I will be crowned king

The sound of the cannons gradually became thinner, and the thick smoke gradually dissipated, but the iron hoofs beating on the earth were still deafening.

After the attempt to annihilate Anson and the 1st Infantry Regiment failed and they paid a heavy price, the Imperial Cavalry quickly changed their thinking and began to use a scattered and encircling method to launch harassing raids.

If it were a regular army from the Kingdom of Clovis, they would definitely be holding on to their position while quickly gathering with surrounding troops to complete the encirclement of the enemy; relying on fortifications, multi-faceted firepower and artillery support to force the enemy to disperse.

But it's a pity that the Thunder Castle levy force is a no-name and no-name brand - almost at the moment of the battle, the entire forward position collapsed at a touch!

Facing the fortifications that had been swept away by artillery fire, some of the conscripted soldiers who had no fighting spirit could only huddle up and hide in the trenches, waiting in panic for orders from their superiors; many more simply refused to fire a single shot and even The resistance collapsed without any resistance.

What's worse is that because the entire siege position is connected together, every collapse will inevitably have a linkage effect: the front-line troops that consolidated the position collapsed, and the officers fled for their lives, causing the soldiers in the back row to lose contact with the army, let alone know what happened. Whose order should I follow? I was at a loss.

Although there are still many officers who know the terrible consequences of losing their positions and desperately try to gather the defeated armies to keep their positions; but the armies fighting on their own have neither the strength nor the courage to organize a charge at any time when the troops are close to them. Imperial Cavalry.

These few guys, who could not even form a full company, did not have the same luck as Anson; after several rounds of volleys, they were surrounded and annihilated by the imperial cavalry that quickly assembled superior forces.

Originally, only the forward positions were defeated, but as more and more troops were carried away and fled toward the rear, the situation gradually became more and more complete, and seemingly solid positions were lost in patches.

Fortunately, the Imperial Cavalry, which had suffered a loss from the first regiment, no longer tried to annihilate the defeated levied army. After one contact, they instead used semi-circling fire to continuously harass and undermine the morale of the levied army.

At the same time, these cavalry were also very aware of their own disadvantages. They knew that the victory in front of them was only temporary. The strength of the two sides was very different. They did not dare to stay too much in the siege position with complex terrain... Finally, the "battle for the artillery fortress" was not allowed to happen again. Perform it once.

Even so, the torn Thunder Fort levy force spent a lot of resources and time, and the defense system it finally built was completely destroyed.

Although this kind of paper-like defense system seems to be nothing to regret even if it is completely torn; but if the imperial army in Thunder Castle notices it and uses the momentum to defeat the entire levy army in one fell swoop, then it will not be a matter of shooting one person. The leader can solve the problem.

So regardless of the fact that there were still a large number of troops that had not yet had time to retreat, Ludwig Franz decisively ordered an artillery bombardment of the lost positions; at the same time, Lieutenant Colonel Roman, who led the Grenadier Regiment, gathered the scattered troops just like last time. Reorganize the counterattack.

Although the morale of the levied troops was low, let alone any fighting will, they managed to maintain the advancing military line by relying on the supervising team and numerical superiority, forcing the imperial cavalry to "retreat steadily."

But that’s about it.

Even with the absolute numerical advantage and infantry firepower, the harassment attack of the imperial cavalry was barely repelled, but the levy army was still beaten unilaterally - the artillery firepower was completely suppressed by the fortress, and the only light cavalry company was in front of the imperial cavalry. He can't even be restrained. If he rushes forward, he will die.

The battle lasted for more than an hour in total, and finally the levied troops regained control of the position. After suffering almost three to four hundred casualties, they watched the imperial cavalry rush away and retreated to the fortress to declare the end of the battle.

………………

"...Preliminary judgment is that the enemy's purpose of this action is to destroy our morale and destroy the forward defenses to hinder the encirclement of the fortress..."

"...One hundred and sixty-five people were killed, 172 were seriously injured, and 286 were slightly injured; the second and third corps were severely damaged and needed to be replenished as soon as possible to restore combat effectiveness; the defenses of the forward positions Almost everything was destroyed, and a lot of materials were buried under the rubble. Extra manpower needs to be dispatched to dig as soon as possible..."

Standing in front of the sand table, Lieutenant Colonel Roman looked at the brigadier general who looked extremely ugly, and reported the results in as calm a tone as possible - even if this did not change anything.

Ludwig put his elbows on the table, the fingers holding his chin trembled slightly, and the veins on the back of his pale hands were exposed.

After an unknown amount of time, Roman stopped reporting and carefully placed the list on the table; instead of leaving, he stood there like a sculpture, silently watching the brigadier.

After a while, Ludwig blinked his sour eyes and looked at Roman:

"how long?"

"Within ten days, the forward positions and artillery forts will be roughly completed." Roman said without thinking:

"By then we will have two artillery forts. At least for a short period of time, we can suppress the imperial defenders at the city gate with artillery fire. If everything goes as Anson Bach planned, then..."

"That means twelve, no! In eleven days, we can launch a general attack on Thunder Castle!"

A slightly hoarse growl echoed in the quiet camp and dissipated.

Ludwig, who didn't wait for the expected reply, raised his gaze and stared indifferently at his best friend who still had an expressionless face.

"You don't agree?"

"Yes."

"...Give me a reason."

"I never thought that I would answer you like this, but Anson Bach is right." After only hesitating for a moment, Roman's expression quickly recovered and said in a deep voice:

"No matter what, Thunder Castle is a heavily guarded fortress. To rush in without complete preparation is a gamble; what you need...is a sure and hearty victory!"

"At least for now! Since you choose to believe in him, please follow his plan to establish a solid siege position, gradually shorten the attack distance, and then launch a general attack when the opportunity is right!"

Ludwig was somewhat surprised when he looked at Roman who remained calm.

A few hours ago, he told himself not to trust Anson Bach too much, but now...

"Okay, I accept your suggestion; the plan to seize the city is temporarily postponed. The most important thing right now is to consolidate the position." Ludwig said in a deep voice:

"What happened today must never happen again!"

"yes!"

Roman turned around and stepped forward, but was stopped by Ludwig when he was about to leave.

"What happened to Anson Bach...and his 1st Infantry Regiment, I remember they were also in the forward positions. How were the casualties?"

"They were the first unit to fight the Imperial Cavalry, so they suffered a lot of casualties, but their structure is still intact." Roman answered truthfully:

"You probably survived the first round of the cavalry charge with the help of artillery fire cover, right?"

……………………

Although Anson still had a premonition the moment the imperial cavalry was "headshot" by a cannonball; but when the little girl "asked for credit" from him with a proud face, he was still shocked.

"How do you know how to use a cannon?"

This is the most puzzling thing about Anson. No matter how much he complains about this damn "bang bang cannon", it is still a cannon and not a rifle. It is definitely not something that can be used at a glance.

"I won't!" Lisa grinned and showed two fangs:

"It's all done by the old smoking uncle. All Lisa has to do is aim, and the rest is all caused by the old smoking uncle... Oh, he's gone?"

Following Lisa's confused gaze, Anson looked sideways. The figures that were puffing away in the corner disappeared without a trace at some point.

Reminiscent of Carl's expression when he came in, Anson felt that he had almost guessed it.

"Then...can Lisa stay?"

Lisa, who stared at Anson, leaned forward, her unblinking eyes filled with a hint of hope, a hint of flattery and a hint of nervousness, and her dangling calves kept shaking:

"Lisa can use guns and cannons. Lisa can shoot accurately. Lisa can stay, right?"

"Can."

Anson nodded: "From today on, you are my skirmisher company commander!"

"Well, great!"

After receiving a positive answer, Lisa nodded vigorously, her eyes curved into crescent shapes, but she also showed a confused expression:

"What is a skirmisher company commander?"

Well……

Anson pondered for a moment, and considering that after explaining, he still had to explain to her what a "skirmisher" was and what a "company commander" was, he decided to simplify the problem.

"He who can drink two bowls of vegetable broth and three pieces of dry bread a day is a skirmisher company commander."

"Really?!"

Lisa was surprised again.

"Absolutely true!"

Looking at Lisa who was immersed in the joy of "two bowls of broth a day", Anson nodded seriously.

He felt that something precious was quickly disappearing deep inside him.

Sigh... Just disappear, it will happen sooner or later...

"Gu."

A very strange voice sounded in their ears at the same time.

Lisa, who was overjoyed just a second ago, slapped her belly button with her right hand with a "pop!" sound, and looked at Anson with a serious expression:

"hungry."

Um?

Anson looked confused: "Are you hungry? But didn't you just..."

"Gu."

Another sound interrupted Anson's words.

With big aggrieved eyes and a serious expression, Lisa repeated:

"hungry."

"..." Anson.

Looking at Lisa who was pressing her belly and swallowing saliva, Anson found that he seemed a little hungry too - he hadn't eaten much for almost the whole day, and he had just finished a battle and needed to rely on his appetite to relieve himself after the battle. mental stress and fatigue.

The Clovis Army's food standards are very strict, but they are for ordinary soldiers and low-ranking officers. As a lieutenant colonel, Anson can now say goodbye to cured meats, stale vegetables and inferior beer - as long as he is willing to spend the money money.

As it happens, he's in very good financial shape right now.

This is because Ludwig did not take over the logistics of the 1st Infantry Regiment, and the general's salary was still paid to Anson according to the establishment, but no matter what supplies the 1st Infantry Regiment wanted to purchase, it had to go through the logistics of the levied troops of Thunder Castle.

At present, the First Regiment only has the size of two or three companies, and the brigadier general, who is not short of money, still pays him according to the standard of the full regiment, plus the original salary of a lieutenant colonel... When the war is over, he will only rely on "withholding military pay" "Anson can make a small fortune.

Thirty minutes later, there was a whole roast chicken on the table in front of the two of them, plus a large plate full of fried sausages.

The two hungry people sandwiched the "sizzling" fried sausage with dry bread and devoured it in big mouthfuls.

The freshly baked dry bread still exudes a slight aroma of wheat, and is paired with sausages wrapped in casings with a faint smoky smell in the middle. When you bite into it, you will find the salty and spicy minced meat mixed with the fat that seeps into it. It rolls up and down between your lips and teeth, stimulating your taste buds like crazy.

Compared with sausages, which are very practical and convenient to satisfy hunger, the tender and delicious roast chicken is an extremely rich delicacy for most Clovis people, and they are only devoured during festivals.

After all, eating one's own chickens is equivalent to eating the source of eggs. In "former Anson's" memory, he could only eat chicken at any time after he went to the Royal Capital Church Academy.

Soaked in the aroma of bell peppers and butter, the crispy skin is shiny with layers of oil; the potatoes are thoroughly stewed, soft and delicious, and smeared with black peppercorns; if these beautiful appearance cannot satisfy the diners, then the appearance Crispy and tender underneath, mixed with the sauce that is stuffed directly into the chicken belly while grilling, it will definitely conquer the taste buds of all diners.

At least Anson and Lisa were truly conquered.

Lisa, who had eaten three-quarters of the sausage and most of the roast chicken, yawned without any surprise and fell asleep directly on the bench.

Looking at Lisa, who still had bread crumbs and sauce stains on her mouth, with a happy smile on her face, Anson sighed and couldn't help but smile bitterly.

Based on her appetite, I'm afraid she won't be able to save even a copper plate in the end.

Holding his newly appointed "skirmisher company commander" in his arms, Anson found a way to get her a separate tent - this was not a particularly difficult task in the severely understaffed First Infantry Regiment.

Looking at the evening sky outside, Anson dragged his tired body back to his tent.

Anson, who was promoted to regiment leader, could have changed to a new residence. He didn't even have to change his residence. He could have lived directly in the camp of the former regiment commander - the fat man shot by Ludwig - Waylon Small; but considering Again, he stayed in his old tent.

The moment he walked into the tent, Anson froze on the spot, and his right hand holding the door curtain stopped in mid-air.

Someone has been here.

Unlike last time when there was no trace, there were still quite obvious footprints on the ground outside the tent; inside the empty tent, a piece of letter paper was placed undisguisedly on his desk.

On the letter paper, there is a bloody "original rune"!

Stunned for a moment, Anson immediately realized two things:

There was no cover-up, indicating that the other party came in a hurry this time, and it should be a temporary move; secondly, if nothing else happens, the other party has not gone far yet.

He's around!

Taking a deep breath and remaining calm, Anson resisted the urge to turn his head to look for the other person, and carefully picked up the letter on the table.

The blood soaked into the paper turned into a string of elegant characters the moment he picked it up:

[Dear parishioners, I will be visiting tonight. 】