I will be crowned king

To be honest, although he has prepared for the worst, if possible, Anson actually does not want Clovis City to fall into chaos, especially before the upcoming New Year's Eve banquet, causing the entire city to fall into chaos.

The reason is simple: the benefits brought by chaos are huge, but the risks are also huge; if you and the small conspiracy gang of the Shotgun Club can take advantage of the opportunity, it means that others can do the same thing.

The Bayonet Club, the Society of Truth, the royal family, the Old Gods... and of course little Périgord and the Holy See behind him. What actions will these sharks smelling blood take, and which piece of fat will they target? It's really an unknown number.

However, Anson still has a little hope. After all, it is already the end of the 102nd year of the Saints calendar, and there is less than a week left before the New Year's banquet at the Osteria Palace.

According to what he learned about the process of doing something in the Kingdom of Clovis, first a certain member or committee must publicly propose a proposal to the Privy Council for voting. After successfully getting at least one-third of the votes in favor, the proposal can be have a discussion.

Then there are the various committees. Of course, a certain member can also object to the bill, either in favor, requesting modifications, or simply objecting. The entire process requires at least four-fifths of the votes in favor to pass, so the person who proposed the bill One party needs to modify its plan in order to get more votes, or add some content, or make concessions in some aspects.

Finally, the bill will be submitted to the cabinet, and the ministers appointed by the king will discuss its contents. It is also at this stage that the king will know the existence of such a thing.

According to some political practices in Clovis, the content submitted in the first round will definitely not be passed, and will be sent back to the Privy Council for re-discussion with the cabinet's opinions attached. The next step is to submit it again for discussion, and then submit it again for discussion...usually it needs to be repeated. After repeating this process for two to three months, holding countless meetings, and revising the content hundreds of times, the king will issue it with the unanimous approval of the cabinet and privy council members.

Of course, that's assuming it actually goes that far.

What does the final proposal have in common with the original proposal? Well, probably only the name.

Anson is quite confident in such an efficient and responsible system.

But the result was slightly beyond his expectation: in less than a day, the Privy Council and the Royal Cabinet successively passed the proposal without any modifications or even discussion, and with an overwhelming majority. pass.

The sudden abnormality made Anson feel a little strange. No matter what the purpose of Bogner and Ludwig originally proposed this bill, it has become a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity in the eyes of all parties and can no longer be stopped.

This also completely dispelled his original idea of ​​meeting with Archbishop Luther for private discussions: Although the other party has made it clear that he will stand on his side, there is no guarantee that he will not change his mind midway and choose to support Ludwig. .

If the Major General suddenly reacts and, with the support of the Archbishop, re-enacts the classic scene of the Clovis Rebellion, he will transfer the Southern Legion stationed in the south back to Clovis City regardless of the cost, and add the Franz family to Whitehall Street. There is no chance of influence among the police.

What, you said that mobilizing troops without authorization is tantamount to rebellion? A true loyal minister must abandon this worldly perspective and prove his loyalty with actions!

The officers of the Shotgun Club obviously understood this very well - on the afternoon when the Privy Council resolution was passed, more than 300 middle- and lower-level officers either left their posts or gathered privately without reporting.

According to Instructor Erich's initial estimate, the size of the shotgun club was almost the limit for mobilizing two hundred officers. The leader would have to find ways to win over other clubs or officer organizations, or colleagues and subordinates who could work together in private. People like juniors or students.

After all, in the final analysis, this shotgun club is just a small group of officers with low positions and no real power. Its influence is limited to the Skirmisher Division, an unpopular school that is not taken seriously, and there is no compulsory binding force among the members; However, if we want to make things happen, it would be good to be able to win over the "core members" who usually come more frequently.

But he did not consider a very critical issue, that is, a famine is currently breaking out in the city of Clovis.

Although Anson currently does not have sufficient funds to bribe these officers - the previous trials cost a lot of money - the budget for the shotgun club is approximately fifteen pounds of sausage per officer, fifty pounds of flour, and ten Pounds of butter are probably what ordinary people stock up on before their New Year’s dinner.

However, now and then, not to mention sausages, butter and fine flour, even oats and potatoes have long been priced out of the market in Clovis City. Back then, Anson could only rent two rooms and one living room with the allowance of a lieutenant colonel. , living in a townhouse apartment of less than 50 square meters, it is enough for middle- and lower-class officers to barely have enough food and clothing every month, and they don't even think about saving money.

At this time, someone suddenly brought enough food for the whole family to spend the New Year. The young officer with a meager salary dug into his empty pockets with only IOUs, and looked at his malnourished children, his wife and parents who were freezing and hungry... There are often not as many choices as they seem.

In just one and a half days, the Shotgun Club gathered 800 members. More importantly, they were all nominal members of the club, and some even served in the War Department. They were completely indifferent to the club's generous "New Year's gift". Without hesitation, he left his post and accepted the invitation.

It’s not that no one has thought about pretending to be dead after receiving the enlightenment; but in today’s chaotic and turbulent Clovis City, a person from a well-off family has not united with a certain organization and is not protected by any force. This kind of It's the same as loudly telling your neighbor: Even if I've been robbed, I can't retaliate against you. Come on, come on!

Teacher Erich was quite excited about this situation; he knew very well from the beginning that Anson's so-called "once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to make the Skirmisher Division famous" was just a cake drawn for them; but it didn't matter, because the cake was fragrant enough. To the point where the Shotgun Club can legitimately unite a large number of middle- and lower-level officers to launch an attack on the Bayonet Club that was unthinkable in the past.

But now, looking at the hundreds of officers who had been united, Erich suddenly felt that this pie might actually work.

On the 27th, the third day after the bill was passed, the Storm Legion finally received a formal order from the Privy Council, asking them to immediately assemble their entire army and enter the inner city to stand by.

This immediately aroused the alarm of the upper echelons of the War Department. In order to prevent the Storm Legion from getting in the way, they had specially ordered this unobedient force to be transferred to a more remote area; now the Privy Council suddenly directly bypassed the War Department and issued an order, which is basically equivalent to doing a good job. He planned to completely break up the relationship.

At the same time, the Privy Council, which passed the bill, also began to massively arm residents of various streets and communities in and around Clovis; the ostensible reason was due to famine, severe cold and other reasons, in order to prevent rioters from causing damage and at the same time reduce the risk of rioters in Whitehall Street. Due to the pressure of the police, the benevolent His Majesty Carlos II decided to temporarily decentralize some powers and allow loyal people of the kingdom to form temporary armed forces to protect their families and communities.

Under the authorization of the Privy Council, the military factories directly controlled by the kingdom and with royal family shares opened their inventories and sold large quantities of weapons to civilians at prices slightly lower than cost prices; at the beginning, some restrictions were set, such as the need to have community certificates and guarantees. People and the like, but they soon became useless, and anyone could buy as many as they wanted - but only muzzle-loading rifles.

Artillery, grenades, high explosives...these things are still absolutely contraband; but in this world, the more restricted something is, the more sought-after it is; soon, six people appeared on the streets of some wealthy communities in the inner city. There were figures of 1-pound and 3-pound infantry guns, as well as a separation zone covered with mines and horse-repelling stakes.

Thanks to Anson's hard work, a large number of officers who received "New Year's gifts" and were willing to swear allegiance to the shotgun club joined the newly established armed organizations in various communities and gained command of the army by relying on their excellent military technology. Or become the right-hand man that the "big shots" in the community rely on.

After all, no matter how rich the average community is, they can only hire veterans from security companies, while the shotgun club sends out active-duty officers who are still serving. Their physical condition, military literacy, and understanding of war are not at the same level. of.

In particular, the older generation of officers are basically influenced by the doctrine of the Continental Army. Their minds are full of line volleys and column attacks; this tactic is suitable for field battlefields with wide vision; but in cities where there are many obstacles and large-scale regiments cannot deploy, that It is the world of skirmishers.

On the 28th, the assembled Storm Legion entered the inner city in full view of everyone; the excited Sophia Franz even ran over to greet them in person - after all, in her eyes, this army was her greatest asset.

Anson Bach, who realized that he was somewhat sorry for Miss Franz and was ready to show off his strength to some people, very thoughtfully prepared a unique "military parade": After getting the map of the inner city, Technical consultant Wilhelm Gottfried was entrusted to specially design an action route for how to get troops into the city as quickly as possible and assemble.

The total army of 8,000 people and five infantry regiments were divided into battalions. They set off at 4:30 in the morning and moved quickly in batches. They passed through most of the city in only thirty-five minutes without making any sound. Gather and stand by in the Osteria Palace Square.

When it got daylight, the residents of the inner city who had just woken up from their sleep had not figured out what was going on. They saw the Storm Legion coming out of the sky without any warning, and the heavily armed soldiers were crowded together. In every corner of the square, every soldier looked serious, pursed his lips tightly, and made no sound.

At 6:55, the Ostria Palace finally received the news. After hearing the news, Carlos II immediately summoned the Privy Council and Cabinet Ministers to the palace gate to observe this colonial army coming across the turbulent sea from the New World.

Amidst the deathly silence of the crowd, the proud Sophia did not hide her pride at all, holding her head high like a graceful swan, somewhat looking down on all living beings, with an air of defiance.

The eyes of Ludwig, who was also relieved, were not only happy, but also somewhat complicated: He may know the strength of the Storm Legion better than anyone present. In his impression, they may be very strong, but they are not good at dealing with overly complex situations. Terrain; Anson Bach rarely puts his troops into battles where the environment is changeable and it is difficult to avoid large-scale casualties.

But now the other party is almost telling him with actual actions: I am not only good at sieges and long-distance raids, but also proficient in maneuvering in big cities like Clovis; I can quickly travel through the city and arrive there in thirty-five minutes. destination, you can use the same time to surround and annihilate enemies entrenched in any street or community.

"I said, isn't this a little too ostentatious?"

In the crowded square, Norton Crosell, who was standing in the front row, couldn't help but frown slightly: "Although I can understand the purpose of the Commander-in-Chief doing this, does it really not make enemies for the Storm Legion?"

"What kind of enemy do you want to make?" Alexei on the side said with a smile:

"We have been officially ordered to enter the city to defend the palace and the Privy Council. We are loyal and heroic troops trusted by His Majesty the King. Isn't it true that the stronger we are, the more trusted we are?"

Norton was obviously still uneasy: "That's true, but..."

"It's nothing to worry about, just relax!" Alexey waved his hand very confidently. Of course he knew what Norton was worried about, but coming from the wealthy Dukaski family, he knew more about another set of logic:

"The so-called worry about being noticed by others is completely meaningless... As long as you are good enough and strong enough, you will definitely be hated by others; on the contrary, if no one takes you seriously, it means you are still too weak. ”

"But no matter how jealous they are, they won't hurt you at all. Rather, it's because the more jealous they are, the more they are afraid of your existence, and the less they dare to take action easily."

As he spoke, he raised his head and looked forward: "Our Storm Legion is almost in this state now. Only by making others afraid will they not dare to take our chances easily."

"Only loyal ministers who can make others feel threatened are qualified to be won over by the monarch!"

Anson, who was standing at the front of the team, suddenly stepped forward, took the saber from Carl Bain with an expressionless face, and raised it high above his head: "December 28, 102 Apostolic Calendar, Storm Legion I was ordered to assemble, and there were supposed to be 8,213 people, but actually there were 8,213 people. Please review it, Your Majesty!"

As he finished speaking, the soldiers present, organized into company units, raised their rifles over their shoulders in rows; the bright bayonets lay across their shoulders, which were extremely dazzling by the early morning light.

“Long live—Long live—Long live—!!!!”

In the crowded square, the soldiers with their necks straightened and arrogant expressions on their faces shouted in unison, forming an extremely sharp contrast with the deathly silence of the palace towers.