I will be crowned king

With the white smoke coming out of the muzzle, the expression of the officer who had just been trying to persuade him to surrender gradually solidified; the three-cornered hat that was knocked off flew into the sky and landed at his feet, and the eye-catching bullet holes and blood stains reflected in his pupils.

But soon, his eyes began to tire, and together with his consciousness gradually leaving his body, the images in his field of vision began to spin and become increasingly dimmer, eventually falling into darkness completely.

"Plop——!"

Seeing the officer who suddenly fell to the ground, the legion and community militiamen who were still in the confrontation were stunned at the same time, their minds going blank.

The next second, the silent street suddenly erupted with countless gunshots.

The angry legionnaires took the lead in pulling the trigger. Rows of lead bullets were like a violent storm, mercilessly hitting the ridiculously crude fortifications of the community militia. The cracked lead bullets flew everywhere, and many The militiamen who were unable to dodge screamed in pain to the end. The wails stimulated their companions who were trying to dodge just now. As their blood surged, they picked up the weapons in their hands and fought back.

Although the incident occurred suddenly, the attacking legionnaires not only had no artillery support, but the formation was also in a standard line formation. It was acceptable for riot control and demonstrations, but it obviously had no advantage in urban streets with complex terrain.

Even so, the continuous volleys still made the militiamen hiding behind the bunkers unable to raise their heads. They could only hide in the bunkers and shoot randomly. Not only was it ineffective, but it also exposed the target... The exchange of fire lasted only fifteen minutes, and the number of casualties It reached double digits.

It was even possible to hold on for a quarter of an hour without being breached because the officers at the rear received the news and immediately called out the order to stop the attack, strictly prohibiting any more troops from participating in this endless battle - they were already very close to the inner city. If Mass killing here will not only increase the resistance to the city later, but also make it difficult for others to believe that the army is here to save the kingdom, not to mutiny and rebel.

"What the hell are you doing?!"

Amidst the piercing gunshots, the Army captain, who was covering the wound on his shoulder, hid in the bunker, grabbed Lieutenant Colonel Crown by the collar and shouted loudly: "Didn't I say you are not allowed to fire again without my order?" Gun?!”

"But that was the wrong order."

Crown didn't change his expression, looking at this obviously panicked guy indifferently: "Don't you think that as long as the confrontation is maintained, the soldiers on the opposite side will never attack?"

"A joke! This is a mutiny, a mutiny seeking power and usurping the throne! They can still politely persuade them to surrender now because they have enough time. Once the delay reaches the point where we can no longer wait, we still refuse to give in. Now there is a loud noise outside. It’s not just gunshots anymore!”

"Before they react, drag the battle into a melee, and let the other side easily use artillery or attack regardless of the death of the soldiers. This is the only way to temporarily protect this community!"

He analyzed the situation for the other party very calmly, but he did not mean to be contemptuous; after all, the other party was only a captain, and he had served as a battalion commander. This kind of analysis of the enemy's situation and the tendency of the war situation was obviously beyond the scope of a captain's responsibilities. .

But the army captain obviously didn't think so. After finally getting the "New Year's gift" from the shotgun club, he still planned to survive today and spend the coming New Year with his family: "Save it for now?"

"Counting the four surrounding streets, our total strength here is barely enough to have one missing infantry regiment. The ones on the opposite side are already close to the level of an integrated infantry division." Lieutenant Colonel Crown chose Lower eyebrows:

"Including the opponent's just spent time, we can last for an hour at most - this is still an ideal situation."

"What about...the less than ideal ones?"

"Actually, it's already very good. I originally thought it would be a miracle if I could last for fifteen minutes."

"..."

Just as the two of them were looking at each other in the chaos, the injured and fallen soldier next to them suddenly noticed this side and subconsciously widened his eyes: "He is not one of ours!"

"How could an outsider sneak in? Who did it?!"

"An outsider? Could he be a spy for the rebels opposite?!"

"Who is this guy? Why don't I know him?!"

As if triggering some kind of signal, the militiamen in the entire fortification were screaming loudly or in exclamation; they were either puzzled, surprised, or angry...Crown, who had been ignored just now, immediately attracted everyone's attention. Notice.

"Tell me, who are you?!"

The army captain held on to his collar tightly, with a trace of panic on his face as he gritted his teeth.

"Who am I...haven't you already guessed it?" Lieutenant Colonel Crown's mouth raised slightly, and his calm expression looked very cruel: "Do you think this unreasonable mutiny is as simple as it seems? ,Um?"

"We are all just chess pieces, ordinary people involved in this storm; in the eyes of those who are instigating the storm and standing in the eye of the storm, the life and death of the chess pieces does not matter at all; and what I want to do is to fight at the end of the storm. A chess piece’s mission is to keep you and your men alive as much as possible.”

Looking at Croun who didn't look like he was lying at all, the panicked Army Captain suddenly felt a chill behind his back; even though he was close to the fire, it made his teeth tremble with the cold:

"What the hell is going on?!"

……………………

"What's the matter?!"

While the outer city was in flames of war, Ludwig hurriedly left the Osteria Palace and ran to the temporary headquarters of the Storm Legion in the square and took a heavy photo of the map on the table: "Why did the army outside suddenly... The siege has begun, and there are multiple districts, and all the armies are attacking at the same time?!"

"Major General, you seem to have asked the wrong person about this question." Before he finished speaking, Colonel Fabian stood up immediately: "Why is there a sudden attack? You should ask the generals who launched the mutiny, not us Commander-in-Chief."

"As you can see, Brigadier General Anson Bach and all the officers and soldiers of the Storm Legion are stationed at the Osteria Palace in the name of you, the temporary city defense commander of Clovis City. No soldier is allowed to leave without authorization. How is this possible? Will know what happened to the rebels several blocks away..."

"Stop pretending to be stupid!"

Unceremoniously interrupting a certain deputy commander who was doing his duty, Ludwig stared at Anson's back opposite: "I just received the information that the Truth Seeking Order raided the Bayonet Club, and there are many communities outside. The militiamen fired cold shots at the rebel officers who came forward to persuade them to surrender - don't think I don't know anything!"

"Anson Bach, I can tolerate your little actions, I can tolerate you secretly encouraging the Shotgun Club to bribe middle- and lower-level officers, and even many...many things that are not tolerated in the ordered world, I can pretend not to have seen; but I can't allow your plan. Cause any harm to the Franz family, especially Sophia!”

"If this is the case, then I can tell you without hesitation that there is no need to worry at all."

Anson stood up with his back to Ludwig. His calm tone without a trace of ripples made Ludwig subconsciously take a half step back. He then followed the opponent's extended saber and looked at the map on the table:

"Yes, I secretly sponsored the shotgun club with a sum of money so that they could bribe middle- and lower-level officers, but that was also because of a group of armed thugs. The result would be the same as those slums on the edge of the outer city, and they couldn't be called it at all. So-called armies; I really can’t see how they could do much except give mutinous armies more reasons to kill the Privy Council.”

"To put it bluntly, this money should actually be paid by the royal family and the Privy Council - without positions, unemployed officers can't even eat, and they are expected to work for the kingdom. Is there anything more ridiculous than this? ?”

As he spoke, Anson himself couldn't help but shake his head: "As for the Truth Seeking Order... Yes, I do have some personal friendship with Cole Dorian, but you also know how suspicious I am in their eyes. Action If you had to inform me before, would you be overestimating my importance?"

Before he finished speaking, the chief of staff, who was hiding in the corner drinking coffee, burst out laughing, earning a blank look from the commander-in-chief.

Ludwig frowned slightly. Even though he had a faint feeling that there were some troops, he had to admit that what Anson said was indeed reasonable. Even his father, who was the archbishop, did not know the actions of the inquisitor - what he thought - Anson Bach The possibility of being able to learn the news privately in advance seems really low on the surface.

But he knows one thing better, that is, the guy in front of him is not completely telling the truth, but he doesn't seem to be qualified to accuse him in this regard...

"Then what are your plans?" Although, Ludwig still didn't intend to let him go: "You were the one who wanted to instigate the generals before. Even if you want to change your plan, you should tell me what this accomplice should do next. do it?"

Seeing that his former boss finally made a concession, Anson inadvertently raised his lips: "It's very simple, keep the original plan unchanged, we still have to instigate these generals and their standing legions."

"It's better to say that we have to do this. After all, whether it is to rebuild the War Department, maintain security in Clovis City during the famine, or restore the smooth operation of the railway, these tasks will require the 300,000 soldiers outside the city-key places. That is, their influence and importance in the whole incident must be weakened.”

"I agree with this. If they are allowed to take advantage of the opportunity, the consequences will be worse than the current Army Department that has lost all its dignity." Ludwig nodded slightly:

"But they have 300,000 people in their hands. As long as they react, they can occupy the entire outer city at any time. Once the army comes to the city, how effective do you think the community armed forces organized by the wealthy people in the inner city can be?"

"Uh..." Anson hesitated for a moment: "It's best not to make such prejudgments about things that haven't happened yet, but my personal opinion is that it has no effect."

"You, you don't want to prejudge in advance..."

Ludwig couldn't help but hold his forehead. Of course, he also thought so: if you put your hope in those fence-sitters who are greedy for life and fear death, have both sides, and have no loyalty at all, it may be better to surrender immediately.

"But just because we all know how that group of people will react, the generals outside the city must also know it very well." Anson immediately said: "Once any army breaks through into the inner city first, then the mutiny will be The nature immediately changed."

"There are only two ways left in front of him; either jump to the rebellion immediately, or go directly to the Osteria Palace to annihilate my Storm Legion, overthrow the Privy Council and ask His Majesty to take charge - if these 300,000 troops can unite If you command, the situation will develop like this."

"So, are they?"

Facing Anson's meaningful gaze, Ludwig was suddenly asked.

"You, you mean..."

"The Bayonet Club is over. These generals are just using mutiny to bargain with us under the guise. This should be the truth of the matter." Anson analyzed step by step:

"Of course, it cannot be ruled out that they have received promises from certain forces and are willing to give them public support and endorsement after the incident; but their bottom line should be that they want to further strive for power in the new Ministry of War and are not subject to Franz Family suppression or simply become the real Minister of War."

"But there can only be one minister, and there can only be one supreme commander of the military government, but the 300,000-strong army has eight leaders, so..."

"So any legion that rushes into the inner city will immediately become the enemy of everyone else!"

Ludwig grabbed the topic: "What we really need to do is not to keep them all out of the inner city, but to encourage them to..."

"That's pretty much what it means." Anson nodded quickly to prevent Ludwig from coming up with some good ideas that were too costly: "Sacrifice is necessary, but we still have to try to avoid unnecessary casualties - after all, these are Clovis The most core force, if it suffers heavy losses, it will shake Clovis's influence in the world of order."

"As for the Storm Legion... as the last layer of insurance, if you can avoid attacking, it is better to try not to conflict with them head-on; after all, both sides are standing legions, and both are equipped with a large number of heavy weapons; once a firefight occurs in the inner city, the consequences will be unimaginable. "

"My plan is to stick to the Osteria Palace. I just need to let the other party know our attitude and bottom line; and the work of communicating with the generals..."

"Don't worry, just leave it to me."

Ludwig understood: "I have already been connected with the people sent by the generals and can contact them at any time."

Both of them knew this very well, and Anson didn't intend to overstep his authority - of course, more importantly, because of his popularity and background, he might not be ignored even if he took the initiative to approach him.

After clarifying the previous misunderstanding, Ludwig no longer stayed long and planned to go back as soon as possible to communicate privately with the generals' cronies, thinking about what to say to make them hate each other, and it would be best to kill each other if they disagreed.

But before leaving, he still looked back and took a deep look at the other person: "Sometimes, I still feel that you are not only reassuring to others, but also scary."

Facing his gaze, Anson smiled nonchalantly:

"This sentence... I will treat it as a sincere compliment from you."