I will be crowned king

"Clovis-Imperial Amity and Peace Agreement (Draft)":

"...Article 45, the empire fully opens inland water routes and promises to grant preferential licenses to Clovis merchants, including but not limited to security transportation along the way, tariff reductions and exemptions, and reduction of various contraband items..."

"...Article 46, the empire unilaterally and completely abandons all territorial claims to Clovis, and the existing boundaries between the two parties shall prevail. It will be a permanent and sacred boundary for both parties and will never be violated..."

"...Article 47, Joseph III must, in the name of the emperor and the guardian of the world of order, publicly declare that Clovis has not created laws that destroy the world, recognize Clovis's current system, and recognize that Clovis people can have An order that is different from the empire, but on an equal footing..."

"Article 48: The empire should take the initiative to withdraw its border troops and dismantle and destroy one-half of its border fortresses to prove its determination to abide by the agreement and maintain order and world peace..."

After reading the last line, Anson, who was somewhat thirsty, paused, and looked at the two emperor's envoys opposite who were already restless with an expressionless face: "The above is that Clovis is in power, and Anson Bach represents all the people of Clovis. , as well as the current conditions proposed by the Hantu-Clovis coalition of 150,000 in the Changji River.

"If you agree, we can organize a withdrawal immediately and continue to maintain friendly exchanges with neighboring countries with the empire; if you don't agree... we will kill all your last remaining defeated soldiers, besiege and massacre Xiaolong City, and ensure that no chickens or dogs are left behind. .”

"This this?!"

The imperial envoy with trembling pupils suppressed the resentment in his heart, first raised his hand to stop his already furious companion, and looked righteously at Ansen sitting opposite: "This is your attitude, I can think that you are deliberately provoking, To continue provoking a war between the two countries?!"

"Provocation, do you think I am provoking?" Anson raised his eyebrows in surprise:

"I don't understand. Compared with what the Empire...ah, to be more precise, His Majesty the Emperor has done, the conditions we proposed are simply generous, aren't they?"

"What your Majesty has done..."

"Yes, Carindia Port, Summit Tower Fortress, Sail City, Black Reef Port and Red Moon Town. Wherever the Imperial Knights went, they were all burned to the ground and left with tens of thousands of corpses?"

Anson said coldly: "If the emperor can do it, why can't it be Clovis's turn?"

"This, this, this, this..." the emperor's messenger hesitated, his face turned red: "Not to mention whether the example you mentioned has reference value, how can the two be compared?"

"why not?"

"Why...that, that is the emperor, the guardian of the ordered world!"

"Oh, so what?"

"So... I simply don't know where to start with this question of yours!" The messenger stood up from his chair and said, "Your Majesty's words are unbelievable. You are almost putting Your Majesty in the same position as any king of the world of order!"

"As a believer in the Circle of Order, everyone should know the special nature of His Majesty's identity! Even if His Majesty is forced to condescend, even if His Majesty can really agree, you... do you really think you can be recognized by the entire world of Order? Everyone? They will only think that this is the cruelty and coercion of the Clovis people; there will be no widespread recognition at all!"

Although the messenger's sonorous and forceful rebuttal was full of indignation, it was not difficult for everyone present to hear the pleading beneath his words.

To put it more bluntly, even if this kind of blackmail letter was taken back to force Joseph III to sign, the nobles from top to bottom in the empire would not be able to nod in agreement - this is no longer a matter of admitting defeat, it is simply a wanton in their world view. trample.

It is true that the imperial nobles hate Joseph III, but it does not mean that they want to overthrow the "Emperor-Empire" system that has been passed down for thousands of years. They do not care that Joseph Herred died as an individual without a burial place, but in the light of The emperor's identity was humiliated, and he even lost his power and humiliated the country. This was a result that the entire empire could not accept.

Joseph III is obviously willing to negotiate at the moment, otherwise he would not acquiesce in allowing his knights to contact Clovis privately; but on the other hand, his status as emperor does not allow him to show weakness, otherwise he would have abandoned his nobles The princes and princes were afraid that they would immediately attack him and depose him as the emperor.

Therefore, Clovis must make concessions to save the face of Joseph III, so that the negotiation can be established-even if it is just face.

"……I see."

After a long silence, the originally domineering Ansen suddenly changed his face and raised his hand to signal the guards on the side to offer ice-cold red wine to the envoys:

"As the representative of His Majesty Joseph, I failed to take into account the positions of the two of you. It is indeed due to our lack of consideration. After fully considering the actual conditions, it is somewhat too abrupt to ask His Majesty the Emperor in a completely equal manner."

The two envoys breathed a sigh of relief, but before they could pick up the wine glasses that were brought to them, they heard Anson's next words: "Even so, I would like to trouble you to take the draft of this agreement back and ask your Majesty to read it." .”

"Hey, why is this?"

"You have your difficulties, and we also have our difficulties." Anson smiled bitterly:

"In order to win this battle, Clovis, who had just experienced the royal family's exodus and was in chaos, not only tried his best to organize an expedition of 100,000 troops, but also mobilized the most important Hantu allies, and finally gained some advantages. If you can't show some attitude, it will be difficult to explain to the soldiers and the people in the country."

"So even if His Majesty is outraged or renegotiated, this agreement must appear; of course, when it comes to the actual negotiation stage, we will delete the inappropriate parts as appropriate, leaving His Majesty ample room for maneuver. .”

"I see……"

The imperial envoy nodded and patted the stunned companion next to him: "Then, please allow us to go back and report the matter to His Majesty Joseph. If anything happens in the future, we will communicate with you as soon as possible. "

"No problem, please." Anson raised his glass in greeting: "If you have any news, please communicate directly with Fabian and Earl Schlieffen on the east coast. They can fully represent my opinions."

"Thank you very much, farewell."

"Well, have a nice trip."

After the formulaic greetings, the two emperor's envoys put down their wine glasses and stood up to leave.

When they walked away, Carl Bain, who had been silent from beginning to end, finally breathed a sigh of relief: "This way... the emperor's side has it all."

"Well, next are the princes of the empire and the Church of Order in Xiaolong City." Anson also breathed out softly: "Joseph III must abdicate, but we cannot let him notice this; on this basis Come on, let the empire accept our terms."

"It's really... like dancing on a cliff."

Young Leon, who was also present, was almost out of breath: "While negotiating with the emperor, I have to negotiate with the archdukes, and I also have to be wary of the church hiding behind the scenes. If they are aware of it..."

"Don't worry about this, because it's useless to worry." Anson chuckled: "If I guess correctly, at the same time we met with the emperor's envoy, the two Grand Dukes Roland and Levent already knew about this matter. ”

"well?"

"You should be impressed by one of the two envoys sent by the other party, Leon."

Anson reminded: "Arthur Herred is one of the legion commanders sent by the empire to participate in the Holy War Army, the famous Dragon Knight."

"It's actually him?! I didn't even notice..." Little Leon's pupils suddenly shrank: "Wait! I remember that Count Bernard Morvis seemed to be his sister's husband, and now Bernard Count De should be in the camp of Archduke Levent?!"

"That's right, so it shouldn't take long for the news about our agreement with the emperor to reach the ears of Levent and Archduke Roland." Karl took over the words: "The so-called precautions have been from the beginning. Pointless."

"On the other hand, since the other party knows, then we can use this to put pressure on them." Anson spread his hands:

"We can either assist them in forcing the emperor to abdicate, or we can let nature take its course and give Joseph III a step forward. The autonomy is entirely on our side. The defeated emperor also needs us 'enemies' to help him suppress the loyal knights and grand dukes. , as long as he has enough face, he won’t be too insistent.”

"But...if the emperor is willing to compromise, do we really want to side with him?"

"Of course that is absolutely impossible." Karl shook his head:

"Joseph III can only be a weapon we use to threaten the Grand Dukes. The conflict between us and him has already reached an extreme point. Even if we compromise temporarily, it is impossible to reach cooperation; he cannot give up the invasion of Clovis. , we cannot tolerate another emperor who can use the banner of the Osterian royal family."

"But before everything settles, we might as well give him some room for fantasy."

Anson added: "Offer to make some concessions and imply that everything is negotiable."

"Oh, for example..."

"For example, although our price is very high, as long as the emperor can temporarily give up the plan to invade Clovis, we are not unable to withdraw our troops. We can even put on a little show and be defeated by His Majesty..."

……………………

"Anson Bach...did he really say that?"

"Well……"

Facing the emperor's extremely eager gaze, Arthur Herred twitched his throat: "No...but he did hint like that!"

"hint?"

"Yes, probably because there are subordinate officers and Leon Francois, the crown prince of Hantu, present, Anson Bach does not dare to speak too clearly." Arthur Herred tried hard to explain. road:

"Although the demands of the Clovis people seem to be many, in the final analysis they only have to maintain peace with the empire, and the rest are just insignificant icing on the cake; as long as His Majesty is willing to maintain peace with Clovis, they are very happy to withdraw their troops!"

Looking at the draft agreement in his hand, Joseph III frowned. Perhaps his innate nature was giving a warning. He always felt that there was a trap hidden in it. The other party first proposed a condition that seemed extremely harsh, but then his attitude changed. Acted very sincerely.

Being arrogant in the front and respectful in the back, if there is no problem, then it is simply the biggest problem.

However, at the same time, the conditions proposed by the other party seem to be very tempting, or it is his only choice at the moment... If he cannot reach a compromise with the Clovis people as soon as possible and let them withdraw their troops, the legions of the two bastards Roland and Levent will What will happen, only God knows.

"Arthur!"

"Uh...here!" The young knight quickly raised his head: "Your Majesty, what are your orders?"

"You once participated in the Holy War against the New World and were one of several legion commanders, so you must have fought against Anson Bach from the opposite side?"

Joseph III suddenly lowered his head, almost face to face with the knight's eyes: "Tell me, what kind of guy is he? Is he trustworthy?"

"Uh, this..."

Arthur's mouth twitched slightly as he was being stared at, and he tried hard to recall the few impressions in his memory: "I... I actually don't have much contact with Anson Bach. Most of what I know about this guy is... I heard it from brother-in-law Bernard.”

"It doesn't matter." The emperor said without blinking, "Let's talk about it."

"...as you command."

Although he was extremely frightened, Arthur still gritted his teeth and mustered up the courage: "According to Brother-in-law Bernard, Anson Bach... Although this guy will always make some unexpected moves, as long as he is Things that have been promised will not be broken easily; when confronting him, what you need to be careful of is that he may seem crazy, but in fact he may have a rigorous plan in mind, but there is no need to worry that he will use lies or deception."

"This is a guy who is so cautious that he values ​​​​pre-planning. It's not that he doesn't know how to lie or is not good at deception, but in the plan that he thinks is rigorous and perfect, lying is an inefficient way to have side effects. Option - Because he keeps his promise, allies and subordinates can establish a mutually trusting relationship with him as quickly as possible, and are more likely to accept his seemingly crazy ideas."

"Is that so..." the emperor thought thoughtfully: "So, do you think his proposal is trustworthy?"

"At least it's worth a try!"

Arthur Herred nodded solemnly: "In the name of Herrid, if the Clovis people on the opposite side really use me to deceive Your Majesty, even if I risk my life, I will do my best to fight with Anson... Bach will die together and we will never let him continue to be rampant."

"That's not necessary, my dear Arthur, you are a bloodline of the Herred family... At this turbulent moment, you should learn to protect yourself." Joseph III no longer had any doubts:

"Tell the Clovis people that I promise to negotiate, and the time will be tomorrow morning. Let them come to see me!"