What is the most necessary thing in war?
Strategy?
Tactics?
Technology?
Of course, all of them are important.
But if I had to choose just one, I would firmly say that it’s people.
Without people to fight on the battlefield, holding guns and swords, a war cannot be carried out.
“There have been cases where a country with no money won a war, but there has never been a case where a country with no people won.”
However, all the participating countries on the continent had suffered tremendous human losses.
Artium had already lost 100,000 soldiers in their expeditionary force, and many of their units were destroyed in the counteroffensive.
Navre was suffering from severe inefficiency in carrying out the war due to a three-front war, and was constantly short on people.
Allein, after being severely beaten in the early stages, had lost vast territories and many of its citizens.
Helvetia, to overcome their inherent weakness of being a small nation, even formed a People’s Assault Corps.
Kram was in a similar state as Navre.
Apart from Hispania, which was operating through exports of supplies and mercenaries, there were no countries left in good condition.
Amidst all this, they were even running a Demon Prison Camp, so it was no wonder they were running out of manpower.
“If this continues, we won’t have any manpower for conscription next year…”
“Then we can just bring in the young men who are about to come of age.”
“Do you think farming will just take care of itself? The countryside is left with only women, elderly people, and children, and due to food shortages, the military is struggling.”
“Some portion of the workforce must be left behind in the rear. It’s necessary not only for the war effort but also for the future after the war.”
Furthermore, the national conscription and draft system played a part.
The high-ranking officials, who got used to the advantage of easily raising large armies, recklessly conscripted soldiers.
They thought that with a large army, the war would end quickly, without considering the essential workforce and labor needed in the rear.
Thanks to this, the loss of lives on the front lines skyrocketed.
Meanwhile, a crazy situation occurred in the rear, where there was also a shortage of people to keep the industry and agriculture running.
“If it were up to me, I’d want to recall the troops from the front immediately. If I could just send back 40,000 men, the country would be much more stable.”
“You know that’s not possible. If we reduce the number of people on the front, where we are barely maintaining balance…”
“I know, I know. I was just venting my frustration.”
As the war dragged on for over a year, these side effects became even more pronounced.
The farming season was ruined, and the stockpiled supplies began to run out.
Fortunately, they quickly realized the problem and began to reform the conscription system, but the issue of manpower shortage remained unresolved.
“I wish we could just get 200,000 more spare hands.”
“Indeed. It would be nice if the Goddess could just send some free labor.”
In an era without modern industrial facilities, technology, or administrative systems, overcoming this hardship was a long and difficult task.
Should they conscript women?
Or should they create an army of elderly men?
Should even minors be given uniforms and sent to the front?
After reviewing all kinds of ideas and proposals, each participating country found their own solution.
“Hey, you guys need people, right?”
“So?”
“We have a lot of slaves, want to buy some? I’ll give you a good price.”
“Oh.”
Countries near Hispania began to purchase New World slaves they were selling.
Although they couldn’t communicate, they could still put them to work, and the price was manageable.
The strong ones were bought and turned into slave soldiers, while the rest were used for industrial work in the rear.
“If we create units with these guys, the loss of the people will be reduced, don’t you think?”
“But if they can’t understand orders, it would be hard to use them as soldiers.”
“We can train them. If we teach them basic commands like advance, retreat, and turn right, they should be usable.”
Hispania was not picky about its exports.
Even to Helvetia Republic, which had territorial disputes, they didn’t block exports but added additional fees.
As a result, Allein, Kram, and Helvetia all managed to receive large numbers of external workers.
There was no need to conserve them, and it wasn’t a problem to use them recklessly.
If needed, they could be discarded at will—such convenient manpower.
“But I think we exported too many. At this rate, there won’t be any slaves left in the market.”
“What’s the worry? We can just capture more from the New World.”
“We’ve already swept the coastal and nearby areas, though.”
“Then let’s explore deeper inland. I’ll fund it, so organize an expedition. There are surely uncounted reserve slaves waiting to be discovered.”
Due to the sudden surge in demand, Hispania’s colonial policy changed to meet the supply, but that’s a separate story.
From the perspective of buying people as disposable resources, it wasn’t particularly important.
Whether there were any endemic diseases lurking deep in the New World or unexpected threats waiting wasn’t a major concern.
“Slave imports… must be nice. We’ve spent ages just traveling back and forth, so it’s hard to make a deal.”
“If we import through the Kram Empire, the toll fees are absurdly high. If we use the sea route, the Helvetians will interfere.”
On the other hand, Navre and Artium, far from Hispania, had a different situation.
They were too far from the western edge of the continent to trade with those guys.
Their geographic location made it difficult to rely on external suppliers.
“Then we have no choice but to get them ourselves…”
“Where can we get them? Barbarians who aren’t strong enough to fight back and can be easily taken advantage of… Ah!”
“Come to think of it, there’s a suitable area right next to us.”
So, they decided to directly abduct workers.
They would do so in the vast grassland area located right on the border between the two countries.
“Can we mobilize cavalry units?”
“One regiment should be possible. For infantry, we might manage a division.”
“That should be enough. And make sure to prepare enough carts. We need transportation to bring the people back.”
The vast grassland area, bordered by the great mountain range and the Artium Empire, had been home to nomads for ages.
The land was wide, but the climate was too harsh for farming.
As a result, many nomadic empires had risen and trampled over the world, but that was now a thing of the distant past.
In the age of line infantry and gunpowder, nomads no longer posed any threat.
What this meant was that even a small force could burn everything, capture people, and put them to work.
“Kill all men and women over 40. Kill all the disabled too. Only the young and those who can still work should be captured and brought in.”
“Wow, these wanderers have such unnecessarily fancy clothes. It won’t even sell if we take it.”
“Take all the livestock too! If we bring these back to the homeland, we won’t run out of military horses for years.”
Normally, they wouldn’t have gone this far.
The diplomatic backlash would far outweigh the benefits.
Conquering barren lands that can’t even be farmed would only create useless burdens for the country.
However, Artium and Navre’s goal was not resources or gold, but people themselves.
For this purpose, raiding the grasslands was definitely worthwhile.
“What do we do if we meet the Navre guys?”
“Avoid direct confrontation for now. There’s no benefit in clashing with them here.”
“Understood.”
Fighting to the death at the border is hard enough; we shouldn’t fight on the grasslands too.
We won’t even break even.
In this unspoken calculation, the two countries carefully eyed each other while plundering the nomads.
And as expected,A professional criminal living in Allein was watching these events closely.
*****
I’ve seen a situation like this in a history book.
Was it Russia’s southward expansion in the 19th century?
After the Napoleonic wars, Ivan’s people launched a large-scale attack on Central Asia and conquered it.
This situation and the pattern were exactly the same.
Outdated nomadic groups and powerful military states targeting them.
So, the outcome was pretty much already decided.
“This is a bit tricky for me to get involved in…”
The balance of power must be maintained.
But in my view, this was closer to maintaining the balance.
Others are having fun with slaves, so these guys are trying to do the same by capturing prisoners.
To reduce the power gap between the two sides, it might actually be better to leave things as they are.
“Still, I think it’s better to help.”
However, Kalia’s thoughts seemed to differ from mine.
“Why?”
“Well…”
Unlike usual, she hesitated to answer.
She stopped stroking my head, which had been resting on her lap, and spoke with a hesitant expression.
“Our organization’s headquarters is in the grasslands. This information is only shared with branch leaders of major divisions…”
“Then, I guess there’s nothing we can do.”
If the main base is being raided, there’s no choice.
If the organization collapses, it would be disastrous for me as well.
“We need to help the nomads resist or stop the external invasion itself. Do you have any good ideas?”
“I do.”
I had a solution.
It was a bit dangerous, though.
Honestly, I never thought I’d have to reveal this… but given the situation, I guess I have no choice.
After all, it’s not my world anyway.
“Kalia, please find an expert on the nomads’ beliefs. I need to write a new book.”
“An expert? That’s not difficult, but what will you use it for?”
“I think I need advice on their doctrines.”
If I mix Wahhabism, Maoism, and guerrilla tactics, it seems like it could result in quite an interesting work.