I Will Be The Crowned King

Night falls, and the stars are shining.

The cold wind of Dawn Bingfeng blew away the smoke from the battlefield of Eaglehorn City, but the air was still filled with the disgusting smell of blood; there were no crows and hyenas in the Dawn Mountains, but when the vultures’ chirping occasionally came from outside the city, it still made people smell. discoloration.

At this moment, Eagle Horn City, the only city with lights on the dark earth, is completely enveloped in an atmosphere of laughter and laughter; Clovis people, Thun people... Weary soldiers cheered happily for the victory.

Although the customs of the two sides are vastly different, they are still quickly mingling in wine and meat jokes, which makes it hard to believe that the two countries were actually mortal enemies not long ago.

From the castle hall in the fortress to every corner where the scent of alcohol and bacon can be smelled, everyone is immersed in the joy of victory, letting themselves forget the fatigue of fighting, the pain on their bodies, and the loss of Paoze 's grief.

But as the biggest beneficiary of this victory, Ludwig did not feel the slightest joy.

Standing outside a terrace of the castle, the commander of the Southern Legion looked at the Dawn Mountains shrouded in darkness without saying a word, and the noise of the soldiers celebrating was constantly heard in his ears.

Yes, he was victorious--not only did he take Eagle Point City, but he also defeated the "prestigious" Isir Guards Corps, setting the tone for the victory of this Isir Punishment War.

To be honest, as long as the fort is not lost, then no matter what happens in the next battle, Iser will have no chance to come back; the only thing they can change is the size of the land and indemnity in the final peace agreement. .

Or... In fact, even this number has nothing to do with them, it just depends on the hope of His Majesty Carlos II and the members of the Privy Council in Clovis City; and in order to make up for the loss caused by the war with the Empire, I am afraid that it is not a matter of ripping off your bones. to satisfy them.

In order to expand the wealth brought by this victory, the Privy Council who learned the news will definitely do their best to support themselves; as long as they can win, they will be satisfied with whatever they want - anyway, the investment money and people can be obtained from Iser's Take it out of your pocket.

Ludwig was convinced of this. He himself fought on the Western Front for several months, and the facts confirmed his guesses again and again.

The huge size of the empire is far beyond the reach of Clovis; in the face of such an enemy, Clovis's mobilization advantages must be fully utilized, only a small number of troops are reserved on the border, and a single force can be concentrated to form an absolute force. The crushing force will annihilate them one by one.

A division of 3,000 to 5,000 people, or an army of 20,000 to 40,000 people... These once "huge" establishments now seem to be more and more insufficient; The four legions gather as one, and a battle can decide the outcome of the great battle.

To form a "big army" of this size, it requires stronger overall planning capabilities, better mobilization and delivery capabilities, and these are Clovis' real advantages - it can make more troops act at the same time and appear. on the same battlefield.

An empire that does not have this ability will also be forced to gather an army of the same size to face it; but it is destined to be only a rabble with unknown orders, fighting separately, and even logistics cannot be planned in a unified way.

Regrettably, despite already possessing this power, Clovis' officers still hold the old ideas of a bygone era; apart from a slight tactical advantage, they are essentially indistinguishable from the knights of the Empire.

Even they are not as good as the imperial knights - those knights who stick to the glory of the old times are willing to sacrifice themselves in order to win; the Clovis officers who use wars as work and money-making methods are very different from them.

On the Western Front, Ludwig was just a brigadier general leading a levy, an ordinary high-ranking officer who was excluded by the Army; but on the Southern Front, he was a commander who could decide everything with a single word, and no one but the Privy Council could argue against him. He pointed fingers.

So he is eager to win, and use a decisive victory to make the idiots on the Western Front fully understand, and let the Privy Council and His Majesty Carlos II fully understand why they have been losing battles!

Because times have changed!

A war should no longer be fought on and off for several years or even decades; it should be a final call with all one's strength, and it will take a few months or even a year to completely defeat the enemy before he is still trying to resist. , in exchange for ten to twenty years of absolute peace.

So he needed victory, and with the glory and iron evidence of victory, to realize his ideas.

But did he really win?

It seems to be true - he conquered Eaglehorn City, made Iser and Thun of the Seven Cities Alliance cut off the alliance, and defeated the main force of the Janissary Legion.

According to the most popular ways of judging victory: defending the position, the casualty ratio is much smaller than the enemy, gaining a strategic advantage, capturing the spoils, and capturing the enemy's important generals... I really won.

However, he could not annihilate the Praetorian Guards himself.

Under the dark night, Ludwig, who was quietly meditating, frowned, as if he could see the **** that decided the outcome.

The 40,000 Guard Corps, annihilated and captured soldiers and knight generals exceeded 20,000, more because it was impossible to count in the melee, but Ludwig himself believed that the final number should be close to 30,000.

The Praetorian Guards retreated decisively at the last moment, but it was only one step away from being encircled and wiped out; all supplies and wounded soldiers were abandoned; according to the observation of the scouts, the Praetorian Guard Corps finally withdrew from the battlefield, the strength of the corps was also reduced. Around ten thousand.

If it was an ordinary Iser army, Ludwig wouldn't care at all; but the Praetorian Guard is a modern army built according to the imperial model; which means that it will not be blown away after a defeat in the first battle. troops, it can rely on the tenacious organization to retain the establishment, and restore itself after the war by replenishing troops and weapons.

Maybe there will be a decline in combat effectiveness, maybe there will be a lack of weapons because of the blockade of trade, but...

They weren't really beaten.

They can still make a comeback.

I did my best to join forces with Anson, and what I got at all costs... was just a victory that made Clovis City cheer, and did not achieve the level of a battle to decide the outcome.

In the cold wind of the night, the gloomy Ludwig turned his head slowly, and looked thoughtfully at another quiet corner of the cheering Eaglehorn City.

In this fortress, apart from Roman, he is probably the only person who can truly understand him.

After going through all the hardships and even taking the initiative to risk his life, he finally got such a poor result... Ansen Bach, he should be more disappointed than himself now, right?

"Snapped!"

Punching against the icy wall, Ludwig, who was desperately suppressing his emotions, closed his eyes.

………………

"Actually...it's not a big problem."

Anson, who was lying on the hospital bed, hugged Lisa who was already asleep, and said lightly to Carl Bain.

The girl rushed up to him as soon as he was injured, and refused to leave even after entering the ward. She wanted to cook for Anson and take care of him; but in the end, she was no match for drowsiness, and fell asleep on the bed.

After confirming again and again that she was sound asleep, An Sen let out a long sigh of relief and kept chanting "Saved, saved..." in his heart.

"Of course it's best to completely wipe out the Guard Corps, but it doesn't matter if it doesn't succeed - all the luggage is lost, the commander is captured, and the Guard Corps that escaped from the battlefield is a bunch of bereaved dogs, and it won't become a climate in a short time."

"Isel is not an empire, nor Clovis. Without the trade route and the Seven Cities Alliance, their own military industry cannot support the consumption of the legion level; even if the fully prepared troops can be rebuilt, there will never be this time. size."

"So this time, the battle of Eagle Point City is still very successful on the whole!"

"Success, do you think they have nothing to do with us?"

Carl, who saw through his thoughts, snorted twice and looked at the girl in his arms with his chin - Lisa, who was asleep, as cute as an angel:

"The battle of Eaglehorn City was won, and the fortress was defended; the rest is all about Ludwig, and he won't look for you again if he wins or loses. This war is Ludwig's war, unless forced to do so, otherwise He won't give anyone a little more of his exploits."

"He wants to win, but he just wants to win in an open and honest way, and he can't take the credit from others; so he can give you the credit for the battle of Eaglehorn City, but that's it."

"So we can only go to Hantu, to the Seven Cities Alliance." An Sen shrugged with a smile:

"Winning the Battle of Eagle Point and capturing Louis Bernard alive is the only benefit to us is to ensure that Ludwig can convince the officers of the Southern Legion to give the Storm Division a separate supply line, which will allow us to replenish troops and supplies as soon as possible. ... Of course, don't count on that too much."

"Don't count on Ludwig, who do you count on?" Karl was stunned:

"Your relative of Thun?"

"Claude Francois? Not much more."

Anson waved his hand: "He still wants me to help him get weapons and rely on Clovis to unify the Seven Cities Alliance - no one can count on us except ourselves."

This is also a long-term business - since the Francois family wants to unify the Seven Cities Alliance, they will definitely expand their military force; as long as it operates well, it will not only maintain the friendship with the Francois family and the Rune family, but also himself You can also earn money from shopping.

"Then what are your plans next?"

"First of all, of course, we need to really build up the Storm Division. We need to add as many as we can. At least two more infantry regiments must be expanded to establish a complete logistics organization, officer corps and staff corps." Anson said while thinking:

"Take half a month to repair, and then wait and see the situation of the Seven Cities Alliance - the news of Iser's defeat, Thun should not be able to hide it; with Thun in front, the Seven Cities Alliance will soon be torn apart... Then This is our chance."

"What if they are particularly united, or simply split into two, a few go to Clovis, and the rest are neutral or go to the Empire?"

Carl is not without worry, and with the size and combat power of the Storm Division, he can deal with a small country with low combat power.

"Why do you always think so pessimistically, I don't even want to chat with you anymore." Anson complained:

"Even if we want to unify, the response speed of the Seven Cities Alliance is definitely not an overnight thing; besides, what does this have to do with their choice of position, the key is whether we want to fight or not."

"What's the meaning?"

"It means that for an 'ally' like Thune, it's almost enough to have a weaker one - strictly speaking, the rest are all our enemies."

"Like?"

"For example, if they are willing to join in, they must show sincerity." Anson put Lisa in his arms, took an apple from the table and handed it to Carl:

"At least take out one-fifth of the annual income, hand over the hostages and one-half of the army - when the time comes, the Grand Duke Thun can take the initiative to make a statement, and when the matter is over, they will deduct the part of the weapons they bought, and the rest repaid in full.”

"What if they can't afford it or don't want to?"

Carl glanced at the apple: "I won't eat this."

"I asked you to peel my skin and cut it into pieces by the way - didn't you see that I was a patient?" Anson rolled his eyes:

"If you don't pay, you won't accept it, and then use this excuse to beat them; we're here to pull allies, not charity."

"What about neutrality?" Carl reluctantly took the apple.

"Neutrality means collaborating with the enemy Iser, then we can attack them more justifiably - try to knock them down before surrendering!" Ansen said absently:

"Cut the apple into smaller pieces, I'm a patient!"

"I think you are quite healthy..." Carl twitched the corners of his mouth:

"And what about those who take refuge in the empire?"

"Similarly, take it down in one breath - of course, try to put this last." Anson was silent for two seconds, and then said:

"We have to look at the attitude of the empire first. If they plan to participate in this war, then they have to consider another alternative."

"How do I feel that your plan is not to find allies for Clovis, but to make enemies crazy?"

"On the contrary, the premise of finding an ally is to have an enemy first."

An Sen smiled mysteriously: "In the eyes of our 'ally' Grand Duke Thun, the Seven Cities Alliance and the entire vast land are his future territory. He is willing to pay some price for the unification of the Seven Cities Alliance, but it is absolutely impossible. Allow Clovis to touch the land."

"The harder we fight and exploit the Seven Cities Alliance, the more it proves that we have no interest in staying here; if we make good friends with other countries, the Grand Duke Thun will be really wary of us~www.readwn. com~ That's why you said, just find a weaker one?" Carl suddenly realized.

"That's right—it's an insurance. If Thun wants to betray Clovis, he can't make it so easy that they don't even have to bear the price." Anson glanced at the apple that had been cut:

"Any perfect plan must have at least one alternative to be perfect."

Carl rolled his eyes, stuffed the apple chunks from the bowl into Anson's arms, and turned to leave.

"Right." The adjutant who walked to the door suddenly remembered something, stopped in place, and said without looking back:

"Your monocle... accidentally dropped when you entered the ward. I picked it up for you and put it on the bedside table. Don't forget it."

"Okay, thank you."

Anson smiled lightly and nodded to Carl who walked out the door.

As for what exactly that monocle is...the two who understood it didn't say much.