I will be crowned king

Perhaps the reinforcements that came in had boosted their self-confidence, and the morale of the New World Army in the second half of the journey had obviously recovered a lot; especially when they saw the patrol cavalry holding the eleven-star ring flag passing by and blowing whistles to the troops marching along the road. When the flag was raised, the originally dejected soldiers and colonists puffed up their chests and took off their hats in response.

That expression seemed as if they were not retreating, but making a strategic transition. The sense of pride that "finally returned to their own land" and that a king has returned after enduring hardships arose spontaneously at this moment.

But they didn't know that the "patrol cavalry" they encountered frequently were actually the same group of people, even the "own people" who had just retreated together in the team.

After receiving the news that the Third Infantry Regiment had successfully connected with the team, the hussars originally stationed in the shooting camp to ambush also rushed here; but they were not here to patrol, nor to escort the retreating team, but It was to report the team's position to Major General Ludwig in Beluga Port.

So just when the colonists were deeply proud of "our Confederacy is so powerful", their speed of action, specific location and even the number of people had been passed on to the hands of the Jihadi Army in detail.

After all, it is impossible to hide the movement routes of tens of thousands of people from each other. It is better to report them on your own initiative to avoid the jihadist sentries in Beluga Port from accidentally running into them head-on. It would be impossible not to stop them, let alone stop them, which would embarrass everyone.

By the way, you can also send Ludwig some information so that he will not have nothing to say at the meeting of the Holy War Headquarters - as one of the most important allies of the Confederacy at the moment, the stronger Ludwig is, the more powerful he will be. in the interests of the Confederacy.

However, after realizing the impact of these "patrol cavalry" on morale, Anson and Louis decisively sent out the few cavalry in the legion, leaving in batches in the name of sentries, and then mixed in among the patrolling hussars, posing as Throughout the Ice Dragon Fjord, there are illusions of Confederate patrol teams everywhere.

While the two of them were still working hard to boost the morale of the Legion and hurry up, the Chief of Staff of the Storm Legion, Lieutenant Colonel Carl Bain, was also fighting against mountains of various accounts and information. The severity was no less brutal than what someone had just done. A fight to the death with the "fake" Sir Pheles.

From the map, Gray Snow Town is not so much a part of Ice Dragon Fjord, but two-thirds of Ice Dragon Fjord is actually under the control of this town; it’s just that two-thirds of the population , even if the materials and prosperity were doubled, they would still not be as good as the remaining one-third.

As an important population settlement and transportation and logistics center in the inland region, this colony plays a crucial role in Anson's "resilient defense" plan: To the east, it is the retreat destination for the first five colonies led by Straw Straw Town ; To the west, you have to bear the burden of tens of thousands of colonists and supplies, the last stop before moving to Winter Torch City.

After Anson left, Army Chief of Staff Carl Bain naturally became the nominally highest-ranking person in the entire colony, and he had to personally mediate and make decisions in all work.

However, in Karl's eyes, the difference between someone's presence and absence is really negligible, because even when he is there, all these trivial matters are thrown at him, without even considering that such a huge workload has already exceeded the Storm Legion Staff Department. Increase the upper limit of logistics capabilities; and you can't ask, once you ask, you have absolute trust.

Fortunately, today's colony is no longer the same colony as when we first came here. Most of the work in the logistics department is completely shared by transfer personnel of the Luen family, the New World Company, and various messy committees established by Anson Bach. The poor chief of staff only Just need to make the final decision.

But even so, the workload was staggering - especially before he knew it, the Free Confederacy, which had originally been preparing to retreat to Winter torch City, suddenly changed its attitude and prepared to take back Beluga Harbor.

It feels like you have finally fulfilled all the requirements of Party A, and when everything is about to be completed, you are told that you need to overturn it because you cannot pass the review. However, no one knows what went wrong, and everything is back to the beginning. starting point.

"...Since you left...it should have been after Ludwig captured Beluga Port, a large number of materials and personnel began to be transferred at twice the original speed and scale, completely exceeding the accounting and sorting capabilities of our group of people. , almost two-thirds of it is backlogged in the warehouse, and no one dares to touch anyone..."

Karl collapsed on the long table while speaking, his hands twitching constantly, his eyes seemed to be controlled by black magic and unable to focus for a long time, and his clear speech sounded like the gears that had been forgotten to be lubricated were speeding. Spin, straight to the stars:

"Fortunately, the military factory has been basically rebuilt. It should not be a problem to simply produce some guns and ammunition, and repair the existing equipment, but no more can be expected; as for daily supplies... It should be enough to supply the legion in an orderly manner for two months, and the time If it takes longer, I will have to think of ways to do two activities: chewing tree bark and catching mice..."

"Very good... no! It's very good, it's really hard work!" Anson smiled and brought a cup of scalding hot coffee, and put it where the chief of staff could reach it when he stood up: "To be honest, even if it is now The standard has been cut in half, which has far exceeded my expectations!”

"Half? How miserable are your expectations..." Karl, who rolled his eyes, muttered: "But you are right. It is difficult to complete half of the main work with only our potatoes and carrots. It’s all done by people from New World Company.”

"Ah! Speaking of this, I suddenly remembered - Reinhard Roland, your great first president of the New World Company. I found that he was..."

"Secretly sending information to the Roland family and Arthur Herrid's Holy War Army across the street." Anson smiled lightly: "Yes, I know."

"you know?!"

The chief of staff, who was about to die just now, suddenly became energetic. He straightened up and stood up: "When?!"

"……What?"

"When did it start?!"

"Ah, I don't know either."

"You just said you knew!"

"But I only know that he is sending information to the other side. As for when to start... I am not from the Roland family!"

"..."

After being stunned for several seconds, the shocked chief of staff suddenly seemed to realize something: "Wait a minute, is that why Arthur Herred was so stubborn in attacking Red Hand Bay instead of White Whale? Hong Kong—because most of the Roland family’s investments are here?!”

"...It's possible."

Anson nodded slightly. Although he always felt that Louis was more likely, it could not be said that there was no reason for this.

"Ed Levent has been killed. The current leader of his army is a member of the Dukaski family. He can also be regarded as one of our allies. Together with Major General Ludwig, we already have Three..." Karl began to mutter:

"Ah, by the way, there is also Leon François of the Hantu Corps... You don't have to think about it at all. Even if you don't take the initiative to speak, that kid will definitely be on our side."

"If you think about it this way, four of the six holy war legions are ours. How did this holy war start?!"

"Well... that can't be said completely. At least on the surface, they still have to obey the leadership of the Holy See." Anson waved his hand: "And they can't be counted on our side. At most, they are at the level of potential allies. We can't count on them in a real fight. They are merciful.”

He really wants to say that the Legion is nothing. My loyal deputy commander is the direct eye-line of the royal family and a strong guarantor that our Storm Legion is still loyal to the kingdom. Secretary Alan Dawn can even have direct single-line contact with the Holy See. This The Vatican has long known all the border intelligence, big or small, otherwise how could the so-called "turn defeat into victory" card given by Roman be so useful.

The Free Confederacy has been established, and the roots of the Rune family have gradually penetrated into the entire new world; as long as Apostle Rune is still there, the Holy See will never be able to completely eradicate the rebellious colonists.

"That's true. I was too optimistic." Karl picked up the coffee and took a sip. His right hand subconsciously groped for his coat pocket, but unfortunately there was nothing except a shriveled cigarette case.

Since the start of the Holy War, the trade between the New World and the Old World has been completely cut off; some of the necessities of life are okay, but luxuries such as wine and tobacco have long been out of supply, and even the remaining sporadic ones have long been fired. At a sky-high price.

So the Storm Legion, who was keen on making money, had already united with the New World Company and several chambers of commerce in the tobacco trade in the colonies to monopolize the inventory. The price was as high as gold of the same weight, and even turned into hard currency for a time, making a lot of money. Full.

Of course, the price is that even the chief of staff, Carl Bain, no longer smokes - of course there is a price to pay for things like money.

"Wait a minute, I'm not against everyone making extra money, but you have to consider the actual situation, right?" Anson couldn't help but frowned:

"Not to mention who you sold the tobacco to at exorbitant prices, even if you get the money...where are you going to put it, Winter Torch City?"

"How is this possible? What are we doing with the money if it's put in that damn place?" Karl rolled his eyes again:

"How to save the money is a bit complicated, but who to sell to is very simple. You actually know."

"I know..." Anson was stunned for a second, and then suddenly froze:

"Jihadi Army?!"

"yes."

"He...how could they buy tobacco from us?!"

"Why not?" Seeing Anson's surprised expression, Carl's lips curled up for a long time:

"Think about it, the Holy See mobilized hundreds of thousands of people to cross the sea to attack the New World. Even if they find all the ships they can find, how many people, supplies, and ammunition can be loaded... I'm afraid it's just for the soldiers. If you are fully clothed and well-equipped, you have done your best, right?”

"Tobacco and alcohol... They will definitely bring such luxuries, but the quantity will definitely not be enough; so... since they are willing to sell arms to us, why can't they buy cigarettes and alcohol from us?"

Anson was stunned.

Yes, why, doesn’t it sound reasonable?

"As for how to make the other party deliver the payment... the process is a bit complicated, so I'll try to explain it as simply as possible." Karl couldn't help but take another sip of coffee, with a rather distressed expression - this thing is already ridiculously expensive in the New World.

"First of all, all accounts will definitely not be in cash, but will be through the New World Company, or to be more precise, the Northern Chamber of Commerce of the Roland family."

"The people on our side will only have one-on-one handovers with people from the New World Company and the Northern Chamber of Commerce. On the other side, they will pay first and then pay; they will borrow the money and transfer it to banks in several port cities in the mainland, and there will be no transaction." The funds are held in at least three bearer accounts."

"After confirming that the bank has entered the account, the people from the Northern Chamber of Commerce will hand over the bill to the New World Company. We will not ship the bill until we confirm the bill. To ensure nothing goes wrong, we follow your clerk's suggestion to transfer the money. Divide it into three, 40% is deposited in the church bank, 40% is deposited in the bank of the local chamber of commerce, and the rest requires cash payment from the other party, and no deposit is accepted, and the full amount must be paid before delivery."

Karl was quite proud when he said this... Relying on this "luxury trade", he maintained the morale that the Storm Legion lost due to the "routine retreat" and lost a lot of real estate. He was even able to mobilize supplies. Under limited conditions, we established a new line of defense in Gray Snow Town, continued to organize training for the colonial militia, and allowed all remaining factories to continue operating... thus preserving the maximum capital for subsequent counterattacks.

And the people are still the same people, the materials are still the same materials, and the money is still the same money; none of the things have changed their positions, but huge wealth has been generated out of thin air and countless problems have been solved... Carl even feels that he will retire from the army in the future. , you can consider working in the logistics or financial industry.

The Storm Legion's loyalty and ability to fight are highly tied to their treatment; Anson had tormented everyone so much in Straw Town and Slave Port before, and if he couldn't even get this little "extra money", don't expect it to happen again.

Therefore, what shocked Anson was not that his subordinates would go to any lengths to make extra money, but that the Northern Chamber of Commerce's infiltration ability was simply terrifying, and they could actually do this under the nose of the Holy See, which has the sole right to issue currency in the world. This extreme operation has not yet been noticed.

Well, it would be even scarier if it was discovered.

Reinhard Roland, the first president of his great New World Bank, must be the mastermind of the entire smuggling chain... Being able to sell things in the New World but keep the money in the Old World shows that the Northern Chamber of Commerce should bear the responsibility now It provides a lot of logistical supplies for the Jihadi Army.

It takes one month to cross the Turbulent Sea from the Old World to the New World, and the truce period agreed between the Free Confederation and the Holy War is half a month, which means...

"If we can cause a large-scale disruption in the logistics of the Jihad Army, it seems that it is not impossible to force the Holy See to the negotiating table..."