I will be crowned king

"Frankly speaking, it can't be done."

In the small and messy bedroom, Elizabeth Lemon, surrounded by three people, sat on the edge of the bed expressionlessly. Her ill-fitting military uniform looked more like a prison uniform. She refused with the most decisive attitude: "I hope." It is simply impossible to reproduce a complete difference engine in Clovis."

"That's not what you said before, Miss Elizabeth." Resisting the humiliation of being slapped in the face, Fabian narrowed his eyes slightly, and there was already a hint of murderous intent in his words: "According to the results of our previous negotiations, I will protect you The price is life..."

"I agree."

Before the deputy commander could finish his words, William Gottfried suddenly interrupted: "With Clovis's technical level, there is no hope of replicating a difference engine one to one."

"This is not a problem that can be solved with just drawings and designers. The key to the problem lies in the parts... The technology that can cast qualified parts cannot be found in all the factories in Clovis City, because they are all controlled by the Holy See and the The monastery is strictly controlled, and ordinary people don’t even have to think about it if they want to get involved.”

The expressionless Elizabeth did not speak, but glanced at William in slight surprise.

"So...you lied to me."

As he spoke softly, the murderous intent on Fabian's face grew stronger: "The so-called design drawings and completion of the difference engine are just a cover to gain my trust, right?"

"If you really think so, yes." The female attendant did not deny: "Based on the situation at the time, except for it and the action plan after the Judgment Knights, I didn't have many chips in my hand; so I took advantage of it. Your greedy heart, because I really must live.”

"..."

The silent Fabian took a deep breath, but a smile appeared on his face.

"But..." Just as he reached for the handle of the gun at his waist, William Gottfried spoke again: "Just...ah, more than two years ago, Archbishop of Clovis Luther Fran Ci officially announced the church’s technology diffusion plan, do you still remember?”

"certainly."

Elizabeth's expression seemed to have been expected: "But the steam core and the difference engine are two completely different entities, and the technical threshold for the primary steam core is not high. The important reason why the Holy See allows it is also the reason why you Clo After the Uighurs independently mastered the production technology of steam trains and already have the strength to reverse the steam core, they will agree to open up the low-end technology."

"Ah... so the information you obtained is incomplete." William's sickly face showed a smile that made people want to hit him:

"In fact, in addition to the steam core, Archbishop Luther Franz also announced the technical promotion of the primary difference engine on behalf of the church."

"What?!"

Elizabeth's face finally showed a look of disbelief: "This is impossible!"

Anson remained silent on the side, and he vaguely remembered that this was indeed the case.

The reason why I realize it now is that since the Little Périgord incident, in order to avoid being affected by that memory, I have been deliberately avoiding the memory related to "Elf Master Maurice Périgord". As a result, I actually forgot about this matter.

But when it comes to the differential engine... unlike the steam core, which has been completely mastered by the Railway Commission, there has been no follow-up since Archbishop Luther Franz announced it that day, and I have never heard of any factory or laboratory taking over the corresponding engine. Technology, start production or research and development.

"Of course you will find it strange, because the Archbishop played a little word game at that time."

William raised his chin, and the deep dark circles in his eyes exuded the brilliance of wisdom: "What the church really agrees to promote is not the difference engine, but... dynamic image technology!"

"...motion...image?"

Elizabeth murmured in a low voice. The former attendant of the Judgment Knights seemed to have heard a very unfamiliar vocabulary, so that his thinking became slow.

"To put it simply, it is a mechanism that can record images, store them in memory cards, and then play them back." William said word by word: "And the mechanism that plays those images is..."

"Wait a minute, you're not going to say that's also a difference engine, are you?"

"What if?"

William asked with burning eyes: "Insert the memory card, read and then output the content. What name do we usually use to call this kind of machine?"

"..."

Elizabeth suddenly stopped speaking. Under her calm expression, anyone could see the uneasiness in her eyes.

However, Anson did not intend to waste time and waited for the other party to take the initiative to speak: "How many factories are there in Clovis City that can produce 'moving image'... machines?"

"this……"

Fabian was suddenly asked. Before he could figure out how to answer, William had already turned his head: "The answer is zero, not even one."

"Archbishop Luther Franz... his idea is good, and this technology is also very promising, but it is just a prospect - moving images, at least for the next few decades, it will be difficult to achieve Popularity and promotion means it will be an expensive luxury product for the vast majority of people.”

"The only people who have the financial resources to buy this kind of luxury goods are, as you can imagine, only wealthy businessmen and nobles. But for them, oil paintings are obviously more cost-effective and meaningful... It is not particularly easy for novel technologies to gain public recognition. .”

"You really understand..." Anson couldn't help but twitch his lips, and looked at Fabian who was also a little surprised: "I didn't expect that you would be so knowledgeable about this kind of thing."

"I am a scholar, not a stay-at-home ascetic - before doing research, I have to ensure that I will not starve to death if I am expelled from the academy."

William shrugged with a very unconcerned expression: "But since the technical level has not been completely blocked, the relevant parts should be able to be manufactured - at least we can get permission and then place an order with the corresponding factory. Ask them to take charge of production.”

"The premise is that they can really give birth." Elizabeth said, her expression calmed down again:

"The difference engine is different from the steam core. It is one of the most sophisticated instruments in the world of order. I don't think Clovis's workers can master the technology to produce it."

"I don't think so either."

William Gottfried stole the news again: "But I don't think the colonial army can defeat the Knights of Judgment. I don't think the holy war organized by the church will fail to achieve its goal, let alone the Heart of Mercy airship. Ninety percent of them crashed in places they couldn’t even name.”

"These are inconsistent with common sense, let alone logic. Even if it really happened, as long as I am not a party, even if the evidence is in front of me, I would not think that they can be used as a basis to demonstrate the rationality of certain things, but..."

"...These are my personal experiences, and yours as well." He suddenly took a step forward and stared into Elizabeth's calm eyes: "So please don't use logical reasons to express your resistance. , because if there is logic in this world, neither you nor I should be alive in front of each other.”

"Logic... is just self-deception, superficial and hypocritical illusion!"

Elizabeth didn't refute this time and bit her lower lip quietly.

……………………

"...In addition to the Difference Machine, she also held in her hand a list of members of the Judgment Knights, and weapons blueprints of various models - including the one that appeared that night, called the 'Land Cruiser', wrapped in iron. Mobile artillery.”

After leaving the apartment, Fabian followed closely behind Anson and said in a low voice: "According to our investigation, she should be the adjutant of Sir Ferrers, and she also seems to have some relationship with Manfred, the grand leader of the Judgment Knights. The specifics are still under investigation, but during this period I also investigated a very important piece of information, that is..."

"Sir Pheles...there are two."

While speaking, Anson suddenly stopped at the end of the stairwell and turned to look at Fabian, who looked stunned: "And one of them should be from the old god sect, and Elizabeth Lemon should be from that old god sect... Attendant."

"You...it turns out you already knew?"

"Yes, and I knew it much earlier than you." Anson nodded, put his hands in his pockets, and looked at his deputy commander with a relaxed posture: "I also know that Sir Philus of the old god sect is dead, so we There is no need to worry about Elizabeth Lemon, she is already dead on the roster of the Order of Judgment. If she is found alive, we are definitely not the ones to be afraid of."

"In addition, I can also assure you that for at least the next year, the Judgment Knights will not be able to cause trouble to us. Do you want to know why?"

Fabian's eyes flickered, as if he was expecting and hesitating, and finally he could only say cautiously: "Can I know?"

"Of course, but it depends on a person's situation." Anson looked at him:

"Do you know what your problem is?"

The ugly-faced deputy commander nodded slightly, like a criminal who heard the judge's verdict: "I... shouldn't hide anything from you."

"No." Anson shook his head: "Your biggest problem is... you shouldn't sacrifice yourself to hide it from me because you are worried that I can't handle it."

"Fabian, to you, I won't say anything about comrades-in-arms and a community of interests. The Storm Legion's success today is also due to your contribution; we are an alliance, but there is no master-slave relationship; you Of course you can have your own secrets, and it doesn’t even matter if you deliberately hide something out of selfish motives, this is your freedom.”

"Since a long time ago, all the...big men I met, they always felt that if you were loyal to him, it should be unconditionally and wholeheartedly, like a servant to his lord, and a slave to his master; you should not have secrets, you should not If you are slack, you should not be disloyal.”

"But there are so many things in this world that shouldn't be done, and how can there be anything that should be done for granted?" Anson asked back: "I never think so, so I won't ask you to do the same."

"For ideals, for common ideas, for career, for future...or even just for money, you are willing to work with me, and I accept it...can you understand what I am saying?"

"clear."

Fabian smiled indifferently, his expression seemed to be relieved: "You hate existences like Major General Ludwig, and you don't want to become like him."

"...I'm not referring to anyone in particular."

"I'm just a metaphor, Your Excellency Commander-in-Chief." Fabian's eyes flickered slightly: "But I do understand what you mean... Don't worry, from now on, I will continue to perform my duties as the deputy commander of the legion, for the sake of profit and for the sake of My personal future will continue to work with you until the day when our interests completely diverge."

These words seemed to break some kind of shackles, making the surrounding atmosphere suddenly relaxed.

"Speaking of the future, I happen to have some good news to tell you."

Anson said very relaxedly and happily: "You were promoted...ah, to be precise, you should have changed jobs. Starting today, you will be officially transferred to the director of the intelligence department of the Ministry of War. However, the military rank is still colonel for the time being, because the military rank of general is The king must issue the order himself, this... still has to wait."

"I originally planned to transfer you to the Logistics Department, but that would be too conspicuous... The Storm Legion has become a thorn in the eyes of the entire Clovis City. The Logistics Department cannot be easily moved for the time being; think about it before thinking about it. , maybe the intelligence department is more suitable for you."

"Understood." Fabi understood with peace of mind, but there was not much joy in promotion on his face: "Let me guess, you want me to use the intelligence department to secretly monitor the movements of the Privy Council and... the Prime Minister's Office, right? "

He said it very euphemistically, but both of them understood it - the chancellor's office, that is, Ludwig Franz himself.

For Fabian, a former member of the Guards and a secret agent of the Royal family, this is a familiar path. Whether it is setting up an intelligence network with remote control, or personally experiencing the front line to master first-hand intelligence, he has done it. Strictly speaking, Anson is still The object of his surveillance.

"This... is only part of it." Anson neither confirmed nor denied: "The other more important reason is that only if you serve as the head of the intelligence department can I have a legitimate reason to give you a salary increase - and the title of 'minister' , it sounds more impressive than the deputy commander."

"...salary increase?"

Fabian's expression suddenly froze.

Anson didn't speak, just smiled at him awkwardly and politely.

The silence only lasted less than a second, and Fabian's face suddenly became a little panicked: "You, are you going to..."

"Miss Flora Cecil, she came to me specifically, saying that she was reluctant to leave a certain man who had dumped her for more than a year and broke into her boudoir after they reunited." Anson's face was filled with blessings:

"The director of the intelligence department of the Army Ministry and the daughter of the mayor of Beigang, she is considered a good match..."

"……Bar?"