Chapter 7: Westerners Might Excel At Technology, But At Schemes They’re Fools
“Send back the Belgian civilians we rescued from the flood zone this afternoon?”
Colonel Lister was truly stunned upon hearing this suggestion and didn’t react at first, “But this afternoon division headquarters sent a telegram asking us to conveniently rescue some Belgian civilians, saying it was to have more witnesses in case of future international public opinion disputes.
To prove that it was the Belgians who blew up the dike and released the flood, to avoid the Empire being framed and slandered. If we send them back now, won’t we have no witnesses? They will definitely be locked up and then induced or forced to change their statements.”
Lelouch wiped his mouth, gaining a rough understanding in his heart of these Germanians’ level of propaganda strategy.
No wonder they are decent at technology and engineering, but when it comes to strategy and psychological warfare, they fall short compared to Eastern wisdom.
Since that’s the case, let them open their eyes today.
So Lelouch took another sip of wine, cleared his throat, and said solemnly: “Even if we need witnesses, we don’t need hundreds; pick some representative ones, and at least more than half can be sent back.
Moreover, we can screen them—for example, keep those who have no family left in enemy-occupied areas and nowhere to turn to; they have no weaknesses, so they will speak relatively truthfully and are not easily threatened into lying.
Those who still have family in Belgian Army-controlled areas can be sent back. Because they will worry about retaliation for speaking carelessly, harming their families; it’s better to do them a favor.
And once we send them back, they might privately spread stories of our army’s image as a righteous force, as well as their embarrassing state fleeing the flood zone at breakneck speed, which indirectly proves it wasn’t us who blew the dike—if we had blown it, our troops wouldn’t have been in the low-lying areas at the time.
Now that we’ve just repelled Dejizer, if we coordinate with propaganda to strike at hearts and minds, disrupting the Belgian Army’s thoughts and morale, the enemy might collapse even faster!”
Combining military and propaganda to strike the enemy by any means—this line of thinking Lelouch had long ago. He had mentioned it earlier when advising Captain Andri to broadcast warnings to the towns on the Yser River banks.
It was just that other frontline combat tasks were more urgent earlier, so he also had to consider priorities and didn’t have time to delve deeper into specific implementation methods.
If you don’t first beat the enemy into submission on the battlefield, just relying on moral condemnation to shake morale is impossible. Condemnation mostly just gives them a way out after they’ve already suffered military setbacks.
Now that the enemy has just suffered a crushing defeat, the timing is perfect.
With just a few words, Lelouch made the upright and purely military-minded Colonel Lister draw in a sharp breath.
“Is he Germanic? How is he even more cunning than Britannians? To think through this issue so thoroughly all at once—only those London finance dogs who scheme every day on how to screw people over could do that…” Lister couldn’t help but think along these lines.
“So when do you think is best to send them back? Release them at midnight?” The colonel and the other proper officers were completely clueless about these off-field tactics, so they shamelessly asked, zeroing in on Lelouch alone.
Fortunately, German Army military discipline is strict, and rewards and punishments are clear, so there was no need to worry too much about merits from offering strategies being usurped.
Lelouch, sending Buddha all the way to the West, immediately helped analyze in depth: “I think we can start preparing tonight, slowly screening who needs to be sent back, give them a good meal before departure, and bestow some small favors.
Then, before dawn tomorrow, negotiate with the Belgian Army, supplemented by two other operations: first, use the radio to broadcast divisive telegrams to enemy senior officers, telling them that their king and cabinet have betrayed the people, and their war decisions are just for the interests of London bankers.
But this tactic can’t deal with enemies below regimental level, because ordinary people can’t access radios at all, so it needs to be paired with another move—
For example, we can request approval from superiors, take advantage of tonight to gather enough reconnaissance aircraft in the rear, and overnight print a batch of leaflets plus the photos of the enemy army blowing up the dam taken by reconnaissance aircraft yesterday.
Tomorrow morning, have the airplanes fly close for airdrops to ensure a large number of grassroots soldiers can pick up the leaflets, letting them know the truth—I don’t believe their morale won’t be shaken!”
Releasing humanitarian-rescued refugees, radio broadcasts, airplane leaflet drops.
Propaganda war with three prongs—see how the enemy blocks it!
These moves might not directly make the enemy army surrender, but absolutely reducing their will to fight is achievable!
The colonel had never thought of these issues before, and seeing how thoroughly Lelouch had considered them, he fully trusted him.
He immediately said he would arrange for the adjutant to handle screening the refugees, while having the regimental headquarters radio operator send a telegram requesting instructions from division headquarters.
While saying this, the colonel deliberately showed his concern for the troops:
“You’ve been sending telegrams for so long today, and just now you inspected the defensive deployments with us— you must be tired. Go rest early. The telegram requesting instructions from division headquarters, I’ll have the regimental headquarters radio operator handle it.”
Lelouch himself felt very tired too, especially since he hadn’t eaten all day and had just wolfed down dinner, with blood supply heavily concentrated to his stomach, making him even sleepier.
But hearing the colonel’s arrangement, he inexplicably felt a jolt in his heart and quickly realized a problem.
Before transmigrating, he had read too much World War I and World War II war history, deeply knowing that German ciphers were like paper in front of Britannians.
Every time a world war had just started not long, they were deciphered by the enemy.
For his designed scheme to achieve the best effect, suddenness was very important, which was why he had just suggested timing it precisely and striking with all three prongs simultaneously to catch the enemy off guard.
But if they first request via radio from the rear division headquarters, or even forward to army group headquarters, by the time that’s done, most of the night will have passed.
And since the enemy can decipher ciphers, everything would have leaked by then.
The Belgian Army might have strict opinion control and bans on soldiers picking up any leaflets by morning, which would definitely discount the propaganda effect.
Suddenness in propaganda is very important.
“Can we, like today’s flood evasion warning, request only one or two hours before the crucial moment?” Lelouch naturally thought of the successful experience from this afternoon, then simulated it in his mind, showing some path dependency.
If sending the telegram last-minute, the enemy wouldn’t have time to react—intercepting, analyzing, and deciphering all take time.
But Lelouch quickly realized the two situations were completely different.
For this afternoon’s request, once division headquarters made the decision, they could immediately implement it here without needing prep time.
But printing leaflets, printing aerial photos, dispatching enough leaflet-dropping airplanes—all that needs time, about a whole night.
If he delayed the telegram to the latter half of the night to avoid early deciphering, the superiors definitely wouldn’t have time to prepare.
So this telegram still has to be sent as early as possible in the first half of the night. Best if it can be kept secret, but if not, they can only give up pursuing suddenness.
Thinking of this, Lelouch couldn’t help but politely remind the colonel one last time: “Sir, suddenness in propaganda is very important. If we send the telegram by radio a night in advance, the enemy might become alert early…”
Lister furrowed his brows: “You think our ciphered telegrams will be intercepted and deciphered by the enemy?”
Lelouch very much wanted to say yes directly, but he couldn’t say that—he had no evidence. And he didn’t want to expose this. So after hesitating, he could only vaguely say:
“Whether they can decipher it or not, in tonight’s life-or-death crisis, if we and the rear telegram too frequently, it will inevitably make the enemy more alert.”
Colonel Lister stroked the stubble on his chin, pondered for a moment, then suddenly remembered something: “Right, didn’t you just introduce that your platoon was sent this morning specifically to repair the town’s wired telegram cables? Can it be fixed?
If we contact the rear via wired telegram, it won’t be intercepted by the enemy, right? Then the enemy won’t even know these telegrams exist, let alone probe or suspect!”
Lelouch’s eyes lit up instantly.
Right, how did he forget the task the original body’s owner had received before his transmigration took over.
Telegrams sent via wired cables are much harder to intercept than radio.
When sending by radio, the radio waves spread indiscriminately in all directions through the atmosphere—for example, to reach headquarters 100 km away, anyone within a 100 km radius of the transmission point, as long as tuned to that receiving frequency, could potentially intercept it.
But wired telegrams are different; the electric current only travels along the cable, with almost no effect in the air.
To eavesdrop on wired communications isn’t impossible, but either you monitor at signal relay stations or receiving stations, or send spies; or you physically contact the cables midway, even cut the cable and splice in a line, then listen on the spliced line.
In other words, eavesdropping on wired communications requires direct physical contact.
By the latter part of World War I, Britannians even invented a semi-contact eavesdropping method—no need to cut and splice the cable to monitor; just loop a coil around the cable outside and listen via electromagnetic induction.
But now it’s only 1914; that technology doesn’t exist yet.
“While it’s dark now and hard for the enemy to interfere, I’ll take men to check immediately if we can repair that telegram cable. Give me two hours, Colonel; if after assessment it’s impossible, then you request from the rear via radio.”
After figuring it out, Lelouch decisively volunteered.
It was about 8 p.m. now; if not fixed by 10, they could no longer worry about the suddenness of the propaganda request.
The colonel checked his watch and nodded firmly: “Good, we’ll prepare the other things first and wait for you until 10. You focus on your task; you don’t need to worry about combat.”
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