I will be crowned king

Now that Sailing City has become independent, the opposition has completely disappeared. All the top leaders of the Confederacy unanimously approved and unconditionally fully supported the final decision of the Chief of Staff of the Freedom Corps.

Now that he had obtained the authorization, Anson immediately and unceremoniously began to mobilize the Confederate militia. First, he split and reorganized the battalions and regiments to establish a command system that at least seemed to be effective, and based on this, he had formulated it in advance. march planning and combat plans.

Excluding the total reserve force of Gray Pigeon Castle, which was barely a company, the remaining four colonies managed to scrape together 6,000 people, almost the size of ten to twelve regiments; almost 1,000 cavalry, 2,000 line soldiers and three Thousands of skirmishers.

They are said to be skirmishers, but in fact they are stragglers who cannot even form a basic line. On the battlefield, you can really only "scatter" them out. Don't think about maintaining the front line. They provide flank firepower and serve as With a human shield and the one-time cannon fodder skill of bayonet charge, that's basically all their value is.

Anson is very disgusted with the so-called "quantity offsets quality" - a rabble without a complete recruitment, training, and logistics system, even in terms of quantity, cannot compare with the regular army!

An empire with only one Sailing City can support an elite legion of 8,000 to 10,000 people in combat. The remaining five colonies can only mobilize 6,000 soldiers into the battlefield with their capital, and the combat effectiveness is extremely different.

Fortunately, Anson does not need to rely on this "six thousand army" to really compete with the Empire... As long as they can hold the flank defenses, output firepower in the middle of the battle, and disrupt the Empire's lines with a one-time charge in the later stage, they will have completed their mission.

Anson followed the Clovis military system to remove the 6,000 soldiers who had no combat effectiveness at all, and split them into two "infantry divisions" each consisting of four infantry regiments. The division commander and deputy division commander were respectively served by the leaders of the colonial militia; The divisions were then merged into the "Free Corps", with Anson personally serving as the chief of staff and commander of the corps.

As for the one thousand cavalry, 800 were divided into "patrol cavalry", responsible for outpost reconnaissance and conveying orders; the remaining 200, who seemed to have combat experience, were separately organized into a hussar battalion, directly under the headquarters of the Free Corps.

In addition to the 2,000 advance troops and the 3,000-strong main force of the Storm Division, as well as the 1,000 "Faith Warriors" of the Faith Keepers Alliance mobilized by Bishop Rui Bo of the Universal Sect, the total number is 12,000, known as the 30,000-strong army, and officially surrendered to Gray Army. Heading to Pigeon Fortress!

According to the plan made before the war, coupled with Bernard's previous efforts to repair the transportation lines and large and small supply stations along the way, the army's march was extremely smooth, as smooth as a long-distance outing.

Of course, the whole process was not completely unsatisfactory... As an outpost to assist Sail City, Gray Pigeon Castle had been plundered in every possible way while the imperial army was stationed, to the point where not even a drop could be squeezed out.

Reserves of grain, livestock, fuel for heating, cash...all were looted cleanly. The colonial parliament and all the wealthy areas in the city were in a mess as if they had been bombed by artillery shells, and were beyond recognition.

The soldiers who looted did not spare the slums and settlements outside the city. All kinds of daily necessities, especially salt and alcohol, disappeared; all the young laborers in the colony were either shot to death or killed regardless of whether they could fight or not. Becoming a refugee, the rest were basically stuffed into the army.

In this way, when Karl and Alexei came to take over the colony with fear, the first thing they did was even seal the warehouse. Instead, they had to find ways to rescue the women and children in the city and maintain public order in the city that had completely collapsed after being looted by the imperial army.

As for outside the city, except for a few key fortresses and transportation thoroughfares, there was nothing the two of them could do... At the same time as the imperial army retreated, settlements and farms in various places seemed to have received the signal at the same time, and a large number of bandits, indigenous tribes, and loyalist thugs came one after another. They emerged and unscrupulously looted the leftovers that the imperial army looked down upon.

This is not the most troublesome thing. The most troublesome thing is that many farms saw that the Clovis people were unable to maintain the entire colony, so they simply took over the land and became independent!

Except for the Gray Dove Castle where the Clovis flag was raised, the entire colony was divided into dozens or hundreds of large and small forces, entrenched in the surrounding areas... Not only did the more than two thousand advance troops not receive any supplies, but they were suddenly destroyed by countless bandits and The thugs surrounded him, hiding in the stronghold and shivering in the city, and they did not dare to leave the city at all.

So when the Free Legion's "30,000 troops" entered Gray Pigeon Castle before they had time to rest, they had to deal with a mess of the colony first; otherwise, such a group of hundreds of people at most, maybe even two digits at least, would be allowed to hang around. It is simply impossible to make a smooth advance.

Of course, there is also a little bit of Anson's "little thought" in this: on the one hand, through large-scale suppression, the newly kneaded Free Corps can be trained, so as to avoid being uncooperative after entering the battlefield and falling apart before the war begins.

On the other hand, if the devastated Gray Pigeon Castle is to be rebuilt after being completely looted, it will definitely need a lot of assistance, and the Rune Family and the Alliance of Promise Keepers can participate.

On this basis, Anson needs a perfect agent to run Gray Pigeon Castle for him, who can be very sensible and hand over many properties in the colony to professionals for development, and build Gray Pigeon Castle into an important stronghold that can contain and weaken the strength of Sail City. .

Gray Pigeon Castle is located inland. There are many hills in the surrounding terrain and the level of development is not high. However, there are many rivers with rich wild animals and fish resources. The roads can also radiate to Black Reef Port and Sail City at the same time. At the same time, because of the sparse population Animal husbandry is also relatively developed.

For this colony, which is the second furthest away from White Whale Port, Anson defined it as animal husbandry and colonial industry. Its functions are similar to Winter Torch City but slightly different.

If Winter Torch City is a pioneer in the map boundary, then Gray Pigeon Castle is a practitioner who is truly down-to-earth on the basis of pioneering and turning wasteland into fertile soil.

"In the past, when immigrants opened up new colonies, almost all of them were based on the coast or the rivers connecting the seaports; the towns and settlements that really penetrated into the inland, except for Winter Torch City and Gray Pigeon Castle, basically failed in the end, even if they succeeded on a large scale They’re all very small too.”

At the top of the tower of Gray Pigeon Castle, Anson looked down at the troops marching toward the city along the road, while Polina stood behind him and looked at him with longing: "Do you know why this is? "

The girl holding the manuscript of the "Declaration of Resistance" stared intently at the figure in front of her, wishing she could not even blink - as the leader of the liberal faction of Gray Pigeon Castle, she personally led the Commander-in-Chief of the Storm Division to visit his hometown that was finally successfully recovered; this But once in a lifetime, this is a good opportunity to get rid of Miss Thalia and let the two of them be alone!

"Because of the quantity." Before Paulina could answer, Anson gave the answer on his own:

"When there are enough ports along the coast, the level of development is thorough enough, and the population grows to a certain level, the colonists can truly move inland and open up endless wilderness."

"And only by thoroughly developing the inland can we, as colonists, truly gain a foothold and become part of this continent, rather than 'outsiders' who may be expelled or driven away at any time."

Slowly retracting his gaze, Anson turned his gaze to the girl: "Turn the wilderness into cultivated fields, build towns by the river, let roads run from east to west, north and south, and replace the virgin forests with factories, workshops and cities... This will require countless It takes one generation after another to achieve great things.”

"And to accomplish it, it must be you...Paulina Frey."

"Me?" The girl was startled by the sudden words, with a surprised expression:

"why me?"

"Because among all the colonies, only Gray Pigeon Castle has the potential to become the first inland large city in the New World - it is neither as coastal as Sailing City, nor too close to the north like Winter Torch City." Anson said solemnly: "Coupled with its location on a major transportation thoroughfare and abundant natural resource endowments, it has great potential to become a big city."

"The most important thing is that you are the only one among all the current colonial liberal leaders who truly understands what 'freedom' is!"

"Those Speakers, members of the Chamber of Commerce and industrial owners, they only use the Confederacy as a tool to keep warm and fight against the empire, and as a medium for them to gain power reasonably and legally; how can you build a good Confederacy with people like that? !”

Anson's words contained a bit of sadness: "But Paulina, you are different... you were born in a loyalist family, and you have witnessed with your own eyes how the empire uses its methods to destroy the foundation of its rule."

"So you must understand that if you want to build a country that can defeat the empire, you must take a completely different path from it!"

"I don't want to hide it from you, so I'll tell you frankly." Anson said straightforwardly: "Miss Polina Frey, I, Anson Bach, sincerely hope that you can become the supreme leader of the Free Confederation."

"Leader, leader?!"

The girl's eyes widened. She originally thought this was just a tryst between the two, but was frightened by the commander-in-chief in front of her.

"Yes, only in this way can I go to the battlefield with peace of mind and expel the empire's rulers one after another, without worrying that the future confederation will turn into another empire."

"B-but..." Polina suddenly stuttered, her eyes darting around in panic, not knowing where to look.

Reviving the family with the power of the storm masters and the Clovis people, and even taking back the Gray Pigeon Castle, this was what she and the Gray Pigeon Castles had originally planned; but when happiness really came, she realized that not only the surprise came too quickly , and it seemed to come too violently.

"But Gray Pigeon Castle has just experienced a catastrophe, and everything is waiting for improvement. I...we...how can we compete with the rulers of other colonies..."

"This is exactly the second thing I want to say." Anson immediately took over the topic and said as if he was well prepared:

"If I want you to become the leader of the Confederacy, then Pigeon Castle must become the most powerful colony—even more powerful than Sail City!"

"Everything is waiting for something to be done... Sometimes it's not a purely bad thing. It also gives you the opportunity to abandon the shackles of the past and start over; you already have a complete city, a fertile wilderness and convenient roads, and the rest is It’s just a matter of building and developing according to your ideas.”

"Of course, I will never let you fight alone." Anson said solemnly: "This is also a battle against the empire, a battle without smoke."

"Anson...Master Bach, are you willing to help Gray Pigeon Castle revive?!" Polina's eyes lit up: "How?"

"The specifics are still being discussed, but I have already discussed the general direction with Talia."

Anson, who was talking to himself, didn't notice that the expression of the girl in front of him suddenly turned cold: "First, the Luen family will be responsible for injecting capital to purchase local beast leather and rare original medicinal materials; vigorously develop animal husbandry, the Trustworthy Alliance will shoulder the responsibility Following the reconstruction work of rural settlements, military reclamation-style farms were built.”

"When the Coal Bank is officially established in Beluga Port, it will be able to provide low-interest reconstruction loans to Gray Pigeon Castle, help Gray Pigeon Castle expand its scope of development and colonization, attract the floating population from the surrounding area, especially the Sail City area, and at the same time provide services to those who Small and medium-sized colonial organizations provide convenient services, making it easier for them to establish new colonies in the surrounding areas."

"Three years, five years at most! I guarantee you that the entire Gray Pigeon Castle will be completely new and become the most eye-catching piece of land in the western part of the New World; and the Frey family will also be able to regain its glory and be proud of it. Ascend to the position of leader of the Confederacy!”

With undisguised temptation, Anson looked at the girl with some pride: "How are you? Are you starting to have some confidence?"

"Um."

Facing the enthusiastic and even proactive Commander-in-Chief of the Storm Division, Polina Frey could only force out a smile:

"You are really... very thoughtful!"

"Of course, this is a plan I have prepared for a long time - without complete certainty, how can I let my most important partner take risks easily?" Anson snorted, and the other party's reaction made him quite satisfied.

Just as he was about to continue explaining his plan to the girl, there was a sudden noise from behind the door of the rooftop.

The little clerk who had been waiting behind the door for a long time and even deliberately delayed it for a quarter of an hour opened the door, bowed to the two people in front of him with a formal smile, and then turned his eyes to the commander-in-chief:

"Sir Anson Bach, the officers of the Storm Division and the Free Corps are already waiting for you and can hold a military meeting at any time. In addition, Chief of Staff Carl Bain asked me to ask you about contacting the liberals in Sail City. , what are your thoughts?"

"Tell them that the meeting will be postponed for another five minutes - I have just made a new plan on how to stop the imperial army besieging Sailing City."

Anson paused for a moment, then slowly looked at Polina beside him; feeling the sudden softening of his gaze, the girl who had just been left out in the cold suddenly felt warm in her heart.

"Pollina."

"Yeah." The girl whispered:

"Dear Commander-in-Chief, what's the matter?"

"Yes, I want to give you a very difficult task." Anson said affectionately:

"Only you can do this."

"Oh?" Polina blinked:

"what is that?"

Anson smiled slightly and softly spit out the answer:

"Sneak into the besieged Sailing City and negotiate with Louis Bernard."