Book 4, Chapter 11: Paradigm Shift
"Soldiers are prepared to fight the last war," "Generals are always ready to fight their father’s war," and "the military mind is always fighting the last war," as the saying and its variants go. What this means is that militaries are fundamentally conservative institutions, looking back and thinking on what they have done wrong in previous conflicts as compared to looking forward and adapting to what is coming. This is especially well seen around the times where shifts in technology and tactics render the old ways obsolete, and yet the commanders persist in sticking closely to what they know, typically refusing to adapt to the changes in warfare, even in the face of proven losses. Typically adaptation happens by the removal of those elder generals—either by political removal or death on the battlefield—and the appointment of newcomers who are aware of the new battlefield realities and are willing to change and throw out conventional knowledge in the face of new lessons.
The loss of life before this happens can be staggering...
—Statecraft: The Great Game Of Diplomacy, Espionage, & War By Other Means, 1732, Rouen University Press
Tropes that appear in this chapter:
- The Alliance: Kurya makes an offer of alliance to Kuanfu who represents the Song Dynasty. He trains them in dragon riding in exchange for helping him take his birthright as Kagan from Drago.
- Alternate Universe Reed Richards Is Awesome: Hiccup invents the air fuel bomb roughly 920 years before otl, where it was developed during the 1960s.
- Call-Back: The dish Fishlegs has served to Heather on their wedding day is the same meal she first served to him.
- Content Warnings:Chapter Trigger Warnings: Chapter Trigger Warnings: Explicit Use of a Racial Slur, Explicit Mentions of Bodily Harm and Mutilation, Explicit Mention of Execution by Torture, Explicit Depiction of PTSD flashback
- Didn't Think This Through: William points out to Orvi the possibility that the woman he slept with is trying to hook in a dragon-rider for the associated prosperity, and now that he slept with her, it could easily result in a bastard born with Berk-Blood that Orvi would be honour-bound to help take care of.Orvi: Oh.William: Oh. 'Oh', he says!
- Improperly Paranoid: Defied. Heather tries to avoid all the undue paranoia traps Mac Bethad and Taskill fell into.
- Screw This, I'm Outta Here: The majority of Sir Henry’s army run when Hiccup starts detonating bombs above them.
- To the Pain: At Kurya's request, Kuanfu explains the particulars of the lingchi execution method to him.
- Trauma Button: William reacts poorly to Orvi having pre-marital sex due to the possibility of bastard-born children, which he himself is one of and grew up with all the associated insults.
