I will be crowned king

The moment Erich finished speaking, everyone present was stunned without exception.

Success? Success?

The Prime Minister's Office, the dignitaries in the inner city, and His Majesty the King...actually implemented the bill voted by the Citizens' Assembly to the letter?

Although they had indeed heard a lot of gossip, and the high-ranking official of the Prime Minister's Office in front of them had indeed brought a carriage full of supplies, everyone still couldn't believe it. A group of civilian representatives without nobles - in fact, there were nobles among the representatives. , but that's not important - the decision made can actually be implemented to the letter by the person they could only look up to in the past?

This situation, as if the world was turned upside down and the world collapsed, appeared before our eyes, causing everyone to temporarily lose the ability to think.

It is no longer the people who unconditionally obey the nobles and kings, but the kings and nobles who carry out the will of the people to the letter...

In the dead silence, no one dared to speak, as if they were falling into some unreachable dream, for fear that the dream would fall apart as soon as they opened their mouths.

Until Erich suddenly raised the document high above his head, the quiet crowd finally broke out into violent shouts. It was the ecstasy of excitement, and it frightened the senior officials of the executive office who originally thought that they were well prepared and would never lose their composure. The huge waves made me paralyzed on the ground.

The endless sea of ​​people on the street went completely crazy. Everyone was shouting, shouting, and praying... But soon these chaotic shouts and shouts gradually began to become uniform:

“Long live the Citizens’ Council—!!!!”

"Long live the Kingdom of Clovis——!!!!"

"Long live Commander-in-Chief Anson Bach...!"

Erich, who held his neck straight, suddenly shouted wildly in the crowd, his whole face flushed with excitement.

He turned around and jumped on the carriage, tearing off the canvas covering it with force, revealing the cargo underneath that made the pack horse breathless - boxes and boxes of butter: "Long live Commander-in-Chief Anson Bach... long live!"

Seeing those things that they had been looking forward to for a long time, the already ecstatic crowd pushed their emotions to the peak: "Commander-in-Chief Anson Bach...Long live——!!!"

"Long live Commander-in-Chief Anson Bach...!!!!"

"Long live - long live - long live -..."

The sound waves exploded one after another, like a battering ram that kept hitting his brain. Eric, who was lying on the ground, looked pale and completely lost the ability to think. When he came back to his senses, he only felt that the world was spinning and his chest was constantly swelling. Desire to retching.

The scene in front of him was something he had never seen before. Even in the grand ceremony when the king ascended the throne, Ueno would never have appeared... The hysterical roar, the fanatical and out-of-control expression, were just like the legendary heretical fanatic believers!

Crazy, these people... they're all crazy.

In a state of despair, he muttered to himself, with foam forming at the corners of his mouth. He kept mumbling as if he was cursing, and his voice became louder and louder, scaring the few servants accompanying him half to death.

But in fact, they were completely over-concerned. The reveling people didn't care at all about the officials in the Prime Minister's Office. They were completely immersed in the earth-shaking joy.

The same scene was repeated on every street in the outer city. The editors of various newspapers frantically printed more newspapers and published the incident on the front page, with the words "Coal Butter Act" in bold and bold words.

According to the plan announced by the Prime Minister's Office (Ludwig), because the outer city is too large and has a large population, coal and butter will not only be available for purchase, but will not even be rolled out to all communities at once, but will be released in batches. , and it will only last until June of this year - regardless of whether everyone gets it by then.

The purchased materials came from several purchasing merchants originally designated by the Privy Council. In order to control costs, Ludwig kept the prices very low this time, forcing the merchants to adjust the prices of necessities such as butter and bread in advance. Beat it down.

Of course, he is not entirely considering the people in the outer city. After the war begins, these materials will also be important military supplies. If the price of food continues to be as outrageous as it is now, the logistics of the Ministry of War will probably not be able to overwhelm the kingdom in two or three months. financial.

In the eyes of the ruling lord, this group of profiteers have enjoyed huge profits for several months, and it's time to spit out their bones. Although many of them are his own people, if they dare not cooperate, he, the ruling lord, doesn't mind using them. "The heads of our own people" win over the hearts and minds of the citizenry.

As for coal...he really has no good solution. Coal in Clovis City is expensive because most of it has been bought by the Railway Commission and many factories, and then throw away the infrastructure to maintain lighting and heating in the inner city. With the consumption, there is really not much "loose coal" left in the outer cities, and the price cannot be cheap.

In desperation, Ludwig could only try his best to find foreign aid and see if he could call some from other regions. He finally managed to scrape together the "down payment" - satisfy the first batch first, and the rest can only be considered later. .

As for the expenses incurred to meet these expenses, of course this year's taxes from Clovis City were used; however, although the ratio between the two can be said to be very small, and it is an exaggeration to describe it as a drop in a bucket, it still caused a lot of confusion within the Prime Minister's Office. Opposition.

The aristocratic members of the Privy Council were not divided into factions, and the reason for their protest was also quite unified: If they are not opposed to spending money to buy the cheap people's hearts at the bottom, what should they do if they can?

Coal and butter were subsidized this time, but what about textiles, salt and bread next time? Food and clothing are subsidized, does the house have to keep up?

In the end, does it mean that Clovis City cannot have a beggar or a homeless person? As long as there is no job, the kingdom will have to support him? If it continues at this pace, it will really never end.

Regarding the reasonable and far-sighted worries of the aristocratic councilors, Ludwig's attitude was to humbly accept it and leave it behind - he would spare no effort when extracting money, and he would spend every penny as long as it was not spent on himself. He knew it all too well. Excellent behavior from this group of people.

In Ludwig's eyes, let alone spending a small amount of money, if spending a lot of money to please the citizens of Clovis City can ensure that the next war goes smoothly, he will accept it without blinking an eye. A copper plate No one will be indebted.

But all this does not matter to the citizens of Clovis City, because the ironclad facts have proven that the "Citizens' Assembly" is not useless, and it can really issue orders to the top dignitaries of the kingdom!

Regardless of whether they were supporters of the "Citizens' Assembly" or "True Heart", the citizens of Clovis City were going crazy; the representatives and militiamen of various communities were crying with joy, completely indulging themselves, immersed in the glory of this unprecedented victory. middle.

Such an unexpected and grand scene naturally aroused the shock of outsiders inside and outside the city. The Hantu, the Free Confederation, the Empire, the Yser Elves... from the most ordinary businessmen to the extraordinary dignitaries, all watched carefully. This upheaval in the city of Clovis.

"...This is really, really unexpected."

In the Osteria Palace, Renault Emmanuel, who had just finished his audience, still had an expression of disbelief: "The parliament makes decisions, and the Prime Minister's Office is responsible for executing them... I always feel that I can gradually understand Ansen Bach Crazy, but reality always seems to prove that I am too naive!”

"Oh, is it that serious?" Crown Prince Hantu scratched his head. He didn't think so at all: "If I remember correctly, isn't the Port of Carindia also governed by the Parliament? This so-called 'Citizens' Assembly' Sounds similar to that, right?"

"Almost? It should be completely different!"

Lenore couldn't help but frown: "Whether it is Carindia Port, the Free Confederacy, or any free city without nobles...it looks similar, but in fact, no matter the 'members' or the 'representatives', they have obtained The prerequisite for this kind of status is that you must own land, manors or prosperous industries, such as ports or banks..."

"But this so-called 'Clovis City Citizens' Assembly'... its operating principle is not like this. As long as you are a citizen of Clovis City, whether you are male or female, poor or rich, you may become a Representatives of the Citizens’ Council.”

"Give the power to rule the city to the poor... Anson Bach, he did something unprecedented, something that is likely to change this country; and don't forget that Clovis is a kingdom, not the edge of the world. Free Confederacy.”

"Oh, oh..." The frightened little Leon faltered, his eyes flickering: "Then...since it was cousin Anson Bach who made it happen, it should be a good thing..."

"……Bar?"

"I have no idea!"

Renault suddenly became a little irritable, as if he was irritated by Leon's indifferent attitude: "My respected Crown Prince, please let go of your unconditional trust in Lieutenant General Anson Bach and think about this matter seriously. What a huge impact it will have on Hantu, okay?!"

"We are a country that has just been born and still needs the protection of Clovis to prevent it from being annexed by the empire. This means that any drastic changes in Clovis will have an indelible impact on us; for example, the Osterian royal family must know There are benefits to forming an alliance with Hantu, but how can you guarantee that those 'representatives' in the future will also realize it?"

"If they think that wooing and funding Hantu is not cost-effective and will only lose money, then Hantu will have to rely on itself to resist the invasion from the empire; even if some bastards who don't understand politics at all...I am Said that representatives from civilian backgrounds feel that Hantu is a suitable target for invasion, and our country may be divided between two powerful countries!"

Lenore Emmanuel looked very anxious, and he did not think that his worries were unfounded.

After meeting Anne Herred, he has basically concluded that the Queen Regent is not stupid, but she seems to be immersed in the fact that she has great power and can mediate with powerful ministers and establish a dignified situation; completely unaware of what will happen if the situation If this continues, she will probably have no power at all.

Of course, it's also possible that she already knows, but is completely powerless over the situation, pretending as if her authority is still there, trying to stay calm like a magician who's about to fail, and maintain her final dignity.

Either way, it is definitely not good news for Han Tu - if a powerful ally cannot determine the other party's attitude, it is simply more dangerous than the enemy.

"There is no need to worry." After listening to Renaud's narration, little Leon could not see the slightest worry on his face: "Don't worry, no matter what Clovis's system becomes in the end, it will always be An ally of Hantu.”

"...What evidence is there?"

"There is no evidence, just a little bit..." His Royal Highness the Crown Prince raised his right index finger and showed a confident smile: "Who is the person who caused Clovis' current situation?"

"The scope of this problem seems to be a bit too large."

Lenore raised his eyebrows: "But I know what you want to say, so let's just call it Anson Bach."

"Yes, it's Anson Bach." Little Leon said with a smile: "In that case, then we just need to confirm that the real person in charge of Clovis is cousin Anson Bach?"

Lenore Emmanuel: "...I have to admit that this time your judgment of the situation is better than mine."

……………………

Inner city, Friedrichstrasse, Iris restaurant.

William Cecil was dumbfounded when he saw the endless reports about the "Coal Butter Bill" in the "Morning Post", and his whole body fell into an incredible shock.

He did think that this so-called "parliamentary act" might have an earth-shaking impact on the situation in the Kingdom of Clovis, but he really didn't expect it to reach this point.

It's just autonomy, it's just some small subsidies... but the Prime Minister's Executive Office implements the bills passed by the "Citizens' Assembly", which has a completely different meaning.

From now on, the Osterian royal family is no longer the unique master of Clovis. The power to legislate, tax, and command the army...the brilliance that once shone on the crown is now gradually becoming dim.

The dissipated brilliance did not disappear, it just changed into a brand new posture, that is...

"boom--!"

Slapping the newspaper heavily on the table, the young naval colonel stood up and looked at the provincial representatives who filled the hall.

Those faces that were either inexplicable, worried, shocked, or puzzled, in the eyes of William Cecil at this moment, no longer made him feel contemptuous and ridiculous as they did in the past; on the contrary , they...we...are Clovis's hope.

The shining crown will be reborn among these people.

"Everyone, it seems that the citizens of Clovis City have set an example with their actions and used their unparalleled courage and courage to light the way. So now..." He opened his arms and said with both hands "swish - —" clenched tightly:

"Finally...it's our turn!"