I will be crowned king

"Hantu has already started mobilizing."

In Franz's mansion, the expressionless Archbishop handed the message just sent to his daughter, and said calmly: "At the latest in early March, 10,000 Hantu soldiers will be assembled outside Eagle Point City on standby. Officially heading north in the name of the Jihad Army."

"So soon?" Sophia's eyes widened in surprise: "At the beginning of March, wouldn't it be less than a month?"

"They must be quick... because only in this way will Clovis and the Empire have to express their stance as soon as possible." Luther Franz explained:

"Dear Sophia, do you think Hantu wants to participate in this war?"

"Of course not. What does the New World have to do with them?"

The frowning girl said without hesitation, her eyes quickly glanced at the note: "If I were Claude Francois I, I would try my best to ask for benefits from the church, and then use all kinds of The reason is to delay the assembly and dispatch of troops. It is best to delay it until everyone has been mobilized and then quietly join this large-scale jihadist army."

"Anyway, even if the holy war succeeds, Hantu will not be able to gain any benefits. Since we do not expect to gain, we must naturally avoid losses as much as possible; 10,000 elite soldiers plus the knights and officers who command them, even if only one third Loss in the New World is an unbearable price for Claude Francois!"

"That's right." The archbishop nodded slightly and continued to ask: "But can His Majesty Claude I really do this?"

"...can't?"

"He is the king of Hantu, and the king can do anything." Luther's eyes met his daughter: "As long as he is willing to pay the price."

"Hantu did not win its unity and independence by its own strength. His Majesty Claude did not have absolute authority in his court. Externally, he needed to have both sides and gather forces to fight against the empire. Internally, he needed to establish prestige and ensure that the seal was sealed. The ministers must obey at least in name."

"So he can't defy the church, nor can he delay deliberately, which will give excuses to those who oppose him; and Hantu is not Clovis or the Empire, and their strength is far from enough to require the church to beg him; on the contrary, He needs to take the initiative to prove his loyalty to the church in exchange for possible assistance."

"So not only can he not delay, he must even be more active than anyone else..." Sophia's mood was slightly depressed: "Only in this way can he keep his crown."

"The weak and the inferior need to recognize their own status. Trying to be on equal footing with the strong is a very ridiculous and survival-threatening stupidity... Of course, the same goes for the strong."

Luther Franz suddenly couldn't help but curl up his lips: "To use the words of those 'commentators' who moan and incite emotions in the Clovis Pravda, this is the so-called 'sorrow of a small country'."

"Then add a few sentences about Clovis's difficult past, and then brag about how strong he is now - my dear father, I didn't expect that you are also reading the "Clovis Truth"?"

Sophia's eyes lit up with surprise on her face, and she tried her best to restrain her slightly trembling mouth from rising completely: "But what does this have to do with Clovis and the Empire's statement?"

"Claude I was not stupid, but he was somewhat arrogant." Luther Franz continued:

"I said that for the overall interests of Clovis and the empire, it is more in the interests of the country to delay the start of this 'holy war' as much as possible; but under specific circumstances, both parties are internally eager to promote this war in order to achieve There are also many people who want to take chestnuts from the fire."

"The approach you just gave an example of is actually in line with the wishes of many upper-level empires and Clovis, to make Hantu a 'stupid little country'; if Claude really wants to do this, both the empire and Clovis will I am happy to cooperate with him and even deliberately create some border disputes to give him a suitable excuse."

"But he didn't. Instead, he acted more actively than the empire; for the purpose of promoting the holy war, the church must ask for everything from Han Tu. Even if it knows that it is intentional blackmail, it must try its best to satisfy all Claude's wishes - —As long as there are really 10,000 Hantu soldiers and they gather at the foot of Yingjiao City in early March."

"Clovis and the upper echelons of the empire can probably understand what the church is doing, but the middle-level nobles, officers, knights, and wealthy businessmen will not understand. They will only realize that joining the holy war can make a fortune; or because they understand, they will be better off than before. Join the jihad more actively and avoid being the last one to join and gain nothing.”

"The public opinion formed by this situation will in turn affect the decision-making of the upper levels of both parties, moving in the direction of 'starting jihad as soon as possible'; however, various conflicts cannot be resolved overnight, and the blame can only be placed on the other party."

……………………

"...and the party that is unable to withstand the pressure first must make compromises and concessions."

In the corridor of the imperial palace of Xiaolong City, Grand Duke Adlan, who had just finished his audience, had a face as deep as water: "Once compromised, Hantu will definitely demand equal treatment in the name of the Holy War Army; in order to ensure unity, the church will definitely provide support afterwards. .”

"Whether the interests of the empire are harmed or Clovis is forced to bow his head, Hantu can get the maximum benefits as he should, and the price he pays is just to have 10,000 soldiers on standby."

"Even if it comes time to conquer the New World, the Empire and Clovis can't really let these ten thousand people go up front. The fleets of both sides are not enough just to transport their respective troops. How can there be room for a group of people?" Hantu people?"

"Judging from His Majesty's attitude, it is most likely that the empire will compromise in the end - Hantu will definitely take the opportunity to demand a complete ceasefire, or even demand compensation for losses like the Clovis people." Bernard's expression on the side was extremely ugly. :

"He actually tried to manipulate the decision-making of the Empire and Clovis, to draw chestnuts out of the fire...Claude Francois is such an arrogant guy who doesn't care about life and death!"

"It was a very unwise mistake for you not to kill him in Hantu." Grand Duke Adlan said coldly: "But it is no longer important now. We must find a way to make His Majesty reject Ambassador Clovis' greed. To reach an armistice agreement that cannot be extended, Zhaoyao will use negotiations to postpone the time for about a month."

"It's not enough. It's not enough."

Bernard shook his head: "The Clovis people are not here to open their mouths. They are testing the empire's attitude towards jihad. In a sense, they have achieved their goal; if they are asked to renegotiate, they will definitely come up with it immediately. A 'more appropriate' agreement will make us passive!"

"What about your suggestion?" Grand Duke Adlan asked.

Bernard, who was walking slowly, thought for a few seconds and said cautiously: "Spread the Clovis people's conditions to create public opinion first and make the people in Xiaolong City excited; and we will come up with another one that is not conducive to The armistice of Clovis left the ambassador in the city of Clovis to Charles II and his Privy Council.”

"To be specific, it is to completely expand the matter and leave room for quarrels. In this way, including the repeated arguments and exchanges of agreements between the two parties, the time for private communication cannot be less than two months."

"In addition, if the whole country's attention is diverted to the armistice agreement with Clovis, the enthusiasm for the jihad will be slightly weakened, and the emotional impact of the Hantu people can be avoided to some extent."

"What a great idea!" Grand Duke Adlan's eyes flashed:

"In two months... I will pay a visit to the Roland family to see if there is any way to hinder the efficiency of the Holy War Army's departure."

"Actually...instead of wasting energy on the departure time, it is better to consider how to get the colonies to cooperate." Bernard took the opportunity to say:

"Louis Bernard is now not only the governor of Sailing City, but also has a great say in the so-called 'Free Confederacy'; if he can take action in the new world, the scale and scope of this holy war may be reduced. To a point where everyone can accept it.”

"Needless to say, before coming to Xiaolong City, I had already thought of a way to send information about the Holy War to Yangfan City."

Grand Duke Adlan said solemnly: "With the blessing of the Ring of Order, Louis should have roughly understood the seriousness of the situation by now."

"Before coming to Xiaolong City?!" Bernard's pupils shrank suddenly and he couldn't help but lost his voice:

"Have you told him all the truth?!"

"of course not!"

Grand Duke Adlan glared at him: "I only told Louis what he needed to know... You also understand that this child is so naive and terrifying, and his innate qualifications also make him very stubborn. Knowing too many truths is harmful to him. He’s not a good person.”

This is absolutely correct... Bernard secretly thought that his experience in the Vast Earth Expeditionary Force and the Governor of the New World made him have lingering fears about the heir to the Principality of Adlan.

……………………

"...In other words, the coming jihad is still essentially an intelligence war. Whichever side has less information fog and more adequate communication will be able to reduce the losses caused by the jihad." Luther F. Lanz gave the final summary:

"Clovis is in a slightly less advantageous position in this regard, because the church's goal is to hunt down Apostle Rune, and Ice Dragon Fjord must be within the scope of the holy war."

"It is precisely because of this that we must let Anson Bach get as much intelligence as possible to ensure that he will understand the situation and make a more reasonable judgment - even if this judgment is not completely beneficial to Clovis, it must be strong But Anson Bach made the wrong move because of his lack of confidence."

Sophia nodded slightly, her expression solemn and she couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief; although the Franz family paid a lot of risks for this, at least it avoided the result of a military confrontation between Anson Bach, Clovis and even his brother.

As for "not entirely in favor of Clovis"...this sentence was completely ignored by the girl. Anson Bach and the Storm Legion were carefully trained and loyal subordinates by him. No matter how severe the situation was, they would never betray Clovis and himself. .

"The church...is it really going to destroy the Rune Apostles this time?"

The girl couldn't help but ask: "I don't sympathize with the Luen family, but... why is this necessary? If an apostle who is far away from the world of order is really eliminated, won't it arouse the vigilance and hostility of the other apostles? ?”

"This is also part of what the church needs. I have no evidence, but I think the Holy See and the Pope must have taken it into consideration."

Luther Franz was silent for a few seconds and said calmly: "Since the forty-seventh year of the Saints' Calendar, the relationship between the various dioceses and the Holy See in the Order World has begun to become very delicate."

“On the one hand, the Holy See’s finances and influence need to be maintained by the diocese, and the power of the diocese and the deterrent against secular authority need to be given by the Holy See; but on the other hand, the Holy See’s instinctive desire is to increase its interference in the secular world; while the diocese hopes to maintain the status quo. There is no desire to add more parishes.”

"For any archbishop, whether he is willing or not, his interests and are highly bound to the political power within the diocese; only by supporting and providing help as much as possible can he have a higher voice within the Holy See. However, this situation is not entirely in the interests of the Holy See, because it is tantamount to weakening the Holy See’s interference and control over the diocese.”

"If this situation continues, then the authority of the Holy See will weaken and it will only be a matter of time before it returns to the period of sectarian schism. If you want to stop this process, you must reform the current structure of the Holy See; and reform means losing a certain group of people. In order to suppress the resistance of these people, another new force must first be cultivated to compete with them and completely break the original balance."

"This is why the Holy See insists on a holy war." Luther Franz smiled on his face:

"Hunting the apostles and expanding the diocese can bring huge influence and prestige to the Holy See; promoting an armistice between Clovis and the Empire is tantamount to breaking the constraints left by the Second Ordinary Council in the 47th year of the Saints' Calendar; the once-defunct Only then can the Holy See, which longs to establish a kingdom of heaven on earth, rise again, destroy the diocesan system that has been restraining its development, and establish a new system that is more convenient for it to interfere with the secular world and centralize power."

"For them, it's the clarion call of a new era; for us, it's the bell of impending doom."

"Dear Sophia, do you understand now?"

………………

Ice Dragon Fjord, Beluga Port Headquarters.

Alan Dawn quietly stopped outside the living room, put on a brand new dress, coughed slightly, and knocked on the door with the knuckles of two fingers on his right hand.

"Please come in."

Familiar words sounded, and the little clerk opened the door and saluted the figure sitting on the sofa in front of the fireplace, leisurely drinking coffee:

"Lord Anson Bach, the time has come."

"Oh." Anson took a sip of coffee and said without looking back:

"Is everyone here?"

"Except Lord Louis Bernard, everyone has arrived and they are waiting for you." The little secretary smiled and said:

"In the 102nd year of the Saints Calendar, the Third Supreme Council is waiting for your presence."