I will be crowned king

After hastily cleaning up the battlefield and getting supplies from nearby villages and towns for the first time since leaving the Dawn Mountains, and rescuing a few unlucky scouts who were kidnapped by villagers, Anson and his three infantry regiments, plus the Thun people, The patrol finally set off, walking on the road to Jinshi City.

Although the two sides resolved the "misunderstanding", it was obvious that Anson would not be able to return the loot to the Thun patrol, let alone the two most important hostages, who might even be related to the life and death of the entire army - including the two hostages he had just "recognized" "Cousin - hand it over.

However, in order to express his sincerity, Anson was still "magnanimous" and released all 300 patrol soldiers. The surviving elite cavalry were released alone and asked them to go to Jinshi City to deliver a message to the Grand Duke of Thun. The respect of Wei’s juniors”.

Stiffly riding on his mount, Leon Francois looked at Anson's back with a complicated expression - not only because the deputy commander has always refused to ride a horse and insisted on marching on foot; but also because he appeared here. reason.

He actually forced himself over from the Dawn Ice Peak!

According to Anson Bach, he followed Ludwig Franz in the north and south as deputy commander for several years - from Apostolic Calendar 99 to 100 - and was ordered to fight with Ludwig in times of crisis. The general led his army south - not counting the unemployment crisis - with a total of 40,000 troops and laid siege to Eagle Point City.

The terrain of Eagle Point City is dangerous, and it is not easy to capture it. In order to cut off the retreat route of the Ysel Elf support, the deputy commander proposed a very bold plan. He would personally lead the Storm Division - well, not the Storm Regiment. It was the Stormtroopers—six thousand people who forcibly crossed the Dawn Mountains, detoured behind enemy lines, and joined forces with the Grand Duchy of Thun to fight against the Ysel elves.

But very unfortunately or unsurprisingly, the army encountered an extremely severe snowstorm when crossing the ice peak; not only did two-thirds of the soldiers become separated, but they were also lost in the mountains for a time... It took twice as much time as planned to finally get there. Finally arrived in Thun.

This shocked Leon extremely.

For thousands of years, the Dawn Ice Peak has been regarded by the Hantu people as an insurmountable natural boundary, a barrier that protects them from invasion from the north; as the heir to the Grand Duchy of Thun, he was also indoctrinated and taught this way.

Now that an army of thousands of people not only had to cross, but actually cross the entire mountain range, it was impossible for Leon Francois not to be shocked; and besides being shocked, there was also a hint of admiration.

Of course, if he knew that Anson was forced to climb the snow-capped mountains, he might not be shocked but pity; but so far, Anson's "personality" has been maintained very well.

"Please don't take the deputy commander's words too seriously, young Master Leon."

Sensing the expression of the young knight, the middle-aged noble on the side couldn't help but said: "The covenant between the Seven Cities Alliance and the Yser Elves is a friendly agreement jointly established by both parties. There is no issue of threat at all."

"As for the ownership of Eagle Point City...the reasons are very complicated and definitely not as simple and direct as what he said!"

"Of course I know this." Leon waved his hand gently, indicating that the other party did not need to worry:

"I just think it's incredible that they were able to climb over the Dawn Ice Peak; this was April, and the snowstorm on the mountain was quite severe... How did they do it?"

"I don't know, maybe it's just good luck?"

The middle-aged nobleman frowned:

"In addition to crossing the Morning Mountains, the identity of this deputy commander is also very questionable."

"Yeah!" The young knight turned back sharply:

"How to say?"

"He is too young." The middle-aged noble stared at Anson's back, deliberately lowering his voice and showing a casual expression:

"The Clovis people are different from the Empire and us. I heard that the officers there are trained in specialized schools. Only experienced, respected and noble officers can hold such an important position as deputy commander. "

"The Southern Army is a huge army with a total of 40,000 people. The Bach family is just a small and not very prominent family. And this Lord Anson Bach does not look like he is over thirty years old. How did he climb to the top? In this position?”

The young knight opened his eyes slightly, not hiding his expression at all: "You mean, he is lying?"

"It's possible." The middle-aged noble's tone was a little uncertain:

"I guess he is just an ordinary mid-level officer who was ordered to bypass Eagle Point City to attack the transportation lines of the Yser elves. As a result, he got lost in the mountains and accidentally came to the territory of Thun."

"As for the so-called marriage between the Bach and François families, Clovis and Thun teaming up... are probably just lies he made up to gain our trust and let us be his hostages."

The astonished young knight nodded slightly, but still didn't believe it: "If this is true, then why didn't he just use the two of us to blackmail my father and let him and his army pass safely through Thun's territory?"

This time the middle-aged nobleman did not answer, which was also a very puzzling question for him.

………………

"It seems like a certain guy is about to reveal his secrets."

Carl Bain, who was walking beside Anson, gloated a little, still looking at the two riding figures behind him from the corner of his eye:

"I feel like they are about to discover that you, the deputy commander, are actually a fake who is not worthy of your name and is seriously watered down."

"It's okay." Anson said with a smile without looking back.

"This is not important."

"unimportant?!"

Carl Bain rolled his eyes exaggeratedly, trying desperately to restrain his urge to yell hysterically at Anson, his tone extremely impatient: "This is a major matter related to the life and death of more than two thousand of us, you tell me it's not important?! "

"Please listen clearly to me, my deputy commander, I am not the stupid Lisa, I am not the secretary who obeys your orders, nor is I that Fabian who has some evil intentions - I am The two thousand people you hired with money have the right to know what you want to do?!"

"Karl, calm down first."

"Explain first!"

"No problem." Anson smiled and nodded decisively:

"To put it simply, I want to give Grand Duke Thun a choice."

"Are you going to give him a choice, or are you going to force him to rebel against the Ysel elves and the Seven Cities Alliance?"

Karl interrupted unceremoniously: "Don't you think it's more likely that he will assemble an army and kill us all than accepting your proposal?"

"This is what you want to ask, can you hear me out?" Anson, who lost his smile, glanced at him expressionlessly.

Karl finally stopped talking, but his expression was still impatient.

Anson sighed in his heart - the old Karl was better, at least at that time he wouldn't have guessed what he was thinking so quickly.

Sometimes too much tacit understanding may not be a good thing. There are fewer opportunities to explain plans to others, and I always feel empty inside.

"To put it simply, when the news of our appearance was sent to Golden Stone City, 'Clovis's army is within the territory of the Grand Duchy of Thun' was an established fact that no one could cover up."

Taking a deep breath of cold air, Anson said while looking at the fields in the distance: "Then he has two choices: either eradicate us regardless of the consequences, or accept our proposal."

"The latter means betraying the Ysel elves and creating conflicts within the Seven Cities Alliance; while the former means formally declaring war on Clovis, and will usher in countless revenge!"

"Isn't that true? I don't think any Clovis noble would think that your life is that important except for your soon-to-be fiancée...Okay, just pretend I didn't say it, just keep going, keep going."

"So!" Anson glared at Karl, who was smiling apologetically:

"For Grand Duke Thun, the premise of how to make a decision is which outcome is more beneficial to him."

"At first glance, it certainly seems to be the former. Now that Clovis is launching war against Yser and the Empire at the same time, and with the Dawn Mountains blocking it, there is nothing to worry about. The latter will not only immediately fall out with important military allies, but will also cause the Seven Cities Alliance to mess."

"But the premise of all this is...'we' didn't show up." The corners of Anson's mouth couldn't help but rise.

"us?"

Karl was stunned for a moment, and then reacted suddenly:

"You mean crossing the Dawn Ice Peak?!"

"That's right!" Anson nodded heavily and said:

"This is why I let go of the more than 300 prisoners and elite cavalry, and why I lied to them. We have an entire infantry division."

"Those prisoners who were released will, on the one hand, spread the news throughout Thun, making it impossible for the Grand Duke of Thun to hide the matter; on the other hand, in order to cover up their defeat in the battle, they will definitely try their best to exaggerate Clovis's army to others. , how invincible!"

"In addition, they think that we have an entire infantry division. What would the Archduke of Thun think? Since the Clovis can allow one infantry division to cross the Dawn Mountains, they can allow two, three, or even more A reorganized legion crossed directly across the mountains and appeared outside his capital, Jinshi City."

"Then he will know two things: the Dawn Mountains cannot stop Clovis's troops, and his army is vulnerable to Clovis; as long as Clovis is willing, he can dispatch a large army at any time to conquer the map. kindness!"

"And the Ysel elves are now overwhelmed by Clovis's attack, and may even ask for help from the Seven Cities Alliance. Under such circumstances, do you think that as one of the strongest countries in the Seven Cities Alliance, the Grand Duke of Thun? Wouldn’t you have the ambition to regain the old land, or even unify the entire land?”

That's right, from the beginning, Anson was not worried at all that his "dear little cousin" would expose his lies. He even expected that the other party would do so.

At the moment, Anson deliberately doesn't have too much contact with him because he is still in a state of doubt about himself; instead of constantly showing kindness to the other party, it is better to keep a certain distance and wait for him to take the initiative to approach.

When he found out that Bach really had a marriage with the Francois family, and that he was really the deputy commander of the Southern Army, the remaining things that could not be verified immediately would naturally become the "truth"; The next generation of Grand Duke Thun believed from the bottom of his heart that he really came for the alliance between Clovis and Thun.

After that, as long as he maintains his personality in the negotiations with the Grand Duke of Thun and constantly instills in him the benefits of alliance with Clovis, he will naturally have an "ally" in Thun's court to help him win over Thun. The archduke surrendered to Clovis.

Of course, the most important thing is still the attitude of Grand Duke Thun.

Although the little secretary claimed to have "complete understanding" of the Seven Cities Alliance and "only had some superficial knowledge", he still gave Anson enough information.

For example, why Thun is a "grand duchy" rather than a "principality"; why the Francois family is called "ancient".

Because in the Dark Ages, or 350 BC, which is 450 years ago, the François family once ruled the entire land.

As a former royal family and a ruler who still insists on calling himself "Grand Duke", it is impossible for the François family not to have the ambition to rise again. What is missing is just an opportunity.

With a little pride, Anson looked at Karl with a chuckle.

The silent adjutant frowned, lowered his head and thought for a while, and then said as if he suddenly realized:

"So, the core of your whole plan is to brag and...scare him?"

Anson Bach: "...If you insist on understanding it from this perspective, it's not impossible."

"Then from what magical angle can I understand your flawless plan, Deputy Commander?" Karl still mocked unabashedly.

The journey from the Dawn Mountains to Golden Stone City was only two days in total, but for some purpose Anson deliberately slowed down his march, and it took him four full days to reach the capital of the Grand Duchy of Thun.

To be honest, the Jinshi City built on the plain does not look grand, but it looks very delicate; the towering gray-white city walls draw a neat diamond shape on the ground, and you can see the towering churches, palaces, and fountain squares in the city. and various scattered buildings, as if they were a world depicted in a painting.

But it wasn’t the painting-like city that caught everyone’s attention.

In the endless wilderness, thousands of military boots trampled the icy soil of early spring, and a series of military flags rustled in the cold wind; the bayonets on the rifles shot straight into the sky, standing motionless under the Jinshi City.

On both sides of this steel jungle, hundreds of cuirassiers spread out like wings; they held sabers, and carried rifles and carbines of different lengths on their saddles and backs. Carved with various, gorgeous and complicated patterns, they show their pride to the enemy.

At the front of the entire queue, twenty twelve-pound infantry cannons were lined up; the dark and ferocious cannons were still stained with light dew; one side was extremely eye-catching, painted with blood-red thorn flowers and decorated with golden tassels. The big flag stood in the center of the artillery array.

Right below the flag was a middle-aged man riding a black horse and wearing a red cloak. He was surrounded by more than a dozen knights who were also gorgeously dressed and kept blowing horns to give orders.

On April 19, 100 AD, Archduke Claude François of Thun personally led 6,000 Grand Duke's Guards to "welcome" the arrival of Anson Bach outside Jinshi City.