I will be crowned king

"H-how is this possible?!"

In the cafe that was temporarily requisitioned as the headquarters, a bearded general chewing his pipe could not help but curse: "Sixty thousand, this is an army of 60,000. It took more than half an hour to penetrate the defense line, and then swarmed. The army retreated, and the opposite side was a colonial army with only more than 8,000 people?!"

"What's impossible?" The companion beside him couldn't help snorting: "The army of 60,000 people could barely obey orders when they first entered the inner city, and they had not yet completed the encirclement of Osteria Palace. It started to relax, and more than half of the soldiers went to burn, kill and loot, so how could we organize a decent defense line?"

"Sixty thousand... Hey, even if we include all the hundreds of thousands of people in the outer city, how much combat effectiveness can such an undisciplined army have? How can a group of soldiers who don't even know why they want to mutiny talk about morale? "

"Now, with the support of the royal family and the tacit approval of the Privy Council, eight thousand soldiers who knew that they were ordered to suppress a rebellion were suppressing tens of thousands of mutiny rebels who were unorganized, undisciplined, and had no idea why they were fighting. They also promised to surrender. If you don’t kill, isn’t it natural to destroy everything?!”

Before the words were spoken, all the generals present looked ashen; yes, the Storm Legion was the first to win over Queen Anne and the front platform of Clovis Cathedral; but they did not dare to tell the soldiers the truth, the so-called "Church approval" is still just a blank check and cannot be said to be convincing at all.

"Then according to what you say, should we surrender immediately and strive for leniency from the other side?!" The bearded man biting his pipe had an unhappy face, obviously very dissatisfied with this end, and looked around the crowd:

"Tell me, do you all think so?!"

"of course not."

The rebuttal companion said solemnly: "What everyone should be thinking about is how to leave quietly at this time, collude with Ludwig Franz to betray other people, in order to buy a way out for themselves, and even get the same benefits as Anson Bach. A qualification recognized by the Crown.”

"Well, at least that's what I thought."

"you……?!"

"What's wrong?!"

Facing his surprised and angry companions who were looking at each other, the general stood up abruptly and swept his cold eyes across everyone present: "At this time, I feel there is no need to hide anything anymore; everyone is in contact with the opposite party in private, and this is simply not the case. It’s not a secret, it can even be said to be perfectly reasonable.”

"But I also ask you to think about it carefully. The opponent will definitely take advantage of this to divide us and disintegrate us. If you choose to betray your companions at this time, you will only become a pawn in Ludwig's hands and will be gone when the mutiny is over. The value of use will be abandoned at any time!"

"Don't forget, why did he want to win over us in the first place..." The general said more and more, gritting his teeth: "It's just because Ludwig's reputation in the army is not enough, and he needs us guys with seniority and connections to help him. His so-called 'New War Department' is just a facade to let the Franz family go public."

"When he quells the mutiny, beheads the rebels, and promises not to pursue them further, he will have 300,000 people who are grateful to him, and he will naturally be able to hold the Army in his hands!"

Before he finished speaking, the general who sighed heavily turned around and pointed to the street outside: "We don't even need to really let us fight among ourselves. As long as the quarrels and conflicts continue, as long as we still can't organize the army to stop the Storm Legion. The fast break, that’s what awaits us!”

"In that case, what can you do?" Someone stood up and asked, with a solemn expression still showing a hint of defensiveness: "It sounds like we are destined to be in disaster."

"Yes, but as long as we can stop the Storm Legion, things will turn around."

The general's tone became calm again, and his eyes even looked disdainful: "The Storm Legion only has eight thousand people. What does this mean? It means that their advancement speed is limited, and it means that their rapid breakthrough is based on abandoning follow-up reinforcements. , even combat effectiveness.”

"That's right! Right now our army is being driven like a herd by the opposite side, but the real number of casualties is minimal; as long as we find a way to gather these unbroken armies, we can curb the Storm Legion's counterattack."

"Everyone, I am not asking you to remain united. I am not even opposed to some of us still wanting to betray others in exchange for recognition from the other side. But since we are going to be traitors, we must be worthy traitors. More cost-effective.”

The general turned around again and slowly raised his right index finger: "One day, as long as he can block the counterattack from the opposite side and survive for a day, Ludwig...he will be forced to take the initiative under the pressure of the Privy Council and the royal family. Negotiate with us and give us more generous bargaining chips.”

"For example...promise not to liquidate any of us, for example, to put all the responsibility for this mutiny on those damn War Departments, and at the same time not to recover all the losses caused in this mutiny...What do you think?"

Suddenly, there was dead silence in the cafe.

"...If you want to reorganize the army, it's best to start as soon as possible."

In the silence, the beard clicked and smoked his pipe: "I heard the sound of a six-pounder when I came in just now. If it is from the Storm Legion, their main force is probably not far away from us. It’s really too late if it’s too late.”

After the words fell, the generals who had been hesitating just now nodded slightly to each other, and instantly reached a consensus: Obviously, whether they plan to endure it to the end or be prepared to jump over the wall and rebel, the first condition must be that they are still alive.

But at this moment...

"boom--!"

The guard with an eager look suddenly opened the door of the cafe, and quickly stepped forward and beat his chest and saluted the generals present: "Report, urgent military situation, the enemy has just broken through our checkpoint at the intersection, and the forward skirmishers are already approaching. It penetrated this way!"

"Thank you, your information is very timely." The calm general nodded slightly and turned to look at everyone: "As you can see, the speed of the Storm Legion's advance is indeed quite astonishing. If we don't..."

"Storm Legion?"

The guard suddenly spoke up and said, "No, you misunderstood, it's not them!"

"……no?"

"The enemy came from behind us. They have captured multiple entrances to the inner and outer city areas, and large forces are advancing here!" The guard became more and more anxious as he spoke:

"The two legions guarding the outer city have abandoned us and defected to the other side!"

After the words fell, all the generals immediately changed their expressions and stood there blankly.

…………………………………………

In the middle of the street on Braleman Street, hundreds of soldiers gathered into a dark figure. Under the gaze of dull-faced citizens and militiamen, they were like roaring steam trains running over the messy roads, coldly and quickly.

Behind them were burning and dilapidated ruins; in front of them were the silhouettes of rebels retreating in an organized manner.

Push forward, and push forward non-stop. Just as the rebels believe, the current Storm Legion would rather give up combat power, reinforcements, or even pay a certain amount of sacrifice, but also push forward the front non-stop, chasing after the rebels. Behind him, he gritted his teeth and refused to let go.

This is of course not that the Storm Legion believes that it can defeat the 300,000 Clovis standing army. It is purely a summary of many years of rich experience.

First of all, the battle to suppress the riots must not be delayed. If the battle can be ended within an hour, it must not be postponed to a whole day. The sooner it is ended, the more advantageous it will be.

This is mainly because rebellions and riots, especially riots in cities, will definitely affect many ordinary people. If they remain neutral and their normal lives are affected by the riots, then you will provide support as soon as you suppress the riots. , at least it will not interfere or destroy.

Secondly, urban warfare and street fighting are very different from outdoor battlefields. One of the key points is that it is difficult for you to gather a large number of troops immediately; as long as you are forced to retreat, the streets extending in all directions and the narrow battlefield will keep you in pursuit. Within the field of vision, it is also difficult to restrain deserters; an army that is large in scale and cannot adapt to a small battlefield is very easy to fall into the dilemma of "the more you want to reorganize the army, the harder it is to assemble reliable troops."

Therefore, if the initial battle goes well, then you must not stop and wait for reinforcements or reorganize in order to maintain combat effectiveness. Instead, you must race against time to capture the enemy's broken troops, so that the orderly evacuation of a few people can turn into the disorder of a large corps. Collapse.

Without organization and command, no matter how many soldiers there are, they cannot be considered an army in the true sense. Of course, there is no so-called "combat power". At best, they are slightly stronger than thugs who disperse in a hurry.

At least Anson himself thinks so.

Choosing to shrink the legion to the Osteria Palace at the beginning and refusing to stop the rebels at the first time was also for a similar purpose: to make the residents of the inner city deeply feel the pain of the mutiny and remind them of Clovis' The memories of the city's chaos, and then stood unswervingly on his side.

Although the death of Carlos II disrupted the originally perfect plan, the chaotic situation gave him an additional opportunity... In short, things went very smoothly.

The confident commander-in-chief personally led the team and walked at the forefront of the team with long strides, so that the little secretary carrying a briefcase had to spread his legs and run with heavy breaths to barely keep up: "Report...report to Mr. Anson , Ludwig...Major General Vichy has sent new news. The two legions in the outer city have responded to our request and gathered troops to strangle the remaining mutinous rebels!"

"Currently... they have captured the entrance and exit of the inner city and have sent troops to block it, preparing to block the remaining rebels in the inner city from behind. Then... then... Lord Anson, can you go a little slower? I really... …”

"Remember! Tell Ludwig to hint to the two generals that if they really want to show their loyalty to the kingdom, they should not stop at blocking the entrances and exits of the inner and outer city, but should rush in immediately and cooperate with me to encircle the remnants of the rebels! "

Anson said without looking back: "What they are doing now will only make people wonder if they still have plans to sit on the wall and sway. As His Majesty personally certified it and his loyal general, I personally do not approve of this approach. !”

"Yes!" The out-of-breath little clerk nodded quickly: "Then I'll set off right away and convey your words to Young Master Ludwig..."

"No, write it down and let someone else do it."

Anson shook his head: "Alan, I have a more important task to give you."

"Sir?!" The little secretary's eyes widened in excitement.

"I will send you a company from the Grenadier Regiment and ask them to escort you to the headquarters of the mutinous generals." Anson pointed to the street in the distance:

"Fabian's scouts have already investigated it clearly. It's only two streets away from us. It's already within easy reach."

"This...then, what should I do?"

"What you want to do depends to a certain extent on yourself." Anson smiled mysteriously: "Anyway, I only have one request, that the generals must not surrender too quickly. If possible, it is best to hold on a little longer. "

"Remember, the company I sent to you will only protect you as far as there, and the rest is all up to you."

"Uh...huh?!"

The little secretary was shocked: "Sir Anson, is this, this task...is it a little beyond my ability?!"

"Exceed, how is that possible? You are my loyal and talented secretary!"

As he spoke, Anson, who suddenly stopped, turned around, half-crouched and looked into the eyes of the panting Alan Dawn: "If I guessed correctly, you...should have a lot of connections with the monastery. Contact; the name of the abbot of the monastery shouldn’t be unfamiliar, right?”

"……grown ups?"

"In the New World...ah, to be more precise, it should be during the Holy War. You should have sent information about me to the Holy See more than once, and you should have concealed the situation from Thalia August Rune. Next." Looking at the little secretary's suddenly panicked expression, Anson's smile became brighter:

"Of course, I actually know that many times, many of your actions are for my sake; from your perspective, I think it is natural that I should not be an enemy of the Holy See, or even take the initiative to make friends... This I Everyone understands.”

"But now...my loyal secretary Alan Dawn, it's time to show your ability and loyalty." Anson said word by word:

"Convince the mutinous generals and let them believe from the bottom of their hearts that I... Anson Bach is from the Holy See and is with them; let them believe that the Holy See will never give up on them. Is it clear?"

"Clear, it's clear!" The little secretary suddenly stammered: "Then, sir...what do you want to do?"

"What to do?" Anson hesitated for a moment and couldn't help laughing:

"Of course it is to fulfill the wish of a certain monastery abbot and become a devout believer in the Circle of Order."