I Will Be The Crowned King

"All troops in place - stop advancing!"

Carl Bain, whose pupils shrank suddenly, let out an angry roar, which exploded under the cloudless sky of Golden Stone City.

The loud bugles sounded one after another, and the entire army suddenly paused and stopped moving forward; the first-line battalion of the Storm Regiment in the front row immediately took off its rifle from its shoulders and quickly moved on the road. The center is deployed in a horizontal formation.

"The skirmish company is ready for battle, and everyone is on alert!"

"The artillery company and the baggage team stopped the carriage and prepared to erect the gun mount!"

"The companies are in place, and no action is allowed until they are ordered!"

The originally relaxed and happy atmosphere was instantly replaced by nervousness and chills. The soldiers and officers with serious expressions stood there, letting the sweat slip between their temples and necks, motionless; the entire army was silent except for orders and footsteps.

"How is this going?!"

Looking at the army of Tuen who was waiting under the golden stone city, Carl, who frowned, desperately lowered his voice and said to An Sen: "Didn't you say that Duke Tuen would not dare to do it?!"

"I said it's possible." Anson waved to Carl, signaling for the other party to relax:

"Don't be nervous, my adjutant, everything that happens now is still in my plan."

"Who gave you confidence?"

"Of course it's Grand Duke Thun himself."

"Huh?" Carl was confused.

"Do you think that if you were the Grand Duke of Thun, in order to show off a group of Clovis troops, you would not hesitate to turn the villages and fields outside your capital into a battlefield full of corpses?"

Anson looked at the blood-colored thorns flags flying on the artillery positions in the distance: "What's more, we have already entered the coverage of the Thun artillery positions - if we want to fight them, we will fight them long ago."

"So I guess they just want to show off their force in this way, demonstrate to us, and save a little face lost in the previous fiasco. It's impossible to fight!"

"real?"

Carl, who looked pale, still couldn't believe it.

"Of course." Anson's mouth showed a confident smile, and he suddenly lowered his voice to Carl's ear and said, "You quickly let Fabien control the two hostages, if you want to retreat, don't let them run away. Yes - I said in case, in case!"

Carl Bain: "…"

Just when the encounter was extremely tense because of the sudden encounter, a knight under the banner of the thorns flower suddenly stepped out of the queue and ran wildly.

He held a red swallowtail flag high in his hand, and the long striped flag was constantly shaking in the wind, making noises.

"All of them - stay vigilant!"

Anson, who did not change his face, ordered and walked forward. The soldiers in the front row consciously made way for the deputy commander and surrounded him.

In the blink of an eye, the knight had crossed the open field, and his horse stopped fifty meters away from Anson and the line private in the first row.

He rode on the restless gray warhorse, and looked at Anson with a clearly unkind expression, not even a hint of smile.

The next second, the knight suddenly raised his head and shouted loudly at the Clovis army who was waiting:

"By order of the Grand Duke Claude Francois..."

"I declare to everyone who has crossed the snow-capped mountains and set foot on the land of the Thun people..."

"Golden Stone City has set up a feast to welcome her friends from afar!"

…………

The day was shrouded in a golden sunset, and a grand banquet was being held in the Jinshicheng Palace where the lanterns were just beginning.

Under the star-like crystal lamps, the luxuriously dressed guests and the nobles of Thun danced with the melodious music, pushing the cups and changing the cups; the waiters holding the trays kept going back and forth between the long tables covered with white tablecloths, serving the guests for the guests. Pour wine and serve meals.

Because there were so many guests this time, an open-air banquet was specially set up in the garden outside the banquet hall; the envoys of the palace cooked barbecue on the edge of the banquet directly, filling the fountain with red wine, the aroma of wine and the aroma of barbecued meat sprinkled with spices pervades the entire palace.

Unlike Clovis's "gourmet style" filled with plenty of meat and pickled products, people south of the Dawn Mountains prefer to enjoy a wide variety of vegetables, fish and fresh food: pan-fried cod, roast goose with chestnuts, zucchini Soups, eggplant tarts, tapenade, truffled omelettes, sea bass steaks… and a variety of unprocessed, fresh and tempting fruits and dried fruits fill every table.

In the hustle and bustle of the hall, Major Fabien, holding a half glass of sweet wine, sat on a sofa in a very relaxed way, looking leisurely at the colleagues who were already drunk and began to talk nonsense, the corners of his mouth unconsciously. cocked.

While the food isn't very tasty—the pickled Clovisers are generally savage—the wines and sparkling wines of the Seven Cities are among the best; not to mention that the food, no matter how unpalatable, is better than the military. Much stronger than weapon's crusty bread and cured meat pickles.

After ten hard days on the snowy mountain, more than 2,000 people who went into battle immediately after going down the mountain really need to relax as much as they are now and get rid of the fatigue of the past few days.

But in the hustle and bustle of the staggering, Fabian found that there were a few people missing in the hall.

"I specially invited the two of you from the banquet hall to this small smoking room. Please forgive me for any inappropriate reception; but I think we all know the reason."

Claude Francois, the Grand Duke of Thun in fancy clothes, sits in an armchair in front of the fireplace. He is of medium build, has a beard like a celebrity painting, and a pair of eyes sparkling brightly in deep-set eye sockets. .

"Of course."

Anson smiled slightly, and at the same time lightly touched the tense shoulder of Carl Bain, signaling him to relax.

There was no light in the smoking room, and the three of them sat around the fireplace; the throbbing firelight reflected on everyone's faces, leaving distinct shadows.

"I have heard the general situation from Henares, and as a father, I am grateful that you and your army were able to maintain enough grace and courtesy to not cause my only son too much harm."

"These are as they should be." Anson said slightly flatteringly:

"The relationship between Bach and the Francois family has a long history. Although it has been nearly two hundred years ago, it still cannot change the fact that the blood is connected. When my father was alive, he often taught me to be kind to my relatives whenever and wherever."

"Your father will be proud of your actions." Grand Duke Thun said in a soothing tone:

"Since you think we are still a family, then I won't be more polite; to be honest, to your suggestion that Clovis and Thun should join forces..."

"I'm not very interested."

Anson's face was filled with a smile, without showing the slightest surprise.

"There are two reasons."

The Prince of Thun spoke slowly in a steady voice: "His Excellency Anson Bach, or Lieutenant Colonel Anson Bach; if I guess correctly, this so-called 'alliance' is just your own 'imagination'... I said right?"

Does he know? !

He actually knew it!

Carl Bain, who was screaming in the bottom of his heart, was shocked, and with his mouth tightly clenched, he clasped the arm of the chair with both hands, and tried to turn his eyes to look at Anson. At this time, he must be decisively denied, otherwise...

"That's right." Anson still kept smiling.

Carl stared at the back of his head and his pupils shrank suddenly, desperately restraining the urge to run.

Grand Duke Thun was also startled, but he didn't expect him to admit it so simply.

However, he was only slightly surprised, and his expression quickly regained his calm: "If that's the case, then you can definitely understand my concerns - because according to what you said, I was almost asked to take the initiative to make an alliance request to Clovis, and in the Without any guarantees, help you Clovisers to capture Eagle Point City."

"No, it should be the two of us working together to retake Eaglehorn City from the Elf Yisel." Anson corrected slightly.

"What's the difference?"

"The difference is huge." The smiling Anson took the initiative to lean forward:

"This war is against the Iser Elves. If the Seven Cities Alliance does not respond to Iser Elves' call, Clovis will have no excuse to declare war on the Seven Cities Alliance; so if you..."

"This is not what I want to ask, please don't change the subject." The expressionless Grand Duke Thun interrupted:

"What I want to know is what's in it for the Francois, for Thun - don't tell me Clovis will return Eagle Point to the Francois after the war; you don't have that power , I also don't believe that Carlos II would be willing to do this!"

"Of course, if the city of Eagle Point can be captured, Clovis will certainly not let go of this important transportation hub connecting the east and the south at the same time."

Anson nodded of course, as if he was not the same person who promised the young knight before:

"But even if Clovis takes control of Eagle Point City, it will still be beneficial to Thun and the Francois family."

The expressionless Archduke Thun brought a glass of wine from the coffee table by his hand, expressing his willingness to hear about it.

"Before we figure this out, let's first discuss why the Grand Duke of Thun, a hundred years ago, took the initiative to cede Eagle Horn City to the Elven Kingdom of Iser."

Before waiting for the other party to speak, Ansen immediately gave the answer: "Because it was a church war at that time, the entire world of order was divided into different forces by many sects, and each of them expanded their territory and plundered wealth with a certain sect they supported as the core."

"At that time, the Seven Cities Alliance supported the Pope of the Holy City, and Clovis expanded rapidly with the support of the Qiuzhen Sect; in order to resist Clovis' aggression, the Archduke Thun had to cede the Eagle Horn City in exchange for the protection of the Iser elf. ."

"But the Iser elves at that time were a powerful country in the east. At their peak, the emperor even felt threatened and established an alliance with Clovis to defend against the elves' invasion." Anson's words changed:

"Today, the Iser elf is already lingering, nothing but the so-called pride and tradition; not to mention protecting others, even she needs the help of the empire to maintain it; an alliance with such a country will not only fail to give Thun and the Seven Cities The alliance is a help, but a drag."

"With all due respect, the reason why the Seven Cities Alliance still maintains its alliance with the Iser elves to this day is simply because not everyone has paid the price; you are the Grand Duke of Thun. Who is Thun's biggest trading partner today?"

In the quiet smoking room, Claude Francois took a sip of wine:

"Of course it's the Kingdom of Clovis."

"You really are wise." An Sen touted a little:

"But the largest trade hub between Thun and Clovis is in the hands of the Iser Elf. What does this mean? It means that the same commodity from Thun to Clovis will be taxed at least three times."

"In these three times, the Thun people sold the goods at a low price, and the Clovis people paid a high price. The two sides obviously had complementary interests, but the profits were all taken away by the Yisel elves."

"To put it badly, the Iser elves are pumping the blood of the Thun people to support themselves; if they are the most powerful enough to provide protection, that's fine; but can they do it now?"

Anson spread his hands and pointed to himself and Karl by his side: "We can appear here, which is the iron proof of the weakness of the Iser elf. In this case, why does Thun need to sell benefits to the Iser elf?"

"Because of the Seven Cities Alliance." Grand Duke Thun put down his glass:

"It is by relying on this unbreakable alliance that we can order the world to have a place, instead of becoming a part of other powers; relying on a not too strong but fairly powerful Iser elf is the key to maintaining the alliance."

"In that case, why not let Thun become the key to maintaining the alliance?"

"You mean..."

"Compared with a foreign kingdom of alien races, isn't the Francois family who once ruled over the vast land more qualified to be the leader of the Seven Cities Alliance?"

Anson smiled and said: "If the Francois family can defeat the Iser elf, and even make it stronger - for example, using the trade between the two countries as collateral in exchange for Clovis's military assistance - why can't it replace Iraq? The elf's status in the Seven Cities Alliance?"

"Oh?" The corners of Grand Duke Thun's mouth twitched slightly:

"But you're just a little lieutenant colonel. How can you assure me of what you said?"

"That's right, I'm just a little lieutenant colonel, and I have no right to interfere with the policies and plans of Clovis's upper echelons." Anson nodded affirmatively:

"But my 'little lieutenant colonel' is the real deputy commander of the Southern Corps."

Before he finished speaking, An Sen took out a sterling silver and sapphire-encrusted ring from his pocket and handed it to Grand Duke Thun:

"Do you know this?"

"This is?"

By the fire of the fireplace, Claude Francois looked at the ring in his hand - although he could not accurately determine which family the ring belonged to, the ancient imperial language in the inner ring alone was enough to prove its ancientness. UU reading www.uukanshu.com

"The oldest family in Clovis, the ring of the Rune family - the person who owns this ring is also a member of the Rune family." Anson smiled:

"If you have a little understanding of the Clovis noble lineage, you will know the status of this family in Clovis; and the next generation of the heir to the Rune family, Talia August Rune..."

"It's my fiancee."

When the words fell, Grand Duke Thun's pupils suddenly shrank, and many mysteries in his mind suddenly became clear.

Carl on the side was even more shocked that the whole person froze completely, looking at Anson as if he was looking at some kind of advanced creature.

The small smoking room was quiet for a full minute.

After being silent for a long time, Grand Duke Thun raised his wine glass again, smiled like an elder to a younger generation, and looked at An Sen with relief:

"Dear Anson nephew, what would you like to drink?"

"Tirpitz rum without ice, thank you."