I will be crowned king

Empire, Xiaolong City Palace.

In the side hall where the fire was dazzling, Grand Duke Adlan, who was sitting on the sofa, frowned slightly and silently looked at the cigar in his hand.

To be honest, he didn't like this unique pastime of southerners very much. The sailors and knights in the northern ports were still more interested in pipes and cigarettes from Clovis. The rich-flavored cigars were still too exciting for her.

It just so happens that the owner of this palace, His Majesty the Emperor, who is also the owner of Grand Duke Adlan, has recently fallen in love with this kind of thing, and he actively recommends it to people who come to see it.

Everyone understands that this is a signal deliberately sent by His Majesty - the royal family will reconcile with the southern knights and nobles who have never been close to each other, and unite the entire empire.

Grand Duke Adlan understands the emperor's difficulties, but he really hates this thing, but he dare not not accept it - the Grand Duke's rejection of the emperor's gift can easily be seen as a gap between the Principality of Adlan and the imperial royal family. The appearance is incompatible with the spirit.

But he really hates this kind of thing.

Just when Grand Duke Adran was still debating whether to take another two puffs and put it down while pretending not to understand, or simply throw it into the fireplace, a familiar figure suddenly appeared outside the door.

"Bernard, are you still there?!" Bernard Molwes strode into the side hall, his brows furrowed and he didn't even wait to sit down before asking:

"Your Majesty...does he know?"

"You mean Clovis City?"

Grand Duke Adlan stood up abruptly and pretended to accidentally throw the snow into the fireplace: "I already know it. You want me to come to see you today because of those savage upstarts!"

"Barbaric... nouveau riche?" Bernard was stunned for a moment, even forgetting to sit down:

"I remember that the relationship between the Grand Duchy of Adlan and Clovis is not very good. How come... it's so sudden?"

"It's nothing, I just can't stand it." Grand Duke Adlan waved his hand and quickly avoided the topic: "They are so crazy. Someone actually wants to purge the nobles and turn the Osteria royal family into puppets!"

"Yes, this is really unexpected. It can only be said that such weird things always happen in countries with a short history and little foundation."

Bernard nodded, he did not intend to dwell on this matter: "But this disrupted the entire plan of the empire. Your Majesty originally planned to wait for Clovis to become chaotic first, and wait until the summer before launching a war; but now If the empire doesn't intervene in the situation, Clovis may really be turned upside down!"

"Although the Osterian royal family is an enemy of the empire, after all, it is also a member of the world of order. It should have the power to rule Clovis, but now this power may not be completely destroyed soon."

The expressions of both of them were solemn, not only because Clovis's extreme civil strife destroyed the empire's original plan, but also because this chaos was likely to have an impact on the empire.

As time went by, news gradually came out of Clovis City, which was originally blocked due to the mutiny: rumors, business news, and even black and white newspapers...

At first, the empire was either gloating over the chaos of the Clovis people, or they were outraged by the raid on the imperial embassy, ​​or they were worried about their relatives stranded in Clovis City... In short, they were still understandable. within the scope.

But soon, they began to fail to understand.

To say that the empire is not without free cities, the people of the empire can still understand the parliament as a manifestation of the system, but the members of the parliament and even the representatives of the people are not based on blood and property, and anyone can do it... So they began to be confused. .

Immediately afterwards, these people arrived in the city of Clovis and formed a so-called "National Assembly". Not only did they get some power, they seemed to have directly dissolved the original House of Nobles (Privy Council) and seized almost all the power in the Kingdom of Clovis. .

They even had to re-enact a code that required even the king to abide by it, not to mention the nobles, and it seemed that the nobles were still on the weak side this time.

Although the people of the Empire are a little confused at this point, they also respect the changes in their neighbors - there is no eternal system in the world, and the enemy's chaos is actually good for the Empire, so everyone is happy with it.

But soon, these so-called "representatives of the National Assembly" actually wanted to revoke the privileges of the nobles, deprive them of their territories, and even planned to try and execute the nobles.

According to some unofficial rumors, it seems that even the Osterian royal family is within the scope of their trial!

In this way, the Imperial people are not only confused, but angry - of course the Imperial people cannot ask the Clovis people to act according to their own ideas, but if this idea is too deviant, that is another matter.

"Following the ancient tradition of the world of order, the emperor is also the natural guardian of the world of order." Grand Duke Adlan said solemnly:

"The Clovis people are so deviant and wantonly destroying the ancient order that has existed for thousands of years. It is an unquestionable provocation to His Majesty. If it is most important, Your Majesty can send troops in the name of avenging his nephew and restoring the true order of Clovis."

"Yes, but only if the Clovis people are really willing to accept salvation from the Empire."

Unlike Grand Duke Adelaide, Bernard's view is relatively negative:

"According to the information I have, this so-called 'National Assembly' includes almost all the forces of the Clovis people except the royal family."

"What does this mean? The chaos in Clovis is not a small group of rebels as many people think, but almost all Clovis people, for some reason, sincerely believe that it is time for change. ”

"But they should also have disputes about how to change." Archduke Adlan strongly agreed:

"According to the current momentum, if not organized, those madmen who are clamoring to execute the nobles and even remove the royal family may really take control of this powerful country, even if it is only temporary."

"In this case, only His Majesty sending troops can reverse the situation and avoid the worst situation." Bernard said solemnly and couldn't help but sigh.

Both of them understood that the reason why the emperor was worried and insisted on sending troops was certainly not because of the life and death of the Clovis people, but because the changes in this opponent might really affect them.

Yes, today's empire is teetering on the edge of change and chaos.

Hantu, Israel, the New World... Since the 100th year of the Saints' Calendar, the empire has continued to lose in various battlefields. The direct result is that the emperor's majesty has declined rapidly.

Strictly speaking, the empire is not a complete and unified country, but a "super confederation" in which numerous autonomous entities, large and small, nest dolls on top of each other.

The unity of the empire naturally does not rely on purely violent institutions, but on years of habits and the emperor's personal prestige.

Given the size of the empire, as long as an emperor with high prestige can mobilize one-third of the empire's size, he can easily suppress all the rebels, crush any country that does not obey the imperial order, and achieve whatever he wants. Great deeds achieved.

On the other hand, if an emperor often loses on the battlefield and is isolated and neglected by other countries, then no matter how reasonable and legal his succession is, it is only a matter of course that he will lose the throne sooner or later.

Although almost all the emperors of the empire are from the Hered family, not all of them are; if the situation is really special and a certain archduke has absolute reputation among knights, it is not impossible to take over the crown from the blood of dragon knights. , became the new master of the empire.

Therefore, the emperor is very alert to the voice of internal reform; in the eyes of others, it is just a change made to safeguard the interests of the empire, but to the emperor himself, it is basically equivalent to asking him to hand over his throne-power It is always something that can only increase, not decrease.

However, in order to respond to the repeated setbacks of the empire in the past few years, the emperor had to agree to the reform requirements of some people, and at the same time, he was trying to make only minor concessions on the general direction and specific details. There is no concession at all.

The sudden change in Clovis at this time is of course extremely dazzling: the provinces, lower-class civilians and small nobles... If these forces really succeeded in the Clovis revolution and even took over all the power, who can guarantee that they will not inspire the empire? The ambitions of someone inside?

Not only the empire, but also the principalities of the various grand dukes can never afford to suffer such a degree of impact - citizens, tenant farmers, and small nobles unite to demand power, and even actively unite the army to blackmail and extort tax revenue from them More freedom...just thinking about it makes me shudder.

Therefore, the current changes in Clovis are no longer a matter of the Clovis people themselves. The entire world of order is paying close attention to every move.

As one of the ministers whom the emperor trusted most and who liked to be thrown out to take responsibility, Bernard Morweis knew his majesty very well; he would definitely take advantage of this opportunity to send troops and use an unprecedented Victory restored his lost dignity.

If I had to describe it, His Majesty Emperor Herred today is very much like a gambler... Because he wanted to get his money back after losing a bet, he had to invest in bets with uncertain results until he lost all his money. He will never give up easily until the last drop of profit is squeezed out by a loan shark, or he dies unexpectedly.

As for whether he can succeed, or even indirectly control Clovis with the help of his sister Anne Herred, Bernard is not very optimistic; in his eyes, since Clovis has made a voice for change, it means that Clovis's The situation has deteriorated to an unimaginable level, and coupled with the church's previous intervention... it is not a very wise decision to continue to get involved.

"But don't you think you should try?"

Grand Duke Adlan suddenly said: "You don't need to be as radical as Clovis, even if it is just the smallest reform, such as allowing the people at the bottom to vote based on a certain property base level... is it really absolutely impossible?"

"...Maybe it's possible, maybe it's really feasible, maybe...this is actually the right decision, I don't know." Bernard shook his head, with a rather repulsive look on his face:

"But I only know one thing, that is, as long as you give them this power, they will never be able to stop; the bottom class who have received the sweetness will only continue to ask for more, and there will never be a day when they stop and are satisfied. .”

"The Free State Company is the best example, isn't it? It started out as a group of colonial rebels who wanted to pay less taxes. When the empire agreed to their request, this group of people began to want freedom and independence!"

"I think the example you gave has no reference value, but I understand what you mean." Grand Duke Adlan frowned slightly: "This is an endless slippery slope. The only way to prevent us from being wiped out is to kill the unrest factors again. In the cradle.”

"And this is exactly what His Majesty intends to do and will do, although it may not be as successful as he hopes."

Bernard Morweis still did not forget to tease the emperor: "But this makes me even more curious - even if the empire wants to attack Clovis, Adlan will definitely not be the main force recruited. Why are you, the Grand Duke, like this?" nervous?"

"It's not that I'm nervous. If I have to say it, I'm probably more or less emotional."

"...feelings?"

"My dear Bernard, haven't you noticed that the world today is very different from what we thought at the beginning?" Archduke Adran asked:

“The church, which never interfered in secular politics, became more and more interested in interfering in the internal affairs of various countries, and did not miss any opportunity to strengthen their secular power; the power that was once equal to the empire has now even embarked on a path that violates tradition. "

"The world is quietly undergoing some changes. We can pretend that they don't exist, but when disasters come, they will not spare our lives because of our ignorance; on the contrary, we may be the first to be swept away by the storm and die. The one who killed his family."

"My beloved Archduke Bernard, you feel like a poet."

Bernard frowned slightly. He didn't know what happened to the man in front of him suddenly. The meaningful eyes seemed to be hinting at something to him, and it seemed that he suddenly "enlightened" something that ordinary people could not understand, and became extremely weird.

"My dear Bernard, I think you are more like a philosopher, you just don't like to use words." Grand Duke Adlan smiled:

"Besides, I know the purpose of your coming - give up. Our Emperor has made up his mind to send troops to intervene in the turmoil in the Kingdom of Clovis, under the guise of aiding his nephew."

"Yes, thank you very much for waiting here and telling me this unfortunate news."

Bernard's expression was very calm. He was not surprised at all by this result. He had even been prepared for it and lay down on the sofa very relaxedly.

At the same time, he vaguely seemed to smell something, turned his head and glanced at the fireplace next to him, with a natural smile on his face.

"I didn't expect that you actually like this southern specialty? I thought you Adlanders would not be able to accept its taste." Bernard smiled enthusiastically: "Well, I just brought a lot of it. A box of cigars, a specialty of the territory, will be given to you when you return to the principality.”

Grand Duke Adlan: "...Then I'll say thank you in advance."