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Of course, the reason I carried out the pacification operation in Poland wasn’t simply because they were “out of my favor.”

The numerous minority groups under the empire’s feet were currently “wavering.”

They had only participated in the war because their king’s surname contained the word “von.” They possessed no desire or passion to achieve victory in the war.

No. As time passed, they would become dissatisfied. If their neighbors, friends, and family were forcibly dragged into the empire’s great war, only to be killed or injured, and if this were to repeat for years, their dissatisfaction would only grow.

In my previous life, that dissatisfaction had been compressed to the limit before finally exploding.

I had no intention of repeating the mistakes of the past.

Therefore, in this life, I intend to set an example for the satellite states under the empire’s feet.

To show them what price they would pay for daring to mock and deceive our empire, for daring to commit treason.

For fear is the best form of unity.

The Speaker of the Sejm of the Kingdom of Poland, Rytsmigwi, was sound asleep, completely unaware of what was happening at the border.

No. To be precise, no Pole residing in Poland could have possibly anticipated or discovered what was currently happening at the border.

“Move in.”

콰앙!!!

Men in black coats and hats stormed the Polish newspaper offices.

“What, what are you doing?!”

“This is Officer Yuzenfski of the Polish Police Department. Your newspaper has violated the National Security Act, so we will be proceeding with an ’emergency arrest.’ Move it!”

“What, what?! What are you doing?!”

At the command of “Officer Yuzenfski,” who spoke Polish with a German accent, the men began to move in perfect order.

“Hey, hey! What did we do wrong to deserve this?! This is a crackdown on the press?! Do you know that?!”

“You can tell it at the station. What are you waiting for? Drag them away.”

“Let go! Let me go!”

Such scenes were not uncommon not only in newspaper offices but also in post offices, police stations, and even military units.

Thus, in just about three hours after the start of the pacification operation, hundreds of high-ranking officers, journalists, newspaper directors, and post office workers had disappeared from the Kingdom of Poland.

And about four hours after the start of the pacification operation, the empire’s secret state police began to raid the residences of the Sejm members.

“Freeze, freeze. Move and I’ll sh…”

It wasn’t that there were no guards there, but,

탕!

The secret state police put lead bullets into the guards’ heads before they could do anything.

Rytsmigwi rubbed his eyes and woke up to the loud gunshots coming from outside the window.

‘I feel uneasy.’

His intuition was screaming at him. It’s dangerous. He didn’t know the exact reason, but he was in a dangerous situation right now.

He slightly opened the curtain and looked out the window.

The guards guarding the entrance were lying on the ground. Dozens of men were stepping over the guards’ corpses and entering the mansion.

‘Something… something is happening.’

Who are those men? What is their purpose in killing the guards? Why are they coming here…

No. There’s no time to be thinking about this. He quickly took out a shotgun he had hidden under his bed.

“…gulp.”

He could feel the dry saliva going down his throat. He could feel cold sweat running down his cheeks.

Creak. Creak.

He could hear the sound of the wooden planks twisting. More and more footsteps were getting closer and closer.

He carefully placed his index finger on the trigger.

And

타아앙!!!

The wooden door was crushed as it collided with the round lead bullets. He could hear a man’s scream through his ears, which were ringing from the gunshot.

But there was no time to be happy. He reloaded the next bullet with a blank expression.

Then, he saw it through the shattered door. Dozens of pistols were aimed at him.

탕탕탕탕!!

Orange flames erupted. The pungent smell of gunpowder spread. And his vision gradually, turned red.

Such scenes unfolded throughout the kingdom’s capital, Warsaw.

Warsaw, which boasted a history of 1000 years, was stained with blood in an instant.

Exactly 4 hours and 30 minutes after the start of the pacification operation. The following communication echoed throughout the Kingdom of Poland.

‘The White Eagle has fallen.’

What this meant was simple. ‘The administration of the Kingdom of Poland has been virtually paralyzed.’

Humans are social animals. A saying left by the Greek philosopher, Aristotle. People often misunderstand what this means as, ‘Humans are animals capable of forming a society and living in it.’

But that is wrong. What this truly means is ‘Humans are animals that must form a society.’ Forming a society is not a human ability but a destiny and an obligation.

Conversely, it means that humans are infinitely helpless if society collapses.

And now. In the dark dawn before the sun has even risen. The society of the Kingdom of Poland collapsed in an instant.

And hundreds of thousands of imperial soldiers crossed the border of the Kingdom of Poland.

“Stop! Stop! Move and I’ll shoot.”

The Polish border guards pointed their guns at them, but they could do nothing. Because the enemies who crossed the border were proudly holding the banner of the Holy Roman Empire.

Currently, all Polish Kingdom troops were under orders not to engage. Under no circumstances could they engage with the imperial army unless permission was granted from above.

And currently, the superiors who could grant permission to engage the Polish Kingdom army had been eliminated by the empire’s secret state police.

In the end, most of the Polish Kingdom troops stationed at the border could only watch the imperial army cross the border with their fingers in their mouths.

Of course, sporadic engagements did occur on a battalion scale in some places. But that was only a small fraction compared to the imperial army that had crossed the border and invaded. All Polish Kingdom troops who chose to resist were crushed by the overwhelming mass of the imperial army.

Now, all that remained for the imperial army was a race to Warsaw.

Hundreds of thousands of imperial soldiers who crossed the border began marching towards Warsaw, without exception.

On the fourth day after the imperial army crossed the border, the northern metropolis of Ostrołęka, the eastern metropolis of Konin, and the southern metropolis of Krakow fell.

Watching the imperial army marching through the city with the emperor’s flag proudly raised, the people of the Kingdom of Poland doubted their own eyes. They kept doubting whether the scene unfolding before their eyes was really reality, or just a very malicious dream.

But this was clearly reality.

The fact that tens of thousands of imperial soldiers were marching proudly through the streets, the fact that the Polish flag was being lowered and the emperor’s flag was being raised in its place, the fact that the occupied city hall was instantly transformed into a temporary command post for imperial army officers, all of this was reality.

The fact that the imperial army’s cavalry reached the outskirts of Warsaw just one week after the start of the pacification operation was also reality.

But the Poles had not given up resisting.

In cities like Krakow, which had been occupied by the imperial army, sporadic guerrilla warfare began, centered on the police, and in Warsaw, a defense force was formed, centered on the guards stationed in Warsaw.

In addition, young people filled with a sense of duty to protect their country applied for voluntary enlistment or organized militias. In Warsaw, a defense force of tens of thousands was created in an instant.

And Józef Piłsudski was appointed as the commander of the Polish defense force that was created in this way.

Originally, he was also a target for elimination by the secret state police, but he was lucky enough to be staying at a villa near Warsaw that day, so he was able to survive.

“Have you contacted the Minister of National Defense?”

“No, sir. He is not seen in the Ministry of National Defense building, nor in the Minister of National Defense’s home. It’s like…”

“As if he suddenly disappeared, you mean.”

Piłsudski sighed deeply and muttered.

“Did the Minister of National Defense also get hit…”

The future is not visible. For now, he barely managed to scrape together all the available troops to form a defense force. But there are too few generals to command this defense force. No. It’s safe to say there are none.

Currently, there are only two generals left in Warsaw.

But he has no choice but to do it. If he fails, he will repeat the humiliating history of losing his country once again to foreign powers.

“How is the contact with the Tsardom of Rus’ going?”

The only hope left for the Polish homeland is the Allied Powers, including the Tsardom of Rus’. Without the Allied Powers, including the Tsardom of Rus’, this country will be destroyed by the empire as it is.

“All communication networks that can be mobilized, from post offices to wired and wireless communications, have been cut off. The embassy of the Tsardom of Rus’ withdrew as the war began… Currently, a messenger has been sent to the Tsardom of Rus’.”

“Damn it…”

If he makes the horse run to the point of exhaustion, he will probably be able to cross the border of the Tsardom of Rus’ by tomorrow.

But even if the messenger arrives, how long will it take for the Tsardom of Rus’ to grasp the situation, organize its troops, and reach Warsaw to save us? And during that time, will it really be possible to hold off the enemies?

‘Hoo… let’s calm down…’

Currently, the imperial army that has reached the outskirts of Warsaw is only cavalry, including mounted infantry. Even their horses are tired from the long march. They will need time to rest.

If we establish a command system and complete the organization of the defense force in the meantime, there is hope. Although there are only a handful of generals, including himself, there is no shortage of field-grade officers and non-commissioned officers, who are the backbone of the army.

Perhaps, it may be possible to hold out until the army of the Tsardom of Rus’ arrives.

He thought so and steeled his heart.

“C, Commander! The sky! Look at the sky!”

“Hmm?”

He heard a soldier’s voice, sounding flustered. He raised his head and looked at the sky at his words.

And in the sky, dozens of birds were flying. No. He knows. He knows that those are not birds.

The loathsome double-headed eagle that occupies one side of the wing.

“The Imperial Army Air Force…!”

They gradually lowered their altitude and dropped something towards this place. At that time, a conversation he had accidentally had with Prince Hanover a long time ago came to mind.

‘Imagine dozens of planes dropping bombs from the sky. Can the army or the navy really stop that?’

“Bombs! Get down!”

He and the soldiers quickly lay down on the ground. And a strong explosion… did not sound.

When he carefully opened his eyes, all he could see were hundreds of pieces of paper fluttering around.

He slowly approached the paper that had fallen on the ground.

The words written on the paper can be summarized as follows.

It has been determined that the capital of the Kingdom of Poland, Warsaw, has been occupied by rebels, and the empire, the father’s country, has dispatched troops to help restore order in the Kingdom of Poland. Therefore, the subjects of the Kingdom of Poland in Warsaw must leave Warsaw before 12:00 tomorrow.

“Ha…”

The emotion Piłsudski felt when he saw this was not anger, but a sense of futility. We are preparing to risk our lives to block their attacks, but they are so relaxed that they are investing massive air power to distribute these posters.

Whether it’s possible to defend the homeland against such an enemy… I don’t know.