I will be crowned king

At 16:30, the battle around the Changji River has entered a fierce state.

Faced with the failure of the attack on the east coast and Anson's almost aggressive counterattack, the emperor chose to stabilize the front and at the same time dispatched his last trump card - a reserve force of nearly 15,000 troops to reinforce the Garland Army, which was already in a dilemma. Capture the Clovis positions on the west coast as quickly as possible.

Regarding His Majesty the Emperor's help in such a timely manner, all the soldiers of the Gloria Legion expressed their inner thoughts fully and passionately with curses and indescribable hand movements:

"What the hell are reinforcements? This is clearly the supervising team, spying on us to die!!!"

Originally... the battle had been so ugly. The Garland Army, with a strength of just over 10,000, had to rely on artillery reinforcements and two-wing cover to open a breakthrough in the Clovis position on the west bank. It was already very weak; in terms of combat effectiveness, it was In any case, it is impossible to defeat the Ranger Corps, which has nearly 40,000 troops and a large amount of civil fortifications waiting for work.

Different from ordinary commanders, as the person with the "second longest tenure" under Anson, Fabian is a type with strong subjective initiative. When facing the battle situation, he will make judgments before giving orders, and then decide how to carry out the orders of his superiors. Order.

Of course, this assumes that the order is at least feasible.

Because of this, Fabian also gave his own judgment as soon as he received the order to "hold the West Bank position" - to delay as much time as possible, regardless of the cost, until the Commander-in-Chief officially issued the order to the entire line. until the order to attack.

Therefore, even though he was able to steadily crush the Jialan Army, he never launched any effective counterattack, and even retreated in an orderly manner, constantly creating the illusion of "seemingly a chance" for the opponent.

What is regrettable is that Fabian thinks he is despicable enough, but the opponent is slightly better than him... Faced with the enemy's repeated temptations and provocations, Sir Gloria calmly stated that he did not have that desire and remained very steady. Follow the rhythm of "move occasionally to avoid being mistaken for a corpse".

The enemy was not fooled at all, which made Fabian helpless. However, the enemy cooperated enough, which made Fabian very satisfied. Since the other party pretended to attack, of course he only had to pretend to resist. The cooperation between the two parties was a tacit understanding.

But with the addition of the emperor's "reinforcements", this tacit understanding disappeared in an instant... Fabian "abandoned" the emergency, and the remaining thirty or so cannons in the position received orders to start massing fire on the headquarters and reserves of the Garland Corps. .

Facing the cannonballs whistling in the sky, Sir Garland, who had been robbed of the upper hand, was unable to fight back: the few cannons were blown up to the sky on the spot before they could even be dragged out of the cannon truck; the two cannons responsible for covering the headquarters The line corps received even more intensive care. They were instantly covered by shrapnel that exploded in the air. Within five minutes, more than 100 soldiers were killed and more than 1,000 were lightly or seriously wounded. The organization was on the verge of collapse.

Sir Garland, who was bombed into disgrace, organized the headquarters to retreat while sending people to the rear to request artillery support - not much was needed, just enough to slightly suppress the Clovis' west bank positions.

At this time, all the emperor's artillery was used to cover the retreat of the two armies, and his request was simply ignored: "The war on the east coast is tense at the moment. As a person who has committed crimes and meritorious service, Sir, you should find a way to solve the problem yourself, instead of Cause trouble for His Majesty."

The criticism that seemed to make sense almost made Sir Garland laugh out loud.

But the emperor finally sent reinforcements... Fifteen thousand elite reserves arrived on the battlefield and cooperated with the Gloriosa Army to launch a siege on the Ranger Army's position.

But I don’t know if it was to show that they were really just here for reinforcements, and to show respect for Sir Garland, the "frontline commander", this elite reserve team very honorably gave way to the front of the Garland Army, and slowly moved from both sides of the position. Advance, very methodical.

Fabian, who noticed the enemy's movements for the first time, was shocked. He was surprised that the empire's army could be so decisive in betraying his teammates, and he didn't even bother to cover it up.

In this case, the Clovis people, as outsiders, can only do as they please: "Be careful not to cover the two wings with artillery fire. Follow Sir Gloria's command and hit as many as you can!"

If this shell falls on the imperial reserve force, we have to worry about whether the emperor will suddenly "take the overall situation into consideration" and provide some firepower reinforcements, but unless all the Gloria Army is dead, the opponent will never feel sorry for it, so there is nothing to hesitate about. ?

Sir Garland is a rare honest person who keeps his promises and abides by tacit understandings. Honest people will be bullied severely!

At 17 o'clock in the afternoon, in less than half an hour, the Jialan Army, which had been able to barely hold on before, began to retreat across the board, and a huge gap suddenly appeared in the central position of the empire.

Now that the emperor had made it clear that he was an abandoned son, Sir Gloria retreated quite decisively, without even notifying the imperial reserve forces on both wings, so that the latter did not even have a chance to curse, and they had to immediately change from reinforcements to the main force to resist pressure. .

At the same time, the battle on the east coast has completely come to an end. After paying a lot of casualties, the Signal Flag Corps and the Rising Sun Corps finally succeeded in breaking through the blockade and crossed the Halberd River along the pontoon bridge carefully built by the Imperials. At the edge of the west bank Stand firm.

Fabian, who noticed the change in the battle situation, immediately abandoned the retreating Garland Army. All the artillery in the Ranger Army's position moved to both wings to provide reinforcements as much as possible.

Different from the east coast, this time Signal Flag and the Rising Sun Army chose a steady and steady strategy... Even though the rescue was successful and they had the support point of the west bank position, they still did not dare to advance rashly, and only limited the battlefield to the coastal area, leaving the key points of the battle On top of ensuring that the ferry wouldn't be recaptured by the Empire.

This is obviously the result of the combat thinking being limited to the past. After confirming the situation, Anson, who was at the general headquarters, directly made a judgment: "Let the artillery troops send signal flares and issue an order for a full-scale attack on the east coast!"

Five minutes later, all the troops on both sides of the Halberd River, and even the Archduke Roland and the Archduke Levent, who were far upstream and downstream, saw orange-red flames slowly rising into the sky and exploding above the turbulent river.

The emperor himself also immediately received first-hand news: the Clovis on the west bank and the strong Stirring River had begun to launch a counterattack. The morale of the retreating legions on both wings was unstable, and they urgently needed to stabilize their morale.

Looking at the expressionless emperor, the anxious staff officers were still worried that what they meant by "it's almost time to retreat" was not conveyed clearly enough, and they emphasized that "the Clovis artillery positions have moved forward, and our artillery fire is no longer available." decisive advantage".

But in fact, they were completely overthinking it. Joseph III did not hesitate, but was confused. He had no idea what the Clovis people on the opposite side wanted to do.

"Is it...does it mean that he really thinks that one day of fighting today can determine the outcome of the Battle of the Halberd River?"

This is actually what almost everyone thinks - a battle involving hundreds of thousands, or even more than 200,000 troops on both sides combined, will take more than ten days and more than half a month to see the outcome. How can it only take one day? Can it be over?

On the contrary, the opponent's previous eagerness for a quick victory caused the emperor to make many misjudgments, thinking that the Clovis people were not fully prepared, and even the rear was unstable. In the end, nearly 100,000 people were actually gathered into the battle...the preparations were hasty. Instead, it became the side of the empire.

At this point in the battle, the emperor had to really consider the possibility of a quick victory for the enemy: "Go and send an order to Count Bernard, asking him to organize the evacuation of the troops guarding the ferry, shrink the front, and give up the Halberd River to the enemy on the opposite side. Clovis—we’re setting up in the rear!”

Don't you Clovis want to control the Halcyon? Very good, then I will hand over the Halberd River to you and move the battlefield to the open land on the east bank of the river; your base camp, headquarters, and logistics are still on the west bank. If you want a quick victory, you will inevitably extend the front, and the attacking troops will have to Without support, they were even disconnected from the troops in the rear.

At the same time, I was able to assemble the troops in an orderly manner and regroup, gain a foothold on flat terrain that was more suitable for the imperial cavalry, and make the battlefield wider instead of limited to the narrow Halberd River.

Not only that, I can also take the opportunity to contact the armies of Roland and Archduke Levent. Seeing that the Clovis people's battle line has been extended and their wings are empty, they will definitely take advantage of the opportunity to fight for the credit of "saving the empire" and attack the Clovis people from the center. The Uyghur army was cut off in the middle, and then the loyal Brahm knights cut off the Clovis people's retreat...

Win, the battle has been won.

The previous small setbacks were just bumps in the road to victory, bait to lure the Clovis people into the trap of destruction step by step, and necessary sacrifices to restore the glory of the empire... Now, victory is close at hand!

The emperor who really thought so sent a whole team of royal guards, headed by Arthur Herred, a member of the royal family and the brother of Bernard's wife.

This level of "grandness" can be called the emperor's grace, and it is no different from Joseph III's personal appearance; no matter who thinks that the emperor is so courteous, as long as Count Bernard is not ignorant of current affairs, he should take action quickly. , resolutely carry out His Majesty’s orders.

As a result, when Arthur rushed to the battlefield with orders excitedly and pretended to repeat the emperor's words, what he saw instead of Bernard's excitement of gratitude was... panic.

"伱, you rush back immediately and tell His Majesty that the army must not be allowed to retreat now, and must defend the Halberd River, otherwise the empire will be destroyed!"

"Oh, did he really say that?"

Amidst the rumbling explosions and shouts of death, Joseph III showed no expression on his face: "Tell me, Bernard...what else did he say?"

"He, he also said... He also said..." Arthur, who was so nervous that he was sweating profusely, hesitated and did not dare to look directly into the emperor's eyes:

"Ah! He also said that the Halcyon River is the top priority of this battle. Once Your Majesty is unable to defend the enemy in the Halcyon River, the nobles of Xiaolong Principality will be greatly disappointed and completely lose confidence in Your Majesty."

"Because the Principality of Xiaolong is the foundation of the Herred royal family, the nobles here support the royal family unconditionally because they never have to face war. This is different from any other territory in the empire; this land has never been on fire in the past hundred years. In the flames of war, the nobles here are different from the nobles in the principalities of Brahm and Edland. They have never experienced the test of war."

"He... I mean Count Bernard said that this difference is very critical. Just like Brahm's knights have to fight with Clovis all year round, it is normal for border fortresses to fall and territories to be destroyed. Damaged knights are not He will lose his loyalty to Archduke Wolfe."

"But the nobles of Xiaolong Principality are not like this. Even if the emperor promises to make amends afterwards, they will not accept it easily. There will definitely be knights who leave the army on their own initiative to protect the family territory from the Clovis people. He also Said...also said..."

Feeling the emperor's gaze, Arthur Herred, who was already frightened, immediately shut up.

"It's okay, continue."

Joseph III was still expressionless, but he had clenched the armrests of the chair tightly: "He... Count Bernard Morvis, what else did he say?"

"He...he also said that Your Majesty, you will definitely promise to make up for the losses of the nobles of the Xiaolong Principality, but that will not only help the matter, but will also aggravate the disunity within the empire!" Arthur twitched his throat:

"In the past, war broke out in the empire, and the emperor issued a call for all places to respond. This was an obligation that must be observed. There was never a term for 'compensation'; once the nobles of the Principality of Xiaolong were compensated in the war, then Adlan, Bram, …The imperial territories on these borders, or the families that have paid a heavy price in response to the call before, will definitely not agree.”

"Just asking for the same treatment as the Principality of Xiaolong in this war is easy to solve. What if the Wolfe family, Levent family and Wharton family, who have shouldered heavy border defense missions in the past hundred years, and are almost responsible for The Bernard family, which has taken over most of the empire's naval maintenance tasks, and the four principal principalities and their affiliated families have launched an attack at the same time, demanding compensation for all the losses in the past. Your Majesty, there is absolutely nothing you can do."

"So no matter how heavy the price is, even if we lose this battle, in order to ensure that the empire will not have internal conflicts and divisions and maintain the most superficial unity, we must not let the flames of war burn on the land of Xiaolong Principality!"

The heavy words fell, and the response was Joseph III's long silence.

His Majesty did not give a reply, and Arthur Herred, who was sweating coldly, could only kneel on the ground with his head lowered and motionless, for fear that he and his brother-in-law would be killed accidentally.

After a long time, the emperor finally spoke: "Bernard...he is just a southerner after all. He cannot truly understand how deep the bond is between the nobles of the Principality of Snapdragon and the Herred royal family; he does not understand that even if the entire empire betrays Without me, the knights of Xiaolong Principality will follow their emperor to the end of the world!"

"His Majesty……"

"Send my order. All troops retreat!"

Empty me, back!