I will be crowned king

William Cecil didn't just talk the talk. He didn't care if the delegates who were still shocked by the headlines reacted and took immediate action.

The royal family does not want to see provincial representatives, and the Minister of War refuses to convene the National Assembly in her name. Well, I can always publish my opinions and initiatives in the newspaper, right?

The chaotic scene in Clovis City in front of him brought back some "long-standing" memories: a certain former commander-in-chief of the colonial army seemed to be very interested in the media industry.

Taking advantage of public opinion to create influence first, even if what you tell is not entirely true, you can still establish a preliminary image in the minds of others - especially when others have not done so yet.

The young naval colonel couldn't help but admire Uncle Flanders's foresight. As the mayor of North Port and the leader of the Cecil family, he really had a unique vision. He had not seen the chaos in Clovis City with his own eyes, but he could still see it. Make accurate judgments and foresee the rise of new forces.

So the next day, the front page of the "Clovis Truth" published a report titled "Northport, a city of wealth built on the blood and tears of sailors."

The content is also very simple: Northport is one of the richest provinces in the Kingdom of Clovis, providing the kingdom with a steady stream of cheap goods from overseas, at the expense of small businessmen who continue to go bankrupt and sailors who endure endless suffering.

"...Every time you go to sea is a double gamble of life and property, and the sailors are even more miserable. They live on maggot-infested biscuits and clear water mixed with rum and full of green plants; when they set foot on land, they can only Taking Weibo’s salary to face eagerly awaiting family members—yes, if they really have family members and their wives haven’t disappeared with their children yet…”

“…For the long-term prosperity of the Kingdom of Clovis, I hereby solemnly propose that we should face up to the problem of the difficult life of the lower class sailors, establish a sailors’ union and a maritime trade committee, and provide the minimum protection for the middle and lower class merchants and sailors… "

In order to improve the effect, William Cecil also referred to the tradition within the Navy and reduced the number of words in the article as much as possible to ensure that the content was concise and clear.

And he also made an "exclusive discovery", that is, the citizens of Clovis City prefer "listening" to newspapers rather than reading them, so the fewer words, the better they can avoid their ideas being misinterpreted.

The result was as expected. Taking advantage of the "Coal Butter Act", the newspaper caused a sensation the day after it was published. The most enthusiastic citizens at the moment were either middle- and lower-level officers or workers on the assembly line. It is very easy to empathize with the encounter.

So a week after the bill was made public, public opinion and enthusiasm not only did not gradually dissipate over time, but intensified; people who had previously ignored their community representatives became more than ten times more enthusiastic to participate in the discussion than before; even just now As soon as the citizens entering the city mention the "citizen assembly" in their words, they will immediately show an expression that is ten thousand times more solemn than when discussing royal gossip.

Soon "Clovis Truth" immediately issued a follow-up report on this trend, and added very ironically: "Facts have proved that the lazy and numb commoners in the mouths of the nobles do not care about the country and society as much as the ancient people flowing in their bodies. The bloodline adults are inferior; it’s just that no one has ever given them a chance like Chancellor Sophia Franz and Lieutenant General Anson Bach.”

The day after this article was published, the Whitehall Street police immediately raided the newspaper and closed down the newspaper, and everyone from the editor-in-chief to the lowest-level reporters were jailed - an arrest warrant came from the Prime Minister's Office for slandering the nobility.

The chain reaction triggered by that bill almost drove Ludwig crazy. On one side were the nobility and wealthy businessmen who were constantly protesting, and on the other side were the people who were increasingly hostile to the police and tax collectors. The ruler was caught in the middle. There are no people on either side.

Of course he knows that the boss behind the "Clovis Truth" seems to be his lovely sister, but if he doesn't give some explanation at this time, the entire newspaper company may die tomorrow. By then, the newly "powerful" citizens' council will definitely not Even if they give up, the "unbearable" nobles will not be able to make any more concessions.

The Kingdom of Clovis will be torn apart by this storm!

However, Ludwig's superb political methods, which he thought could "mediate both sides at the same time," did not calm the situation as he hoped. Instead, it was like throwing a grenade into a bonfire.

The people who had restored some degree of trust in the Prime Minister's Office - after all, they actually implemented the bill - were aroused. It was just an ordinary editorial that sent the entire newspaper to jail. Doesn't that just mean that the newspaper Is everything true? !

So when the expressionless Roman walked into the office the next day with a few thick stacks of newspapers, the ruling lord who had been relieved was furious on the spot: dozens of newspapers, without exception, all published headlines about "Claude" on their front pages. Exactly the same content as the "Victoria News".

Yeah, and it’s also a bold and enlarged version.

In addition to being angry, Ludwig was even more puzzled. Are these people stupid? Are they really not afraid of death?

Roman, who said nothing, watched the ruling lord's hysterical anger from the side. After his anger was almost gone, he silently handed over today's latest information.

In order to save all the imprisoned members of the "Clovis Truth" newspaper, 238 communities in Clovis City will launch a three-day protest in the name of the citizens' assembly. The specific content is to organize public speeches , publicizing the reasons why newspaper employees were jailed, and mobilizing community members to protest outside the prison. All businessmen and workers who think they are on the side of the Citizens' Assembly will no longer provide services to the Clovis City nobles - those who are not representatives of the Assembly. merchandise, or do anything to serve them.

In addition, except for "Morning News" and "Kingdom Loyal News", all newspaper editors and employees who published content that "slandered the nobility" will stay at the newspaper offices from today on, waiting for the Whitehall Street police to come and arrest them.

This was not the only thing that made Ludwig so angry that his mind went blank... Not only the citizens of Clovis, but also representatives from various provinces actually participated: some representatives who claimed to be royalists went to Osterley. Ya Gong, praying to the Queen Mother Regent and Her Majesty to come forward and grant amnesty to those "warriors who sacrificed their lives for the country."

As for other representatives, they were more direct and suggested that the National Assembly should be convened immediately to have the most serious discussion on "whether it is guilty of slandering nobles." Some people even suggested that "whether it is guilty of slandering common people by nobles" should also be included in the discussion.

"Yes, Lord Consul." The indifferent Roman suddenly said:

"They are really not afraid of death."

…………………………

Inner city, Osteria Palace.

The young king was lying on the city wall looking out at the dark crowd. His heart in his chest was beating violently as if it was about to break through his ribs, and his body was shaking constantly.

He originally thought that after experiencing the embarrassing "fainting" last time, he would be able to behave calmly when faced with this situation again, impressing the surrounding guards and servants, and making those rebellious ministers sincerely convinced, but now: "Mother, mother …”

"Don't be afraid, my child!" Anne Herred pressed Nicholas' shoulders directly from behind:

"I'm here, and there are many, many guards. Don't worry, no one can hurt you."

While whispering comfort, the Queen Mother Regent immediately winked at her side, and several royal guards immediately stepped forward and stood in front of the king with their guns raised.

Although Anson Bach is nominally the chief of the Royal Guards, as the Queen Mother, Anne Herred cannot take away the command of the Royal Guards from the king even if she is the regent; but in this world, situations are always stronger than people. , even the most loyal royal guards to the king had to admit that obeying the Queen Mother's orders was the decision that was in the best interest of the king at the moment.

Of course, the premise is that one is truly loyal to a king who just turned eight years old this year.

With the frightened little king in her arms, Anne Herred had no time to care about the "loyal" royalists outside. She only had one thing on her mind right now.

That's Nicholas Osteria's safety.

Since the mutiny, the situation in Clovis has been turned upside down. The status of the royal family, which was not considered stable at first, can be said to be almost ignored in the turmoil. First, Ludwig grandly seized power and became the leader, and then the local provinces The governors openly showed no loyalty to the new king, and even the emperor who was far away in Xiaolong City was secretly plotting against his own nephew.

As for Anson Bach and Sophia Franz, whom she once trusted so much... Unless she was completely stupid, it was impossible for the Queen Mother to regard these two people as loyal ministers of the royal family.

It is no exaggeration to say that all the current chaos in Clovis City was created by these two "loyal ministers"!

But Anne Herred was not worried, because she held the most important information about Anson Bach, just like the other party; so all she had to do was to ensure that her lovely son, Nicholas I of the Kingdom of Clovis, could If he grows up safely and becomes a king like his father, everything will settle down.

Yes, the Queen Mother firmly believes that the root cause of all the things she is seeing is that Nicholas is still too young; the young king simply does not get the recognition and heartfelt conviction of his subjects, which is why so many ghosts and monsters pop up. .

As long as his son can grow up safely and healthily, reach adulthood, and marry an extremely noble queen, he can once again become the sole master of Clovis.

Yes, as long as he can grow up safely...

"Your Majesty, although I know that even if I tell you ten thousand times, you probably won't change your mind, I still want to say..." The words of the trembling old man, leaning on a cane, sounded:

"It is a very dangerous decision to let go of power and allow civilians and powerful groups from the provinces to participate in politics. It will break the ancient traditions of Clovis for thousands of years, lead to drastic changes in the kingdom that we cannot predict, and..."

"Come on, my Lord Renard, the Kingdom of Clovis does not have a history of thousands of years at all, unless you include the ancient Clovis royal family who were killed by the Osterian royal family!"

The impatient Queen Mother frowned and looked at Renard who was almost unsteady standing behind her: "Let us face the reality, that is, the nobles of Clovis City can no longer continue to defend the king as they did in the past, otherwise It would not have led to the current situation.”

"In this case, why not let those subjects from other provinces who are still loyal to the king join in, re-establish the king's vassal screen, and let them surround the king tightly?"

"Because it's very uncontrollable!"

The old man walked forward and slammed his cane with "Bang——!": "Your Majesty, I know you have complaints about today's situation, and I know even more clearly that the decisions you made are for His Majesty's safety, but please forgive me. Frankly speaking, if the National Assembly is really convened, His Majesty’s authority will disappear in an instant.”

“I don’t even need to cite historical examples, because reality has the best evidence: the bill of the National Assembly was implemented without compromise by the Prime Minister’s Office, and did not receive the instruction and approval of His Majesty the King. This It was simply unthinkable in the past.”

"And if the National Assembly does convene, it will be nothing more than the Citizens' Assembly - they will legislate, they will rule, they will make decisions that they think are in the best interest of the kingdom, and they will make these decisions in the past It’s all just the king’s book…”

"Yes, only the king can make these decisions, but the current majesty cannot do it at all, and I, the regent and queen mother, are targeted and resisted by you everywhere." Anne said coldly:

"In that case, why can't it be handed over to those who are loyal to the king? Is it the best decision for the kingdom to entrust all power to nobles like you?"

"I would say that was probably the least bad decision."

The head of the Renard family sighed: "Give power to the nobles, and the nobles will always be nobles, and the king will always be the king; give power to the common people, then... it's hard to say."

"It doesn't matter, I'm willing to take a gamble." Queen Mother Wang said expressionlessly:

"That's it, Lord Renard, please take a trip and tell Anson Bach and our Minister of War to convene the National Assembly immediately in the name of the king."

"Now?"

"Now!"

"Is there really no room for further negotiation?"

"If you, the loyal ministers of the kingdom, can immediately eliminate the group of thieves outside, so that Your Majesty no longer has to worry about it, of course we can discuss it."

Anne looked at the old man in front of her with contempt: "But you can't do it, so Lord Renard, please show your last value, that is, with Lieutenant Colonel Julien Renard, the commander of the fifth infantry regiment of the Storm Legion. , regarding your son’s relationship, go and discuss with Lieutenant General Anson Bach what to do.”

"...as you command."

The humiliated old man bowed respectfully, but the moment he lowered his head, a playful smile appeared on the corner of his plain mouth.

What should we do to make good use of this favor to help Anson Bach convince the Queen Mother?

No matter what, such a big contribution can always make your status there further, right? My stupid son...

Julien Renard.