I will be crowned king

On August 15, 103 in the Saint's Calendar, Anson Bach and Fabian led a rapid march of 50,000 Rangers and Storm Legion, arriving first at the Stirring River, the border between the Grand Duchy of Brahm and the Duchy of Dragon.

The reason why they abandoned the main force and arrived here first was not only to use high-speed maneuvers to deter the empire and force the other side to have no time to think and deal with it, but also because this place was too important.

To the east, across the river is Brahm's territory. To the south, along the river, you can enter the southern water system of the empire, connected with dense roads, and indirectly connected to the three principalities in the south. To the north, there is a smooth road up the river, plus you can use it. River transportation saves costs and is one of the most prosperous trade routes in the central part of the empire. As for heading west...

With four days of walking and two days of cavalry, you can enter the direct territory of the Herred royal family and bring the war to the emperor's doorstep!

Of course, these are not the only reasons: the entire river runs northeast to southwest, and the terrain is higher in the east and lower in the west. On both sides of the river are broad alluvial plains and slightly undulating meadows. The royal estates on the highlands on the east side guard the long river. The closest ford crossing on the Halberd River - if Anson still hopes to reach Xiaolong City before the Western Front runs out of ammunition and food, this is the only way he must pass.

Sir Garland, who had experienced an almost non-stop retreat across the board, and his regiment, which numbered less than 10,000 men, were now stationed in the royal manor. They had even begun to dig trenches, build fortifications, and prepare to defend to the death.

This time, Anson could no longer rely on a rapid march to outflank, and the terrifying momentum of a full 150,000 troops marching in coordination could directly crush the opponent. He had to seize control of the ferry, otherwise all subsequent plans would be empty talk.

So the Storm Legion and Ranger Legion, which had just experienced five days of rapid march, started on the spot, pulled the twenty six-pound cannon and five twelve-pound cannon carried by the two legions from the trailer, and marched less than two meters away from the royal estate. Establish siege positions at kilometers.

At the same time, Cavalry Colonel Charles Sanders was not idle. He led the newly promoted Red Moon Cavalry Division on armed reconnaissance on both sides of the Halberd River. Not only did he capture and destroy many of the baggage trains of the Garland Regiment, but he also brought them back A lot of information.

"According to the information currently available, the principalities of the empire have responded to the emperor's call: an army under the banner of the Levent family has raised troops from the south. At the same time, the Roland family has also assembled an army to go down the river. The size of the two armies They are all around 30,000 people.”

In the temporary command post of the siege position, Karl took the news just compiled by the staff and reported the situation to Anson and a group of officers: "However, the two armies are not moving fast. From the most pessimistic perspective, if you want to catch up, It will be at least ten days before we reach Xiaolong City or the crossing of the Changjian River where we are now."

"According to the Ministry of War, the fleet of the Grand Duchy of Adlan set out to sea on August 13th, with the intention of besieging North Port and forcing us to abandon our counterattack plan."

"Government Ludwig sent intelligence from the base camp, and the imperial garrison on the border began to commotion. He is organizing a war committee to launch a small-scale exploratory offensive, trying to pin these enemies to their fortresses as much as possible without daring to move. , also reminds us to be careful behind us, the enemy is very likely to be waiting for an opportunity to recapture the Tongmen Fort."

"The knights of the Grand Duchy of Brahm, who were originally very honest, seem to want to test our army. Some scouts found that the other party sent a small number of elite knights to move around our army's logistics transportation lines, and they were very frequent."

After a brief description, it seemed that the imperial army was surrounded from all sides and was about to cut off the retreat of the entire Western Front Army and completely strangle their lone army.

However, the officers present, headed by Anson Bach, not only did not have the slightest nervousness, but were also quite calm. Carl Bain, who was in charge of the statement, could not help but raise the corners of his mouth as he spoke.

"Very good. Now that our great deputy chief of staff has finished speaking, let me, the commander-in-chief who is quite competent at the moment, explain the current situation to everyone."

Anson, who was holding back a smile, took the command stick from the little clerk behind him and gently clicked on the location of the royal estate on the map: "First, there are the reinforcements sent by the two Grand Dukes Levent and Roland, one in the south and one in the north. ', Under the premise that our army's movements can be fully confirmed, it will take ten days to reach the battlefield."

"Such an astonishing efficiency, the intention is very obvious: the other party is forced to deal with the emperor, and he does not want to participate in this battle at all."

"Following them are the knights of the Grand Duchy of Brahm and the fleet of the Grand Duchy of Edland... If the former really wanted to take any action, they should have stepped in when our poor Sir Gloria was defeated. How could he have waited until all the friendly forces were gone? Are there any left who come out and pretend to be loyal?"

"The same is true for Adlan's fleet: Archduke Bernard is indeed a loyal minister of the empire, the emperor's humerus. When Xiaolong City was in danger, he decisively sent his strongest fleet to attack Beigang, which is separated from us by thousands of mountains and rivers. Forcing us to take the initiative to retreat, this is really an indescribably efficient method...genius, really genius."

Looking at the suppressed smiles of everyone around him, Anson waved his hand helplessly: "Okay, I'll have a showdown with you... The two grand duchies of Bram and Adlan have already reached private agreements with Clovis, and they will be here In exchange for maintaining absolute neutrality in this war, Clovis cannot cause any damage to the two principalities in the name of attacking the empire."

"Of course, the specific content is definitely not as simple as what I said, but you can basically rest assured that you don't have to think about being attacked by them...for now."

Anson said while sliding his command staff to the border area: "What you should really be wary of are the multiple legions directly under the emperor stationed along the border."

"These armies are currently restrained by Ludwig's rule, but it will not be indefinite. We must race against time and use the fastest speed to defeat the emperor's hastily assembled armies, forcing him to give up and continue to attack Osteria. The royal banner, the idea of ​​invading Clovis.”

"Before Count Schlieffen and Deputy Commander Fabian arrive with the remaining troops one after another, we must defeat the Garland Army as soon as possible and control the important high ground of the Royal Manor in our hands."

"Follow your orders——!!!"

Accompanied by thunderous shouts, the officers uniformly beat their chests and saluted, and then left the headquarters one after another and went to their respective units.

After waiting until everyone was basically gone, Karl, who had suppressed his smile, came closer and lowered his voice and said: "The Dukaski family sent people to send information. An army of more than 60,000 people has been assembled in Xiaolong City. Counting Sir Gloria and the remnants of Fernando's legion that we defeated before and fled all the way, the army already exceeds 100,000 people."

"Um, so what?"

"So..." Karl rolled his eyes and looked at him helplessly: "You know what I want to say."

"Of course, I understand whether capturing the crossing of the Halcyon River is the right decision."

Anson turned around and looked in the direction of the royal manor: "Once we capture the ferry, we will inevitably face the emperor's counterattack army on both sides of the wide river. Although the strength of both sides is almost equal, it is not difficult to guess with your toes. The emperor’s artillery and cavalry ratio must far exceed ours, and they are fighting on plain terrain with no cover, so the disadvantage is simply visible to the naked eye.”

"In comparison, it is much safer to fight before the ferry." Karl sighed:

"Don't forget, our army came here in a hurry, and the ammunition and baggage are not much. Once we get into a confrontation, there is no chance of winning. The opponent's logistics will definitely crush us."

"That's right, and as long as the battle situation goes wrong, the 60,000 troops of the Levent and Roland families will probably join the battle immediately." Anson nodded slightly:

"They say they are neutral, but they are actually just waiting and watching; as long as it is profitable, there is no burden or pressure on them to tear up the agreement and continue to be loyal ministers of the emperor."

"So why are you so eager to win the ferry?" Karl was even more confused now: "If it was just to put pressure on the emperor, I think we have done it now."

"No, it's far from enough." Anson interrupted:

"That's right, if we stop the army in front of the ferry and start a battle with the empire here, we can gain some terrain advantages here, avoiding the open area, which is very suitable for artillery and cavalry, and will The battlefield was compressed into the battle for several highlands and key fortresses.”

"But there is a problem in that. The war will inevitably spread to the territory of the Grand Duchy of Brahm; don't forget, we are marching on their territory now, and we rely on the tacit understanding of both parties to not encounter strong resistance from the other party. , once the agreement is violated, God knows whether the other party will immediately fall out."

"D-Is it just because of this that you..."

"In this counterattack, as the truly weak side, we must not show any weakness." Anson's expression gradually became solemn: "Yes, this will definitely involve risks, and we may also have to pay a lot of sacrifices. , but in comparison, it is already the lowest cost solution.”

"The more we fear casualties, the more unbearable the final price will be... Therefore, we must seize the ferry first, line up on the other side of the Halberd River to fight before the enemy enters the battlefield, and completely transfer the pressure to the emperor. Go up and force him not to dare to challenge!"

This was also an important reason why Anson insisted on marching in a hurry, and would rather lose combat effectiveness than put the muzzle of the gun on the emperor's head - although the risk of winning or losing was almost the same for both sides, the price paid after losing was very different.

Needless to say, for the Western Front Army, the worst result is of course the annihilation of the entire army... But if you want to annihilate an army of hundreds of thousands, even if the empire really uses all its strength, it will definitely not be achieved easily.

After losing the battle in which Clovis paid a heavy price and put the credibility of many people on the line, Anson himself was of course in a miserable state and probably had no future visible to the naked eye; but his loss did not mean that Clovis was completely Defeated; even on the contrary, without Anson, the most important opponent, Ludwig will no longer have any pressure to integrate Clovis.

Although the annihilation of a hundred thousand troops was an unimaginably heavy loss, if the result in exchange was that the entire Clovis would be completely united and there would no longer be any voice of opposition or division, then it would not be so difficult in the eyes of some people. accept.

In comparison, if the emperor Joseph III personally led the army and lost the battle, the price would be too heavy!

What is an emperor? He is not only the title of the supreme leader of the empire, but also the only legal ruler of the entire world of order, the commander-in-chief of all knights, and the nominal patron saint of all believers in the Ring of Order!

It does not mean that the emperor must be victorious in every battle, cannot lose a battle, and cannot sign a peace agreement... but he must not be the first person responsible for losing the battle and causing the empire's army to sink into the sand.

Generally speaking, unless there is a last resort, the emperor will never personally lead the army. The most extreme case is to appoint a member of the royal family as the nominal commander, and then arrange for a nobleman who truly understands military affairs to be responsible for the actual work.

So Anson must occupy the ferry... As long as the Clovis flag is planted on the land of the Principality of Snapdragon, the emperor will have no room for maneuver. He must lead the army himself and prove to the empire and the entire world of order that he is capable as a guardian. Determined to maintain his honor and authority.

And if he personally leads the army and ultimately loses the battle, Joseph III will not only lose his throne, but also the imperial royal identity that the Herred family has monopolized for nearly a hundred years will also collapse; those who also have the right to vote and be elected will The remaining six archdukes will almost certainly counterattack and seize this important asset.

This is also the reason why Roland, Levent, and Bernard are willing to stand aside and remain neutral... The authority of Joseph III has been depleted in repeated war defeats. All that is left is a complete defeat. He would have to give up the throne.

As long as he successfully captures the ferry, Joseph Herred...he will have no choice.

"boom--!!!!"

Just when Anson was in a daze, a loud noise suddenly came from the position of the Royal Manor; and then came the sky-high flames and smoke pillars that caught everyone's eyes, extremely dazzling under the clear sky.

"Who did it, which army did it?!"

Carl Bain was the first to react, and he hurriedly scolded the messenger who was also confused: "Go! Call all the regiment commanders and division commanders of each legion over, and ask who did it, and why did they do it without waiting for orders?" Attack first?!"

"yes--!"

Ten minutes later, the messengers ran back anxiously and brought back two pieces of news that shocked Anson and Carl at the same time:

"What, it wasn't our people, it was the defenders in the royal estate who blew up the fortifications they had just repaired?"

"What, Ser Gloria...he's running away again?!"