I Became the Strategist the Monarchs Obsess Over

TLed by NolepGuy

Chapter 3

Meanwhile, the Third Princess of the Arcadia Empire, Leonia von Arcadia, was conducting an experiment with her private soldiers gathered around her.

The experiment involved placing soldiers acting as musketeers at the innermost part of the formation and determining the most suitable weapon to protect them.

The first weapon tested was the two-handed sword. The swordsmen wielding two-handed swords performed admirably against cavalry. However, they ultimately failed to protect the musketeers. The Princess marked an X next to the words “Two-Handed Sword” with her fountain pen.

“The two-handed sword is a weapon that relies heavily on individual skill. A single exceptional swordsman can protect multiple musketeers. But the sword has two major flaws. One, it takes a long time to train an exceptional swordsman. And two, swords cannot form a proper formation. They’re inherently disadvantageous in group combat. Two-handed swords are out of the question.”

At the Princess’s command, one of her knights raised a flag, signaling the departure of the knights wielding two-handed swords. In their place, knights equipped with one-handed swords and shields entered the scene.

The knights linked their shields together to form a formation. This allowed them to withstand the cavalry charge to some extent, but as the battle dragged on, they were eventually trampled. The difference in stamina between horses and humans was insurmountable.

“One-handed swords and shields. If we are to use them, the shields need to be larger—large enough to cover the entire body. Otherwise, the formation will be easily breached by enemy cavalry charges. Still, the ability to link shields and form a formation makes them more suitable for group combat than two-handed swords.”

The Princess marked a triangle next to the one-handed swords and shields. Finally, soldiers wielding halberds, or axe-spears, made their appearance. Horses, instinctively afraid of long and sharp objects, hesitated to charge at the soldiers armed with halberds. The halberdiers targeted the horses’ legs and used various methods to bring down the cavalry. This time, the infantry emerged victorious.

“Lastly, the halberd, or axe-spear, is a good weapon that balances individual skill and the ability to form a formation. It combines the strengths of both swords and spears. Since it’s a weapon more focused on defense, it aligns well with the goal of protecting the musketeers. Among the options so far, this is the closest to the correct answer.”

The Princess circled the word “Halberd,” but at the same time, she pondered. There had to be an even better strategy out there—one she had yet to invent, a strategy that could utilize musketeers to their fullest potential, or even beyond.

What kind of solution would her father, His Majesty the Emperor, have come up with for this difficult problem? Such thoughts crossed the mind of Princess Leonia.

—–

The next day, an anonymous short thesis was published at the Academy.

It was a six-page thesis that no one paid much attention to, but Princess Leonia made it a habit to read all such minor theses.

This was because Princess Leonia had two older brothers—the Crown Prince and the Prince—both of whom had higher succession rights and inherited wealthier and larger territories than she did.

For this reason, Leonia believed that in order to catch up to them, she first needed talented individuals. If national power alone wasn’t enough, shouldn’t she excel in other areas?

For Leonia, those areas were strategy and talent. She believed that if she could surpass others in these two aspects, the gap in national power could be overcome.

This was why Leonia read every thesis submitted to the Academy. She never knew when a brilliant mind might emerge, so reviewing all the submissions was an important part of her daily routine.

Then, a rather intriguing thesis was submitted. Its title was [The Impact of Firearms on Future Warfare].

When Leonia first read the thesis, she felt as if her eyes had been opened. It stated that while firearms were not stronger than traditional weapons, they were suitable for quickly training skilled soldiers and turning civilians with no prior experience into soldiers.

Upon reading the thesis, the Princess thought to herself that the author possessed remarkable insight. It was true. Training a skilled mage could take decades, but training a skilled musketeer could be done in a month. Even a proficient artillery crew could be trained within half a year. Firearms had the power to rapidly transform ordinary civilians into soldiers.

The Princess considered this: If a proper production line for firearms were established, it would be possible to turn the entire civilian population of the continent into soldiers in no time. How massive would such an army be? With overwhelming numbers and the tactics to utilize them, could it be possible to aim not just for domestic dominance but for global supremacy?

The future of warfare would be determined by gunpowder. For now, the proper methods for operating firearms like the “musket” had not been fully established, but if even one effective battlefield tactic for using muskets were developed, muskets and cannons would become the main actors in future wars. This was what the Princess of Arcadia believed. Therefore…

“Yuria.”

The Princess called out to her loyal Guard Knight.

“Yes.”

“Who is the author of this thesis?”

“It was submitted anonymously.”

“Is there no way to find out?”

“It would be possible by leveraging the authority of the royal family.”

“That won’t do.”

Arbitrarily using royal authority would harm her reputation as a member of the royal family. While the thesis was undoubtedly fascinating, it wasn’t worth tarnishing her reputation to uncover the author’s identity.

“Yuria, if a similar thesis is submitted, you… No, I will personally check it, so don’t concern yourself with it.”

Since it was an important matter, it was better for her to handle it personally rather than entrusting it to a subordinate. Yuria bowed her head, and the Princess continued to review the theses for anything interesting. However, the only noteworthy find that day was the anonymous thesis on firearms.

—–

The Era of Gunpowder and Magic.

In this game, there are nations with a orientation and those with an orientation. Traditional nations rely on swords and magic, while innovative nations use firearms and cannons.

Princess Leonia von Arcadia was a representative ruler of the innovative orientation. In other words, she actively utilized firearms.

At this point in time, ten years before the start of the game, she was gathering information on firearms and recruiting talented individuals skilled in their use.

Therefore, submitting a thesis related to firearms was bound to catch her attention.

I had subtly made my presence known to her. [There is someone as knowledgeable about firearms as you are.] That was the message I conveyed.

By now, she must be dying to know who I am.

If I were to present myself to her right now, I could probably become one of her close aides. But at the moment, there was something more urgent.

“Time to start making some money.”

The family of Charles Jean Rochefort was poor. His parents seemed to be doing their best to send him tuition, but tuition alone wasn’t enough for a comfortable school life.

Determined to earn money, I headed to the library and began writing a book, referencing various tactical texts.

The title of my book was [Tactics for a New Era: How to Utilize Firearms].

Just from the title, it seemed like something that would make Princess Leonia von Arcadia drool with desire.

The book’s main content covered the Tercio tactics employed in the mid-16th century and the military reforms of Maurice of Nassau, which refined the Tercio in the late 16th century.

In other words, it was about the tactics that emerged when firearms were first introduced on Earth.

It was something Princess Leonia von Arcadia would undoubtedly want.

After several days of writing, I completed the book and divided the final version into two parts. I placed the first part in front of the door to Yuria Russell’s quarters, the Princess’s Guard Knight.

—–

The next evening, Yuria Russell returned to her room after finishing her duties as the Princess’s Guard Knight.

However, she found an unfamiliar book placed in front of her door. The title of the book was [Tactics for a New Era: How to Utilize Firearms, Part 1].

The moment she saw the book, Yuria Russell thought to herself.

‘This isn’t meant for me; it’s for Her Highness the Princess!’

The Third Princess Leonia von Arcadia’s bedroom was guarded by knights around the clock.

Therefore, it was impossible to leave anything directly in her bedroom. This must have been placed in front of Yuria Russell’s quarters instead.

Hoping it would be delivered to the Princess.

Realizing this, Yuria Russell immediately picked up the book and headed straight to the Third Princess.