I will be crowned king

"So what's the good news?"

Under the flickering gas lamp, Anson, who was leaning back in his chair, glanced at the dark scenery outside the window and asked casually.

"The good news is... Dear Anson, you and your 'Storm Master' reward have been successfully received." The smiling Thalia replied softly:

"Although it was delayed for a long time and experienced some minor twists and turns; fortunately, the adults in the Clovis Army are all reasonable gentlemen who are very good at listening to other people's requests and making the most objective and fair decisions."

Thalia said with emotion, her clear pupils flashing with joy and relief, like Little Red Riding Hood who had met a kind-hearted person.

The corners of Anson's mouth twitched violently.

In his own stereotype, Clovis's Royal Army has nothing to do with words such as "reasonable", "fair and objective", and "good at listening". Instead, it is full of words such as "seniority" and "order of superiority and inferiority". ", "Bullying the superiors and concealing the inferiors"... From origin to military type, there are simply countless hills of all kinds.

Fairness is also relative; compared with the "blood theory" of the Ysel elves, the "chivalry system" of the empire, and the vast land of scattered sand, the Clovis Army is definitely qualified to advertise fairness and justice.

After all, no matter how good a civilian officer is, if he does not have aristocratic blood or the power of blood - which is actually the same thing in most cases - and cannot become a knight, he will never get ahead in the imperial system.

But in the Royal Clovis Army, as long as he could complete the transition from soldier to officer through military merit, it was theoretically possible for him to become a general... Of course, that was only in theory.

"The first thing is, of course, the military rank." A soft sigh came from the other side:

"Although poor Talia has tried her best to clarify the objective facts to them without direct pressure; but the Army is very stubborn in this regard and resolutely refuses to grant Anson the rank of Brigadier General. He can still only be a colonel. .”

"Sorry, Anson, this time... Thalia didn't help."

The girl said with great regret.

Anson didn't know what to feel sorry for, and his mood was very stable.

Of course, it is impossible for the Army to award myself the rank of brigadier general... Not to mention that the current rank of colonel alone is already very impressive. I am twenty-three years old this year, and a twenty-three-year-old brigadier general, well...

Unless Ludwig Franz decides to rebel with the Southern Legion tomorrow and declare the founding of the country in Iser, he really can't see any possibility.

Even with the support of the Franz family and the "sponsorship" of the Luen family, military rank promotions must abide by the Basic Law; being able to make a rocket jump from captain to colonel, as a graduate of the military academy for less than a year, should be almost This is the limit that the Wang Army can endure.

It should be said that since being awarded the rank of colonel in Eagle Point City, Anson has never expected to go further; it is even shocking enough that the top brass of the army can bite the bullet and recognize the rank of colonel.

Of course, understanding is understanding, and what should be fought for still needs to be fought for... Anson sighed lightly and looked out the window with a slightly disappointed look:

"It doesn't matter. I am a soldier of the Clovis Kingdom. Since I am a soldier, it is natural to serve the kingdom; I don't care about the rest."

I only care about financial freedom... Anson said silently in his heart.

"Dear Anson, you are still so principled." Thalia said with emotion, her sweet smile filled with soothing power:

"If the gentlemen of the Royal Army could understand Anson as well as Thalia does, they would regret their wrong decisions for the rest of their lives."

Anson, who was comforted by her, could only smile, and at the same time, the random thoughts in his mind sent shivers down his spine.

"Fortunately, Thalia still has some good news to share with dear Anson."

As she spoke, the girl gently raised her right hand, and her bitten index finger dropped a drop of blood on the parchment on the table in front of her. The blood soaked in the paper turned into a series of elegant characters in front of his eyes at a speed visible to the naked eye:

[According to the decree of my king Jun——

Awarded to Anson Bach, colonel of the army and former commander of the levy corps, the position of commander of the Storm Division and concurrently serving as the garrison commander of Beluga Harbor; this appointment will take effect from the second day after the order is signed - the Privy Council of the Kingdom of Clovis! 】

In just a few dozen words, the amount of information is huge.

First of all, it did not mention the establishment of the Storm Division, but only appointed itself as the commander of the Storm Division. This means that the Army is not prepared to split or change it; of course, the disadvantage is that it is impossible to add new establishments.

But Anson didn't care much about this. After all, the Storm Division was originally an overstaffed reinforced infantry division - four infantry regiments, a grenadier infantry regiment, a cavalry battalion, a reinforced artillery company, and a guard company.

Excluding the training level, the number of cavalry and artillery alone is already twice that of the ordinary Clovis infantry division; coupled with Anson's background in skirmishers, each infantry regiment has an additional skirmisher company, so the actual strength is actually six A group.

Even the Royal Army's initiative to recognize the "over-staffed" troops surprised Anson - after all, once registered as a formal establishment, it cannot be withdrawn unless there is an accident, and all military expenses must be borne by the Army.

In addition, he also has the additional position of "White Whale Port Garrison Commander", which is also customary - in addition to the four major legions, most of the commanders of the standing army also have essential tasks, and the garrison commander is one of them. A relatively common one.

According to the administrative system of the Kingdom of Clovis, the garrison troops of Clovis City and the central province are generally called the "security army", and the provinces close to the center and the richer provinces are called the "provincial corps". The more important fortress armies and Border provinces are called "garrisons".

The status and authority of these three types of garrison troops are actually inversely proportional to their distance from the royal capital, Clovis City.

Except for the special Guards among the special cases, the security forces of the central and central provinces have no status at all. They are used as a place to gain military rank by the rich and nobles who want to live a casual life; most of the time they rely on their numbers to outwit thieves and robbers. , the combat effectiveness is comparable to that of stray dogs in the suburbs.

The second-class provincial corps is slightly better. It is also the "main force" used throughout the Kingdom of Clovis to maintain public order and suppress riots and disturbances. Generally speaking, it still has some combat effectiveness, and is often used as a backup by the front line. Allocate manpower from sources of troops.

But in fact, the combat effectiveness of this group of guys is also a mystery - because the commanders of the provincial corps have greater power than the security forces, and they can use military funds without supervision to a certain extent. Corruption is not too common.

For example, Carl Bain once complained that the commander of a provincial corps where he served not only squandered all military expenses, but also did not keep any money for recruiting soldiers. As a result, in order to cope with the surprise inspection, he had to temporarily recruit a group of homeless people and paint them with paint. He trained with a painted "prop gun" for forty-eight hours before his boss was executed on the spot.

In order to thank Karl for his life-saving grace - or to keep his mouth shut - the boss was kind enough to give him a promotion and let him serve as the commander of an infantry battalion in a particularly lucrative fortress.

Well, that was exactly a month before the fall of Thunder Keep.

As the garrison farthest from the royal capital and often located on the border or in war zones, it has the highest status and authority; the garrison commander has almost unlimited jurisdiction and command over his own troops. In name, except for the Royal Army and the Privy Council, There is no need to take orders or dispatches from anyone.

Among them, especially the garrison commanders of key fortresses, their status is comparable to that of castle lords; they even have semi-independent administrative units that are only responsible to the commander from top to bottom, and even the Royal Army rarely interferes.

The local garrison is slightly inferior, not only because it has to undertake some urban security management tasks, but also because half of the garrison's military expenses have to be borne by the local area, so naturally it will not be "too independent."

For this appointment, Anson should be said to be quite satisfied - if he cannot become the security force of Clovis City, his second hope is to become the local garrison, which will make it easier to make money... cough cough cough! Serve the Kingdom.

Still, he had a "minor" problem with the commission.

"Moby Harbor...what is that place?"

Anson frowned slightly. This place name sounds like it should be a coastal city, but whether he is now or "former Anson", he spent most of his life in the central province and the south, and the entire coastline of Clovis is north.

"A very beautiful coastal city with spring-like scenery all year round." Thalia replied with a smile, with a hint of cunning in her eyes:

"You're going to really like it."

oh?

Anson's expression was slightly surprised.

"Let's not talk about this anymore. Let's talk about something really meaningful." Thalia changed the subject:

"Dear Anson, do you still remember the plan you told Thalia when you were at Lund Manor half a year ago?"

Ansen, who looked calm, nodded slightly, but his heart suddenly tightened.

Obviously, this is her real purpose.

"In the past few months, Thalia has followed Anson's instructions and acquired many factories in Clovis City and surrounding areas, establishing a military industrial enterprise belonging to the Luen family - this is of course not easy, but relying on With the help of many friends, it was successfully achieved.”

"Everything is just as you described. Countless orders came in like snowflakes. In just two months, not even a year, the factory had already earned back all the costs, making up for a lot of previous losses. loss."

"But as the city of Clovis recovers, the high profits from arms are gradually reduced, and there is no longer the huge profits before... So dear Anson, what should we do next?"

"It's very simple. Now that we have gradually recovered our vitality, it is naturally time to expand."

Anson's face showed a confident smile, and he looked out the dark window: "The battle at the Yser Court has ended, but this does not mean that the war between the Empire and Clovis will also end."

"On the contrary, frightened by the sudden intervention of the Church of Order in secular politics, both parties dare not, let alone stop the pace of military expansion and mobilization; because once their weakness is exposed, they may be intervened by their opponents or even the Church of Order; even if it is to avoid Both sides must remain strong regarding the fate of the Yser elves.”

"As for the newly unified Hantu Kingdom, even though they have declared an armistice with the Empire, as long as they still have a shred of sense, they cannot stop arming themselves. These are markets that the Luen Family can continue to dig deep and develop. .”

"You mean... you want to sell weapons not only to Hantu, but also to the Empire?" Thalia asked in confusion.

"That's right." Anson nodded in deep agreement and said:

"A qualified arms dealer should not only sell weapons to his friends, but also to his enemies - because if you don't sell them, he will naturally find someone else, or even find a way to make them himself."

"But if you sell it to him cheaply and in sufficient quantity, he will gradually become dependent and use money to solve all problems; but you can use this to figure out his war potential - isn't this much better than a blockade? "

"Of course, given the current intensity of the war between the two sides, this kind of profit margin is very limited; especially the Kingdom of Clovis has always strictly controlled its military industry. It is not easy to delve into the market because there is so much demand."

"So the simplest way is to create demand." Anson snapped his fingers:

"As long as there is a war, weapons will always be the most urgent need after wheat and potatoes; and if you can be the first to occupy a brand-new, newly developed market before everyone else, you can win the most lucrative market. A profit!”

"In Hantu, although the Luen family successfully seized the new market at that time, due to lack of preparation, they were still unable to defeat the high-quality and low-priced Leiden, as well as Leopold, a rising star in the past two years."

"But now we are fully prepared - before I came back, I heard Mr. Erich, the arms dealer representative, say that the current production capacity of the August Military Factory can fully support a long-term operation of thousands of people. "

"So we now have a supply and demand blueprint: its demand must be large enough to last at least one to three years, and its scale cannot be too large, just around the 'thousands' scale, ensuring that latecomers cannot Forcefully squeeze the market."

"Judging from the current situation, the best choice is the northern colony!" Anson became more and more excited as he talked to Thalia, who was full of longing and curiosity:

"First of all, the Kingdom of Clovis has only been reclaimed there for less than half a century. There is still a large area of ​​territory that can be occupied, and a large number of foreign races can be attacked by our army; and we have an excellent reason, which is to curb the empire's expansion in the colonies. Expand and seek the resources of the New World!”

"We only need to win over some powerful colonies, such as Ice Dragon Fjord, and help them expand their territories by providing weapons; or simply support a local garrison commander and turn him into ours..."

The words stopped abruptly.

Anson, who was so excited just a second ago, suddenly widened his eyes and opened his mouth motionless, as if someone was holding his throat.

Suddenly he seemed to understand something.

Under the flickering gas lamp, Thalia still had a smile on her face, as warm as the spring breeze.

"that……"

During the brief silence, Anson suddenly felt a little breathless: "Can I ask a question?"

"Of course." Thalia blinked:

"what is the problem?"

"It's... that White... Beluga Port..." With a cold sweat of fear, Anson forced out a smile:

"Where...is she?"

"Beluga Port, dear Anson, I just told you - am I too forgetful?" Thalia said with a smile.

"No...it can't be...Ice Dragon Fjord, right?"

"Yes, that's right there." Thalia nodded seriously:

"Ice Dragon Fjord...a wonderful place with spring-like weather all year round."