I Will Be The Crowned King

"these things…"

Following the little maid down the stairs, before entering the living room, Sophia had already seen the "surprises" that had been moved into the room neatly by the mansion servants.

Oil paintings, utensils, accessories, gems, muskets, sabers... There are hundreds of luxury items, big and small, all of which are placed in completely inappropriate wooden boxes, wrapped in a layer of linen and piled up randomly, just like pirates It's like a loot that has just been snatched.

Well, although they are indeed trophies.

Sophia casually glanced at a wooden box, and found a pile of gold and silver accessories, jewelry necklaces are messily stuffed into a transparent hollow glass wine glass; the wide mouth full of Iser's style and the shape that just happened to be grasped, For the person responsible for carrying these, it is probably just used to hold these scattered accessories.

Next to this "luxury" cup are some belongings of senior Issel officers, especially nobles: sterling silver pocket watches inlaid with crystal mirrors, light pistols full of beautiful patterns, exquisite noble sabres, pure gold Fountain pen, gold-encrusted glass wine set…

Sophia frowned slightly... These things are not so much trophies, but more like Anson and her storm division robbed the bedrooms of more than a dozen Iser elf nobles and knights, and robbed a pile of daily necessities and paraphernalia in the room.

In fact, it was not exactly what she had guessed.

Eagle Point is an important transportation hub and a bustling trade distribution center, but the main commodities here are cotton yarn textiles from Clovis, coffee beans and wine from the Seven Cities, wood and marble from Iser... Trade in goods doesn't matter.

Even if there was trade, it was already before the outbreak of the war. It was impossible for the real rich merchants to stay in a place where the fight was about to start. to much valuable things.

Therefore, the reason why all those reinforcements should be stripped away, in addition to the consideration of disarming the other party, is mainly because there is really nothing to grab.

Compared with muskets, sabers and glittering accessories that look more like art than weapons, Sophia prefers the seemingly unremarkable oil paintings.

The painting itself can only be considered to be above average, but in terms of style, it is very characteristic of the combination of Iser and the empire. It should be the result of frequent exchanges between the elves and the empire in the past ten years.

The Clovis Kingdom has the shortest history among the kingdoms, and there is a serious lack of ancient families with hundreds of years of inheritance; although it is powerful, it always has some inexplicable inferiority in the face of other ancient kingdoms; the upper class is very concerned about various systems full of history. Ritual, utensils and artistic style are extremely adored.

Therefore, oil paintings like these may be ordinary decorations or collections of noble mansions in the Empire and Iser, but when they reach Clovis, they can easily sell for ten times or twenty times the high price.

Before Ludwig entered the city, the clerk who "knows a little" in this regard, led the logistics committee to search all the oil paintings in the fortress, and carefully selected these thirty or forty paintings.

Anson said it quite directly in the letter, hoping that Sophia could help find these spoils for sale in the auction house or collection hall in the capital, to subsidize military expenses - the Storm Division will be expanded soon, and there will be a few vicious battles, relying on Sophia alone. And Ludwig's subsidy is absolutely unbearable.

But Sophia immediately realized that in addition to discounting, these spoils should be able to play a greater role.

"Apart from Lady Caterina's salon, are there any other parties that I can attend recently?"

Sophia asked the little maid thoughtfully.

"reunion?"

A big question mark appeared on the little maid's head, and she pouted and began to think hard - almost no party in Clovis City dared to refuse Miss Franz's visit, but there were too few that completely matched her identity.

"It doesn't have to be a particularly grand banquet." Sophia, who immediately realized her misunderstanding, added:

"Small dance parties, semi-private dinners, or some small group salons are fine—if that doesn't work, help me think about which families can invite over to your door recently?"

"Well..." The little maid pouted even more:

"Speaking of the Bogner family, there was a dance party recently, but it was a blind date ceremony for the Bogner family's son. If the young lady came to the door voluntarily, it would be easy to make a bad rumor."

"There was a seminar-style dinner at St. Isaac's College recently, but the participants were mostly PhDs and academics, and mission colleges have always been not very women-friendly."

"There are also several newly formed clubs centered on certain political issues, with many female members of wealthy families participating; but you are a member of the Franz family, and your identity as Lord Franz is destined to be avoided as much as possible. These…"

Seeing the little maids clasped their fingers one by one in denial, Sophia sighed helplessly.

Think about it too, how could it be so easy to come across a dinner party that can be attended at any time and has a large number of attendees?

What she originally thought was to use this batch of spoils to give or sell to some nobles at the banquet, so that she could "by the way" publicize the storm division and Anson Bach who made great achievements in the battle of Eagle Point City; as long as she has a reputation Coupled with your own guarantee, you are not afraid that no one is willing to invest in shares.

If it really doesn't work, I'm afraid I can only find a suitable auction house according to his requirements; the big deal is to leave a part to donate to the welfare home in the outer city, and arrange a few newspapers to promote it a little...

Um? !

Sophia, who suddenly woke up, was shocked, and scared the little maid who was still thinking about it: "Little, miss you..."

"Angelica, have we ever funded orphanages in the outer city?"

"Not once, but has always been funding." Looking at the dazzling light called "excitement" emitting from Sophia's jewel-like eyes, the little maid took two steps back:

"Except for the poor little funding from the Privy Council, those welfare institutions rely on the church's funding and donations to maintain their operations. The Franz family makes routine donations almost every month. Every quarter, the Archbishop will hold a large-scale event. The fundraiser!"

"And have you forgotten that when the factory rioted a few months ago, you organized a 'Brown Bread Foundation' to subsidize those welfare institutions that suffered serious losses!"

Angelica blinked her curious eyes, is Miss Sophia planning to use these spoils for charity auction and then donate the money?

Hmm... If that's the case, Lord Anson Bach is indeed going to be famous, but without this money from selling trophies, he will have a miserable life in the future, right?

Angelica suddenly couldn't help but worry, she actually liked this officer quite a bit - a brother who has a younger sister and is so gentle, is definitely not a bad person.

Well, she firmly believed that.

"The Brown Bread Foundation, I almost forgot..." Sophia tried hard to recall:

"Can you contact a welfare home that the Franz family has the most funding and the best operation, and ask them if they are willing to host a small dinner party - of course, all the expenses will be borne by the Franz family."

"Are you really going to donate all your money?!"

The little maid exclaimed.

"Not a fundraiser, but..."

Sophia paused for a while, looking at Angelica with a bit of worry in her eyes - when did she have such a good relationship with that **** and still care about him?

"But what?"

"It's just that I suddenly thought of a way to help the storm division raise money and make them famous." After a little consideration, Sophia continued to explain as if she had found nothing.

"That is to directly mobilize the nobles who are 'philanthropic' and donate to the storm division!"

"Ugh?!"

For a long time, Sophia's understanding of the army of the Kingdom of Clovis remained at the level of "well-trained", "loyal and reliable", and "occasionally causing riots due to dissatisfaction with treatment"; it was not until she read Anson's diary that she did not know Have a little understanding of the real face of the lower-ranking soldiers and officers in the army.

And this "a little bit" is enough beyond her imagination.

The first is in terms of treatment... Yes, the Clovis Corps with a professional logistics team can often have sufficient logistics, at least supply the soldiers with basic daily calories, and can receive salaries - but that's about it.

For the wages of the porters at the bottom of the factory and the farm laborers in the manor, plus a few pieces of dry bread and bacon, ordinary soldiers have to march at least 16 to 30 kilometers every day, responsible for digging positions, building barracks and all the coolies. , but also at risk of life at any time.

This is still peacetime, and stable logistical supply during wartime is basically an extravagant hope: long-term lack of adequate supplies, starvation and fullness, not to mention wearing broken boots and leaking military uniforms, lack of basic medicines and clean drinking water to cause diseases, and in severe conditions Long-term and high-intensity marches and operations in the region, there is no stable station to guarantee work and rest, weapons are not maintained and ammunition is lacking...all these are normal phenomena.

For example, the officers deliberately suppressed and squeezed the soldiers, the logistics were corrupt, and the higher-level commanders ignored the reality and sent the army to death... For these "extremely rare" "individual cases", An Sen only mentioned "I heard that there is such a situation".

"Think about it, since they are willing to donate to the homeless and orphans in the outer city, why can't they donate to the soldiers who fought in Clovis - anyway, they give money to the poor. What's the difference?"

"Because they've already been paid?" Angelica tilted her head.

"This is where the problem lies!"

Sophia's mouth rose slightly: "Since Clovis reformed the military system and established a standing army system, this view has become popular - soldiers are just like servants and tailors. They have as much respect as they have for the knights of the past?"

"Isn't that right?"

"Of course not, dear Angelica! Yes, we spent money, and the annual military expenditures to the Army and Navy are astronomical; but is it worth their lives to protect us?"

"Think of the recent riot, when brother's Thundercastle levy was stationed in the south, and those soldiers didn't need to obey brother's orders to go north to the capital; but without them, that terrible riot would not have been short-lived. It will be over in just two or three days!"

"And even if we invest a lot in military spending, most of it is spent on weapons and officers. Ordinary soldiers can only get that insignificant bit, which is completely incompatible with their efforts."

Sophia spoke faster and faster, and her thoughts became clearer: "So we should reverse this trend and let the nobles of Clovis City notice these people!"

And his own storm division is the best representative

She already has a general idea: to completely turn over the content of the morning newspaper of the Church of Order, and vigorously introduce a subdivision of this southern legion. How her soldiers climbed the ice peak of dawn without fear of difficulties, fought hard at the Eagle Point Pass, and more The story of the surprise attack on Isir reinforcements and a great victory in the end!

Appropriate annotations should also be added to the auction of those trophies—for example, a company recruit can replace their ripped boots for a company recruit for 30 gp for a single painting; for 500 gp, the An extra egg in their soup bowl for dinner...

Well, one twentieth of the donations will be donated to the orphanage, so that children from poor backgrounds can also understand the meaning of this glorious cause.

It would be great if a few little boys could publicly announce their willingness to join the army in the future, it would definitely attract the attention of many people; we should find a way to arrange this matter...

In addition, Anson's **** had to send the roster of the storm division: Hank, a beggar from the outer city, picked up the rifle and joined the storm division defending Clovis. He took the lead in rushing into Eagle Point City under the ice peak of dawn, killing several people. Shameless Ysir elf... a story with a name like this is sure to be appealing.

Sophia, who became more and more excited, was completely immersed in her "perfect plan".

"Okay, Angelica will go and ask."

The little maid who sighed reluctantly agreed: "Then what about the newspaper office, you have to buy it again—do you want to give them some more fair and objective article references?"

"Of course!" Sophia said of course:

"Even if it can't compete with the church's morning newspaper and the royal family's loyalty report, public opinion will always take a little bit of it; once a person decides on something, he won't easily change his mind."

"When will it be sent to them?"

"The sooner the better! As for the article..."

Sophia was stunned for a moment. UU Reading www.uukanshu.com

Yes, what about the article?

Even if the newspapers want to report "fairly", they have to give people what they can report, right?

The Church Morning News report? No...it's too little material.

Anson Bach's diary? The content is adequate, but too trivial to be attractive.

If none of these work, then only...

She suddenly remembered something, and then showed an extremely troubled expression.

"Ann, Angelica..."

With her back to the little maid, Sophia raised her right arm tremblingly, trying her best to restrain her reluctance, and pointed to her room on the stairs:

"Look in my room. In some... wastebasket...you can find...notes written by a guy named Leon Francois."