Just as a silence had fallen between the two, Tang Mo suddenly broke it by saying, "It seems the war might be about to break out."
Alice was taken aback. The intelligence she had obtained, as well as the situation that Count Fisheo had scouted out, all indicated that the war was likely to break out in the spring, not at the end of autumn.
This completely defied common military wisdom, because if a war were to enter winter, the opposing sides would almost be completely unable to expand their victories.
Of course, there are exceptions. If one side is better prepared, with ample cotton clothing and transportation, it might be able to gain an advantage during the winter months.
However, it was quite clear that neither the Leite Kingdom nor the Suthers Kingdom had considered the possibility of waging war in winter over the past half year.
Nonetheless, at this moment, Tang Mo's words had made Alice very tense. After all, she wasn't an expert in this area, while Tang Mo seemed very reliable.
Only to hear Tang Mo continue, "Unless something unexpected happens, the war will break out next month, or at the beginning of the following month."
He made this judgement based on his own intelligence and a series of subtle clues. On one hand, it was a deduction made from the actual state of military readiness that he had tallied at the Silver Fox Tavern. On the other hand, he felt danger looming from this unusual inventory check.
In fact, Tang Mo was only speculating that the Kingdom was about to inventory its weapons. He said this to scare Solon, to pry open the doors to selling flintlock firearms.
But Solon's performance this time around apparently confirmed another thing: the Kingdom was indeed conducting a large-scale inspection of the weapon reserves, and they were being very strict about it.
His intelligence network had not yet covered the Leite Kingdom, so Tang Mo didn't know that this inspection was obviously aimed at Brunas. He thought it was a nationwide inventory effort.
This misjudgement made him feel that the situation was even more serious, and he instinctively attributed this anomaly to the conclusion that war was imminent.
In fact, this was a classic case of double misjudgement, but it led to the correct outcome—Tang Mo, unwittingly, had guessed the Shireck Consortium's plan just right.
Alice was somewhat anxious, looking at Tang Mo and asking, "So soon? Not waiting for the spring?"
"I don't know, but the Kingdom's sudden weapons check obviously isn't a good sign," Tang Mo replied absently.
What he was now pondering was whether he had the ability to make all the necessary preparations before the outbreak of war.
At this moment, his cannons were still in the factory, and his precious force of fewer than 600 soldiers was all he had to his name.
Now he had to prepare the last batch of K1 Quick Guns for Northern Ridge in less than a month, get all his weapons ready, and then head north through the Vicious Forest immediately when needed to join the war.
Seeing Tang Mo, lost in thought, Alice continued to speak, "Didn't they plan to betray Northern Ridge? Why are they still actively preparing for war?"
Tang Mo scoffed and answered Alice's question, "They only betrayed your father and have no plans to join him in the grave. Theoretically, Suthers Kingdom's target is Northern Ridge, but if they make too much progress on the frontline, guess what you would do if you were the King of Suthers? Would you not swallow up the Leite Kingdom whole?"
The world was such a cruel place, with every detail calculated by someone, and every oversight could lead to ruin.
Alice clenched her fists in anger and cursed through gritted teeth, "Those damn bastards."
"Cursing won't kill them... Bullets will," Tang Mo reminded her with a smile, looking at the somewhat cute Alice.
Alice, looking rather pale, turned to Tang Mo and said with utter determination, "So we need to produce more bullets! Let those bastards face a storm!"
That was exactly what Tang Mo wanted to hear. An arms dealer's favorite phrase is "increase production." So he nodded in agreement, "Well said! I hope that Lord Earl Fisheo delivers just as well during his deployment speech."
"Now that we have a rough idea that a war is about to break out, we must make early arrangements." He knew that the first battle he would stand in this world was about to begin.
"I must return to Northern Ridge... to inform my father of this! We have to be ready in advance! I hope that before the war breaks out, you can lead your troops north to help my father win," Alice said, her beautiful eyes fixed on Tang Mo, her voice calm.
"As you wish, Miss," Tang Mo said, making a gentlemanly gesture.
"Northern Ridge will remember your kindness," Alice did not turn away but continued, "And so will I."
"It would be my honor," Tang Mo replied, looking at Alice's delicate face, which he couldn't help thinking was perfect.
"Roger, you and Tagg help me escort Miss Alice!" At a moment when something seemed about to happen, Tang Mo averted his gaze and yelled loudly to the door, summoning Roger to take away the slightly resentful Alice.
Then, he turned to Wes and instructed gravely, "Call Luff, Redman, and Li'ao! Meeting!"
After speaking, he walked back to a bookshelf he had just purchased. Atop a stack of books, he found a folded map of Northern Ridge that was neither large nor detailed.
The map was likely hand-drawn, and its accuracy was definitely questionable. However, in this damned era, this was the only kind of map Tang Mo could get his hands on.
Once he had hung the map on the wall and stepped back two paces to look at it with satisfaction, Luff and Li'ao, following behind Redman and Wes, entered Tang Mo's room.
The addition of the four burly men made the room immediately crowded. Tang Mo gestured for them to come closer and, standing in front of the map, he began, "The reason I've called you here is to share a piece of bad news… War may break out within a month!"
"It wasn't this serious before..." Wes was taken aback, then said somewhat unexpectedly.
"We're not ready yet." Redman felt rushed, despite the military's training not missing a single day.
"I know." Tang Mo glanced at Li'ao, who hadn't spoken, and soothed everyone's mood before continuing, "In fact, all signs indicate that our enemies are also unprepared for war."
"Previously, the intelligence we gathered, including some fragmented information passed on by merchants, could all prove that prior to this, Suthers had not prepared winter clothing, nor had they made preparations to crush Leite Kingdom's main forces within a month." Tang Mo's hand pressed against the wall as he drew a line over the border area.
At this moment, Luff asked in confusion, "Then, why would the opponent suddenly accelerate and take the risk?"
"I think... it might be because of us! The investigation of us was certainly the work of the Shireck Consortium. Beiji was clearly Gis's man, and the investigation related to Beiji aroused Gis's vigilance. He might have heard about the new weapon and sensed that any delay would be detrimental to his plans, so he has sped up his war preparations," explained Tang Mo to everyone.
"Ironically, does this mean we've accelerated the outbreak of war?" Wes raised an eyebrow, finding the joke a bit cold.
"Essentially, yes! So we need to prepare for war as quickly as possible." Tang Mo looked at the four before him and declared, "Our enemies, which are Suthers and the Shireck Consortium, have an absolute advantage in terms of military strength."
"Based on the intelligence from Northern Ridge, on the border of Suthers, Suthers Kingdom has assembled 22 companies and more than 7 legions." He pointed at several marked spots on the map and continued to lay out the basic situation of the battlefield, "According to the worst-case scenario, 4 legions are designated for Northern Ridge. The enemy has about 20,000, maybe even 25,000 men!
Most of this force will come from the eastern side of Northern Ridge, along the main road."
"To ensure logistical support and the convenience of setting up camp, the main forces of Suthers Kingdom will be stationed along the way, roughly here, where they will encounter the troops of Count Fisheo." He pointed to a small plain as he spoke.
"In terms of military strength, we're looking at about 1,500 men against 15,000," deduced Luff, analyzing the map.
Redman thought for a moment and gave his opinion, "We do have advantages. In this area, the battlefield isn't too wide! With the advantage in firepower, Lord Earl could potentially block the enemy's assault."
"Plus, as a secret force, our existence is unknown to Suthers Kingdom. Theoretically, they don't know Northern Ridge actually has 2,000 soldiers, nor do they know where our 500 men will appear," Tang Mo added, "We are the key force that will decide the outcome of the battle!"
"The element of surprise is always good. Besides, all 500 of us have been equipped with K1 Quick Guns, so our combat effectiveness is somewhat stronger than that of an average military unit," Redman turned to Tang Mo, expressing an optimistic assessment.
Without hesitation, Tang Mo ordered Redman, "Send the signal to call back the troops in the Vicious Forest who are rooting out bandits and training! Redman! Assemble the troops… We need to be ready so that once Lord Earl calls for us, we head to Northern Ridge to aid the Earl, and to win this war for ourselves!"
"After we leave, Uncle Roger, Elder Li'ao, we will be relying on you both to take care of this place," Tang Mo earnestly entrusted the two men who would not be part of the campaign.
Roger assured, "Don't worry! I will take good care of this 'factory'."
"I will stay here to oversee things and ensure that all intelligence reaches you," Li'ao also promised.
Tang Mo nodded then further instructed Roger, "Make preparations as fully as possible, and have Bernard keep a close watch on the fleet—it may be our other way out!"
"I understand!" Roger nodded again.
"Our ammunition is limited; we must engage in fast combat! I hope the enemy grants us that opportunity," Tang Mo once again surveyed the room of men.
"The secret weapon?" Luff inquired.
"Bring the secret weapon along; it could be the key to our victory!" Tang Mo replied immediately without any hesitation.