Chapter 13: Fabricate a Rumor, Destroy a Nation

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During the fierce battle just now, Lelouch had been too busy directing the communication unit’s soldiers to send artillery fire reports to observe the battlefield situation closely, causing him to overlook many details. Now that the fighting had finally ended and he had calmed down, he carefully replayed the events in his mind and quickly noticed some unusual clues.

“Wait a moment. Our side just unleashed heavy artillery fire at the 150-caliber level, yet the enemy didn’t retaliate at all. Didn’t they have a cruiser providing fire support? I remember that ship was here throughout yesterday and this morning. Why did it disappear at such a critical moment? There must be a conspiracy!”

Still uncertain, Lelouch hurriedly asked the officer in charge of reconnaissance and lookout.

“Lieutenant Barrack, do you remember if the enemy returned fire with 150-caliber heavy artillery during our bombardment? Was the cruiser still present on the sea?”

Lieutenant Barrack thought for a moment: “Yes! I had arranged observation posts on the church bell tower, but indeed, there was no sign of the warship!”

“What do you make of that? Could it be that they ran out of shells?” Colonel Lister asked seriously.

Lelouch shook his head decisively: “I don’t think so. Their cumulative ammunition usage shouldn’t be that high—I suspect it was dispatched on a more important mission.”

“More important mission?” the colonel questioned.

“I can’t be certain, but could it be that they were frightened by our attack, felt it hopeless to annihilate our breakout, and decided to try to evacuate their troops by sea instead?” Lelouch’s words immediately caused an uproar in the regimental operations room—few believed such a possibility.

“How many people can a cruiser carry? Plus, Ostend doesn’t even have a proper port,” someone remarked skeptically.

Lelouch knew his speculation was baseless, so he humbly accepted the doubts but continued thinking rapidly.

The strange thought had come to him because, for a moment, the current situation resembled the Dunkirk evacuation from Earth’s history, and the opposing navy was also Britannian… Wait! That triggered a flash of information in Lelouch’s mind:

“It’s 1914 now, and isn’t the Britannian Navy Minister Walden Spencer? I recall he resigned in disgrace after losing the Dardanelles Campaign. Twenty-seven years later, during the next world war, he was the one who organized the official Dunkirk evacuation…”

Unexpectedly, twenty-seven years earlier, the adversary was still that same stout man.

Is this fate?

If it’s him, everything makes sense!

The colonel, seeing Lelouch hesitate, patted his shoulder and urged, “Speak your mind. We’re discussing this so there’s no need to hold back.”

Lelouch took a deep breath and organized his thoughts: “Indeed, a cruiser can’t evacuate three divisions, but I believe it could at least evacuate the royal family and cabinet members. I don’t have concrete evidence yet, but I’ve studied a lot of Britannian public information before the war and have some understanding of Navy Minister Walden.

He’s a man who stops at nothing to achieve his goals and is willing to take big risks. The disappearance of that Linxian-class cruiser supports my theory from another angle—what other naval mission in this area would be more important than bombarding Ostend to provide fire cover for their troops? Most likely, it’s to rescue the king!”

This statement startled everyone.

From a rational perspective, the colonel also found this claim far-fetched.

However, considering Lelouch’s previous two astonishing, accurate insights that had saved his regiment, the colonel was willing to give him another chance to explain.

“I personally trust your judgment, but unfortunately, we can’t convince higher command with mere speculation. Even if it’s true, isn’t it too late to intercept them now?”

Lelouch nodded: “Indeed! We can’t intercept the king. If that Linxian-class cruiser has already moved, it will take at most three to five hours to pick up personnel and escape the coastline beyond Imperial Army control. The Imperial Navy won’t be able to reach William Harbor in time.

However, we can exploit this possibility to gain other benefits. For example, we could request the division or army group headquarters to organize a batch of reconnaissance aircraft and print new leaflets, similar to this morning’s operation, saying, ‘The Britannians have evacuated King Albert I. You soldiers left behind in Ostend have been abandoned! Why risk your lives for such a despicable king?’

The morale of the Belgian troops is already low, barely refusing to attack but unwilling to surrender immediately. Pushing this further might cause them to surrender outright! That would be a tremendous victory!”

The morale of the Belgians was on the verge of total collapse. A little spark now could ignite a complete breakdown.

“If successful, it could mean the total annihilation of the Belgian army?” The colonel, realizing the potential gain, finally felt invigorated and decided to fully support Lelouch’s plan.

His only concern now was how to persuade his superiors.

But Lelouch’s next words quickly dispelled his last doubts: “Sir, are you worried about insufficient evidence to convince the division commander? I think there’s no need to worry! Our intention is to undermine the enemy’s morale—even if it’s just spreading rumors! Do rumors require proof?

If I’m wrong, King Albert will appear to reassure the Belgian troops. That way, we’ll know he hasn’t fled, and we suffer no loss—at worst, the rumor forces out the truth.

If he doesn’t appear to deny it, that proves we haven’t lied, and the Belgian army’s morale will collapse completely!”

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Colonel Lister and all the officers in the regimental office gasped at Lelouch’s audacity.

How exactly is this young man’s mind wired?

How can he say something like, “I’m deliberately spreading rumors; why should I provide evidence?” so confidently and with such justification?

For a moment, the colonel even thought to himself: With your credibility, how dare you call Minister Walden “unscrupulous”?

Little did they know that, in his past life, Lelouch had been tempered in a world rife with intense battles of rumor and counter-rumor.

“Alright, you’ve convinced me. I’ll send a message to the division headquarters requesting their cooperation. But it’s already past 3 p.m., so we won’t be able to act today. No rush—we’ll prepare the reconnaissance planes and leaflets tonight and strike at dawn tomorrow.

Fortunately, the Belgians are utterly demoralized and refuse to launch attacks. Tonight should be bearable as long as we hold the western French line. Lelouch, you focus on coordinating the psychological warfare with headquarters; the other units will handle the defensive positions.”

The colonel made the final decision and assigned tasks.

He reasoned that “even if the rumor is disproved, there’s no harm; if it succeeds, the gains are immense—so why not try?”

In warfare, all’s fair in deception.

Meanwhile, inside Ostend’s temporary royal palace, Lieutenant General Felix was holding a telegram from Britannian Navy Minister Walden, urging the king to prioritize royal safety and the realm.

“No! I will never abandon my troops and people! Nor will I ever leave Belgian soil! I shall share their fate! Don’t you realize that if news of my fleeing spreads now, morale will collapse utterly? You’re mistaken! This would doom everything!” King Albert I shouted after reading the telegram, throwing it aside and berating his chief of staff.

Lieutenant General Felix dared not respond but listened quietly.

Fortunately, before delivering the telegram, he had privately discussed with Minister Walden, explaining the king’s temperament and advising not to expect too much.

The wily Minister Walden was prepared for all contingencies and had rehearsed convincing arguments with Felix.

After the king calmed down slightly, Felix tactfully reassured him: “Your Majesty, there’s no risk of leaks. During the evacuation, the palace guard will remain in place, showing no outward signs. Everything will be kept secret.

Moreover, Minister Walden is sincere. He says that if our army holds out a few more days, he will assemble a fleet to rescue as many of our troops as possible. The Grand Britannian Royal Navy has that capability. So you won’t be abandoning the soldiers.

Because Ostend’s shallow harbor cannot accommodate many ships at once, large vessels must anchor offshore and ferry personnel by small boats, requiring staggered departures. The king will leave just a day or two ahead of the others—that’s all.

Finally, Minister Walden said he won’t ask Your Majesty to leave Belgian soil. The escort ships will remain within 12 nautical miles of the Belgian coast, and upon reaching the Franco-Belgian border river, will enter inland waters, transferring to smaller boats bound for Ypres.

Ypres is currently garrisoned by the Britannian Expeditionary Force with strong forces, and it remains Belgian territory. You are merely moving through your own land and waters to another part of your country—not fleeing.”

The Ypres salient lies directly south of the fiercely contested areas of Nieuport, Ostend, and De Panne, south of the flooded Yser River.

In Earth’s history, the Ypres salient was staunchly defended by the Britannian expeditionary forces until the end of the war in 1918, never falling. Four major battles were fought there, one nearly every year, resulting in nearly a million casualties on both sides. The incident where the “little mustachioed corporal” was blinded by poison gas occurred during the third battle of Ypres.

This land makes up about 5% of Belgian territory, and historically, Belgians clung to this small piece to claim their nation was not lost, refusing to consider themselves a government in exile.

Thus, when King Albert learned that Minister Walden had made such thoughtful arrangements—to strategically relocate to Belgian soil in Ypres rather than outright fleeing—his resolve wavered.

“Very well. Since this is not fleeing but relocating to continue resistance, I will obey. If I don’t leave, how can the soldiers dare to go first?” His Majesty decreed.

Lieutenant General Felix responded: “Your Majesty is wise. The Grand Britannian Royal Navy’s light cruiser ‘Bold’ is arriving shortly. I will prepare the small boats to ferry the troops stealthily under cover of night.”

King Albert waved irritably: “Arrange those details yourself.”

Felix hesitated but then asked: “Shall Your Majesty personally decide the list of accompanying personnel?”

“Just take all royal family members and a small core of the guard. If there’s space left, you can decide which officers to prioritize—give preference to the wounded.”

“Yes, Your Majesty!”

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With authority to draft the evacuation list, Lieutenant General Felix could sneak in some personal preferences.

Two hours later, before midnight, King Albert and other priority leaders boarded the light cruiser ‘Bold’ via repeated small boat transfers, safely leaving the palace.

The cruiser quietly accelerated, minimizing boiler and funnel noise, and refrained from sounding its horn, stealthily departing toward Dunkirk, then transferring to smaller boats bound for Ypres.

Meanwhile, as King Albert executed his strategic relocation, the plea telegram sent under Colonel Lister’s name reached Major General Karl Liutpold, commander of the 12th Division.

General Liutpold was just as shocked by Lelouch’s scheme as Colonel Lister had been.

“Incredible—no cost at all, just spreading a rumor to probe enemy intentions? If luck favors us, the rumor could cause total collapse of the Belgian army? When did Lister get so many brilliant ideas? His regiment must have geniuses! No, it’s not him, it’s the reconnaissance and communication units that arrived first! Otherwise, how could Lister’s regiment have devised such clever plans before he even arrived?”

For a moment, General Liutpold felt this sensitivity to conspiracy surpassed even the proud Demanian spirit.

But he had to admit, having such a teammate was truly fortunate.

“When this campaign ends, I must personally meet that remarkable junior officer and promote him immediately—if his plan really forces the Belgian main force to surrender!”

Growing more excited, Liutpold rubbed his hands together with almost nervous energy until his palms burned.

Snapping back to reality, he hurriedly asked a communications soldier to connect him with his elder brother: the commander of the 6th Army, Prince Barry of Baria, a general.

Yesterday, they had used telegraphs, but today they switched to telephone lines, as emergency phone lines had been installed after another day of urgent construction.

Still addressing him formally, Liutpold said after connection: “Commander, the 16th Infantry Regiment trapped in the encirclement has uncovered new information. The enemy high command might have fled. Perhaps we can exploit this to plan a countermeasure. Here are the details…”

“Hsst… Approved! Execute immediately!” Duke Ruprecht, on the other end, gasped and approved at once.

The reconnaissance planes borrowed yesterday were no longer needed to be returned, and the mimeograph machines would continue printing updated leaflets.

Busy through the night, preparations were completed by dawn.

Fresh leaflets were dropped again upon the Belgian defenders, covering all of Ostend.

Upon receiving the leaflets, the Belgian soldiers erupted in turmoil.

Countless troops surged toward the temporary royal palace, desperate to confirm whether King Albert truly had fled and if they had been abandoned.

—

P.S.: This chapter is 4,500 words. On Friday, I need to take my child to the doctor, and tomorrow I have to handle some follow-up procedures for my child’s school registration, so I combined everything into one large chapter.

Also, I’d like to announce two insightful readers, “Silent (Cloud Love) (Cloud Capture)” and “Lower Limb Micro Luo” (Forgive me for not recognizing the characters in parentheses, they’re cloud radicals combined with adjacent characters).

They both proposed strategies on how to psychologically break the enemy afterward. I synthesized their reviews to write this intricate conspiracy plot.

Applause, please.

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