I will be crowned king

There is no doubt that Anson is very happy now, and his happy head is almost filled with bubbles.

Facts have proven that sometimes an enemy is more powerful than a thousand words, and is easier to unite the vast majority of the group than a perfect plan; as long as you find the right enemy and distinguish others from your own people, there are many other things that can be done You don’t even need to do it yourself, it will fall into place naturally.

The Ministry of War actually did the same in this regard, setting up the Storm Legion as a target. What they really wanted to attack were the Privy Council members who had interests in the New World, cutting off their most important source of funds, and setting the stage for the War Ministry's next step. Pave the way for a strong seizure of power.

To put it more bluntly, Anson and even the entire Storm Legion are just pawns in their eyes in this matter. They have only one excuse. They want to kill themselves, a little shrimp with no backing and no background. Success or failure is not even considered by the upper levels of the Army Department. scope.

Without cheap raw materials from the New World, first of all, a highly independent local force like Beigang will inevitably weaken. Secondly, the interests of those "renovationist" congressmen who started their careers by running factories and chambers of commerce will obviously be severely damaged.

Regardless of the War Department or the "conservative" congressmen who have similar ideological foundations to them, their foundations are manors and ranches that have been run by families for hundreds of years, or they are absolutely unquestionable authority in a certain department or a certain circle - just As Viscount Bogner said, Clovis's interests lie on land, not in the sea. The landowners in the villages, towns and countryside are the most stable cornerstone of the kingdom.

Therefore, the strategy of the War Department can be said to be completely correct, and it has indeed succeeded in uniting the vast majority of people. If nothing else, Anson Bach has no chance to stand up. He will be controlled as soon as he arrives at the station and will be tortured on the day of trial. Just kill.

So where did the surprise come from?

Very simple, the essence is still profit.

No matter how little rural landowners take factories and machinery seriously, they cannot change the wool, grapes, leather, and wheat produced in their manors. They still need to be loaded onto horse-drawn carriages and transformed in textile mills and wineries. Ready-made clothes, scarves, wine, gloves and leather boots, and bread and cakes can be sold at the best price if they are sealed and packaged and placed on the shelves of a restaurant or shop in Clovis City.

Even if they don't know it, they have actually benefited from the many policy measures of the "reformers"; and because of the existence of the empire, these simply processed goods can be sold at extremely high prices without crossing the ocean. price for sale.

But today... to be more precise, one hundred years after the Calendar of Saints, this situation is broken.

The empire's undeclared war, coupled with the long but unending war, greatly damaged Clovis's commodity economy. Bankrupt factories in the city, unemployed workers, and flowers and fruits that could not be sold in the towns. , dairy products and meat products...Small landowners and farmers were forced to sell their land one after another and go to cities to survive, which in turn aggravated the unemployment wave in cities...

In this vicious cycle with no end, there are only two solutions: cease war with the empire and resume trade, or find a place to dump goods and purchase cheap raw materials.

The answer the War Department hoped for was the first, but after two years of fruitless war, and finally relying on the Holy See to sign a temporary armistice, even the most optimistic people had to consider the second.

What? Didn’t you say that there are still Hantu and Yiser Elf Kingdoms? The former is a large agricultural country in itself, and it is still actively replenishing military gifts. Among imported goods, it is only interested in arms; the latter can be used as a dumping ground, but they even lack raw materials such as iron ore and coal, let alone Possibly added to Clovis.

And these two countries have similar common problems: small population, low transportation and low development level, which means that it is difficult for them to have sufficient financial reserves for transactions, and the wealth is scattered in the hands of the lords who have drawn up the territory. It is difficult to centralize and trade, and it cannot afford the consequences of being dumped. In turn, it cannot provide many raw materials, and the economy cannot circulate at all.

Therefore, not only the reformers, but also the conservatives have realized the value of the Free Confederacy. An alliance between the two countries as soon as possible is the only way to alleviate Clovis's economic shortcomings.

As a result, the original staunchest allies began to waver, and the enemies they wanted to target began to become more united than ever because they felt the hostility of the War Department.

The only thing Anson did in this matter was to make everyone subconsciously bind the two seemingly unrelated matters "whether the Storm Legion is innocent" and "whether Clovis is allied with the Free Confederacy". The Ministry of War did not realize that there was actually a problem here, and even directly regarded it as one of Anson's evidence.

When they did this, those who had not thought about it, or even thought about clearing Anson's name, had to start to take sides; the Northern Chamber of Commerce, the reformists, middle- and lower-level officers, rural nobles, church people...

The relationship between these groups cannot be said to be united. To some extent, they still have conflicts of interest with each other; but they were all forced into this conflict that was not important at all, and they stood firmly on the same side. Inside the camp.

And this group that only emerged because of the trial will not end immediately because Anson is cleared of charges; in the eyes of all of them, this is a victory, and it is also a beginning: since they have the ability to defeat the arrogant Army Department, If Anson Bach wins the favor of Carlos II, then it should be possible to go further, right?

The Shameless War Department has proven their weakness and despicability, so simply winning concessions from them is clearly not enough, it should go ahead and completely bury this organization that bears the hatred of everyone - especially their leader. , it can be considered a complete success.

That's right, even if Carlos II intervened in the trial midway, it could no longer change the operation with the goal of "overthrowing the Ministry of War"... Although there was a slight hiccup, the result would not change in any way.

Or even more, if the War Department is destroyed, will this cohesive group disappear and no longer seek further benefits?

Of course, that's a thing for another day. At the very least, Anson can continue to coerce this group, or be coerced by this group, and use an unstoppable force to run over the Army Department, which has just made compromises.

All in all, his plan was still perfect.

…………………………………………

Inner city of Clovis, Franz Residence.

After gently knocking on the door, the little maid Angelica walked into the bedroom with a slightly troubled expression.

Seeing Sophia sitting in front of the dressing table with a tight face and a serious look on her face, she even had the illusion that the person in front of her was Master Ludwig in disguise.

Slightly reining in this obviously over-the-top thought, the little maid coughed lightly and said in as calm a tone as possible: "Miss, the Brigadier General has been waiting outside the door for an hour. Are you..."

"No! I am the colonial governor, why do I have to see him?!"

Like a lion with its feathers exploded, Sophia, without looking back, suddenly said loudly: "Which law in the kingdom stipulates that when a subordinate comes to ask for an audience, the governor must agree?!"

"This, of course there is no such thing..."

The little maid swallowed, complaining in her heart that you had always wanted to wait for him to come see you, but she had to be as tactful as possible: "Isn't it a bit rude to not greet guests when they come to the door?"

"Guest?! Why should I welcome such evil guests who don't even know how to make reservations in advance and come whenever they want?!"

At the moment of speaking, the girl's figure visibly trembled, and she obviously hesitated but refused to let go: "You don't even understand the most basic etiquette, and you don't deserve to be treated with courtesy at all!"

"Oh, that means if he makes an appointment now, the lady will be willing to see him tomorrow, right?"

"This...how is this possible?! Do I have nothing to do and am just waiting at home for him to visit?!"

"That's true. Miss is usually very busy. How can she have time to wait for a guest at home?" The little maid sighed:

"In this case, Angelica will ask the guest to leave now, and tell him that he won't be here for a while, and the lady will not receive him when he comes."

Before she finished speaking, the little maid turned around and left.

"Wait, wait a minute!"

Sophia suddenly panicked and stood up suddenly, stopping the maid in her tracks.

Angelica's figure suddenly paused, and she turned her head to look at the girl in an exaggerated manner: "Huh~?"

"That, that..." Sophia's mouth twitched for a while, but soon returned to normal: "I thought about it seriously again, although, although he is so rude, as a member of the Franz family, I can't Let him mistakenly think that the wealthy Clovis family is on the same level as him... It shouldn't hurt to be a little more generous... right?"

"It must be so!"

The little maid's face immediately filled with a smile like a blooming flower. She lifted up her skirt and saluted the girl: "Angelica will go and inform the guest now. I believe he will be extremely grateful to the lady for her generosity. I am grateful!"

Before she finished speaking, her figure disappeared from the door like a gust of wind, as if she was afraid that someone would regret it, leaving the girl alone in front of the door, deep in thought.

Thank you very much, be grateful? Just imagining Anson's face with this expression in her mind, Sophia couldn't help but shudder.

Ten minutes later, Anson's slightly hesitant figure finally walked into the living room of Franz's residence and saw Sophia Franz sitting in front of the fireplace sofa, pretending to be reading the newspaper.

This was not the first time he came to this house, nor was it the first time he met the girl in front of him, so when he skillfully came to the sofa next to him and didn't sit down, he immediately noticed that the girl was watching her all the time. looking into his own eyes.

Anson, who was slightly embarrassed, had to stand behind the sofa, while Sophia, who was still holding the newspaper, still pretended not to see him, even though the hand holding the newspaper began to tremble slightly due to soreness.

As if aware of the subtlety in the atmosphere, the little maid took a deep breath, decided to do something, and then...

"Um...I'm going to make a pot of coffee. It'll be ready soon!"

After saying that, she left the living room at the speed of light under the gaze of the two of them, leaving them alone with each other.

Well, then the atmosphere became even more awkward.

After hesitating for a few seconds, Sofia, who probably couldn't hold on any longer, finally put down the heavy newspaper and forced herself to look indifferently at the Commander-in-Chief of the Storm Legion in front of her.

Feeling his scalp numb slightly, Ansen still had to force out a smile:

"Good afternoon, Governor-General Sophia Franz."

"Good afternoon, Brigadier General Anson Bach."

"Um...can I sit down?"

"What do you think?"

"……cannot?"

"Oh? It's really your style to make others think you are so mean and rude."

"..."

With his eyes twitching crazily and a stiff smile, Anson slowly sat down beside Sophia; the girl also subconsciously turned sideways, just in time to meet his eyes.

Anson subconsciously wanted to speak, but didn't know what to say; Sophia hesitated, always feeling that if she was too proactive, it would seem that she cared about this bastard, and she felt like "losing".

So the two of them stared at each other for a full five minutes, their eyes began to dry up, and neither of them said a word.

The expressionless little maid came forward with two cups of steaming coffee and placed one cup in front of Anson.

"Thank you."

"You're welcome." The little maid smiled like a flower: "If you really want to thank me, please thank Miss Sophia... If you don't have a lady who is busy working around most of Clovis City for you, Lord Anson Bach should It’s not that easy to clear your name, right?”

"Ah...that's true!"

Feeling the crazy hint from the little maid, Anson nodded quickly: "I must thank Governor Sophia for this matter. Lady Catalina also mentioned it specifically at this time!"

"Right, Angelica knows this very clearly. Miss Sophia had already..."

"Cough cough cough!!!!"

A burst of crazy coughing interrupted the conversation between the maid and a certain commander-in-chief. Sophia forced herself to calm down: "There's no need to thank you. After all, I didn't do it for you - the Storm Legion is an important asset in my name. Protection Your own property is a matter of course.”

"Instead of talking about this, let's talk about another important thing."

"...Another important thing?"

"That's right." Sofia, who forcibly changed the topic, nodded slightly and took the coffee handed by the maid: "About the invitation given to you by His Majesty Carlos... According to tradition, the invitees are usually men, but you can find a female to accompany you. .”

"Female? Is this necessary?"

"It's not necessary, but...if not, it would look weird." The girl's hand holding the coffee cup was trembling slightly: "I don't know, do you have a suitable candidate now?"

"The right candidate..." Anson was stunned for a moment and looked at the other person very uncertainly:

"Well...you think if I still take Lisa Bach this time, it won't attract anyone's attention, right?"