I will be crowned king

Regarding this judgment, there is obviously a high degree of consensus between the two, or Christian is actually following the thoughts of the eldest lady of the Franz family, which will definitely make her deeply convinced - after all, this is her. idea.

In fact, Christian doesn't know much about the current situation in Clovis City. The only thing he can see clearly is the "Governor" in front of him, who is probably the only one who will stand 100% unconditionally on Anson's side; although it is true I just couldn't understand where she got so much motivation and passion. Things that were clearly out of reach of her, the honorary governor, were actually more concerned about her own affairs than her own.

No matter what the reason is, he now wants to help Anson "win over" this only supporter as much as possible. After all, as long as she is here, the Franz family will not easily give up the Storm Legion and the Army Brigadier General they have promoted. There are still voices in the upper echelons of Clovis City that can raise objections to the War Department - this is something that neither Viscount Bognar nor the Cecil family can do.

But agreeing doesn't mean that the point of view is wrong, or that he just puts the "correct" concept in a better way and is more in line with Sophia's perception; whether the Storm Legion can be preserved and whether the Free Federation and Clovis can successfully establish diplomatic relations , is indeed based on the fact that Anson must get rid of the charge of "treason".

The Ministry of War is obviously aware of this problem, but their current situation is a bit passive - because of the "excessive" actions of the Holy See, or Archbishop Luther Franz, they have no intention of fighting with the Franz family, or even the Kremlin family. The War Department, which faced the battle at Lowy Cathedral, had to compromise.

If you compromise, then in the eyes of other Army insiders, this is weakness; since you are weak, then you can no longer be incompetent. An Army Department that is both weak and incompetent cannot have any appeal to hundreds of thousands of Army personnel. of.

So they must take action immediately, and if it can be effective immediately, make everyone aware of the existence of the War Department; considering that continuing to treat the Storm Legion harshly will only be regarded as bullying, and some internal small groups and factions have already Protests began, but the War Department simply acquiesced to the actions of some officers who violated regulations and opened back doors and provided supplies to the Storm Legion.

In addition to continuing to bully people with strong methods, there are only two ways to show your presence - public opinion and action.

In terms of public opinion, the Army owns the "Kingdom Loyalist", which is a "quasi-official" newspaper in Clovis second only to the "Morning Post". It has always been known for its strong financial resources, fast timeliness, and very wide dissemination. It can be regarded as self-promotion of the Army. an important tool.

Therefore, under the hint of the upper management of the War Department, the "Kingdom Loyal News" began to increase sales and added a large amount of positive publicity about the War Department in the newspaper, especially highlighting the outstanding advantages of fairness and justice, incorruptibility, efficiency, and loyalty. Listing the little-known facts in this regard means that it is not a random fabrication, but a careful compilation and review.

After two days of preparation, sales of the newspaper skyrocketed as soon as it was released, reaching 3.5 times the previous volume!

Why is it three and a half times instead of three or four times? That's of course because the printing factory can print so much. Suddenly such an urgent printing needs to have content and format requirements. Other printing factories can't accept the order even if they want to. .

The sales of the already popular newspaper increased several times again, and naturally quickly became one of the most popular newspapers in Clovis City; as for the degree of change in public opinion... of course it was of no use at all.

After all, "Kingdom Loyal News" is not a popular newspaper in the first place: there are no novels, no illustrations, no advertisements, and no street gossip. It is all about the military. In addition to officers at all levels, there are also some wealthy nobles who are keen on this news. Who Will you buy this?

What, if no one buys it, how can it be sold out of stock? It's very simple, let alone three and a half times. As long as the superiors ask for it, the departments and legions below will definitely buy as much as the factory prints - otherwise, how can they show their loyalty?

Whether you read it or not is freedom, and whether you buy it or not is your attitude. Otherwise, if you buy every issue of the newspaper before, is it because all soldiers and officers are related to the frontline war - including those who are on the frontline themselves?

As a result, the public opinion offensive failed to have an effect, but the upper management of the War Department did not care about this. After all, the report numbers they obtained were really good. If they use newspapers to open up the situation, then the next step is to take practical actions.

The simplest and most direct way to do this is of course to participate in the public security management of Clovis City, so that the people can see with their own eyes how heroic, how mighty and majestic the legions that protect them are...

Anyway, officials from the Ministry of War to the commanders of the legions unanimously agreed that as long as the people see the various standing legions of the army, they can immediately understand who is the pillar of the kingdom and who they should support.

But unfortunately, the Privy Council used the untenable reason that "Whitehall Street police are sufficient to maintain law and order in the royal capital" and forcibly prevented the Army Corps from entering the city. Although the commander-in-chief of each regiment agreed with this proposal, they also expressed that their own regiments It may not be appropriate to perform this task.

It's not that they were reluctant, the war had just ended, and the legions that had been withdrawn from various fronts were resting, but because the battle was so ugly, the treatment was immediately reduced as soon as they rested, leaving the soldiers There is a bit of a gap in my heart.

One second, he was pinching his nose to get what he wanted, and the next second, the summer fireplace was gathering ashes... There must be a lot of dissatisfaction in the army. If these soldiers were allowed to patrol the streets... the commanders would be very suspicious. This is the real source of danger for the residents of Clovis City.

The public opinion offensive failed to work, and they could not easily enter the city. The choice space left to the War Department was really pitiful. It could only continue to bully the Privy Council (repeated threats), and at the same time urge the court to open the court as soon as possible. The evidence exists to nail Anson Bach on the charge of "treason".

In fact, if the trial were to be held immediately, it would indeed be quite detrimental to Anson Bach - after all, not many people in the entire Clovis City knew about him, and no one could offend the War Department for a stranger, pinching their noses and watching them show off their power and bully others. The possibility is quite high.

Sophia Franz's method is to continue to expand her own camp while conducting negative publicity for the War Department, as well as the benefits to Clovis after forming an alliance with the Free Confederacy, and striving for someone's "curved loyalty" Add some plausibility.

To put it more bluntly, it is to let Clovis City know this officer named Anson Bach and let them recall the hero in "The Battle of Eagle Point City"; as long as there is a reputation and let the Army Department If the charges sound flimsy, the odds of winning a trial are high.

This is a very solid plan, and it sounds perfect... but some people don't agree with it.

"How should I put it... With 120,000 respects, as an ordinary and humble clerk, I will not comment on any shortcomings in this plan, but any idea will inevitably have its blind spots. , there must be some imperfections in any plan.”

"And this kind of work of checking for deficiencies and filling in the details, and working hard on the details, is often the focus of our servants' work; we work hard in the shadows that the masters cannot see, and make things run according to the master's preconceived plans. , is our greatest obligation and our greatest happiness."

"From my one-sided and superficial point of view, there may be two omissions in Governor Sophia's plan." Facing the little maid Angelica who came to the door in person, Ellen Dawn, who was holding her right hand behind her back, raised her left index finger and thumb. thumb:

"First, there may be a relatively optimistic judgment on the effect of public opinion, believing that public opinion will have a decisive impact on the final outcome of the trial, or will have a miraculous effect at critical moments."

"This... It should be said that Governor Sophia is still willing to believe that the people and nobles of Clovis City are pure in heart, but as the secretary, I cannot place my hope on such a sentimental and subjective existence."

"The power of the Clovis Grand Court has always been in the hands of three parties: the royal family, a specially authorized committee of the Privy Council, and a jury composed of 'good people' whose personal property has been certified to be at least five hundred thousand gold coins; To gain an advantage in the trial, Lord Anson must win over at least two of the three parties."

"In this case, we have to confirm the advantages of these three parties based on the current capital owned by Lord Anson or the Storm Legion; simply put, it is what they need, and what Lord Anson can provide, which can offset the demand from the army. Threats from the Ministry.”

"If we make a simple division, the Privy Council needs to obtain tangible benefits and does not care about the long term. The jury group is easily affected by emotions and pays more attention to immediate threats and benefits. The needs of the royal family are more complex, including national-level needs. The economic and diplomatic environment has improved, there are also the royal family’s own profit goals, and there are also political requirements to balance the forces of all parties.”

"So among so many demands, which force should Sir Anson win over first, which is the best solution?"

Without waiting for the little maid to answer, Alan Dawn took the initiative to give the answer: "Yes, of course it is to win over the royal family - because only the royal family's needs are the easiest and best to satisfy Mr. Anson!"

"If you want to win over the Privy Council, you will need to bribe more than one wealthy family; and these families often have members who join the army. They have a very complex network of personal connections and interests within the Ministry of War. These connections may be shaken due to temporary interests. But it will never be broken easily.”

"And the jury has a certain degree of randomness. Although the limit of 500,000 gold coins is not low, there are not a few families in Clovis who can reach this number; and these people are easily affected by the people around them and even their mood that day. There is a lot of uncertainty, and buying them off is actually not worth the gain."

"Of course, this does not mean that Governor Sophia is doing something meaningless. This involves the second point I mentioned, which is how to let the people of Clovis City have control over the Storm Legion and even Lord Anson. A positive impression, at least a good impression?" The little secretary asked himself again:

"It's very simple, one piece of news is enough - of course it must be big news, and it must be real news, so big that no organization, group or even force can cover it up or deny it, and this news can only be created by Lord Anson himself, Let everyone see with their own eyes the strength of the Storm Legion and its real impact and help on their lives."

"And this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity is now before Lord Anson: assist the Clovis Tribunal, eradicate the Old God gangs entrenched in the outer city to prove your piety, and prove that the Storm Legion is also fighting for the Ring of Order. Legion."

"By doing this, the original charge of 'apostasy' will naturally be resolved. In the eyes of most people, if a person is cleared of the charge of apostasy, then it means that he no longer has the so-called charge of treason - of course it is truly rational. Very few people can tell the difference, but fortunately our people generally rely on sudden emotions to decide what is right and what is wrong.”

"As for the bargaining chip to win over the royal family... of course it is Lord Anson Bach himself, or more accurately, the interests of the Free Confederation that he represents; a vast market where goods can be dumped and raw materials can be purchased at will, a natural market for the Kingdom of Clovis The value of allies in the eyes of the royal family must far exceed the once dispensable colonies."

"Of course, although the nobles of the Privy Council are not easy to win over, it would be too pessimistic to give up early." The little clerk put his hands on his hands, slowly turned around and looked behind him:

"This time it is no longer a dispute over a certain individual or a simple interest, but is truly about the survival of our united and co-prosperous collective, so everyone... for Lord Anson Bach and for the Storm Legion, please mobilize all your efforts. Resources and power…please.”

The officers of the Storm Legion who swarmed in front of him stood up one after another and nodded solemnly.

Seeing the figures going out in groups and then scattering, the little maid Angelica, who secretly came to "snitch" behind her master's back, fell into a brief silence; in her impression, an officer was just a status or identity. It's just a profession. Although there is a superior-subordinate relationship, the people who surrender are only positions and military ranks. In essence, they are just soldiers loyal to the kingdom. How deep can the connection be?

The Storm Legion seems to have broken this inherent impression.

"Why, it's obviously just a job, isn't it?" Angelica murmured to herself: "Is Anson Bach really that charming?"

"That's not the case." The little secretary suddenly said: "Although it is disrespectful to say this, I personally think that Lord Anson actually lacks the charm to attract others and do anything for him."

"Because of this, I... and we, all of us who are united around the Lord, are not influenced by impulse or emotion, but sincerely and sincerely want to serve him; because he really will Tell everyone with perfect plans and hard facts that your wishes are not out of reach.”

"This 'non-existent charm' may... be your greatest charm."