I will be crowned king

Siege position outside the city, headquarters, late at night.

Bernard Molwes locked himself in the room alone, quietly looking at the map of Black Reef Harbor on the table. The cigarette in his right hand shone with an orange-red flame, and the drifting smoke reflected on him. face.

In the silent headquarters, one could hear a needle drop; in the quiet air, only the sterling silver pocket watch inlaid with sapphires placed next to the ashtray was still trying to create a more lively atmosphere than it was now.

As for cigarettes, Bernard actually doesn't like this "new thing" of the Clovis people. In addition, the cigarettes that can be obtained in the New World are 100% inferior products, and the offensive smell is even suspicious. It's actually a weapon.

But it is this pungent smell that makes it more refreshing than the richest coffee; even just a whiff can make you sleepless.

And he desperately needed to stay awake right now.

Unlike Caspar Hered, who is empiricist and advocates intuition, Bernard Morweis, who has served as deputy or chief of general staff for many years, believes more in his own judgments based on the situation and information intelligence.

A person's language may lie, but his habits will always be honest; a group of people may appear to be a whole, but they still exist individually; eggs will always have gaps, leaves will always have veins, as long as you find the between things There is a connection, everyone can be a prophet.

Now he is waiting for a piece of information, a crucial piece of information to support all his previous judgments; if things really develop as he predicted, then the harvest of this battle will not be as simple as a black reef port.

"Ding-deng-deng!"

A rapid knock on the door interrupted Bernard's contemplation. He calmed down his emotions a little and put out the nearly burned out cigarette.

"Enter."

"grown ups!"

The herald broke in and wiped his sweat while standing there out of breath. He was so tired that he held his knees alternately with his hands, sweating like rain.

"How's it going?"

Bernard, who didn't even raise his head, said calmly, and put away the pocket watch on the table without haste. His eyes still stayed on the map of Black Reef Port: "The scouts sent out, did you hear the gunshots?"

"Not only were there gunshots, but someone also took the opportunity to set fire!" the messenger, who was breathing heavily, said impatiently, swallowing with a dry mouth:

"Two messengers said that they even heard the sound of naval guns from the port direction..."

"Let me ask you, did you hear the gunfire?"

Bernard repeated the question again.

"I heard it!" The messenger nodded quickly.

"where?"

“In the port… and in the city center!”

"Who shot first?"

"The defenders of Black Reef Port! They want to hijack the ship and want to escape!"

"Did the advance troops fire?"

"Shot fired! Not only shot, but also set on fire!"

"Then they started fighting?"

"The fighting has begun! But it has not completely started - the city is in chaos, but the defense line is still in the hands of the traitors, and the port is in the hands of the advance army. There are wild rumors in the city that the imperial army is going to attack the Parliament, and they want to cooperate with the inside and outside to capture the Black Reef Port! "

"Who's telling the story?"

"I don't know, but... it must be Clovis!"

"great!"

Bernard stood up with a "Bang!" sound, and his excitement was palpable:

"Let's go! Cooperate inside and outside to capture Black Reef Port - tonight!"

"The inside should be in harmony with the outside?" The herald was stunned and carefully closed the door behind him:

"Sir, that was slandered by the Clovis people. Almost all our spies in the city were killed, and didn't you say we won't send troops tonight?"

"Did I say that?" Bernard narrowed his eyes slightly and stared at the herald's expression calmly.

The herald trembled all over, and his desire to survive suddenly surged: "...did you say...?"

"I said that 'we' will not send troops, but I did not say that the 'Black Reef Port defenders' will not send troops." Bernard snorted coldly:

"Since there are imperial troops in the city attacking the parliament, and the troops who received the intelligence did not receive the order in time, is it right for Zhu Dong to rescue the parliament?"

"Should, should!"

"It's night now, so I can only use the clothes on my body to tell who is from which army. Isn't it reasonable?"

"It's...reasonable, reasonable!"

"No matter what happens tonight, whoever can capture the Parliament in the end will control Black Reef Port." Bernard smiled, and the feeling and confidence that everything was under control returned:

"Let the cavalry put on the clothes of the defenders of Black Reef Port, sneak into Black Reef Port through the gap made during the day, encircle and suppress the 'Imperial Assassins', and protect the safety of the Parliament!"

"Inform the artillery and speed up the construction of the artillery; as long as it is completed without waiting for orders, we can directly fire at the port of Black Reef Port. Since the Clovis people slandered us, let's just take the lead for them."

Humming in a low voice, Bernard took out the cigarette case from his arms, raised the lit cigarette in front of him with an extremely playful expression, and stared at the fire with the scattered smoke:

"Tonight, let them either die together, or burn the Black Reef Port to ashes!"

………………………

Accompanied by gunfire from time to time and occasional flashes of fire, countless figures wearing various military uniforms quickly shuttled through the narrow and rugged streets of Black Reef Port; hurried footsteps, anxious orders, and shouts and curses in various accents... they were all there. One after another under the cover of darkness.

At the port, a group of Black Reef Port defenders were using Clovis skirmishers to advance toward the port in a swaggering manner. Although the sentries along the way were very surprised by this group of people, for some special reasons, they all finally chose Released.

Almost at the same time, an army suddenly appeared outside the city and did not accept the order of the parliament, demanding to enter the city on the grounds that there were imperial assassins in the city trying to "attack the parliament."

The sentry guarding the city was unable to determine their identity and came forward to question them and asked for details. The other party readily took out the proof - a revolver placed on the forehead.

It only took ten minutes for this group of "Black Reef Port Militia" to skillfully drag the motionless sentries to the hint. Some of them changed into their equipment and clothes; the rest of the troops quietly passed through the city defenses. , proceed along the road behind the gate towards the Parliament in the city center.

The "Free Confederate Advance Army" stationed in residential areas also used the excuse that "assassins attacked the station and the commander-in-chief attempted assassination" and requested to take over part of the city defense of Black Reef Port and strictly investigate the whereabouts of the assassins in each street. At the same time, they expressed their willingness to send troops. , assisting Black Reef Port in protecting the security of the Parliament.

Regarding such a well-intentioned and reasonable request, the defenders of Black Reef Port said that they need to consider it and asked the "friendly forces" to wait patiently and they would ask for instructions.

The advance army fully understood their difficulties and took the initiative to help them solve this problem - the first battalion line privates dressed as civilians looked down and decisively raided the Black Reef Port militia outpost and patrol team near the residential area.

After a short but fierce battle, he was subdued and disarmed on the spot.

As the eyeliners and checkpoints were removed one by one, Lieutenant Colonel Alexei held his left shoulder injured due to an "assassin attack" and led the second-line private battalion to leave the residential area and began to gradually take over the commanding heights and important road sections of the surrounding urban areas.

The battalion, which "changed" again, immediately rushed to the Parliament to protect "Captain Alan Dawn" who was negotiating with the officers and members of the Black Reef Port.

As for the militiamen at Black Reef Port, in the face of this sudden chaos, they not only failed to understand the situation and stop it, but on the contrary, under the hint of "certain superiors" with ulterior motives, they began to give up controlling the security in the city and gathered at the port, carrying The large amount of luggage far exceeds their normal needs...

So less than two hours had passed since the gunshots were fired at the port. What was originally just a small group of chaos and disorder quickly swept across the city, and it had a tendency to continue to expand.

……………………

Black Reef Harbor City, the area around the city center of Parliament.

A group of "local militia" wearing Black Reef Port military uniforms and holding Leopold rifles lined up in a scattered but very orderly formation, passing quickly through the narrow alleys.

Compared with ordinary line soldiers, the cooperation of this team can be said to be flexible and intimate - whenever they encounter an intersection, several soldiers will take the initiative to line up and move forward separately; after ensuring safety or clearing out the patrol, After meeting the sentry, he quickly returned to the team without making the slightest sound the whole time.

In addition to the fact that the commander-in-chief of the Storm Division came from the skirmisher department, which led to the popularization of skirmisher training throughout the army, another important factor was that the soldiers of the entire company came from the same area.

To be more precise, it's the same factory.

Most of the soldiers in a unit come from the same area, which is quite common in the Clovis army. Some units even deliberately use this method to ensure the organization of the army...The cost is that if the new commander is not a local, he may have to Master a dialect first.

At first, the Army basically recruited soldiers in the countryside and remote provinces. However, since the war with the Empire began and the supply of soldiers began to become tight, even the outer city of Clovis was included in the scope, and it was found that all recruits who had worked in factories were not only suitable for The salary requirements are lower and the discipline is very strong, which can greatly shorten the training cycle.

It was against this background that Marcos and his 1st Battalion of the Second Line Private Company became part of the "Storm Division" which was still a levy regiment at the time.

"Stop."

The command, so gentle that it was hard to hear clearly if you were concentrating, sounded from the front of the team.

The fast-moving private soldiers suddenly stopped and all became alert; they consciously began to disperse around them, raising their guns and looking around.

Captain Marcos, who raised his right hand behind him and frowned slightly, hid in the shadow of a wall on one side and looked at the figures approaching from the street on the opposite side of the alley - dozens of fully armed men wearing the same clothes as them. Black Reef Harbor Militia.”

Although they reacted in time, the people on the other side still discovered their presence. They also lurked in the alley with vigilance, hiding behind the wall on one side and observing this way.

Exiting the alley, outside is the Central Avenue in the city center, only one step away from the Parliament.

"what happened?"

Deputy company commander Alik - who is also Marcos's son-in-law - quietly approached and said nervously: "Didn't the Skirmisher Company say that all the defenders in the city have gone to the port? Then who are they?"

"Maybe... the same as us?" Marcus also looked puzzled:

"But that's not right. Our company was the first to set off - could there be other companies that were faster and ran ahead of us?"

"Could it be someone from the skirmisher company or the guard company?" Alik guessed:

"Do we know anyone there?"

Marcus thought for a moment and shook his head regretfully.

Just as the two of them were worrying about what to do, a rich and powerful voice came from the opposite alley:

"Are you brothers from Black Reef Port?"

After hesitating for a moment, Marcus and the deputy company commander looked at each other, then turned to look across:

"Yes - what about you?!"

"So are we!" The voice on the other side was very calm:

"Which army are you from?"

Marcos said directly without thinking: "Then which army are you from?"

After the words fell, no one on either side spoke, they were all waiting for the other party to answer first.

The deserted streets were filled with deathly silence.

So Marcus understood, and he also believed that the person opposite must also understand.

But the problem is that he needs to rush to the parliament as soon as possible, but once he rushes out of the alley, he is likely to be attacked by the opposite party - especially when the identities of both parties are suspicious, Marcos does not dare to bet his confidence that the opposite party should be Select the friendly forces option.

So he chose another method: "Where are you going?"

"We are going to the parliament!" The answer from the other side was still extremely calm:

"The messenger reported that there are imperial assassins near the Parliament preparing to launch an attack. We are preparing to protect the MPs - what about you?"

Um?

Marcus was stunned and looked at each other with the deputy company commander: "We have also received the intelligence and are about to rush to the parliament!"

"Since everyone has the same goal, I might as well ask you to take the first step!" The opponent immediately intercepted and said:

"There is chaos everywhere in the city now. We are willing to cut off the rear for you and cover you to go to the parliament to protect the members!"

"No, no, I won't watch. I'd better ask you to take the first step!" Marcos immediately replied:

"We are all the guardians of Black Reef Port. There is no need to distinguish them so clearly - there are many of you, so you go first!"

"No, it's better for you all to go first! There are fewer of you and you are faster than us!"

"Speed ​​is useless, combat effectiveness comes first, you go first!"

"Time is of the essence at times like this, everyone goes first!"

"Then how about we just go together and no one has to 'cover' the other?"

"Okay! How about we count three two one silently and then act at the same time?!"

"No problem, you start first!"

"Okay-three!"

"two!"

Just when the opponent was about to shout one, Marcos suddenly thought of something and raised his hand to steal: "Wait a minute!"

"What's wrong?" The voice on the other side finally became impatient.

"Nothing, I just wanted to ask a question suddenly." Marcus licked the corner of his mouth nervously:

"Do you know who is the person with the highest status in the garrison of Beluga Port?"

This time, the other person was silent for a long time; after half a minute, he spoke with uncertainty:

"Commander-in-Chief Anson Bach, who else could he be - why do you ask?"

"nothing!"

Marcus said solemnly, while gesturing behind him: "Okay, let's do it again - this time we go first!"

"good!"

"Ready-three!"

"two!"

"boom--!!!!"

Just when they were about to shout "one", the private soldiers of the Storm Division hiding in the alley all pulled the triggers.