I will be crowned king

"...In short, based on the intelligence sent back by the scouts and the observations of the guides, combined with some obvious landmarks, the position of the sun and map markings, I can now tell you in a very responsible manner that we...ahem, it should be It’s the other way around.”

In the not-so-spacious tent, Anson, who was sitting in the center of the map table, looked at his army of officers and announced the terrible news in as calm a tone as possible.

Obviously, this doesn't help at all.

The officer who understood what this meant looked shocked for a moment, and then showed an expression of despair and dejection. His face was uglier than that of a patient who had just recovered from a serious illness but was told that he was just recovering from his illness.

The stunned little clerk froze and didn't even notice that his toe was hit by the slipping pen tip; the expressionless Karl looked up at the sky, with confusion written on his face like "Why am I here?"

Those who didn't understand remained the same, looking at the people around them in confusion as if they had lost their souls, and were unknowingly enveloped in an atmosphere of near despair.

Yes, Lisa is the only one who still doesn’t understand what’s going on.

"Going the other way?" Lisa blinked at Anson:

"But I clearly saw that fortress just now. You also said it was Eagle Point City. Isn't it right behind us?"

After hearing the girl's words, the officers not only did not feel a trace of joy, but their expressions became even uglier.

"Ahem... the situation is roughly like this." Anson quickly raised his hand to interrupt Lisa:

"Almost four days ago, we had to take a detour while avoiding an avalanche. Maybe it was because the snowstorm was too violent at that time, so no one noticed that we were actually heading west opposite to Eagle Point City."

"The result is roughly that we will go further and further away in the next few days. Although we are relatively close to Eagle Point City at the moment, if we follow the current path through the Dawn Mountains, we will get further and further away from the fortress, and finally abandon it completely. behind."

"So we probably have two choices now." Anson raised his hand and pointed at the map, looking at everyone:

"Either we turn back immediately and try our best to get back to the location where we encountered the avalanche four days ago, and then find a way through the Dawn Mountains to reach the area around Eagle Point City."

"Or just continue along the current road, first cross the Dawn Mountains, and then find a way to get to Eagle Point City."

Everyone in front of the long table fell silent.

In terms of status, as an officer of the Clovis Royal Army, it is an obligation to carry out the orders of the king and the army superiors, and there is no reason to say so; the entire army should set off immediately, turn back as quickly as possible, and rush to Eagle Point City.

Clovis, who built his country through war and expansion, was quite strict in terms of military orders. Failure to comply would not be considered a crime on the same level as desertion on the battlefield.

The knights and nobles in the Dark Ages could still rely on their military prowess to blackmail the king and let them go; when the military academy was established and military ranks were established, only high-ranking officers could enjoy this treatment, and low-ranking officers were all available at any time. Tool man with plenty of alternatives.

Without a better excuse, dismissal and exile would be a frivolous matter, and execution on the spot would be the norm in this era. The officers who looked at each other thought about it seriously and felt that "accidentally getting lost" lacked a little bit of persuasion.

But as a living person, apart from Lisa, no one present was willing to go back and experience the past few days, which were worse than death, all over again.

But of course you can't say this nonsense, because giving opinions means taking responsibility. In this case, it is best to let others take responsibility; so everyone kept their mouths shut and fell into a state of deep thought of you waiting for me, I waiting for you.

"Um...can I say something?"

The little clerk said suddenly, accidentally dropping the folder in his arms when he picked up the pen; so he hurriedly packed up the messed up papers while speaking.

"Of course." Anson nodded lightly:

"Everyone here can express their thoughts, including you, Alan Dawn."

"I'm not saying that I have any thoughts about your proposal. I'm just your secretary, Mr. Anson Bach!" The little secretary lying on the ground said in a panic:

"I just want to remind you that if the final decision is to turn back, we may have to reduce our daily consumption of materials - especially food and fuel!"

"What?!"

For a moment, everyone stared in shock at the little clerk who was still lying on the ground collecting documents.

"The supplies are about to run out?!" Karl was also frightened and stood up from his chair:

"No, I remember we brought enough for two months...it's only been ten days!"

"I didn't say that the supplies will be used up. I just reminded everyone that if this continues, we must reduce daily consumption!" The little secretary emphasized:

"The current daily consumption rate of supplies, especially fuel, is almost 1.5 to 2 times what was expected before departure. According to this standard, it is impossible to last for two months; if we want to turn back and continue to advance in the snow-capped mountains, we will Daily consumption must be reduced or there will soon be no fuel available!”

The little secretary's words immediately made everyone speechless.

Anson quickly glanced at the faces of everyone around the table, and almost every officer showed a hint of fear.

The thought of being in the icy foothills without food or fuel is daunting.

"This is absolutely not okay!"

A certain officer who had always remained silent suddenly spoke:

"The supply of food and fuel must not be cut! The nearly eight-hour journey every day has already made the soldiers full of complaints; the reason why no one complained is simply because the cold and exhaustion left them unable to even complain. No."

"At this time, if we suddenly announce that we are going to cut down on fuel and food, and let them starve and freeze in their tents to sleep, I am afraid that a mutiny will occur as soon as the order is given!"

After the words fell, everyone present almost changed their expressions immediately.

"So, you support crossing the Dawn Mountains first, Major Fabian?" Anson looked up at the officer and asked.

Fabian Bass, a former major officer of the Guards; Anson was impressed by him because he had a pretty good attitude towards himself and Lisa when he and another Guards officer came to investigate. .

It is said that during the riots, he ran into the first wave of thugs on Old Wall Street. After a narrow escape, he relied on connections and bribes, and with the help of his friends, he finally avoided being unemployed due to the collapse of the Guards; after that, everything went smoothly Joined the Southern Legion and became an infantry commander under his own command.

Considering that he spent a lot of money to climb snow-capped mountains like himself, it's hard to say which one is more miserable than being unemployed; anyway, if Anson had such a good friend, he would definitely cut off contact with him as soon as possible.

"No."

Major Fabian changed the topic and looked at Anson firmly: "I firmly support your order, Deputy Commander Anson Bach!"

"If you order us to turn back or continue to advance, as the commander of the 2nd Infantry Regiment, I will do my best to implement the order; if any soldiers try to start a commotion, I will be the first to pick up my rifle and put down the rebellion!"

His unswerving and extremely loyal words suddenly caused the atmosphere in front of the long table to change suddenly.

"Well said! I also firmly support the deputy commander's order. I will do whatever the deputy commander says!"

"Yes, I think so too!"

"Yes, yes! The most important thing at this time is unity of opinion. I firmly support the deputy commander's opinion!"

Led by Fabian, a group of officers also began to slap the table to show their loyalty, each voice louder than the other, and every red face seemed to want to have "loyalty" directly carved on their foreheads.

Anson, who was smiling, looked from one end of the long table to the other, and nodded lightly to everyone with great satisfaction.

Well...they're all a bunch of assholes who want someone else to take the blame.

"Since everyone supports my opinion, let me share my opinion." Anson slammed the table and stood up, pulled out his bayonet and pointed at the map behind him:

"First of all, what is the mission of our lonely army in this war?"

Everyone in the tent looked at each other in silence for a few seconds.

"Cut off the retreat route of the Yser Elf defenders in Eagle Point City and harass the reinforcements from the Southern Seven Cities Alliance that may appear; assist the main force of the Southern Legion to capture Eagle Point City."

Just when Anson was about to "reveal the answer," Major Fabian suddenly spoke calmly.

"well said."

Anson took a deep look at the former Guards officer and pointed his bayonet at the location of Eagle Point City:

"Then the question is, if we turn back immediately and forcefully march to the fortress, can we complete this mission?"

"I personally think it is impossible - this conclusion is based on three facts."

"First, even if we turn back the same way, we cannot ensure that we can reach the fortress in the shortest time; second, even if we arrive at the fortress, with the current state of more than two thousand of us, we will have no fighting power at all; third, we Right now, we know almost nothing about the situation of the Southern Seven Cities Alliance, and we don’t even know how many enemies there are, let alone ‘attacks’.”

"Based on these three points, I am opposed to turning back the same way; continuing to move forward may not be the best choice, and it may also cause delays in fighter planes; but it is better than letting an army without combat effectiveness, without preparation, Jumping into an encounter without any expectation.”

"That's a disaster!" Anson said coldly, and smashed the bayonet on the long table with a "pop!"

"Now...does anyone have any objections?"

It's impossible.

Just as Anson finished speaking, there was a faint sound of sigh of relief in the room; obviously the officers were also worried that the deputy commander would be unwilling to take responsibility for his official position and rank, and insisted on turning back.

"Since there is no such thing, then this resolution is passed."

Anson glanced at everyone and suddenly raised the corners of his mouth, turning his eyes to the little clerk aside: "Have you written everything down?"

"Write it down."

Alan Dawn nodded seriously, and the pen in his hand was still recording quickly:

"At 10:33 on April 12, at a temporary military meeting, all officers in the army unanimously passed the resolution to refuse to turn back and continue to cross the Dawn Mountains along the current road."

After the words fell, the expressions of almost all the officers changed slightly. Only Fabian remained calm and his expression remained the same.

"This is a new measure I learned from the deacons meeting responsible for banking affairs when I was working for the Church of Order." Anson chuckled:

"Starting from today, every meeting in the future will be recorded. This way, it will be clear who is responsible for anything that goes wrong and what opinions were reached."

You guys all want me to take the blame for the scum, but I didn’t expect you to have such a hand... Anson looked at everyone seriously:

"Since all of us have decided to move forward, we must be prepared to face one of the most powerful countries in the Southern Seven Cities Alliance, the Grand Duchy of Thun - Allen, tell me a little about this country."

"Oh, okay!" The little clerk stood up quickly and looked at the eyes staring at him with some anxiety:

"But Sir Anson Bach, my major is not history and geography. My knowledge about the Southern Seven Cities Alliance is only temporary, and I only know a little bit about it!"

"It doesn't matter." Anson waved his hand towards him:

"Don't be nervous, just tell me what you know."

"Oh well……"

The little clerk took the bayonet handed over by Anson and walked to the map, trying his best to step on his feet to make himself appear taller:

"The Grand Duchy of Thun is located in the northern and easternmost part of the entire Southern Seventy Percent Alliance. Over the past hundred years, it has been one of the strongest and most combat-ready countries in the Seven Cities Alliance. Due to its geographical location, the Grand Duke of Thun has always had The title of 'Gatekeeper of the Vast Earth'."

"The Grand Duchy has a total of four territories, which belong to the Grand Duke's territory and the capital, two branches of the Grand Duke's family, and an important supporter of the Grand Duke with elven blood; the country's population is about two million, and it relies on trade and plantation economy every year. , the income is about three million gold coins."

"The total strength of the national army is about 20,000, most of which are defenders responsible for guarding the capital and fortresses, scattered in various places; the main force is a 6,000-strong Grand Duke's Guard; but if a war breaks out, this number can at least be expanded three times."

"The Grand Duchy of Thun has seven strong fortresses used for garrison, and each one is connected to a certain road; but these fortresses are all located on the border; once we cross the Dawn Mountains and enter the territory of the Grand Duchy, we will bear the brunt of the obstacles in front of us. The only fortress is Jinshi City as the capital, and there are no obstacles along the way."

"The Grand Duchy's border territories near the mountains have a relatively cold climate, so there are very few plantations of cash crops. However, there are a large number of relatively cold-resistant orchards growing wheat, oats, various seasonal vegetables, and apples, which can produce 50,000 to 100,000 people. When the human army passes by, it provides relatively stable logistics."

At this point, the little clerk suddenly paused and looked at Anson with regret: "I'm extremely sorry, Mr. Anson Bach; the incident happened suddenly and time was tight, so I only know a little bit."

The whole place was silent.

"very good."

In the silence, Anson stood up and looked at everyone expressionlessly:

"Now that we all know a little bit, let's prepare to formulate a battle plan."