I will be crowned king

The Principality of Xiaolong, west of the Changjian River.

As the summer is coming to an end, the empire is shrouded in an ominous and turbulent atmosphere after the end of the war.

The emperor who had just suffered a disastrous defeat finally returned to his palace. The once prosperous and noisy Xiaolong City was as silent as a tomb; all the Xiaolong nobles who had learned about the battle situation on the front line had left, and the rest could not escape. Dropping it is for ulterior motives.

At the same time, the knights who fled at the Halberd River gradually returned to their respective territories and manors, further spreading the news that the emperor had lost the war within the Principality of Xiaolong; countless rumors began to emerge one after another. , after all, these nobles would not say that they lost the war because they ran away, and they would definitely have to throw the blame on others.

But these have little to do with the Clovis-Hantu coalition forces. They were already in high spirits after their victory. They proudly crossed the Halberd River and followed the course of the ancient empire towards the heart of the empire. He left for Xiaolong City, the rumored oldest fortress in mankind.

Walking on the square road paved with stone slabs and sand, wearing military uniform cloaks with traces of gunpowder smoke, the fully armed soldiers marched majestically, like a moving steel fortress; a total of 150,000 troops crowded in front and behind. There were clusters of smoke and dust billowing up, making the Snapdragon nobles who were watching from a distance feel extremely complicated.

However, the soldiers and officers of the coalition forces were in a good mood.

After crossing the Halcyon River, not only were the supplies sufficient - provided by the emperor himself - the scenery along the way was also significantly better. It was no longer monotonous villages and wilderness. There were exquisite manors and beautiful castles lined up on both sides of the road. You can often see large expanses of flower beds and man-made landscapes similar to fountains, which are dizzying to the eye.

Regardless of Hantu or Clovis, the coalition soldiers are more or less well-informed people. They not only come from all over the world and can exchange knowledge with each other, but also gain a lot of experience following the war; even so , most everyone is still full of excitement and curiosity about the upcoming Snapdragon City.

After all, it is the capital of the empire, the palace of the emperor, and the theoretical heart of the entire ordered world. It would be a lie to say that you are not looking forward to it.

"Uh, so... Is there something wrong with my understanding of what 'you'd better not have too many illusions' means?"

Norton Crosell, who was scratching his head, looked at Alexei with a confused expression, his confusion almost written on his face: "That is the capital of the empire, is it actually very shabby?"

"That's far from it. After all, Xiaolong City is also the capital. Even in the empire... no, it should be said that it is one of the best cities in the world."

Alexey waved his hands in frustration. It was probably because the supplies were too abundant recently. He could smell the smell of alcohol and cigarettes in the queue all day long: "But you have to expect to see some 'legend' or 'dream' Or something like 'miracle', uh... I advise you to give up this idea as soon as possible."

"...I still don't understand."

"Then let me explain it this way. Xiaolong City has a history of thousands of years. Do you understand what this means?"

"Meaning there are a lot of historical monuments?"

"Of course not, it's not a decoration. The ancient ruins from thousands of years ago have long been wiped out. What I mean is that it was only a fortress that accommodated two to three hundred people at first. It was only expanded over time to become what it is today. scale."

"This... doesn't sound like there's anything wrong with it?"

"Yes and no. Xiaolong City is not an important commercial hub. It is not close to important rivers. The surrounding terrain is not very flat. In addition, because it has been the capital of the empire for a long time, there are many Every place became the estates and fiefdoms of the nobles.”

"...I seem to understand." Norton Crosell: "You mean, it's actually very small?"

"It depends on who you compare it with. After all, there is a palace and nearly a thousand nobles, and the total permanent population is one hundred and twenty thousand. It can be considered a big city in the entire Order World." Alexei shrugged:

"But compared with the city of Clovis, which has a population of one million, it is only one-fifth, or at most one-fourth; and it is an ancient city, and many places still retain the style of the old era, which is definitely not that great. Gorgeous."

Norton Crosell nodded in understanding, but still couldn't help but look toward the distant horizon, his eyes full of expectation.

At the same time, Anson fully experienced the other side of this magnificent imperial capital through the intelligence collected by many "imperial friendly people" and the young secretary Alan Dawn.

Almost starting from the ninety-fifth year of the Apostolic Calendar, in order to cope with the ever-expanding war with Clovis, Joseph Herred began to frequently mortgage loans to the church at extremely high interest rates; but this was definitely not because the empire had no money. Money, on the contrary, even after the bloody jihad, the empire is still frighteningly rich, so rich that it can easily assemble a fully armed army without causing any pressure on the country.

The most direct examples are the previous Hantu and the war against Clovis. The former directly destroyed an important commercial port, and the debt owed took no one knows how many years to pay off. The latter even caused the people's livelihood to decline due to the war. , even Clovis City has bankrupt chambers of commerce and factories.

And what about the empire that started all this? In addition to the reduction in imported goods, the banquets of the nobles are not so frequent, it seems...

It seems like there are no more changes.

Therefore, the reason why the emperor asked the church for a mortgage loan was not because the empire was at the end of its rope. On the contrary, the empire was too rich, but he, the emperor, did not have many ways to concentrate the empire's wealth in his own hands. He also had to deal with the Grand Duke and the following. The nobles went around and exchanged various promises and conditions for their wealth and troops.

Until he discovered that he could directly bypass the archdukes... Mortgage the monopoly rights of wine, salt or tobacco, and taxation rights directly to the church, which was equivalent to getting the taxes in advance in another way; and even the most arrogant princes could not do it. He would never dare to refuse a Vatican priest who came to collect debts.

From the emperor's point of view, this method was perfect. Not only did he collect taxes, but he also avoided direct conflicts with the princes. Moreover, he was still a legitimate emperor. Even if he borrowed more money and occasionally defaulted on the debt, the Holy See would not be able to cut off the payment. Otherwise, the entire world of order will face turmoil.

The problem is that money or wealth cannot appear or disappear out of thin air. The emperor can spend it unscrupulously, which means that someone must be bearing the price.

"We are the price."

Riding a beautiful red-maned horse, Bernard glanced at Anson Bach beside him: "The entire empire and even the entire world of order, for that price, we are all enduring an incompetent emperor occupying a position that does not belong to him. , and caused endless troubles.”

"Now, we finally have the opportunity to solve this trouble with the smallest cost and the most insignificant price, and get everything in the world of order back on track."

Anson's face was expressionless. Of course he knew what the "insignificant price" the other party meant was.

"If the matter can really be resolved smoothly, of course Clovis will be willing to help. The question is, have you really thought it through?" Before he could speak, Fabian on the side immediately grabbed the topic and asked first:

"To put it bluntly, this kind of behavior is tantamount to conspiracy... If it cannot be resolved smoothly, the matter is likely to move out of control; at the same time, when it comes to Clovis, the empire and Hantu are already very delicate, everything If the Holy See takes advantage of every opportunity to join in, we highly doubt your ability to control the situation."

Bernard Maulvis' expression changed slightly, but his eyes did not look at Fabian but still stared at Anson.

Of course he knew that although the words came from the former's mouth, it was just because they were too clear to speak directly. In fact, this was what Anson himself meant - obviously, this Clovis's rule had already begun. It is doubtful whether there is unity among the Grand Dukes.

Deposing Joseph Herred is only the first step. The most important thing is to elect a new emperor from among the grand dukes. Whether the grand dukes have reached a consensus on the selection, and what the new emperor's attitude towards Clovis and Hantu is, these That's what Anson is most concerned about right now.

"As for the selection of candidates, please don't worry at all. We already have an absolutely suitable candidate here." After calming down a little, Bernard said in a deep voice: "First of all, Grand Duchess Wolfe and Grand Duke Roland A girl who is still underage and a girl who is nearly 70 years old cannot participate in the selection."

"Following the Wild Hunt Knight, Archduke Wharton, and the Earth Knight, Archduke Folia, have already expressed their neutrality in advance, and are unlikely to run for election. In addition, they have also made promises that no matter who the emperor is ultimately elected, the two The Grand Duke will all swear allegiance.”

"That means...there are only two candidates left, Grand Duke Levent of the Wind Knight, and Grand Duke Bernard of the Sea Knight?"

Anson finally said: "One is a co-owner who is popular in the south, and the other is a wealthy family with an outstanding reputation in the north."

"That's right." Bernard nodded slightly: "And in fact, the Levent family is the last wealthy family to become the emperor of the empire."

"Oh, why is that?"

"Because once the throne falls into the hands of the Levent family, the political center of the empire will inevitably shift to the south, and more than half of the seven wealthy families are in the north." Bernard explained: "Brahm, Roland, Bernard, Of course, there is Hered. These Grand Dukes and the wealthy families behind them can accept the transfer of the throne, but they will never be able to endure the consequences of a decline in status; once Grand Duke Lewent is proclaimed emperor, it will be equivalent to de facto splitting the empire. This is an outcome unacceptable to everyone.”

"So..." Anson trailed off and looked at Bernard: "It can only be Archduke Bernard of Edland?"

"It can only be him."

Bernard emphasized with a serious face: "This is the only result that can be accepted by everyone, and the cost and price are minimal; and for Clovis, this result is also very beneficial; the interests of the Bernard family At sea, if he is crowned emperor, he will definitely expand maritime trade, strengthen trade with the New World, the Three Kingdoms of the North Sea and Clovis, and re-establish order in the Turbulent Sea."

"An emperor who is passionate about peace and prosperity, has no desire for territory, is committed to establishing friendly exchanges with all countries, and has good relations with all countries. Don't you think that this is what the current orderly world dreams of, and it is good for everyone? Of?"

Dream about it?

This may be true for the current empire, but it may not be true for Clovis.

Looking at Bernard's sincere and unpretentious eyes, Anson seemed to be able to hear the calculation in Bernard's heart: If it was Archduke Bernard who was finally crowned emperor, then the nominal supreme rule of the New World Free Confederation would be far away. Otherwise, Louis Bernard is equivalent to directly having the right to inherit the throne; if he is lucky enough, the empire can take him back into his pocket without bloodshed and resume control of the colonies in the New World.

Of course, it doesn't matter even if it doesn't succeed. In any case, an emperor of the Bernard family can greatly ease the relationship between the empire and the New World and completely resolve the current confrontation between them.

This is definitely the last result Clovis wants to see... The restoration of normal relations between the Empire and the New World means that Clovis lacks an important fulcrum that can contain the Empire, plus an absolutely stable source of raw materials; Bell, who already has a powerful fleet, The Na family will further weaken and suppress Clovis's possibility of developing maritime power.

Therefore, no matter from any perspective, the Bernard family can be called Clovis's best allies, but they must not be allowed to become the emperor!

"What, doesn't Clovis think this is an excellent option to solve the problem?"

"Of course... no, if Archduke Bernard can be crowned emperor, Clovis will support it with both hands."

Now that he knows that this is the opponent's conspiracy, Anson will certainly not oppose it openly, and even must support it absolutely - after all, only by becoming the opponent's supporter can you stop him behind his back.

After the words fell, Bernard's face showed a happy smile, and by the way, he concealed the flash of contempt very well.

Anson Bach...you think I don't know what your bastard is planning, pretending to accept it first and then betraying it later, right? It doesn't matter, you can't object openly anyway. We just need to ensure that the process of electing a new emperor in the empire will not be interfered by outsiders. Even if you really want to interfere, this is still on the land of the empire. If you dare to act rashly, you will give up immediately. You become a target.

So what about the 150,000 troops? In front of the entire empire, there are only 150,000 prisoners. If these 150,000 people are really injured, I wonder if your ruling position can still be secure?

The two smiling people looked at each other with tacit understanding, and the magnificent Xiaolong City was already in front of them.