At the joint meeting of the Imperial General Staff, Field Marshal Sigmund listened to General Engel's account of his battle plan, and after pondering for a long time, he asked a rather scathing question.

"So we, the believers of Pero, are going to fight side by side with the worshippers of the Grim Reaper this time?"

General Engel's fair and handsome face stiffened slightly, and then he regained his composure. He did not directly answer His Excellency the Marshal's question, but made it clear that what was being discussed was a plan of battle and had nothing to do with faith.

"In order to win, I have to make full use of all the conditions that can increase the probability of victory and reduce casualties, of course the Naraku Order is not a respectable ally, but they are also enemies of the rebels in the Far East, and the enemies of the enemy should become our friends, even if it is only a temporary friend, as long as the Naraku Order can contain the rebel forces for us, I don't care if they worship the god of death or some other evil god, Your Excellency Marshal, this is what you taught us when we were in the military academy, did I misunderstand your teachings?"

Sigmund sighed softly as he looked at General Engel, one of his two former favorite students, who was now drifting away from him.

"You have done nothing wrong, Engel, every decision you have made over the years has been well thought out and proven to be the best choice, and I hope this time will be no exception, but you are still too young after all, please allow me to give you one last advice as a veteran."

"War is not a mathematical equation, the battlefield is full of countless messy information, and what you include in the analytical framework is only a small part of the information that you can get and understand, please remember that there are occasionally unpredictable variables on the battlefield, and whether a general has superb command skills depends on whether he can quickly and properly deal with these unexpected variables."

"Your Excellency, are you still implying that I lack command experience and have not experienced the test of a headwind?" General Engel shrugged his shoulders with an aggrieved face, "I do lack the experience of turning defeat into victory, and that's because my opponent has never really posed a threat to me, because I always fully consider various possibilities before the war, and those variables in the eyes of others are not unexpected to me, and I have already prepared to deal with them, so why do I have to be on the spot." ”

Sigmund sighed again, Engel had not grasped his good intentions. What is worse than this is that Engel never realized that the reason why he was able to achieve what he is today and have the status he is today is not entirely because he is outstanding, but also partly due to luck. Unfortunately, Engel does not admit that ethereal luck can determine a person's fate or even the course of a war, and that the enemy he is about to face is a voter favored by the goddess of fate.

"Engel, have you ever seen a black swan?"

"Black swan?" Engel was confused by Sigmunt's sudden and strange question, "I'm sorry, I don't quite understand what you mean...... Your Excellency, historical statistics show that there is no black swan in our world at all. ”

"Engel, believe it or not, there really are black swans in this world - it's true!"

Sigmund solemnly uttered this inexplicable assertion, and under the blank gaze of all the attendees, including General Engel, he calmly put on his military hat and got up to leave the venue.

Although Sigmund did not fully agree with Engel's battle plan, he abstained when it was his turn to vote in the end. After all, the general trend is difficult to disobey, and it is useless for him to oppose it alone, it will only attract more abuse and ridicule.

Since the battle plan could no longer be changed, Sigmund could only hope to increase his chances of victory in the actual combat command link, so when it came time to decide on the choice of the commander-in-chief of the Eastern Expedition Operation, he made a self-recommendation.

Field Marshal Sigmunt's reputation was still so prestigious, and it stands to reason that the top brass of the empire could not refuse his request to personally command the army of the Eastern Crusade. General Engel was also interested in this position, although he was known as a genius, impeccable in his writings, and the formulator of the overall battle plan, after all, he was a staff officer, and his qualifications to command the great war were still inadequate compared to Sigmunt.

Prime Minister Claude consulted his old boss, Patriarch Gregory, on the command of the Eastern Crusade, and had a private exchange with Crown Prince Frank, and the three of them agreed that they were inclined to recommend Field Marshal Sigmunt, who had more experience in commanding the Great War, as commander-in-chief of the Eastern Crusade, and General Engel as his chief of staff, as well as his own job of advising the commander-in-chief.

However, at a critical moment when Prime Minister Claude was about to announce his choice of commander-in-chief, the Quds Evening published an anonymous article that shook out all the old stories of Sigmunt's close association with Rudolph twenty years ago. There is no lack of adding fuel and vinegar to the text, intentionally or unintentionally, leading the reader to suspect that Sigmund not only had a deep friendship with the rebel leader, but also that he should be held responsible for the various events that occurred in the Far East after that.

The events revealed in the article are accompanied by precise times and places, which is very convincing. For example, the article focuses on Rudolph's involvement in a serious heresy case by his wife Francesca, and his imprisonment, shortly thereafter, Francesca was sentenced to be burned at the stake by the Inquisition, and Rudolph himself was likely to be sentenced to death. At this life-and-death juncture, Sigmund came out for Rudolph and actively ran to rescue him, and finally saved Rudolph from being burned at the stake, and sentenced him to life exile in the Far East.

The author of the article put forward the assumption that if Sigmund had not used his high position and enormous influence to interfere in the administration of justice, so that Rudolph, a heretic, could have escaped the death penalty, and now that Rudolph's ashes are moldy, the Far East would not have fallen into the current chaos, and the Imperial officers and soldiers would not have needed to go on expeditions.

As soon as this sinister article was published, it immediately caused an uproar in the government and the opposition in the holy city. Sigmund once again became the target of public opinion, and quickly became a public enemy of the whole people from the admired "god of war".

In the midst of the turmoil, many of Sigmunt's relatives and protégés, including Lady Hannah, Palatina, Alberton Sr., and the crown prince, wanted him to come forward and make a public statement denying the sinister slander in the newspapers.

Sigmunt, however, stubbornly cared for me, resolutely refused to publish the rumors in the newspaper, and even confessed to his relatives and friends in private: "What the newspaper says is basically true, but my old friendship with Rudolph does not conflict with my participation in the Eastern Crusade." What about Engel or Rudolph's old classmates, according to the logic of some people, should they also avoid the Crusades? So, I don't think it's necessary for me to explain the old stories to the public. ”

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