I will be crowned king

"That's right! With the cooperation and mediation of the Holy See, the Holy War Army has completed the first phase of assembly at the beginning of this month, that is, April 5th, and has formulated a complete and comprehensive attack plan for the New World!"

In the palace of Xiaolong City, Bernard Morweis put on the formal clothes carefully prepared by his wife, held his head high and shouted loudly under the gilded vault.

Standing in the center of the hall, he looked around proudly, looking at the officials holding files in their hands, the princes in fine clothes and crowns, the bloodline of the seven knights... the center of the entire empire, the rulers holding great power. , including the figure on the golden throne, were sitting or standing quietly, listening to his speech.

Although he did not want this war to break out from the bottom of his heart, Bernard did feel a sense of pride at this moment; he had been defeated again and again in Hantu and Sailing City, and his confidence was severely damaged by the defeat, but now they all came back. .

"The Grand Fleet, the Clovis Royal Fleet, and all generous donors who support the Holy War and are willing to dedicate themselves to their faith, have assembled a total of more than two thousand warships for the Holy War army! Although 50% of them are the most ordinary three-masted sailing ships, as an army The backup is more than enough!”

"In the first phase, the Holy War Army will transport four legions, totaling 100,000 people, to first cross the sea to attack the New World colonies; their mission is to seize coastal ports, cities, road hubs, and castles and fortresses."

Bernard took a step forward, unsheathed the saber from his waist, and slammed it on the map of the new world laid out at his feet: "Sail City, Black Reef Port, Red Hand Bay, White Whale Port, and Slave Port. .”

"By capturing four of the five ports at will, the colony will lose two-thirds of its cultivated land, three-fifths of its population, and nine-tenths of its industry. It will be completely cut off from its retreat and will be forced to head inland and to the last remaining areas. Escape towards the port."

The hall was silent.

"Why did they flee to the last port?"

And just when everyone was silent, a steady yet somewhat frivolous voice sounded from above the throne, faintly spreading to everyone's ears: "Since the coastline is lost, wouldn't continuing to evacuate to the port be asking for death?"

"Your Majesty is wise and saw the problem at a glance!"

Bernard, who was smiling, bowed in the direction of the voice and lowered his head respectfully: "The reason is very simple, because the New World is different from the Old World, with a cold climate and scarce resources. If you don't get enough salt, With the replenishment of waterfowl and fish, even if the remaining remnants can survive, they will soon experience a food crisis and eventually collapse."

"And if the Holy War Legion wants to attack five ports at the same time, it will not only increase the number of supply routes, leading to the problem of untimely supply of materials, but also arouse the enemy's vigilance and drive them inland to Gray Pigeon Castle, Winter Torch City, and also Or the Gray Snow Town area."

"Although there is a lack of supplies there, it is inland, with few roads and very difficult to supply. It cannot support an army of ten thousand people to travel long distances. At the same time, it will weaken our maritime superiority and allow the enemy to find opportunities to take advantage of it. "

"But if you deliberately leave a gap, you can make the other party take chances. Even if you know it is a trap, you will have to take risks, otherwise you will face large-scale famine."

"Therefore, the focus of the first round of the Holy War is to conquer the four most important ports; and the top priority is to control the Sailing City!"

……………………

"I completely agree with the views of Archbishop Luther Franz."

Viscount Bogner stood up and bowed to Carlos II: "Only by controlling the Ice Dragon Fjord can we ensure that the first stage of the Holy War is foolproof!"

After the words fell, the imperial ministers present either nodded happily, or looked solemnly, and some were more straightforward, with disdainful expressions written directly on their faces.

As an important representative of the reform faction in the Privy Council and a very close relationship with the Franz family, Viscount Bogner would make such remarks. It is a standard saying that the butt determines the head and the stance determines the IQ.

But Carlos II just nodded slightly, as if he was completely unaware that this was a conflict between factions, or that he didn't care at all: "Viscount, please continue."

"Yes!" Viscount Bognar chuckled as if he was victorious. He raised his chest and raised his head and picked up the speech he had prepared:

"Since the rebellion in the imperial colony last year, Sailing City has not recovered its strength, Black Reef Port has suffered heavy losses under the siege, and Red Hand Bay has also lost in the battle with Long Lake Town; only White Whale Port has remained unscathed and relied on We made a lot of money from the war, and we also received an investment of nearly one million gold coins from the Roland family!"

"Not only that, its geographical location is also very advantageous; to the east, you can enter the five colonies of the three former Beihai Kingdoms from Gray Snow Town; to the north, you can remotely control Dongju City, which is the deepest inland of the New World; to the west, you can connect to Changchun City Lake Town, and then bring Red Hand Bay under control."

"Besides, this is Clovis's colony. If Major General Ludwig can control the Ice Dragon Fjord, the difficulty of communication and supply will be much less than in other areas."

"In addition, Beluga Port is still the closest port to the New World starting from North Port; no matter from the direction, occupying here first is the best choice."

Bognar put his hands on the table and raised his eyes to look at Carlos: "Therefore, I sincerely suggest that His Majesty issue a recall to the Crusaders in the name of Clovis, and let the Ludwig Legion serve as the vanguard of the first batch of Crusaders and control Ice Dragon Fjord serves as the bridgehead for the entire Holy War Legion!"

Almost before he finished speaking, many people across the long table frowned.

"I probably understand what the Viscount...and the Archbishop think." Carlos said in a deep voice:

"Take the lead in controlling the Ice Dragon Fjord to prevent it from being ravaged by war in subsequent wars. Because the first batch of Jihadi Legions to arrive are Clovis, and the supplies are still sufficient, they will not have any impact on the local area. Inflicting excessive pressure will reduce the damage to the local area and even Clovis, right?"

"exactly!"

Viscount Bogner could not hide the proud smile on his face: "Just a slight adjustment in the order of the attack can prevent Clovis from suffering unnecessary losses; since we have not spoken in the previous strategic deployment of the Jihad, then this point A 'small request' will probably not be rejected by the empire and the church."

"snort!"

A sneer suddenly sounded in the conference room, and the figure sitting directly opposite Bogner suddenly stood up: "Your Majesty the Viscount is right, the empire and the church probably really won't refuse."

"But there is something, have you forgotten something?"

"Oh?" Bognar raised his chin equally unceremoniously:

"What do you mean?"

……………………

"That is Anson Bach, the colonial commander of Clovis, who has officially declared rebellion, proclaimed himself the governor of Ice Dragon Fjord, and joined the so-called 'Free Confederacy'!"

Bernard looked around, his eyes growing hotter: "This means that they have completely chosen to break with the world of order and join the camp of the heretics."

"Anson Bach, the Storm Legion and the entire Ice Dragon Fjord have completely become part of the Old God Sect!"

"If my prediction is correct, Clovis will definitely make a request to let their only formation of the Holy War Legion go first and control Beluga Port as a bridgehead in the New World and a base camp connected to the rear, so as to reduce their participation in this war. Loss."

"But now because of Anson Bach's betrayal, the situation is completely different; Beluga Port is already one of the most powerful and prosperous colonies in the entire New World, and its status is not at all the same as that of Sailing City... no, even more than that of Sailing City The essential!"

Bernard slammed the map with his sword scabbard with a "pop!", his pupils seemed to be burning with flames: "Because the Luen family's main stronghold is also in Beluga Port."

……………………

"In other words, Beluga Port is already the headquarters of the Old God Sect in the entire New World!"

Faced with Viscount Bognar's increasingly ugly look, the other party responded without any sign of weakness: "How could such a place be allowed to be let go by the church, or even re-owned by Clovis?"

"On the contrary, in order to prove our innocence, shouldn't we take the initiative to avoid suspicion, and even actively participate in the attack on Ice Dragon Fjord, annihilate Anson Bach and the rebel Storm Legion, to prove Clovis's devotion to the Ring of Order? "

After saying that, he glanced at Bogner, who looked obviously unkind, and the reformists on both sides whose eyes were full of anger, and then looked at each other with the ministers of the kingdom on his side and smiled with disdain.

The mood and atmosphere were rapidly changing on both sides of the long table in front of Carlos II.

The choked Viscount Bogner was in a state of confusion. Of course he knew the news that Anson Bach had rebelled; to be honest, if he hadn't seen it with his own eyes in the newspaper, he wouldn't have been able to imagine the seemingly "quite honest" young officer. , would actually do such a crazy thing.

Even if the kingdom is assigned to the colony in a virtual exile after your victory in the Hantu, even if the kingdom does not support you with a single soldier when you fight against the imperial colony; even if the kingdom really intends to treat you as an abandoned son to attract The Empire's attention...

As a loyal minister of the kingdom, you should not say hello and just rebel if you say you are rebelling!

Don't you know how passive this makes Clovis? !

Bogner didn't understand. Even though Archbishop Luther Franz should have told him the whole story and information, why would Ansen Bach still do such a crazy thing?

………………

"Because that's his choice."

Taking a sip of the fragrant black tea, Luther Franz said in a tone without any emotion: "The news came in early April, which means that Anson Bach will make a decision no earlier than the end of February; this It means that he did not premeditate it beforehand, but the intelligence we gave him made him make this seemingly crazy decision."

"To be honest, it was a bit surprising to me, although it wasn't completely unexpected."

"surprise?"

The girl sitting opposite the old man looked back stiffly, and her low voice seemed to be an echo from her soul.

"Very surprised." The Archbishop nodded slightly:

"It's amazing that he would persist until he had accurate information before deciding to rebel."

Sophia Franz: "..."

Holding the Clovis Truth Newspaper, which still smelled of ink and had the news of "Ice Dragon Fjord Mutiny" written on the front page, the girl felt as if her soul had left her body; no matter how good the little maid Angelica was behind her, Calling anxiously, the father in front of him was talking non-stop, with no expression on his beautiful face.

She really didn't understand why the liar who had always been loyal to her and had sworn allegiance to her could so decisively abandon his oath and be willing to really be with the old god sect who was destined to be yelled at and beaten by everyone?

Even though I have a firm stake in him, I still can't stop him from seeking his own death?

Did the Luen family give too much?

impossible! The Luen family does have strong financial resources, but compared to the Franz family in terms of quantity and quality, their side is obviously superior.

And listening to his father's tone, it seemed that it was rare for this big liar to rebel until now, and the factors that led to his betrayal had already appeared.

etc!

Sophia's eyes suddenly widened: "I understand - this is exactly Anson Bach's plan!"

Um?

In the warm living room, the old man and the maid subconsciously raised their heads and looked at the girl who suddenly jumped up from the sofa.

"The reason is simple. If the Storm Legion is still Clovis's army, then in order to remove the suspicion, Anson Bach must cleanse the Rune family in Ice Dragon Fjord; but for an old god with an apostle and a thousand-year history For a wealthy family, this is obviously seeking death."

"So this deceiver...he changed a new way of thinking and actively chose to join; even in order to prove his loyalty to the Luen family, he announced his betrayal of Clovis in a high-profile manner." Sophia, who suddenly "figured it out", her eyes glowed, and she said Talking to his father and the maid:

"In this way, with the trust of the Rune Family, the Storm Legion can take over the defense of the entire colony without being monitored by the other party; once the war breaks out, he can better cooperate with his dear brother and feign defeat to protect the entire Ice Dragon The fjords are not ravaged by war.”

"In short, the so-called 'rebellion' is just a compromise for the Luen family; Anson Bach is still loyal to me...our Franz family!"

She originally wanted to say "loyal to herself", but then she realized that it might arouse her father's resentment; after all, the heir to the Franz family is still an annoying brother. He exposed his strength and ambition too early, and was young and young to a woman. I am very disadvantaged.

After saying that, the girl looked at the two people with strong confidence, waiting for their comments.

There was silence.

Looking at Sophia, who was suddenly ecstatic, as if she had suddenly realized something, the little maid was stunned for a moment, and then turned to look at the Archbishop who was about to speak. Her pleading and pitiful eyes made the latter understand.

So the old man took a deep breath and showed an unprecedented serious expression to his daughter:

"Indeed... it's very possible!"