I will be crowned king

On July 5th, almost at the same time that the last Crusade Army arrived in Sailing City, the Crusaders Headquarters and the news that the Grand Master of the Judgment Knights, Grad Manfred, wanted to negotiate had already passed through the intelligence network of the Faithless Knights. It was passed to Anson.

On the 10th, the official letters were sent to the forward positions of Beluga Port, Gray Snow Town and Red Hand Bay through the heralds of the warring armies on the front line.

Although it seems absurd to think that the Jihadi Army representing the Ring of Order is negotiating with the pagan Free Confederation, which they say should go to hell, at least it is still very sincere on the surface: as early as the morning of the 8th, before the letter arrived, The high command of the Jihad Army has ordered all legions to cease fire and withdraw troops around Black Reef Port.

In particular, Arthur Herred, who had just been awarded the title of "Paladin" by the Holy See, was immediately severely criticized by the high command for refusing to withdraw his troops, and ordered the Ludwig Army to withdraw from the battlefield immediately, and all fleets were prohibited. Then provide logistical support to Arthur Herred.

Such tough measures will obviously have a very bad impact on morale, but it also really makes enough gestures to make the Free Confederacy truly believe that the other side is really planning to negotiate, and they are more or less tempted.

After all, the gap in strength between the two sides is here. At the beginning of the war, the territory and population of the Free Confederacy were being lost every moment, while the soldiers and supplies of the Jihad Army were endless... Even if it was just a temporary truce through negotiation to gain breathing room, freedom would The Confederacy was also absolutely beneficial.

The most important point is that, in a sense, this was what the Free Confederates resisted and fought for.

The premise of negotiation is mutual recognition and equality of status, and the cause of this war is the empire's refusal to recognize the independence of the Free Confederation - the members of the Free Confederation themselves think so - if the Holy See's recognition can be obtained through negotiation, even if it is necessary It is not unacceptable to pay a certain price.

"Obtain the recognition of the Holy See? Become an independent country in the world of order? Are these people's brains like bread? What good things are they thinking of?!"

On the morning of the third day after arriving in Gray Snow Town, Carl Bain, who finally woke up after lying down for two days and two nights, was still very sleepy for the last second. When he saw the wishes of the Confederate congressmen on the letter, his blood pressure suddenly rose, and he stared at everyone. His bloodshot eyes immediately became energetic: "The other party just clearly said that this is a trap, and they are still ready to jump in happily?!"

After the words fell, the officers of the Storm Legion present had almost similar expressions; Norton Crosell sighed softly, Leo and Alexei laughed and sneered, and Julien's eyes turned red. It was as if he felt aggrieved when he and so many others sacrificed their lives to fight, but were treated as bargaining chips.

The attitude of the rest of the people was basically the same. They looked at the letter on the table with the eyes of a fool, completely dismissive of the innocence and weakness of the Free Confederacy and the "sincerity" of the Jihad Army.

After all, they had just successfully annihilated a fully-staffed Holy War Legion, and without the elite Grenadier Corps, I have to say that the entire Storm Officer Corps was starting to feel a little uneasy. If this were to be a war on the vast earth, even if it was During the colonial war of independence, if they had heard that the empire had sent hundreds of thousands of troops and had the support of the Holy See, and that they had always made money as their mission and put their lives first, they would not have been able to negotiate ahead of the Free Confederacy. and.

And now... whoever dares to initiate peace is a coward who has betrayed countless loyal Clovis ministers and ignored the life and death of millions of colonists - this is a derogatory term.

Seeing that the officers present were so excited, they wanted to leave immediately, rush to the front line of Red Hand Bay to declare their interests to Louis Bernard, send all the cowardly wall-riding factions in the Free Confederacy to the stake, and then assemble heavy troops and the jihadi army. A massive final battle to win independence and dignity for the new world, break the millennium hegemony of the empire, and reverse the orderly world pattern...

Well, Anson couldn't help but want to laugh out loud - because the acting skills of these dear subordinates are so good.

The officers at the battalion and company level may be okay, but the captains who really stand at the core of the Storm Legion all have their own agendas... In the past, Anson had too little information, and neither cared nor noticed it. When he gradually mastered this After helping the officers to find out the details behind them, they truly realized that every military meeting is not their own one-man show, but a real group drama.

Behind Fabian were the intelligence agencies of the Osteria royal family and the Clovis Army. Therefore, even though the Battle of Beluga Harbor was over, he did not rush to Gray Snow Town immediately to attend the meeting. He was probably anxious to get the latest information. information sent out;

Norton is a member of the Truth Society, a group of "sticks" who are keen to disrupt the situation. They hope that the New World War will thwart the Holy See's attempt to get involved in the secular world again. Of course, they cannot accept the Confederacy's compromise so quickly;

Leo and Alexei had different backgrounds but similar situations. One was from a low background in the Royal Clovis Army, and the other simply had a "black household registration." They were also the middle-level officers who were most closely tied to the Storm Legion. Once the war broke out, At the end of the negotiation situation, the Storm Legion, which is already a rebel, is at risk of being betrayed and liquidated... Vested interests like them are among the most unacceptable group.

As for Lieutenant Colonel Julien, who seems to be the most innocent and has a good background...the situation is slightly similar to that of the original Anson - the one who was "killed" by swallowing a gun in the military camp. His willingness to follow the Storm Legion to the new world may not necessarily be hidden. The idea that he was from the old god sect naturally reacted extremely strongly to the negotiations.

As for the middle and lower-level officers at the battalion and company level, as well as staff officers, military doctors, and logistics...it is not yet clear what they think and what background or force drives them.

There is only one thing... The only person at the scene who really considered the negotiation from the perspective of strategic interests and thought it was ridiculous was Carl Bain; seeing that the entire legion was so united in supporting him, the Chief of Staff, who was always attacked by Anson, even I'm a little excited. I feel that after such a long period of hard work, I finally have some prestige and recognition in everyone's mind.

"That's not entirely true, is it?"

A not-too-familiar but non-existent voice interrupted Karl's self-movement. With a frozen expression, he and all the surprised officers turned their heads at the same time and looked at the figure sitting in the corner of the conference room.

Joseph, the deputy commander of the shooting corps, of course everyone prefers to call him "Fabian's uncle". He is sitting in the most inconspicuous place in the room like a veteran standing guard, just like the shooting corps under his charge. Like cannon fodder, they will only be remembered when needed.

Finding that he had attracted everyone's attention, Joseph was still not nervous at all. He was as innocent and sincere as a veteran who was more slippery than Karl: "I'm not saying that the chief of staff's judgment was wrong, but everyone didn't think this was a special case. Good opportunity?"

"The Storm Legion has just gone through a big battle and needs to rest and recuperate. Beluga Port has been besieged for nearly half a month and needs to recover. Red Hand Bay has been fighting for so long and has suffered a lot of losses and casualties... Take advantage of the opportunity to negotiate with the enemy to take a breather. I don’t see what’s wrong with that?”

"There's nothing bad, it's just great!" Norton Crosell said coldly: "Just when the Free Confederacy won a big victory and urgently needed an opportunity to take a breather and regain its strength, what did the other party propose? How could there be such a coincidence in the world? Good thing?"

"I don't know, I'm not a believer in the Circle of Order."

Joseph spread his hands and smiled at the officers whose expressions were not very friendly: "But this is not a peace talk, it is just a negotiation... In this case, we do not have to talk towards the end of the war!"

"So what do you want to talk about?"

"I don't know, it's not up to me to decide."

Shaking his head at Alexei, Joseph still smiled: "I just don't understand why everyone reacts so strongly to the members of the Free Confederation. They only put forward their own suggestions and ideas and have no decision-making power. Or in the hands of Sir Louis Bernard and Commander Anson?"

"But their remarks will definitely have an impact on tens of thousands of New World Legion soldiers!" Julien stood up suddenly, breathing slightly and looking extremely excited:

"And it is well known that Sir Louis Bernard has always worked hard to promote peace between the empire and the colonies. Once he gets the news, he will be shamelessly deceived by the enemy!"

"So what you are saying is that Sir Louis Bernard is probably no longer in the trenches with us because of this."

Joseph thought thoughtfully: "Well...this is indeed not good news. From now on, we should probably be wary of the Imperial Knights in Sailing City."

"I-that's not what I meant!"

"But this is what you said personally. Sir Louis Bernard cannot be trusted." He shook his head with a wry smile: "I just repeated your words again. Does it mean that the meaning is different just because it came from my mouth? Yet?"

"This! This, this, this... I... I didn't... didn't..."

"enough."

Karl, with a straight face, stood up and stopped Julien, who was blushing and wanted to defend himself urgently: "Joseph, I understand what you mean, there is no need to continue to explain."

Joseph nodded understandingly. The two cooperated tacitly during the shooting army training, and their understanding of each other was much deeper than that of other Storm Legion officers.

After settling the commotion here, Karl glanced at the culprit of the quarrel, the always confident commander-in-chief Brigadier General Anson Bach - without his hint and permission, a man like Joseph who only cares about his own happiness would not Such deliberate efforts to arouse other people's disgust.

"I agree with Joseph's point of view. Of course, it does not mean that the chief of staff's judgment is wrong. The so-called negotiation is most likely a trap set by the other party." Anson knocked on the letterhead on the table and quickly glanced at everyone's eyes. Expression: "But the problem is also very clear. If we refuse to negotiate, it will first arouse the resentment of the Free Confederacy, and secondly, it will also shake the army of Sailing City."

"Yes, we won the battle of the slave port, but the prerequisite for victory was the full cooperation from the colonial liberals and the continuous provision of manpower and material resources; not to mention that this war was originally for them, Even if our judgment is correct, it is obviously not advisable to completely disrespect their attitudes and ideas."

"But that's the wrong idea!"

Julien couldn't help but said: "Do we still want to jump in even though we know it's a trap?!"

"Of course... no, it should be said that just because we know it is a trap, we should pretend to jump in!" Anson corrected: "Only in this way, will the Jihad Army think that we don't know that this is a trap?"

"Really?" Karl raised his eyebrows:

"But why do I think this will only make the Jihadists think that we are pretending not to know that this is a trap?"

"It's very simple. Then let's be sincere and pretend that we don't know that the Jihadi Army thinks we know that this is a trap."

"No, no, no, I think it will just make the Crusaders think that we are pretending not to know that they know that we are pretending that this is not a trap."

"Then go one step further and pretend we don't know the Jihadists think we pretend they don't know they know we pretend it's not a trap."

"No, no, no, no, I think the Jihad Army will only pretend..."

"Etc., etc……!!!!"

Alexey, who had a headache on his face, suddenly broke in, covered his head and looked at the two of them: "You, you...you...can you say it again?"

"Um?"

Anson and Karl looked at each other in confusion. After being stunned for a few seconds, they tacitly glanced at the little clerk in the other corner.

"It's actually very simple." Alan Dawn put down his pen in an orderly manner, picked up the meeting minutes and looked at everyone: "Sir Anson hopes to paralyze the vigilance of the Jihadi Army. Chief of Staff Carl believes that doing so can only be counterproductive."

"Um?!"

This answer was concise and concise, but everyone's expressions were obviously more shocked.

The little clerk who was stared at like this scratched his head in embarrassment: "I'm sorry... I just think that in this situation, if I explain it in a little more detail, it might not be appropriate..."

"Uh... it's true... you did a good job."

Anson praised him blankly, and subconsciously made gestures, and then looked at everyone again: "Ahem! In short, I think that even if it is just to take into account the attitude of the Free Confederacy, we should actively express our approval of the negotiations to avoid further changes. Too many accidents happen, and we cannot let the other side accuse us of being war mongers and disrupting peace without any reason!"

"We can take this opportunity to let the Storm Legion take a good rest and recover from the previous battle as soon as possible... The Confederacy, the colonies, and the allies are not worth relying on! The only people we can rely on are ourselves and our comrades."

After the words fell, Anson hit the table with his right fist and stood up slowly: "From now on, all members of the Storm Legion will rest and strive to recover within a week; the staff and logistics must make every effort to ensure the supply of materials and facilities. , there must be no mistake!”

"Everyone else, get ready to go to the negotiations - remember, this is not just a negotiation, it is also likely to be a bloody battle, understand?!"

"clear--!!!!"