That night, in a secret room in a private house of a small noble somewhere in Assyrian city, an oil lamp cast two figures diagonally against the wall. As the flame of the lamp swayed, the two shadows also swayed, as if they were drunk.
"Why don't we have a genius like Wuleglindo in our Tianjuan Territory?" The person who said this hid her face in the hood of her cloak, but it could be heard that she was a woman with a very pleasant voice. The slight sigh after she finished speaking revealed an indescribable charm.
"Your Excellency the Holy Envoy, when it comes to geniuses, how can Wuleglindo compare with you? What's more, he is just a small town governor now, and this man is greedy for money and reluctant to sell. He tinkered with those things just to make money. He can't be said to be a strong Assyrian." The person who said this was a middle-aged man with a handsome face and no beard, and a slender figure. He could be considered a handsome man, but his voice was too feminine and not masculine enough, which made people feel a little awkward when listening to him.
"Monadil, you know I don't like to hear flattery. A genius is a genius, and you are not qualified to slander him." The woman called the Holy Envoy sighed softly after she finished speaking, and then continued, "Besides, with Connor's wisdom, he must have his own intentions in sending a Woleglindo to Salt Marsh Town. However, according to my analysis, Connor is still using him in Annei. If it were me, I would use a figure like Woleglindo to attack cities and seize land, which would better bring out his talents. I have seen that child. Although he is young, he is full of heroic spirit. He looks very much like the fearless general back then."
The middle-aged man called Monadil was stunned for a moment, then quickly nodded in agreement: "This Wulaglindo is so praised by the Holy Envoy, I can't help but want to get to know him. Maybe, I can pull him to our side."
"That's impossible. Wuleglindo has too many ties in Assyria, including family, friends, and career. How can he give up all of these and go to the favor of God?" asked the woman known as the Holy Envoy.
"Even the quasi-saints..." Monadil was interrupted just as he started to speak.
"Monadil, have you forgotten the holy law of heaven?" The Holy Envoy's voice suddenly became stern.
"I dare not, I dare not." Monadil bowed quickly.
"Okay, there's no need to act so fearful. I can guess what you are thinking, Monadil. There are two important things right now. One is to send the quasi-saint back to heaven, and the other is to find a way to get Wuleglindo over there as well." said the Holy Envoy.
Monadil was stunned: "Master Saint Envoy, didn't you just say that this Wulaglindo cannot be won over?"
"If winning them over fails, can't we think of other ways?" the Holy Envoy asked with a frown.
"You mean..." Monadil didn't dare to speak nonsense at this moment.
"You don't need to know the details. Give me four of your best men and I'll take care of the rest."
"Yes, please tell me a time, Holy Envoy, so that I can prepare in advance." Monadil said.
"I will leave for Lovington tomorrow, so you can start now." The Holy Envoy said, "Also, Lini should also take action. After all, he is the Assyrian god of war. Although he is old and can no longer charge into battle like before, his military command ability and prestige will still be our biggest obstacle..."
On the first day of the new year, the preparatory meeting for the Salt Marsh Town Civilian Assembly was held. This might seem novel to others, but to Wu Lai, it was a phased victory in promoting direct democracy in Salt Marsh Town. Without this direct democracy, the public ownership he envisioned would inevitably be a castle in the air.
"Dear townspeople, we have gathered here today because we have something very important to announce." Wu Lai looked at the crowd in front of him and raised the loud speaker in his hand...
Two days later, the list of one hundred and twenty members of the Civilian Assembly, along with a list of candidates for civilian officials, appeared on Woolley's desk.
Although the civilian assembly is a manifestation of direct democracy, it does not require everyone to participate. It should be noted that the current population of Salt Marsh Town is 4,153. If everyone participates in the discussion of everything, it will be democratic, but procrastination is inevitable. A scale of 120 people is about right.
After reading the list, Wu Lai felt quite satisfied, because the proportion of young and middle-aged people on the list was not large, most of them were elderly people, both men and women.
However, when he saw the list of candidates for civilian officials, Wu Lai frowned, because several of the recommended people were ruffians he had "fought against" when he first came here, so it was naturally strange that they were recommended.
"El, go get Attorney Elite." Wu Lai frowned and threw the list of candidates back on the table, because the list was submitted by Elite after he had reviewed it in advance.
At the same time, in a medium-sized conference room in the Supreme Council of Assyria City, nearly half of the members sat down with Chief Connor and listened, while Ibe, who was about to step down as the Deputy Dean of the Code, stood behind the podium and spoke eloquently.
"As we all know, the Citizens' Assembly has a long history. We can even trace it back to before the Assyrian territory was built. At that time, all adult men participated in the discussion and decision-making of major issues concerning the tribe and the territory, usually by raising hands or shouting. Later, the territory was built, the city-state was established, and the population of the city-state gradually increased. The Citizens' Assembly was formally established. But at that time, any male citizen in the city-state who was over 20 years old could participate..."
"But as the territory expands and the population increases, the citizen population also increases. As a result, the requirements for entering the Citizen Assembly become more and more stringent. It's okay in small cities, but in larger cities, many citizens have never participated in their entire lives."
"It's the same for all citizens, not to mention the common people. The common people have opinions and grievances, but they have nowhere to complain except to vent in private. This situation not only deviates from the original intention of the pioneers who established the Assyrian territory, but also brings great hidden dangers to the Supreme Council's management of the territory. Of course, this phenomenon also exists in the Hulit Territory, Kimo Territory, and Tianjuan Territory..."
"...We have always regarded citizens as the intermediaries between the Supreme Council, the Senate, the Temple and the common people. Many of our resolutions and measures are passed on to the common people through the mouths of citizens and officials, whether it is raising troops to fight the enemy or increasing or reducing taxes. However, who dares to say that there will be no misunderstandings and misinterpretations in the process? Who dares to say that there are no citizens who deliberately misinterpret for their own interests? I think no one here dares..."
"...Looking at Assyria as a whole, the town that does the best in this regard is Salt Marsh Town. I have to say that I didn't see it with my own eyes, but I heard it from the merchants who traveled between Assyria and Salt Marsh Town. They said that Salt Marsh Town has a major feature, that is, all government affairs and measures will be posted in the form of public notices to inform all townspeople, and it will also be specially noted that those who have opinions or suggestions on these government affairs and measures can directly go to the governor Wuleglindo himself to make a statement."
"This is an incredible progress." Yibei said with emotion, "Only in this way can the information from the top be passed down, and officials at all levels can do their jobs honestly, because the common people can compare and supervise how they do it and to what extent. The people can see it clearly, and they can raise their opinions and complaints. Where will the people's resentment come from?..."
"Some time ago, Wulaglin submitted a letter saying that Saltmarsh Town was going to set up a civilian assembly to give civilians the opportunity to participate in politics. Perhaps everyone would think that civilian participation in politics is an infringement of citizens' rights, but is this really the case? No! Absolutely not!"
"Woleglindo made it very clear in the letter. Now, please allow me to read out the description of this paragraph in Wuleglindo's letter." Ibe looked at Connor respectfully. Connor smiled and nodded.
"The following is the original words in the letter." Ibe picked up the letter that had been prepared on the podium and read it. "The active participation of civilians in politics can not only fully ensure that decisions are more in line with the will of the public and reflect fairness and justice, but also better reflect the improvement of the management level of the Assyrian Supreme Council..."
“Instead of letting the common people comment on public affairs, make impassioned speeches, and express dissatisfaction in private, it is better to let them stand up and express their reasonable demands. Establishing a common people’s assembly means that the common people can stand in the position of the Supreme Assembly, speak freely, and loudly express the voices of themselves and the groups they represent. The active participation of the common people and their bold political discussions are also a manifestation of the common people’s full trust in the power given to them by the Supreme Assembly.”
After refolding the letter, Ibe bowed to Chief Connor very seriously, and then said: "I am very grateful to Chief Connor for his keen eyes. It was he who discovered the talent of Wuleglindo and placed him in the most appropriate position of the governor of Salt Marsh Town. Wuleglindo's achievements in Salt Marsh Town are impressive. Despite many obstacles, he was not discouraged. From resisting the bandits to annihilating the bandits, Wuleglindo personally participated in it, and insisted on participating in the war despite being seriously injured in the chest. In terms of people's livelihood, he boldly promoted the construction of the new Salt Marsh Town. Don't forget, it was also him, with the encouragement of Chief Connor, who effectively curbed the illegal salt..."
After Ibe finished his impassioned speech, Chief Connor stood up and walked to the podium while clapping. After a warm hug with Ibe, Ibe smiled and stepped back to take his seat. Chief Connor stood behind the podium with a smile on his face: "Everyone, now let's discuss the scale and charter of the Assyrian Civilian Assembly."
Chief Connor was so enthusiastic because he knew that the benefits of establishing a Plebeian Assembly in each city-state, in addition to those read out by Ibe, would be another great boost to his reputation. After the Plebeian Assembly of Assyria was established, it would naturally be promoted to other city-states. But when the common people talked about this, no one would think it was Woolley's credit, but they would all think of Connor's kindness.
When Connor thought of this, he felt extremely happy...
After three days, the size and rules of the Assyrian Civilian Assembly were preliminarily agreed upon, and the next step was to post them on the bulletin board so that the whole city would know.
The pace in Salt Marsh Town was even faster - Woolley simply took the list of candidates for civilian officials to the Civilian Assembly for discussion. With his encouragement, the members of the Civilian Assembly were enthusiastic and exercised their rights for the first time with a sense of novelty and admiration for Woolley.
In the end, the civilian alderman was Erescott, who was highly respected among the townspeople, and the civilian tribune was unexpectedly chosen. The 240 assembly members nominated Laurent, who was not on the list of candidates, with more than 70% of the votes. This was because everyone felt that Laurent was an upright person, enthusiastic about Saltmarsh Town, had served in the military, and had no faults in his interpersonal skills and ability to do things.
When the civilian assembly reported the results of the discussion to Wu Lai, Wu Lai took the lead in standing up and applauding. In an instant, applause and cheers spread throughout the venue...
After the meeting, everyone still praised Wu Lai highly:
"Lord Wu Lai is really amazing. He actually let us, the common people, decide these matters. This proves that Lord Wu Lai cares about us."
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"Yes, this has never happened before. Do you remember the night of the blizzard? Lord Wu Lai led his men to work in the wind and snow for a whole night. Thanks to the kind-hearted lord like him, everyone was able to get through it safely. The heavy snow a few years ago was not as heavy as this time. Eleven people were frozen to death..."
"Why do you only remember the wind and snow? Have you forgotten? Lord Wu Lai single-handedly lured hundreds of bandits to chase him. That guy, my legs were shaking when I saw him from afar. He was willing to risk his life for our Salt Marsh Town."
"Yes, it would be great if Master Wu Lai could stay. After he comes, my whole family will feel at ease..."
"Yes, but Lord Wu Lai is so capable, sooner or later he will go to another city-state to serve as a governor, alas..."
As Woolley gave pre-employment talks to Lauren and Elescott in his office, he had no idea that praise and admiration for him had spread to every corner of Saltmarsh.
…
Although Wu Lai had obtained authorization from the Supreme Conference, and the change of the structure, form and system of the management of Salt Marsh Town in one fell swoop was out of practical needs - objectively adapting to the needs of the development of the new Salt Marsh Town.
But Saltmarsh Town still cannot surpass Lunvington. Just as Lunvington can make its own decisions in many aspects, it cannot avoid the procedure of reporting to the Supreme Council. In short, although the management of the Assyrian territory has a loose structure, it also has a strict hierarchical system.
Therefore, Wu Lai had to report the matter of the Civilian Assembly even if he didn't want to. However, he was not in a hurry. Anyway, he was the one who had the final say in Salt Marsh Town. The morning and evening newspapers were all the same. Why should he be in a hurry?
Finally, it was a month later when Wu Lai's report appeared in George's office. This was because the construction of the main hall of the Saltmarsh Town Temple was nearing completion, and Wu Lai was waiting to take "The Round Shield Warrior" "home", so he asked Baker to deliver it. Otherwise, he would have to wait for a while.
When George saw the report, Job happened to be there too. During this period of time, the two of them no longer had any quarrels with Wu Lai. Especially after George received Nils' obscure hint, he became indifferent to Wu Lai and felt a lot more relaxed.
After reading the report, George smiled bitterly and shook his head, which aroused the curiosity of Job who was looking at the account book nearby. After asking, he put down the account book in his hand and took Woolley's report to read it.
After reading it quickly, Job laughed so hard that he fell backwards. He said to George, "I think this Wuleglindo must have been kicked in the head by a horse's hoof. Common people's assembly? Let common people participate in politics? Then what is the point of a citizen assembly? Besides, his Salt Marsh Town is such a small place, what is there to discuss? What kind of government affairs can be participated in? It's just to amuse himself."
"Who said it wasn't?" George continued to smile bitterly and shook his head. He now felt that this report showed how vain Woolley was. Saltmarsh Town was small with a small population, and it was impossible for him to be a consul and have such a grand occasion. If he came to Rovington, he would be just a small fry, and no one would take his official position seriously. Now, Woolley actually held a civilian assembly in Saltmarsh Town. It was obvious that he was imitating the Rovington Citizens' Assembly, trying to feel what it felt like to be the number one.
As the two were laughing, there was a knock on the door by a servant.
"Come in!" George coughed lightly and put away his smile. In front of his subordinates, he naturally had to show the authority and style of a consul.
Job quickly stopped smiling, put down Wu Lai's report, and picked up the account book.
"Lord George, an urgent letter from Assyria." A servant walked in quickly and said as he handed a letter to George.
"I understand. You can go now." George waved his hand, checked the sealing wax, and opened the letter.
As he watched, George frowned and surprise flashed in his eyes.
Seeing him like this, Job knew something was wrong, so he stepped forward and asked, "What's wrong?"
George was stunned for a moment, shook the letter paper, and said, "The Senate, the Supreme Council, and the Temple jointly signed and asked the city of Lunvington to form a civilian assembly to encourage civilians to participate in politics and brainstorm."
"What?!" Job was stunned...