I will be crowned king

Chapter 1077 This shouldn’t be like this...

While the Ministry of War is still discussing the security issues in Clovis City in full swing, it has just realized that hundreds of militiamen, large and small, have essentially caused the "split" of Clovis City. At the same time, the hospitable citizens We have begun to take practical actions to protect their rights and interests.

In remote long alleys and lively street intersections, two or three groups of scattered people faced each other along the street wall, holding guns bought or stolen or snatched during the mutiny, and even some were still in the queue. Dragging behind them were the artillery pieces that had been taken from the rebels and had not yet been confiscated by the Whitehall Street police, preparing to use genuine "truth" to prove that the shops and apartments along the streets to the left and right are a sacred and indivisible part of this community!

Perhaps influenced by the military and factory guards, they all put on "uniforms" of the same color—most of them just wore similar coats outside—and raised flags full of symbolic meaning.

The more common ones are mostly called "** Street Militia" or "** Rifle Team", with characteristics such as "Loyal Company", "Lonely Warriors", "Stubborn Infantry Battalion", "Fanhorn Pioneer Brigade"... in order to To win over certain businesses or groups in the community, some even directly reflect it in their names, such as "Old John's Pharmacy Watchmen", "Victor's Grocery Spear Army", "Fishery Market Workers' Alliance"...

As a result, the security situation received by the Whitehall Street Police Headquarters and the Dedication Palace became like this: in the morning, the Loyal Company and the mercenaries fought in a certain tavern in the outer city, and the Pioneer Brigade attacked the rental house of the commander of the Stubborn Infantry Battalion. , the tenants had to carry guns and join the war in order to protect themselves; at noon, fish market workers rushed into an unknown nursing home and set fire to it, Victor's Grocery took the opportunity to rob the warehouse next door, and Old John's Drug Store became angry and dispatched cannons to bombard the troublemakers...

The active interaction alone was obviously too monotonous, and the active citizens soon found a new battlefield: first, a peripheral street in the inner city, where someone denounced this serious destruction in the "Clovis Truth" newspaper. He expressed that everyone should put down their conflicts as soon as possible and the Royal Government would step in to solve the problem.

Unsurprisingly, the writer got squirted — literally.

Not only were they arrested and beaten continuously by several militiamen who asked him to name and criticize him, but the militia leaders who still felt unsatisfied also went to newspapers one after another and spent money to get the newspapers to endorse their "just actions". By the way, it's fun to scold your enemy.

It was like Pandora's box, which could never be closed again from the moment it was opened: the increasingly fierce war of words quickly created a large number of third-rate tabloids, making Clovis City's paper industry and media industry more prosperous than ever before.

Slightly influential newspapers such as "Kingdom Loyal" and "Clovis Truth" have also taken the initiative to quit, choosing sides according to their main readership groups, either supporting or opposing, and many cannot find jobs. But the "social critic" who knows a few words relies on this kind of scolding to support himself. Not only can he eat black bread, he occasionally gets tips from readers, and he can also put a few pieces in his inferior coffee. Jaggery.

In the freezing cold wind, the hungry city of Clovis forgot about the New Year in the 103rd year of the Saints Calendar in this bustling atmosphere. It took five full days to finally realize, right? Forgot something very important.

Five days of chaos and disputes gave the Clovis royal family and his loyal cabinet, which had just gained a foothold, a chance to clean up the mess: the rebel army was exiled, dismissed, shot... narrowly escaped. He was also assigned to the Railway Commission as a man to repair the tracks and move supplies.

As dried salted fish from North Port and wheat and potatoes from the south finally arrived in Clovis City, the biggest cause of the whole chaos - the problem of famine - was finally initially alleviated.

Of course, it was only a relief: the incident happened suddenly and it was still winter. The food that the Railway Commission and the governments of various provinces in the kingdom could collect must be very limited, and naturally it was mainly necessities. It would definitely be satisfying to eat barely enough, but it was also It’s just that you’re full, and you don’t have to count on the quality or quantity.

Taking into account the basic collapse of the grassroots power of the Royal Government, it is obviously unrealistic to distribute these supplies to test oneself. Various militia armed forces once again actively came forward and expressed their willingness to solve the problems of the kind-hearted Queen Anne.

Anson's speculation before the mutiny was once again confirmed...These armed forces are no longer satisfied with community autonomy and have begun to quietly transform into political entities.

For now, they can only maintain law and order and distribute supplies. It won't be long before they start to intervene in the construction of community public services, the collection of land and even the poll tax... When the real power of each community is completely in their hands, they will definitely ask to stand aside in the next step. Even became involved in Clovis's politics.

Neither the Privy Council nor the royal family certainly want this to happen, but they are destined to be powerless to stop it - the active participation and promoters of community political groups must be industrial owners and citizens, and these people are the reformists of the Privy Council. An important supporter; unless Viscount Bogner intends to commit political suicide, he will never dare to refuse.

This is especially true for the lonely Queen Anne - not to mention stopping her, she has to find ways to win over the "loyal people" to come forward and help her share the Privy Council's opposition to her.

To the people of Clovis, or even just the people of Clovis City, her Majesty the Queen is really quite unfamiliar, and the only impression is that she ended the mutiny; relying on this little bit of goodwill, she can barely hold on to her seat. , of course, we dare not offend "public opinion" easily, otherwise we will be doomed.

Even now, she is already on the verge of destruction... The New Year's banquet that has been postponed for five days is just around the corner. Carlos II will definitely have to be buried by then, and the new king will also appear on the stage at the banquet, and she, the " "Her Majesty the Queen" will also become "Her Majesty the Queen Mother", retreating behind the scenes and no longer intervening in political affairs.

If all goes well, this is how things should be...

"His Royal Highness Nicholas Osteria, the eldest son and only son of His Majesty Carlos II, has the direct bloodline of the Herred and Osteria families, the two most noble families in the Order World; he has studied at St. Isaac's since he was a child. The Academy is taught by the dean and two vice-deans personally. The vice-dean of the Royal Military Academy carefully selects and trains instructors who are proficient in philosophy, mathematics, literature, history, equestrian, shooting, and swordsmanship. They have also awakened the bloodline of the Holy Grail Knights. force."

"The appearance inherits the traditional hair color and eye color of the Osteria family. The body and face shape are more in line with the tall and angular characteristics of the Herred royal family. The physique is excellent, and almost no genetic diseases or recessive diseases have been found; the conversation is funny. He is humorous, well-liked by those around him, and can conquer the hearts of those of the same age and older people at the same time... If I have to say a shortcoming, it is that he is easily gullible, but it can also be interpreted as a leader's demeanor, and he is good at expressing his trust."

"No matter from any angle or aspect, His Highness can be called the most perfect crown prince. It is no exaggeration to say that he is even more perfect than the original His Majesty Carlos II. It can be called a gift given to Clovis by the Ring of Order... "

Viscount Bognar spoke slower and slower, and his expression became more and more ugly. Finally, he slapped his face with a "Pah!":

"The only problem is, he's only eight years old!"

The heavy words echoed under the gorgeous crystal chandelier, and the translucent diamond-shaped pendant swayed.

Mrs. Catalina, who was sitting opposite, had an equally gloomy expression. This question was obviously somewhat beyond her expectation, or no one expected that Carlos II would die so early.

The monarch is in his prime and the prince is young. The kingdom in a peaceful era can be regarded as a symbol of prosperity. On the one hand, the age gap between the two is large, which somewhat prevents the prince from having some evil thoughts because he wants to make progress too much, and protects the political situation. stability; and the unmarried prince can also give unlimited imagination to many domestic forces and play a uniting role.

But at a critical moment like the sudden death of the king, the heir who is too young is a big problem.

"My informant at the Osteria Palace told me that the Franz family has begun to take action." Viscount Bognar sighed as he lit his pipe impatiently:

"That kid Ludwig... they plan to use His Highness's age to make a fuss about letting Queen Anne act as regent temporarily, and wait until His Majesty reaches adulthood before discussing the matter of pro-government."

"I knew they were planning to violate the long tradition of the Clovis people and use power for personal gain in a high-sounding way!" Mrs. Catalina said fiercely:

"By the way, they went against tradition, right?"

"I'm afraid not."

Viscount Bogner's expression was quite complicated: "The king is young, so the queen mother is temporarily regent... This kind of thing can be considered numerous in the history of Clovis. Strictly speaking, it is indeed a traditional behavior."

"What's even more troublesome is that His Majesty only has one heir, His Royal Highness Nicholas... Of course he must be the legitimate eldest son. There are many illegitimate children, but no one will recognize them. Even if we force ourselves to respect His Highness's wishes, Queen Anne is also his biological mother. , it’s definitely impossible to refuse!”

"That's hard to say. Maybe our Highness is a very independent person. When the time comes, we can completely help him give the queen... Okay, okay, don't look at me with that look. I know this plan sounds... It sucks.”

Mrs. Caterina rolled her eyes: "So we really have nothing to do, right? We can only watch helplessly as the Franz family eats up all the cakes of this mutiny, not even leaving any dregs behind. us?"

"Well..." Viscount Bognar twitched his lips: "It's not that there is no hope at all. I have to say that there is actually another way of thinking."

"Oh, what is that?"

……………………

"That's Carlos... Before he died, he did not designate Nicholas to inherit the throne."

In the prayer hall of the palace, Queen Anne stared at the coffin of Carlos II with a complex expression and said softly: "Although according to common sense, Nicholas, as the eldest son, has the undisputed right to inherit; but if the opposition is really too strong, It is indeed possible for an older member of the royal family, such as one of Carlos' brothers, to be crowned king."

"His Majesty Carlos has no biological brothers. If you add up all the side branches of his peers, there are about a dozen members of the royal family who meet this standard." Sophia, who was sitting next to her, covered her mouth and explained in a low voice to Anson who was following:

"If this really happens, Clovis may have a dozen 'His Royal Highnesses' appear overnight."

"I'm afraid it's not just that."

Anson couldn't help but raise his eyebrows: "His Royal Highness Nicholas is of the blood of the Hereid royal family. If His Majesty the Emperor knew that his eldest nephew had been robbed of the throne, would he..."

"Definitely!"

Before the two men finished their discussion in low voices, Queen Anne without looking back directly interrupted: "I know my brother very well. He will definitely not give up such a legitimate excuse."

"For him, the greatest ambition in this life is to incorporate Clovis into the imperial system and become Clovis's reasonable, legal and substantive suzerainty; as long as Nicholas successfully succeeds to the throne, the emperor of the empire will be Clovis The king’s uncle…hum, he must have been waiting for this day!”

Before he finished speaking, Anson and Sophia looked stunned at the same time.

Queen Anne slowly turned around, her solemn black dress making her already serious expression even more solemn:

"You two, I only have one request, and that is to allow Nicholas to successfully inherit the throne; but this is definitely not because of my background in the Herred royal family. I hope that my family and brother can take advantage of Clovis!"

"On the contrary, on the night of the mutiny, I had already secretly decided that from now on, I would have only one identity left, that of the queen and queen mother of Clovis. The interests of the Herred royal family and the empire would no longer be It has nothing to do with me; if Nicholas's existence hinders Clovis's interests, then...even if I am his mother, I won't have any hesitation!"

"But the most important thing now is that Emperor Herred must not find any legitimate reason to invade Clovis, so we must ensure that Nicholas can successfully succeed to the throne and become the only legitimate king of Clovis, and at the same time, let everyone who is ready to invade Clovis The forces and the royal family members have completely given up and accepted this result."

"You two, I am not asking you now, because everyone knows that this is not only related to me, but also the life of my biological son, and your interests as well; if Nicholas's succession does not go smoothly, Franz The future of the family and the Bach family may not be safe either.”

"You are all smart people, and you naturally know that I am definitely not alarmist, nor am I exaggerating; so there is no need to say more words to win over and persuade, just one sentence..."

"For Clovis, please!"