I will be crowned king

As Anson walked into the dock, the door behind him immediately slammed shut, and the hall where some gossip could still be heard was like an ancient well whose ripples dispersed, regaining its due silence.

Standing in the center of the hall, feeling everyone's gaze also meant that he could see any pair of eyes. With just a few casual glances, he saw many familiar figures.

On the left and right sides of the judge's seat directly in front are the jurors for this trial, and directly behind are the seats for the onlookers.

Why even the jury seats have to be divided into two, then we have to talk about Clovis's weird system that has never been able to resolve contradictions since the founding of the country.

"...Royalists and local parties, noble groups and civilian groups, church factions and royal factions... Since the Kingdom of Clovis was a country established by relying on absolute force, all real power was transferred to the central government, and all real power was transferred to the central government. All the conflicts are concentrated in the center, which is of course the city of Clovis."

"Of course the advantage is that the authority of the Osterian royal family far exceeds the emperor's control over the empire. The disadvantage is that conflicts are everywhere in this city. Anything can cause quarrels and divide the people involved. Two...So even the jury system, which was originally designed to be objective and fair, was eventually divided into two."

“Supporters and opponents, reformists and conservatives, as long as one of them sits on a certain side of the seat, the others will definitely sit on the other side to show that they will never join in with those who disagree with them, but the result is the opposite. The people in the gallery look more like the jury..."

Recalling the serious explanation of the little clerk in his mind, Anson looked slightly sideways and immediately saw Viscount Bognar sitting on his right and above him, and Lady Catalina, the leader of the Railway Commission, whom he had met once before.

I don't know if it was due to lack of sleep, but Viscount Bogner's face looked a little bad, but when he noticed his gaze, he still managed to cheer up and said hello to him calmly.

An Sen, who understood deeply, nodded slightly, exchanged a look with the other party, and quickly looked away.

Compared to this side, the jury to the left of the judge did not look so friendly. Many people frowned, were serious or indifferent, and some even had a bit of unspeakable hostility on their faces. ; Looking at Anson's eyes, it's like looking at an object or a stock.

But there are some exceptions... An old man sitting in the front row who was leaning on a cane and looking extremely weak not only did not look at him like the others, but actually waved to him.

Although the movement was only a small one, Anson quickly caught it with the corner of his eye.

That person should be Julien's father, the head of the Renard family... Anson thought silently in his heart as he recalled the information in his mind, and then turned his eyes to the spectator seats behind him.

It is said that they can only watch, but the people who can enter this court are without exception the upper class of Clovis City, or at least people with considerable status and influence in the inner city; even if they cannot speak during the trial, they are just Sitting here also represents the attitude of all forces.

Just as he was looking around blankly, a pair of eyes suddenly came into view like a dazzling beam of light.

Without any hesitation, with an expressionless face, he pretended not to see anything, turned his head back decisively, and waited silently for the trial to begin.

"He saw it! He must have seen it just now, and he turned his head away on purpose. Was he afraid of being discovered by me?!"

In the stands, Sophia was gnashing her teeth and roaring in her heart. She wanted to rush down and grab someone's throat and ask him if he knew who was his savior and who had been running around since before he returned to Clovis City. Walk? !

After finally returning to Clovis City, he didn't even come to see him once, but he actually tried every means to avoid him... He must have forgotten that he is his most important investor, right? !

Looking at his sister who seemed to be a powder keg next to him, Ludwig sighed helplessly, and at the same time, he also set his sights on Anson Bach.

He had received information just a few minutes ago. The corpse of the "Whisper" used by the War Department to claim credit was personally given to them by Anson.

This aroused his great curiosity... This was one of Anson Bach's most important trump cards for turning around. Without this credit, how could he win the favor of Carlos II and clear the charges framed by the War Department?

There are many things that don't mean that everyone knows that you have done it, so you can be recognized and rewarded as you deserve, and it doesn't mean that as long as you give others a favor, your former enemies will turn around and become your friends; this is the most basic thing. It is impossible for Anson Bach not to understand the truth.

The problem is that he really did this, handing over the biggest trump card to the enemy with his own hands. The only explanation can only be that this was also part of his plan, so that the Ministry of War would relax its vigilance against him. Ludwig could think of This is the only thing.

So Anson Bach, what is your real purpose... Ludwig narrowed his eyes and carefully looked at this familiar yet unfamiliar friend.

“Everyone—silence!”

Under the vault, the low and extremely solemn words of the three judges echoed in everyone's ears: "Now, initiated by the Ministry of War, charges of treason against Army Brigadier General Anson Bach, commander-in-chief of the Clovis Colonial Garrison Corps. , formally put on trial!”

The whole hall fell silent instantly.

"Defendant Anson Bach, this court received a total of the following accusations from the Department of the Army before the date of trial."

The old judge sitting on the left pushed up the monocle on his face, and his steady and thick voice slowly sounded: "Crime 1, the defendant mobilized the army without authorization and permission from the Ministry of War to participate in the imperial war. Colonial Rebellion War!”

"Count two, the defendant expanded the jurisdiction from the original Beluga Harbor area to the entire Ice Dragon Fjord without local permission!"

"Crime three, the defendant's position is the commander-in-chief of the regional garrison, but he interfered in the local autonomy of the colony and used private soldiers to forcibly evacuate the local council, forming an actual military control and dictatorship!"

"Count four, the defendant used the military to control and occupy a large amount of local real estate, exploit the colony, and cause actual damage to the local economy!"

"Count five, the defendant reached an agreement with the colonial rebel group without informing the mainland and without obtaining any permission. He is suspected of planning the entire process and even being the mastermind of the entire rebellion!"

"Count Six: During the jihad, the defendant openly confronted the jihadist army. His stubborn resistance caused irreparable and heavy losses to the Clovis jihadist army and even the entire jihadist cause!"

"Count seven, the defendant not only encouraged the Clovis army to confront the Jihadist army, but even recruited private soldiers, and broke out into multiple conflicts with the Clovis Jihadist army, killing hundreds or even thousands of Clovis soldiers!"

"Count eight, the defendant ceded the territory and colonies belonging to Clovis to other countries without any authorization. At this time, his official position was still the commander of the colonial garrison. This was a serious unauthorized use of authority and dereliction of duty. Behavior!"

The old judge paused for a moment, then lifted a long file from the table and showed it to everyone present: "Based on all eight of the above charges, the Army charged the defendant with treason."

"Defendant, do you have anything you would like to plead against?"

"Of course!"

With a chuckle, Anson puffed up his chest indifferently: "I think this is an unwarranted slander based on prejudice and personal imagination by a group of people who ignore the facts and have no understanding of the matter."

"And this so-called crime... is the best ironclad evidence!"

"oh?"

The old judge sitting in the middle suddenly opened his eyes, raised his hand to stop his companion, and fixed his gaze firmly on Anson: "Defendant, you mean that all the contents stated in these charges are false. ?”

"On the contrary, it is all true." Anson, who puffed up his chest, shook his head and looked up: "I... and the eight thousand soldiers of the Storm Legion can all testify that everything they mentioned Everything actually happened."

"If that's the case, then why file a plea?"

“Compared to fabricating facts, using things that have already happened to make generalizations, or even making assumptions about things other than the facts without knowing the actual situation, is a greater sin than lying!”

Looking directly at the three judges present, Anson's face suddenly turned cold: "Slandering a soldier who fights for the kingdom will only cost the kingdom and His Majesty one soldier; slandering an army will only cost one soldier." An army... these are not terrible, because the kingdom has dozens of armies, with thousands of soldiers."

"But as the highest organ of the Army, the Ministry of War, which is in charge of all armies and even mobilization and combat personnel tasks for His Majesty and the Kingdom, has seriously neglected its duties and deceived superiors and deceived subordinates. The losses caused are completely immeasurable!"

As soon as the words fell, there was an uproar in the hall.

"Quiet! Quiet!"

The old-looking judge interrupted the chaos angrily: "Defendant, what we have to accept now is the accusation against you, not the Ministry of War; now you have no right to refute, let alone the right to file any lawsuit against the plaintiff. Accusation!"

"You only need to tell me one thing now, and that is whether you admit to these eight charges proposed by the Department of the Army?"

"Not accepted at all!"

In the fading commotion, Anson said bluntly: "These charges are the most shameful slander against me."

"But you just mentioned clearly that the objective facts they mentioned in these eight counts, that is, what happened, are all true - and both you and the Storm Legion can testify."

The judge sitting in the middle exchanged glances with his colleagues on both sides, and the thick voice sounded again: "Can I think so, you did use the army without authorization, interfered with the imperial colonial rebellion, confronted the Jihad Army, and brought the Ice Dragon Fiordland Colony ceded to the Free Confederacy?”

"Completely correct."

Anson nodded slightly. He could even clearly feel a pair of eyes behind him, which almost shot through his heart the moment the words fell.

"This idiot!"

Sophia stamped her feet anxiously, gritted her teeth and said fiercely: "How can he admit this? It is obviously a trap deliberately set by the judge. Doesn't that mean he has fallen into a trap?!"

"Don't be anxious, okay? The trial has just begun." Ludwig glanced at her helplessly: "Besides, those are facts that can be verified. It would be better to say that he denies it now. What will happen next?" It’s really dangerous.”

"Also, move your heel, you're stepping on my foot."

In the atmosphere of silence, the old judge re-opened a long scroll: "Since you admit that everything is completely true, why do you accuse the Ministry of War of slandering you?"

"Excuse me, your honor, what is my position?" Before the other party could speak, Anson gave the answer directly: "Commander-in-Chief of the Colonial Guard Corps, my mission is to protect Clovis's interests in the New World and not be harmed by any force. "

"In the third month of my successful appointment, which was the beginning of the 101st year of the Saints calendar, a large-scale rebellion broke out in the empire's colonies. The empire mobilized tens of thousands of counter-rebellion troops and a heavy battleship in an attempt to equalize Rebellion.”

"At that time, I could have watched the empire put down the rebellion in the colonies... Just as the Ministry of War proposed, the unauthorized use of the army was not within my authority."

"But if you do this, what will be the result? The imperial army, which has completely quelled the rebellion in the colonies, will stop at Changhu Town, which is the boundary between the Empire and Clovis' sphere of influence in the New World. They will never invade Clovis. Wei’s interests?”

"Let me remind you that if the empire quickly puts down the rebellion, then the resources and population they have in the New World are enough to mobilize a full army of at least 40,000 people, and they will be fully armed."

"And our Storm Legion... only had five thousand soldiers at that time; if in that case, assuming the empire launches an invasion, how can we protect Clovis's interests?"

"As the commander-in-chief of the garrison, I quickly made a judgment that we must win over the colonies that resist the tyranny of the empire to join us and jointly expel the empire from the New World. Only in this way can Clovis' interests in the New World be protected to the greatest extent." Anson look around:

"This is a risky gamble. I only have five thousand soldiers in my hands, while the empire has at least ten thousand and is well-equipped; but fighting twice as many enemies is at least ten times better."

"It is better to fight on the enemy's territory than to destroy your own territory; it is better to fight when the enemy is unprepared than to passively wait for the enemy's possible invasion."

"As a soldier, as a soldier, I made my own judgment."

"Then...the Ring of Order will protect you, and wherever the bloody unicorn battle flag goes, you will be invincible."