I will be crowned king

Suppressing the dissatisfaction in his heart, the Minister of War, who was still smiling, bowed slightly to the king, then walked away gracefully with his cup of coffee, and walked towards a figure who was having fun without looking back.

The "shooting game" in the Osteria Palace is considered a traditional custom of the Clovis people. According to the official statement, it is to commemorate the sixty-year-old fierce battle between the ancestors of the Osteria royal family and the "ancient Clovis king" It was hard to tell the difference for six days, and it was decided to decide the outcome in the form of rifle shooting.

In the end, the ancestor of Osteria won the game with ten shots, all of which hit the bull's-eye. He inherited his castle and crown from "King Clovis" and transferred all ancient Clovis All members of the royal family were incorporated into the Osterian royal family, thus beginning the rise of the Kingdom of Clovis.

Of course, the truth is not that - the warlord Osteria, who came to provide protection at the invitation of the ancient Clovis royal family, led his army to rebel on the spot after defeating the enemy, and rebelled against the ancient Clovis king's support. He occupied his castle and queen, and continued to use the name of "Clovis" to annex surrounding neighboring countries by force, thus establishing a firm foothold.

In the words of an imperial royal family historian: "The true prototype of the so-called 'shooting game' is probably the scene where the ancestors of Osteria massacred the ancient Clovis family when they captured the castle."

Clovis would definitely deny this, accusing the empire of slandering and throwing dirty water; but in any case, the shooting game was indeed continued as a palace activity, and unlike the empire's knight competition, it was more entertaining. Far more than competitive.

However, in Anson's eyes, the only advantage of this palace event is that it allows Lisa to take out her beloved Borni rifle openly without causing any commotion - the girl who specially put on a small dress has been wearing it for many years. Surrounded by the nobles, he either shot down the flying pigeons with one shot, or continuously exploded the apples that were thrown into the air, having a great time amidst the cheers of the crowd.

In addition to people close to the War Department, the crowd surrounding her also included many Privy Council reformists, and even conservative MPs and committee leaders, who were also laughing as if they were coaxing their granddaughters; plus Christie Ann Bach was taking care of them and they were enjoying themselves together. No one could have imagined that the two sides were already on the same page.

Seeing them having fun, Ansen was happy to hide nearby and relax, until a girl who pretended to be calm came over impatiently, lowering her voice and coldly snorted:

"Okay, some people still want to relax here - do you know what Nicholas I just said? He wants you to go to Little Baekeland and the Free Confederation Mission immediately and ask for the 20% of the shares. return!"

"Oh, is it true?"

"Of course it's true. Can you listen to me carefully?"

Sophia sat down angrily, picked up the wine glass on the table and drank it all in one gulp: "A test, this is definitely a test... Ludwig is deliberately using the Citizens' Council as a bargaining chip to make you hand over your shares!"

"It's possible." Anson sat up from the recliner and turned to look at the girl seriously: "What about you, do you want me to get the 20% of the shares back?"

"I……"

The Minister of War was stunned at first, and then said angrily as if he was confused: "What does this have to do with me?!"

"Of course it does matter. You are the honorary governor of the colony, and the 20% shares of New World Bank are in your name - yes, it is New World Bank, not New World Company. Some people seem to have started playing word games. Anson smiled and raised his right index finger:

"If I come forward, I guarantee that I can get it back, but the benefits will definitely be completely different from what some people imagine; and the most important thing is, if this share can be successfully taken back, who should it belong to?"

"Wait, please stop for a moment." Sophia noticed something was wrong: "New World Company and New World Bank...are they not the same thing?"

"It was true at the beginning, but when the colonial war of independence ended, when Sailing City and Louis Bernard joined us, and when the Roland family officially injected capital, it was no longer the case." Anson said after considering:

"To put it simply, New World Company itself is a commercial organization that includes nearly two dozen industries such as finance, credit, newspapers, mining, shipbuilding, salt making, steelmaking, transportation, security, etc., and owns private armed forces and a large amount of real estate. New World Bank…is just a financing platform for New World companies.”

"I don't know the specific actual situation, but the 20% share profit of the New World Company can indeed account for one-tenth of the annual tax revenue of the Free Confederation, but the bank certainly does not have it, at least until I come back. Still losing money.”

"Losing money?"

Sophia was in disbelief: "This is the largest financial institution in the new world. How can it lose money?"

"No, just because it is the only financing tool in my hand. I have to use it to pay salaries to the army, provide loans to factories, buy colonial real estate at low prices that are about to be occupied, provide guarantees to those who support me, and organize financing. Export trade...so of course it is constantly losing money!" Anson spread his hands:

"As for how to fill the hole... it can be fully recovered from the income from New World Company's other businesses; the bank is operating at a loss, but the company's turnover is constantly growing, and there is no conflict between the two."

In the eyes of the Lieutenant General himself, these words are reasonable and completely impeccable; he himself has even seriously considered that if Ludwig really insists on forcing himself to get his shares back, then let him know that not only can the sky drop Pie, and debt.

But the reaction of the girl in front of him was not as enlightened as expected. Instead, she sneered after hearing this:

"That is to say, after you obtained the investment from the Roland family and the mortgaged real estate in the colony, you immediately divested all the high-quality assets of the New World Bank and established your so-called New World Company, but you still retained the New World Bank's The brand facilitates your backdoor trade in the Old Continent, right?"

"Uh..." Anson suddenly stopped laughing: "I think this can only be regarded as a relatively novel way of understanding. Everyone has many different views on things."

"Stop talking nonsense, you thief!"

The Minister of War snorted disdainfully: "You can only use this low-level method of transferring assets in desolate and barren places like the New World. Not to mention me, even Ludwig...ordinary businessmen can do it. Expose your trick!"

"The Privy Council must have been aware of this problem and deliberately confused the two things in front of the royal family. If you really thought you were successful and handed over the bank's losing shares, then that would be a big problem!"

"The first bank in the new world, organized vigorously by Clovis, was actually insolvent under the operation of the loyal Lieutenant General Anson Bach, and its revenue was negative." Sophia couldn't help but hold her forehead:

"If this kind of news gets out, we will never be able to win over a single supporter again!"

"Is it, is it such an exaggeration? There were no problems before in the Free Confederation."

"That's because for them, security in the colony is far more important than wealth!" Sophia tried very hard not to roll her eyes:

"The only person the rebel colonies can rely on is you. Even if they know that you are lending usury and lowering the price of real estate acquisitions, they can only swallow it because you are only after money, and the empire's counter-rebellion army can even put their lives at risk. I won’t let it go.”

"But it's not like this at all in the Old World... You are just the chief of the Royal Guards with an empty title. The armed forces of the Osteria Palace are firmly in her hands by Queen Mother Anne, and the generals of the War Department are all on the wall. Damn it, the only one we can really trust is the Storm Legion; unless it is absolutely necessary, we must not lose our credibility, do you understand?"

"So..." Anson tilted his head: "Do you think I should go and get it back?"

"I...I'm not sure either."

The girl's expression was very hesitant, her brows furrowed: "Friendship with the Free Confederacy... is also an important bargaining chip for us, not to mention you also need the New World Company's dividends to ensure the loyalty of the Storm Legion; but if you don't want to come back, the royal family will definitely I won’t agree to anything from the Citizens’ Council.”

"If the Citizens' Assembly cannot be implemented, and the various local factions that the National Assembly hopes for cannot be seen, they will not take the initiative to join our side; in comparison, the Privy Council's relationship between local and royal capital interests is what they are most familiar with. …If even the local factions are won over by them, we really have no chance of winning.”

As she said that, she glanced at Lisa who was having fun with many nobles. The happy smile on the girl's face in turn stimulated the softness in Sophia's heart - the more beautiful the picture in front of her, the more it made her feel that way. Easily broken.

"Speaking of which...this is actually a good thing, isn't it?"

Anson suddenly spoke.

"...a good thing?"

"Since His Majesty Nicholas has taken the initiative, it means that Queen Mother Anne has indeed seriously considered the possibility of implementing a citizens' assembly. Ludwig also thinks that this matter can be used as a bargaining chip to exchange interests with us." Ansenduan He picked up the wine on the table and slowly poured half a glass for the girl:

"All forces have actually implicitly acquiesced that the Citizens' Assembly can exist. The reason why they are still unwilling to accept it is simply that we have the greatest benefit from this matter."

"Yes, and what next?" Sophia didn't understand: "You want to say that if we can make them profit more from this matter, no one will stop it, right?"

"The truth is correct, but it is definitely impossible - no matter how much concessions are made, the Privy Council will not willingly accept the Citizens' Council. This is limiting their power."

Anson shook his head and handed her the glass: "What can really be discussed is the 20% of the shares. If we can make this asset a burden in the eyes of the Privy Council, will we let them lose it?" Do you accept the method?"

"A burden...a burden..."

The girl, who was holding a wine glass in one hand and cupping her cheek with the other, was lost in thought and lost in thought: "We want the Privy Council and Ludwig to take the initiative to stop this asset and successfully return it to Clovis?"

"If I'm not wrong, Ludwig definitely doesn't want such a large amount of money or the pure profits he can get every year to fall into the hands of the royal family, but to be under the control of the Privy Council." Anson continued:

"But if just a large sum of money falls into the hands of the royal family, he should be able to accept it; because our losses will definitely be more serious than his, and the worst case scenario can make the Storm Legion fall apart directly."

"So we have to think about it, what does he least want to happen now or... what kind of situation will happen that will immediately disrupt his position?"

"This share...the royal family wants it, the Privy Council wants it, and Ludwig also wants it..."

Sophia murmured to herself: "He must want us to go and get it back obediently, and then hand it over to him or the royal family. He doesn't want... us to make this matter known to everyone, and everyone will come to rob it?"

"Well, this is a possibility, but not completely." Anson nodded: "It is better to say that as long as our interests are damaged, no matter who ends up in the hands, it will still be beneficial to him."

"But... I am the honorary governor of the colony. It is completely reasonable for me to recover it myself."

The Minister of War straightened his waist and took a sip of wine: "I can get the shares back openly and then donate them to the royal family in my own name, so that the Privy Council will not be able to get any benefit from this."

"Not only that, I can also offer it to the royal family in a special name as start-up capital or... equity capital for special projects." The girl's eyes became brighter and brighter:

"Of course it would be very difficult to directly ask the Free Confederation to hand over this share, but would it be much more cost-effective if they were to treat it as an investment and run a certain business or thing with Clovis?"

"Of course, but this business must be very big." Anson nodded seriously: "After all, this is a profit equivalent to one-tenth of the Free Federation's tax revenue."

"It doesn't matter, as long as it's to get what they need most, no matter how much money they spend, they will always be willing." Sophia has completely entered the state:

"Let's think about it, what does the Free Confederacy want most, and Clovis can give it, and at the same time make everyone rich?"

“What is a good thing that we can afford that won’t come back to us, and that will even increase our profits?”

"What is a good thing that not only satisfies the royal family's appetite and leaves Ludwig with nothing, but can also pry away the people on his side?"

The girl kept asking questions, and the smile on her lips became more and more obvious.

Anson nodded and said the answer that everyone knew:

"railway."