I will be crowned king

"these things……"

Following the little maid down the stairs, before entering the living room, Sophia had already seen the "surprises" that had been moved into the room and neatly arranged by the servants of the mansion.

Oil paintings, utensils, accessories, gems, muskets, sabers... there are hundreds of luxury items of all sizes, all placed in completely inappropriate wooden boxes, wrapped in a layer of linen and piled together haphazardly, like pirates Like the trophies they just grabbed.

Well, they are indeed trophies though.

Sophia casually glanced at a wooden box and found a pile of gold and silver accessories, jewelry necklaces messily stuffed into a transparent hollow glass wine glass; the wide mouth in the style of Israel and the shape that could be grasped in one hand, For the person responsible for transporting these, it is probably just used to hold these scattered accessories.

Next to this "luxury" cup are some personal belongings of Israel's high-ranking officers, especially the nobles: a sterling silver pocket watch inlaid with a crystal mirror, a light pistol full of beautiful patterns, an exquisite noble sword, a pure gold Water pipe pens, gold-inlaid glass wine sets...

Sophia frowned slightly...these things were not so much trophies as they were more like Anson and her Stormtroopers robbed the bedrooms of a dozen Ysel Elf nobles and knights and robbed a pile of daily necessities and personal belongings in the rooms.

The reality was indeed similar to what she had guessed.

Eagle Point City is an important transportation hub and bustling trade center, but the main commodities here are cotton textiles from Clovis, coffee beans and wine from the Seven Cities Alliance, wood and marble from Iser... It was originally the same as The trade in luxury goods has nothing to do with it.

Even if there was trade, it was already before the war broke out. It was impossible for the truly wealthy merchants to still stay in a place where a war was about to start. They had already fled. Except for military supplies, he could not get them. How many valuable things are there.

Therefore, the reason why all the reinforcements were stripped was that, apart from the consideration of disarming the opponent, the main reason was that there was really nothing to grab.

Compared with the muskets and sabers, as well as the glittering accessories, which are more like works of art than weapons, Sophia prefers the seemingly inconspicuous oil paintings.

The painting itself can actually only be considered above average, but its style is very characteristic of the combination of Yser and the Empire. It should be the result of frequent exchanges between the elves and the Empire in the past ten years.

The Kingdom of Clovis has the shortest history among the kingdoms, and is severely lacking in ancient families with hundreds of years of inheritance. Although it is powerful, it always feels inexplicably inferior when facing other ancient kingdoms. The upper class has no regard for various systems full of historical sense. The etiquette, utensils and artistic style are extremely admired.

Therefore, oil paintings like these may be ordinary decorations or collections in noble residences in the Empire and Israel, but in Clovis they can easily be sold for ten or twenty times the price.

The little clerk who "knows a little bit" about this aspect took advantage of Ludwig's entry into the city and led the people from the logistics committee to search out all the oil paintings in the fortress and carefully selected these thirty or forty paintings.

Anson was very direct in his letter, hoping that Sophia could help find these trophies to be sold at the auction house or collection hall in the royal capital to subsidize military expenses - the Storm Division will be expanded soon, and there will be several fierce battles, and Sophia alone can do it. Funding and Ludwig's subsidies are absolutely unbearable.

But Sophia immediately realized that these trophies should be able to play a greater role besides being discounted.

"Besides Madam Caterina's salon, are there any other parties I can attend recently?"

Sophia asked the little maid thoughtfully.

"reunion?"

A big question mark popped up on the little maid's head, she pouted and began to think hard - there were almost no parties in Clovis that dared to refuse Miss Franz's visit, but there were too few that completely matched her identity.

"It doesn't have to be a particularly grand banquet." Sophia, who immediately realized her misunderstanding, added:

"A small dance, a semi-private dinner, or some small group salon will be fine - if that doesn't work, can you help me think of which families I can invite to your home recently?"

"Well..." the little maid pouted even more:

"Speaking of it, the Bogner family had a dance recently, but it was a blind date ceremony held for Bogner's eldest son. If the young lady takes the initiative to come to the house, it will easily cause bad rumors."

"St. Isaac's College recently had a seminar-type dinner, but the participants were mostly doctors and scholars, and church colleges have always been not very friendly to women."

"There are also several newly formed clubs with certain political issues as the core, and many female members from wealthy families participate; but you are a member of the Franz family, and your identity as Lord Luther Franz is destined to avoid you as much as possible. These……"

Seeing the little maid clasping her fingers to deny one by one, Sophia sighed helplessly.

Thinking about it, how could it be so easy to come across a dinner party like that that can be attended at any time and has many attendees?

What she originally wanted was to use these trophies to give away to some nobles at the banquet or sell them for charity, so that she could "incidentally" promote the Stormtroopers and Anson Bach who made great achievements in the Battle of Eagle Point City; as long as they have a reputation; Coupled with your own guarantee, you are not afraid that no one will be willing to participate in equity investment.

If that doesn't work, I'm afraid I can only find a suitable auction house according to his request; at worst, I can leave a part of it and donate it to the orphanage in the outer city, and arrange for a few newspapers to publicize it...

Um? !

Sophia, who suddenly woke up, was shaken all over, frightening the little maid who was still thinking hard: "M-Miss, you..."

"Angelica, have we ever funded an orphanage in the outer city before?"

"It's not that it was once, but that it has always been funded." Looking at the dazzling light called "excitement" emanating from Sophia's gem-like eyes, the little maid took two steps back:

"Except for the pitiful allocation from the Privy Council, those welfare homes rely on funding and donations from the church to maintain their operations. The Franz family makes regular donations almost every month, and every quarter the Archbishop also holds large-scale It’s a fundraiser party!”

"And have you forgotten that during the factory riots a few months ago, you organized a 'Brown Bread Foundation' to subsidize those welfare homes that were suffering serious losses!"

Angelica blinked her curious eyes. Could it be that Miss Sophia planned to use these trophies for a charity auction and then donate the money?

Hmm... If that's the case, Lord Anson Bach will indeed become famous, but without the money from selling the trophies, he will definitely live a miserable life in the future, right?

Angelica suddenly couldn't help but feel worried. She actually liked this officer quite a bit - a brother who had a sister and was so gentle was definitely not a bad person.

Well, she firmly believes that.

"Brown Bread Foundation, I almost forgot..." Sophia tried hard to remember:

"Can you contact an orphanage that has the most funding and the best operation from the Franz family and ask them if they are willing to host a small dinner - of course, all expenses will be borne by the Franz family."

“Are you really going to donate all your money?!”

The little maid exclaimed.

"It's not a fundraiser, but..."

Sophia paused and looked at Angelica with some confusion in her eyes - when did she have such a good relationship with that bastard and start caring about him?

"But what?"

"But I suddenly thought of a way that can not only help the Storm Masters raise money, but also build their reputation." After thinking about it for a while, Sophia continued to explain as if she had discovered nothing:

"That is to directly mobilize those 'charity-loving' nobles to donate to the Storm Master!"

"well?!"

For a long time, Sophia's understanding of the Clovis Kingdom's army was at the level of "well-trained", "loyal and reliable", and "occasionally causing riots due to dissatisfaction with treatment"; it was not until she read Anson's diary that she understood I have a little understanding of what the lower-level soldiers and officers in the army are really like.

And just this "little bit" was enough to exceed her imagination.

The first is the treatment... Yes, the Clovis Legion with a professional logistics team can often have sufficient logistics, which can at least supply the soldiers with basic daily calories and receive salaries - but that's it. .

In order to earn wages that are even lower than those of porters at the bottom of factories and farm laborers, plus a few pieces of dry bread and bacon, ordinary soldiers have to march at least sixteen to thirty kilometers a day with heavy loads, responsible for digging positions, building barracks and all other hard work. , and you have to bear the risk of your life at any time.

This is still in peacetime, and stable logistical supply during wartime is basically a luxury: there is no adequate food for a long time, you are hungry and full, and you still wear torn boots and leaky military uniforms, and there is a lack of basic medicines and clean drinking water to cause diseases. The area has long-term high-intensity marches and operations, there is no stable garrison to ensure work and rest, weapons are not maintained and ammunition is scarce... these are all normal phenomena.

For example, officers deliberately exploited soldiers, logistics were corrupt, and superior commanders ignored the reality and allowed the troops to die... these "extremely rare" "individual cases", Anson only mentioned "I heard that there are such cases."

"Think about it, since they are willing to donate money to homeless people and orphans in the outer city, why can't they donate money to the soldiers fighting in Clovis? Anyway, they give money to the poor. What's the difference between the two?"

"Because they have already received their salary?" Angelica tilted her head.

"This is where the problem lies!"

The corners of Sophia's mouth raised slightly: "Ever since Clovis reformed the military system and established a standing army system, this view has become popular - soldiers are just like servants and tailors. They are hired by us. What is the need? Treat them with the same utmost respect as you did the knights of the past?”

"Isn't it right to think so?"

"Of course not, dear Angelica! Yes, we have spent money. The annual military expenditures paid to the army and navy are astronomical figures; but is it worth their lives to protect us?"

"Think about the recent riot. At that time, my brother's Thunder Castle levy force was stationed in the south. Those soldiers did not need to obey my brother's order and go north to the royal capital; but without them, that terrible riot would not have happened in a short time. It will be over in just two or three days!”

"And even if we invest heavily in military expenditures, most of it is still spent on weapons and officers. Ordinary soldiers can only get a tiny bit, which is completely inconsistent with their efforts."

Sophia spoke faster and faster, and her thoughts became clearer: "So we should reverse this trend and let the nobles of Clovis City pay attention to these people!"

And my own storm master is the best representative

She already had a general idea: completely turn over the contents of the morning newspaper of the Church of Order, and introduce this partial division of the southern legion, how her soldiers braved the hardships to climb over the morning ice peak, and fought hard at Eagle Point Pass. The story of a surprise attack on Israel's reinforcements and a final victory!

When raising funds and auctioning the trophies, you should also add appropriate annotations - for example, as long as you raise 30 gold coins to take a picture, you can replace the holes in the boots of a company of recruits; spend 500 gold coins, It will add an extra egg to their soup bowl for dinner...

Well, one-twentieth of the proceeds will be donated to the orphanage, so that children from poor backgrounds can understand the significance of this glorious cause.

It would be great if a few more little boys could announce in public that they are willing to join the army in the future. It would definitely attract a lot of people's attention; this matter should be arranged in a way...

In addition, we have to ask that bastard Anson to send over the roster of Stormtroopers: Hank, a beggar from the outer city, picked up a rifle and joined the Stormtroopers defending Clovis. He took the lead in rushing into Eagle Point City under the ice peaks in the morning light, killing several people. The shameless Yser Elf... Such a story with a name and a surname must be very attractive.

Sophia became more and more excited as she thought about it, completely immersed in her "perfect plan".

"Okay, Angelica will go and ask."

The little maid sighed and reluctantly agreed: "What about the newspaper? Do you want to bribe them again - do you want to give them some more fair and objective articles for reference?"

"Of course!" Sophia said matter-of-factly:

"Even if it can't compete with the church's morning newspaper and the royal family's loyal newspaper, public opinion can always dominate a little bit; once people believe something, they will not easily change their minds."

"When will it be sent to them?"

"The sooner the better! As for the article..."

Sophia was stunned for a moment.

Right, what about the article?

Even if you want those newspapers to report "fairly", you have to give people something to report, right?

A report in the morning church newspaper? No...there are too few materials.

Anson Bach's diary? The content is adequate, but too trivial and unattractive.

If none of these work, then there is only...

She suddenly remembered something, and then showed an extremely troubled expression.

"Ann, Angelica..."

With her back to the little maid, Sophia raised her right arm tremblingly, trying her best to restrain her inner reluctance, and pointed to her room on the stairs:

"Go to my room and search. In a certain...wastebasket...you can find...notes written by a guy named Leon Francois."