Holy Roman Empire

"Sigh!"

Returning to the ancient city of Cairo, Governor Adolf felt as though he had stepped into another lifetime; the myriad thoughts in his heart coalescing into a single sigh.

At this moment, Egypt had descended into utter chaos. Naturally, no one was eager to shoulder this mess, so Adolf had to continue fulfilling his duties as governor.

Though they called him governor, his authority barely extended beyond the walls of Cairo City. Outside the city, it was the Rebel Army's domain, and communications with the outside world had long been severed.

Ever since the news of defeat arrived, the once bustling governor's mansion had fallen into eerie silence.

Even when reporting for duty, everyone hurried in and out as if lingering for even a moment would afflict them with the plague.

Seeing a familiar figure, Adolf asked in puzzlement, "Fidos, what brings you here?

This place is far from safe now. If you get involved, don't come to regret it."

His words were sincere. Even though a fallen wall is trampled by everyone, as a governor, Adolf still had a few loyal confidants who stuck by him.

The value of what one has is realized only when it's lost. To prevent involving all these contacts, Adolf had taken the initiative to distance himself from his subordinates.

The effectiveness of this was uncertain, but to him, saving even one was worth it. If even one person could appreciate it, it wouldn't be in vain.

Fidos gave a bitter smile and shook his head, "Governor, given the current situation, as one of the military commanders, do you think I could keep myself safe?"

The defeat was too embarrassing, and even if Adolf took full responsibility for the failure of the war, other officers from the Rebellion Suppression Army could not escape being held accountable.

The best outcome would just be retiring and returning home; fully getting away was out of the question.

Since Fidos couldn't escape it, he simply gave up trying to hide. After all, being held accountable meant retiring and going home, albeit in disgrace.

Including Governor Adolf, the chief culprit, after appearing before a military tribunal, most likely he too would retire and that would be the end of it.

Essentially, this defeat was unexpected and logically, there were no significant mistakes in their command.

Adolf nodded helplessly, "Alright then, I can only wish you good luck, may God bless you!

Now tell me, what brings you here today?

Don't tell me it's just to drop by or visit me; you know my mood is dreadful right now."

Fidos said, "Governor, the situation has completely deteriorated. Do you dare to take one more gamble?"

Adolf couldn't help but smile wryly, "At this point, what is there that I dare not do?

The state of affairs in Egypt has already decayed completely. It can't get much worse. So, what's your plan?"

Fidos said, "The rebels outside the city are nothing but a ragtag bunch. It would only take one battalion to defeat them.

I've calculated that within Cairo City, there are still over three thousand regular soldiers, two thousand from the Colonial Department, and four thousand recently recruited able-bodied men.

Sending out a battalion of regulars to look for an opportunity to ambush the enemy, even if it fails, the remaining troops should still be able to defend Cairo."

No one accepts defeat willingly, and Fidos is no exception. Making amends through service is applicable in France as well.

If the Rebels outside the city could be defeated and the siege of Cairo lifted, it wouldn't reverse the great loss at Aswan, but it'd allow everyone a dignified end.

After hesitating for a moment, Adolf slowly said, "Based on the timeline, reinforcements should have just arrived in Egypt.

If you want to earn military honors and cleanse your dishonor, it's best to wait another three to five days before launching an attack."

Governor Adolf's readily agreeable response surprised Fidos. In the eyes of the French government, defeating the Rebel Army was expected and no great achievement.

At most, it might allow officers like Fidos to retire unharmed, but for Governor Adolf, this little merit wasn't nearly enough to make up for one-tenth of his faults.

Unless he could quell this rebellion before the reinforcements arrived, nothing would change Governor Adolf's fate.

If he won, he'd gain no advantage, and if he lost the gamble, Governor Adolf would have to bear the greatest responsibility.

This self-sacrificial spirit truly moved Fidos, rendering all his prepared arguments unnecessary. For the first time, he saw how Governor Adolf was so...

Having dismissed this uninvited guest, Governor Adolf found himself in desolation once again. Agreeing to Fidos's adventure was also a last resort for him.

Before suppressing this rebellion, many from the nobility had come to France for a touch of glory. Because of this, Adolf had collected quite a bit of goodwill, which, after the defeat, all turned into hatred.

The nobility that survived had their futures ruined, not to mention those who died in battle—their families were certain to hold a grudge.

Adolf was also not a bachelor free of family burdens; if he couldn't resolve this hatred, his entire family would begin to suffer once they returned to their country.

Agreeing to Fidos's plan was, in fact, a way to create an opportunity for these connected individuals to get away.

...

Hutile and others were also trying to find a way to escape. At this point in the war, they were barely able to control their troops anymore.

From an initial count of less than ten thousand, within just over a month, their numbers had ballooned to more than two hundred thousand.

The command system was in total disarray, and the term "ragtag" was no longer sufficient to describe this mob.

"The soldiers don't know their generals, and the generals don't know their soldiers," was the normal state of affairs here. Often, when officers needed to assemble troops, they would just pull in whoever was closest.

After all, they were all part of the Rebel Army, so there was no need to be so particular. Every day, some would desert, and every day, others would come to join—the exact numbers were beyond Hutile's grasp.

To be frank, this large and disorderly force was even worse than some bandits. At least the bandits had veteran lairs that could fight; this force was rubbish through and through.

Botiolayek: "The French reinforcements have already landed along the coast, less than 150 kilometers away from us. Since we've completed our mission, staying here any longer is pointless."

A fight to the death was out of the question. This time the French government was ruthless, assembling a force of one hundred and fifty thousand troops. With such a paltry strength from the Rebel Army, the enemy wouldn't even need to break a sweat.

Fa Jinhan nodded: "The enemy approaches fiercely; indeed, we should consider making our escape.

It's just a shame we'll miss the chance to confront the French head-on. If possible, I really wanted to clash with the French on the battlefield."

But as much as they wanted to fight, they still needed to run. If they were captured, they, the chief culprits of Egypt's turmoil, would surely not escape their fate.

Hutile made a decision: "We should replan our escape routes, the original plan is no longer feasible."

No one knew in advance that the main force of the Rebel Army would be able to counterattack, and no one could've imagined that stirring trouble in Egypt would be so simple.

Now with Rebel Army forces everywhere, disguising their escape as an expedition and blending into the city could turn into a laughingstock if the Rebel Army intercepted them halfway.

Schtausenburg objected: "It seems now we don't need to run; we could totally fight the French first and then retreat if we lose.

Since the telegraph lines have long been cut, the French Army, huddled in the cities, will not dare to come out to intercept us before ascertaining their safety.

As long as we're not too unlucky, we can fight while retreating, and if worse comes to worst, return the way we came through Austro-Africa."

Hutile, who had fallen into a cognitive trap, suddenly realized the situation was different now.

With the original Eighth Division having fewer than ten thousand men, of course, they had to flee.

But now, with over two hundred thousand strong, even if they were defeated, with such an enormous number in disarray, the French couldn't possibly capture prisoners swiftly.

If they acted quickly, taking a few tens of thousands of remnants on the run, there was still a guarantee of safety for everyone.

Hutile immediately made the decision: "Then let's make the most of the time we have left to carry out something meaningful." Find exclusive stories on empire

"Something meaningful" obviously meant sabotaging the Nile River. If not for the concern of the reaction from the Egyptian people, Hutile would have ordered river filling a long time ago.

It no longer mattered, for they couldn't stay in the Egypt Area anyway. Blowing up the mountains on both sides of the river to artificially create landslide dams and block the navigation routes became very important strategically.

Flooding was a minor issue since the prime lands of the Delta had already been mostly destroyed by the Rebel Army.

The key was the subsequent military operations—without the Nile for transporting supplies, the French Army would lose the possibility of rapid deployment.

Having to fight all the way from Egypt to Sudan, spanning thousands of kilometers, solely relying on manpower and animal power for transport, the logistics alone would give the French a hard time.

Not just the river channels, but also the railways, roads, and bridges along the way were within the scope of destruction.

As long as the guerilla forces put in a bit of effort, a situation would arise where for one soldier fighting at the front, five or six soldiers in the rear were needed to transport supplies—an embarrassing predicament for the front-liners.