I will be crowned king

"I have encountered many special opponents, but I have to admit that you... are probably the most special one."

In the Changhu Town Military Camp Headquarters, Fabian sat on the sofa in front of the fireplace with a cup of hot coffee. While enjoying his afternoon tea, he looked at the self-proclaimed "Changhu Town Militia Leader" with confusion on his face. Mr.

He was wearing a brown trench coat and a slightly oversized three-cornered hat. He huddled in a humble posture on a chair that was slightly "mini" compared to him. His face under the brim of the hat was filled with a flattering look.

Overall, more like street vendors than colonial militia commanders.

But this is not surprising to the former Guards officer. In the huge "identity information database" in his mind, it is the most basic common sense that people should not be judged by their appearance.

After all, who would have thought that a third-rate novelist who was too poor to pay the rent would be the culprit who triggered the riots in Clovis City; and that a suspected accomplice, a young officer living in an affordable apartment, would be his future boss?

But in any case, reality requires some reasoning and logic: if an animal looks like a pigeon, its cry sounds like a pigeon, its movements are exactly those of a pigeon, and its physiological structure also conforms to the structure of a pigeon...

Well, then it's a pigeon.

So when this pigeon suddenly tells you that it is actually a lawyer, with a quarter of aristocratic blood, a deep understanding of international politics and steam flour machines, proficiency in sociology and finance, and has five degree certificates... it is inevitable that People are confused.

Fabian is in such a state now.

Because he was responsible for a feint attack, Fabian was not in a hurry to move forward at first. In addition, he also had to bring thousands of enthusiastic and trustworthy warriors who had no idea about war. The marching process was comparable to a large-scale outing - except that it was guaranteed not to happen. Getting lost and not falling behind, nothing else is guaranteed.

Considering that this force was not expected to go into battle and was prepared in a hurry, after finally crossing the border between Beluga Harbor and Long Lake Town, they discovered a very fatal problem.

That's how this army... ran out of food.

Of course, it is not accurate to say this, because even if they are unprepared, each unit still follows the standard attendance system. Each company carries seven days' worth of supplies, which is enough to cope with a short battle... So the ones who are really "out of ammunition and food" are More than a thousand passionate and trustworthy people.

What's even worse is that when Fabian discovered the problem, the group of people had been hungry for a day; they didn't realize that it would take thousands of people to walk from Beluga Harbor to Long Lake Town on foot, which would take more time than a few people taking a donkey cart. It was much slower. I ate all the dry food I carried before crossing the border, and marched on an empty stomach for most of the day.

This result is very embarrassing: if half of the Storm Division's supplies are given to them, it doesn't matter whether the rest will be enough for the return trip, but it will definitely cause dissatisfaction among the soldiers.

But if not, most of this "feint attack army" is likely to be defeated immediately, and the plan can be declared a failure without seeing the enemy... which is equivalent to betraying Commander-in-Chief Anson Bach, who is preparing to "surprise" Changhu Town.

Just when Fabian was struggling with whether to gamble on storming the fortress on the outskirts of the city and attract enemy firepower for the main force of the Storm Division, or to forcefully distribute supplies, a guy who claimed to be the "Changhu Town Militia Representative" came to his door.

The other party said that he had a large number of supplies on hand, which could immediately relieve the Storm Division's urgent need; the price was that Fabian had to give a "reasonable" price, and at the same time, if Beluga Port won after the war, he would ensure a batch of Long Lake Town supplies. The lives of dignitaries and militia officers.

Although he didn't know how this "military secret" was leaked, in order for everything to go smoothly, Fabian had no choice but to agree.

So that afternoon, his military camp received enough supplies to supply the entire army for four to five days. Each supply box was stamped with the seal "Changhu Town Militia Supplies."

This was not over yet. After discovering that only half of Fabian's army was fully armed, and the remaining half (the Promise Keepers) only had uniforms and rifles, the representative asked Fabian if he wanted to add some more armaments?

Fabian cautiously asked what kind of armaments the other party could obtain, and the representative gave him a price list very directly, including everything from rifle propellants to infantry cannons... Of course the price was high, but IOUs and credit were accepted.

Early the next morning, the heavily armed "main force of the Storm Division" had one thousand more rifles, 20,000 rounds of ammunition, 500 rounds of artillery shells and three brand-new Imperial eight-pound infantry cannons. You could still see the shiny gun barrels. Factory inscription.

So far, things are still within Fabian's understanding - there are different voices in each force, and it is not uncommon for "moderates" to appear who want to compromise with the enemy.

But what happens next is more difficult for ordinary people to understand.

Of course, it is impossible for an army of more than 2,000 people, including cavalry, cannons and a group of "armed fanatics" to cross the border and enter the territory of Changhu Town without being discovered. The best result at this time is naturally that the other party can be deterred by force. Supplies, guides and camping are provided for rest and recuperation. If this is not possible, both parties can pretend that they cannot see each other.

But it was the first time for Fabian to see the "invaded victim" who did not need to be intimidated at all, and actively provided all the necessary supplies during the march, as if he were entertaining distinguished guests.

The direct consequence of this "accident" was that the entire "pretend army" from top to bottom mistakenly believed that they were not invading, but really came to "liberate" the people of Changhu Town. Especially the group of fanatical believers, it seems that they really regard Changhu Town as a family.

The strange state continued until they arrived at the military camp fortress. The "Changhu Town Militia Representative" showed up again and expressed his willingness to "transfer" the camp to the Storm Division and stage a "Storm Division raided the military camp. The Changhu Town Army was defeated." "The big drama.

The specific process is that the two sides agree on a time point. The Storm Division "fires" on the military camp. An hour later, the Changhu Town militia will fire back, and then...

Then there will be no further consequences. The Storm Division can come directly to take over the military camp, and all the officers and soldiers in Changhu Town will voluntarily surrender.

Fabian, who had no idea what the other party wanted to do, chose to accept the other party's conditions after seriously considering that his mission was to "feint" and "attract attention."

So the next morning, artillery fire roared over the military camp and fortress, and gunshots were loud. More than a thousand Promise Keepers soldiers, armed with rifles sponsored by Changhu Town, fired round after round of gunfire at the military camp from a distance of two kilometers. Three eight-pounders The infantry artillery aimed at the woods on both sides of the fortress and roared... and poured out rounds of ammunition for free.

This "offensive" lasted for a full two hours. More than a thousand Promise Keepers soldiers used up all the ammunition they had obtained from Changhu Town. They were as happy as children who had played on a roller coaster before the outing ended.

An hour later, the military camp started a "counterattack" as planned; in order to avoid any misunderstanding, they simply did not even load lead bullets and fired blank guns directly into the sky.

This fierce counterattack lasted for half an hour, and the entire military camp was shrouded in smoke. From a distance, it looked like it had experienced a fierce battle that was so bloody that it flowed into rivers.

Another half hour later, the confused Fabian led the equally confused cavalry company and grenadier regiment. Under the cover of the artillery company, he successfully "captured" the Changhu Town military camp and fought with the surrendered Changhu Town. The militiamen gathered for a meal.

"Your Excellency, Commander of the Militia, I have a few questions that I might like to trouble you to answer."

Sighing secretly, the former Guards officer lowered his voice and said: "First, is there an informant installed by you in Beluga Port?"

"Of course!" the militia leader with a flattering face admitted decisively:

"Without them, I wouldn't have been able to know such important information as your troops' lack of supplies and provide them with supplies in a timely manner... Don't you think so?"

"Second..." Fabian pressed his bulging temples:

"Have you already known our strategic plan?"

"Uh... I can't say that I know everything about this - you guys move pretty fast, so I can only get a rough idea." The militia leader said with a smile:

"But I guess that you will definitely attack from the sea, and you will only assist or feign attacks from the land direction. You will try to attract the main force but try to avoid fighting. Otherwise, I would not dare to negotiate with you like this, because you will definitely..."

"etc!"

Fabian, who had a headache expression on his face, raised his hand to interrupt him. He took a deep breath while hesitating to speak, and looked at this guy quite tangledly:

"Let me sort it out... You guessed the battle plan of Beluga Port, but you deliberately followed the tactics we wanted you to implement, and even provided a series of help to ensure the successful implementation of our plan. In the end, you did this The purpose is...to surrender to our army?"

"That's right." The militia leader nodded repeatedly:

"You're absolutely right!"

"Then can I ask why this is? Judging from your own answer, you have every chance to sabotage our plan and organize an army to block our surprise attack." Fabian raised his eyebrows.

"Of course, because we will definitely lose!" the militia leader said without concealment:

"You have five thousand well-trained and experienced soldiers, professional artillery and cavalry, and a fleet - you even have a battleship!"

"I am the leader of the militia in Changhu Town. I know what its army is like better than anyone else. It has no training and no experience. It is not even like the militiamen in other colonies who have fought against the rioting beast slaves. The only thing they can do is The thing is to listen to the blast of the cannon and move forward, charge, and shoot...gone!"

"If we really want to block the attack, I can probably hold you off for three to five days. If I'm lucky, I might be able to hold on for a week; then what? In a week, the imperial reinforcements will never arrive in time, and five thousand well-trained soldiers will be offended. I know very well what will happen to a confident general!"

"In order to avoid that kind of outcome, I think it's better not to fight. It can also reduce the grievances between both parties... What do you think?"

The militia leader raised his head and asked sincerely.

The former Guards officer rubbed his temples, where the pain had eased a little, and asked his second question:

"In that case, why don't you just surrender?"

"Well, this is even simpler - because I am not the governor of Changhu Town, I am just an officer hired by the city council."

The militia leader shrugged: "I know Changhu Town can't win, but it doesn't matter whether we fight or not. It has to be decided by the parliament. I have to make the gentlemen in the parliament feel that they hired me." It’s worth it, but I won’t lead a bunch of stupid people to deliberately seek death!”

"That's why you took the initiative to fight against Red Hand Bay and even counterattacked?" Fabian looked startled.

"That's right! Because the army in Red Hand Bay is as bad as Changhu Town. Beating them to pieces will prove the value of me and the entire Changhu Town militia." The militia leader replied:

"The most important thing is to take the initiative to attack Red Hand Bay and try to avoid a head-on collision with your main force. It can be said to kill two birds with one stone."

Fabian was silent.

Such a statement sounded extremely ridiculous, but when he thought about it carefully, it made sense. He really didn't know what to say.

What's more important is that as a former Guards officer, he can actually understand the guy in front of him who "surrendered without a fight" and who is even very capable but uses all his abilities to cooperate with the enemy.

When faced with some unreasonable demands from his boss and Party A that are obviously beyond the scope of reality, Fabian will also use the same method - I tried my best, I followed the rules, and I completely followed your ideas, but unfortunately Notify you that things are screwed up.

As for why? No one knows, everyone tried hard but it just didn’t work out, maybe this is life.

With a trace of inexplicable goodwill, Fabian took the initiative to pour a cup of coffee for him:

"Anyway...nice to meet you. I am the commander of the Grenadier Regiment of the Storm Division. You can call me Lieutenant Colonel Fabian."

"Nice to meet you, distinguished Lieutenant Colonel Fabian." The militia leader quickly stretched out his hands and took the coffee cup he handed:

"I am the leader of the Changhu Town Militia Group. I have no military rank. Before I accepted this position, I was the accountant of a mercenary group - oh, I am probably the accountant of your Clovis army. You can call me Joseph. !”

Joseph... Fabian was stunned for a moment when he heard this name, but he quickly returned to normal:

"Dear Captain Joseph, regarding our previous deal... I may not be able to guarantee that every item can be fulfilled, but I will definitely ensure the safety of you and the entire militia. As for the people in the city council - if they can If they survive the siege and are still alive, I will try my best to persuade the commander-in-chief not to cause harm to their personal safety.”

"That's enough! The Ring of Order testifies that the entire Changhu Town Militia owes you a huge favor!"

Joseph said gratefully, and his body curled up on the small chair began to tremble slightly: "To express our agreement, is there anything I can help with?"

help?

Fabian thought seriously for a minute, then raised his eyebrows calmly: "It seems that there really is one - Sir Joseph, do you know that there is one in Changhu Town..."

"Secret gold mine?"