I Will Be The Crowned King

Inside the golden-red four-wheeled carriage driving slowly under the street lights at midnight, the Viscount Bogner's pipe holding the oil painting seems to be seriously admiring the brushwork of the elf painter Iser, but in fact all his attention is completely on the girl sitting opposite him.

"What do you think?"

Talia, whose small body was completely sunk in the soft collapse, suddenly spoke to the old gentleman.

"It's a masterpiece." Viscount Bogner praised without hesitation, showing some real love in his eyes:

"The author must have had contact with a painter of the imperial court school. I have seen many oil paintings with the characteristics of Iser elves. Their colors are very wild, and the use of pigments is extremely casual, and each painting is full of A distinct personal style."

"Like this "Knight on the Mountain", the castle and the ice peak in the back have a very Iser elf style, but the spear knight in the center is completely different. , is a very standard palace school figure painting feature; obviously it is a completely different style, but it is so perfectly integrated, this is really..."

"I'm not talking about it."

The girl interrupted the old gentleman's praise softly, with a small expression of regret for being a little rude on the corner of her mouth:

"It's another one."

"Another picture?" Viscount Bogner was slightly startled.

Talia had to remind: "The unfinished one."

The old gentleman suddenly realized, and at the same time, he was alert to realize that what the girl was referring to... may not be an oil painting.

but the people in the painting.

"That painting... is indeed very valuable and has great potential for appreciation. To be honest, I like it very much." Viscount Bogner put away the work in his hand and answered truthfully:

"But if you want to hang it in the corridor of Lund Manor, I'm afraid it's not qualified now, right?"

Talia nodded slightly: "Now... Of course not, but when it's really finished, will Miss Sophia of the Franz family still sell it?"

"You mean..." The old gentleman frowned slightly.

"If it's just an ordinary oil painting with a clear price on it, it doesn't matter... The sincerity of the Franz family is still trustworthy." A strange look flashed in the girl's pupils:

"But I'm worried that Miss Sophia has taken it as a... um... private collection."

Um? !

Viscount Bogner was shocked, and almost dropped the pipe from the corner of his mouth to the ground:

"Private collection...this...this should be, shouldn't it be impossible?!"

"Even if Miss Sophia really has this level of thinking, Archbishop Luther Franz... should and will never agree; the portrait of the eldest daughter's boudoir... He should have planned it long ago."

"Who knows?" Talia said quietly:

"Maybe one day, the price of this painting can really inflate to a sky-high price."

The silent Viscount Bogner bit his pipe and took a few puffs to hide his surprise.

His understanding of Anson Bach is still in the state after the first meeting, and his appreciation for him is limited to his efficiency and his ability to mediate between various forces.

After all, the guy who can be valued by the Truth Society, drawn by the Church of Order, and chosen by the Rune family as the heir of the "Black Mage" will never be an "ordinary person".

I... seem to still underestimate him.

"That's why you left a deposit of 30,000 gold coins?" Viscount Bogner couldn't help asking:

"Want to buy... that painting in advance?"

The smiling Talia shook her head and turned her eyes out of the car window:

"If you insist, it should be a kind reminder, right?"

"remind?"

The old gentleman frowned slightly.

"When you see something you like, you spend money to buy it; even if it costs twice or even several times more than his price, as long as you can satisfy the momentary joy of getting it, it's worth it, and you can have it forever." Talia smiled and said:

"For some reason, more and more people have this stupid idea in recent years."

"Is there anything wrong?" said Viscount Bogner.

"Should say...is there anything right?"

Talia asked rhetorically: "If the value of a painting can really be measured in money, why should it be auctioned and contested? Set a price and sign a contract soon, and what is the need for competition?"

"The subtext that must be fought is that it cannot be bought with money, it can only breed greed; oil painting is like this, so is the human heart." The girl who looked out the window said faintly:

"Thinking that spending money can reap the equivalent of loyalty, she will be backfired by this naive idea sooner or later; she will continue to pay more, and eventually she will give everything, even her own soul is mortgaged to the painting."

"I just wanted to make her aware of it in advance."

Viscount Bogner took a strong puff on his pipe and was silent for a few seconds:

"If money can't buy loyalty, what can?"

"No." The girl smiled more and more:

"At the end of the day, it is impossible for an independent consciousness to completely control and control another."

"In pursuit of freedom and rebirth, the Ayton believers who are unwilling to be bound will always try their best to break the shackles that wrap around them."

"Even if the end of the road is destruction, it will go on without hesitation."

………………

South of the Dawn Mountains, around the Principality of Paia, the Storm Division Barracks.

When the city of Clovis was immersed in the joy of winning the Iser war, and the pain of doing everything possible to deal with the invasion of the entire empire, it was not known that the "shares" of the storm division had been acquired by the Rune family, and Sophia was held accountable. The letter is already on the way, Ansen Bach, who is "in trouble", is actively preparing for the invasion of the Republic of Carindia.

After the most meticulous planning and judgment, carefully weighing the pros and cons, and making a detailed deduction of the war situation in the coming year, all officers and soldiers of the Storm Division agreed that... Indeed, it is the Deputy Commander who is far-sighted, and Ru Juhui can see at a glance. to the key of the key.

As for the repeated warnings of a major and chief of staff who likes to throw cold water, they were completely ignored by everyone.

Well, that's an expected result.

In the final analysis, except for the most core team, the Storm Regiment, one-third of the remaining troops of the Storm Division are from the Thunder Fort levy, and one-half are local troops that were replenished after the Battle of Eagle Point City. From a family of officers in Clovis City, down to a civilian lieutenant like Carl, there are countless factions in the army.

If An Sen is a superior with absolute power, or the Storm Division is a standing army, maybe he can forcibly integrate internal opinions, suppress small factions of different origins, and then win over some cronies, the seniors and juniors of the same department in the academy, and build himself. 's leadership team.

The problem is that he can't do it.

The Storm Division is a conscripted corps, and the real big money owner and investor is Sophia Franz - of course, there are now more Talia Rune - Anson Bach himself is at most an "executor" or something like that of senior staff.

From the officers' corps to the lower-level officers and soldiers, the only consensus that the entire army can reach is "win big battles, and then make a fortune". Talking about ideals with them is simply self-inflicted.

On the other hand, all the battles, big and small, have been won smoothly since they crossed the Dawn Bingfeng; the storm division, which has not been defeated, inevitably swelled up, and paid no attention to the combat effectiveness of the Seven Cities Alliance. inside.

This kind of rapid fire of artillery, two or three rounds of volleys of guns and then a bayonet charge, the enemy can be scattered across the board, even if there are 100,000 troops... At most, it is more difficult to capture prisoners after the war.

So Carl Bain's concerns and warnings were ignored.

In the end, the haggard chief of staff had to reinvent the wheel, tinkering with Anson Bach's "imaginative" strategic plan to make it at least less outrageous.

Before the plans and preparations were completed, he found that he might have done another useless effort - because the Republic of Carindia had decided to surrender to the Storm Division.

"Yes, after careful consideration, we, the Republic of Carindia, have decided to surrender to the Kingdom of Clovis."

In the conference room of the barracks, the envoy of the Republic of Carindia sat respectfully at the end of the seat, smiled and saluted to Ansen Bach at the main seat of the long table.

"Can you explain in detail the reasons for this?"

Before Anson could speak, the nominal third-in-command of the Storm Division, the head of the Grenadier regiment, Fabian, took the lead and said:

"After all, our army has not contacted you before, and there is no diplomatic request to declare war on you, make vassals or alliances - why did you decide to 'surrender'?"

"of course can."

The messenger of Carindia—a young man in a black formal suit with a gold pattern and a businessman’s breath on his face said:

"To put it bluntly, we in Carindia were frightened by the strength of your army."

"scared?"

"That's right, I was really scared." A wry smile appeared on the corner of Carindia's mouth:

"To be honest, there were quite a few conflicts in Carindia in the beginning, hesitating between sticking to the covenant with Iser Elf or joining the Grand Duchy of Thun...until the news of the battle of Eaglehorn City spread. Come."

"It took less than a month to capture Eagle Point City, annihilated the Iser Guards in half a month, and pacified the Principality of Paya in two days...I have to admit that the strength of your army is really terrifying, and it has surpassed Kalindi. Ya's imagination."

The waiter paused and looked at Anson with a sincere expression: "Therefore, in order not to cause unnecessary casualties and damage, the Republic of Carindia unanimously decided to surrender to the Kingdom of Clovis."

After some words, including Fabian, all the officers present were stunned.

It's not that they have no confidence in their own strength. In fact, most of the Storm Division are convinced that "as soon as the Legion arrives, Carindia will look out for the wind".

But now... what kind of situation is this "I didn't exert any strength, you fell down, and you praised my marksmanship at the same time"?

"I have two questions."

An Sen rushed to the messenger and stretched out the index and middle fingers of his right hand:

"First, is this what everyone on your side thinks?"

Carindia is different from Thun. In a republic formed by the union of free cities, the consuls in power are often just empty shelves and passers-by. The actual rulers are likely to be a dozen or even dozens of powerful families. .

The feudal princes may be able to suppress the voices of the lower classes by force. Dozens of clans that are not pleasing to each other or even hostile to each other have reached a consensus and unanimously decided to surrender to the foreign forces... Thinking about it is too nonsense.

"Of course not, but this is the final decision of the Council of Carindia." There was a hint of surprise in the messenger's eyes, and then he pulled the topic away lightly:

"Don't worry about this, since it's a decision that has been passed, we won't go back on it; what's your second question?"

Staring at the messenger, An Sen raised a meaningful smile at the corners of his mouth, and slowly put away his index finger:

"Since you are determined to surrender to our army, you should be ready to accept our army's conditions, right?"

"Of course!"

The messenger nodded slightly, and calmly took out a scroll from his arms that was sealed with ink pad and stamped with the seal of the Council of Carindia, and offered it with both hands:

"These are the conditions and requests provided by us. If you have any dissatisfaction, please raise it immediately - I have received full authorization from the parliament and can make changes on the spot."

An imperceptible surprise appeared on An Sen's face, and he quickly returned to normal in the next second.

The conditions offered by Carindia are very generous, or basically the same as the previous treaties signed by the Principality of Paia - one-fifth of the annual income, open borders, transportation hubs and military fortresses, accept garrison and provide hostages and pay all their Expenses, providing minions and all necessary sustenance.

Well, it is now almost certain that the "Equality and Reciprocity Agreement" produced by the junior secretary Alan Dawn has probably spread throughout the vast land.

Compared with the conditions provided, ~www.readwn.com~ Carindia's requirements are very irrelevant - first of all, in order to ensure normal income, the storm division cannot restrict Carindia's regular trade, especially sea trade, No large sailboat can be forcibly taken, but it can be purchased for money.

The army of Carindia can serve the Storm Division, but the officers must be Carindian; in addition, if Carindia is invaded or plundered, the Storm Division or the Kingdom of Clovis is obliged to provide protection.

Finally, since the negotiating parties are the Kingdom of Clovis and the Republic of Carindia, the Storm Division cannot negotiate or negotiate with a certain family in Carindia in private, and all agreements must pass through the Carindia Council.

All of them are very reasonable requirements, and I can't pick out any faults at all, and the posture is so low that it makes people feel incredible.

After a few seconds of silence, An Sen slowly placed the scroll on the table and looked at the messenger with a solemn expression:

"Two days, I will give you an answer in two days."

"No problem." The messenger smiled slightly, stood up, and bowed respectfully to An Sen:

"Then Carindia waits for good news."