Chapter 509 Fate
"Why not just change a group of people?"
Lin Yabo was delighted, thinking to himself, "You finally revealed your flaws, didn't you? A guy with no hair on his face is just immature in his thinking."
He stood up and said word by word: "The new ruler has no prestige, which is not conducive to our rule. He has no experience, which is not conducive to our control."
"The old rulers understood the pros and cons and knew how to weigh the pros and cons. As their agents, their power depended on us, so they would serve us wholeheartedly."
Lin Wen scoffed without hesitation, "How foolish! You don't deserve the surname Lin, so just use the surname Mu."
As soon as the words fell, the entire venue fell into a state of silence where one could hear a pin drop. Lin Yabo had never been insulted like this before, and he was so angry that his face was about to explode. Li Longxing shouted, "Lin Wen, be polite!"
Lin Wen thought about it and decided to give the Emperor some face, so he nodded and said, "Okay."
He turned around and continued, "Elder Mu..."
The air in the entire venue froze. Lin Yabo was furious, but he swallowed his anger. He sat in his seat with a grim face, staring at Lin Wen like a cheetah. As long as Lin Wen showed a flaw, he would attack him angrily.
Lin Wen didn't care about his gaze.
"I'll teach you a method. First, identify a group of people and have them be the candidates for the public vote."
"Then, we will select a group of people with the highest number of votes, and then appoint them as agents to rule the Papal States on behalf of the Empire."
"There are several advantages to doing this."
"First, these are local people. Second, these are people who chose them. Third, the final decision rests with the Empire."
"The people will thank us for giving them the opportunity to choose, and those in power will thank us for giving them the power."
"In the end, no one will hate the Empire, and we will still be the King's teachers."
"If those in power stir up public resentment, we will remove them and elect someone else... Standing high and above the rest, this is what a superior country is! Do you understand, Elder Mu?"
Although Lin Yabo was furious, he could not find any flaws in his argument. He could not attack it politically either. This was a method of ruling implemented in an enemy country. How could it be compared with an empire?
The most crucial thing is that the upper class of the Papal States has a lot of wealth, especially their numerous temples, which contain a large amount of gold.
If the upper echelons of the Papal States were completely wiped out, this huge sum of money would be taken as spoils of war, which would be in the interests of most people.
The empire's elder, Rono, suddenly spotted a flaw. He stood up and said grimly, "Your indiscriminate killing will only inflame the people and spark civil unrest within the Papal States. If the Empire sends troops to suppress it, it will easily fall into a passive position and even trigger a chain reaction, causing unrest throughout the Papal States."
Lin Wen laughed and said, "Where did you come to the conclusion that these upper-class nobles are so popular among the people?"
"Did these upper-class people provide them with luxurious food and clothing, or did they bring them endless glory?"
"The ruler treats the people as worthless, and the people treat the ruler as an enemy. Ever since their act of turning civilians into zombies and sending them to the battlefield as cannon fodder was exposed, who would still treat them as their own people?"
"I assert that if we kill them, the people will only applaud!"
"You!" Luo Nuo was extremely angry, but he couldn't say anything to refute.
There was a buzzing sound in the conference hall.
Lin Wen's words moved them, and most people thought that this was a good and feasible idea. The empire would not have to pay too much but could gain huge benefits.
Among the eight elders, Ye Nantian and Xu Chengguo had met Lin Wen once. They were also well-known neutrals, and had a close relationship with Lin Wen because of Yaojing.
Wang Wengong was a reformist and actually leaned towards Li Longxing's reforms, but he was also strongly opposed to the expansion of imperial power and seemed somewhat wavering.
The three of them agreed with Lin Wen's approach.
Among the other five people, Lin Yabo, Mosili, Luo Nuo, and Cheng Wei have formed an offensive and defensive alliance. They are the big backers behind Yu Zhongxian and the biggest enemy of the imperial faction.
The last and most special person is Ren Zhengqing. He is the leader of the capitalist party and the flag bearer of racial theory. He adheres to the worker bee concept, advocates the use of force and military expansion, and believes that aggression can resolve all contradictions.
He is the least noticeable among the eight elders, but the most powerful.
He agreed with Lin Wen's approach.
Among the eight elders, four were in favor and four were against, and most of the other officials and generals voted in favor.
Li Longxing then officially announced the passage of the draft and appointed a post-war committee stationed in the Papal States to handle this matter.
The post-war committee was headed by Imperial Marshal Shang Lianshan, assisted by Executive Staff Officer Guo Feng and heroes of the Battle of Stan River, as well as some imperial generals or pro-imperial personnel who came to gild themselves.
Of course, Lin Wen didn't care about this matter. He just wanted to quickly kill the Council and return to Changshan County.
More than a week had passed since the end of the war, and he had eaten 20,000 points of good karma again. In the following time, he didn't want to eat 20,000 points again.
However, the post-war committee cared about him very much. That evening, they specially invited Lin Wen to attend the royal internal dinner to ask him for some advice.
Lin Wen was annoyed by the endless interpersonal interactions, but he still came for Li Longxing's sake.
The dinner was attended by core members and important allies of the royal faction, and Lin Wen was definitely the most dazzling one among them. Even the First Princess was not as attractive as him at this moment.
This kind of interpersonal communication and socializing is what Lin Wen dislikes the most. As soon as he sits down at the table, his mind opens up and he devotes himself to studying the details of new spells and magical powers.
At the dinner table, Li Longxing was both happy and worried.
What makes him happy is that his good son-in-law is versatile, good at socializing, and can treat people well.
What worries him is that there are endless people who want to propose marriage, but only a very few people know about Lin Wen and his precious daughter's engagement. Li Longxing must do his best to overthrow the Council of Advocates. The unmarried First Princess is a very good background, and he cannot lose it for the time being.
What made Li Longxing even more unhappy was that Lin Wen did not reject him forcefully. The way they exchanged glances seemed to indicate there was more to the story.
Those old guys were all overjoyed, thinking that they still had a chance to get in touch with this outstanding young man.
Li Linyue sat in one of the main seats at the top of the long table. Although the atmosphere around her was still lively, she felt empty inside, as if something was missing.
Li Qingyue stayed by her sister's side, holding her slender hand and whispering in her ear, "Sister, your brother-in-law is so mean! You've given so much for him, and he won't even come to spend time with you."
“Sister, do you think my brother-in-law has fallen in love with another girl? Look, Old Man Xu has been talking about good marriages, but my brother-in-law has not refused.”
"elder sister……"
Li Linyue was extremely upset, but she couldn't show it. For a moment, she even thought about breaking off the engagement and never getting married.
At this time, the people at the table below started to make a fuss, asking Lin Wen to stand up and recite a poem.
Poetry and songs were also characteristics of the empire, but they had been in decline for a long time, and in the turbulent situation, people had no interest in these pretentious things.
At this time, the Royal Faction was in great glory and had a bright future. Everyone was in high spirits and wanted Lin Wen to show off his talents in order to stand out.
When someone heard someone was going to recite a poem, the table quieted down for a moment. Xin raised his neck, signaling the host to move. Lin Wen took half a second to control his body and stood up.
Xin cleared his throat and said in a voice far stronger than that of a national first-class announcer:
"The east wind blows thousands of flowers into bloom at night, and blows them down like rain of stars."
As soon as he finished speaking, everyone cheered and applauded loudly. This poem was very consistent with the current situation of the imperial faction, like flowers in full bloom or oil boiling on a raging fire.
The heart continued to recite:
"The road is filled with fragrance from the carved carriages of fine horses. The sound of phoenix flutes resonates, the light of jade pots glistens, and fish and dragons dance all night long."
The applause became more enthusiastic and the atmosphere gradually reached a climax.
Li Longxing, the princesses, the young master who was unwilling to speak because he was afraid of social ruin, and many important figures like Marshal Shang Lianshan, all focused their attention on him.
He was not afraid at all, his voice became quiet, his eyes moved, and there was a hint of affection in them.
"The moth is like a golden thread of snow willow, and leaves with a smile and a faint fragrance."
oh--
Everyone made a noise of excitement, and many of the people proposing marriage smiled happily, thinking that this promising young man was hinting at him.
Li Linyue felt a pang of pain in her heart and couldn't help shedding tears. Lin Wen's eyes wandered over those young beauties, but he didn't pay any attention to her.
His voice suddenly rose as he recited the two most vivid lines of the poem.
"I've searched everywhere for him."
"When I look back, I see that person is there, in the dim light."
There was silence for a second or two, and then thunderous applause and cheers filled the entire venue.
There were whistles and cheers everywhere, and many people stood up and applauded Lin Wen for his wonderful poem.
But all this brilliant noise was far away from Li Linyue, as if separated by a thick layer of glass, just the noisy background of some bustling city. Her soul seemed to be pulled out and entered a trance.
In front of her.
Lin Wenzhen looked at her with a smile in his eyes.
(End of this chapter)
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