I will be crowned king

Although he had expected it, when war was officially declared on the Elf Kingdom of Yser, the atmosphere in the entire Clovis City still surprised Ansem.

Anson, who was sitting in the taxi, looked out the window. Both sides of the street, which still bore traces of the riots a week ago, were covered with Clovis's bloody Unicorn King flag.

Shouting newsboys sold newspapers that still smelled of ink to the cheerful crowd. The streets were filled with a cheerful atmosphere, as if they were welcoming the New Year.

Anson sighed softly, and looked back from the window to fall on a copy of the "Kingdom Loyalty Newspaper" he bought when he went out. The title was as always bold and bold, and it was unparalleled and eye-catching:

"The king's declaration - it's time to bring down the wrath of the Clovis people!"

"Dear members, nobles, and people who are loyal to the kingdom, today is a day that should be remembered; the capital of the great Kingdom of Clovis, the land blessed by Saint Isaac, suffered from the evil and evil-doing old people. Deliberate sabotage by the gods!”

"They encouraged innocent and kind civilians to destroy and ravage this beautiful and elegant city in the most barbaric way; this is a shame, a shame that all Clovis people with conscience should feel!"

"The one who brings us this shame is the Elf Kingdom of Yser, which Clovis has always respected, treated equally, and worked hard to establish friendship and peace with for many years!"

"Their ambassador's identity as an Old God believer who has been hidden for many years is enough to prove that this race and kingdom's belief in the Circle of Order is a complete lie; their deliberate destruction of Clovis City has destroyed the respect and friendship of the Clovis people. Trampled underfoot without mercy!"

"For the glory of Clovis and the punishment of this race that has no shame or faith, I, Carlos II, on behalf of the Osteria family, on behalf of the five hundred members of the Privy Council, on behalf of all the people who are loyal to the kingdom, officially Announcing: Starting from March 8th, the Kingdom of Clovis declares war on the Elf Kingdom of Iser, including its despicable associates!”

"We will break down their walls, burn their fields, shoot their lackeys, rebuke their kings, and let the banner of the Blood Unicorn fly over their lands."

"Then they will understand the price of violating the dignity of the Clovis people!"

A murderous declaration of war—in every sense of the word.

There was no discussion, no goodwill, and even the excuses sounded far-fetched. They basically pointed at the nose of the Iser Elf and said: Don't ask, if you ask I will beat you.

It has long been known to the Kingdom of Clovis that it covets the Yser Elf. There is only when to fight this rich but weak neighbor, not whether to fight. Everyone from top to bottom is looking forward to this war. 's arrival

The royal family needs to make up for the prestige lost due to the disbandment of the Guards, the Privy Council and the treasury need to divert people's attention and make up for the shortfall in the imperial war, the army hopes to regain the lost face... Even ordinary people hope to rely on this war to bring More employment opportunities. After all, major factories are always short of manpower during the war.

But in Anson's view, this "punishment war" against the Yser elves may not fulfill the wishes of many people.

Because it was so rushed.

There is no preparation, no plan, and there is not even a very clear strategic goal-invasion alone cannot be considered a goal-and there is not even a clear direction of attack, so the cruel words are released first.

And this may even be the first time that the legions preparing to launch an attack are all composed of levies, and there is not even a regiment of regular troops... This shows that the Kingdom of Clovis is currently short of troops to deal with the invasion of the empire, and it is impossible to be larger. The large-scale mobilization of a legion to attack Yser also shows how hastily the preparations for this war were, and they were ready to start the war just by grabbing a random army.

No matter how weak the Iser Elf Kingdom is, it is still a large country with tens of thousands of troops, light and heavy artillery, and a population of tens of millions.

How can we "punish" people with just a "Southern Legion" composed entirely of conscripts?

To be honest, Anson felt that even the royal family and the Privy Council had not seriously thought about this issue; most of them thought that as long as they could use the declaration of war to divert the conflicts between the inner and outer cities that had become more acute due to the riots in Clovis, they could fight a few battles by the way. , let the Ysel elves withdraw from the war, and we can negotiate a peace with a small loss of money.

After all, this is an army that is about to set off, but even the deputy commander has to learn about it from newspapers and scribes... Anson sighed helplessly and glanced at what he could already see in the distance outside the car window. Franz's house.

………………

"I'm sorry that I made the decision without consulting you in advance."

In the exquisite but simple study room, Ludwig took two glasses of rum from the wine cabinet and said apologetically to Anson on the sofa behind him:

"The incident happened suddenly... To be honest, I don't know why my father suddenly agreed with my idea and helped me get rid of the position of commander of the Guards."

"And the price of being the Archbishop's helping hand..." Anson pretended to think seriously:

"You must accept the job of commander of the Southern Legion and lead the invasion of the Elf Kingdom of Yser?"

"That's pretty much it."

The seemingly helpless Ludwig handed the wine glass to Anson, but the excitement flashed in his eyes betrayed him:

"The expedition date was set for March 15th, but actually we have to leave on the 14th. I only have less than a week to finalize my headquarters."

"Anson Bach...the first thing I thought of was you!"

Looking at Anson with a suitably surprised expression, Ludwig sat down in front of him with some excitement:

"My father and the bastards in the army recommended many candidates to me - either barely graduated from the military academy, the second son of a noble family, or just lost his job due to the disbandment of the Guards, and has not fought a day in the war. What a waste!"

"In the eyes of this group of people, defeating the Yser elves is probably as easy as suppressing a riot on the streets of Clovis City. When the army arrives, just shoot a few shots and the enemy will flee!"

Taking a sip of rum, the sarcastic Ludwig's eyes gradually became serious:

"But we all know that's not true."

"Since three years ago, various new rifles and artillery have been continuously purchased, and the army of the Iser Elf Kingdom trained by instructors hired from the empire is not as weak as they imagined."

"But it's an empire-style army that can stand head-on against the regular army of the Kingdom of Clovis and still not fall behind!"

"This kind of army is not some scum that will collapse when it hears the sound of gunshots; this kind of army is enough to stop Clovis' expansion beyond their national borders!"

The moment the words fell, what Anson felt from Ludwig's serious words was not fear, nor heaviness, nor even the nervousness of facing a powerful enemy; it was fire, a fire that was already burning in his chest.

Ludwig Franz...he is very excited now.

Just like a man who is about to get married, he is as excited as preparing to attend a bachelor party under the arrangement of a group of friends.

This is not good... Ansen, who was trying his best to restrain his expression, said silently in his heart.

"That's why I need a qualified officer corps, a good chief of staff, and... a deputy that I can fully trust."

Ludwig stared at Anson with burning eyes:

"I told the Army that it is okay to want me to be the commander, but it must give me full personnel rights - so no matter Anson Bach, whether you want it or not, from now on you are the deputy commander of the Southern Army!"

"A deputy commander with the rank of lieutenant colonel?" Anson held the wine glass in his hand and looked at him with some suspicion:

"Are you sure you won't cause any protests from the officer corps?"

"Just let them say it." Ludwig didn't care:

"If anyone dares to protest, let him go. This will just free up the position and let those who are truly capable take over the army for me!"

The corner of Anson's mouth twitched... He almost forgot that this was the archbishop's biological son, a commander who was definitely not short of money. If it weren't for the army's regulations on contracting for conscripted troops, he could have contracted the entire southern army by himself.

"Of course, don't worry even if they protest, they won't be able to see you most of the time anyway." Ludwig suddenly said.

Um?

Anson's expression was startled... What do you mean they can't see me?

"According to the battle plan arranged by the army, the Southern Army's main attack direction is not one, but two." Ludwig explained:

"In other words, the two of us each led a part of the army to attack in different directions; because in addition to the apparent enemy Yser elves, there is also the Southern Seven Cities Alliance..."

After Ludwig patiently spent five minutes explaining in detail, the confused Anson finally figured out what this genius plan of "splitting the troops into two groups" was all about.

To put it simply, the members of the army and the Privy Council and the top officers have not completely lost their minds. They know that it is absolutely impossible to break into the borders of the Ysel elves with just a makeshift "legion". In the king's speech, he "burned their fields, shot their lackeys, and berated their kings."

Therefore, the real target of the Kingdom of Clovis is their ally, the Seven Southern Cities Alliance, which is weaker than the Yser elves.

This is a regional alliance mainly composed of seven free city-states, principalities and noble republics located at the southern end of the old world, south of the Dawn Ice Peak. It has rich products and excellent harbors facing the south.

Although its strength is not strong, it relies on friendly relations with the Church of Order and many countries, as well as the natural geographical barrier behind it, to firmly occupy a place in the world of Order in the Old Continent.

As the territory to the north of Dawn Ice Peak was eaten away by Clovis, the Southern Seven Cities Alliance, which became increasingly wary of its northern neighbor, continued to show its goodwill to Clovis, and at the same time, it actively sought help from the empire and the neighboring Elf Kingdom of Iser. Seek asylum.

As a landlocked country located in the east with few good harbors and trade routes, the Ysel elves can obtain a large number of new weapons from the empire. Among them, the Seven Cities Alliance hopes to divert the trouble eastward, allowing Clovis and the Ysel elves to A "helping hand" to start a war.

However, it is not feasible to attack the Seven Cities Alliance directly because of the obstruction of Dawn Ice Peak, and all roads leading from the Kingdom of Clovis to the south are in the hands of the Ysel elves and the empire.

Taking into account the need to pick up the weak points as much as possible, the army's first stop for the army's march south was Eagle Point City controlled by the Yisel elves - taking this fortress would open the way to the Seven Cities Alliance. .

At the same time, in order to ensure that there would be no interference from the Seven Cities Alliance when besieging the fortress, the army decided to divide the Southern Army into two, and use a small number of troops to bypass Eagle Point City from Ice Peak and enter the territory of the Seven Cities Alliance to launch a raid. Attack the fortress from behind at the critical moment and capture Eagle Point City in one fell swoop.

As for who is responsible for attacking the city after the legion is divided into two, and who is risking being frozen to death and coldly shot to death, running around like bandits in the enemy's territory, it is completely clear...

"...In short, this is probably the situation." Ludwig turned the wine glass in his hand and looked at Anson with a little embarrassment:

"I won't hide it from you. The preparations for this war were very inadequate from beginning to end; and the Privy Council and the Army have to form a new security force, so it is impossible to leave us with many troops. I asked roughly, and it was only ten thousand at most. people."

"How many people can you give me?" Anson asked, completely resigned to his fate, taking a sip of rum.

"Three infantry regiments - light weapons and equipment will be given priority to you. Take as much as you can."

A smile finally appeared on Ludwig's face, and he handed a stack of documents to Anson: "I can give you the storm regiment of Clovis Cathedral, and I will assign you two more infantry regiments. What else?" want?"

"What I want...can you give me the former First Infantry Regiment?"

"This won't work."

Ludwig categorically objected: "Your original First Infantry Regiment is now one of the few elites in the Thunder Castle levy force. I now use them as a grenadier regiment, and it is impossible to give them to you."

"Then...can you leave me alone?" Anson immediately changed his words.

"That's no problem." Ludwig nodded slightly, with a hint of meaning in his eyes:

"If I'm not mistaken, I already know who you want."

……………………

Outside the city of Clovis, the temporary military camp of the Thunder Castle levy force, five o'clock in the afternoon.

A young man wearing a black formal suit, a silk top hat, and carrying a hard leather bag on one shoulder came to the door of the military camp. After handing a card to the soldiers on guard, he smiled and walked straight to a very remote corner of the military camp. He walked to the barracks and gently knocked on the door.

"Excuse me, is Captain Carl Bain in this barracks?"

"That's me." The officer who opened the door looked up and down and almost didn't see him:

"What's wrong?"

"Nothing, you've been promoted!" The young man said with a smile on his face and handed him a card with an address:

"Congratulations, the deputy commander of the Southern Army has ordered me to invite you to join his officer corps and headquarters and become his adjutant!"

"Oh, there is such a good thing?!"