I Will Be The Crowned King

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"Free Confederation? United Front?"

In the early morning of the chapel, the elf girl with a tray walked to the dining table and inadvertently caught a glimpse of two words in the newspaper, as well as the worried face of the young knight: "Is the rebellion in the colony not over yet?"

"No, the situation has become more complicated."

Louis looked at the report with a solemn expression, and took the hot milk handed by Freya without looking up: "Not only has the turmoil in the colonies not ended, but there seems to be an idea to get rid of the empire and become independent... Thank you."

Once the colony becomes independent, the empire will immediately lose an important source of wealth... Now the confrontation between Clovis and the empire has entered a state of tug-of-war, and any loss may immediately destroy this fragile balance, giving the enemy a chance to take advantage.

It doesn't matter if it's just like this. The problem is judging from the content of the report. There seems to be signs of the Clovis people operating behind the scenes and supporting them.

"Freedom... Federation?"

The curious elf girl sat down directly opposite the dining table, and the little head held in her palms probed the young knight with frowning brows: "Fleiya knows freedom, but... what does the federation mean?"

Of course she wasn't interested in these technical terms, just as she was in military strategy; but she liked Louis's serious and serious expression when he thought about these things.

"It's a... different from the mainstream of the world today, a rather special ruling system." Since the girl wanted to ask, Louis had to explain:

"In many corners of the ordered world, often important ports and trading centers, made up of merchants and ownerless peasants, fugitives, under no obligation to local lords other than paying taxes, establishing so-called 'parliaments' to rule themselves , and at the same time there are no or few nobles."

"Such a place is called a 'free city' or a 'city-state', and when several free cities join together to form a common union, it is usually called a 'confederation'."

"Mmmmm~"

The elf girl with the corners of her mouth raised nodded slightly, indicating that she understood, please continue.

"This form of 'confederation' appeared in both the North and South of the Empire during the sectarian wars, but after the forty-seventh year of the Saints' calendar it ceased to exist and was strictly forbidden; free cities everywhere were also It is required to bypass the local lords and directly pledge allegiance to the emperor himself."

"Of course, it's not without exception - Bird Harbor in Edland is also a free city, but it is currently under the jurisdiction of the Bernard family, because it was originally the leader of the Crecy family..."

Suddenly, Louis' complexion changed slightly, his usual words stopped abruptly, and he fell into silence.

"So these colonies intend to become independent and form a 'confederation' against the empire, right?"

Noticing the abnormality of the young knight's demeanor, the keen elf girl immediately changed the subject: "If that's the case, then why did they form the so-called 'united front' - what's the difference between the two?"

"……A big difference."

After a long pause, Louis, who had finished his breakfast, said slowly:

"If the colonies are only independent and form a confederation, then the threat to the empire is not very big. Although there are many colonies, their respective strengths are not that great. The counties are as different as they are, and they can't stop Bernard Morwes's counter-insurgency army."

"But if there is a so-called 'United Front', the situation will be very different; this shows that the rebel colonies know that they cannot fight the Empire alone, so on the basis of the Confederation, they are ready to draw more forces to join their camp against the Empire: Wanderers, adventurers, natives, pirates, bandits, even the Clovis."

Or should I say, especially the Clovis people... Louis thought to himself.

This should also be one of the most worrying situations for the Empire: Clovis, who could not be attacked for a long time in the frontal battlefield, instigated the colonies of the New World to join their camp, and further expanded the scope of the war to the New World and the sea.

This seems to be the weak side of Clovis looking for a dead end, allowing the huge empire to attack them from more directions; in fact, it continues to destroy the existing balance, forcing more forces to start choosing sides. .

The principle is very simple: Clovis is not only a powerful and orderly world country that is separated from the imperial system, but also a prosperous economic entity that supports the new world trade network.

If the emperor wants to attack Clovis from land, he must first convince those forces that have a lot of trade relations with Clovis; within three months of the war, a large number of Chambers of Commerce in Clovis closed and factories went bankrupt; those imperial merchants suffered heavy losses. , People's livelihood and financial resources are declining?

If the war were to expand further, it would mean that the Emperor would also have to sacrifice the interests of those who had maritime trade with Clovis and the colonies to fight for the Empire.

Suppressing both sides at the same time, although Louis is loyal to His Majesty Herrede, to be honest, he does not think the emperor can do it.

Not to mention others, the Bernard family alone has always had close trade relations with the North Port; if the emperor wanted to force the Bernard family to formally start a war with Clovis, and there was no way to ensure a quick victory... He was very doubtful that his father, Archduke Adran, would be able to. Unable to maintain infinite loyalty to the Empire.

In addition, the Clovis army in Beluga Port is also worthy of vigilance; it may be an illusion, but Louis always feels a little familiar with the imperial practices of "rebuilding the country" and "united front" that draw together a bunch of forces to fight together. Seems like someone has seen it...

…………

"Anson Bach."

Staring at the name on the note that was written behind "Commander-in-Chief of the Beluga Port Defense Corps", Bernard Morwes, who was gnashing his teeth, almost bit the two consecutive words into pieces, from the gap between his teeth. Forcefully squeezed out: "It's really him?"

"Uh……"

The messenger with his hands behind his back was startled, his expression slightly unnatural: "As for this information, our scouts are still carefully verifying it, and we can't confirm that it is 100% correct..."

"No need to confirm, it must be him!"

Bernard, who was holding back a bit of anger, roared, and his anxiety was almost written on his face: "Gather a bunch of small forces worth noting to strengthen yourself, and turn interference in neighboring countries into rebellion against the empire." The war of aggression...that's what he did in Hantu, and it's the same this time!"

"If I'm not mistaken, his next step is probably to win over pirates, small colonies in the wilderness that do not belong to any forces, indigenous people who believe in cults, and colonies from the Three Kingdoms of the North Sea... All to join this so-called 'imperial rebellion' The Military United Front' is here, let us be completely isolated in the new world!"

He clearly remembered that last time it was because of this guy's interference, forcibly pushing the Seven Cities Alliance to incarnate into the Hantu Kingdom, making the empire's investment in the Hantuo, especially the investment in the Port of Carindia, go to waste.

In the face of an irreversible situation, Caspar Herid had to take a huge risk and force a quick attack to open up the situation. In the end, it fell short. Tens of thousands of the imperial army almost buried the earth and lost the Iser elf. The kingdom, which has been cultivated for many years, is ready to cooperate with the empire at a critical moment and backstab Clovis' allies.

If this so-called "United Front of the Imperial Rebellion Army" can really be built, what he has to face is not only the threat from the east, but even the city of Yangfan is probably no longer safe.

I don't have any power in Yangfan City, and I can suppress all the rebels entirely by relying on the army; if the whole new world begins to isolate the empire and make the Yangfan City Autonomous Council some unrealistic imagination...

Well, Bernard thinks that since they can kill their "ex", it's not impossible that they would want to kill themselves.

"Even if you're isolated, it's no big deal, right?"

Seeing the furrowed brows of the chief minister, the herald was quite incomprehensible: "Although there are quite a few militias in the colonies, their combat effectiveness is completely incomparable to the real army. There is almost no difference between 10,000 people and 1,000 people, and it may even be possible Worse."

"As for the Clovis army in Beluga Harbor... Although the number is almost the same, if they just want to annex the colony, they don't need to go all the way to Sail City to fight the empire. It is in their best interest to annex them one by one; Lowe's size, wanting to take over all the rebel colonies is simply wishful thinking."

Regarding the herald's "reasonable" confusion, Bernard couldn't say a word except for a wry smile.

Of course, he couldn't tell the other party bluntly that the Clovis people could turn the rebellious colonies into their vassals without actually occupying them at all; and the reason why he was able to become the "Colonel Chief Minister" was precisely because the empire was no longer able to More troops are thrown into the new world, and they don't get any reinforcements at all.

Now his only hope is that Ed Levant can successfully convince the three North Sea countries to let them attack the Clovis colonies from the east, forcing the other side to be exhausted and unable to provide any assistance to the colonies that have just formed an alliance.

Thinking of this, Bernard suddenly raised his head: "By the way, have you received any information about the Green Dragon going to the Three Kingdoms of the North Sea?"

"Uh... no!"

The herald was startled, and quickly replied: "We have dispatched nearly one company of scouts and privately bought eyeliners to Changhu Town and Red Hand Bay. So far, we have not received any information on this."

"Really?" Bernard nodded slightly, with a thoughtful expression:

"I think... no news, sometimes it's good news, what do you think?"

"I also think so."

The herald hurriedly nodded in agreement, and at the same time squeezed a sneering smile on his face: "Calculate the time, Sir Ed Levant should have arrived at his destination by now, and may be talking secretly with the representatives of the Three North Sea Kingdoms."

"Well, very likely."

The two looked at each other and smiled expectantly.

………………

Beluga Harbor, the battleship Green Dragon.

In the dim and damp and narrow cabin, Ed Levant, who was tied into a zongzi, stared at blood-red eyes and stood motionless in the cabin, his dull eyes full of detached wisdom.

For him, the word "unlucky" is completely insufficient to describe his experience in the past ten days; even the exaggerated "life is better than death" seems too pale and written.

Since the power of his bloodline was discovered by the crew of the Crown, this group of conscientious demons began to use every means and means to force themselves to blink - reflect the strong light in front of themselves with mirrors, and throw smoke into the cabin. Playing, stabbing with nails, whipping with whips, tickling with feathers to make myself laugh...

This is just the beginning, and it will become more and more "stimulating" later-especially after they find that they can activate the power of blood not only with their eyes open, but also with their eyes closed, and it is not even allowed to sleep.

First, six people worked in three shifts every day, tossing and turning, trying their best to wake up and blink; later, they probably found some kind of fun from various "tortures", so they often saw various faces, Holding strange things and staring at a guinea pig, he walked into this sinful cabin...

For three days and three nights... The emperor's special envoy, Eddie, the heir to the Levant family, experienced three days and three nights that he will never forget.

Probably because he was worried that he would lose his life if he continued to toss like this... On the fourth day, these Clovis demons finally "showed mercy" and allowed him to sleep for four hours; Finally, he breathed a sigh of relief in the darkness.

It's a pity that this "dawn of dawn" lasted less than 24 hours... Through many experiments, it was found that the Clovis devils, who could not die as long as people sleep for four hours a day, seemed to have opened a new Like the gate of the world, he once again threw himself into the never-ending night.

The doctrine of the Ring of Order says ~www.readwn.com~ There are three hundred heavens and three hundred hells in this world; Ed Levant thinks he can correct it: no matter how many, there must be more than three hundred. .

In addition, he used to disbelieve St. Isaac's saying that "human imagination is infinite", but now he is wrong. The limit of human imagination, at least in some aspects, is really beyond human imagination.

In such a situation where life is worse than death, he even wished that the other party hurriedly came out and asked him personally... Ed Levant swore that as long as the other party asked, even if the whistleblower ended up being thrown into the sea, he would be willing, even willing to die before he died. Thank each other in the most sincere way possible.

Suddenly, he heard a rush of footsteps coming from outside the cabin; judging from the speed, frequency, and the severity of the sound when he landed, it was very likely... not the more than 200 sailors who had tortured him before!

So Ed Levant, who had been confused for a second, immediately became excited, his heartbeat began to speed up, and the muscles all over his body began to spasm unnaturally.

"click..."

The hatch opened, and a dazzling light shone into the dark cabin.