I will be crowned king

Having experienced previous mutinies and various riots, as well as the Citizens' Council's experience, this time the Whitehall Street police showed their unique professionalism in the entire city of Clovis.

In the final analysis, there is only one means of maintaining order, and that is absolute deterrence: after all, the number of people being enforced will always exceed the number of law enforcers. Only by allowing the people at the scene to actively obey management can it be possible to establish good order.

The first is to ensure that each gate of the park has no less than one shift of guards. At the same time, six groups of mounted police and heavy carriages patrol the surrounding streets; after entering the park, in addition to the main roads and open spaces reserved leading to the site, all remote trails are Seal the area and set up sentries; each group of sentries and patrol policemen should have at least three people. At the same time, they should always be in a position where they can observe the surroundings without blind spots. There should always be one person with ammunition loaded in the chamber of the gun.

All representatives - whether they are real or self-proclaimed, or there is actually no essential difference between the two - must line up to enter the venue through the preset door; the wise Ludwig administration also specially made detailed divisions: Representatives from the city of Clovis and the central province enter through the east gate, with the two as the boundary, representatives from the northern province enter through the south gate, and representatives from the southern province enter through the north gate.

This seems fair, but the problem is that there are only four provinces in the north, but there are eight in the south. Not to mention the central province plus the city of Clovis, the number of representatives is only a little over a hundred.

As a result, representatives from the northern provinces and Clovis City entered the venue early to get good seats. More than two-thirds of the more numerous southern representatives queued up on the streets outside the park, and were forced to choose those farther back. Secluded seats.

Ludwig's motive was of course very simple: since there was no way to prevent the convening of the National Assembly, of course he had to win over those he could win over in advance, the most important of which were of course Central Bank Province and Beigang; both of them were not only important tax centers, It also has the important responsibilities of a military factory and a source of raw materials respectively.

In comparison, the remote, poor and backward southern provinces naturally had to suffer a little. Moreover, most of the provinces that refused to be loyal to His Majesty Nicholas this time were in the south. Ludwig also wanted to take the opportunity to strike. Get rid of these dishonest foreigners and let them clearly understand their status.

Following the surging crowd, Anson finally arrived at the venue of the National Assembly.

With a medium-sized amphitheater as the center, the Whitehall Street police flattened the surrounding park and built a "square" with a long shed that could accommodate six to seven thousand people. There were nearly two hundred armed policemen on site. Maintain order and let deputies know what they are doing with hand signals and a dry roar.

Almost at the same time that Anson found a seat to sit down, there was a sudden commotion in the direction of the west gate of the park; the noisy noise made him couldn't help but glance away, and the first thing he saw was walking in the front row. Viscount Bogner.

The former leader of the revolutionary faction was now wearing a rather retro-trimmed velvet cloak and a top hat decorated with peacock feathers. The boots under his feet were clanging on the floor. The blood-red Unicorn King Flag walked at the front of the queue with his head held high.

Behind him, hundreds of people could be seen, all wearing different styles, gorgeous and luxurious dresses, with sabers and exquisite ribbons hanging on their bodies, either holding their hands high, or simply using the Clovis King's flag as a cloak. Put it on your shoulders and come from the west gate to the parliament site.

Compared with them, the representatives present who entered from other doors seemed completely different: although the composition was complex, there were locals from Clovis and other provinces, wealthy businessmen and workers from outer cities, landless farmers and landlords, and old people with prominent family backgrounds. Gui and ordinary working people...

But there are no exceptions in terms of clothing. They are monotonous and loose, standard dark jacket and trousers from a ready-made clothing store, and light-colored shirts. Except for the lace and decoration on the brim of the hat, you can't even distinguish the two representatives. Everyone They were all submerged in patches of gray-black ocean.

The difference was so clear that it could be seen at a glance. The turbulent National Assembly first fell into a brief silence, and then a flood of protests broke out:

"This is the National Assembly. Who specially invited these nobles here?!"

"Even nobles should abide by the rules of the National Assembly. Which province are they representatives of?!"

"Why can the nobles of the royal city have exclusive access, swagger into the venue wearing beautiful clothes and have someone escort each other, while representatives from other places have to stay outside the park, and will be beaten and scolded by the 'police' if they don't follow the rules?!"

"Yes, protest! It's time for these nobles to have a taste of leather-wrapped sticks and whips!"

...When he heard the people around him using the word "police" in a joking and mocking tone, Anson couldn't help but raise his eyebrows.

Since "representatives" from all over the country began to enter Clovis City in a steady stream, the pressure on Whitehall Street has increased significantly. While dealing with the hostility of militias from various communities, they must also find ways to place and deal with these representatives.

Except for the first group who received "full reception", the vast majority of the thousands of representatives present came to Clovis City on their own means; character quality is second to none, and understanding and not adapting to city life is almost 100% .

Without understanding, conflicts will inevitably arise, but the representatives still feel that they are invited to Clovis City and "should have a mission". Naturally, there are constant conflicts between them and the Whitehall Street police who are ordered to maintain order in the city: illegal work, theft , trespassing into prohibited areas... The police regarded the representatives as unstable elements, and the representatives naturally understood "police" as a derogatory term.

As for the militiamen who have been in constant conflict with Whitehall Street, they will definitely not side with the police, but the arrogance of the "city people" also makes them unwilling to lower their arrogance, so newspapers have all kinds of stories about "how provincial people praise the Kremlin" Lowe City", "The fuss of the provincials", "How incompetent is Whitehall Street", "Where is the lower limit of the police" and other reports have become the most discussed in pubs and street restaurants in the outer city. fun.

He sighed softly. Just when Anson was thinking about how Ludwig would end this commotion, he suddenly found that the guy next to him who was shouting and protesting looked a bit familiar, and the more he looked, the more familiar he looked, and the more he looked, the more he felt like …

"It's you?!"

Anson's eyes widened: "Miss Flora Cecil, didn't you follow the Free Confederacy's mission back to North Port?"

The girl in front of her, wearing a dark trench coat and covering most of her face with a hat brim and a high collar, was waving her arms excitedly, waving flags and shouting together with the worker brother next to her and the female helpers in the bakery, protesting against the privileges of the aristocrats.

He really wanted to ask the eldest daughter of the Cecil family if she had forgotten that she had a father who was the mayor of Beigang, an uncle who was a rear admiral, and the fact that her family was the largest wealthy family in Beigang. Public platform - Of course, I can also be asked this question.

"Major General Anson Bach? Ah... He seems to be a lieutenant general now, right?!"

The girl's eyes lit up, and she clung to Anson's sleeves like a fox that had found its target: "It's such a coincidence that I met you here. I was also thinking of asking Fabian to find out your whereabouts. "

"I won't say much more, ahem... In short, I did not leave with the Free Confederation's mission, and I am still a representative sent by Red Brick Street to participate in the National Assembly."

While speaking, she held her hands on her hips and puffed out her chest: "So Lieutenant General, not only are you a representative, but I am also a representative. We are now comrades-in-arms with equal status!"

"Representative of Red Brick Street?" Anson concealed his shock with a forced smile: "Congratulations to you for being so popular in the Clovis Cathedral community."

"Hey, by the way, who helped you become a representative, Fabian?"

He still vaguely remembered that Fabian seemed to have some relationship with the eldest lady. The latter's perseverance made Fabian scratch his head and stuff her into the Free Confederacy mission, and brought her to Clovis City.

During this period, Miss Flora stayed at the Osteria Palace all the time, and moved to the residence that Fabian found for her shortly before the mission left. Of course, the daughter of the Cecil family would definitely look down on it. Not a townhouse, but a suite in a high-end hotel on Friedrichstrasse.

"Him? Of course not. How could that inexperienced guy Fabian have as sharp a sense of politics as me?"

Fula Laura immediately showed a dissatisfied look: "Of course I actively fought for this, relying entirely on my personal strength."

"Oh, I'd like to hear it and take a closer look."

"The process was a bit complicated, but in short I joined the newspaper Red Brick Street News. Their editor-in-chief was very discerning and immediately promoted me to become a special reporter for the community."

"In the subsequent interviews, the citizens in the community really discovered my excellence and allowed me to become their representative... Ah, speaking of this, if it hadn't been a little late, I almost would have been able to participate in Clovis City The Citizens’ Council!”

The girl's face was filled with infinite pride and a trace of annoyance, and she completely failed to notice the increasingly weird look on the opposite side of Anson's face.

Well, "Red Brick Street News"... If I remember correctly, the real boss behind that newspaper should be Sophia...

After thinking for a while, Anson vaguely felt that he had guessed the intention of a certain war minister: Red Brick Street is where Clovis Cathedral is located. When it comes to the influence of the church and the Franz family, the attitude of this community is actually relatively subtle. , or they probably don’t want to stand up and express their opinions at this time, whether it is to national representatives or nobles.

And at this time, if a girl of high status and non-locality is willing to spontaneously stand up to become their representative and speak out for them, then of course everyone wants it; with the Cecil family and Sophia Franz as their support, Fu Lao La also doesn’t have to worry about being targeted.

Of course, the backlash is that her words and opinions will most likely not be taken seriously by others... Thinking of this, Anson looked at the girl with a hint of pity.

“Everyone—silence!”

The sonorous and powerful shouts coupled with the neat volley of gunshots from the Whitehall Street police officers at the scene silenced the noisy scene for an instant.

The policemen surrounding the scene uniformly raised their guns in the air, white eyes emerging from the muzzles of their guns, and put on a "crown" made of clouds for the National Assembly.

Standing at the back of the center of the venue, Anson comforted the frightened Laura Cecil while looking around at the angry and gnashing expressions around him; although he kept silent, he could still tell that most of them were In fact, people are driven by force and dare to be angry but dare not speak out.

Ludwig didn't care about this. Holding the revolver that smelled like gunpowder smoke in his hand, he walked straight to the podium and looked at the thousands of delegates in the audience:

"Everyone here, I don't know what you are protesting or opposing, and no matter how angry you are, because I just want to remind you one thing: the reason why you can stand here and form a parliament to discuss national affairs, It’s His Majesty’s permission!”

"His Majesty Nicholas I, by his decree, approved the passage of the National Assembly Act and allowed his subjects to form a parliament that unites the entire kingdom and contributes to his kingdom."

"This is a privilege, an honor, and not something to be taken for granted!"

"Therefore, His Majesty can grant permission for the convening of the Parliament, and of course, can also approve the nobles who are also loyal to him to become an integral part of this Parliament; this is nothing to make a fuss about. The nobles are also the cornerstone of the kingdom, just like many of the provinces present here. Among the representatives, many are also nobles.”

"Here, I can give you the power to choose: you can continue to maintain your identity and represent a certain province where you are from, or you can come over and join the ranks of the nobles of the royal city and participate in the national membership with your innate identity. Parliament." Although he faced thousands of people, Ludwig's voice could reach everyone's ears.

Anson raised his eyebrows and glanced at the few royal guards following Ludwig - obviously, the problem lay with them.

But that was not the focus of the representatives present. After the brief commotion, someone quickly protested: "Why can you decide who is the representative of where? Isn't this our freedom?!"

"Why me, that's a good question." Ludwig nodded slightly, with a hint of sparkle in his eyes: "It's simple, because this is the right granted to me by His Majesty!"

"In the name of the Queen Mother Regent and Her Majesty Nicholas I, I have been appointed Speaker of the National Assembly; from now on when will the Assembly be convened, what kind of bills will be discussed, and when it will end..."

"Even who is the legal representative is all decided by me. If you have any opinions, you can protest to His Majesty and remove me from office; but now..."

He smiled coldly and lowered the muzzle of the gun to the ground:

"I declare that the Clovis National Assembly is officially convened!"