In January of the year 1773 of the Galentea Common Calendar, the war that erupted between the Forde Commercial Alliance and the Kingdom of Trinbo over glass formulas and production techniques gave military scholars writing the war history of the Galentea Continent a terrible headache — they couldn't bring themselves to put pen to paper, and some even quarreled over whether to record this conflict, which had been dubbed the Glass War, at all.
One war-history expert ranted that barely twenty or thirty years of peace had made the Forde Commercial Alliance forget how to wage war, while the performance of the Trinbo royal army was an even greater joke. Throughout the eight-month-long Glass War, both sides fought like a pair of villagers brawling with makeshift weapons — not a single proper siege, pitched battle, or field engagement ever took place. The entire war was riddled with betrayal, surrender, plunder, deal-making, and scheming.
The final account in the annals of Galentea's military history described it thus: this Glass War, which had reshaped the balance of power across the entire continent and forced the Forde Commercial Alliance into a dominant rise, lasted eight full months, led to the annihilation of the Kingdom of Trinbo, and dragged seven neighboring states into oblivion — yet in truth it was nothing more than an unorganized, undisciplined, strategically vacuous, purposeless chaos party. To be precise, it was a feast of conspiracies and a carnival of carving up spoils.
Looking back at some of the details of how the war actually unfolded is enough to make you laugh your teeth out.
Take Count Edmund, the commander of Trinbo's fifty-thousand-strong army, who had received orders from Trinbo VII to march on
If this had been a feint meant to confuse the enemy, it might have been understandable. The problem was that in Count Edmund's mind, a march was simply supposed to look like this. The result was that the marching column threw a Commercial Alliance garrison patrol squad into utter confusion — they wondered whether the Alliance's high command and the Trinbo royal family had reached some kind of agreement.
The patrol squads, not regarding the Trinbo army as the enemy at all, began standing by the roadside or marching alongside to watch the military band perform. They even sent word to the garrison commander of Bruvik City to come out and greet the arriving forces. The garrison commander was baffled too, thinking that he had received no orders or notifications.
So he rushed to the city wall and confirmed that the Trinbo army was conducting a peaceful march — they hadn't even sent out scouts, looking all the world like allies parading through friendly territory. The garrison commander could only curse under his breath that the messenger must have been drunk in some corner somewhere, which was why he had never received the news. He tidied up and headed outside the city to greet them, all the while wondering what on earth was going on with the opposing commander.
The Commercial Alliance's first city was lost just like that, for no apparent reason. Count Edmund then ordered his troops to continue on to the next city, Ret City, and occupied it in exactly the same fashion. If Count Edmund had realized at that point that his army's parade-like marching column had confused the enemy and allowed him to rapidly seize two cities, and if he had pressed on before the enemy could react to take several more — then Count Edmund would surely have earned his place among the great generals of the continent.
Unfortunately, Count Edmund failed to realize that even those two garrison commanders who had come out of the city to welcome him had surrendered out of fear of his overwhelming military might. He didn't even bother to meet the two commanders. Their names sounded like commoners the moment you heard them — what was the point? He simply ordered his soldiers to lock them up for the time being.
What truly occupied Count Edmund's mind at the moment was that it was teatime. Taking two cities in a single day had left him thoroughly satisfied. It seemed fitting to host a grand banquet that evening to reward himself. Especially since Ret City had several noble widows and young ladies of good families in residence. The Count felt that letting them get acquainted with a renowned general like himself might lead to a pleasant encounter awaiting him.
With a single order, the Trinbo Kingdom's army took over the city defenses and strictly forbade anyone from entering or leaving. On one side, preparations for a lavish banquet for the Count were underway. On the other, the Trinbo soldiers, now given free rein, roamed the streets in small groups and began harassing the common folk of Ret City. It was only then that the Commercial Alliance's garrison patrol squads stationed outside the city finally realized — damn it, they were the enemy. They had come to attack us…
One could hardly blame the Commercial Alliance's garrison for being careless and negligent. The main issue was that they had been brainwashed to an extreme degree, steadfastly believing that the Trinbo Kingdom was the Commercial Alliance's most loyal ally. Even after the Mayflower Trading Company attack incident, the majority within the garrison still insisted it was merely a commercial dispute that their superiors would resolve shortly.
Another reason was that it was currently winter. Although the Mana Hill Plains were considerably warmer than the Northland, there was no custom of fighting during winter. Most of the garrison members had taken leave to go home and spend time with their wives and children. When the Trinbo Kingdom's army advanced, they had further confused the garrison squads still carrying out patrol duties. Who had ever heard of an army launching an attack in a parade marching formation?
By dusk, the news that the Trinbo Kingdom had launched a war of aggression against the Commercial Alliance and seized two cities in rapid succession had reached Morant City. Compared to the citizens throughout the city who were passionately shouting battle cries and fierce slogans of counterattack, the seven giants of the High Commercial Council wore grave expressions instead. Since when had the Trinbo Kingdom's army possessed such formidable fighting power that it could take two cities in a single day?
After all, the Commercial Alliance's garrison was a highly combat-effective defensive force that had weathered countless brutal sieges. To breach their defenses and seize two cities — no wonder the single-minded Trinbo VII had dared to issue war threats against the Commercial Alliance. It seemed his confidence rested on the immense strength of this army.
They would resolutely drive out the Trinbo Kingdom's invading forces, and they promised that when the newly implemented baronage system took effect this year, meritorious participants in this defensive counterwar would be taken into consideration, receiving appropriate noble titles and fiefdoms based on their contributions.
William Camberlet, president of the Two-Headed Dragon Trading Company, solemnly accepted the heavy burden of serving as supreme commander and chief strategist of this defensive counterwar. Given the formidable combat power of the Trinbo Kingdom's army, he carefully formulated his countermeasures, planning to lead the Commercial Alliance's hastily assembled grand army to reach Klido City within three days. That would be the third city facing the Trinbo Kingdom's army and their next objective.
President Camberlet had sent an urgent message overnight to the garrison of Klido City, strictly forbidding them from engaging the enemy. No matter how the enemy provoked them, their primary duty was to defend Klido City. As long as they held Klido City, the Commercial Alliance's grand army could use it as a bulwark, digging deep trenches and building high walls — just as they had done decades ago against the invading forces of the former Krisen Empire — to wage a war of attrition and drag the conflict out until the enemy was ground down. That way, this defensive counterwar could achieve victory.
To be honest, the Forde Commercial Alliance had never placed much emphasis on military strength. Even though they had fought against the former Krisen Empire for over a century, their standing forces remained remarkably small — even smaller than those of a minor duchy. Despite sitting atop the bountiful Mana Hill Plains and the Krisdow Hills, and commanding the uniquely favored Hidden Gold Bay, the Alliance's regular military consisted of only three branches: city garrison forces, patrol brigades, and the Invincible Fleet.
Apart from Morant City, the Mana Hill Plains held seven other cities, each garrisoned by a single two-thousand-strong garrison brigade for defense. Morant City fared somewhat better, with two garrison brigades totaling over four thousand troops. The Krisdow Hills were roughly comparable in size to the Mana Hill Plains, yet they were patrolled by a single light cavalry brigade that completed one circuit per month and called it done.
The wealthiest of the three branches was the Invincible Fleet, which was primarily responsible for defending Morant City against pirate raids and incursions. Funding for it flowed relatively freely since it directly concerned the Alliance's survival. However, some members of the Alliance Parliament proposed handing the Invincible Fleet over to the Chicked Trading Company. After all, they were the dominant power on the seas — let them handle maritime security from now on, which would save the Commercial Alliance enormous military expenditures.
This proposal was rejected by the Chicked Trading Company. Their fleets dominated the seas because they needed to monopolize maritime trade routes for business, not because they wanted to maintain a fleet sitting idly in Hidden Gold Bay for decoration…
The most poorly treated were the city garrison forces. With barely over two thousand men per city, the parliament members still refused to leave them in peace. They argued that since the former Krisen Empire had fallen and the northern threat had vanished, with all neighboring kingdoms and duchies on friendly terms, maintaining these garrison forces was pointless. Better to dissolve them and let each city organize its own local defense militias, thereby reducing military expenditure…
The trouble with merchants running government was their deep aversion to any expenditure that could not turn a profit. Every year, when discussions arose over the Commercial Alliance's administrative and military budgets, countless quarrels erupted. This was both the merchants' short-sightedness and the Alliance soldiers' tragedy. Fortunately, the Seven Giants of the Supreme Commercial Council still had their heads screwed on straight, rejecting the subordinate Alliance Parliament's resolutions to dissolve the city garrisons and reduce the Invincible Fleet's size for five consecutive years.
One need only look at the makeup of the Alliance Self-Defense Counterforce assembled by Two-Headed Dragon Trading Company President Camberlet to understand. The one garrison brigade dispatched from Morant City and the light cavalry patrol brigade from the Krisdow Hills formed the absolute mainstay. Behind them were seven armed brigades organized by the seven major trading companies, which were relatively elite. Beyond that were militia squadrons contributed by second- and third-tier trading companies, various mercenary companies, and Morant City residents who volunteered to march to the front lines against the enemy. Within three days, President Camberlet had amassed an army of fifty thousand under his command — though this army of fifty thousand was nothing more than a ragtag mob.
President Camberlet didn't much care whether these fifty thousand men were a ragtag mob. The Commercial Alliance had long grown accustomed to fighting defensive wars of attrition. For a century, it had been precisely these ragtag forces that held back the fearsome military might of the powerful Krisen Empire. With such a track record bolstering his confidence, fending off the formidable Trinbo Kingdom's army should be well within reach.
What gave President Camberlet the greatest confidence was that despite his men being a disorganized bunch with barely any formal military training, their high-end combat power was extraordinarily formidable. The leaders of the mercenary companies were mostly Gold-tier mercenaries and swordsmen. Every member of the seven armed brigades organized by the major trading companies had awakened combat force, and each brigade was anchored by a Great Swordmaster.
A force like this was terrible when lumped together, but once dispersed to hold individual positions, it could transform each location into a strategic strongpoint that the enemy would find nearly impossible to capture. To overcome such a stronghold, one would have to sacrifice several times that number in elite troops, or deploy comparable high-end combat power — otherwise it was virtually impregnable. This was the Commercial Alliance's defensive philosophy and key advantage, honed through over a century of resisting the invasions of the former Krisen Empire.
However, the changes in the battlefield situation were beyond anyone's prediction. Just as those postwar experts would later comment, the Forde Commercial Alliance's army was a ragtag mob, while the Trinbo Kingdom's army was an absolute laughingstock.
As President Camberlet led the Alliance's self-defense counterattack force of over fifty thousand men toward Crito City, preparing to set up a tenacious defensive line that would make the Trinbo army crash against it like waves against a rock, a piece of news from Lett City left everyone dumbstruck — they could hardly believe their ears, as though they had heard some tale out of a legend...
Count Edmond had lingered in Lett City for three days. The main reason was that he had encountered two extraordinarily beautiful courtesans there, and the three of them had been sharing the same bed and blanket in the height of passion, unwilling to part so soon. So the Count reported to his king that the depths of winter had brought howling winds and heavy snow, with snowdrifts a foot deep making the roads nearly impassable, and that he would remain in Lett City for a while until the snow melted before marching on...
Trinbo VII found Count Edmond's reasoning perfectly sound and readily believed the words of this renowned general who had captured two cities in a single day, content to remain in the royal capital awaiting news of the Alliance's defeat from the front lines. It never occurred to him to question the logic — if things were truly as Count Edmond claimed, how could a messenger possibly make a round trip in a single day?
Just the night before President Camberlet's army arrived at Crito City, Jessup — former deputy commander of the Lett City garrison and a Gold Swordsman — had gathered one thousand one hundred and forty-eight City Guard soldiers: those who had gone home for the winter, those who had been out on patrol, and those who had fled when the city was occupied. Of the Lett City garrison's two thousand soldiers, over four hundred had been captured and imprisoned by the Trinbo Kingdom's army, and more than three hundred had been killed or wounded in resistance. Most of the remainder were now assembled here.
Jessup said: "Brothers, the City Guard has always been the unwanted child — the merchant council's lordly councilmen have been itching to disband us to save on military spending. But they've forgotten the sacrifices our forebears made and the contributions they gave in resisting the Krisen Empire for the Alliance's freedom and independence.
"The City Guard is a unit with a glorious history and honor, but we've allowed it to be stained with a record of disgrace — we lost Lett City under our watch. I refuse to accept the shame of having lost our defensive position while we still draw breath. So tonight, I am going to strike at the enemies who have occupied our city. Is there anyone willing to follow me and die on our own ground?"
The over eleven hundred City Guard soldiers were fired up with passion, all declaring they would rather die on the battlefield than live with shame. So under Jessup's leadership, they slipped into the city through hidden tunnels and launched a suicidal assault on the city governor's mansion.
During the hundred-plus years of defensive warfare against the Krisen Empire, the Alliance's City Guard had accumulated a wealth of experience. Every city had three or four hidden tunnels leading outside its walls — these served as both escape routes and paths for counterattack. As long as the tunnels existed, even if the enemy seized the city, its walls could not serve as a defensive barrier. City Guard forces emerging from the tunnels inside the city could always launch attacks from the enemy's unexpected rear, retaking the city and destroying the invaders.
This time was no exception. The attack on the city governor's mansion by the City Guard force of over a thousand caught the Trinbo Kingdom's army completely off guard. Count Edmond, who had been inside the mansion's inner courtyard sharing candlelight conversation and intimate exchanges with his two fair companions, heard the battle cries growing closer and closer. He leaped from the bed stark naked, reaching out to grab something — but failed to find his clothes and seized only a ceremonial sash that had been draped diagonally over his dress uniform.
What a Count Edmond indeed—without batting an eye, he simply draped the ceremonial sash over his naked body and bolted from the room. He spun around to the stable in the rear courtyard, pulled out a fine horse, and vaulted onto its back without bothering with any stirrup or mounting block. In the blink of an eye, just as the City Guard soldiers burst into Count Edmond's bedroom and stood there stunned at the sight of two bare *behinds* on the bed—so dazed they forgot to even ask where the enemy commander was—Count Edmond was already whipping his horse into a gallop, charging out of the city governor's mansion and vanishing into the distance…
The Trinbo Kingdom soldiers stationed nearby, who had heard the sounds of fighting erupting from the governor's mansion and were just forming up to rush to the rescue, witnessed a most peculiar spectacle: Count Edmond, riding bareback and buck-naked with nothing but a ceremonial sash across his body, galloped past them in a flash. He reached the city gate and bellowed, "I am Count Edmond! Open the gate at once and let me out!"
The moment the gate cracked open a sliver, Count Edmond forced his way through, and the sound of hoofbeats faded into the distance…
The commander-in-chief had fled—so who would be foolish enough to risk their own life? Everyone ran for it…
And so, one of the most absurd, most inconceivable outcomes in the history of warfare on the Galentea Continent came to pass. The Forde Commercial Alliance's City Guard—just over eleven hundred men—launched a suicidal night raid on Lette City, held by forty-five thousand soldiers of the Trinbo Kingdom. The result? The Trinbo Kingdom's commanding general, Count Edmond, fled on horseback in the buff. The kingdom's forty-five thousand troops collapsed on the spot—over ten thousand fled along with him, while the remaining twenty-seven thousand laid down their weapons and surrendered. According to reports, those soldiers obediently lined up and sat along the streets, piling their weapons in neat stacks, quietly waiting to surrender…
The City Guard's deputy captain, Jessup, the man who had earned instant fame in a single battle, broke into tears—how on earth was he supposed to feed twenty-seven thousand prisoners with the provisions he had?! And so the urgent letter Chairman Comberland received was a plea for him to rush to Lette City immediately and take custody of the prisoners…
Count Edmond had taken two cities in a single day—and likewise lost two in a single night. He fled Lette City and arrived at the gates of Bruvik City, shouting for them to open. Five thousand Trinbo Kingdom soldiers were still garrisoned there. Just as he waited for the gate to swing open, a cloud of dust billowed in the distance—it was the Trinbo Kingdom soldiers who had fled after him. But by now Count Edmond was a bird startled by the mere twang of a bowstring. There was no time to figure out who they were. He wheeled his horse around and bolted toward the Trinbo Kingdom. The fleeing soldiers behind him followed suit, running for the kingdom as well…
The Trinbo Kingdom soldiers atop the walls of Bruvik City took one look and thought: forty-five thousand of our men have already been defeated and are fleeing back to the kingdom—what are we still doing here? They opened the gate and ran after them. And just like that, Bruvik City was inexplicably lost and then just as inexplicably recaptured.
Two days later, Chairman Comberland arrived at the border between the two nations with fifty thousand Alliance self-defense and counterattack troops. The frustration was beyond words—a self-defense counterattack campaign, and the enemy had crumbled without a single battle being fought. Now what? March into the Trinbo Kingdom for a "self-defense counterattack"?
The Seven Giants deliberated on how to wrap up this situation. But the armed forces organized by the second- and third-tier merchant associations under their command—the mercenary companies, the volunteer militia from Morant City—were none too pleased. Put bluntly, everyone had come for military merit, titles, and fiefdoms. Who would be happy with just a little stroll to the border? And so, on their own initiative, they pushed deep into the territory of the Trinbo Kingdom.
Gritting his teeth, he bluntly proposed wiping the Trinbo Kingdom out. First, the Alliance's knightly peerage system required territories to be granted as fiefs. Second, having a single-minded, stubborn king next door would only cause more headaches for them down the line. Third, they already possessed the glass formulas and production techniques; taking over the Trinbo Kingdom would secure the quartz mountains—its most abundant raw material for glass—and directly cut production costs…
Since the Trinbo Kingdom was this weak, letting such a delicacy slip from their grasp was out of the question. Do it! Chairman Comberland gritted his teeth, and the Forde Commercial Alliance's self-defense and counterattack army pivoted to become the Alliance's invasion force, marching boldly into the territory of the Trinbo Kingdom.
…(to be continued.)