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271 - - the food situation of a large army

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"That's the Memento family army: ....... That's a lot of people.

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"I'm sure that's true. I mean, the Memento family claims to have mobilized 100,000 people.

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"One hundred thousand?　That's a bit of an exaggeration. It doesn't seem like that big of an army."

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"Of course, the Mementos are probably exaggerating to make a big show of their power. Every army has them. I'm sure Fontana has more than the actual number.

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"Is that so? Well, it's true, you can't just say it... if they hear that 100,000 troops are coming, that alone will make them want to run away."

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"...... By the way, Master Ars, do you know about the reputation of your army?"

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"Huh?　You mean the Barka army?　Come to think of it, we've never done anything like bustling about the number of troops anywhere."

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No, in fact, the reputation of the Barka army has been well publicized. As for the recent battle against the Arbalest family, it is said that Master Ars defeated 30,000 Arbalest soldiers by himself.

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"Huh?　Wait a minute. Why is that supposed to be true? Wasn't the Arbalest army about 8,000 men back then?"

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"...... Well, even 8,000 people would be a great deal. However, in order to spread the word of Master Ars's power, it is said that he won the last battle completely against an army of 30,000 men.

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If it's "supposed" to be that way, it means someone is intentionally leaking that kind of information, right?　Who is doing that?

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"It's Mr. Leon, isn't it? Master Ars's brother-in-law, Leon von Graham, has been spreading the word. By the way, it is not limited to the battle of Midway against Arbalest. All the results of the Balkan army led by Mr. Ars until now have been published with greatly exaggerated figures.

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"What's he doing, Leon? But I see. If Leon's doing that, it means something, doesn't it?"

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"Of course. We have to make Fontana think that we have him. That alone will act as a deterrent. Master Ars once destroyed the Keima cavalry of the House of Uruk single-handedly. The nobles and knights who hear this information will naturally hesitate to attack.

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"...... Is there such a tactic? Well, okay. If it reduces the risk of being attacked, then a few lies are just a convenient way to get the job done."

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　I went on a reconnaissance mission by airship and continued to fly south.

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　And now, I succeeded in catching sight of the army of the Memento family, which was my goal.

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　I can't help but think, "What a lazy move!

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　Well, that's what happens when 40,000 people are walking in a row.

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　But the Mementos seemed to claim that their army was about 100,000 strong.

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　As Payne said, this was done with the intention of making their army look bigger by exaggerating it.

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　It is also difficult to get an immediate idea of the total number of troops by actually taking a glance at the army.

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　Frankly speaking, there were doubts as to whether the 40,000 figure that Fontana had obtained was even accurate.

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　This was partly due to the presence of the attendants that accompanied the army.

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　Basically, the larger the size of the army, the more problematic it becomes.

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　That is food.

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　To feed tens of thousands of people requires a considerable amount of food.

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　However, it is difficult for them to carry such a large amount of food by themselves, considering the reality.

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　Even if we loaded the food onto a cart attached to the beast, it would not amount to much.

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　Rather, we would need to feed the beast to carry the cart, which would require a larger amount of food.

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　There is the easiest way to transport a large amount of food.

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　It is to use a ship.

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　Floating boats reduce the amount of labor required to carry a large amount of cargo.

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　However, there was no river flowing conveniently toward Fontana.

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　So, how would they get food?

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　In other words, it was necessary to receive food from the noble and knightly domains along the way, or to buy food brought by merchants and others.

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　Therefore, the movement of the army is sometimes accompanied by people who do not belong to the army.

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　These merchants with food do not belong to the army, but it is difficult to distinguish at a glance who is a merchant and who is not.

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　In other words, it is hard to deny even if we bring up an exaggerated number of people.

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"After all, the food problem is a big one when you see the army in action like this. Without a stable food supply, the army will not be able to move quickly."

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"Yes, that's right. If we seriously try to transport food so that our soldiers do not starve, we would have to allocate almost half of our army to the Transportation Corps if we take the land route.

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"It would be easier if the battle were still in the immediate area. If we want to go on an expedition to a distant place, we need to make a plan to build a position to secure food ahead of the expedition. It's difficult.

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I'm sure you've heard that Kyle-sama had a hard time when he was entrusted by Ars-sama with the leadership of the Transportation Corps. I think it's a good lesson for me too, though it may not be enough for war work.

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"Yes. I'd rather Kyle be a commander than a soldier. I've got a ......, but you know what? I wonder if the Memento family, which has marched in with so much effort and expense, will make peace with the other two families at the meeting of the alliance of the three noble houses?"

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"...... honestly don't know. It would be a delicate point. The Memento family may think it is quicker to win against Fontana and secure the king's custody than to make peace among the three noble alliances.

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"Right. Then let's delay the march a little longer to buy us some time."

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　I have my own fiefdom and a standing army, so I know how expensive it is to move an army.

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　I don't think they would turn back after mobilizing such a large number of troops to settle the issue through discussion.

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　Besides, the knights in the army might want a fighting chance to take the credit.

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　They may not retreat quietly.

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　With this in mind, I decided to play a little trick to delay the advance of Memento's army.

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