Chapter 6: The People of Albion Are All About Compromise

Ning Luo eventually managed to nap for two hours—any less and his body truly wouldn't have held up.

The next day.

At the break of dawn, Ning Luo had to set out with his soldiers.

Before leaving, he compensated the farmer for the damages caused by the soldiers. It wasn’t a large amount, and Ning Luo could just barely afford it with the money he had on him. Whether he could actually start earning a captain’s salary in the future remained to be seen.

However, Ning Luo still reminded the farmer that it was time to leave. The Kingdom of Fontaine had already broken through the Samat River defense line—it was only a matter of time before the war reached this place.

Of course—

The fact that the farmer hadn't left by now meant he probably never would.

……

The logistics department behind the Brittany Fortress wasn’t far from Brittany City—or rather, it had been deliberately built near this transportation hub.

Due to the endlessly long war, a small village had gradually grown up around the logistics department. This alone was proof of how normalized the war had become and the extent of its impact on the empire’s ecosystem.

Ning Luo didn’t head straight for the logistics department.

Instead, he rented a room at an inn in the small town that had sprung up around it.

For one, his resource optimization plan wasn’t yet complete.

For another—

Ning Luo had the previously absorbed nameless soldiers line up in formation, then distributed documents to each of them.

“This is your execution file. It gives you the authority to question any of the frontline soldiers. But I want each of you to remember this clearly—I haven’t granted you any special privileges.”

“Yes, sir!”

Once the soldiers had left—

Priscilla closed the door and walked over to Ning Luo’s side.

“The more you remind them, the more they'll go overboard.”

“I did it on purpose.”

Ning Luo sat back down at his desk and resumed his previous work.

Priscilla asked back, “Why?”

“After the defeat at the Samat River, morale across the entire frontline is in shambles. The logistics department is under particular scrutiny. We already caused trouble at the field hospital. The news from the field hospital probably hasn’t reached here yet. If we go directly to the logistics officers now, they’ll just look for ways to get rid of us. So... we need to intensify their fear.”

Ning Luo continued organizing the documents in his hand as he spoke.

“And more importantly, my optimization plan still isn’t finished.”

“I’ve looked over your plan. The logistics department will never agree to it.”

Although Priscilla couldn’t make sense of the strange symbols—

When it came to the actual implementation phase, Ning Luo had used a template as comprehensible as possible for everyone.

Priscilla couldn’t help but admire him—just from the limited data the field hospital provided, Ning Luo had managed to create an optimization plan for the entire logistics department.

However—

A plan was just a plan.

Implementation was another matter entirely.

In Ning Luo’s resource optimization management plan, he had essentially dismantled and rebuilt the entire logistics system from the ground up—this also meant that the interests of every party tied to the logistics system were affected. Take, for instance, the procurement of supplies: the plan required the introduction of open bidding and an evaluation mechanism. That alone would destabilize the interests of more than half the logistics department, not to mention countless aristocratic merchants involved. There was no way anyone would agree to it.

Even Priscilla could see that much. There was no way Ning Luo couldn’t.

“I know.”

“Then why do it?”

Ning Luo gave a small smile.

“The people of Albion are all about compromise. If you tell the logistics department that you want to open a window, they won’t agree. But if you tell them you’re planning to tear down the roof, then they’ll agree to open the window. I’ve prepared two versions of the plan—one for tearing off the roof, and one for opening the window.”

……

……

Logistics Department of Brittany Fortress.

The “logistics department” was simply a general term for the entire logistics system.

It was a subsidiary unit under the Brittany Front of the General Staff Office, overseen by the Quartermaster Director, who served as the second-in-command of the General Staff. Beneath him, the department was divided into six major divisions: Supply, Engineering, Ordnance, Transportation, Medical, and Finance—as well as a range of smaller subdivisions.

Colonel Charles Pe Hawkins was the director of the Supply Division.

This was his busiest time of all—busier than even the days before the war had started.

According to his own calculations—

Once the new Chief of General Staff and Quartermaster Director completed the handover, their first priority would be to inspect the frontlines, followed immediately by a thorough investigation into the entire logistics system.

As the head of the Supply Division—the most critical department in the entire Brittany Front’s logistics system—Colonel Hawkins would naturally be the first to be held accountable.

The disastrous defeat at the Samat River couldn't simply be resolved with the resignation of the Chief of General Staff and the Quartermaster Director.

Based on Colonel Hawkins’ estimation—

He had at most two weeks. He had to resolve all the issues in the Supply Division within those two weeks. The moment the General Staff Office launched a formal investigation, the outcome of that investigation would no longer matter. The simple fact that an investigation had begun—no one could survive that kind of scrutiny.

However—

What Colonel Hawkins hadn’t expected—

Was that just a few days had passed when a report came in from his adjutant.

There were two pieces of information.

The first: the field hospital under Director Dominique had been investigated by someone from the General Staff.

The second: a problem had occurred within the Supply Division.

The general idea was that a frontline soldier had come to the logistics department to conduct an inspection, and a conflict had broken out with personnel from the Supply Division. In the past, such clashes were practically routine—frontline and rear troops often came into conflict. But at this particular moment—

Colonel Hawkins immediately followed his adjutant to the scene.

The situation was unusually conspicuous.

A filthy, unkempt soldier stood at the entrance to the Supply Division. His uniform was full of holes and covered in stains, with not a trace of military posture. Compared to the other soldiers of the Supply Division, the contrast couldn’t have been more obvious. But the unkempt soldier showed no sign of caring—in fact, his expression was one of open defiance.

The moment Colonel Hawkins arrived, everyone immediately snapped to attention and saluted.

Even the sloppy soldier had no choice but to stand properly.

He didn’t know who the head of the Supply Division was, but he still recognized the rank insignia of a colonel. He hadn’t expected that his presence could actually draw out a colonel.

“What’s your name?”

“Arthur.”

“Please show me your identification.”

“Yes, Colonel!”

Colonel Hawkins took the ID from the soldier’s hand.

The unit listed had already been crossed out, but it was still clear that he had belonged to one of the frontline units—now reassigned to something called the ‘Priscilla Special Investigation Unit.’ Nothing seemed suspicious from the name alone, but Colonel Hawkins could already guess most of what was going on.

“Who’s your commanding officer?”

“He didn’t say.”

...

“You’re a frontline soldier—how did you end up in a special investigation unit?”

“Our regiment was wiped out at the Samat River. Only a few of us survived. Our commanding officer integrated us into his own unit.”

Of course, the sloppy soldier wasn’t about to admit they’d been deserters who were forcibly absorbed into the special investigation team.

“What’s your mission?”

“Sir didn’t explain—just said it was a General Staff task. Told us to question soldiers about some basic matters.”

“I see. Then take me to meet your commanding officer.”

“This…”

“Don’t worry. He sent you here precisely to lead me to him.”

“Yes, sir!”

……

Colonel Hawkins wasn’t an idiot.

If the General Staff really wanted to investigate him, they would have done so discreetly—quietly gathering enough evidence behind the scenes to utterly destroy him. There’s no way they would send a random frontline soldier swaggering in to investigate low-level staff. This was obviously a ploy to lure Colonel Hawkins out.

At that moment, his adjutant leaned in close and whispered:

“Colonel, now’s not the time to go.”

“We don’t have time.”

Even the adjutant could see it—this was the classic case of digging a pit and waiting for someone to jump in. They weren’t even pretending otherwise.

If Colonel Hawkins went to meet them now, it would be no different from walking straight into a trap.

But—

The war had reached a point of no return. One battle had already cost tens of thousands of lives. The Chief of General Staff had resigned, taking the entire General Staff with him. In the scale of such a war, a mere head of logistics was ultimately insignificant.

If he didn’t go meet with someone connected to the Chief of General Staff now, he might never get another chance.

Even knowing it was a trap—

Colonel Hawkins had to jump in anyway.

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