Rutledge tapped his fingers on the table and said coldly, "I don't think I need to elaborate on the relationship between Twilight City and the Papal States. As for everyone here, I don't need to say more; you all have, to varying degrees, irreconcilable hatred towards the Church of the Father."

Rutledge raised his right fist above his head: "And right now, the Church of the Father is at its weakest. Their direct army was almost completely wiped out in the Battle of St. Victory, and on the other hand, after the death of the Pope of the Church of the Father, due to internal power struggles, no successor has been chosen yet."

"If we don't seize this opportunity to launch a decisive battle and uproot the church's power, it will be very difficult to find such an opportunity again."

Rutledge turned his gaze to Emerson: "What I don't understand is that, faced with an easy victory, the cabinet has been retreating, as if it had already accepted the defeat of Twilight City before the war even started. What is the logic behind this?"

Emerson shook his head vigorously: "An easy victory? Do you know what you're talking about? Do you know how many soldiers you need to mobilize and how much supplies you need to prepare to launch a war against all the parish kingdoms?"

"Furthermore, although you keep saying you're targeting the Church of Heaven, you're leading an army into the territory of secular kingdoms. Do you think those secular kings will just stand by and watch you break in? Do you think they won't resist?"

"Most importantly, the decision to send troops to the diocese kingdoms will completely isolate Muxi City's diplomatic situation, leaving us with no allies in the entire diocese. At that time, you will face a coalition of more than two hundred kingdoms within the diocese, with a total force of nearly 190,000!"

Listening to Emerson's rebuttal, Rutledge shrugged indifferently and said, "Your Excellency, let me answer your questions one by one."

"In the Battle of Holy Guard City, our army had fewer than 3,000 combat-ready soldiers, while the enemy's total strength reached 20,000. As a result, the Church army was almost completely annihilated, while the number of soldiers killed in the Battle of Muxi City was less than 100. Now, the total strength of Muxi City has reached 15,000, and our opponents, whether in terms of morale, command, manpower, or equipment, are far inferior to the Church army in the Battle of Holy Guard City. Even if we take a step back and assume that the enemy has a large number of soldiers and our army is outnumbered, we still have hundreds of thousands of reserve troops who are ready to sacrifice themselves for the great Kingdom of Muxi at any time!"

A group of students stood up excitedly and shouted in the hall: "If the kingdom needs us, we are willing to give our lives! Just to use the light of truth to dispel the ignorance and folly of the world!"

On the second-floor stands, Huggins shook his head in disbelief, saying, "Have these young people in school gone mad from studying? War is not such a simple matter! The reason we were able to win the Battle of Holy Guard City was due to many factors, such as the superiority of our alien troops, the city's defenses, and the enemy's suspicions... Do these ignorant young people think that fighting is just about charging into battle?"

Todd clenched his right fist, rested his chin on his hand, and seemed to be deep in thought.

"Our war against the Church of Heaven is a just war! A war to break down superstition and hypocrisy! A war to liberate those who have been deceived and enslaved by the Church!" Rutledge waved his arms vigorously and said confidently, "When our army enters the diocese kingdoms, the nobles and common people will not only not make things difficult for us, but will also join our ranks to fight against the Church together!"

The students below the stage cheered, "That's right! Our army is the savior of the world! Awakened people will join our ranks to fight against the Church!"

Seeing this scene before him, Emerson rubbed his temples and shouted, "By doing this, you will completely destroy all the previous efforts of the Muxi Kingdom!"

With trembling hands, the old man pointed to the young faces in the audience and said with great sorrow, "From the invention of the printing press, to the introduction of the doctrine of 'justification by faith,' to the criticism of tithes, indulgences, and the divine right of kings, and finally to the founding of Protestantism. How could you young people possibly understand how many difficulties we overcame and how much effort we put in to get to where we are today in order to strike at the Church of God the Father!"

"It's like a terminally ill person; if you force-feed them a strong medicine, they'll most likely die. Only through gradual recuperation and long-term medication can they recover!" Emerson slammed his fist on the table and roared, "How can you not understand this principle?!"

Rutledge stood up from his chair, ignoring the host's attempts to stop him, and walked step by step to Emerson. Looking directly into the other man's eyes, he asked loudly, "Your Excellency, I would like to ask, according to your method, how many parish kingdoms have already switched allegiance to Protestantism?"

"Twenty-six, and the rate is still increasing!"

Rutledge smiled and continued, "Several years ago, the Cabinet began to crack down on the Church of the Father. After all this time, only twenty-six kingdoms have broken away from the Church. So I would like to ask, how long will it take for all the diocesan kingdoms to abandon the Church of the Father? Ten years? Twenty years?"

Rutledge turned to the audience and said with a smile, "If this goes on any longer, I suspect some of you here won't live to see the day the church collapses."

Amidst the laughter of the crowd, Rutledge turned his gaze back to Emerson: "Furthermore, Your Excellency Prime Minister, have you considered why twenty-six kingdoms broke away from the Church and pledged allegiance to us? The root cause lies in the war in Holy Guard City! Those kingdoms witnessed the strength of Twilight City and were utterly disillusioned with the Church's ineffective army, which is why they thought of pledging allegiance to us!"

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