I will be crowned king

"All troops in position - stop advancing!"

Carl Bain, whose pupils shrank suddenly, roared loudly, exploding under the cloudless sky of Jinshi City.

Loud bugles sounded one after another, and the entire march suddenly paused and stopped moving forward; the first line battalion of the Storm Regiment in the front immediately took off their rifles from their shoulders and quickly walked on the road. The center is deployed in a horizontal formation.

"The skirmisher company is ready for battle and all personnel are on alert!"

"The artillery company and the baggage team stopped the carriages and prepared to set up the gun mounts!"

"Every company is in position and no action is allowed before receiving orders!"

The originally relaxed and joyful atmosphere was instantly replaced by a tense and solemn atmosphere. The soldiers and officers with serious expressions stood still, letting the sweat slide from their temples and necks without moving at all. The entire marching team made no sound except for orders and footsteps.

"How is this going?!"

Looking at the Thun army waiting at the foot of Jinshi City, Carl, who was frowning, tried his best to lower his voice and said to Anson: "Didn't you say that Grand Duke Thun didn't dare to take action?!"

"I said it's possible." Anson waved his hand to Karl, signaling him to relax:

"Don't be nervous, my adjutant, everything that happens now is still in my plan."

"Who gave you this confidence?"

"Of course it's the Grand Duke of Thun himself."

"Huh?" Karl was confused.

"Do you think that if you were the Grand Duke of Thun, you would not hesitate to turn the villages, towns and fields outside your royal capital into a battlefield littered with corpses in order to show off your force by annihilating a group of Clovis troops?"

Anson looked at the bloody thorn flag flying on the artillery position in the distance: "What's more, we have already entered the coverage of the Thun artillery position - if we wanted to hit them, we would have hit them."

"So I guess they just want to show off their force in this way, demonstrate to us, and at the same time save some face lost in the previous defeat. It's impossible to start a fight!"

"real?"

Karl, who looked a little pale, still couldn't believe it.

"Of course." A confident smile appeared on Anson's lips, and then he suddenly lowered his voice and whispered into Karl's ear: "Hurry up and ask Fabian to control the two hostages. If you want to retreat, you must not let them escape. - I'm talking about just in case, just in case!"

Carl Bain: "..."

Just when they were tense due to the sudden encounter, a knight under the thorn flower flag on the opposite side suddenly walked out of the queue and galloped over.

He held a red swallow-tailed flag high in his hand. The long flag was constantly trembling in the wind and making a hunting sound.

"All hands on deck - stay alert!"

Anson, who had no expression on his face, gave the order and walked forward. The soldiers in the front row consciously made way for the deputy commander and crowded behind him.

In the blink of an eye, the knight had crossed the open field and stopped fifty meters away from Anson and the first row of line soldiers.

He was riding on a restless gray war horse, looking at Anson with a clearly unkind expression, without even a hint of a smile.

The next second, the knight suddenly raised his head and shouted loudly at the waiting Clovis army:

"By order of Archduke Claude François..."

"I declare to all of you who have crossed the snow-capped mountains and set foot on the land of the Thun people..."

"Jinshi City has set up a banquet to welcome her friends from afar!"

……………………

When the sky was enveloped by the golden sunset, a grand banquet was being held in the Jinshi City Palace where the lanterns were lit.

Under the star-like crystal lamp, the luxuriously dressed guests and the Thun nobles exchanged glasses and danced to the melodious music; the waiters holding high trays constantly shuttled back and forth between the long tables covered with white tablecloths, serving the guests Pour wine and serve the meal.

Because there were so many guests this time, an open-air banquet was specially set up in the garden outside the banquet hall; the palace envoys cooked barbecue directly on the edge of the banquet, letting red wine fill the fountain, and the aroma of wine and spiced barbecue permeated the entire palace.

Different from Clovis's "food style" which is full of meat and pickled products, people south of the Dawn Mountains prefer to enjoy a variety of vegetables, fish and fresh food: pan-fried cod, roast goose with chestnuts, pumpkin jam Soup, eggplant pie, tapenade, truffle omelette, seabass steak... and a variety of unprocessed, fresh and attractive fruits and dried fruits fill every table.

In the noisy and lively hall, Major Fabian was sitting on a sofa with half a glass of sweet wine in his hands, looking at his colleagues who were already drunk and talking nonsense, unconsciously curling up at the corners of his mouth. cocked.

Although the food is not very appetizing - Clovis people who like pickled products are generally heavy-mouthed - the wines and sparkling wines of the Seven Cities Alliance are among the best; not to mention that no matter how unpalatable the food is, it is still better than the army. The hard bread and cured meat and pickles are much stronger than weapons.

After experiencing ten arduous days on the snow-capped mountains, more than 2,000 people went into battle immediately after coming down the mountain. They really needed to relax like this and get rid of the fatigue of the past few days.

But in the hustle and bustle of people drinking and drinking, Fabian discovered that there were a few people missing in the hall.

"I specially invited you two from the banquet hall to this small smoking room. Please forgive me for any lack of hospitality; but I think we all know the reason."

Claude François, the Grand Duke of Thun, dressed in rich clothes, is sitting in an armchair in front of the fireplace. He is of medium height, has a beard like a famous oil painting, and his eyes are shining brightly in his deep-set eye sockets. .

"certainly."

Anson smiled slightly, and at the same time gently touched Carl Bain's shoulder, which was tense all over, and motioned him to relax.

There was no light in the smoking room, and the three people sat around the fireplace; the dancing firelight reflected on everyone's face, leaving completely different shadows.

"I've heard the general story from Henares, and as a father, I'm grateful that you and your army were able to maintain enough grace and decorum to not put my only son in too much harm."

"These are all things that should be done." Anson said with a bit of flattery:

“The relationship between the Bach and François families goes back a long way. Although it happened nearly two hundred years ago, it still cannot change the fact that they are connected by blood – my father often taught me when he was alive that I should be kind to my relatives no matter where and when. "

"Your father will definitely be proud of your actions." Grand Duke Thun said in a soothing tone:

"Since you think that we are still a family, then I won't be polite anymore; to be honest, your suggestion of Clovis and Thun joining forces..."

"I'm not really interested."

Anson's face was filled with a smile, without showing the slightest surprise.

"There are two reasons."

Archduke Thun spoke slowly in a steady voice: "Your Excellency Ansen Bach, or Lieutenant Colonel Ansen Bach; if I guess correctly, this so-called 'alliance' is just your own 'whim'... I said That’s right, right?”

Does he know? !

He actually really knew it!

Carl Bain, who was screaming in his heart, was shocked. With his mouth tightened, he clasped the armrests of the chair with both hands and tried to turn his eyes to look at Anson - at this time, he must deny it decisively, otherwise...

"That's right." Anson still kept smiling.

Karl's pupils staring at the back of his head suddenly shrank, and he desperately resisted the urge to run away.

Grand Duke Thun also had a stunned expression. I didn't expect him to admit it so simply.

However, he was only slightly surprised, and his expression quickly returned to calmness: "In that case, you can definitely understand my concerns - because according to you, you almost asked me to take the initiative to ask Clovis for an alliance, and Without guarantees, I will help you Clovis capture Eagle Point City."

"No, we should join forces to take back Eagle Point City from the hands of the Yser elves." Anson corrected slightly.

"What's the difference?"

"The difference is huge." Anson, who was smiling, took the initiative to lean forward:

"This war is aimed at the Ysel elves. If the Seven Cities Alliance does not respond to the call of the Ysel elves, Clovis will have no excuse to declare war on the Seven Cities Alliance; so if you..."

"This is not what I want to ask, please don't change the subject." The expressionless Grand Duke Thun interrupted:

"What I want to know is what benefit does this have to the Francois family and Thun? Don't tell me that Clovis will return Eagle Point City to the Francois family after the war; you don't have that Power, I don’t believe that Carlos II would be willing to do this!”

"Of course, if he can capture Eagle Point City, Clovis will certainly not let go of this important transportation hub that connects the east and the south at the same time."

Anson nodded matter-of-factly, as if he was not the same person who promised the young knight before:

"But even if Clovis is allowed to control Eagle Point City, it will still be beneficial to Thun and the Francois family."

The expressionless Grand Duke Thun took a glass of wine from the coffee table at hand and expressed his willingness to hear the details.

"Before clarifying this, we must first discuss why the Grand Duke of Thun a hundred years ago took the initiative to cede Eagle Point City to the Iser Elf Kingdom."

Before the other party could speak, Anson immediately gave the answer: "Because it was a church war at that time, and the entire world of order was divided into different forces by many sects, each of which expanded its territory and plundered wealth with a certain sect it supported as the core."

"At that time, the Seven Cities Alliance supported the Pope in the Holy City, while Clovis expanded rapidly with the support of the Qiuzhen Sect; in order to resist Clovis's invasion, the Grand Duke of Thun had no choice but to cede Eagle Point City in exchange for the protection of the Ysel elves. .”

"But at that time, the Yser elves were a powerful country in the East. At their peak, they would even make the emperor feel threatened and establish an alliance with Clovis to resist the elves' invasion." Anson changed the subject:

"Today's Yser Elf is already on its last legs, and has nothing but the so-called pride and tradition; not to mention protecting others, even she herself needs the help of the empire to survive; and forming an alliance with such a country will not only fail to provide Thun and the Seven Cities The alliance is a help, but it is a drag.”

"With all due respect, the reason why the Seven Cities Alliance still maintains its alliance with the Yser elves to this day is simply because not everyone paid the price; you are the Grand Duke of Thun. Who is Thun's largest trading partner today?"

In the quiet smoking room, Claude Francois took a sip of wine:

"Of course the Kingdom of Clovis."

"You are indeed wise." Anson gave a small compliment:

"But the largest trade hub between Thun and Clovis is in the hands of the Yser elves. What does this mean? It means that the same commodity must be taxed at least three times from Thun to Clovis."

"In these three times, the Thun people sold the goods cheaply, and the Clovis people paid a high price. The two parties obviously had complementary interests, but the profits were all taken away by the Yser elves."

"To put it bluntly, the Ysel elves are draining the blood of the Thuns to feed themselves. If they are the strongest enough to provide protection, that would be fine; but can they do it now?"

Anson spread his hands and pointed at himself and Karl beside him: "The fact that we are here is an ironclad proof that the Yser Elf is weak and incompetent - in this case, why does Thun need to transfer its interests to the Yser Elf?"

"Because of the Seven Cities Alliance." Grand Duke Thun put down his wine glass:

"It is by relying on this unbreakable alliance that we can have a place in the world of order, instead of becoming a part of other powers; relying on a not too strong but still powerful Yser elf is the key to maintaining the alliance."

"In that case, why not let Thun become the key to maintaining the alliance?"

"You mean..."

"Compared with a foreign foreign kingdom, isn't the Francois family, which once ruled the vast land, more qualified to become the leader of the Seven Cities Alliance?"

Anson smiled and said: "If the François family can defeat the Yser Elf and even increase its strength to a higher level - for example, using the trade between the two countries as collateral in exchange for Clovis's military assistance - why not To replace the Yser Elf’s position in the Seven Cities Alliance?”

"Oh?" Grand Duke Thun's lips raised slightly:

"But you are just a little lieutenant colonel. How can you guarantee me all this?"

"That's right, I'm just a lieutenant colonel and have no right to interfere with the policies and plans of Clovis' upper management." Anson nodded in affirmation:

"But I, this 'little lieutenant colonel', am actually the real deputy commander of the Southern Army."

Before he finished speaking, Anson took out a sterling silver ring inlaid with sapphires from his pocket and handed it to Grand Duke Thun:

"Do you recognize this?"

"This is?"

By the firelight of the fireplace, Claude Francois looked at the ring in his hand - although he could not accurately determine which family the ring belonged to, the ancient imperial language on the inner ring was enough to prove its antiquity.

"The oldest family in Clovis, the Rune family's ring - the person who owns this ring is a member of the Rune family." Anson said with a smile:

"If you know a little bit about the Clovis noble genealogy, you will know the status of this family in Clovis; and the next generation of the Rune family's heir, Thalia August Rune..."

"She's my fiancée."

After the words fell, Grand Duke Thun's pupils suddenly shrank, and many mysteries in his mind suddenly became clear.

Karl on the side was so shocked that he froze completely, looking at Anson as if he were looking at some kind of advanced creature.

The small smoking room was quiet for a full minute.

Grand Duke Thun, who had been silent for a long time, picked up his wine glass again, smiled like an elder to a junior, and looked at Anson with relief:

"Dear nephew Anson, what would you like to drink?"

"Tirpitz rum, no ice, thank you."