I will be crowned king

"it's me."

Looking at the astonished Anson, Colonel William Cecil, who was wearing a straight uniform and a leisurely expression, put down the coffee cup in his hand, with a faint apology in the corner of his slightly raised mouth:

"I'm sorry for hiding it from you for so long, but to be honest, I only just found out that the royal family gave me - well, to be more precise, my father gave me such a 'special' mission; if what he did allowed me If you feel uncomfortable, please accept my sincerest apology..."

"All right!"

Raising his hand to interrupt William who wanted to apologize, Anson walked to another sofa next to the fireplace and sat down, trying to calm down his emotions:

"Tell me the whole story—I want to hear the details."

"Of course!" William nodded solemnly, and at the same time, he politely picked up the coffee pot and poured Anson a cup, not forgetting to put in more sugar cubes:

"Because I just learned about the specific situation from my first mate, I can only be as detailed as possible: around October last year, representatives of the Royal Bank came to Beigang to discuss with the Fleet Headquarters stationed in Beigang about this year's procurement in the colony - —That’s what they call ‘taxation’.”

"According to the practice of previous years, the Royal Bank is responsible for the procurement work, and the transportation and escort tasks are undertaken by the Royal Fleet. Raw materials are collected at the lowest possible price to maintain the operation of many large factories in the central province - especially steel plants and military factories. Support the frontline war effort."

"Then this year, there were some small... accidents at Wangjia Bank."

"What's the accident?" Anson picked up the coffee and took a sip.

"Because the war against the empire is quite unfavorable, and due to the establishment of a professional police organization in Clovis City, the purchase volume this year may be larger than in previous years; but..."

William paused, and his vision suddenly became erratic, as if he didn't know how to describe his mood and was speechless. After a long time, he slowly said:

"But Wangjia Bank... they have no money."

What? !

Anson was shocked and almost choked on the scalding coffee: "No money?!"

Are you kidding, that is the Royal Bank - the large treasury of the Osteria royal family. It holds countless private properties of the royal family and takes care of many creditors of the capital's wealthy families. It is said that the interest alone can support a full army of monsters every year.

Will they run out of money? !

"Believe it or not, it's true - at least that's what they admit."

William spread his hands helplessly, obviously he was no less surprised than Anson at the beginning: "Actually, if you think about it carefully, this matter is not that difficult to understand."

"The war between Clovis and the Empire has been going on for a whole year. In this year, apart from the gains made in Yser and Carindia, the real main battlefield has always been in a stalemate. Both sides are constantly launching large-scale attacks. Large-scale offensives attempt to break the deadlock, but in the end they all end in disgrace.”

"This continuous and fruitless war lasted for a whole year, and the Clovis City riots also occurred in the middle. If His Majesty wants to bypass the inefficient Privy Council and take immediate action, he can only go directly through the Royal Bank. Turnover and deficit are actually quite normal.”

"But no matter what, the acquisition must still be completed; because it is not only about the royal family's income, but also whether the frontline war can continue." William's tone suddenly became solemn:

"I admit that the conflict between the Royal Navy and the Army has been going on for a long time, and it is probably not convincing for me to say this - but this time, letting the Army fail miserably due to insufficient logistics is the result we least want to see. .”

The young naval officer's expression was serious, and his simple words were more contagious than the "true feelings" expressed by a certain leader of the Faithless Knights.

Because he is absolutely telling the truth.

The war lasted for a year, and both Clovis and the Empire had suffered serious blood loss. If they could not receive sufficient compensation in the end, even a victory would not end much better than a disastrous defeat.

Clovis needs to break the empire's absolute status and establish his own hegemony; the empire must end this challenger she hates so much and completely cut off the other party's hope of challenging her.

The best way to do this is of course to forcefully seize North Port and completely turn Clovis into a landlocked country with no outlet to the sea and not very rich resources; then there will be no need for the empire to end it personally, and the workers and workers who rioted due to unemployment will not need to be killed. A large number of bankrupt wealthy businessmen and nobles could completely drive her to death.

This is also one of the reasons why the Empire was so keen on supporting the independence of the rioters during the Beigang Riots in the Ninety-Fifth Year of the Saints Calendar, and even extended an olive branch to allow Beigang to join the Empire.

Once they fall into such an end, the Cecil family, currently the most powerful in Beigang, will definitely be overthrown by the rioters - even if not, the royal fleet that has lost its existence value will be dismembered. The empire will not let a traitor surrender. Sitting on these war machines.

Therefore, at least for now, the Royal Navy is absolutely loyal to Clovis.

"Then what do you want me to do?" Anson asked.

The other party made the matter so clear, and also came to the door alone to confront him one-on-one, which made it clear that he definitely wanted something from him, and most likely it was the kind that he couldn't express.

"As expected of the youngest colonial commander of the Royal Army. I've been thinking about it for a long time...I don't even know how to say this." William let out a long sigh of relief, his expression full of joy:

"Because the Royal Bank has temporary capital turnover difficulties, but they cannot delay the procurement time and delay the start of the factory, they hope that the Cecil family - more accurately, the entire Beigang, can 'voluntarily' purchase a batch of bonds issued by the royal family for Purchase this year’s goods.”

"But the amount is too huge, and even if Beigang is willing to bear it, it can't come up with it all, so..."

"So you want Beluga Port to also bear part of it?" Anson asked in slight shock.

"Uh, that's right." William was slightly embarrassed after being interrupted.

"How much—I mean the total."

"Probably...a quarter of the total."

A quarter? !

Anson shook his hands and almost threw the coffee cup away.

You must know that the royal family has lowered the price to an extremely low level in order to purchase large quantities, and there is almost no profit at all; and now not only does it have to sell it at a low price, but it also has to ask Beluga Port to bear 25% of the cost - this and There is no difference in using forced conscription.

Anson even seriously doubted whether it was because of this that Archbishop Luther transferred himself and Storm to Beluga Harbor so that in case of trouble in the colony, he could directly send troops to suppress the forced conquest.

Based on my understanding of him, such an extremely rough way of solving problems...well, he can definitely do it.

"Wait!" Anson suddenly thought of something and looked at the slightly embarrassed naval officer in disbelief:

"Did you finally agree to temporarily lease this fleet to me because you guessed that it might have to be conquered by force?"

After the words fell, William, who was silent, looked even more embarrassed.

"I...I don't know, my father...he didn't tell me either; so if you ask me to guess, maybe it is possible..."

That's why.

Anson rolled his eyes quickly.

So this is the real reason why the Royal Army sent itself and the Storm Division to Beigang without even saying hello, urging itself to arrive at the colony as soon as possible - the invasion of the empire is certainly dangerous, but what is more imminent is that the war has almost drained the national treasury. Hollow out, the attitude towards the colonies has gone from cutting leeks to the point where they must be cashed out as soon as possible.

Even if we can find a way to solve a quarter of this year's acquisition costs, as long as the war is not over, the royal family's capital chain will not be restored, and the exploitation of the colonies will inevitably intensify.

This is obviously not in the interests of the Storm Division and the Luen family, but if he doesn't agree... he will probably become the fastest dismissed garrison commander in history.

"If you really can't come up with that much money at the moment, or if the Beluga Harbor Council is hard to persuade, one-fifth is not impossible."

Sensing the embarrassment on Anson's face, William couldn't help but said: "I can discuss with my father to make up for the extra part - but the total number of purchases must not be reduced, and this must not change!"

"Don't worry about this. We will find a way to solve this problem no matter what, and we will never let the soldiers on the front line suffer from insufficient logistics." Anson chuckled:

"But for such a major matter, I alone cannot give an immediate answer; please at least give me a few days to discuss it with others to see if I can come up with a solution that everyone can accept."

"It's natural!"

William agreed without hesitation, but at the same time he was still very nervous and said: "It's just that according to previous years' practice, the procurement work must be completed before early March, so please hurry up, we don't have the right time."

"No problem, three days...I will give a reply within three days." Anson put down the coffee cup in his hand, and his expression became slightly serious:

"If we still can't reach any consensus after three days - although I don't want to, I will definitely cooperate with you to launch a forced expropriation of Beluga Port, and I must ensure the purchase amount for this year!"

"I believe in your sincerity, but I also hope we don't have to get to that point."

The young naval officer sighed, stood up and gave Anson a solemn chest-beating salute.

Anson, who was sitting on the chair, stood up at the same time, hit his chest hard with his clenched right hand, and watched the other person turn and leave.

It wasn't until the other party walked away that he slowly turned around and walked toward the stairs on the second floor.

If you want to cover a quarter of the procurement costs without causing riots in the colonies, the Storm Division alone cannot come up with so much money.

And there is only one person in the entire Beluga Port who can spend so much money...

……………………

"of course."

In the master bedroom, Talia, who was sitting by the bed, looked at Anson with a smile.

"Really?" Hearing that she agreed so readily, Ansen was stunned for a moment and couldn't help but explain: "You may have misunderstood. This is just a proposal to deal with the opponent, and it is not really for the Luen family to bear. For this quarter of the expenses, my real plan is actually..."

"No, dear Anson, I mean it."

Thalia's smile remained the same: "If the cost must be levied by force or the White Whale Port Council must bear the cost, all the hard work you have spent to establish your rule will be wasted - the two evils are a loss that must be borne by the Luen family alone. Minimal choice, don’t you think?”

I think? I don’t think we should bear it. Anyway, if I were Wang’s Bank, I would definitely try every means to get rid of this debt... Ansen cursed in his heart and said with a solemn expression:

"That's a lot of money."

"Of course, even for the Luen family... this is definitely a big expense." Thalia agreed, but then changed the subject:

"But compared to a kingdom, it's nothing."

Um?

Compared with a kingdom, she should be talking about the Kingdom of Clovis... right?

Looking at the girl's meaningful expression, Anson, who couldn't understand it for a moment, looked a little confused, but he still followed her words and continued: "If the Luen family really needs to bear the cost in the end, I will definitely do my best to help. Loon and Beluga Harbor secured the most favorable terms.”

"Of course, dear Anson, I will always trust your promise 100%." ​​Thalia looked leisurely, and her crystal clear eyes were so deep:

"As always, I will not interfere with any of your thoughts or decisions...unless you take the initiative."

The girl's tone is very gentle, and her meticulous consideration is mixed with a hint of unspoken indulgence. People will be indulged in it without knowing it, and their whole body will be in a state of extreme relaxation.

But for some reason, Anson could vaguely feel some danger from it.

It was as if there was a voice warning me extremely strongly that I must be an honest and good person, and then never, never, never do stupid things.

"Well...besides 'taxation', there is actually another thing."

Anson, who pretended to suddenly remember and calmed down in an instant, chuckled and said: "When I just came back, I met Ian Clemens, the leader of the Faithless Knights, on the road. "The third volume was given to me."

"Really?" The girl's eyes lit up, as if she was sharing this rare surprise:

"The third volume of "The Great Magic Book"... hasn't he been worried that his relationship with the Crecy family will be exposed? How could he take the initiative to hand it over?"

"According to himself, he hopes to use this as a meeting gift to let me meet a certain guest - if nothing else, I'm afraid it will be a member of the Crecy family."

Anson also expressed doubts. He took out the envelope from his arms and placed it between the two of them. He opened it and said, "But to be honest, I don't understand why I suddenly became so 'generous' and didn't use "Big Magic"." "Book" as a condition, requiring me to..."

The words stopped abruptly.

Anson opened the envelope and stared at the contents in the envelope, his mouth half-opened, and his whole body froze in place.

It was a pile of neatly arranged small white cards with various round holes.

To be more precise, it was a pile of memory cards.

As long as it is inserted into a difference engine, a memory card with a bunch of text can be read from it.

Of course, in more contexts, this "as long as" is generally read as "only".

Ian Clemens did give himself the third volume of "The Great Magic Book", but he gave it to him in another way of "existence".

"I guess..." the girl on the side said faintly:

"that's why."