I will be crowned king

Ice Dragon Fjord Colony, Beluga Harbor, March 29th.

While the ports of the Old World are being blocked, suspended, struck and even rioted due to all kinds of rumors, fake news and wars, the docks of the New World are ushering in the most prosperous time after winter turns to spring.

Under the golden morning light, dozens or hundreds of cargo ships loaded with cargo were moored on the calm sea. The porters on the dock followed the foremen's slogans and were busy loading the last batch of cargo boxes onto the ships.

“Weigh anchor—raise sail!”

When the urgent bell rang, the cargo ships whose waterline was several centimeters deeper took off the wooden planks connecting the docks, formed a fleet in the shape of a wild goose, and slowly sailed out of the fjord under the gaze of thousands of pairs of eyes.

Thunderous cheers rang over the pier, and the faces of thousands of businessmen, workers and ordinary citizens who gathered at Beluga Port were filled with unconcealable joy, as if they had been reborn.

And they were indeed happy as if they had relived their lives: the goods sold to the three countries in the North Sea not only directly cleared one-third of the annual output value of the entire New World, but the price was also a full fifth higher than in previous years; and because Due to lack of cash, seven-tenths of the payment was paid for with goods of equal value.

"Making a lot of money" is not enough to describe the mood of the entire Confederacy.

You need to know the trade between the New World and the mainland in previous years. First, the empire had to tax its own colonies and cut a round of leeks. Clovis sold high and bought low and cut another round. There were smuggling and middlemen to make the difference, and There are endless new tariff barriers between various colonies...

Not to mention luxuries, even the necessities of life such as salt, textiles, farm tools and even spirits, by the time they really reach the hands of those in need, the prices have increased at least ten times.

However, the ore, timber and animal skins accumulated by countless workers who worked tirelessly and even risked their lives were priced at ridiculously low prices; including freight, they were even cheaper than in the mainland.

Faced with such cruel extortion, the colonies had to be sold, because they were everywhere in the New World and could not be sold at a high price; and salt and textiles could not be produced by themselves, so they had to endure exploitation.

But this time it's different.

Relying on the coordination of the Supreme Council across the entire confederation, all tariffs and price differences were forcibly canceled, greatly reducing costs; those who suffered losses as a result could get back that part of the profit through the final increase in trade.

In addition, the three North Sea countries not only increased the original price by one-fifth, but seven-tenths were exchanged with goods; these goods are market prices, not used by Clovis and the empire to exploit the colonies. Sky-high price.

Of course, compared with the first two, the goods that the three North Sea countries can produce are far inferior in quality and quantity, but it is enough for the colonies.

Amid deafening cheers, Confederate "famous artist" David Jacques also took his apprentices to record the scene in front of him with a brush at the port: the city shrouded in haze, the rising sun on the horizon; Thousands of pairs of withered, clean hands with linen gloves, gold rings and weapons stretched out from the haze toward the sun, toward the sailing ship that was sailing towards the sun and gradually moving away.

On the small sailboat, there was a flag with 11 three-ring rings on a blue background; but under the water, a flag of King Clovis and the iris of the empire were reflected.

"I named it... Hope."

Pointing to the oil painting behind him, the sunny-faced David Jacques introduced to Anson and the council representatives with some restraint: "Carrying the shadow from the old world, the Free Confederacy will definitely bring radiance to the gloomy new world. Living hope!”

In response to the unabashed flattery of the great artist, the representatives who were very impressed smiled like protagonists, and by the way, they did not forget to compliment each other, as if they really regarded themselves as the saviors of the colonies and the new world.

Reinhard, who was standing aside, vaguely saw other meanings in the oil painting: the eleven-three-ringed flag reflected the shadow of Clovis and the imperial flag, which meant that the so-called Free Confederacy was still the empire and Clovis. The product of a combination of forces, or... a puppet.

The hands stretched out in the shadows can represent people from all walks of life. It can also be said that the new world is actually no different from the old continent. It has long differentiated the rich nobles and the poor at the bottom; and even if it creates a new world, it still longs for it. The "hope" given by the old world.

Thinking about it this way, recalling the several works of the other party that I have seen in the past, it seems that they can all have completely different explanations. Could it be that this great artist who always seems to be deliberately trying to please is actually a very thoughtful person who is also very good at hiding it? smart people?

Reinhard looked at David Jacques in disbelief, but seemed to have completely ignored him. The latter's face was still full of sunshine, with a simple and innocent expression, just like that of an eleven or twelve-year-old boy.

Maybe I really think too much? Reinhard shook his head and looked away.

The representatives were more concerned about the profits of this business than an oil painting. Although the three North Sea countries, especially the Kingdom of Naxir, were not wealthy due to the war, they still found ways to collect enough payment for the goods and promised to pay the money. First hand delivery.

In addition to the various necessities and finished products in the agreement, what is more surprising is that the Naxir Kingdom is actually prepared to pay off its debts with food; and it is not various pickled aquatic products, but genuine products from the land. The food that grows.

"There are about 100,000 tons of potatoes, 60,000 tons of wheat and 30,000 tons of oats." Reinhard said solemnly: "Including the price difference, these grains require about one-fifth of the mortgage payment; because the scale is so large Big, the Naxir fleet promised to help us transport it."

After hearing this number, everyone present fell silent.

"With such a large-scale sale of grain, aren't the Naxir royal family worried about the outbreak of famine in their country?" The young knight couldn't help but ask:

"Could it be said that they had a big harvest of food today?"

"On the contrary, because the civil war that broke out at the end of last year continues to this day, the food harvest in the Naxir Kingdom has suffered widespread failure." Reinhard shook his head:

"If I guess correctly, these grains should be stored in various places to survive the winter or survive famines."

"Huh?!" Louis' eyes widened: "The civil war is obviously not over yet, why..."

"It's because the civil war is not over yet, Sir Louis."

Paulina Frey's words sounded faintly: "Forcibly collecting food from the territory of the rebel nobles and selling it to us can not only exchange for vital raw materials, but also use famine to weaken the strength of the rebels."

"For the suzerain country, there is no more effective way to eliminate rebellion than this."

After saying that, she turned her head and looked at Louis deeply, her meaningful look making the young knight extremely embarrassed.

"Although this may not be very friendly to the farmers of Naxir, for the Confederacy, these grains are of great significance." Anson quickly stepped forward to smooth things over:

"I suggest that this food be purchased in the name of the Supreme Council and placed in... uh, the fortress of Winter torch city as a food reserve for the entire confederation. What do you think?"

A group of representatives who clearly felt that the atmosphere was not right certainly did not dare to get into trouble. They all said that the Governor of Ice Dragon Fjord was really wise. He voted in favor without waiting to return to the parliament, and no one objected.

"In addition to normal trading, there is good news."

Seeing that the atmosphere was frozen due to his intelligence, Reinhard quickly followed Anson's lead and continued: "Because Naxil Cathedral does not support the civil war and refuses to provide any financial convenience to both parties, the royal family hopes to transfer some of the people from The stolen money confiscated from the rebels was handed over to the New World Company for management."

"These stolen funds include but are not limited to large sums of cash, as well as various expensive luxury goods; the Naxir royal family said that as long as the price is right, they are also willing to sell these luxury goods on the Confederate side."

"Since it is a luxury product, my suggestion is to organize a large-scale market in Beluga Port or other ports, so that people who are willing to buy can purchase it by themselves, and the remaining parts will be kept by the New World Company; this will not only improve the colony's Improve the quality of life and avoid unnecessary waste... What do you think?"

"I agree!"

Anson immediately raised his hand and said: "In this way, the Naxir royal family will have a certain profit, and it can also end the civil war as soon as possible and avoid more lives being destroyed. If the financial resources are not exhausted, it should also be able to reduce the exploitation of the bottom class and avoid creating a wider range of disasters." disaster."

Although he said so, Anson actually wished that Naxir could continue the civil war. It would be better if he could drag the other two countries into the water - so that no matter what, the three North Sea countries and their fleets would not be able to Be part of the Crusader Army again!

The overall strength of these three countries is not strong, but the problem is that they are too close to the New World; once they join, it means that the logistics line of the Jihadi Army will be greatly shortened, and there is no need to withdraw the troops even in winter, and they can continue to fight. possible.

Not only that, although the fleets of the three countries are not as powerful as the empire's large fleet, their combined transport capacity is definitely much stronger than that of Clovis; it is fatal to the Confederacy, which has a long coastline and almost all important strongholds are concentrated in coastal areas. Sexual blow.

Therefore, no matter what happens in the Kingdom of Naqsir, their civil war must continue; not only that, it is best for the other two to intervene as soon as possible, or be invaded by the Kingdom of Naqsir, which is the most beneficial outcome for the Confederacy.

After finalizing the final distribution of benefits, the representatives left the place either meaningfully or happily, preparing to return to the parliament; only Anson and Louis were left, plus the oil painting titled "Hope" was still there. .

"This is the last shipment and the Confederacy's last foreign trade of the year."

Looking in the direction of the horizon, Anson sighed softly: "Next time a ship appears in Ice Dragon Fjord, it will be the fleet of the Holy War Army."

"yes."

Louis nodded with emotion: "Are you ready for the battle?"

"It's not me, it's us, all of us." Anson corrected:

"The answer is yes, we have made all the preparations we can, gathered all the materials, all the soldiers who can go to the battlefield, established a fairly efficient decision-making center, united all the enemies who can be united, and also tried every means It caused a lot of trouble for the enemy."

"At this point, I can honestly say that the entire Confederate power has been mobilized by us!"

"But compared with our enemies, we are still stretched thin." Louis frowned slightly:

"Fifty thousand soldiers, but most of them are line infantry with muzzle-loading rifles, wearing inconsistent uniforms, and using weapons of varying quality; needless to say training, except that less than 20,000 of them have received rigorous training , the rest... were undisciplined, old and young, just a mob that took up arms."

"As for the artillery and cavalry...the former cannot form a regiment, while the latter is not small in size, but it is only half a division. It is barely enough for an army of 50,000 to use for communications, let alone go into battle to kill the enemy."

"The most troublesome thing is that we not only lack artillery, but also lack ships capable of offshore operations!" Louis' face became increasingly ugly:

"If the Holy War Army wants to fight across the sea, the empire's large fleet and the Royal Clovis fleet will inevitably be dispatched. All our important colonial strongholds are concentrated in the coastal areas, but there is not a single fort or a battleship..."

The young knight couldn't speak any more, but Anson knew what he wanted to say.

That's right, the Jihadi Army doesn't even need to land. It can conquer most of the Thirteen Colonies by shelling alone. Even if the remaining ones resist stubbornly, they can only hold on for a month or two at most, and then they will be cut off due to trade. In the later stage, it was unable to support and collapsed.

As for Anson's earliest plan to "withdraw to Winter Torch City and hold out for reinforcements", the premise was that there were only 50,000 troops from the empire; but now that the enemy's strength has expanded to 150,000, and with the full support of the church, waiting for reinforcements is a joke.

Even if the Jihadi Army really has to wait until June to arrive, it is too late to start building ships and forts now; not to mention that even if they can be built, they do not have a sufficient number of cannons; even if this is solved, the cannonballs are far away Not enough - that's a fleet that can accommodate an army of 150,000 people.

"So we need a fast, cheap method, or weapon, that can prevent the fleet from easily approaching the colonial coastline, or at least from attacking us easily." Anson nodded and met Louis' gaze:

"This method or weapon does not need to really pose a threat to the enemy. As long as it can delay the time, or make them give up the siege on their own initiative and raid the port, right?"

"Yes, if we can avoid having the enemy directly at the port of a certain colony, it will definitely greatly reduce the risk of the Free Federation falling in a battle...huh?!"

Louis suddenly reacted mid-sentence and looked at Anson:

"D-do you already have a plan?!"