I will be crowned king

No matter what we do, the first question to be solved is the eternal one - who is our enemy and who is our friend.

The mutiny was over, but the factors that caused it had not been resolved. The situation was even more difficult than before: while the rebellion was still going on, Anson Bach could still rely on his hostility to the War Department and being the only one who could be relied on to fight against the mutiny. By using their own strength to build an alliance, they can gain the support, or at least the acquiescence, of the vast majority of people in Clovis City.

Now Queen Anne personally persuaded the rebels to surrender, and promised in public that the punishment would not be too severe, allowing the vast majority of soldiers to escape execution and exile; but the dead would not be resurrected, and the destroyed city streets and losses The wealth of the country will not be instantly restored, nor will the large number of weapons scattered among the people because of the previous foolish policies of the Privy Council disappear.

The collapse of social security, the famine spreading throughout the city, the antagonism and hatred between the army and the citizens... These problems will only become more serious because Clovis is seriously injured, and will not get better because the mutiny is over.

The current Queen Anne - the Franz family alliance has finally gained a firm foothold. Relying on her identity as the widow of Carlos II and the huge prestige of ending the mutiny, she will not be immediately dismissed by the various political forces in Clovis; but if If the situation cannot be controlled and the conflicts accumulated during the Carlos II period can be alleviated, then it will really be a matter of time before they are over.

From Ludwig's perspective, his enemies were naturally the conservatives in the Privy Council, as well as some admonition officers who were hostile to the new War Ministry, and the royal family members who were eager to move on the crown and were always ready to drive Queen Anne away. .

His allies are the Storm Legion headed by Anson Bach, the reformist faction headed by Viscount Bognar, the local faction headed by the Cecil family, Queen Anne herself, plus the eight generals whose prestige has been greatly damaged.

Just like Anson described to Luther Franz: they united half of Clovis, and then almost turned against the other half.

But for the commander-in-chief of the legion who had just figured out the context of the matter, the situation was slightly different.

He initially joined the alliance between the Cecil family and Viscount Bognar, then roped in the Franz family to join the alliance, and also "promoted" the friends of the Shotgun Club. His core goal was to fight against the War Department.

Now that the Army Department has been completely wiped out, and he has even become a core member of the new Army Department, it is only a matter of time before he has his own office in the Dedication Palace.

In this case, in his eyes, there is no need for this alliance to exist.

Of course, this small group of loyal ministers who make progress with each other will not disappear on their own, but for Anson, he no longer needs to invest more energy in this, but should establish a new group as soon as possible or organization in preparation for later taking over the War Department.

After the mutiny, a large number of affairs involving the army, especially the Army, were separated from the Privy Council and transferred to the new War Department. As a result, Sophia Franz, the Minister of War, had great power, even exceeding the cabinet finance. to the level of a minister.

The greatest authority of the Chancellor of Finance is nothing more than the kingdom's finances, the budget approval of various committees and projects, and the allowances of officials. But now the Ministry of War has independent financial power, and the appropriation budget no longer needs to be approved by the Privy Council, and the personnel appointments of middle and lower-level officers You can also make your own decisions; there is also the original independent judiciary for military officers, which is completely self-contained.

In addition, a large number of officers were deprived of their posts due to the mutiny. There were vacancies of varying degrees in the eight standing legions, which must be filled as soon as possible to restore the combat effectiveness of the legions. This means that an astonishing number of officers are needed, especially for actual combat. Or middle- and lower-level officers with work experience can be promoted quickly.

Based on this point, the organization to be established is naturally dominated by officers, but it can no longer be similar to a club; both the shotgun club and the bayonet club have proven that this kind of self-organized organization has neither a core goal nor an ideological program, but is also loosely organized. Small groups for self-entertainment are not only extremely easy to infiltrate, guide and exploit, they are also very uncontrollable.

Of course, considering Clovis's acceptance of this organization, they still have to pretend to be a club to the outside world, and doing so has at least two advantages. The first is that it is easier to disguise and will not immediately attract too much attention.

Secondly, since it is in the form of a club, the shotgun club, which already has a large base, can be developed into the periphery of the organization, and then through the selection of the club itself, core members can be recruited to join the organization, forming a virtuous cycle.

In fact, such groups are not entirely absent in Clovis. The two major factions of the Privy Council, the conservative and the innovative, are the best examples.

Viscount Bogner himself was just an ordinary member of Parliament, and for some reasons he was never able to become a cabinet minister, but this did not affect his important position in both the Privy Council and the King - just because he was the leader of the reformists.

Political factions are determined by ideas, so among the reformists there are not only enterprising upstarts, but also young people who come from wealthy families but believe that the kingdom should actively reform.

Under the same concept, factions naturally formed strong cohesion and loyalty, which even transcended blood, origin, and social status.

Another more well-known committee system is completely centered on interests, either to protect or promote, and monopolize the short-term and long-term interests of a certain part; on the one hand, a system with clear powers and responsibilities can make minimum decisions for the entire group. guarantee, and at the same time can concentrate scattered voices to form a power that can shake the entire kingdom.

After weighing the pros and cons, or the pros and cons of his own side, Anson chose the second option.

On the one hand, of course, it is because the military groups he can unite with cannot reach any consensus at all, except for "loyalty to the kingdom" and different doctrinal factions.

Everyone knows that the current situation in Clovis is in danger, knows about the contradiction between the citizen class and the peasant class, the resource conflict between bankrupts from other provinces and the locals in Clovis City, and knows about the conflict between the new rich who made their fortune through colonization and commerce and the old aristocracy... But they don’t know How are these contradictions caused and how to resolve them?

The closed nature of the military camp has caused the military group to be somewhat disconnected from society, but at the same time it is very closely connected with the grassroots; simply identifying the rich is the root cause of the poverty of the poor and the unsustainability of the country.

The dignitaries in the cabinet and the Privy Council are all evil parties who have corrupted the kingdom and deceived the wise and benevolent King. As long as His Majesty is in charge and he is loyal to his best, he can turn the crisis around and so on...

Obviously, that's simply not possible.

Anson really wanted to set up a new faction like Viscount Bognar, but that would be too arrogant, and he would not be able to convince hundreds of officers to willingly accept the theory he proposed - compromise was necessary.

He must use propaganda slogans and slogans that officers can understand and are willing to listen to to create a core concept that looks new but is actually very traditional, uniting those middle and lower-level officers who were dissatisfied with the Privy Council and the current status of the kingdom in the past.

………………………………

"To put it bluntly, what we are going to do next is actually no different from the finished War Department! The core goal is to replace the position of the Privy Council and single-handedly control the power of Clovis!"

In the small private room of the Shotgun Club, which was less than ten square meters, Karl couldn't help but joked: "Since the things we do are pretty much the same, we definitely can't come up with anything new, we can only... uh, what's that word?" Up?"

"Package."

The little clerk sitting in the corner immediately raised his right hand: "Willing is a package prepared to prevent damage when goods are sold to customers, and extends to all external modifications and shapes; it is a neutral word in itself, but according to Judging from the latest summary of "Morning News", it seems that the past year has tended to have a derogatory meaning."

"Thank you, Alan Dawn. Having you here is really better than studying for ten years." The chief of staff couldn't help but twitching the corner of his mouth, holding a cigarette and looking towards the fireplace, holding a cup of coffee with a thoughtful expression. Thoughtful Fabian:

"All in all, I feel that except for the people in the Storm Legion, if you want to win over the middle and lower-level officers, you have to rely on real money. The lower the people are, the more practical they are. As for you, I remember that our Commander-in-Chief seems to Several related tasks have been thrown to you."

"It wasn't 'thrown to me,' but I earned it, dear Carl."

The deputy commander of the army shook his head when he came back to his senses, his eyes were quite meaningful: "Actually, I can understand you very well."

"...Ha, understand me?"

"That's right, you really climbed up from the bottom. When it comes to the dirty and dirty inside the army, and the real thoughts of the soldiers at the bottom, no one among us knows better than you in public."

"Thank you for the compliment." Karl raised his eyebrows, and his right hand holding the cigarette shook uneasily: "Just in case, let me ask more, are you complimenting me?"

Fabian immediately put down the coffee cup, nodded solemnly and said: "Yes, and it is a compliment from the heart - it is no exaggeration to say that the presence of the Commander-in-Chief has raised the upper limit of the Storm Legion, and you will always be the guarantee. The one who lives at the lower limit.”

"Just because you have seen too many dark sides, it may be difficult for you to believe some things that should be taken for granted; for example, an officer's fault should not be imposed on subordinates, for example, those who have sufficient resumes and perform tasks perfectly should be promoted. For example, when appointing a commander or an important position in the General Staff, one should examine his actual work level and experience rather than his family background..."

"Yes, yes, then we will all live in the kingdom of heaven promised by the Ring of Order!" Karl smiled with an exaggerated expression:

"You want to say that as long as our Commander-in-Chief takes office, all of this will become true?"

"I just want to say...people are still willing to believe in hope, as long as someone is willing to give it."

Fabian picked up the coffee again, took a sugar cube and threw it in: "In the past, the power of the War Department was deeply rooted, and the scope of power was strictly restricted by the Privy Council. Of course, there was not much room for negotiation."

"But it's different now. We can't eat such a big cake, and neither can the Franz family. There are still sufficient resources for fair distribution, right?"

"Even if we take a few steps back, as long as we are not as greedy and tyrannical as the War Department in the past, we can already win the confidence of the vast majority of officers."

"It's the confidence in the Franz family, not ours." Biting his cigarette holder, Karl pointed out Fabian's language problem:

"Don't forget, in the eyes of outsiders, it was the Franz family and Her Majesty the Queen who ended the mutiny. We and our beloved Commander-in-Chief are just doing coolies."

"This is a problem. We have to make them realize that the Storm Legion and the Commander-in-Chief played a vital role in this mutiny."

Fabian nodded seriously: "So...what is the purpose of our coming here today?"

"Because Lord Anson Bach has to prepare for the establishment of the War Department and attend the New Year's Banquet at Osteria Palace, he can only leave part of the task of establishing the new organization to us."

The little clerk raised his head again and looked at the other two people with confusion: "Well... I heard that Colonel Fabian has taken over a lot of work, and I thought you should be the clearest among us, so..."

"Indeed, he is responsible for the design of the basic structure of the committee, as well as collecting relevant information about the views of middle and lower-level officers on the Storm Legion." Fabian nodded:

"I originally thought I knew the most, but...that doesn't seem to be the case."

"Congratulations, you finally found the answer." Karl sighed: "Our Commander-in-Chief, who likes to leave troublesome matters to his subordinates, left one of the most troublesome questions."

"Oh, what is it?"

"It's very simple, the name of the new organization and... iconic actions!"

"action?"

The two said in unison.

"A symbolic move that can completely distinguish it from the past Army Department and show that the new Army Department - of course, this organization - is completely different!" Carl, who was trying to recall what someone said, rolled his eyes. :

"Let's put the name aside for now, because the weight of this action is even higher in the eyes of our Commander-in-Chief; in his words - the same action will shape the same memory and create the same belief... Well , I don’t know where he came up with this nonsense.”

"I, I don't agree with this." The little secretary suddenly said: "Master Anson's statement is actually very reasonable. In fact, in some of the monastery's courses on disciplining believers, it is specifically mentioned that believers should do Uniform movements can create a very good missionary atmosphere.”

"I agree."

Fabian took a sip of coffee: "Actually, things like going out on time, training, and having meals in the military camp serve the same purpose, but they are not as... symbolic as the Commander-in-Chief."

"Okay, okay, since you all agree, do you have any good ideas?" Karl waved his hand: "Anyway, I have been thinking here for most of the day, and I haven't come up with any good ideas after drinking three rounds of beer. !”

"this……"

"I have a small proposal."

Quietly interrupting Alan Dawn's hesitation, Fabian took a half-step forward: "According to the Clovis military system, soldiers should salute with their left hand behind their back, their right hand hitting the chest at the heart, with the palm facing down; we need to change our appearance and show our It’s different from the old War Department. Why don’t you try changing it to..."

"...Uh, palm up?"