I will be crowned king

Although he did not have a high opinion of Beluga Port, when the fleet finally arrived at the port pier, it was still deeply attracted by the scenery of the city in front of it.

Different from "Old World big cities" like Clovis or North Port, the entire city is centered on a highland and spreads out in a crescent shape along the coast of Ice Dragon Fjord; gray-painted buildings are closely clustered together. , at first glance, looks like a townhouse in Clovis; the narrow muddy roads run through it, like a spider web covering the entire city.

Perhaps because of the winter, the entire port looked very deserted. Except for a few single-masted and three-masted sailing ships docked at the pier, there were not even a few fishing boats in sight.

But before coming here, William Cecil had already told Anson - unlike those "warm water ports" in the old world that were busy all year round, the colonial maritime trade and fishing industry were basically only open every year. April to October...it's December right now, which happens to be the fishing moratorium.

Despite this, when the fleet flying the flag of King Clovis appeared, a large number of people had gathered at the port, happily standing on the shore and watching, pointing at the huge body of the Crown.

"Can't you see that the people in the colony are so welcoming to the Kingdom's army?"

Looking at the lively crowd on the shore, Carl Bain, who was holding the ship's railing on the deck, was quite surprised: "With the Ring of Order, I always thought that those who could run to the colony without fear of death were all a bunch of thugs who hated the royal family. Woolen cloth!"

"Don't think, they are." Fabian walked behind him without changing his expression and asked in a plain narrative voice:

"According to the internal records of the Guards, at least one-third of the colonists registered to go overseas each year are prisoners, and three-quarters of them are death row prisoners or life sentences for heinous crimes; they are all the most standard and do not accept the king's rule. thug."

"By the way, the remaining two-thirds are fugitives, bankrupt businessmen, unemployed workers, deserters, mercenaries, landless farmers, heretics wanted by the church, war refugees, slaves..."

"As for the kind of outstanding citizens who have some assets and are diligent and have never committed any crime or evaded taxes... I can't say there are none, but it is definitely a very small number - because together with the missing persons every year, they are counted among the 'other types' Immigration' inside."

Karl rolled his eyes, and then was suddenly startled: "Why should missing persons be counted among immigrants?"

"Because we don't know where they went - they were killed, escaped, hid, or just disappeared." Fabian shrugged:

"So we treat them as immigrants. Anyway, since they have disappeared, it is impossible for them to show up in person to explain."

"So it's better to treat them as immigrants and pretend that they went to a new place to start over - which is correct in a sense - so that their families can pretend that they are still alive and that the kingdom has a group of pioneer colonists. , everyone is happy.”

"...What's going on with those people on the shore?"

"It's the same principle as rich people's poor relatives living in the countryside."

Following the direction pointed by the chief of staff, Fabian looked at the crowd on the shore: "We have a battleship, four frigates and a dozen merchant ships, thousands of navy and army officers and soldiers - just the daily life of warships Maintenance and the daily expenses of these people are a big business that fell from the sky for a city with only 40 to 50 thousand people... Of course they are happy."

"To these people, it's more like a bunch of walking wallets than us being here to protect them."

Carl Bain: "..."

While the two were chatting, the fleet had already docked at the pier - perhaps because of ocean trade, although the population is only a sparse 40 to 50 thousand people, Beluga Port has a port that is not inferior to North Port, allowing people to The entire fleet was anchored without incident.

As soon as Anson stepped off the trestle, three middle-aged men wearing black long-sleeved windbreakers, bowler hats, pipes in mouth and canes stepped forward from the crowd at the port, with thick expressions on their faces. smile.

"Dear garrison commander, welcome to Beluga Harbor!"

Before Anson could speak, the leader of the three people had already stepped forward quickly, put his cane under his arm, and held his right hand: "I am Harold, the Speaker of the Beluga Harbor Colonial Assembly. I can speak with you." It is truly a great honor for Zaixia to cooperate with such outstanding military personnel!”

This person has a standard "Clovis" appearance - slender deep eye sockets, a high nose bridge and a full chin beard. Under the wide windbreaker is a rather stocky body.

"This is also my honor, distinguished Speaker Harold." Anson shook hands with him:

"I am the commander of the Storm Division, Colonel Anson Bach of the Royal Army... You can just call me Anson."

"Look at what you said, how dare I be so rude to a rookie who thinks he is a member of the Royal Army!" Harold said with a smile, he snapped his fingers, turned around and pointed at the two people standing respectfully behind him:

"If you are not bothered, please allow me to introduce to you - this is Mason Wetzler, the general representative of the Beluga Port Chamber of Commerce. The Wetzler family is also the largest local wealthy businessman; do you and your army have anything to do with it? If you need supplies, you don’t have to be polite, you can discuss them directly with our old Mason!”

After the words fell, the thin middle-aged man standing on the left took off his hat and saluted Anson while showing a slightly flattering smile.

Anson, whose right hand was grasped, could only smile calmly and nodded to the other party.

"This is the head of the local Ring of Order Church, Bishop Riper." Speaker Harold's expression suddenly became serious:

"I heard that the church in this country has always criticized the religious undertakings in the colonies, treating us as a group of ungodly believers or even pagans; I can tell you straightforwardly that that is absolutely not true!"

"With the efforts of the respected Bishop Riper for many years, the entire Ice Dragon Fjord has 80,000 devout believers. Even many local indigenous people have changed their evil ways and completely abandoned their heresy of evil gods and become loyal to the Ring of Order. Followers!" Harold said sternly:

"Would you like the bishop to tell you about his missionary experience? It's really interesting!"

Sorry, but I'm really not interested in this... Anson, whose smile never faded, moved his eyes and looked at the bishop standing next to President Mason.

The old man wearing silver-chain pince-nez looked to be in his fifties or sixties. He was leaning on a polished cherry wood crutch. The high collar and brim of his windbreaker almost covered most of his appearance, so that at first glance The first glance reminded Anson of an acquaintance.

Professor Mace Honnard.

Anson shivered without any warning.

He raised his gaze, looked Anson up and down with very kind eyes, and then slowly took off the pipe from the corner of his mouth: "Colonel Anson Bach...is from Clovis, right?"

"I am a countryman from the central province." Anson said with a forced smile:

"But I went to Clovis City to study when I was a teenager, so I can be considered half...a city citizen."

"oh?"

Bishop Riper's eyes suddenly lit up and he asked in a very playful tone: "Then I wonder if I can ask, what do you think of the definition of belief in the Ring of Order?"

This is definitely a follower of the Universal Sect!

This sentence popped into Anson's mind almost as soon as the other party spoke.

The reason is very simple. An "ordinary" Circle of Order believer will not ask the question "how to define faith?"; only those sects that have fought against the church will pay special attention to this aspect.

Among the heretical sects in the entire New World, the branch with the largest number is the Universal Sect.

So Anson pretended to think for a moment and said with great sincerity: "As a Clovis man, compared to other creeds, my faith should be more deeply influenced by the Qiuzhen Sect."

"It's not just me. Anyone who comes from the Royal Military Academy cannot be unaffected by the ideas of this sect."

The Qiuzhen Sect is also the Ivory Sect, the sect that Saint Isaac once led, and it was also the former "state religion" of the Kingdom of Clovis.

The reason for this answer is also very simple - as a "loyal minister" of the Franz family and the former military leader of the Clovis Cathedral Guards, Anson certainly cannot claim to be a believer of the "Universal Sect" just to please the other party. That is simply seeking death. .

But if it is "influenced" by the Qiuzhen Sect, there is no problem at all, because the influence of this sect on the Kingdom of Clovis is obvious to all. Saint Isaac has been canonized, and his status in the church has reached an unshakable level. level.

Sure enough... After hearing Anson's answer, Bishop Ripper didn't seem to be very satisfied, but it was still acceptable. He nodded slightly, took a half step back and drew a circle of order symbol in front of him.

Anson twitched the corner of his mouth slightly.

Judging from the attitude of Speaker Harold when he was introduced just now, and the fact that this person took the initiative to ask about his "belief", I am afraid that the influence of the Universal Sect in the New World has reached a quite terrifying level, far beyond what the kingdom expected.

"Bishop Ripper is not only very prestigious locally, but also has considerable influence in other surrounding colonies. In this regard, we are very different from the local Church of Order. We do not believe that we must build a very grand building. Church; any devout person should have the right to pray alone!"

"The Ring of Order should not interfere too much in people's lives. On the contrary, the meaning of its existence is to encourage people to love life and provide help when they need it."

"I completely agree with your point of view." Before the other party could finish speaking, Anson directly intercepted and said:

"In fact, this is the reason why I decided to come to the colony - the Archbishop of Clovis wanted to transfer me to Clovis City to serve as a security force, but I refused; compared to the people of Clovis City who no longer have much freedom. , or the colonies far north need the protection of our troops more!"

"What you said is really good. Ice Dragon Fjord needs excellent officers like you and the protection of a strong army!" Speaker Harold shook hands with Anson excitedly:

"On behalf of the Beluga Port Council of 500 and the people of Ice Dragon Fjord, the three of us would like to express our heartfelt thanks to you for such a noble move!"

The Council of Five Hundred?

Anson raised his eyebrows and glanced at the crowds on the shore in the distance with the corner of his eye. There was indeed a group that was completely different from the others. They were neatly dressed in long-sleeved windbreakers, formal tuxedos, and bowler hats or silk top hats. Guy, accompanied by a similarly dressed woman.

The entire Ice Dragon Fjord only has a population of more than 100,000, and the entire Beluga Port has only 40,000 to 50,000 people, but it has a parliament of 500 people... If I remember correctly, the Privy Council of the Kingdom of Clovis seems to have only 500 people. What does it look like?

But the population of Clovis City has exceeded one million. Even if we only count the inner city, there are 300,000 people!

There are 40,000 people in the city of Beluga Harbor, and there are 500 members... divided equally, there is one in 100 people? !

Such a high ratio is probably beyond the reach of even some republic city-states that claim to be "just and equal".

Anson was shocked, completely stunned.

While he was stunned, the enthusiastic Speaker Harold was still talking: "Now that you have arrived in Beluga Harbor, my colleagues and I, as well as all the people of Beluga Harbor, are very eager to hear what you are going to do next. plans and ideas.”

"To be honest, the entire Ice Dragon Fjord is currently facing many crises - not only are foreign developments often attacked, there are also many hidden dangers in shipping. At the same time, local pagans have also begun to organize certain activities. These underground activities will destroy the prosperity and stability of Beluga Port!"

"So we very much hope to know, respected commander of the garrison, whether you have sufficient preparations and detailed plans in these aspects to help us overcome the current difficulties!"

"I mean...since you took the initiative to ask for this position, you must have been prepared before you came...am I right?"

After speaking, Speaker Harold looked at Anson sincerely, his eyes full of expectation.

Plans, what plans can I have if I just come today?

A trace of astonishment flashed across the corner of Anson's eyes, but he soon realized what the other party meant.

That's right, what the other party really wants is probably that he has no plan.

To be fair, if he were the Speaker of Beluga Port, would he really hope that the mainland would send a "commander" with thousands of troops?

of course not!

There are only 40,000 to 50,000 people in the entire Beluga Port, and the Storm Division has a full 6,000 soldiers. The ratio of the number of soldiers to residents has reached one-tenth; such a high ratio is enough that a person may not even be able to afford two or three hundred guards. The Speaker was terrified.

Therefore, he must try to weaken his authority no matter what; using the excuse of "not understanding the colonies" to avoid interfering with his authority.

After thinking clearly about the other party's purpose, Ansen said with an undiminished smile:

"Of course, if you don't mind, I hope to organize a speech at the port immediately to fully tell the entire people of Beluga Port the plan I have prepared."

"What a perfect plan!"

Sorry, sorry, I was in such a hurry when I went out that I forgot to update it yet!

Kong Kong is wrong!