I will be crowned king

"So, how did you find out that...the woman had a problem and was probably up to no good?"

After walking out of the factory, Anson got directly into the carriage where the chief of staff came to pick him up. Before he could even say "Thank you for your hard work", he was asked a question.

Having had the experience of being recognized directly in a taxi last time, Anson is no longer as averse to things like "private transportation" as he was at the beginning, and it is always better to arrange it yourself than to be arranged by others; besides, a clear itinerary lets others know about himself Wherever you are, it's also a way to avoid being monitored all the time.

This is a bit counter-intuitive, and goes against the grain of respected mentor Mace Honnard, the Old God sect who mastered "darkness under the light". The key point is that the itinerary is public. And being among the crowd at all times makes it difficult for some people with bad intentions to find an opportunity to attack alone.

Assassination, especially of a soldier who holds military power and whose own strength has been widely recognized, is a high-risk venture; because as long as it fails, it will give the other party unlimited power of action - turning the table is indeed A great way to break the deadlock and win by surprise, provided you are prepared to deal with the consequences.

Anson's situation is a bit more special, mainly because he doesn't want to give Ludwig some unrealistic hopes and do something stupid that even he himself will definitely regret.

Although he always gave others the impression of being hesitant and rigid, in fact Ludwig was probably the most decisive person Anson knew.

For the sake of a slim hope of victory, he forcibly promoted a newly graduated captain to the rank of lieutenant colonel; for the seemingly easy victory, he could directly abandon his army's retreat route; in order to win the war, he allowed Clovis to get the maximum share The fruit of victory is that he can directly negotiate with the enemy, bypassing his boss, even though he knows that the opponent is the Old God Sect.

With such a character, Ludwig Franz would not be surprised at all if he found himself cornered and had no choice but to do any outrageous thing.

Even further, it is really strange that he has not had any big reaction after so long when he has successfully pried away the Railway Commission and is still helpless.

In comparison, the little thoughts of Elizabeth Lemon, a former member of the Judgment Knights, were nothing in Anson's eyes.

"Before answering the question, let me correct one of your mistakes. I don't know if she really has bad intentions."

Leaning against the backrest behind him, Anson looked at the curious Karl with slight dissatisfaction: "It's just that the difference engine is very critical. The person who masters the core technology is still very close to the church, so vigilance is a must."

"She is our only chance, but this opportunity comes too easily. Being lucky is like dreaming... I like to have sweet dreams, but my professionalism tells me that this kind of 'tiny' luck cannot be used as a A prerequisite for a perfect plan.”

"That's why you asked William to test her?"

"Well, the results are as expected." Anson shrugged: "Of course, judging from the results, the thing I was most worried about probably didn't exist from the beginning. Her little thoughts were completely inertial thinking that she was taught. It’s restricted, so there’s nothing to worry about.”

"That……"

Karl drew a long tail, his eyes a little playful: "Are you really planning to make the difference engine technology public?"

"As long as our re-engraving plan can be successful and achieve mass production, we will make it public immediately - together with the production process." Anson nodded slightly: "It would be best to disclose it to the world at once. We are still planning which way is the best. Appropriate and avoid delays wherever possible.”

"……Why?"

Karl scratched his head a little: "I won't ask nonsense like 'Are you crazy and planning to be an enemy of the church?' Anyway, I can't stop you every time you want to do something, but... why, Isn't it good to keep it secret in our own hands? This is... yes, this is a difference engine!"

"You are right, this is a difference engine." Anson nodded: "The question is, if we completely master the technology of the difference engine, will we need to mass-produce it?"

"If it is not mass-produced, just one or two units will bring very limited meaning. But if it is mass-produced... what do you think is the chance of not being discovered by the church?"

"So only through complete mass production can we break the church's technology monopoly and sell the world a favor - even if they are verbally criticizing us."

Karl raised his eyebrows: "But does it really make sense to do this? I mean...doesn't this matter benefit us at all?"

"No good? How is that possible?" Anson smiled and narrowed his eyes: "It's a simple reason - even if the technology is completely disclosed, can one person create a difference engine?"

"Of course it's impossible." Karl shook his head awkwardly: "I...I don't really understand, but it should be quite difficult to create this thing, right?"

"It is quite difficult. It is difficult to reach the top factory in the entire Clovis City and even the best workers may have only a one percent chance of success."

Anson slowly raised his right index finger: "And you have to know that Clovis City is already Clovis... no, it should be the city with the most dense factories and the largest number of workers in the world."

"With a population of more than one million, one-fifth or even one-fourth are workers. This is a very scary number. It would take a lot of effort for such a city to be able to barely reproduce it with drawings. A difference engine.”

"...Then how much manpower and material resources will it take to build it in other places?" Karl, who knew clearly, murmured to himself: "Even if it succeeds, how much longer will it be than Clovis?"

"Even if it takes the same amount of time, who can achieve mass production of the difference engine first than Clovis?"

Anson nodded: "For things like this that can change the rules of the game, quantitative changes always lead to qualitative changes; only unrivaled quantitative crushing can reverse the situation."

"In any case, Clovis, who was the first to acquire the technology, can gain the greatest benefit from it - this is determined by the innate basis. It will take at least thirty years for other countries to catch up."

"But the problem is that the church has more than one kind of technology, and it is difficult to guarantee that the Clovis people who have obtained the technology will not cause the kingdom to split - they may not listen to you."

"But even if the church can provide technology, if you want to completely master it, you still need to mobilize a lot of manpower and material resources, which also takes time."

Anson spread his hands: "But you are right. The Clovis people may not listen to me. It is very likely that countries will either fall apart or fall into civil war like during the sectarian schism war - so we must first prevent this most dangerous situation. Bad situation.”

At the same time as the words fell, the carriage had stopped outside the gate of Osteria Palace.

……………………

When Anson came to the throne room accompanied by half a platoon of royal guards, his nominal subordinates, the expressions of several people in the hall clearly showed that they had been discussing for a long time.

Sophia sat quietly on the soft sofa chair with armrests, her face no longer showing the panic look she had just in the factory; Ludwig stood opposite her, deliberately not sitting down, and He was holding the back of the chair with his right hand, standing there like a rifle.

As for Queen Mother Anne, she did not have the unabashed posture she had during the coronation ceremony. She bent her legs very humbly and sat on a chair that was much shorter than the throne and had no backrest.

The young Nicholas I was sitting in the center, but judging from the fact that he was holding on to the armrests on both sides of the throne even if he stretched out his hands, it was obvious that he was still not quite accustomed to his current status and was pretending to be very majestic.

"You are late, Your Excellency, the Chief of the Royal Guards." Queen Mother Anne said slowly: "As the minister closest to His Majesty, we should not make such low-level mistakes as being late for such a private meeting."

Anson raised his eyebrows subconsciously. He noticed that just when the Queen Mother said the title "Chief Guards", Ludwig's expression was obviously unnatural.

Oops, it’s been so long, why are you still worrying about this...

"I'm extremely sorry. I'm busy organizing the citizens' council and planning to acquire the factory for the railway company. I have indeed been somewhat neglectful of my duties recently."

With his right hand beating his chest and his left hand behind his back, Anson lowered his head and said, "I don't dare to expect His Majesty's forgiveness. After the meeting is over, I will take the initiative to receive the punishment."

"That, that's not necessary!" The young king on the throne suddenly seemed to panic, but he was still trying to calm down: "As long as you understand that you are wrong, you can correct it next time."

Um? Something happened, or he was planning to dig a hole for me again, so he didn't dare to speak too harshly... Anson nodded respectfully, stood beside Sophia silently, and deliberately leaned back.

Seeing that the chief of guards remained silent, the Queen Mother, who seemed to be ready to forgive, suddenly froze, and could only chuckle and continue to smooth things over:

"Since Lieutenant General Anson Bach is late, let's go back to what we just discussed and see if there are any gaps."

"The first is the 'invitation' from the Imperial Ambassador... Because His Majesty is technically the junior of Emperor Hred, so the Ambassador hopes that Clovis can organize a high-level visiting team to celebrate the Emperor's birthday this year - of course , it would be best if His Majesty Nicholas himself leads the team."

Sophia was the first to speak: "Of course, we have sternly rejected this obviously offensive invitation, but the imperial ambassador's attitude is quite firm and requires Clovis to show his attitude."

"What attitude?" Anson asked subconsciously.

"Of course it is the relationship between Clovis and the Empire, which determines the status of both parties."

Sophia rolled her eyes at him: "His Majesty Nicholas is a junior. In this case, it is obviously not good for us to confirm each other's status; the empire wants to take advantage of the present to pretend to use 'peaceful means' to resolve the disputes between the two sides that have lasted for more than a hundred years. It is obviously With bad intentions.”

"So they want to use this method to put the reputation of 'destroying peace' on Clovis." Anson understood instantly: "It's really a familiar routine, but it's also reasonable - the holy war is over, The premise for peace between the Empire and Clovis no longer exists, and it is normal for the other side to have the idea of ​​​​provoking conflicts."

"But right now, Clovis's elite main force is all concentrated outside Clovis City, and the power on the border is quite weak." Queen Mother Anne's expression looked worried:

"Lieutenant General Anson Bach, if the empire really suddenly launches a war, won't there be any surprises?"

"This... please rest assured, Your Majesty." Anson nodded slightly: "It is still January, and the weather and environment are very unsuitable for large-scale marches; if the empire really wants to mobilize the army at this time, I am afraid there will be few vassals who can respond immediately to the emperor. There are so few, it’s simply not enough to break through Clovis’s border defenses.”

"Even if we take ten thousand steps back, even if he can really mobilize the army, the news is destined to be unable to be concealed; the empire's army is scattered in various grand duchies, while Clovis's army is concentrated in the royal capital, and there are convenient railways that can quickly Move the troops to the front; in terms of time and efficiency, we have the advantage."

"Of course, in terms of overall strength, Clovis is definitely not as good as the Empire." Anson habitually concluded: "But as long as the manpower and material resources of each province can be smoothly integrated, three to six projects can be carried out without affecting the economy as much as possible. A war on the moon is completely possible.”

"The problem is that Clovis may not be able to gather the strength of various provinces now."

Ludwig on the opposite side suddenly said coldly: "The latest news is that in addition to the central province, headed by Beigang, more than half of the provincial governors have objections to the cause of death and coronation ceremony of His Majesty Carlos II, and are unwilling to follow tradition. I swear allegiance to His Majesty."

"The reason is also very clear: His Majesty Carlos II was buried in a hurry, and the coronation ceremony was moved to January 5th, exactly six days after the mutiny ended. At the same time, the entire process of the mutiny was not made public, so we are neutral about the current situation in Clovis. Attitude - I don’t object, but I won’t swear allegiance immediately.”

"this……"

Before the Queen Mother could continue to speak, the hurried figure of Viscount Bognar suddenly appeared outside the door of the throne room.

Looking at the serious expression of the reformist leader, Anne took a deep breath: "Sir, Congressman, I wonder whether the news you brought is good news or bad news?"

"I'm extremely sorry, Your Majesty, but it's a pity that it's the latter." Viscount Bogner, who stopped, twitched his throat hard, and his shrugged shoulders seemed to indicate that he was far more excited at the moment than he showed:

"I just learned about the situation. Just half an hour ago, a very serious fire broke out in a cafe on Red Brick Street. It seems that the fire was caused by an accident and was out of control before the store staff noticed. Most of the cafe was burned down. Turned into ashes!”

"This... ring of order protects me." Anne could only sigh: "Did Whitehall Street take any action?"

"Of course - the incident occurred near Clovis Cathedral. Two teams of Whitehall Street police officers had already arrived at the cafe where the incident occurred and put out the fire." Viscount Bogner's face became increasingly ugly:

"But when the accident happened, the Privy Council's Heating Committee was meeting in the burning cafe, and twenty-six members were crowded into the same box..."

"...No...one survives!"