I Will Be The Crowned King

Despite 10,000 reluctance, the Carindian messenger finally agreed to Anson's "request" and set foot on the road to Clovis City in a carriage and two guards specially arranged for him by the Storm Division.

As for whether Carlos II of the Privy Council or the Palace of Osteria is willing to accept it, let Clovis have an "ally" at the southernmost tip of the land that is very suitable for cutting leeks... that is another matter.

Almost on the same day, a total of 10,000 troops from the Storm Division and the Thun Army officially set off, heading south along the open road between the hills and the plains to advance towards the Republic of Carindia.

The reason to set off immediately was also to make a time difference; the messenger of Carindia rushed over in such a hurry, and did not bring an army but only a few followers, then it is obvious that the "surrender to Clovis" matter in Carindia It is already known in the country.

In that case, Anson certainly wouldn't be polite to them; since the other party had already knelt on the ground and raised his hands in surrender, it was necessary for the Carindians to never go back before they regretted it.

The result was as expected - facing the aggressive Clovis army, Carindia's frontier fortress defenders didn't even resist, and they didn't even need Anson to take out the agreement, they decisively "opened up." City gate, welcome Master Wang".

Not only did they hand over the entire fortress, the roster of soldiers, and all the supplies in the fortress warehouse, but they also took the initiative to serve as guides and pave the way for the "ally"... Courteously, the officers of the Storm Division were somewhat embarrassed.

However, behind such enthusiasm, An Sen and everyone found something tricky.

As a frontier fortress, the entire fortress has no more than 1,000 defenders, and the reserves of materials are only barely sufficient. The armament is so slack that the cannonball reserves are less than 200 rounds, and the soldiers each have less than 100 bullets... Getting rid of robbers and smugglers is not enough to deal with a large-scale foreign invasion.

To put it harshly, even if the Storm Division intends to storm the fortress, it is not a problem to easily take it down within a week with low casualties; if the defenses are so lax, are they so sure that the Storm Division will accept the conditions of surrender?

The commander of the fortress was completely unclear about this. He told everyone that at the end of May, Carindia did strengthen the border defense line once, and sent a lot of supplies and reinforcements from the rear; but for some unknown reason, the Carindia Council again The idea was quickly rejected, and all reinforcements were withdrawn to the port of Carindia.

Almost a few days after the reinforcements were withdrawn, in early June, the commander of the fortress received an order to "surrender to the Clovis army".

As the most vigilant person in the storm division, Carl Bain almost killed him. There must be a conspiracy.

In order to prevent the Carindians from turning back halfway, he carefully turned over the map and communicated with the surveyor, and divided the entire army into five; The division is the core and spreads out on two wings.

The purpose of this is to ensure that the storm division can maintain the marching plan and continue to advance along the road to the port of Carindia. The continuous reception of fortresses and transportation hubs along the way puts pressure on the nobles of Carindia to receive storms every day. The news that the teacher is approaching.

On the other hand, the scattered Thun army is responsible for receiving and controlling the farms, towns and villages in all passing areas, collecting local taxes, warehouses and all weapons, garrisoning troops and hanging the king's flag of Austria in the local area, ordering "Clowe has occupied and controlled the area" became an established fact.

In this way, even if there is any conspiracy in Carindia, the Storm Division can have these "occupied areas" as a buffer, and not worry about the supply line and the back road being blocked by the enemy, and can retreat when necessary.

Of course, doing this would definitely delay the march of the Storm Division, and it would take more time; but considering that it was the Carindians who were jumping in a hurry, it was not a bad thing to be "deliberately late" to some extent.

The supreme commander of the five thousand Thun army, Leon Francois, the heir to the Grand Duchy of Thun, expressed extremely strong dissatisfaction.

Is it not obvious that he does not believe in the combat effectiveness of Tuen's army by only separating his troops and leaving the Storm Division to maintain the organizational system?

"How is this possible?!"

The exaggerated Ansen said with a shocked expression: "If it wasn't for the Thun army's timely appearance, the battle of Eagle Horn City would have been defeated by the Clovis people - how could I not believe the combat effectiveness of the Thun army?!"

"Then why only send the Thun army to take over the surrendered territory?"

Little Leon hugged his shoulders, with a suspicious look on his unhappy face: "Since Carindia is going to surrender to Clovis, wouldn't it be better to send the troops of the Storm Division and hold the King Clovis flag to receive them? suitable?"

"Of course it's not suitable!" Anson decisively denied.

"Um?!"

A huge question mark appeared on little Leon's head.

"Dear cousin Leon, think about it seriously - what's the most important thing right now?" Anson asked persuasively, and then gave the answer without waiting for him to answer:

"It is to make the surrender of Carindia an established fact as soon as possible, and let those towns begin to provide us with stable logistical supplies; since this is the case, then this matter is more suitable for Thun, a native of Hantu, or an outsider. Clovis is more suitable?"

Leon frowned slightly and was silent for a few seconds:

"...Thun people?"

"It must be the Tuen people who are more suitable." Anson immediately expressed great affirmation:

"Of course, there is a more important reason besides this, but this cannot be said in public."

"A more important reason?" Leon's eyes narrowed:

"why?"

"Because it involves Thun's position in the vast land and even negotiating with the Kingdom of Clovis."

Anson said quietly: "For Clovis, it is necessary to enhance Thun's strength, but it is also necessary to limit Thun's power; because Clovis itself is a powerful country that grows up by expanding its military power. , she certainly doesn't want to see her allies grow as strong as herself...you know that for sure."

Facing An Sen's gaze, Leon, who pursed his lips, nodded slightly.

He is simple, he is naive, but he is not a fool - Clovis supports Thun to add an ally, not an evenly matched opponent, and this is the same for Thun.

"Therefore, in terms of the actual control and occupation of Carindia, it becomes very crucial whether it is Thun or Clovis' army." Anson's eyes were full of solemnity:

"If it is a soldier of the Storm Division, then after the war, the Clovis Kingdom will definitely try to establish a vassal state in the southernmost tip of the vast land that can barely contain Thun; but if it is the Thun people who control these areas..."

"When the war is over, Thun can try to turn Carindia into a puppet of his own vassals; eventually... actually annex it completely!"

Leon's eyes widened in shock.

"Cousin Anson, you..."

"I am from Clovis, and I am loyal to His Majesty Carlos II. It is impossible for me to publicly express such remarks that are obviously against Clovis' interests."

An Sen took a deep breath, and looked at Leon with scorching eyes: "But I firmly believe that Hantu...will be in the hands of the Francois family...to complete the great cause of unification!"

"Cousin Anson!"

The excited little Leon slammed into An Sen's hands, and his eyes were slightly red: "I... I'm sorry! I, I really didn't expect... I didn't expect you to..."

"Don't say anything!" Anson pulled out his right hand forcefully, and pressed it on the back of Little Leon's hand with a "Clap!":

"We are a family, do we still need a reason to think about our family?"

Leon nodded vigorously, trying his best not to cry: "Understand, understand!"

So the five thousand Tuen army happily executed the order and went to the border towns and transportation hubs that received Carindia.

In order to make sure there were no accidents, he also had to leave Anson's little secretary in charge of coordinating the work and "monitoring himself" to show his loyalty to Anson.

However, the prudent Chief of Staff is still not at ease... After discussing privately with Anson and explaining it in detail at the military meeting, the Storm Division Cavalry Battalion - and the only cavalry unit - set out first as an outpost, constantly collecting intelligence along the way, Send the information you get back to the Storm Division headquarters as soon as possible.

At this point, it can basically be regarded as foolproof. No matter what the calculus of Carindia is, the storm division can have enough leeway to deal with it calmly; even if they really dug a big hole in front, Carl Bain also has it. Confidence to perform a "air double jump" for the other party.

But sometimes, being overly cautious is not a good thing...

After the storm division continued to move forward steadily, successfully received three fortresses, and only two days away from the port of Carindia, with the continuous collection of information, many incomprehensible situations gradually began to be realized. Understood.

"Because Carindia is being invaded from the Principality of Aiden!"

In the storm division barracks, in the tent of the deputy commander, holding the information just sent by the cavalry battalion commander, Fabian, who was soaked in rain, looked at Anson and Carl nervously:

"At the end of May, it was almost the moment when we entered the White Tower City. The western foothills of the Dawn Mountain Range was the strongest, and the Principality of Aiden, which was ranked as the 'Gatekeeper of Hantu' along with Thun, suddenly launched an attack on the Principality of Carindia. !"

"The total force is about 30,000, and the troops are divided into two groups to attack Carindia from the west and the north at the same time; of course, the resistance of Carindia is very tenacious, and almost all the strength of the country is invested in the defense; the two sides are on the border. The confrontation lasted for almost ten days, and there was still no result in the battle, until..."

Fabian paused and looked serious: "Until the Principality of Paya falls, the news that the Storm Division is about to go south will reach the port of Carindia!"

"Obviously, Carindia is more willing to be the puppet of the Clovis than to be completely annexed by the Duchy of Aiden, which is also a Han native; so they took the time to move their troops from the east to the west for the first time. At the same time, an envoy will be sent to negotiate with us."

"So it is." Carl suddenly realized, after a little thought, he understood the meaning of the other party:

"So Carindia's wishful thinking is to let us defeat the invasion of the Principality of Aiden for them?"

Fabian, who frowned, nodded slightly and agreed.

"Then my suggestion is to continue to slow down, or maintain the current marching speed, let the Carindians continue to wait, and look at the attitude of the Principality of Aiden." Carl looked back at Anson and said:

"It's not yet time for a head-on conflict with the Principality of Aiden - they control the western foothills of the Dawn Mountain Range and border the empire. Once the strength is greatly reduced, it will be easy for the imperial people to take the frontier fort and enter the vast land."

"I'm afraid it won't work." Fabian suddenly raised his hand and interrupted the chief of staff:

“The news just sent by the cavalry battalion commander—the 13,000-strong West Route Army of the Principality of Aiden has broken through the frontier fortress of Carindia from the front, drove straight into the hinterland, and is besieging a place called Luyin Valley. small town."

"From there to Port Carindia, it's only a day's journey!"

"what?!"

Carl and Anson almost simultaneously showed expressions of astonishment.

"At present, the port of Carindia has recruited an army of nearly 8,000 people to fight Aiden in the Green Valley - they are also worried that if the port of Carindia is besieged, the Cathedral of Hantu is likely to be closed, so We are desperately resisting at any cost." Fabian shook his head:

"But with the combat effectiveness and morale of the recruited troops, it's hard to judge how long they can hold on."

Carl Bain's expression darkened... From Fabian's tone, he could tell that this army of 8,000 people would not last long.

How to do?

An extremely depressing atmosphere pervaded the dead tent.

Keep going?

The army of the Principality of Aiden has already reached a position that is only a day away from the port of Carindia. Now they are marching in a hurry. The Storm Division of only 5,000 people faces the army of Aydin of 10,000 people. Whoever wins is really the loser. Hard to say.

Then go back the same way, and then just watch the Duchy of Aiden annex Carindia?

Let's not talk about how much a direct retreat would have done to the morale of the storm division, and how much economic loss it would have suffered; Earth's influence strike is absolutely devastating.

The Highlands won't understand what happened, they'll only know one thing - the Carindians surrendered to the Clovis, and the Clovis knew it was the Aiden who attacked Calindia Finally, cowardly chose to retreat!

"How to do?!"

Karl and Fabian turned back at the same time, looking at Anson.

The silent deputy commander lowered his head and stared at the map on the table with tangled eyes.

Ten minutes later, when Carl was completely unable to bear it, Anson stood up suddenly and looked at them resolutely:

"Set off!"

"Where?!" Carl asked with a look of surprise.

"Carindia, Green Valley - the entire army of the Storm Division gathers, throws away all the excess baggage, and marches forward at full speed!" An Sen said solemnly:

"Be sure to capture the port of Carindia before Carindia surrenders!"