I will be crowned king

Holding the Borne rifle still smoking from the muzzle, Ludwig, with a natural and relaxed expression, walked straight towards the inner court of the Osteria Palace. The doors of one room after another were opened in front of him, and the strong smell of blood flowed with the cold draft.

The efficiency of the Storm Legion was much higher than he thought. By the time Ludwig arrived with his people, all the policemen who were ambushed outside the throne room and bribed by the conservatives had been wiped out. Fabian even dug out the He found the other party's informant inside the Osteria Palace and took action in advance without waiting to report to Ludwig.

The Whitehall Street policemen who were following him looked at their broken colleagues on the ground and the Storm Legion soldiers who were silently cleaning up the scene with very complicated expressions.

This is not a battle at all, this is a massacre.

All the fallen bodies were facing the same direction, and there were no bullet marks or missing weapons on the floor or surrounding walls, proving that the bribed police officers were exterminated without any resistance; even more died. Before, they may not have known what was going on.

The only ones left to Ludwig to do it by his own hands were a few lucky ones who escaped...but Ludwig believed that Fabian let them go on purpose to ensure that he could not evade his involvement in this matter.

It wasn't until he reached the last room that he finally saw the face that still felt strange, plus a figure that didn't seem to be there.

"Things have been resolved... I have to say, it went smoother than expected." While wiping the barrel of the revolver with a handkerchief, Fabian said without raising his head: "Thank you for your hard work, Lieutenant Colonel Crown. .”

"Don't dare."

Crown said calmly, his expression neither sad nor happy: "Since I took over this job, of course I have to do my best - it's a certain code of conduct."

"Excellent principles... It's because of this that I always feel that we have a common language between you and me." Fabian, who had his back to the door, seemed to be smiling:

"A check for fifty thousand gold coins has been sent to your wife, along with ten pounds of garlic sausage, five pounds of butter, and a jar of sugar."

Crown frowned slightly: "We originally agreed on 30,000."

"That's the usual price. Today is the New Year." Fabian smiled and said, "Happy New Year."

Crown, who twitched his lips, turned around and happened to bump into Ludwig walking in, together with a group of Whitehall Street police officers who looked obviously unhappy.

After a moment of silence, Kroun didn't know what to say and carefully performed a military salute: "Your Excellency, Major General, Happy New Year."

After speaking, he quickly left the room without waiting for the other party to respond.

It was only at this moment that Fabian stood up as if he had just realized it, and gave the exact same military salute in a slightly exaggerated manner: "Major General Ludwig, you are here."

"Yes." He nodded in a coping manner, and glanced at the figure behind him who had walked away with a stiff expression: "Crown... I remember, wasn't he supposed to be locked up in the prison on Whitehall Street? Who released him? ?”

"I."

Fabian answered without hesitation: "Of course, to be precise, it should be the Minister of War, Sophia Franz Jr....well, Your Excellency."

"……Why?"

"He was useful to us - Crown was one of the best mid-level cadres in the former War Department, and he was also in the field - you know, at the top of the former War Department, the Bayonet Club and the conservatives were very close; to attract this kind of talent, It can save us a lot of trouble.”

"But this man is a former member of the Army Ministry, and he publicly testified in court that Anson Bach was a traitor to the kingdom." Ludwig frowned slightly, somewhat confused: "You would actually trust this kind of person to work for you?"

"Why don't you believe it? He is no longer a threat."

Fabian chuckled softly: "The Bayonet Club was completely wiped out, and all his former backers no longer exist...You probably don't know that field staff like this are basically the ones who offend the most people; Asylum, he will disappear from the world within three days, and no one will reach out to catch him."

"What's more... I can send New Year's gifts to his wife and parents, and I can find every member of his family at any time; if something happens, no one can run away."

"Yeah, I almost forgot that you, the deputy commander of the Storm Legion, were once a secret agent of the royal family." Ludwig snorted coldly and couldn't help but said: "With your help, no wonder Anson, a foreigner, One can navigate the city of Clovis with ease.”

"Everywhere, we still rely on Major General Ludwig's protection."

Fabian raised his hands indifferently: "The Commander-in-Chief often says that he has always prided himself on being your subordinate; without your eclectic promotion in Thunder Castle, he would not have achieved what he has today. , it is even less likely that the Storm Legion will be born."

"Because of this, the Commander-in-Chief has always kept a considerable distance during today's New Year's banquet. Our Storm Legion only obeyed your order and seconded a Grenadier Regiment; the entire Clovis can see it clearly. , who is the greatest hero in defending the kingdom!"

His tone was quite sincere, even to the point of being a little humble, which made the attitude of the Whitehall Street policemen, who were still looking visibly unkind when they entered, much better than at the beginning.

"There is no need to be so exaggerated... I was forced to choose him to a certain extent because of my helplessness. I still recognize Anson Bach's strength." Ludwig twitched the corner of his mouth: "It belongs to you for your contribution and what you deserve. Some of these benefits will not be forgotten by the War Department or the Franz family."

"It just so happens that through this New Year's banquet, I...ah, it should be the Minister of War who will formally propose to His Majesty that Anson Bach's military rank be promoted to major general. This will legitimately elevate the status of the Storm Legion, and on the other hand, it will It would not be too unfair to let him hold a more critical position within the Army Department."

"Not only that, when the time is right, I will leave most of the actual work of the Army Department to him - of course not now. After all, he is only a brigadier general at the moment, and he needs to accumulate some contacts and connections for a few days first. Experience." Ludwig raised his head and looked at Fabian with some deep meaning:

"If all goes well, he probably hopes to retire with the rank of lieutenant general when he is sixty years old, and you... Fabian, as his deputy, is even more hopeful to become his successor and change his body before the age of fifty. Maybe a general’s military uniform.”

"I really don't dare to hope for this kind of thing." Fabian smiled humbly: "I am very ashamed, but I am actually very satisfied with the current situation."

"Satisfied? I don't believe it."

Ludwig was very dismissive: "As a Clovis soldier, having ambition is not a bad thing. It would be better to say that guys without ambition are basically incompetent... I have no interest in that kind of thing, do you understand? "

"I understand, and I deeply agree." Fabian nodded solemnly, and followed the other person's words: "So... what did the major general gain through this counterinsurgency?"

"You are a smart man, Fabian. A smart man should know that it is meaningless to ask something like this knowingly."

Although he was still sarcastic, Ludwig had no intention of deliberately concealing it: "Chief of the Royal Guards... This position is not critical. The key thing is that only by having this position, can I no longer have to worry about those from other forces. Continue to work towards His Majesty Nicholas and the Queen Mother Anne in an attempt to break the situation."

Ludwig's tone was very decisive, and he came to this answer after careful consideration.

The first reason for doing this is naturally the unity within the Franz family... Since becoming Minister of War, he can clearly feel that Sophia's hostility towards him is increasing day by day. This is of course because he has always held most of the real power in the War Department. Let her, the Minister of War, be nothing more than a decoration.

But Ludwig was also helpless... The Franz family seemed to be on the rise, but its actual position was in jeopardy. If he did nothing at this time, it would make others mistakenly think that he had lost Carlos II and Luther Frank. The alliance between the two men, Franz, has become weak and can be bullied.

However, the situation is now stabilizing, and Anson Bach's "Red Heart" organization has gradually taken control of the middle and lower levels of the Army Ministry. With him here, even if he does not intervene, Sophia, the Minister of War who does not understand military affairs, is not at risk of being sidelined; since In this case, Ludwig would of course go one step further and directly control the king in his own hands.

This not only avoids direct conflict with Sophia, but also allows the influence of the Franz family to penetrate into the Osteria Palace...achieving the goal of establishing a military government in a more "tactful" way.

"In that case, I wish you all the best in advance." Fabian said with a smile, and took out his pocket watch from his jacket pocket: "There is still half an hour...The coronation ceremony of the new king will be over in half an hour, and you can Justifiably walked into the throne room and announced the news that the rebellion had been completely put down."

"Um."

Ludwig nodded, his calm expression clearly indicating that he was fully sure of the outcome: "With Anson Bach at the scene, there should be no risk of the situation getting out of control."

"There is indeed no doubt about his ability."

……………………

The moment Nicholas's words fell, Anson felt for the first time that sometimes things like eyes can really kill people.

In the solemn atmosphere in the throne room, the originally confused eyes became very unified: anger, jealousy, unacceptable... all at once, as if they wanted to cut the figure kneeling in front of the throne with a thousand knives.

Only Sophia... her expression was so stunned and confused.

Chief of the Royal Guards... This position is neither big nor small. It can even be said that reputation outweighs real power. There is nothing special about it. It means that you can directly enter the Osteria Palace and all affiliated areas without notification, and automatically become the supreme commander of all the Royal Guards. Officials can also meet His Majesty in person anytime and anywhere.

Yeah, no big deal at all.

Even for the vast majority of officers, this honor is likely to be something they avoid... As long as you become the chief of the Royal Guards, it means that you will no longer have the opportunity to be promoted except for the hard work of mixed qualifications. ——In order to ensure the absolute loyalty of this direct military force, it is impossible for successive kings to allow his chief of guards to leave this post alive.

But there is a small problem here, because in the past, these chiefs of guards may have been of noble birth, but their military rank was often not higher than that of colonel; at the same time, they rarely had actual battlefield experience, and they did not have many involvements within the army; apart from being absolutely loyal to There was no one else to rely on but the king himself.

As for Anson Bach... he was first promoted to lieutenant general and then obtained this position; not only that, Nicholas did not mention in his oral instructions that the other party must be relieved of other positions.

In other words, Anson not only became the chief of the Royal Guards, but also still had the command of the Storm Legion and continued to hold important positions within the Army Department.

Royal power, military power...from this moment on, everything fell into the hands of this once-little brigadier general!

On the steps, the cabinet ministers all fell silent.

Under the steps, the nobles present, both reformists and conservatives, looked at Anson's back with extremely fierce eyes.

It seemed that he was not looking at a potential partner, a vassal of the Franz family, but... an enemy.

A relentless enemy.

From now on, he can no longer bear the name of the Franz family, and will no longer be regarded as a target that can be used... Instead, he harbored evil intentions, lurked for a long time, and finally usurped the best interests of the entire mutiny at the last moment in full view of the public. , the careerist who directly controls the king himself!

In the dead silence, Anson silently raised his head and looked at the culprit who had just announced all this.

Queen Mother Anne looked solemn, but she could still see some guilt in her eyes; of course she knew that doing so would make Anson angry, but whether it was to keep her secret or to find a "loyal minister" for her son who would never betray him ", these are the best ways.

The young man in her arms stared at him with wide innocent eyes.

But that flash of well-hidden cunning was still captured by Anson.

As if to say: "I just did that, what can you do to me?"

good, very good.

Anson raised his upper body slightly, with a natural expression, not caring at all about the depressing and terrifying atmosphere around him. Looking directly into the boy's eyes.

He took a deep breath, and then...

"I am extremely grateful that Your Majesty can grant me such a noble honor and mission...I! Anson Bach, from today on, I will formally swear that I will defend everything in the Kingdom of Clovis until my breathing stops and until the end of my life!"

"Any ambitious person who attempts to usurp the power of the kingdom, any traitor with evil intentions towards the kingdom, anyone who dares to threaten the interests of the kingdom, I will do my best to make him regret having such an idea at all costs!"

"May the Ring of Order bless His earthly kingdom forever."

"Hail Clovis!"