I will be crowned king

Clovis Kingdom, Ximen Street, Outer City, early morning.

Karin Jacques, who was wearing a black priest's robe, got up early and went out as usual, yawning sleepily and walking on the way to the Crown Tavern.

It was still early in the morning, and on the streets with only a few sparsely lit street lights, workers in uniforms could be seen everywhere, with bread wrapped in old newspapers under their arms, looking tired and walking in a hurry.

After experiencing the riots in early March, not only did the outer city, which was almost in ruins, not die out, factories, workshops, and terraced buildings of all sizes sprung up like mushrooms after rain, growing wildly among the dilapidated slums and wastelands.

Thanks to the expansion of the war caused by the "Iser Punishment War" and the well-preserved Clovis Cathedral during the riots, the city of Clovis, which experienced the first wave of bankruptcies and closures after the war, not only did not continue It collapsed, but instead relied on war to stimulate vitality.

After the original storage was exhausted, a large number of orders poured into the rebuilt factory like snowflakes. The workers were no longer owed wages, and they could finally feed their families.

Pushing the door open and walking into the pub, there were only a few customers in the empty hall. The young bartender even dozed off on the bar, which made Karin Jacques sigh.

Think about it... Right now, the entire outer city is recruiting workers. It is said that many newly built textile factories are willing to recruit female workers, and the wages will be halved; several printing factories and match factories are even forced to even have children, and the wages will be reduced. Only a quarter is given but three meals a day are included.

Perhaps because of fierce competition, the working hours in these factories are longer than the last; ten hours has become commonplace, and even thirteen or fourteen hours is not uncommon after two months; now workers don’t go to pubs after work at all. When I got home, I wanted to fall asleep immediately.

As a result, not only was there a sudden shortage of customers in the tavern, but Karin Jacques also lost a lot of extra income - without the drunks and gamblers, he had no chance to rely on reading newspapers to these guys and selling a few things that were not easy to sell. The stolen goods earned money for drinking.

Of course, Mr. Karin Jacques, a glorious priest of the Church of Order, a conjurer of the Old Gods, a peripheral member of the Society of Truth, a dealer in intelligence and second-hand banned magic items, the leader of the underground black market, and a "collaborator" of the Inquisition, is not lacking. Such a way for two people to make money.

So Karin Jacques, who was feeling a little depressed, ordered a pork sausage and dark beer - the smuggler who had provided coffee beans to the Crown Tavern all year round was caught by the Whitehall Street patrol team, and in addition to the recent "Yser Punishment War" , causing the price of coffee in the outer city to triple.

Karin Jacques and many people seeking life in the outer city are very confused about this newly established "Guard".

On the one hand, the existence of this gang has indeed made the outer city much safer than before; although gangs of all sizes, especially those organized by some underground old gods, still exist, they no longer dare to be as blatant as before. .

On the other hand, it is also because of them that it is much more difficult for many people in the outer city to do business than before. It is often heard that some small traders have been arrested and shops have been closed down; and although wages have increased, so have prices. The war that is still not over begins to soar together.

Drinking a dark beer that was twice as expensive as usual, a sleepy-eyed Karin Jacques took out the newspaper that still smelled of ink from his arms. This was also one of the benefits of a full-time priest, and he could receive one copy every day. Morning newspaper run by the church.

Relying on the churches and information networks all over the world of order, all kinds of news, big and small, are far more timely and accurate than some tabloids - yes, that is the "Clovis Truth".

However, the next second, Karin Jacques, who had just laid his eyes on the newspaper, suddenly widened his eyes and sprayed a mouthful of beer on the newspaper with a "pop!"

Almost at the same time, the shouts of newsboys came from the street outside the tavern:

"Extra! Extra! Anson Bach, deputy commander of the Southern Army, led two thousand soldiers to climb over Dawn Peak and captured Eagle Point City in a surprise attack! Capture Eagle Point City in a surprise attack!"

……………………

"boom!"

With a crisp sound, the little maid Angelica, who was holding the morning newspaper, opened the bedroom door directly and ran in with small steps. Her red face was full of surprise: "Miss Sophia, have you read today's news?" Newspaper?! It said..."

"Is it something about Eagle Point City?"

Sophia, who was wearing lace silk pajamas, sat in front of the dressing table, elegantly holding a cup of steaming black coffee, and spoke softly with her back to the little maid.

"Ah..." The little maid who was full of excitement a second ago immediately showed a disappointed expression:

"So you already know? Angelica came back in such a hurry to surprise you that she didn't even go to the Lottery Draw of "Clovis Truth"..."

Looking at the little maid whose face was full of complaints, Sophia took a sip of coffee and smiled lightly.

"Hmph... I just happened to be lucky and captured an Eagle Horn City; it's not like I've defeated the Guards Corps and captured the Royal Court of Yser. There's nothing to make a fuss about - it's better to say that it took so long to do so. After we captured him, I started to feel a little disappointed in him."

Sophia snorted softly, looking completely calm and gentle, and her slender little hand holding the coffee cup trembled slightly at a very high frequency.

On her dressing table were placed a morning newspaper from the Church of Order and a letter just sent from the Eagle Point Pass front line - both copies had been opened.

"With his military exploits in Eagle Point City, Sir Anson Bach will soon become a hero, right?"

It only took a second for the little maid to regain her energy. She stuffed the newspaper into the bow on her lower back, with a happy smile on her lips: "I heard that the Privy Council has passed the investiture order and authorized Lord Anson Bach to form the Storm Division - this way It won’t be long before Miss’ investment will pay off!”

"Repay?" Sophia put down her coffee cup and opened the morning newspaper on the table as if nothing had happened:

"I'm afraid just capturing Eagle Point City is not enough..."

Although Ludwig Franz did keep his promise and completely ceded the victory of capturing Eagle Point City to Anson and his Stormtroopers, this does not mean that the reports sent to the rear would be as candid as he was.

The morning newspaper editor of the Clovis Order Church clearly knew who his real boss was and what kind of reports he wanted to see; he used his actions to prove what a true desire for survival is and what "telling the truth twice" means. It will become two different things.”

Although the headline of the news was that Anson led the army to capture Eagle Point City - and it was also the front page headline, the vast majority of the report was "Major General Ludwig led the main force to launch a frontal attack."

In particular, it introduces how the major general himself organized the siege position "without fear of difficulties", advanced one fort after another, and how he "shared the joys and sorrows with the soldiers" when "the supply of supplies was at its tightest and morale was low." , "the command is determined before the battle".

Regarding Anson Bach, there is only one sentence mentioned: "It took more than ten days to cross the Dawn Mountains."

When it comes to the most critical "surprise attack on Eagle Point City", the focus has also changed from the fierce battle process to "Major General Ludwig decisively launched a feint attack, which greatly attracted the enemy's attention"; and finally added "At three in the morning At that time, Deputy Commander Anson Bach wiped out hundreds of remaining fortress defenders."

This kind of news report can no longer be called "biased" and is simply nonsense, which makes Sophia very angry even though she is a little happy.

It was obviously his stupid brother who was so incompetent that he hadn't even reached the edge of Eagle Point City in nearly a month, and Anson Bach, who was solely funded by himself, came back to save the day - why did all the credit go to him as soon as it was published in the newspaper? ? !

What’s the point of funding Anson Bach himself if all of this is reported? !

Seeing Sophia's lips raised and her brows raised, Angelica smiled knowingly and quietly left the bedroom, carrying a freshly baked strawberry pie and placing it on the table in front of her.

"Don't be angry, miss; after all, it is a church newspaper, and it is inevitable that it will speak for Master Ludwig." The little maid said as she picked up a small fork, cut off a small piece and handed it to Sophia's mouth. beside:

"Come and give it a try. Angelica just learned this, ah——"

"Who is angry?" Sophia glanced at her little maid complainingly and swallowed the food in her mouth:

"I'm just worried that my investment will be wasted. The cost of setting up those three infantry regiments alone is a huge expense - some are too sweet, so put less sugar next time."

"As you command!"

The little maid smiled sweetly.

Putting down the annoying newspaper, Sophia's eyes fell on the letter sent by Anson - compared to the general news reports, this kind of documentary "diary" is clearer and more comprehensive. Anson Bach's perspective introduces the entire "Battle for Eagle Point City".

Crossing the Dawn Mountains, arriving at Thun, negotiating at Golden Stone City, blocking the Eagle Point Pass, and sieging Eagle Point City... Although someone's handwriting was so ugly that it was too ugly to read, the content was so detailed that Sophia even felt like she had seen it with her own eyes. .

In addition to daily records, the diary also contains a large number of Anson Bach's various speculations and judgments - the decision after crossing the snow-capped mountains, why it was necessary to negotiate with the Archduke of Thun, blocking reinforcements from helping to capture Eagle Point City, Ludwig's Speculations on Greek strategy...

The illusion that she was sitting in the marching camp, listening to Anson Bach thinking deeply about the map and discussing with herself how to proceed in the next battle, even made Sophia feel a little bit excited.

She felt as if she was leading a lone army, and it was not Anson Bach who was fighting against the Yser elves, but herself!

The brave and wise Sophia Franz wore a bright black and red general's uniform - not the ugly gray uniform of the Storm Regiment - held high the Unicorn King's flag, galloped her horse in the snowstorm of the morning ice peak, and opened the way for the army. the way.

Snow-capped mountains, horses, an army marching hard without any danger, a calm commander... The prototype of an oil painting had already appeared in Sophia's mind.

As for the diary written by another guy named "Leon Francois" enclosed in the envelope, it has disappeared from Sophia's desk.

The whole article is filled with all kinds of praise for the bastard Anson Bach, as well as flattery that makes people feel chills all over. It is simply disgusting to the extreme. There are all kinds of unpredictable predictions and soldiers who are like gods, describing him like a cheesy knight novel. Like the protagonist in it.

Sophia only glanced at it twice, then threw the pile of soft articles that Anson had definitely paid a lot of money to write out for self-promotion and threw them into the wastebasket.

But this thing did give her some inspiration...

"How many newspapers now cover the Battle of Eagle Point?"

"Currently there is only the morning newspaper from the Church of Order, and soon there will be the loyalty report from the royal family." The little maid answered truthfully:

"Have you read the reports in other newspapers?"

"No, it's not reading but..." Sophia paused and glanced at the newspaper on the table:

"It won't be long before the news of Eagle Point City's victory will spread throughout Clovis City. Before then, we must suppress this false report and let the truth be made public as soon as possible!"

"Otherwise, everyone will still think that the capture of Eagle Point City was due to Ludwig, and no one knows who Anson Bach is; all the rich people in the capital will still just throw a lot of gold coins at my beloved As for his brother, Anson and Storm Master can still only be regarded as his vassals!"

"We must reverse this situation and make this bastard famous in Clovis City as soon as possible in order to attract more people to invest in my Storm Master!"

"Huh?" The little maid suddenly blinked:

"Your Stormcaster?"

"Of course it's mine." Sophia looked at Angelica expressionlessly:

"I formed the Storm Regiment, and I also provided the start-up capital for the three infantry regiments. I even paid for the monthly salary paid to the officers... So I say the Storm Division is mine. Is there any problem? "

The trembling little maid shook her head repeatedly, indicating that what you said was right.

However, the tolerant Sophia didn't care about this little "speech error" made by her maid, and had already begun to plan the next step.

The best way to change public opinion is to buy newspapers. However, such as the royal family's Loyalty newspaper and the church's morning newspaper, the forces of all parties are intertwined and cannot speak easily, let alone be shaken at will.

So instead of targeting them, it is better to target the middle- and lower-class tabloids—well, such as "Clovis Truth". Lower-level newspapers like this are good newspapers that can really influence public opinion.

If you send Anson's diary to them, along with a considerable sponsorship fee, you should be able to see a few fair, objective, and unbiased reports, right?

Just as Sophia was thinking about it more and more, she was more and more satisfied with her plan and the corners of her mouth were rising. Suddenly, there was a gentle knock on the door outside the bedroom.

"Dong dong dong."

The clever little maid immediately stepped forward to open the door, discussed with the little maid outside the door for a few words, and then looked back at Sophia in astonishment:

"Miss, the people at the mansion said..."

"Is it from Anson Bach?"

Sophia, whose eyes lit up, interrupted again.

"Well..." Angelica turned her head suddenly and looked at Sophia angrily.

Looking at the angry little maid, Sophia stood up and smiled dumbly, stepped forward and took her hands:

"Okay, let's go see what 'surprise' that bastard sent back!"