Victor turned anxiously to the soldier who still catching his breath. "Is this true, soldier?" With no hesitation, the soldier nodded profusely. Everyone spectating the interaction grew increasingly worried, causing Field Marshal Schwarzenberg to approach the two pale men.
"My Liege, what is the matter?" Schwarzenberg asked in a concerned voice. Victor did not say anything and passed the Field Marshal the message. Schwarzenberg's brow furrowed as his eyes darted across the paper. The Field Marshal was not one to showcase his emotions vividly, however, this news had forced him to even look worried.
"Does Field Marshal Wellesley know?" Schwarzenberg asked the soldier. The soldier nodded, "Yes sir, the courier pigeon was from Osterbon. Field Marshal Wellesley would no doubt already be preparing Osterbon for an assault by sea."
Field Marshal Schwarzenberg's worried expression eased up a fraction. With Arthur Wellesley already aware and making preparations, their hope was not entirely crushed. "My Liege, we must mobilize the ships we have here, if we hurry they could arrive to support Osterbon within two weeks." Field Marshal Schwarzenberg stated.
Victor nodded, "All military officials and advisors shall stay, everyone else must clear the room at once, that is an order." Victor commanded, signalling for his Royal Guard soldiers to escort everyone out.
Seeing the expression on Victor's face, no one kicked up a fuss and complied with his order. Everyone who remained was quickly informed about the message that just received. All their faces displayed shock and worry. Some of them even breaking out into cold sweats.
"What is the status of our ships in the harbour?" Marshal Bessières questioned. Grand Admiral Nelson remained composed as he answered the Royal Guard Commander's question.
"At present, we have my flagship, five ship of lines, 8 third-rate ships, plus 5 of our newest type of ships, all of them equipped with the Luxenberg Rocket. We also have 120 specialised troop ships, all can carry up to 700 men, including sailors." Grand Admiral Nelson was referring to the latest development in the Luxenberg Navy, the Rocket Ship.
The ship itself was the size of a medium merchant vessel. It was a single ship with a hundred people to crew the ship, plus a dozen men to crew the rocket. A massive rocket frame was installed at the bow of the ship. When Victor acquired the Congreve Rockets, he was quick to try and adapt them to make rocket ships, as the French and British had done back in his previous world.
In total, the Luxenberg Army possessed 80 normal Luxenberg Rockets, while the Navy possessed 10 Rocket Ships. Five of them were in Hannover, while the other five were docked in Osterbon. They were ready to be launched into service, but Victor wanted to save them for when a war came about. Now was the perfect time for them.
Although it was a ship that could unleash devastating damage, it was not entirely accurate and the crew were essentially sailing on a bomb. There was a risk that the ship could explode. In addition, there was no real need to reinforce the fabric of the ship, because the rockets do not create much recoil, but rigging chains and wetted sails were used to reduce the risk of fire.
Victor nodded firmly before turning his attention to Field Marshal Schwarzenberg. "What about the troops stationed here, how many men do we have at our disposal, Field Marshal? And how many troops does Field Marshal Wellesley have?" Schwarzenberg briefly pondered about his troop assignments, he had already begun consolidating the soldiers in anticipation of a war with the Kingdom of Gu, so that made things slightly easier.
"Firstly, at our disposal, we have my 10th Corps, Marshal Lefebvre 4th Corps and the Royal Guard under Marshal Bessières. We also have 15th Corps, and 14th Corps stationed here, but they do not have commanders yet."
"Regarding Osterbon's defence. Field Marshal Wellesley has his 11th Corps, General Kamensky's 8th Corps, General Hill's 5th Corps and the commanderless 13th Corps. They could withstand a sea assault easily, but if the Gu forces are able to land and deploy their entire strength, we would face a hard-fought siege."
Victor nodded once again. He was disappointed that he was not able to find commanders for three of his new corps, but there was no one worthy of stepping into the shoes of a general. He would have liked to summon new commanders, but since unifying the continent, he had not been able to earn new Store Points, as no new quests were issued.
"Field Marshal Wellesley, your corps, along with Marshal Lefebvre's corps, will sail in support of Osterbon. We only have enough room to transport your two corps. I will not be joining you on this voyage, sadly. I will need to prepare for the aftermath of the siege. Grand Admiral Nelson and all the ships in Hannover will ferry you."
All the men were agreeance and preparations for this order were swiftly carried out. The fleet would leave in two days. If the winds were good, they would arrive at Osterbon in exactly two weeks from now. Soldiers were being marshalled and issued orders, while ships were beginning to load all the necessary supplies for the upcoming voyage.
While all that was happening, in the northern part of the continent, preparations for a siege defence were underway. On top of the city walls, looking out towards the sea, Field Marshal Wellesley, General Hill and General Kamensky were anticipating the impending siege.
"It will only be a matter of days until they arrive. Perhaps those piss-poor bastards will go to Bismarck instead," General Kamensky said wryly. General Hill scoffed and replied, "Even if a calamitous storm befell upon them, at least a few scores of them would still make it."
"That is enough, you two. Maybe they will arrive tomorrow or tonight. We do not know. Regardless, we do not have the luxury of joking around. We must be ready," Field Marshal Wellesley said.
The commanders chatted away as they watched the sunset. Soon enough, the enemy would.