the telegraph room with several trusted technical experts and cipher specialists, continuously sending messages to the Belgians opposite to negotiate surrender.
They used plaintext, and low-power shortwave radios whose signals could only travel a dozen kilometers, ensuring that only Belgian Army regimental-level and above officers in Ostend could receive them, while rear enemies farther away would have no way to detect them—
Of course, considering that radio waves spread in all directions indiscriminately in a circular pattern, theoretically, the French Army-controlled Dunkirk about a dozen kilometers to the west could also receive these telegrams, though the French Army might not bother to eavesdrop.
“Belgian officers and soldiers opposite: think carefully about your future. You have no way out; your king has betrayed you. Surrendering in this situation will absolutely not leave a stain in history books; the people will understand you. This is the best time to surrender…”
Such telegram messages were sent in loops, high-intensity bombarding the nerves of the enemy communications personnel opposite. Unless they shut down their radios and abandoned communications, they would easily receive them. And to ensure receipt, Lelouch would often switch frequencies after broadcasting for a while.
However, before receiving a reply, everyone’s hearts were uneasy; no one knew how far the psychological warfare negotiation for surrender would go, or whether the enemy’s mentality would truly collapse.
Except for Lelouch’s most die-hard confidant Klose, all the other radio operators kept glancing at the officer, seemingly seeking encouragement from his eyes.
After an unknown time of broadcasting, Klose and Schweinsteiger, guarding the receiver, suddenly reported:
“Sir! Intercepted an enemy reply! The reply claims to be from Major General Dejizer of the Belgian 4th Division headquarters; they want to talk conditions with us! It also mentions that Lieutenant General Berghgham of the Belgian 1st Division is die-hard and refuses to surrender, Major General Viktor of the Belgian 6th Division is fence-sitting, and he hopes for our assistance in surrendering!”
Lelouch, who had been leaning back in his chair with eyes closed, rhythmically tapping the armrest with his knuckles, immediately opened his eyes wide and sprang to his feet upon hearing this:
“Finally, a reply! Excellent! The enemy’s mutiny is finally uncontrollable! The first to want to surrender is Dejizer of the 4th Division… Hmm, let me think—his division did suffer the heaviest casualties in the previous breakout, but surprisingly the 6th Division is still fence-sitting… He still has the face to fence-sit? Got it! I know how to deal with it. Send the message exactly as I say right now.”
Lelouch paced back and forth for just a short seven steps—about the same speed as Cao Zijian composing a poem—and a new poisonous scheme of adaptability and countering moves emerged from his mind.
“To Major General Viktor, commander of the Belgian 6th Division: It is reported that yesterday King Albert had already announced to the public that the so-called Yser River dike breach and flood release incident was not a decision by the royal family and cabinet, but an act of frontline generals adapting to the situation.
Ridiculous that the general is unaware of the impending disaster and insists on foolish loyalty to a muddled king! Consider: now that King Albert has abandoned the people and the army is withdrawing, he will surely spew nonsense to the international community and shift the blame onto the dead. At such a time, even for a soldier’s sense of honor and loyalty to the nation, one must survive to have a chance at leaving a name in history!
Otherwise, when the king pushes all the blame onto the dead, the general will not only face death but also unjust slander, ultimately ending in ruin and infamy…
Moreover, our German Army will testify from the side; whoever refuses to surrender, we will pile all the evidence of the Yser Canal dike breach onto the die-hards. The general personally participated in the dike breach—refuse to surrender to our German Army, and can you still clear your name in posterity?”
Lelouch’s mind was full of such negotiation rhetoric.
With his pre-transmigration mastery of the Twenty-Four Histories, relevant cases were at his fingertips.
For example, after Zhang Han’s disastrous defeat by Xiang Yu at Julu, Chen Yu wrote to persuade Zhang Han: “As a Qin general, win and die, lose and die too; Bai Qi and Meng Tian were meritorious yet not fully rewarded, let alone a general who can’t win and will become Zhao Gao’s scapegoat to appease Qin court inquiries.”
Lelouch combined and adapted the cases he could think of with a “great copying of world literature” mindset—how could he not scheme those Belgians to death?
Western civilization trying to compare historical accumulation of conspiracies and tricks with Eastern civilization was like displaying an axe in front of Lu Ban’s door.
After this series of targeted telegrams assaulted the dark corners of the enemy’s psyche, the mutiny situation in Ostend opposite indeed reached a new climax.
One telegram message could match the power of 100,000 elite soldiers.
……
Half an hour later, at the Belgian 6th Division headquarters in Ostend.
Major General Viktor, looking at the German Army telegram brought by Major General Dejizer, was instantly drenched in sweat, as if fished out of water.
“Despicable! Despicable! Too vicious!”
Major General Viktor felt a wave of dizziness, his vision going black, and he nearly collapsed to the ground. Fortunately, his orderlies reacted quickly and supported the general from both sides.
“General, wake up! General, are you alright!”
Finally, with pinching the philtrum, splashing cold water, and chest compressions—a series of first aid measures—Major General Viktor came around.
Too vicious! The reason these generals held out instead of surrendering was largely due to the nobles’ sense of honor.
When fighting first broke out in 1914, there were still many old-school nobles on both sides; many cared about face and didn’t want infamy in history books.
As for loyalty to the king… heh, that was only a small part; everyone knew everyone else’s game—it was mainly about reputation.
But Lelouch’s deductions showed him the most terrifying thing in the world: whoever didn’t cooperate would not only die but be ruined after death!
What was the point of fighting anymore?
Major General Viktor’s spiritual backbone was finally broken, and he thoroughly blackized.
Viktor: “Brother, I’m with you; let’s surrender to the German Army together, let them in. If Berghgham dares obstruct us, we’ll join forces, lead the way, and kill Berghgham! He’s always been a confidant of the king and Chief of Staff!
Then we’ll say the dike breach was by a special action team under him, unrelated to our 6th Division! Pile all the crimes of harming compatriots on him—as long as you agree to this, I’m in!”
Dejizer: “Deal!”
One hour later, the Germanian army surged into Ostend from east and west directions.
The Belgian 4th and 6th Divisions announced they were turning sides on the battlefield, hanging the tyrant to avenge the people.
Ostend fell into a brief but intense civil war.
The Belgian 4th and 6th Divisions led the way for the German Army, killing straight to the former king’s palace.
Lieutenant General Berghgham of the Belgian 1st Division died in confusion amid the chaos without understanding the situation; most of the Belgian 1st Division soldiers absolutely loyal to the king were also killed.
Only a very small portion realized something was wrong and, heedless of the rough seas, hastily boarded every small fishing boat, sampan, and sailboat they could find at the seaside docks and fled, drifting with the waves, hoping Britannia warships would come to pick them up soon.
But these could only be considered minor ailments, no longer worth mentioning.
The victory report immediately reached the 12th Division headquarters, still cut off to the south by floods, as well as the 6th Army Group headquarters, the General Staff Headquarters, the Emperor’s ears. The Empire’s propaganda department was also shocked by this epic legendary great victory.
Major General Karl learned that his subordinate Lister Regiment was the first to counterattack into Ostend and was extremely excited.
Relying on just one regiment, they withstood the encirclement by three Belgian Army divisions from the east and two French Army divisions from the west for three days and nights, remaining as steadfast as a rock and preventing any enemy breakout!
And crucially, they inflicted huge casualties on the enemy, counter-killing three enemy divisions!
Annihilation of the Belgian Army!
Post-battle statistics showed this battle accepted the surrender of over 17,000 enemy soldiers at once, plus captured over 4,000 lightly wounded soldiers, totaling 22,000 received.
Per pre-war full strength, each Belgian Army division was about 16,000-18,000 like the German Army, so three full divisions should have over 50,000.
However, considering these three Belgian Army divisions were originally routed remnants from the defeated Antwerp campaign, their total when leaving Antwerp was already under 40,000, and after subsequent battles of fight-and-flee, cumulative casualties and desertions added another 10,000+.
Most of which were lost in the Ostend defense and Nieuwpoort breakout battles. Several thousand more were lost in the internal fighting before the final surrender.
In any case, the German Army accepted surrender and captured 22,000 alive, totaling nearly 40,000 enemies annihilated.
What magnificent military achievement!
Must reward heavily and swiftly! Must report to high command as a model case of great victory!
The major general immediately had a car speed him in a big detour to Ostend; he wanted to personally receive Colonel Lister and the meritorious officers and soldiers who had just created this heaven-defying miracle.
