I will be crowned king

Chapter 822 Anson·Best Friend·Loyal Minister·Honest Man·Bach

The bright moon is in the sky and the cold wind is blowing.

Facing the deep night, Ludwig, alone, held a torch and urged his mount to move forward slowly on the battlefield where the smoke still lingered, approaching the scheduled negotiation location.

The reason why he decided not to bring an escort was not only because he judged the situation and believed that Anson did not dare to do anything to him, but also an important reason was that the entire Jihad Army was pieced together from top to bottom, and there were no cronies of Ludwig himself.

The intelligence provided by the Clovis trial, the information his father revealed intentionally or unintentionally, and his own judgment of the situation, had made him somewhat mentally prepared for the content of this conversation with Anson after more than a year.

Soon, an inconspicuous tent appeared in front of us. Standing guard outside holding torches were none other than the officers of the Storm Legion - Alexei Dukaski and Norton Crosell.

So the rebellious colonial legion was not coerced and deceived, but also knew the truth...even just part of it?

Facing the slightly embarrassed looks from the two of them, Ludwig looked a little amused, but didn't say anything. He handed the reins to Norton, who was holding his breath, and walked in on his own.

There was only a round table and two chairs in the not-so-spacious tent. On the table was a map of the Turbulent Sea. In addition to some ports in the Old World and the Three Kingdoms in the North Sea, the approximate locations of the Thirteen Colonies in the New World were also mapped out in great detail. , the specific scope of each colony, roads, mountain topography and even the general population.

Ludwig's curiosity was immediately aroused, and his eyes lit up. He lay on the table and observed so intently that he didn't even notice the footsteps entering the tent. It wasn't until the other party pulled out a chair for him that he finally Be aware of something.

However, when he subconsciously raised his head and was about to say something, the doubts in his heart were immediately replaced by the shock that came out of his mouth:

"Why, why is it you?!"

……………………

"Yeah, what's the problem?"

Outside the tent, Anson, who was hiding in the trench, bit open the cork of the rum bottle and said nonchalantly to his chief of staff.

"Question?" Carl Bain raised his eyebrows with a playful expression, looking like he didn't know where to start:

"You asked Roman and Ludwig to meet first, and on the premise of fully understanding our details...are you really not worried that he will sell us out and let Ludwig earn a military exploit from the church?"

"Don't forget, he is a die-hard loyalist of the Franz family!"

"Of course I know that." Anson shrugged matter-of-factly: "Because I knew this, I specifically asked Roman to explain the whole story to Major General Ludwig first to avoid any misunderstanding between the two parties."

"specially?!"

"That's right, otherwise I have to find a way to win his trust first; Ludwig is the kind of... uh..."

"You don't need to describe the character of the archbishop's son to me. I've been under his command longer than you!" Karl couldn't help but emphasize, his face filled with worry:

"I don't object to letting Roman win his trust, but letting them meet in private is still too..."

"Danger?"

"I originally wanted to say it was stupid, but you understand." The chief of staff took the wine bottle from the commander-in-chief's hand: "Don't forget, behind Roman, in addition to the Franz family, there is also the omnipresent Truth Society; Once the Franz family joins forces with the Truth Society and lets Ludwig know the whole truth, there won’t be much room for you to deceive and deceive him!”

"Cheating and abducting...that should be called everyone getting what they need!"

Anson showed a look of deep helplessness. Sometimes having too much tacit understanding seems not a good thing; he understood that Karl was worried that the truth would join forces with the Franz family, and that he and the Storm Legion would end up like Han Tu. After all kinds of arrangements, he still couldn't escape the fate of being a tool man.

But this time it was completely different from the Han Tu time... The trump card held by the Storm Legion was not just what could be seen on the surface.

From the appearance of Ludwig to the "excellent quality" displayed by the Clovis Holy War in front of him, Anson has been able to basically judge what the local and royal family's attitude towards this holy war is, and why it became a holy war. The vanguard sent here still aimed at Yangfan City, which seemed to be the most inappropriate place.

Once you understand the other party's attitude and purpose, the next step will be easier.

Just when Anson was about to explain to Karl in detail, the frosty-faced Roman quietly appeared behind him, looking down at the two people sharing a bottle of rum in the trench.

"Major General Ludwig wants to negotiate with you." Roman said solemnly, with his hands behind his back: "The Major General hopes that only you and him will meet in private. Of course, if you force it, the Major General wouldn't mind meeting the Bernard family member by the way. Heir."

"No need." Anson stood up and said with a smile: "I have already discussed with Louis that I will be responsible for the negotiations with Major General Ludwig; if there are too many people, it may be inconvenient to talk about some things."

Roman's face was expressionless, expressing neither approval nor disapproval.

Anson, who didn't care about this, patted Karl's shoulder, who still looked hesitant, pointed to the wine bottle in his arms and chuckled: "This bottle is for you... but don't drink it all, remember to leave some for me."

The chief of staff couldn't help rolling his eyes, but suddenly realized something; while looking at the commander-in-chief's back and looking at the Tirpitz rum in his arms, his eyes showed a bit of surprise.

Opening the door curtain, Ludwig was sitting in front of the map table, his chin intertwined with his hands, his eyes in a trance showing a blur of brilliance, as if he had not yet recovered from the shock.

"Sit." Ludwig pointed to the chair opposite without raising his head, and his body seemed to be trembling slightly as he spoke.

Anson silently took off the three-cornered hat on his head, pulled out a chair and sat down opposite him, and then raised his eyes to look at this former "old boss".

"Before we met, I thought carefully about how I should meet you for a long time."

Ludwig's voice suddenly calmed down, even a little unusual: "Friends, subordinates, enemies, traitors or...strangers."

"This issue made me hesitate for a long time when the people from the trial court came to my door and took me to the Lund Manor. It was not until the day I set off from North Port that I finally decided on it."

"But just now, after Roman was finally willing to tell him everything he knew, I suddenly found that I was taking it for granted again; those things that I believed to be true disappeared in just a few minutes, like floating lights and bubbles."

"Haha...and do you know where the most interesting part of this is?" Twitching the corners of his stiff mouth, a smile suddenly appeared on Ludwig's face: "That's what it is, and he's not even the first one." Times."

"My father, Roman, Sophia, and you... You, and everyone I know, seem to think that they should deceive me, deliberately or instinctively hiding everything from me, and letting me live in a lie that I think is the truth. !”

"Only at the last moment, when taking one more step will affect your plan and your goals, will you tell me the whole story, lest I, who know nothing about it, do something wrong? Something that suits your ideas!”

"The people I trust most are members of the Truth Society who rebelled against the church. My former deputy commander was a genuine spell caster and traitor to the kingdom. My father is far from being as loyal to the Holy See as he has always shown..." Ludwig Hope the smile becomes stronger:

"So, Anson Bach, what do you think I should take you to be?"

Anson looked at him motionless: "I don't know."

"have no idea?!"

"How you view me should be your own decision; just like when I disclose the information I know to you, you can only judge whether it is a lie, the truth, or an incomplete truth." Anson said softly:

"But to me... Anson Bach, you have always been my boss and a trustworthy friend; without you, my end should have been in the fog at Thunder Castle, with the remaining remnants of the infantry regiment. Exploded into the sky by the enemy."

"So no matter what others have done, at least so far, maybe I have concealed something, but as long as you ask personally, I have never deceived you in any way."

"Perhaps concealing something in your mind is tantamount to deception. If that's the case, I have nothing to say and I don't intend to explain anything; but before that, I must tell you one thing, that is, even now, I, Anson Bach, still maintain My loyalty to you, the Franz family, and Clovis has never changed!"

Ludwig's expression froze slightly.

But Anson was not prepared to wait for him to recover, but continued to output: "If I am not wrong, Roman should have told you all the information he has, plus the Inquisition or the Church deliberately disclosed it to you You must already have your own understanding of the nature of this 'holy war'."

"A brief analysis shows that the Holy See and the Empire, which led this holy war, each have their own goals to achieve. The former hopes to eradicate the Luen family. If not, it will use this as an excuse to gain an opportunity to intervene in the secular world."

"The latter hopes to regain the colonies in the New World, and even go further to completely destroy the interests of the Clovis people and the three North Sea countries in the New World, monopolize all colonies, and cut off Clovis's supply of cheap raw materials."

"As for the others... Clovis, Hantu, Iser, and even the grand duchies within the empire that can compete with the royal family, are just pawns that have been coerced and forced to participate."

"The so-called choice is just a nice-looking statement. The essence is just to avoid damage to the interests as much as possible under the premise of being forced to follow it. That's why Clovis chose you to lead the army and attack Yangfan City first - this The glory brought by the victory of 'Capture the City' is the greatest benefit that Clovis can obtain from this war."

Ludwig, who was blocked from speaking, looked at Anson with a rather ugly expression.

After a few seconds of silence, as if after serious consideration, he said calmly: "So your 'betrayal' was really just out of necessity, and you already had a corresponding plan, right?"

"As a subject of Clovis, no matter what you do for the benefit of the kingdom, you are bound to do it." Anson smiled slightly:

"For the Empire and the Holy See, the Storm Legion, which is deeply involved with the Rune Family, is already a target that has to be eradicated, and this will not change. If we do not rebel, they will use this to blackmail Clovis; but now We were highly bound to the Confederacy because of the rebellion, and without me as a target, they could only target the entire Free Confederacy."

"Similarly because of the rebellion of the Storm Legion, as the commander of Clovis, you naturally have an excuse to start a war to 'counter-rebellion'; as long as you confront me head-on and defeat me once, you no longer have to worry about the church and the empire using this as an excuse to coerce You and the Kingdom of Clovis." Anson's eyes gradually became sharp:

"In this way, the Empire's control over you will be weakened, allowing you to gain more autonomy in this war that is harmful to Clovis; and the Free Confederacy will do its best to turn this war The war dragged on until winter came.”

"At that time, whether Clovis will move around and strive for independence, or continue to maintain the old system of the ordered world, and then... break the shackles and establish a new order, it will be your heavy responsibility."

After saying that, Anson breathed a sigh of relief and looked at the other party sincerely.

Ludwig did not speak, but quietly listened to what Anson was talking about.

If it had been him before, he would have been so excited that he could even imagine that he would single-handedly control Clovis's national destiny for the next twenty years. Excitement, life and death, all depended on one thought, success or failure. , will be vigorous.

But just like an honest person can become cunning because he is fooled again and again, Ludwig, who is prone to passion, also saw a lot of problems in the pie painted by Anson Bach.

"You said you wanted me to defeat the Storm Legion to prove Clovis' innocence, but now it's my troops who are besieged and blocked." Ludwig said coldly:

"Taking a step back, with the current battle situation in Yangfan City, even if I still want to conquer Yangfan City, it is already impossible."

"No, no, no, you are too humble." Ansen quickly boasted: "With the support of the fleet and your military level, at least the capture of Yangfan City is still..."

"I'm not talking nonsense to you!"

Ludwig interrupted unceremoniously: "If we cannot capture Sailing City, Clovis will not be able to hand over a declaration of innocence to the church and the empire. How are you going to solve this?"

"It's very simple." Anson smiled again.

……………………

"What did you say?!" Louis' pupils suddenly shrank:

"You want to withdraw from Sailing City and hand over the colony to the Jihad Army?!"