I will be crowned king

Empire, Xiaolong City Palace, the Emperor's Palace.

Soft and lace-patterned satin curtains cover the floor-to-ceiling windows on both sides, allowing soft light to leak into the room in a patchwork manner, gently spreading on a handsome man with a sad look on his eyebrows. On the body.

Wearing a gray lake green dress decorated with iris patterns and a low-cut white shirt, the collar is only decorated with a red bow tie; the long golden hair falls on the shoulders, and there are some slight curls at the end, giving the handsome man an extra look. A bit bookish; at first glance, he seems to be a knight who is well-read in poetry, but is more brave and good at fighting.

Until the golden crown on his head completely shattered all these illusions.

Joseph Hered, or should be called Joseph III, is the current emperor of the Hered dynasty. It has been fifteen years since he succeeded to the throne at the age of thirty. In the first eight years, he competed with the local princes and wealthy families for power and established the Prestige; for the next seven years, he continued to provoke wars, win over foreign aid, and regarded Clovis as his lifelong enemy.

Winning over the Ysel elves, strengthening control over the colonies, intimidating the Seven Cities Alliance (Hantu), and intervening in the internal affairs of the Three Beihai... In the ninety-fifth year of the Saints Calendar, Beigang was besieged; in the Ninety-ninth Year of the Saints Calendar, they raided the Clovis border , the war lasted for two years. During this period, he participated in the civil war of Hantu but suffered a disastrous defeat. Later, he lost his colony and lost his troops...

Looking at the melancholy-looking Emperor of the Empire in front of him and the Grand Master of the Judgment Knights sitting in a velvet armchair, Grand Manfred saw countless messages and intelligence pouring out of his mind, one after another passing through his eyes like letters. .

"The news came from Naxir Cathedral that Ludwig's Holy War Army encountered a storm on the rough sea. After arriving at the port, they rested for a full week before regaining some strength. They immediately rushed to Sailing City non-stop."

Grand Master Grande nodded slightly, and looked directly into the emperor's eyes respectfully but with a bit of arrogance: "It seems that if you want to punish heretics, you still have to rely on the brave and fearless Imperial Knights blessed by the Ring of Order. That's all; it seems that I can congratulate in advance the glorious victory your Majesty has sent to the holy war army in the new world."

"Congratulations?"

Emperor Joseph chuckled self-deprecatingly: "Not to mention the heavy losses of the vanguard, which is very likely to be unable to achieve the expected goal; Dear Grand Master, the Pope should not only send you to my palace as a guest to pay tribute to me. …Well, congratulations in advance, right?”

"Of course not. There are two important matters that must be reported to His Majesty." Grande said slowly:

"The first is the amount of war loans and jihad aid provided to the empire; the second is that the Judgment Knights are about to set out, and the operation requires cooperation from the empire, so His Majesty must be notified in advance."

"This battle is likely to be the largest one for the Knights in the past; there are multiple factors involved such as material mobilization, personnel dispatch, and military arrangements. I hope that Your Majesty will be willing to lend a helping hand and facilitate it."

"Of course there is no problem." Joseph III agreed without hesitation: "What kind of convenience do you need from the empire, whether it be people or materials? If the Hered family has anything, you can just ask."

"Let's not rush this." Grande smiled and raised his hand to interrupt the emperor: "Let's talk about the amount of loans and aid first to relieve His Majesty's current worries."

"During the previous all-out war with Clovis, Hantu and the colonies, in order to quickly mobilize the army for combat, His Majesty borrowed money from the church three times in the name of the empire and twice in the name of the royal family. Because of the huge amount, he promised 2% A high interest rate of ten, and the mining rights of ten mines in Xiaolong Principality, the commercial tax within the empire, the city entry tax of Xiaolong City, and the construction rights of open land are used as collateral."

"In total, nearly 40 million gold coins were borrowed from the church in cash. Of course, a lot of it was in the form of materials." Grande paused, and his tone was a little subtle:

"In the past two years, if my understanding is correct, there should have been very little left on these loans; and due to the heavy pressure to repay the loans, His Majesty's treasury has become much empty."

Before he finished speaking, Joseph III's face began to look a little ugly.

"Although the church's bank is indeed an institution that needs to maintain profitability to a certain extent to ensure financial stability and commercial prosperity in the ordered world; gold can only carry the wealth of the entire society if it remains in circulation, otherwise it is just a pile of money. It's just metal that can't be eaten or worn." Grande continued:

"If the current situation of the empire continues, it will soon drain the wealth of the entire society; gold is used to pay off debts, leading to deflation, and the palace lacks financial resources and cannot maintain the stability of the system; the guardian of the ordered world will most likely Loss of the ability to perform their duties over the next five to ten years.”

"Please do not doubt this number. It is the result obtained by the most outstanding scholars within the Holy See using the most advanced difference engine."

Grande lowered his head deeply, but his voice remained as steady as ever, without the humility of a "subordinate".

"Then what do you mean, your Excellency, to persuade me to completely reconcile with Clovis, or not to send troops to the New World with great fanfare to conquer heretics for the Ring of Order?!"

Joseph III's expression was extremely ugly.

It wasn't that he hadn't thought about the church's use of loans and aid to extort money, or that he had been mentally prepared from the beginning; but such an unabashed threat from the other party still made him unable to contain the anger in his heart.

"No, Your Majesty, you are worrying too much." Sighing softly, the grand leader of the Judgment Knights raised his head: "Forcing Your Majesty to obey the church by relying on aid... This is an idea that His Majesty the Court and the Pope have never thought of, let alone used. This way humiliates the guardians of the ordered world."

"Please don't forget that since the forty-seventh year of the Saints' Calendar, the church has no longer interfered with the secular authority; the only person who can lead all countries and establish a prosperous age is you."

"Then you just..."

"What I just said is just a realistic explanation of the difficulties that Your Majesty and Your Majesty's empire are facing." Grande interrupted again:

"As one of His Majesty's subjects, the Church of Order, in addition to maintaining the world's faith in the Ring of Order, also has the responsibility to contribute a little to His Majesty and solve problems."

"To this end, after careful discussion, the church is willing to mortgage the ten mines His Majesty has pledged, the commercial tax within the empire, the entry tax of Xiaolong City, and various sources of income, including the 20% annual interest you promised , all of them will be exempted!"

“Not only that, in addition to providing jihad assistance to all forces, the church is also willing to provide an additional subsidy to the royal family to ensure that His Majesty will not be short of money when he governs the country and orders the jihadist army to fight for their faith. "

After saying that, Grand Captain Grand stood up slowly and bowed to the surprised emperor in front of him. While bowing his head, he presented a beautifully packaged "letter" with both hands - all of which were checks directly issued by the Holy See.

Looking at this temptation so close to him, Joseph III hesitated.

If you want to get this "subsidy" from the Holy See, you will definitely have to pay a price, and it is not difficult to guess with your toes what a heavy price you have to pay... So, can the current empire really bear it?

No, it should be me now. Do I still have the qualifications to refuse?

Without much thought, the answer is obvious.

"I see."

The emperor said expressionlessly: "So, can you state now what assistance you need from the empire in this holy war?"

Looking at Joseph III who calmly put the check into his arms, Grande's face showed an extremely difficult to detect and flash of contempt.

"It's not a troublesome thing, it's just something that requires a lot of effort and requires the assistance of the Imperial Knights." Grande wrote lightly:

"To sum it up, it can be explained clearly in one sentence."

"Oh, please speak."

"The Free Confederacy...must...be destroyed."

Looking into the emperor's eyes, Grande smiled and said word by word: "The Free Confederacy, the Thirteen Colonies, the Rune Family...must...be destroyed!"

After a brief silence, Joseph III suddenly felt terrified!

……………………

New World, the area from Beluga Harbor to Changhu Town.

Three days after seeing off Louis Bernard and the 2nd Infantry Regiment, Anson, who received intelligence about the Jihad Legion's attack on Sailing City, immediately issued a mobilization order and sent reinforcements to Sailing City.

Because it was a temporary recruitment, and the strength of Louis' army already exceeded 10,000 (information just obtained), after careful consideration, Anson decided to control the strength of the reinforcements he led to around 8,000, but sufficient firepower must be guaranteed.

So all the remaining cavalry from the third and fifth infantry regiments, guard companies, and artillery companies, plus 5,000 trained shooters, rushed to Fort Gray Pigeon as reinforcements.

The Grenadier Regiment and the Fourth Infantry Regiment continue to hold on to the White Whale Port, while training continues to recruit soldiers from all over the Ice Dragon Fjord, as well as the remaining 10,000 design corps.

In fact, although he had "threatened" Alexei who followed Louis in various ways beforehand, Anson actually did not believe that Ludwig could really attack Sailing City quickly and then attack and raid other colonies.

This is not because there is any doubt about the personal strength of Major General Ludwig, or the strength of the Clovis Holy Army, but even if it were Anson himself, he does not think that this city can be easily won.

If you want to conquer a city with a complete defense system, thousands of garrisoned troops, and a fort prepared in advance, and you want to attack it quickly, there are only two methods: not only a high-cost artillery attack, but also a force that is at least five times that of the enemy.

Does Ludwig's army meet these two conditions?

It may seem that it is possible, but in fact it may not be able to be used at all.

Yes, the royal fleet that came out totaled thirty battleships, and even a new steam ironclad, whose firepower seemed powerful enough to destroy the entire Sailing City in an instant; but Anson actually led the Storm Division on a battleship; he was very It was clear that thirty ships filled with supplies, supplies and 20,000 soldiers could not possibly carry many artillery shells.

Hundreds of them, lined up in rows in front of the port, the black gun ports really just look more intimidating; if they really "fired ten thousand guns", I'm afraid they wouldn't be able to declare the end if they lasted only five minutes. .

Using his biggest trump card right from the start, Ludwig would probably do this only if he had a hole in his head.

As for the strength that exceeds the garrison by several times, this seems to be enough; but if we really have to rely on corpses to pave the road and fill the trenches life by life, it is not that the 20,000-strong army cannot capture the Sailing City, but what happens after it is captured?

Based on the most optimistic estimates, the jihadist army with more than half of its casualties is not a threat to the Free Confederacy at all. It is more appropriate to call it a big gift package.

One month, according to Anson's estimation, it would take at least one month for Ludwig to capture Sailing City without causing heavy casualties.

On top of this, Louis and Alexei gathered their troops together, and it was not difficult at all to form a pretentious army of 20,000; there were tenacious defenders inside the city, and reinforcements of similar strength outside the city; The character of an old boss would never dare to act rashly.

Well, perfect!

With this confidence, Anson did not make the troops march in a hurry, but kept pace with the baggage troops; even in order to show the importance of logistics, the commander-in-chief's headquarters was placed very close to the baggage convoy in the queue. .

That's right, it's definitely not because you want to ride a carriage and avoid riding a horse, which sounds ridiculous; those who create fake news to slander the Commander-in-Chief without permission are all traitors to freedom and loyalty!

Apart from the march, Anson even had time to give instructions to the Supreme Council of Beluga Port and the Governor's Mansion of Ice Dragon Fjord: the new round of recruitment work has reached the deadline, and the scheduled goals must be completed as soon as possible; the military's armament level has not yet reached 100%. , the shooting army is still in a state of four men and three guns; taxation is the top priority of April's work, to make the people of the Confederacy understand that death may be avoided, but paying taxes is an obligation that they must complete in their lives...

This confidence lasted for a long time, until Anson, who was about to arrive at Black Reef Port, received intelligence sent from Sailing City.

"……What did you say?!"

"Lieutenant Colonel Alexey successfully merged with the garrison of Sailing City. Sir Louis Bernard successfully established contact with the liberals around the city, received active support from local forces, and took the opportunity to plan to join forces with the Promise Keepers Alliance to arm local farms and Colonial settlements large and small.”

Looking at Anson Bach, whose eyes almost popped out, the frightened messenger could only do as promised: "At present, they have armed more than 6,000 local militiamen and have transformed the local settlements into simple fortresses. , with simple curtain walls and trenches.”

"No, that's not what I'm asking!" Anson stepped forward suddenly: "The previous sentence, what did you say in the previous sentence?!"

"Uh..." The messenger was shocked:

"Sir Louis Bernard and Lieutenant Colonel Alexey Dukasky were defeated miserably in the grass forest. The 20,000-strong army was... completely routed!"