Chapter 432: Chapter 420: The Victory Method of the Working People
How do you achieve victory against unbeatable enemies? Perfikot’s original world history has many successful cases.
Leaving aside those outrageous or overly fantastical cases, to win against the strong with the weak fundamentally requires asymmetric warfare.
Do not counter your opponent’s strengths with your weaknesses; instead, exploit your strengths to weaken the opponent, ultimately reducing their combat effectiveness to a level you can defeat or causing them to retreat without a fight. This is the key to winning with the weak against the strong.
For example, the ancient Chinese tactic of exhausting the enemy is a reflection of this idea.
In the face of a powerful enemy, do not engage them directly. Instead, continuously wear them down until they lose their formidable combat power or are at a level where they can be defeated, then defeat the enemy.
Adhering to this philosophy, even the mighty Steam Knights are not invincible in Perfikot’s view.
Firstly, Steam Knights require far more logistics than past knights or armies. Although powerful, their steam armor is a delicate creation of alchemy and engineering, needing meticulous maintenance and care, far more demanding than the most pampered warhorses of the past.
At least when tending to a horse, you might get kicked or sent to the enemy’s camp, but if the steam armor is not cared for well, it cannot take to the battlefield.
Moreover, attending to a warhorse requires knowing its habits and diet. Once familiar, there are generally no major issues.
But tending to steam armor? Here’s a 200-page manual for starters; memorize it, then another 1,000-page repair manual to memorize, and you can start learning how to maintain the steam armor.
Of course, in actual practice, nobody memorizes 1,200 pages of manuals. Perfikot didn’t write that much, but having basic engineering knowledge is essential for the maintenance and upkeep of the steam armor.
It’s like car drivers in ancient times in the original world. Their driving skills might not have been excellent, but their car repair skills were definitely up to par.
Because there was no way to call a tow truck or mechanic with a phone call in those days, most drivers had to become their own mechanics, knowing how to rebuild an engine to changing tires, they had to know a bit of everything.
Steam Knights are the same. Although the Knight Order is equipped with Alchemists and professional engineers, in combat, it’s impossible for Alchemists and engineers to be on the battlefield.
Even though attempts have been made to train Knights knowledgeable in alchemy and engineering to serve as technical officers, it’s clear this is not something achievable overnight.
In such circumstances, it becomes very useful for Steam Knights to know some basic maintenance knowledge.
But this is limited to daily maintenance or emergency battlefield repairs; genuine inspection and maintenance undoubtedly require an Alchemist and an engineer.
At such times, as long as you can deal with these logistics personnel, the Steam Knights naturally become incapacitated.
If logistics personnel are tightly protected and normally hard to approach and resolve, a simpler method is to intercept the logistical supplies of the Steam Knights.
After all, Steam Knights are mechanical creations of engineering. Even if alchemy can repair damaged parts, it is not a simple task for an Alchemist. Therefore, according to Perfikot’s design, steam knight parts usually rely on production from factories in the rear rather than Alchemists crafting on the battlefield.
In these instances, intercepting the transportation of parts from factories to the battlefield can also paralyze the Steam Knights.
If you still think the risk is too high, you can take an even simpler approach with possibly lesser effectiveness: cut off the Steam Knight Order’s coal fuel supply.
The present-day Steam Knights still use steam engines, which means keeping the Steam Knights operational requires burning coal.
Even though Perfikot designed gas bottles to ensure that when the fuel runs out, the Steam Knights can still fight, these are typically used as a last resort to escape and avoid being captured once their steam armor is paralyzed.
Usually, this reserve energy only lasts a few minutes.
Thus, cutting off the Steam Knights’ fuel supply likewise can paralyze them.
Incapacitated Steam Knights are not significantly harder to kill than traditional Knights.
Although the Empire’s Knights mostly belong to the Extraordinary, possessing considerable power, a single lead bullet is still enough to pierce a Knight’s chest.
"Besides intercepting logistics, you can also divert the enemy by leading them away through some stratagems and methods, causing the Steam Knights to deviate from their main target. Then, it’s a matter of attacking unexpectedly or midway, as it’s impossible for the Steam Knights to wear their steam armor at all times. They are still human after all, needing rest and food." Perfikot imparted tactics on how to defeat Steam Knights to Kallen, thinking that these strategies are quite ordinary, considering anyone in the original world with a little knowledge of the Thirty-Six Stratagems or Sun Tzu’s Art of War could come up with a few of them.
This reminded Perfikot of a saying from before she crossed over, that her generation, hailed as the new successors, really studied Dragon Slaying Skills, and those precious world-changing insights were inscribed in their textbooks. Previously, the information they accessed covered a wide range of fields such as military, culture, and medical.
The three books hailed as the crossing-over bible were once national readings, and anyone mastering their contents could even casually handle a post-nuclear wasteland after the Third World War and restore production, rebuild the army, and establish people’s rule again.
"Perhaps to you these are a bit incredible, but they really aren’t complicated." Perfikot looked at Kallen, whose face showed a look of realization, and she couldn’t help but smile wryly, saying, "Alright, I’ll write a little booklet later, and you can follow the content on that."
"Okay! I’ll study it seriously!" Kallen immediately rejoiced, saying shyly amid her excited shouts, "Actually, I’m not stupid, I just don’t understand these matters of warfare. If you let my brother do it, he doesn’t study as well as I do, but these things he can definitely understand. He loves this stuff!"
"Is that so? Then consider bringing your brother into the fold. If you want to confront the Steam Knights or the Empire’s army, a person truly knowledgeable in military matters is necessary, as you must first exert military power to succeed." Perfikot did not think Kallen’s words were shirking responsibility. She had done more than enough, and it is normal to have areas you are not proficient in: "Political power grows out of the barrel of a gun. Remember this, and always keep the power in your own hands."