I will be crowned king

"Because we were worried about being invaded by the empire, we turned around and attacked first. What kind of serious fallacy is this?"

In the jury box on the left side of the hall, several middle-aged men wearing army general uniforms couldn't help but said: "If 'doubt' can be used as a reason for all wars and the results are used as excuses, what sense can there be in ordering the world?" Word?!"

"Yes, this is complete sophistry and makes no sense at all!"

"I really don't understand why we should give this kind of person a chance to plead his case. Hasn't he already admitted that all the charges are true?!"

"Yes, yes, the result has been decided. There is no doubt that Anson Bach is guilty of treason!"

...In the echoes one after another, it seemed that half of the jury had already made their decision, or in other words, in order to be completely different from the juries sitting opposite the reformists and a group of people with clear banners who were preparing to be enemies of the War Department. , they must do the same.

Because the court session was suddenly shortened from half a month to less than three days, the hurried Ministry of War had no time to unite its allies, promise benefits, and reach a consensus. As the court session approached, it was not even clear who was on its side.

Of course, this has nothing to do with slow response. After all, Anson Bach was originally a standard "lone wolf" in their eyes... He may have some abilities, but he did not really belong to a certain camp and was purely supported by the Franz family. He is just a tool man, how difficult can it be to deal with him?

The result was that at the last moment, apart from the fact that the reformist Viscount Bogner publicly took sides, the conservative congressmen were either neutral or had to hold their noses and stand with the War Department, and no suitable supporters could be found at all. .

"I think it's not like that, right?" A discordant noise suddenly sounded among the noise:

"Not to mention that the Empire and Clovis were still in a state of war at that time. It is far-fetched to say that the reason for launching a war just because of suspicion... Haha, in that case, the entire Dark Ages, and even all the wars from Clovis's independence to prosperity, wouldn't it be nothing? Does it make sense anymore?"

After hearing this, the expressions of several officers obviously changed, and they looked at the old man sitting in the front row uglyly, "Sir Renard, could it be said that you..."

"I am on the same page as the reformists, and this is recognized by all Clovis."

Without giving others a chance to speak, the old man took the lead and said, "Punish the traitors who betrayed the royal family and demonstrate the authority of the Ministry of War over the army. I also agree with this."

"But in any case, the reasons and evidence should be convincing. Otherwise, if they are not recognized by the majority of people and cause widespread dissent and controversy, they will only be taken advantage of by vicious villains led by the reformists to exaggerate and change the situation. It becomes a tool to overthrow the established order and lead to chaos, isn’t it?”

"this……"

Several officers looked at each other in confusion: "I, we are mainly worried that the other party may secretly change their concept and seduce the sympathy of the lower-class people and soldiers, so as to..."

"There's no need to worry like that!"

The old man raised his cane and banged it on the floor with a bang: "Inciting a mob to try to usurp power may happen in other places, but it will never happen in Clovis."

"If anyone does this kind of thing, he will turn himself into the enemy of the entire Clovis... Don't talk about us, even the despicable reformists will never support this kind of behavior."

These words were recognized by the jury... After all, no matter how sharp the contradiction between the several forces, it can still be called "internal strife"; if Anson Bach took the opportunity to incite middle- and lower-level officers and coerce the thugs in an attempt to force the Privy Council to submit, , that is to cut oneself off from the entire kingdom, and never think about the day when he can stand up again.

"Defendant, or Brigadier General Anson Bach, this court has no intention of playing word games with you, and please do not try to disrupt this trial with such unverifiable subjective remarks!"

Looking at Anson, who was obviously unwilling to plead guilty, the old judge sitting in the middle showed a hint of sullenness in his eyes: "There is no so-called different explanations, new angles or viewpoints here; there are just objective facts; what you have to do is, It’s just to bring what you did to the truth.”

"As for whether the charges and evidence submitted by the Army Department are too subjective, one-sided, or contain false conjectures, it is the job and obligation of this court to identify them, not yours. Is it clear?"

"It's very clear." Anson nodded heavily, and then cast his gaze behind him. Fabian, who understood the situation, stood up immediately, waving a thick stack of files in his hand.

"Dear Judge, regarding the issue of evidence collection, we have new materials here that we hope to submit to the court to help clarify the slander against Commander-in-Chief Anson."

"oh?"

The old judge adjusted his monocle: "I must remind you that these evidences must be related to the content of this trial. If you still induce this court to deviate from the subject like just now, I will refuse to accept it."

"That's natural." Fabian nodded slightly and held up the file in his hand respectfully: "The series of criminal evidence about the New World presented by the Army Department is nothing more than to prove that Commander-in-Chief Anson and the Storm Legion cooperated internally and externally, embezzled and damaged the Belongs to the interests of the kingdom and proves that the Commander-in-Chief is a traitor to the kingdom."

"As for those so-called 'evidences', the Storm Legion members who actually participated in that war have completely different views. If we insist on using those crimes to discuss and judge the Commander-in-Chief, starting with me, the eight thousand Storm Legion soldiers None of them can be convinced, and countless gentlemen who believe in the innocence of the Commander-in-Chief are also unconvinced."

"Why? Because everything that happens in the new world is far away... If Commander-in-Chief Anson and even the entire Storm Legion are traitors to the kingdom, betraying the interests of the Osteria royal family and colluding with foreign countries, then what? Why go back to Clovis, why do you have to accept the imprisonment of the War Office, and this trial?"

"As an insignificant adjutant, a soldier who was born in Clovis and has served in the army for many years, I implore the court to seriously consider this issue; because the Commander-in-Chief and our eight thousand loyal soldiers of His Majesty's Storm Legion all uphold the Returning with great love for the Kingdom and infinite admiration for His Majesty, I will do my best to contribute to the prosperity and growth of the Kingdom!"

"Colonel Fabian, please tell me the key points." The old judge knocked the wooden hammer on the table:

"The time this court has given you to speak is limited, so please do not waste your patience."

"In short, we believe that it is too biased to only use the resume of the New World to prove whether Commander-in-Chief Anson is suspected of being a traitor to the kingdom. At least he and the entire Storm Legion should be included when returning home, especially when they arrive. Clovis City's subsequent performance is also taken into consideration."

As he spoke, Fabian raised the file in his hand again: "So we, the staff officers of the Storm Legion headquarters, jointly compiled and compiled all the logs of the Storm Legion since the 101st year of the Saints calendar, especially What happened after arriving in North Port is for the court’s information.”

"Ah... it also includes some of the specific contents of various suspected crimes that the Commander-in-Chief collected from the gang leader during the eradication of the 'Whispers' gang. All of them were recorded in writing in the file. These records... "

"Please wait!"

Before Fabian finished speaking, Lieutenant Colonel Crowne, the representative of the War Department who had been sitting firmly below with dark circles under his eyes, suddenly got a thrill and stood up suddenly as if he had been electrocuted: "Objection! We object that Anson Bach deliberately delayed the delivery of evidence implicated in this case, and is clearly suspected of disrupting the trial!"

"...All of them have conclusive evidence." Fabian, who was robbed, looked at him coldly and continued word by word: "If the Ministry of War has any doubts, we can immediately treat these evidences as Present it to the court for the judge’s inspection.”

"By the way, in order to ensure absolute safety and fairness, all these evidences were handed over to the Truth Seeking Order of Clovis Cathedral immediately after suppressing the riots in the outer city, and were entrusted to the inquisitors for strict supervision - if There really is damage or forgery, and I believe that with their expertise, it should be easier to tell."

As soon as the words fell, the faces of the jury and spectators in the hall changed, and the whispers became extremely clear under the vault.

"So that's the case. No wonder he took the initiative to give the body of 'Whisper' to the Ministry of War instead of keeping it in his own hands."

Looking at the frightened faces of the War Department opposite, Viscount Bognar suddenly realized that he couldn't help but raise the corners of his mouth: "Retreat to advance... It's amazing, it's really amazing!"

"What's so great about this kind of conspiracy and conspiracy? In the final analysis, it's the greedy and short-sighted people in the War Department who fell into this kind of trick!" Mrs. Catalina looked very disdainful, or this kind of trick made her feel uncomfortable. The outside looks so familiar that I can't help but feel a little panicked.

Why did Anson deliberately hand over Whisper's body to the War Department? Was it really a deliberate show of weakness?

Of course, this was part of the reason, but ultimately it was because he had obtained sufficient evidence of the collusion between the War Department and the "Whisper", and there were both witnesses and material evidence.

As soon as it is exposed, the "act of loyalty" that the War Department is proud of, successfully suppressing potential riots in the outer city in just a few days, will immediately turn into a thief who realizes that the incident is about to be revealed and quickly covers up the crime.

Of course, the War Department has another option: since Anson wants to ignite this time bomb, they can also throw it back: admitting that the person who really captured the "Whisper" was Anson Bach, and it was he who privately handed the body to the War Department; or that The Ministry of War also has some evidence that is enough to prove that the real mastermind behind the "Whispers" is actually a traitor to this kingdom... Can you say that?

Absolutely not!

The former is tantamount to taking credit, not only taking away the achievements that originally belonged to others, but also deceiving His Majesty Carlos II to whom they should be absolutely loyal. It is comparable to self-destruction on the spot. The traitor is actually myself.

The latter is even more unreasonable... You must know that Anson Bach was still floating on the rough sea a month ago. How did he cross the ocean and remotely control a gang entrenched in Clovis City in an attempt to harm the kingdom?

Even if he really did it, why did he have to wait until he came back before doing it? Wasn't he eager to be discovered by others?

Ten thousand steps back... The Ministry of War was not aware of such a serious problem, but it was a serious dereliction of duty; and if it was aware of it, but only accused suspected treason, then...

"Quiet—! Quiet—!"

After repeatedly hitting the wooden hammer on the table, the old judge finally began to look serious: "Colonel Fabian, are you sure that there will be no forgery or concealment in the evidence?"

"Absolutely not!" Fabian nodded slightly and glanced at Lieutenant Colonel Crown, who was sweating on his forehead, with a slightly provocative look.

"If you participate in perjury or deliberately deceive the court, what awaits you is not as simple as an 'accusation'; if you choose to remain silent now, this court can treat it as nothing happened."

The old judge looked at him deeply: "I'll ask you one last time, are you sure?"

"It is unmistakable." Fabian held his chest high and held his head high: "Please ask the court to go to Clovis Cathedral as soon as possible to take out the physical evidence and confessions and tell all the truth to the public."

Silence... The old judge did not respond immediately this time. Instead, he quickly looked at each other with his two colleagues. After reaching a certain consensus, he spoke again:

"In this case, this court will temporarily adjourn the case and wait for the guards to obtain and confirm the physical evidence before continuing the trial."

"Prior to this, no one is allowed to leave the seat, and the jury can start the first round of voting. The defendant and plaintiff must stay where they are and are not allowed to communicate with anyone... adjourn!"

As the wooden hammer fell heavily, everyone's expressions seemed to be relieved. While relaxing, they had to tighten their heartstrings; and the juries on both sides were sitting in their respective seats, not voting at all. the meaning of.

This is actually a tradition during the Clovis trial, because the entire trial must go through three rounds of voting, so the first round is not to confirm the results at all, but to express their respective sides; the results of the voting will not be determined unless someone really exists. Some kind of idea, otherwise all members would abstain, or it would be half and half.

Everyone could see in this trial that there were more people siding with Anson; in order not to violate tradition, both sides abstained from voting in a tacit understanding.

The three elderly judges also left the court one after another. At the same time, the guards who were standing outside also entered the hall and stood fully armed on the outside to maintain order. There were even bayonets on the muzzles of their guns to prevent conflicts between the two parties on trial. ——Yes, things like the defendant killing the accuser in court and directly declaring his innocence also happened in the history of Clovis.

Just when Anson was about to discuss with Fabian about the next steps of the plan, a dark-faced Lieutenant Colonel Crown suddenly came over:

"Brigadier General Anson Bach, are you really ready to declare war on the War Department?"