I will be crowned king

It turns out that when it comes to memory, the gap between humans and goldfish is very narrow - at least for the Carinthians.

When Anson signed the remittance order for 200,000 gold coins, approved the shipment of supplies from the Imperial (Hantu) fleet, and ordered the Storm Division and allied forces to patrol the Carindia Port to maintain law and order, Kawhi was present. All the Lindian nobles shed tears of gratitude and loudly cheered that the alliance between Clovis and Hantu was "unbreakable" and that their friendship was "lasting forever."

It seemed that in just a moment, they completely forgot everything that happened more than a month ago, and that the money was extorted from them by Anson, and now it was just "borrowed" back.

Just by returning one-third of what was stolen, and with payment, Anson, the "true devil", was immediately promoted to a saint in the eyes of all Carinthians.

This joy of bullying goldfish brought a serious sense of unreality to the deputy commander of the legion. He felt that the Carinthians in front of him did not look like living people, but neutral units in the game - first loot them all their notoriety points. Once it's full, wait for a while to cool down, and then you can raise your favorability back by completing tasks.

While complaining from the bottom of his heart, Anson became more determined to continue searching and squeezing these losers.

Facts have proved that this kind of guy who always puts compromise and survival as the first premise, and has no position to jump around is completely unworthy of sympathy. Every bit of kindness you pay to them is to help the enemy, and draining them dry is the real best thing. Excellent solution.

After understanding his position clearly, Anson also made some "small" changes in Renault's plan for the reconstruction of Carindia Port.

The first was a loan of two hundred thousand gold coins. One-half of this money was provided to Kalindia not in cash but in materials.

So Anson unceremoniously transferred the money directly to the name of the Storm Division, and sent a messenger as quickly as possible to deliver a letter to Alan Dawn, the logistics director of the Hantu General Staff, asking him to raise "a fund worth one hundred thousand gold coins." Supplies" were sent to the port of Carindia.

The little clerk who received the letter immediately "understood" Anson's order and immediately mobilized the Storm Division members within the staff to begin collecting various materials needed to rebuild the city in the rear of Hantu "with a maximum limit of 60,000 gold coins." , and prepare a baggage carriage sufficient to transport at least a quarter of the supplies.

Two days later, a messenger who was almost exhausted arrived at the Lighthouse Palace and announced to everyone that all supplies would be ready within seven days (six working days), and the first batch of transportation supplies would appear in Kalindi within four days. Outside the city gate of Yagang.

Under the temptation of "five-digit returns", administrators with church backgrounds joined forces with the levy corps, and achieved an efficiency that would stun all the natives.

As for the remaining 100,000 gold coins, Anson did not plan to send them directly to the Carindia people. Instead, he established a "Carindia Reconstruction Committee" to be responsible for supervising and operating the expenditure of this money.

The Storm Division, Emmanuel Family, and Carindia each occupy one-third of the seats on this committee. When the Storm Division evacuates the Port of Carindia, the vacant positions will be given to Hantu Cathedral.

This is not because Anson has much affection for the church - he is only infinitely loyal to the Franz family - it is purely out of retaliation for the Archbishop of Hantu, thanking him for remaining neutral during the occupation of the Imperial Advance Army and not turning the storm into a storm. The division's account was handed over to the Imperials.

Although the Church of Order has always claimed not to interfere in secular affairs, the authority of the archbishop of each diocese is actually very large; if the other party is really forced to hand over the account under pressure, even if the money can be recovered in the end, there will definitely be a considerable loss. .

Therefore, even if the other party just did "one's duty", Anson must express his gratitude - and win over the relationship so that when the "two hundred thousand compensation" is transferred to the Ministry of War, the other party can help him cover up and avoid Wear gang.

As for Anson's approach, Lenore, who is the actual owner of Carindia Port, agreed.

Although it is a little uncomfortable to think that the money they borrowed will still be borrowed from the lender, this "committee" is indeed a good way for the Emmanuel family to learn more about the recovery status of Carindia Port.

On the other hand, he actually had the same idea as Anson. He had no trust in the Carinthians who repeatedly jumped around. In fact, even if Anson did not mention this condition, Lenore would not be able to hand over the money to them with confidence. .

In fact, if it weren't for the defense of the Lighthouse Palace, this group of cowards finally showed a little bit of courage similar to when "Rabbit was forced to die". He originally planned to hang all these traitors.

Therefore, after a tacit understanding was reached among many parties, the "Carindia Port Reconstruction Committee" was officially established to organize post-war recovery work and put this formerly prosperous port city back on track, thus showcasing the two great powers of Hantu and Clovis. The sincere unity of the Kingdom.

As for the attitude of the Carinthians... who cares about them?

In an infinite good mood and holding a glass of ice-cold Tirpitz rum, Anson turned back to the lobby of the Lighthouse Palace.

The dilapidated Lighthouse Palace, which was under siege by the Imperial Advance Army a few days ago, has been repainted; the bright red carpet covers the floor that was originally full of blood and explosion traces, and the walls that smell of gunpowder smoke are covered in countless pieces. The lights were brightly illuminated by scented candles, and the broken crystal chandelier bloomed brightly again, like the sun in full bloom.

Under the radiance of this "Crystal Sun", there was a scene of feasting, singing and dancing, and people drinking wine... The officers gathered around the dining table to drink, and the Carindia nobles in gorgeous clothes showed off their generosity as hosts. The noble and elegant pretty girl is looking for her prey on the dance floor to the melodious tunes of the band.

Seafood from Hantu, fine wine from the Empire, desserts from Clovis, game from the Elf Kingdom of Iser... delicacies from the entire world of order are randomly placed on every table for all the guests to enjoy.

If one could not still see the devastated city outside through the windows and balconies, it would even make one doubt whether the tragic battle for Carindia Port really happened, let alone feel that the city under his feet was hungry among the ruins. .

Although they had reached the point where they could not make ends meet and even borrowed money to survive, the nobles of Carindia still insisted on holding a grand banquet to celebrate "the common victory of the two great kingdoms" and to appease Anson, the "devil's savior". happy.

Although Anson was not interested in this self-deceptive "self-hypnosis"—the 20,000-strong Imperial Expeditionary Force was still storming the Ayden Fortress—but he would not stop it.

What's more, after the Storm Division fought two battles on two battlefields in succession and experienced an extremely severe forced march, it really needed some rest and relaxation.

And they do have this qualification... If the Storm Division and the entire Hantu were almost at an absolute disadvantage when the port of Carindia fell, then with the successive destruction of the imperial fleet and the advance army, the once tilted balance The balance has been restored, even giving Anson a slight advantage.

On the west side, the "three hundred thousand army" led by Claude François has absolute strength and the advantage of fighting in the local area. On the east front, the Thun Army has also moved north to support the trapped Ludwig. Major General Franz.

Anson firmly believed that with the talents and strategies of these two men, backed by an absolutely sufficient supply line, and the fact that he had cut off the empire's tentacles extending to the weak hinterland of Hantu, the mere Imperial Expeditionary Force and the Thirteenth Council were not worth mentioning at all. !

Even if there is a small accident, the Hantu army can still retreat in large strides. The empire's 20,000 expeditionary troops are not enough to conquer the entire Hantu; and no matter how desperate the Thirteen Council is, it is impossible for the Church of Order to let a group of people take the initiative to expose themselves. The arrogant old god sect continues to live arrogantly.

In short, it's a sure win. Even if you lie flat on your back, you can at least draw, so how can you lose? !

This is not even the idea of ​​Anson alone, but the consensus of the entire Storm Division, and even everyone in the entire Lighthouse Palace hall at the moment; after experiencing the tragic Battle of Carindia Port, the originally "invincible" imperial army suddenly became He has become an existence that "doesn't seem to be that good" in the eyes of everyone.

"It seems like this war won't last long."

The enthusiastic Archbishop Hantu came to Anson with a glass of warm wine and congratulated Anson with a hint of drunkenness: "Dear Deputy Commander Anson Bach, should I congratulate you in advance?"

"Your praise is really frightening to me." With a shy wry smile, Anson very humbly clinked his wine glass with this good old man who was on the same level as Luther Franz: "But it seems that it is not time to celebrate yet. At that time, we had not repelled the empire’s invasion of Hantu.”

"What's more, even if they are repelled, the credit should belong to Major General Ludwig; as his subordinate, I will be satisfied as long as I can get my share of the reward."

"Oh?" The good old Bishop took a sip of his wine and gave a meaningful look:

"What about...what else?"

As the archbishop of the Church of Order, although the Hantu Diocese is far less wealthy than the Clovis Diocese, he still has his own intelligence network; regarding Anson's "relationship" with the Franz family, and the "relationship" between the Francois family "Blood Origin", I know something about it.

With such a network of connections, young people with a bright future are by no means the type to be satisfied with "the rewards they deserve".

Something else? I also want to get rid of the control of the Rune family, have my own steam difference engine, and become a blasphemy mage who curses magic without being wanted by the church. I wonder if you can help... Anson smiled sheepishly:

"If I have the chance, I would like to become a brigadier general, serve as the infantry division commander of a certain Clovis standing army, or the deputy commander of the corps; and then if I can successfully retire, I will serve as a guest lecturer at the Royal Military Academy."

"Is that really all?" The good old bishop blinked:

"I mean... brigadier general? As far as I know, Ludwig Franz is now a brigadier general. He seems to be in his early thirties this year."

"You may not know much about Clovis' military rank system."

Anson explained: "Although it is not required by the empire to be born, it is very unexpected for a small rural noble like me to become a colonel - brigadier general and above are usually the promotion privileges of big nobles. For me, I can only It’s a dream.”

"But I still think you are too humble." The archbishop still shook his head, looking at Anson as if he was hinting at something:

"In my opinion, your future cannot be limited by a 'Brigadier General'."

"I am not quite sure what you mean."

"No, my dear Deputy Commander, I think you know very well what I'm talking about." The Archbishop patted Anson on the shoulder and looked into his eyes with the eyes of a senior looking at a junior:

"It's okay. When an opportunity comes, you should hold on tightly and never let go, especially when this opportunity is closely related to the times."

"Suppose... this is purely an analogy... if today's church no longer abides by the forty-seventh agreement of the Calendar of Saints, how would you feel?"

Um? !

Anson immediately became alert, but his expression remained as calm as ever. He shrugged as if he was just chatting: "I don't feel anything. In fact, I think this is normal."

"As a religious organization that controls the banking and education industries of the entire world order, stands at the forefront of all modern technologies, and represents the highest consensus, it would be abnormal if the church still intends to continue to abide by the agreement of the Second Ecumenical Council; and in today's war-torn world It is enough to prove that the world of order does need a power with the highest will to avoid war and mediate coordination among countries."

"Really? But unfortunately, not everyone thinks so. Some 'small groups' even think that our church's control is too lenient and that we should further restrict the church's power."

The archbishop chuckled and said: "Their name is the 'Truth Society' - I heard that you had contact with them when you were suppressing the Clovis riots?"

"Yes, but I don't have a good impression of them."

Anson nodded calmly. The more serious this kind of thing is, the less he can deny it easily: "They are just a group of marginalized groups who resist power, and they are not worth mentioning at all. What these people really want to complain about is not power, but why power is not they themselves."

"So my opinion is that we might as well keep this kind of people. After all, no matter how perfect we are, there will still be some opponents - it is better to keep a group of extremists who believe in Saint Isaac than to keep a group of old gods. Much stronger.”

Anson bit the word "we" hard.

Archbishop Hantu was very satisfied with his statement, so after touting Anson's "unlimited future", he turned and left.

Anson, who finally breathed a sigh of relief, turned his head and found that Fabian had appeared behind him at some point, holding an opened letter in his hand.

"Bad news?" Anson guessed.

Fabian, who frowned slightly, nodded and handed the letter to Anson:

"Aiden's border fortress was breached by the Imperial Expeditionary Force."

"……when?"

"yesterday!"