I will be crowned king

In fact, not only Anne Herred was confused, but even Ludwig still couldn't figure it out:

The matter of the parliamentary bill was personally promoted by that bastard Anson Bach. The Citizens' Assembly also proved its effectiveness and stirred up the excitement. Why has this guy made no move at the most critical National Assembly?

If many people still had doubts about the commander-in-chief's actions at the beginning, now everyone has basically seen it clearly: the Citizens' Assembly is just the beginning, the National Assembly is the key, and he is introducing Clovis The forces outside the city faced off against the top Clovis leaders, led by the old Privy Council and the War Office.

It’s easy to be willing: the War Department wants to get rid of him, the conservatives don’t like him, and the reformists just want to use him as a tool, so strictly speaking he is only half of the Franz family in Clovis (Sophia Fernandes). Miss Lanz) is considered an ally, but is restricted in every aspect. Also, because in the city, his biggest bargaining chip, the Storm Legion, cannot be used very well.

It is not that there have been such "upstarts" in Clovis City in the past, but they were either too high-profile and were killed, or they kept a low profile and finally disappeared from everyone, or they were used as tools and thugs for others to see if they had a chance to make a comeback. big.

But Anson Bach chose to find another way: if his power was too small, he would muddy the water first, and then take the opportunity to introduce forces from outside Clovis City; with more people, the original dignitaries in the inner city of Clovis would not be so obvious. .

Of course, this did not happen overnight, just as Ludwig always insisted that if he had not made his betrayal of Anson and Sophia so obvious after the death of Carlos II, maybe the situation would not be so bad.

But there is no if, just like they don't understand at all, why can these two people remain calm and insist on waiting for the official written permission from the royal family before organizing the National Assembly? The little king's statement is so important?

There was of course no doubt in the eyes of Queen Mother Anne Herred, but Ludwig didn't think so, and he could faintly feel that there must be a conspiracy.

…………………………

"There is no conspiracy, my dear Lady Caterina."

In the luxurious club box, while enjoying the exquisite lemon pudding cake, the Minister of War smiled bitterly at the lady lying sideways on the soft bed opposite:

"Okay, okay, I admit that the bill is indeed well-designed, but it is just to ensure that the parliament can really take effect - the two big troubles of community representatives and militia have been with me since the day I took over the Ministry of War. I have a headache, and all I can think about is how to disarm them and use non-violent means to ease conflicts."

"And you can seriously recall that the matter of arming the people was brought up by my beloved brother Ludwig. To put it harshly, all I did was deal with the trouble he caused."

"Think about it, if the final bill to establish the Citizens' Assembly is rejected by the Prime Minister's Office, or if the apparent promise is actually half-hearted, letting the community representatives know that they can't decide anything even if they form an assembly, then the Ministry of War will first change If you become a liar, hundreds of thousands of armed citizens will no longer trust anyone, what will be the consequences?"

The girl sighed helplessly, with an expression as if even the delicious pudding had become no longer appetizing. It was clear that she was trying her best to help others deal with troubles, but she was suspected of taking advantage of the opportunity to make profits.

But Lady Caterina didn't believe it at all: "Really?"

"Of course it's true, absolutely true!"

Sophia nodded matter-of-factly, and her tone even started to become a little aggrieved: "The Ring of Order is above, and I am also a member of the Franz family. My father said it all in the era of Carlos II, and the Franz family even more so. At the height of the sun, why would I want to allow forces from other provinces to enter Clovis City? Isn’t this also weakening myself?”

"If I have to say why, of course it's because the War Department really doesn't have the power... This brings together all the provinces of Clovis, tens of millions of people, and common representatives of large and small forces. The total number is even close to 5,000; How can I, the Minister of War, He De, give orders to these representatives without His Majesty's personal permission?"

"But they all hope to be led by you, the Minister of War, and the Chief of the Royal Guards." Mrs. Catalina said in a different way:

"It's absolutely true. In the past few days, there have been double digits of representatives who have come to me hoping that I can speak for them and advise you to convene the National Assembly early."

"Then I hope each of them has a generous enough gift on hand when they bother you."

Sophia smiled lightly: "If you can't take advantage of this opportunity to make a fortune, it will be a huge loss, and I will feel sad for you."

"So you are really waiting for the little king's permission?" Lady Caterina couldn't help but ask: "But if it was in his name that you who worked so hard to prepare this parliament, wouldn't you be at a loss?"

For the noble lady who still refused to let her go, the girl could only sigh slightly tiredly and took a big bite of pudding cake.

"I know that if I say something like 'this is all for the sake of the kingdom' or 'we are all loyal ministers of His Majesty', you probably won't take it seriously at all, right?"

After receiving a positive reply from the other party, Sophia had no choice but to put the cake on the table: "Then let me be honest with you. The answer is actually very simple, because as long as His Majesty Nicholas nods, no one can stop this matter."

"Just...that simple?"

"It's that simple."

The girl's eyes widened: "And only His Majesty can do this, and no one else can; because the Osteria royal family is the most powerful cohesive core of the Kingdom of Clovis, and only with the approval of the king himself can it be done." No one will stand up again.”

"As for those representatives... do you think they really want me and Anson Bach to become their leaders? I believe that with your wisdom, dear Lady Catalina, you will not be deceived by their appearance, right?" Sophia's mouth showed. gave a contemptuous sneer:

"Those people just saw that the Citizens' Council was successful, so they thought they could use me and Anson as shields. Once the council is successfully convened, most of them will become our enemies on the spot."

"If that's the case, then why are we still being used by them?" Sophia waved her hands, showing a casual expression that was too lazy to answer: "It's better to leave it to His Majesty, which can still make most people stop doubting that we have indeed never violated Be loyal to His Majesty’s oath.”

……………………

"...And as long as His Majesty Nicholas nods and agrees, from now on, the glory belonging to the Osteria royal family will cease to exist and will be completely transferred to the National Assembly."

Renard, who was leaning on a cane and looking decrepit and might pass out at any time, ended his tirade with his weak voice: "Even if His Majesty Nicholas comes of age, he will not be able to take that away from the Parliament. It's his power now, right?"

Click——

In the quiet office, there was only the sound of wine glasses being placed on the table; but the Storm Legion officers sitting opposite the old man were all silent, as if they would be discovered if they spoke.

Fabian was thoughtful, and kept glancing at Carl Bain, who had the same expression as his. Of course, it was not accurate to say this, because the chief of staff was not expressionless at all. His smile was completely frozen, and he was always facing The Commander-in-Chief kept the same expression.

It seemed to be a silent statement, "You will be exposed one day."

Alexei and Norton's eyes widened, but the reasons for their shock were somewhat different: the commander of the 2nd Infantry Regiment did not expect that "it could be like this", while the low-key members of the Truth Society were "actually for this reason" ".

The commander of the Fourth Infantry Regiment yawned softly. As a very pure soldier, Lieutenant Colonel Leo was not interested in politics at all. He was more concerned about whether the Commander-in-Chief would entertain the old gentleman tonight. He might be able to do so justifiably. Eat rice.

As for Lieutenant Colonel Julien Renard...he was trying to find a way to crawl into the corner like a bug so that he would not have to meet his father's eyes.

Anson, who was surrounded by officers and was sitting in the center, silently put down the rum glass in his hand and asked in a very calm voice: "Well... that can be understood."

But the old man didn't seem to mind and didn't continue the topic.

"All in all, the mission you gave me has been completed. All that's left is when and where to formally convene the National Assembly... Ludwig seems to have some ideas about this. He probably plans to unite parts of Clovis City. and the nobles of the central provinces, to create a group within the Assembly that was entirely loyal to him.”

"In that case, I wish him success." Anson smiled: "It will be a great blessing for the National Assembly to have the ruling lord personally guide the representatives on what 'politics' is."

"Oh, it sounds like you don't care. Can you tell me why?"

"What can't be said is that Ludwig is in power and wants our noble regent, Her Majesty the Queen Mother. They don't seem to understand what the parliament does."

The Commander-in-Chief shrugged: "They always seem to think that this is 'Anson Bach's conspiracy', so 'even if they have to follow his ideas, they have to put some of their own people in it as much as possible' to ensure nothing goes wrong, as if this is all. 'Win' me."

"So, that's not the case, is it?" The old man's expression seemed very interested:

"So in your eyes, what kind of existence is this National Assembly?"

"It's very simple, that's a brand new rule." Anson picked up the wine glass on the table: "Look at this, can you tell where this glass is made just by looking at it?"

"Clovis."

"Why, you haven't even touched it yet."

"No need, because it will only appear in Clovis. I even dare to say that it is produced in a glass factory in an outer city." The head of the Renard family pointed to the outside of the cup:

"The evidence is the cup wall - such neat shaving marks can only be left by a machine. If it were a human being, then its value would not allow you to hold it in your hands and play with it so casually."

"Completely correct."

The corner of Anson's mouth raised, and he smashed the cup on the table with a "pop": "The cup produced on the factory machine assembly line is not even worth as much as a sausage, but if it is handmade, it will become something only a king can play with." Luxury."

"Why? Is it because some magic has been cast on this thing that causes its value to fluctuate so drastically? Why do the exact same thing have two completely different prices?"

"I think the only reason is that if humans want to catch up with machines, they will have to pay a huge price; but if one day we no longer want cups to be neatly shaped, but strange and complicated, , maybe artificial intelligence will temporarily outperform machines, right?"

He looked at the head of the Renard family, his eyes becoming sharper: "So decide which one is better, and what is the inferior one?"

"...I guess it should be a rule." Renard's eyes moved slightly:

"You mean, if you want to become a 'better' person, you first have to change the rules?"

Anson nodded slightly, with a meaningful expression.

"Many people in this world believe that as long as they abide by the existing rules, they will be completely exempt from blame and can gradually grow along the designated path and eventually achieve success." Anson smiled:

"But we all know that's impossible, don't we?"

"Because fairness is always relative, even if both parties need to abide by the rules, the person who formulated them will definitely have advantages that newcomers cannot match. Not to mention that many of the rules themselves are doing their best to restrict subsequent challengers."

"So assuming you really want to win, you must not act according to the established rules, because that is doomed to make all your steps within the expectations of the rule maker; he can not only crush you with his own accumulation, but also very It’s easy to rely on past experience to judge the stage you’re in and give you a fatal blow at the most critical moment.”

"But when you no longer abide by his rules, then he loses his once accurate judgment and begins to try to use force from all aspects to defeat you with size; but now that even the rules have changed, pure scale can How useful is it?"

Anson picked up the cup again: "I used a machine to make ten thousand cups, and my opponent recruited a thousand glassworkers to achieve the same efficiency as me; as long as the competition continues, he has no chance of winning."

"This is the meaning of parliament. It does not lie in who is in power or any conspiracy. The root of everything lies in the new rules. It lies in completely subverting the logic of the person who originally made the rules, so that his past advantages and accumulation will be completely wiped out, thus completely Defeat him!"

"I see."

The old man nodded meaningfully: "By the way, we were talking about how Clovis defeated the Empire, right?"

"Of course." Anson asked with a smile:

"What else could it be?"