I will be crowned king

At nineteen-thirty, the blood-red sun gradually sank into the cold, smoky Halberd River.

At this time, the Western Front Army has completely controlled the battlefield on the east bank... With the addition of the King of Flowers flags, the golden iris withered at a speed visible to the naked eye; almost instantly, it was no longer visible on the battlefield. The figure of the Imperial Knight.

The Levent Army and the Roland Army, who were watching from the sidelines, became the last straw for the Imperial Army; the Imperial Knights watched in despair as the Clovis-Hantu Allied Forces, which were more numerous than ants and more turbulent than the tide, advanced toward them. Pressing forward step by step, he finally collapsed.

One, two... imperial armies began to withdraw from the battlefield one after another. Some were defeated and routed, but there were also many who evacuated on their own initiative. No matter what the reason was, there were still 80,000 troops during the day, and Joseph III, who had 60,000 reinforcements, waited until dusk to count the number of people. , the total strength on hand was less than 13,000 infantry, 5,000 cavalry, plus two artillery regiments and a relatively complete headquarters palace.

The two most important legion commanders, one died without a burial on the east coast, and the whereabouts of the other are unknown. Hundreds of high-ranking knights can still be summoned at the moment, not even one tenth; a large number of flags, weapons and baggage, most of which were lost in the hasty retreat.

Although, Joseph III still does not think that he has lost the Battle of the Halcyon River... Yes, the Halcyon River is lost, but he still controls the road to Xiaolong City, and he has at least the entire principality behind him. Manpower and material resources, as well as Xiaolong City, a large city with a population of hundreds of thousands, the authority to call upon the entire empire, and the title of Guardian of the Order World...

The Clovis people are just a weapon that has the upper hand temporarily and is being used by Roland and Levent. As long as they don't give up resistance completely and Xiaolong City has not fallen, then they have not lost!

Of course, this is just Joseph III's own wish.

In the headquarters under the night, dozens of staff knights were arguing fiercely about whether they should retreat to Snapdragon City or immediately negotiate peace with Clovis... With the war going like this, those who are still willing to stay will not be able to escape. It was a family that stood firmly on the side of the royal family and the emperor.

But unfortunately, no matter how hard they tried to persuade each other, they could not change the emperor's mind: "Peace talks? What kind of ridiculous joke is this? You want me to compromise with a traitor, a traitor who has taken away the legitimate king's throne?!"

"It's not about giving in, it's about negotiating!" Arthur Herred tried hard to recall the instructions of his staff before he came in, and quickly corrected:

"Your Majesty is only negotiating with them, and of course it is not reciprocal... But, it is not unprecedented for both warring parties to communicate with each other, even if they are fighting against the rebels."

"That's not possible! As an emperor, how can you take the initiative to speak to a traitor?!" Joseph III's face was extremely ugly:

"Even if there is a negotiation, the other party should take the initiative to ask and beg; as the guardian of the world of order, wouldn't it be self-humiliating to humble oneself?!"

"Of course!"

Arthur Herred heard that the emperor's tone was slightly relaxed, and he quickly agreed, with a very serious expression: "I think no matter how arrogant the Clovis traitor opposite is, this minimum principle should be followed. I'm sure We will take the initiative to send someone to negotiate.”

"After all, their logistics is not sufficient. They finally happened to have a slight upper hand temporarily. How could they let go of such a good opportunity so easily? They will definitely send people to negotiate with the empire. You only need to wait a moment."

In fact, Joseph III's reaction was expected by the knights from the beginning. They knew much better than outsiders how good the majesty they served was. After the battle line stabilized slightly, they immediately sent out special messengers to communicate with the other side. , to test the tone of the Clovis people.

The commander of the forward position and the Chief of General Staff of the Front Army, Major General Fabian, received the messenger and directly agreed to the request from the other side. At the same time, he immediately sent people to the rear to deliver the news, and was ready to negotiate head-on with the emperor.

Such "self-assertion", even as if giving orders to the commander-in-chief, naturally aroused the dissatisfaction of the other two frontline commanders, especially Count Schlieffen - he was originally robbed of the first credit by a chief of staff. Quite unhappy, now the other party seems to be planning to take over.

"If you give me ten courages to do that kind of thing, I would never dare to do it."

In the riverside camp where the cool breeze blew, Fabian, who was bracing himself, chuckled and shook his head: "I have been following the Commander-in-Chief since the battle of Eagle Point City. I have never dared to disobey any order from Anson's administration, and I will do my best. able to execute all his will."

"To put it slightly rudely, in terms of loyalty, my loyalty to the ruling party...maybe even greater than that of Clovis."

"Well, I've heard a little bit about this." Count Schlieffen nodded expressionlessly.

Not to mention the soldiers, if they were not 100% loyal to Anson Bach, how could the Storm Legion, a lonely overseas legion, resolutely "betray" Clovis during the Holy War and join the fight against the Holy War army? Queue?

If it were his signal flag regiment, he would never dare to think about it - living in a different place, in the same situation, if he hadn't just spoken out his words, the officers would have decisively tied him up, shot him to death and sent his head to the royal family. , to avoid being implicated.

"If that's the case, why..."

"Sorry, but what did I promise to the other party?" Fabian asked with a smile:

"In the final analysis, I just promised to hand over their opinions to the Anson administration and promised to conduct a negotiation. As for what the governing lord thinks, of course it is not my turn to make the decision. As for negotiations... I did not promise the governing lord either. Will come to negotiate."

"and you……"

"Exchanging prisoners and redeeming hostages are also part of the negotiation, aren't they?"

Fabian turned his head and glanced at the tent of the wounded not far away: "I am the frontline commander, and this is also one of my responsibilities. As for what the knights of the opposite empire think, that is their own business. The misunderstanding has nothing to do with me.”

The commander of the Rising Sun Legion, who was calm at first, widened his eyes and almost dropped the wine glass in his hand.

On the contrary, Count Schlieffen was not too surprised and nodded thoughtfully: "I see... No wonder Anson Bach would let you serve as the commander of the forward position. You are really a cunning and vicious guy."

"I just think you are complimenting me, Count." Fabian smiled nonchalantly:

"Right now, we have temporarily defeated the emperor's army and temporarily solved the biggest threat; but at the same time, the original secret allies have become new enemies that need to be cautiously guarded against."

"You mean... the armies of Roland and Archduke Levent?"

"There are also the knights of the Grand Duchy of Bram and the nobles of Xiaolong City who are dissatisfied with the emperor."

Fabian counted his fingers one by one: "The purpose of these people is to use us to attack the prestige of Joseph III. Now that they have accomplished their goal, the next step is to compete for the soon-to-be-vacated throne and deal with us as outsiders. .”

"Now the rulers have an army of 150,000 in their hands, Joseph III is still alive, and Xiaolong City is close at hand, so they dare not act rashly; but as long as there is a slight change in the situation, such as the sudden death of the emperor, the army will be surrounded immediately In the heart of the empire, everyone will besiege us regardless of the consequences and costs."

"That is to say..." The commander-in-chief of the Rising Sun Army suddenly said: "Lord Ruling, did he anticipate this situation from the beginning?"

Fabian nodded slightly, and Count Schlieffen's expression was also quite playful.

The old man joined the Western Front because of the entrustment of Archbishop Luther and the Cecil family of Beigang. He knew the entire "raid expedition" to a certain extent, even more than Anson Bach, the person involved - after all, the latter had many inside stories. They still had to rely on guesswork and inference. Count Schlieffen knew better what kind of agreement the imperial princes had signed with Clovis.

Because of this, now he feels more and more how terrifying Anson Bach is... Enemies or allies can be changed at any time and anywhere in his eyes; the person he was trying to defeat one second can become the next. One second is a partner who takes the initiative to protect interests and even fights side by side.

"In this case, our next goal is to ensure an agreement with Joseph III, recapture His Majesty Nicholas and Queen Anne who are under their control, and then extort a large sum of compensation?"

"That's not necessarily true." Fabian shook his head and asked the commander of the Rising Sun Army on the opposite side: "I'm a little curious. What do you think Clovis's goal is in this battle?"

"this……"

"Actually, whether to return the king and the queen mother, pay compensation, etc. are still secondary." Count Schlieffen directly interjected:

"The key is to have the emperor personally recognize Clovis's status in the world of order, and publicly recognize Clovis's current changes in the name of the guardian of the Ring of Order believers. This is the top priority."

Before he finished speaking, the commander of the Army of the Rising Sun next to him widened his eyes. He couldn't believe that these words were actually coming from the mouth of Count Schlieffen, a true royalist and a wealthy family whose bloodline has been inherited by Clovis for hundreds of years. from.

Although almost everyone knows at this time that His Majesty Nicholas and the Queen Mother Anne fled on their own initiative and were not "abducted by the imperial royal family" as propagated by the National Assembly, tens of millions of people in the country, including those from the Western Front Army Even the hundred thousand troops still don’t know about it; at least on the surface they are counterattacking the empire, under the banner of “saving His Majesty and the Queen Mother, and destroying the empire’s aggressive ambitions”.

Is it really okay to say openly now, "It doesn't matter even if I can't save His Majesty?"

However, Fabian did not seem to realize that there was anything wrong with this sentence: "Yes, this is another reason why we must ensure that Joseph III cannot be defeated immediately and lose his majesty. At the moment, his use value is still very high, so he cannot Just give it up so easily.”

At this moment, a rush of footsteps suddenly appeared outside the camp:

"Report - the commander-in-chief's reply, agreeing to negotiate with the empire!"

……………………

"Oh, so fast?!"

With a surprised look on his face, Joseph III subconsciously stood up from his armchair. He originally thought that the opponent would win the Battle of the Halcyon tomorrow. No matter how "humble and humble" he was, he must be rampant at the moment. He could not wait to capture him alive tomorrow, or even march into the army. Where is Xiaolong City!

Could it be that those two bastards Roland and Levent put pressure on him, so that these Clovis rebels did not dare to act rashly?

The emperor expressed doubts about this. If the other party really mistakenly believed that the two traitors would take advantage of the situation, they would not have been so decisive during the day and directly destroyed his front line, forcing him to choose to retreat: "In that case, what are their conditions?"

Confidence belongs to self-confidence. Joseph III is not stupid enough to think that the enemy takes the initiative to negotiate, but takes the initiative to listen to his demands. He is already ready to speak to the lion.

"Uh...this..."

Arthur Herald, who was in charge of the report, seemed to be embarrassed, breaking out in a cold sweat: "Your Majesty, please atone for your sins. Clovis opposite is extremely rebellious and arrogant, almost to the point of daring. You must not do it because of Their crazy talk and..."

"Don't worry, I won't take the words of a group of traitors to heart." Joseph III waved his hand impatiently:

"Say, what do they want?"

"He, they made a lot of demands." Arthur Herred became more and more frightened as he spoke. He tremblingly took out a scroll from his arms:

"First of all, the empire must bear all Clovis's expenses in this war, including but not limited to the pensions of soldiers, the ransoms of prisoners, and the losses suffered in the border areas due to the war..."

"Secondly, the empire must admit that this war is not just, but an unprovoked invasion of Clovis, and declare in the name of the royal family that Clovis is an independent country that should be respected in the ordered world..."

"Well, then, the empire must be returned to His Majesty Nicholas and Queen Mother Anne immediately. The method of return will be completely decided by Clovis..."

"besides……"

"Wait a minute!" Looking at Arthur Herred who was still reading, Joseph III couldn't help but frowned: "Clovis people, how many conditions did they put forward?"

"Guan, about this..."

Arthur Herred raised his head tremblingly, and twitched his throat without courage: "Your Majesty, do you...really want to listen to the truth?"

"Of course, what's the problem?"

"Well..." The corner of Arthur's mouth trembled: "I suggest you either negotiate directly with the other party, or wait until tomorrow morning to see, anyway..."

"It's not necessary, just tell me directly!" Joseph III said solemnly: "Or should you hand over what you have in your hand and let me see it in person?"

"Don't dare!" Arthur quickly lowered his head: "The Clovis people's conditions, including what I just read, plus those that have been severely rejected by the staff before, in total..."

"...About forty-eight!"