I will be crowned king

Go back one hour in time...

"You want me to become the governor of Sailing City?"

Looking at this familiar yet unfamiliar "best friend" in front of him, Louis was surprised and thought he had heard wrongly: "Why, haven't you always thought that I was in your way?"

"It's not that I want you to do it, but it's that only if you sit in this position now, Sail City and the entire Confederacy will not fall apart immediately - and I have never thought you were in the way." Anson couldn't help but turn over. Rolled his eyes:

"You are doing it for the empire, and I am doing it for...the loyalty of Clovis and the Osteria royal family! We are all loyal ministers, and there is nothing to blame each other for."

"real?"

"Of course it's true! Regardless of our positions, we are close friends who recognize each other and trust each other - I captured you three times and let you go all three times. I also helped save Her Majesty the Elf Queen. Have you ever seen someone as happy as me? Is helping others still the enemy’s rival?”

"No, that's not what I mean." Louis frowned slightly and shook his head:

"To be honest, I always thought you were fighting for money and status... I didn't expect you, Anson, to be such a pure person!"

"...You underestimate me."

Forcing a smile, Anson's tone was still so gentle: "Of course this is not important. What is important is how to maintain the relationship between Sail City, the Empire and the Free Federation."

"The empire has been expelled from its last strength in the new world, and it will definitely not give up; no matter what the cause, things are already like this." Anson said solemnly:

"The Free Confederacy does not want to continue to be ruled by the tyranny of the Empire. They have had enough; but they also do not want to be enemies of the Empire and participate in the disputes of the old world; what they want is just independence and the ability to negotiate with all parties. They all maintain a certain degree of friendly relations.”

"I'll tell you the truth - I had a hand in the formation of the Confederacy, but it was mostly due to the empire's extortionate expropriation. As a Clovis, I am naturally happy to see the empire driven out of the New World. Between me and the Confederacy, It is also a mutually beneficial relationship.”

Louis nodded slightly and understood:

"But what does this have to do with me being the governor of Sailing City?"

"This is so relevant!"

Anson deliberately raised his tone: "If Bernard is allowed to go back directly, then the whole process will be as simple and crude as 'the Clovis people collaborated with the rebel colonies to overthrow the imperial rule'!"

"But if it were you... the imperial military attaché, former commander-in-chief of the Iser Guards, and heir to the Bernard family—'Sea Knight' Louis Bernard—volunteer to serve as the governor of Sailing City, the situation would be different."

"...What does it look like?"

"The imperial minister imposed excessive taxes, and the people were in dire straits; the colonial council rose up in resistance, drove away the cruel and incompetent minister and his army, and was forced to stand on its own; Louis Bernard responded to the people's pleas and stepped forward to take over as the governor of Sailing City!" Anson breathed out kept replying.

"The fault lies entirely with Bernard alone. The colonial people were forced to have no choice but you acted on the wishes of the people and campaigned for the people while trying your best to maintain the last influence of the empire in the new world. If you are still here, you can make the colonial people The people believe that the Empire is good, the Emperor is good, and Bernard is the only one who is a bastard!”

"In this way, the Confederacy can win reconciliation with the Empire, there will be peace in the Sailing City, and the Emperor will find someone to take the blame and take responsibility for - killing three birds with one stone, everyone will be happy, how wonderful!"

Seeing Anson's sincere and sincere eyes without a hint of filth, the corners of the young knight's mouth couldn't help but twitch.

………………

Two days later, Sailing City, the port.

Looking at the horizon that was dyed into a pale golden color in the distance, there was a bit of melancholy in the eyes of Louis, who was standing alone on the beach. Just a few minutes ago, he personally escorted Bernard and the defeated imperial army on the boat prepared by Anson. Boat.

There is no so-called delay of three days. In fact, just the next day after the Battle of Sailing City, a fleet led by Clovis Navy Captain William Cecil arrived at Sailing City, escorting a fleet that could carry up to more than 5,000 people. Soldier's Merchant Ship.

Just enough to take away all the Imperial knights and soldiers who are willing to leave with Bernard, plus the urns of the fallen.

Of course, there is no need to consider comfort. Filling all the warehouses is just enough to accommodate everyone plus necessary food and water.

As for why the fleet arrived so "timely", Anson's explanation was that "his plan was perfect", but other than him, including Louis, had another view - in case the battle failed or Sailing City attempted to resist, The next thing that will be staged is probably the bombardment of Yangfan City.

The commander-in-chief of the Clovis garrison did not consider that Louis would refuse. He did take all possible results into consideration. He just tried to avoid the worst outcome as much as possible and worked hard to make all parties reach a consensus. Compromise in balance...and at the same time get the greatest benefit for yourself.

From the moment he learned his fate to the day he set out, Bernard Molwes didn't say another word, as if he had become indifferent to everything around him.

In fact, he was clear about his fate - to take all the blame and become the scapegoat for the Empire's loss of New World colonies.

Louis told him very clearly that on the day after the Battle of Sailing City, Sir Sado returned to the mainland by boat in advance to report "the truth about the Battle of Sailing City" to His Majesty the Emperor.

This was the deal made by Louis and Sir Sado... The cuirassier leader, realizing that nothing could be done, decisively abandoned his original plan of "puppet Louis and occupy the City of Sails" in exchange for the protection of the Bernard family.

The young knight agreed.

If the emperor wanted to "understand the truth" and not ignore the Clovis army in front of him and make a pointless move to attack the New World in anger, he really needed the help of Sado, the person involved.

In this regard, Louis felt sorry for Bernard and had no choice but to sacrifice this senior.

But on the other hand, as the colonial minister, he should have been responsible for the losses of the New World colonies; and it was precisely because of his management problems that the parliaments rebelled one after another, finally declared independence, and were defeated miserably in the decisive battle. Losing to the Clovis made the situation completely unmanageable.

As for the mastermind behind all this, His Majesty Emperor Herred, who knew that the new world was unstable and only gave titles and no reinforcements or money... At least no one dares to stand up and accuse him yet.

Therefore, the unlucky one can only be Bernard Molwes.

It was not until before departure that the chief minister, who had been silent all this time, explained a few things to the "Governor of Sailing City" when he boarded the ship to say goodbye.

First, there was the death of Sir Ed Levent.

Although the "evidence is conclusive", Bernard still does not believe that Ed Levent died at the hands of the Clovis people, or even if it was really an accident, because it did not have any real benefit to them, but would Therefore, he provoked Levent and the Judgment Knights, who had a close relationship with the Levent family.

Bernard's suggestion is to conceal the cause of death as much as possible, but you can use this as a bargaining chip to negotiate with the Clovis people in Ice Dragon Fjord to allow Sailing City to maintain a higher level of independence or avoid being infiltrated by Clovis forces.

"And this... also involves the so-called 'Free Confederacy'." Bernard said coldly:

"I have carefully learned about this 'country' that Anson Bach made up... Well, he obviously knew what those colonial parliaments were. Excluding himself, this 'everyone is equal' confederation is nothing but a piece of sand, except for those who can Maintaining unity on the surface will accomplish nothing."

"You must join this organization. With Sailing City's status in the colony, it can definitely compete with Anson Bach who controls the Ice Dragon Fjord. To guide it in the direction of friendship with the empire, we must prevent the Clovis from taking the Confederacy. Become their puppet and vassal!"

"When you join, you have to do two things. The first is to start a newspaper controlled by yourself as soon as possible, and then no matter what, the Alliance of Promise Keepers is not allowed to enter the Sailing City!"

"That bastard Anson will definitely try to persuade you, use coercion and inducement, and even find ways to get you to indirectly agree; ignore it and firmly refuse - if there is really no other way, just use the church to scare him and start building a cathedral in Yangfan City! "

"Of course, this is a last resort. Unless it is absolutely necessary, we must avoid letting church forces get involved in the new world; as for the newspaper matter... you should understand how important this matter is if you look at my fate."

"Also, although the imperial forces were forced to withdraw, this does not mean that the Clovis people can control everything; the population size of both parties and the area they control mean that they have no chance."

"I judge that the New World should become a new force independent of the Old World - it is weak, sparsely populated, and faces environmental and indigenous threats, but it has huge potential, controls massive resources, and is a natural ally."

"As long as it can win over this ally, the empire that lost its colonies will not only reduce the huge cost of controlling distant enclaves, but it will also be able to obtain the various resources it needs. In a sense, it is not even a bad thing."

"And how to realize all this requires you to complete it..."

Seeing Bernard Molwes, who was talking eloquently to himself, with a calm expression and clear thoughts, the young knight with emotion in his heart watched him board the departing ship without saying a word.

Why did Uncle Bernard, who was so calm and wise, act so clumsily when he was analyzing the situation for himself and Marshal Caspar, and when he personally coordinated the overall situation as the Minister-in-Chief, he ended up in a disastrous failure?

Full of questions, Louis, who looked at the horizon, could only shake his head, turned and left.

……………………

While Louis was sending Bernard and his entourage back home by boat, Anson, as the "victor", was temporarily borrowing the Governor's Mansion in Sailing City to entertain William Cecil and his entourage who had "come from afar".

Previously, he learned from the captured Green Dragon about Bernard's plan to win over the colonies of the three North Sea countries and attack the Ice Dragon Fjord from the west. Anson, who had used the plan, simply entrusted William to command the Crown and sailed to the three North Sea countries to negotiate and form an alliance or at least Sign a non-aggression agreement.

If the other party is really too stubborn, see if they can fund one of them or provoke the three North Sea countries to go to war with each other; in short, as long as the war can be prevented from spreading to the important basic base of Ice Dragon Fjord, Ansen doesn't care much about the lives of others.

Of course, it is obviously a bit difficult to let a naval colonel be responsible for diplomatic work. Anson's purpose in entrusting him is just to use a fleet of battleships to let the other side understand his sincerity and determination... There is another person who is actually responsible for the negotiations. .

"So...what happened?"

In the gorgeous smoking room, Anson was sitting in front of a table full of delicacies, holding a wine glass in his hand and looking enthusiastically at the naval captain sitting directly opposite him.

William, who was also holding a glass of wine, was suddenly startled and showed a somewhat embarrassed expression.

Anson raised his eyebrows: "What's wrong?"

"No, it's nothing!" the navy captain quickly interrupted:

"Although there was a small accident along the way, and the results were slightly different from what we expected... the results were very gratifying, and the goals were basically achieved."

"I can assure you now that, except for a very small number of adventurers and bandits, no army belonging to one of the three North Sea countries will cross the border or attack the Ice Dragon Fjord and nearby waters from the sea."

"Not only that, we have also reached a lot of contracts - now the three countries of the North Sea are very short of labor, especially the kind of hard laborers who work purely and simply, and there is a lot of demand for the introduction of 'beast slaves'."

"As long as the quantity is sufficient and the quality is guaranteed, they are willing to increase the previous price by another 20%... Of course, it is not gold coins, but salt and textiles."

"real?"

Anson's eyes lit up. This was good news - when the battle in Sailing City completely subsided, the next step would be the conflict with the indigenous people and the previously rioting beast slaves: "Did they really say that?"

"It's absolutely true." William nodded slightly:

"They also hope to expand the scope of trade. They are very interested in the small steel plant you opened in Beluga Port and the livestock trade in the Red Hand Bay area, and are very willing to negotiate on these matters."

"Yeah?"

Anson smiled even more happily: "What accident happened?"

After the words fell, the navy captain's face froze and his expression became even more ugly.

"That's it...the envoy you sent named Draco, he..." William forced out a smile and said reluctantly:

"Maybe I won't be able to come back for a while."

"…What's the meaning?"

"The situation is a bit complicated and the process is quite tortuous - since the way back, I have been trying to restore the whole thing from beginning to end, but I still haven't succeeded. There are many things that are unclear."

William took a deep breath and said in a tone that he didn't even believe: "So in order to save time, I will tell you the results first, and then slowly explain the part I know."

"In short, His Excellency Draco successfully persuaded one of the three North Sea countries not to go to war against Ice Dragon Fjord, and also used their power to persuade the other two."

"Then... in return or personal charm, he also established a good personal relationship with the opposite court, especially the monarch, and helped him with a few small favors."

"Then, they will..."

"A civil war broke out!"

Anson Bach: "..."