I will be crowned king

Chapter 795 Unexpected...rebellion!

"So are these people going to fight, or are they going on a trip?!"

While Sophia was full of confidence at the salon party in Clovis City, Ludwig Franz, who was far away in Northport, had the exact same idea with his sister, who had always been at odds with her.

Northport in late March has always been one of the most prosperous trade centers in the Kingdom of Clovis. Cargo ships and caravans from all directions converge on this land along routes, roads and railway tracks, and hundreds of warehouses will be filled. It is full of sails, and there are so many sails moored in the port that they look like a colorful and lush "forest"; if the time is right, tourists will also see a grand "traffic jam" on the city's central avenue.

But that's all in the past.

As the news of the Holy War was officially issued in various kingdoms, the bustling North Port was also forced to suspend trade and use the port to accommodate the "grand fleet" from the empire; because the capacity of the Clovis royal fleet was really low, escort and Almost all the missions of transporting the Holy War Army to the New World were undertaken by the Empire.

Even the cargo ships of many chambers of commerce were forcibly recruited by the Jihad Army as an additional supplement to their transportation capacity. When an army of 150,000 people gathered and set off, even if there was no war, the amount of supplies consumed would be astronomical, and no amount of transportation capacity would be enough.

However, although trading activities were terminated, the "Jihadi Army" coming from all directions still made this trading port revitalized.

Clovis, the Empire, Hantu, and even Iser... Waving the military flags of various companies, soldiers with different styles of clothing and weapons sat on three-masted battleships, steam trains, or simply marched on foot. Regiments one by one rushed to the outskirts of the city to gather, and built temporary camps at planned locations, waiting for the order to set off.

Although they have Clovis officials and the church responsible for logistics, the long march and the need to assemble as soon as possible mean that they are destined to not be able to carry too many supplies, but they basically have enough cash on hand; the Beigang people are already very business-savvy. They immediately sensed the business opportunities and enthusiastically sold the unsold merchandise and department stores in the warehouse to these big-headed soldiers, as well as low-quality and high-priced local specialties.

As for the mid-level and senior military officers and even the headquarters of the Jihad Army, they moved into the luxury apartments and high-end hotels specially set aside for them in the city at the warm invitation of the Beigang City Government to recharge their batteries in preparation for the expedition - or while they were still there Have some fun when you get the chance.

After all, no matter what the outcome is after the war, a two-month round-trip sea journey is absolutely indispensable; spending most of the summer on a battleship filled with soldiers and baggage boxes, one can imagine how torture it will be.

Ludwig, who knew this well, did not raise any objections, or in other words, he knew very well that even if he objected, it would be useless - not to mention that he was only one of the three commander-in-chiefs of the Jihad Army in Beigang. He doesn't even have absolute say in the legions under his command.

The reason is also very simple. Clovis did not want to fight a war, but he had to gather at least 20,000 to 30,000 men to form a complete legion. So in order to cope with the problem, the Royal Army sent pieces from the west, south and east. The fortress mobilized its troops separately and pieced together a "big army" for Ludwig.

In this unit there are veterans who have been tempered on the battlefield on the Western Front, there are artillerymen who have never fired much in the eastern fortress in half their lives, there are hussars in the southern fortress who have only ridden horses on the training ground, and there are some who have gray beards. Among the staff officers, there are also enthusiastic young middle- and lower-level officers who have just graduated two months ago...

The only thing this group of guys with different origins, ages, and various dialects they can understand and do not have in common is that they all feel that once the jihadist army arrives, heresy and rebellion will definitely fall, and this "expedition" is the right one. It’s a public trip to the New World.

Ludwig, who originally thought that no matter how bad this "army" was, could never surpass the levy force of Thunder Castle, found that he was still immature; after all, no matter how bad the levy force was, Ludwig, as the largest contributor, was the most powerful in the army. He has the absolute right to speak, and anyone who dares to disobey will be shot to death on the spot. No one dares to say no.

But not this time. Each combat unit is borrowed from the standing army to which it belongs and belongs to the organized army. They are willing to cooperate only because they obey orders. With Ludwig's title of "Commander-in-Chief", everyone is just a subordinate. It's just a relationship, there is no subordination relationship.

What's more serious is that no matter how serious the situation is when recruiting troops at Thunder Castle, Ludwig still has Roman as an important confidant and an entire elite grenadier regiment to rely on; but this time, except for the guards, the staff team are all members of the Royal Army. What came out...he was a true loner.

Facing this literally scattered mob, Ludwig could only choose to turn a blind eye. After all, he still expected them to work hard, and many things could only be considered in the long term.

But after truly seeing the outstanding "discipline" and superb "combat power" of this group of people, Ludwig completely collapsed.

"Fifteen of the twenty regiments of soldiers are new recruits who have been in the army for less than three months, and more than half of the rear-line troops drawn from militia groups from various places are even more!"

"Eight thousand soldiers have not received shooting training, and the two cavalry regiments have only been trained for less than half a year. They only have fifty horses and a hundred mules. They are too old and thin to board a ship and cross the sea!"

"Officers have almost no actual combat experience, so that's fine; the staff officers can't read maps, the logistics chief is only proficient in addition and subtraction of less than three digits, more than half can't even recite tactical manuals, and the remaining half can It’s still the same old-fashioned and rotten set thirty years ago!”

"The artillery regiment only has two qualified veteran gunners, and the rest are not qualified as ammunition handlers! They have no experience in operating large artillery and cannot calculate ballistics. The one with the most experience was a demolition worker in the eastern mine. I... …?!!”

Despair is not enough to describe Ludwig's mood at the moment. If he was still complacent at the beginning, now he can only pray - pray that these defective products thrown out by the Royal Army will not end up in the ice and snow of the new world. Before it could hit the enemy, it was frozen to the point of disintegrating on its own.

To a certain extent, he now expects even more than his "subordinates" that once the army arrives, the enemy will surrender; because if the enemy does not surrender, he will be the one who is finished.

If this is not the most terrifying thing, what is even more terrifying is that there is no harm without comparison - at the same time that the Clovis Jihad Army was assembled, the Hantu Jihad Army led by Leon Francois had also arrived in North Port .

As a new country that has just begun to recover from the war, it is too difficult to raise an army of 20,000 for an expedition. Therefore, the Hantu army brought by Leon only has 15,000 people, and they are basically infantry and artillery. There is only a symbolic group.

But all these 15,000 people had participated in the previous war of independence in Hantu, and had received at least half a year of Clovis military training. The officers at the battalion level were served by knights with military exploits. Leon himself The "Guards" are led by Deputy Commander Henares and consist of a total of 500 experienced veterans; whether they serve as the mainstay of offense and defense, or as grassroots officers in the forward position when necessary, they are fully qualified.

Except for the slightly lax military discipline, the overly straightforward style, and some minor frictions with the Beigang people who have serious business habits, this Hantu Army is impeccable and will not be the first choice, but it can definitely be treated at critical moments. Full confidence in the military.

In comparison, the Clovis Legion, which calls itself the "protector" of Hantu, has slightly better equipment than Hantu, but the quality of its personnel is completely different, and the difference can be seen with the naked eye.

"If you ask me, your troops are not that bad." William Cecil on the side frowned slightly and looked at the commander-in-chief incomprehensively.

As the heir to the Cecil family and the youngest naval colonel, William has been assigned to be responsible for the escort and logistics tasks of the Clovis Jihad Army. In theory, his status is infinitely close to that of the deputy commander. He is also the only one Ludwig can "do" in Northport City. "Trust" object.

"Compared to you, Colonel Anson Bach...ah, he is now a brigadier general. When he conquered the imperial army in Sailing City, in addition to his five thousand subordinates, he only had a colonial militia group of about ten thousand; and as far as I know, Those militia groups have no fighting capacity at all, so calling them a burden is considered a compliment."

"Even so, it only took him less than half a year to attack Yangfan City and defeat the imperial army with a strength of nearly 20,000. When I arrived with my fleet, Yangfan City had already announced that it would join the Free Confederacy and become a member of the rebels. .”

"Ten thousand?"

Ludwig turned his head slightly in surprise: "You mean those rebellious colonies can only muster 10,000 soldiers?"

"If you include all the armies - if the thugs and farmers with guns can be called armies, then if you count them all, there will be about 50,000 to 60,000 people." William shook his head disdainfully:

"But that kind of army has no fighting power in front of the regular army. At best, it can only be strong when guarding their own farms and towns. Once they leave the territory, they will be as weak as a flock of overwhelmed sheep; even if they are only one-tenth their size The elite soldiers can defeat them easily."

"As for the indigenous people who believe in heretical evil gods... except for a few who may actually possess the abilities of the old god sect's spellcasters, the rest are just primitive tribes that are vulnerable and have very few metal products. They have no so-called 'combat power' at all. 'It's okay."

"In other words, to conquer the entire new world without outside interference, only 10,000 qualified soldiers, plus a small offshore fleet, are enough?"

Ludwig's eyes fell into deep thought: "You don't need an army of 150,000 people and the Holy See's Judgment Knights to come out in full force...do you?"

"That's absolutely correct, but I think that's not what you really want to ask, and you already have the answer." William smiled politely and said:

"This holy war against the Empire, Clovis or even the Holy See is not a war in the literal sense; there is not another army of 150,000 people waiting on the shores of the New World, waiting for a decisive battle of life and death with us. "

"If we really want to fight, the 20,000 'elites' under your command will definitely be more than enough to wipe out the thirteen colonies."

"So the enemy we are fighting against is not them..." Ludwig muttered to himself.

The two were silent for a moment, until William Cecil raised his head again:

"Your Excellency Ludwig, I have a question - what do you think of Ansen Bach?"

The commander-in-chief, who narrowed his eyes slightly, met the other party's gaze:

"I do not understand what you mean."

"Unclear...ah, you misunderstood, I didn't imply anything." William quickly waved his hand:

"I simply feel that you should know Anson Bach better than I do; although the Luen family's... accident has made him related to pagans and the Old Gods, after all, it is still an important colony of the kingdom. The garrison commander has a huge influence on the entire new world."

"Right now, due to the forbidden sea, the colonies should not have received news of the jihad yet, so there is no need to worry about changes there for the time being; do you think that with his character, he will be indifferent to the rebellious colonies?"

Indifferent... Anson Bach?

As soon as he finished speaking, Ludwig's mind immediately pictured someone who was confident and had an "everything is planned" face...

"To be honest, I don't think so." Ludwig leaned forward slightly, frowning as if he was trying to recall some not-so-distant memories:

"It is not his character to sit still and wait for death. With Anson Bach's habits, he will probably try his best to completely integrate with the rebellious colony; not to mention that the success of this rebellion was almost caused by him himself, and he will not give up easily. "

"But on the other hand, this guy can sometimes be unexpectedly realistic and behave very submissively in the face of force majeure, well, at least on the surface."

"So I think that even if he doesn't rule out the jihad, there is a high probability that he will try his best to tie Ice Dragon Fjord to those rebel colonies; and if he knows about it, in order to avoid damaging his own interests, he is likely to do something An unexpected move..."

"boom--!"

The moment the words were spoken, a heavy slam on the door directly interrupted the conversation; the two people in the room looked back together in tacit agreement and looked at Leon Francois, who was panting and with a look of horror on his face.

"No, it's not good!"

Leon, who didn't even have time to take a deep breath and was almost drenched in sweat, shouted out of breath: "News from, from Naxir Port, the six rebellious imperial colonies, the three countries of the North Sea." Five of them, and the Ice Dragon Fjord collectively announced that they would formally declare the founding of the country in the name of the 'Free Confederation'."

"Anson, Anson Bach, he...he..."

"Rebellion!"