I will be crowned king

Facts have proved that Anson's guess was completely correct: when the embarrassed Jialan Legion retreated to the territory of the Principality of Xiaolong, all previous objections and doubts disappeared instantly, and the imperial court became unprecedentedly united.

Conquer in person, must conquer in person!

Since the Second Public Order Conference established order in the world in the forty-seventh year of the Saints Calendar, as the center of the empire and directly led by the emperor, the Principality of Xiaolong has been at peace for a hundred years and has never ignited a war again; this prosperity and stability not only gave Heri The huge advantages of the De family have also become proof of the emperor's supreme authority.

As long as foreigners step into the territory of Xiaolong Principality, they will all admire the prosperity and peace of this place: the wide and straight roads, the magnificent palaces, the elegant and natural manors...

Here, the emperor and his relatives hold the supreme power of the empire, maintaining and demonstrating the authority of the empire in every move; the nobles assume their obligations, inherit the official positions of their fathers hereditary, and contribute to the empire; while from the country roads In the palace of the emperor, knights can be seen fully armed and maintaining law and order, allowing civilians to work as tenant farmers, craftsmen and traders without thinking about anything, becoming an embellishment of this prosperity.

The four major classes, the royal family, the nobility, the knights, and the civilians, each have their own place and perform their duties. It can be said to be a model for ordering all the countries in the world. Such a standard governance system cannot be found anywhere.

Of course, this is mainly because as the direct leader of the emperor, Xiaolong Principality can rely on the imperial system to suck blood from the whole country, and can relax the squeeze on the bottom; and due to the expansion caused by the lack of war between the royal family and the aristocratic group for hundreds of years, there has long been no one in the entire principality. All the land that could accommodate free farmers was divided up by the nobles.

Even if the emperor's dignity is not considered, the emperor must not remain indifferent on the premise of protecting his own fundamentals from being damaged.

"In the name of the emperor, all the knights in Xiaolong City are now being called into the army, and an army of 80,000 people is being mobilized throughout the principality; I...Joseph Herred, I want to personally show some color to that Clovis thug. Look!"

Under the emperor's personal supervision, or in other words, the sense of crisis, the imperial court's operation efficiency was unprecedentedly powerful. A well-equipped army of 30,000 people had been assembled that afternoon, and another 28,000 people were already on the way. And as recruitment orders are issued, the number is still increasing.

Of course, this is not a magic trick that the empire has mastered to transform people into living beings. It is purely because of the blood-sucking and the size of the aristocracy is large enough. It can easily recruit a large number of young knights and attendants to join the army, and they are all very outstanding middle- and lower-class people. The commanders, efficiency and ability also exceeded those of Clovis' officers who graduated from the academy.

At the same time, just like Clovis, the rulers of Clovis need to rely on Clovis City to suppress the country. Emperor Herred also needs to rely on Snapdragon City to shock the entire world of order. Therefore, the city also has a fairly complete arsenal and excellent guns. The artillery workshop can easily arm 60,000, 70,000, or even hundreds of thousands of soldiers at once.

Joseph III was quite satisfied with this result. He immediately divided the less than 60,000 people who had been on standby into three legions, led one legion himself, and then arranged for Bernard Morvis to commit the crime and meritorious service - the Battle of the New World After being a prisoner for nearly half a year - commanding a legion, a commander from the royal family was placed in charge of the last legion.

This arrangement was carefully calculated by Joseph: First, he and the commander-in-chief of royal family commanded two-thirds of the army, which could effectively ensure that he had absolute control. Using Bernard Maulvis, a guy who had committed crimes and meritorious service, would It was to win over the nobles in the northern part of the empire and ensure that they would not be alienated.

As for the southern part of the empire? The young men of the Levent family had long since estranged themselves from themselves, and they had become the sphere of influence of the Holy See. There was no point in wooing them. It would only make the other party think that they still had the bargaining chip they needed. It is an act of capitalizing on the enemy.

In addition to their large number of people, the lineup of the three major legions is also unprecedentedly powerful; almost all lower-level officers are served by local nobles of Xiaolong Principality. The total number of light and heavy artillery in each legion has reached about fifty, and the cavalry force has also reached eighteen thousand. people.

At the same time, Joseph III also received news from Grand Duke Roland and Grand Duke Levent respectively. The two powerful families in the empire, one in the north and the other in the south, had assembled an army of 30,000 troops and were heading towards Xiaolong City; as far away as the Grand Duchy of Brahm, Grand Duke Lilith Wolfe, who was deeply surrounded by the enemy, also sent a letter, saying that she was trying her best to organize an army and harass the logistics line of the "Clovis Invaders".

In this regard, the emperor made the following arrangements: Roland and Levent's army stopped moving closer to the Dragon City and diverted to the crossing of the Halberd River; the knights of the Grand Duchy of Brahm continued their efforts to seize the opportunity for a decisive battle with the Clovis thugs. Take the opportunity to capture Tongmen Fort and cut off the enemy's retreat.

According to the emperor's own estimation, it is not difficult to defeat the enemy, but it is not easy to completely annihilate it. Therefore, we must be as prepared as possible and strive to close the door and beat the dog.

All in all, Joseph Heritage was quite satisfied with his strategy, especially after hearing that the Clovis people who had just arrived at the ferry were only in their early 50,000s, and he immediately felt that this strategy was stable.

"Command all armies to unfurl the flags of golden iris and red unicorn. We must uprightly crush those thugs in the name of the guardian of the world of order——!!!"

On August 20, 103 in the Saint's Calendar, the emperor's army officially arrived at the crossing of the Halcyon River; a blue and white "thin line" on the horizon as the sun rose gradually turned into a torrent, and the military flags fluttering in the wind became more It is like a sea of ​​flowers, vast and unstoppable.

At this time, the Western Front Army had just occupied the ferry for less than four days. The Ranger Corps, which had completely crossed the river, had just established a foothold on the west bank of the river and established a position that was not particularly stable, across the river from the Storm Corps guarding the headquarters.

At the same time, the Signal Flag Army, the Rising Sun Army and the Hantu Army, which were marching rapidly on the rear line, all still had a large number of troops on the road; each of the two armies only had two infantry divisions, plus directly affiliated grenadiers, cavalry regiments and Two cavalry and artillery companies arrived, and the Hantu Corps was lagging behind because it was also responsible for breaking up the rear and ensuring logistics.

It can be said that little Leon was quite dissatisfied with this result, especially after the previous record of the Red Moon Town retaking battle. He seriously believed that this was Anson's deliberate arrangement, which made it clear that he did not believe in the combat effectiveness of the Hantu Legion.

Anson categorically denied this: He had seen the combat effectiveness of the Hantu Legion with his own eyes in the New World. He could forcefully land under the artillery fire of the Holy War Legion and march quickly in the ice and snow. Regardless of the combat effectiveness, this toughness and execution The strength is evident.

"It is precisely because the Hantu Army is so powerful that it should not be thrown into the battlefield immediately at the beginning of the war, but should be a decisive part of the entire battle and become the key to overpowering the enemy at the last moment. Dear Leon, don't you think so? Of?"

"I really want to agree, but that's what you did during the battle to take back Red Moon Town."

"And we won that battle..."

“It’s dangerous to win!”

"But we won in the end..."

"Only a little bit...if you hadn't captured Sir Gloria at that time, or Lord Carl Bain's Flag Hill position had fallen an hour earlier, your entire army would have been wiped out!"

"But that didn't happen, did it?"

"If Hantu's legions are here, there is 100% chance that Junqi Mountain will fall."

"Indeed, but on the other hand, Fernando Herred is 100% unable to attack, so we have to bite the hard nut of Red Moon Town Fortress, what do you think?"

"I think you're trying to make excuses."

"It should be said...everything is within my plan. Let us act according to the plan, especially that plan..."

"Pretty perfect, right?"

"You are indeed my good cousin. I can really feel relieved to have a family member that I can trust behind you."

"……you win."

So the Hantu Army once again assumed the mission of "holding down the formation". The order of attack and march was at the end of the entire Western Front Army, and it also had to divide its forces to maintain control of certain important strongholds.

At this time, the headquarters located on the high ground on the east bank of the ferry was in full swing, racing against time to make final calculations. The remaining troops of the Rising Sun Army and the Signal Flag Army would not arrive on the battlefield until 5:25 in the evening, and the Hantu Army would not be able to arrive until 5:25 in the evening. The day after tomorrow in the afternoon, it can basically be regarded as unable to join the battle.

Coincidentally, the legions of Roland and the Levent family will not appear until the day after tomorrow. If a stalemate does occur between the two sides, they can only compete to see whose reinforcements arrive on the battlefield first.

The entire staff was completely split into two factions at this time: one believed that the Ranger Corps controlling the west bank should be used as bait to lure the enemy into launching successive offensives. The army took the opportunity to secretly cross the river from both sides of the battlefield and attack the Empire from the flanks and rear. The army encircled and annihilated them in one fell swoop.

The other group believes that this is simply a suicide attempt: Compared with the Western Front Army, the Empire is obviously more familiar with the terrain here. If there is a ferry upstream and downstream, the Emperor must have divided his troops to guard it long ago, and will not give them a chance at all. All the troops will be suppressed. On the east coast, it was equivalent to watching the Rangers on the west coast die.

"That's nonsense. There are 40,000 Rangers. They have complete civil fortifications and can be supported by artillery fire from no less than 50 cannons from the east coast at any time. The emperor's army is only 80,000 at full strength. It's just a comparison. The gap of two is not enough to annihilate the entire army with just one attack!"

Count Schlieffen, the commander of the Signal Flag Corps, knocked on the table and glared at the deputy chief of staff: "Withdrawing the Ranger Corps now is equivalent to giving up the first-mover advantage that was finally obtained. It will be difficult to cross the river to attack later. Got it!"

"It's exactly what you said, but only if our artillery scale far exceeds that of the enemy!" Carl Bain obviously refused to give in:

"There are only fifty cannons in the whole army now, but there are a hundred and fifty cannons on the opposite side! There are no artillery on the Ranger Corps' position, and you should know the level of the Empire's artillery; if the other side is willing to use cannonballs and real money How long can the soldiers in the fortifications hold up after smashing our position into a mud pit?"

"You have to hold on even if you can't hold on!" Count Schlieffen snorted coldly: "If we can exchange the mud pit for thousands of artillery shells from the Imperials and make their subsequent attacks weak, it will still be us who make the profit."

"You! Then...those are all living people, not chips on the gambling table!"

The corner of Carl Bain's mouth twitched slightly: "You sent them to die without even thinking about it, without even the slightest preparation, and you can't guarantee whether it will succeed... You are testing their lives and squandering them. !”

"So what, is it possible that no one will die on the battlefield, my deputy chief of staff?!" Count Schlieffen was quite disdainful: "How do you know whether you can win the battle before it is fought? Who can judge the right thing to do without trying it?! "

"No one can, but at least the worst outcome can be avoided before the war."

Anson took the initiative to interrupt the quarrel between the two sides and glanced at the staff on the battlefield: "Everyone should understand the significance of this battle. There is no harm in being cautious."

"Commander-in-Chief..."

"Lord in power..."

"I have decided!" Anson raised his hand to stop the two sides and slammed his sword on the map: "All staff officers listen to the order. For this battle of the Halberd River, I have made the following final arrangements!"

"The entire Ranger Corps will remain stationary on the west bank. At the same time, while it is still dark, all fifty cannons of the entire army will be moved to the Ranger Corps positions."

"The Storm Legion was divided into two and immediately moved north and south along the river. They built pontoons at appropriate locations to prepare for crossing the river. However, no soldier is allowed to cross the river before receiving my order."

"The Legion of the Rising Sun, the Legion of Signals, and the troops arriving later will camp and form formation behind the Royal Manor Heights before receiving my order. They are not allowed to approach the Halberd River. Wait until all troops are in place and form formation along the river tomorrow morning. "Start taking action at 5:50, and all must be ready for combat before 7:00."

"The cavalry units remain on Royal Estate Heights and are on standby until further orders are received, awaiting further orders."

After a slight pause, Anson glanced sharply at the officers present: "Everyone, listen clearly, our goal in this battle is very clear, to defeat and annihilate the emperor's army; for this, I will not sacrifice any of them at will. Soldier, but if necessary, everyone, including me, must be prepared to sacrifice their lives for Clovis, do you understand?”

"clear--!!!!"

"Very good, I also promise you that we will not lose." Anson was full of confidence: "I will let the emperor see that what he thought and what really happened are two completely different things."

"Let us give the most noble Emperor a little...a little shock from Clovis!"