Alfred looked at the letter in his hand. 'Movement across the border.' It was short, but it told him everything he needed. "Chris!" His voice spread across the room as the knight walked into the room, giving a slight bow towards Alfred. "Send out these letters to all the nobles." He reached into the draw, pulling out a stack of envelopes. "After finishing, I need an escort to the eastern border." Chris bowed quickly, retreating out of the room to complete the task.
The two looked at the river in the distance. It was the natural border that separated The Kingdom and Commonwealth. Alfred's foot tapped the floor as the nerves were getting to him. Numerous battles from Earth flashed through his head as he tried to think of a strategy he could use. His mind was spinning as he couldn't organise his thoughts.
Chris saw Alfred's state and internally sighed. Sometimes, he forgot that Alfred was still a child. Everything that had happened in the past month made him see Alfred like his father, but his biggest weakness was showing, his inexperience. "My king. At times like this, you must rely on your vassals. We all live to serve you."
Alfred stopped tapping his foot. He knew what Chris said was right, but he was scared. He had tried his hardest not to show a sign of weakness. He didn't want to give a reason for revolts because of his age. Alfred, however, realised that now it wasn't an option. He needed the aid of those who had more experience. It was all well and good to use his knowledge about battles in his past life, but being able to make decisions as the battle went on was something he couldn't do. "Send a summon to Flanders and the Marquees."
"Leave us, Count." A couple of days had passed. The three men sat in the small meeting room with a map spread across the table. Alfred looked at the small chess pieces, representing the fighting force of each nation. Although the Commonwealth had more troops, the Kingdom had the advantage of having more professionally trained troops. Despite this, Alfred still had a grim expression. The number of levies the Commonwealth could field was double that of there's. The Commonwealth would likely win in a straight clash of men on pure numbers.
A voice cut through his thoughts, "We have to get them to come through this bridge here and here." Raven pointed at two bridges in the centre of the border between the two nations. Alfred nodded in agreement, having already been to that location. It was the only place they would have a hill to defend. "Have these bridges destroyed and burn the ground. We can't make it an option for them to attack from there." It was the southern plain and the hardest place to defend. Although Alfred felt hard-pressed to burn his land, he understood the scorched earth tactics were the best defence.
The Duke nodded in agreement. Gone was his casual facade, replaced with a seasoned warrior. "If we have most of our force on the hill, we put the cavalry in this small forest here. While we can easily hold the hill, we will never win staying there."
"What about the Argon forest?" Alfred asked about the large forest north of the Argon Duchy that spread far into the Commonwealth. The two looked at it but brushed it aside.
"It's a natural defence. Despite our numerous wars, they have never used it for a good reason. It's a logistical nightmare to attack through." Raven spoke, ignoring the area as if it was unnecessary to worry about. Alfred was different, however. Micheal knew the land better than anyone. He had prepared his entire life to take over the land he thought he would get. Added to this, Alfred knew his past life.
"Put a couple of people to watch the border here." Alfred pointed at the northern forest and got weird looks from the two, "If Micheal is with them, he may use his knowledge of the land to help them get through." Although the two disagreed, they nodded as it wouldn't hurt to spare a few men to watch the northern entry.
By the time the three finished making plans, the sun had started to rise. Alfred felt good leaving the manor the next day, having learnt and understood more about warfare. Despite this, he still felt nervous. It was his first campaign, and he would decide if he still sat on the throne. He quickly headed back to the palace to make the preparations necessary. The William and Raven looked at the departing King.
"Do you think he will be able to lead in the war?" His tone was sombre, turning towards Raven. Raven looked at the road on which Alfred left without saying anything. William saw the lack of reply and sighed, mounting his horse and leaving.
Alone in the courtyard, Raven looked into the sky. "I wonder." he muttered quietly under his breath as if he tried not to be heard by anyone before quickly mounting his horse and leaving.