Chapter 515 The Future "Encyclopedists"
After Vivian's arduous screening and Luo Yan's spot checks, a few pieces of gold were indeed found in the mountain of envelopes piled up like a pile of excrement.
Three days later, in the afternoon, in a side hall on the first floor of Colin Manor.
The afternoon sun streamed through the glass window, making the little devil's eyelashes appear snow-white.
Vivian was slumped over a corner of the long table, listlessly waving a quill pen and making notes in a thick notebook.
A mountain of unfinished letters lay beside her, and her resentful gaze occasionally drifted toward her brother, who sat leisurely in the main seat, flipping through a book.
There are simply too many letters to read, because a massive amount of mail is delivered every day.
Is this the Demon King's method?
Yes, he's got some skills...
The only consolation was that his neck, with its prominent Adam's apple, looked incredibly alluring, making the future vampire prince swallow hard.
Vivian had no idea that the Demon King's methods were not just simple "playing around," but also included a series of assembly-line-style fear energy harvesting programs such as "haunted house scare" and "slime hell"... The adventurers of Thunder City had certainly experienced this firsthand.
Even the exhausted adventurers won't be wasted; the Demon King will release them, letting them wander among the adventurers and spread the fame of the Thunder County Labyrinth.
On one hand, they will be terrified by the demons of Thundershire; on the other hand, they will worship the Campbell family who have subdued the demon king.
In reality, both sides are under the Demon King's command.
It's just a difference between the left and right hands.
At that moment, a middle-aged gentleman named Locke was being led into the side hall by the butler.
Hearing footsteps coming from the side hall entrance, Luo Yan, who was sitting in the main seat, finally closed the book he could never finish reading and cast a scrutinizing glance at the gentleman.
Locke's appearance was out of place in this luxurious manor, but his handwriting, like the letters he wrote himself, reflected his personality.
He was wearing a faded gray coat with two slightly darker patches on the elbows and badly worn cuffs, but his old leather shoes were polished to a shine.
Despite his poverty, his back was ramrod straight. And those bright, piercing eyes reminded Luo Yan of a young man he had met on his way to Xuebang.
The two are different idealists: one is a "rock youth" type of unrestrained and highly aggressive, while the other is a "poor scholar" type of ambitious, with a stubborn streak hidden behind his reserved manners.
Upon meeting the prince of the empire, Lockel did not react with the same excitement and incoherence or excessive humility as the other "audience guests," but instead performed a proper gentlemanly bow.
"Good day, Your Highness Prince Colin. I am Locke, writing to you. Thank you for giving me this opportunity to express my dreams."
“Please have a seat, Mr. Locke. Also, please don’t be so formal. I hope you can treat this as a regular tea party, not an interview.” Luo Yan smiled and nodded to him, showing no disrespect despite his modest appearance.
"Thank you, Your Highness."
Locke gave him a grateful look and sat down on the sofa. Before the waiter could pour him tea, he began to give a brief self-introduction.
He was born into a clockmaker's family in Granston Castle. He could have inherited his father's craft and lived a stable life, but he was unwilling to live a mundane life in the lord's castle. So he registered as an adventurer in the Adventurers' Guild and spent twenty years traveling to the countries along the Whirlpool Sea, just to collect the scattered knowledge from all over the world.
To prove he wasn't lying, Locke solemnly took out a thick stack of manuscripts from his well-worn briefcase and gently placed them on the table.
The yellowed paper had curled edges and smelled of ink and the sea.
“Your Highness, this is what I want to present to you—the manuscript of the Encyclopedia.”
Locke's voice was filled with barely suppressed enthusiasm as he continued speaking, looking at Prince Colin's surprised expression.
"You are a prince of the empire, you should know that our empire has built a glorious civilization and possesses mountains of wealth! However, no one has ever compiled a catalog of the true treasures in our treasury—that knowledge and wisdom."
"Craftsmen understand the meshing of gears, farmers understand the changing of the seasons, and scholars know everything from astronomy to geography. However, they are like isolated islands, unaware of each other's worlds. I want to compile a book to connect these scattered fragments."
He glanced at Miss Colin, who was listlessly chewing on a quill pen, then looked at Mr. Colin, his eyes gleaming with excitement.
"I dare to suggest that this encyclopedia would also be of great benefit to the Thunder City University you are currently establishing!"
"Our newspapers can only tell us what happened yesterday, but they won't tell our children what majors they should choose or where they should go in the future. However, with this encyclopedia, they can find their interests and, standing on the shoulders of giants, continue the unfinished work!"
"Whether he wants to be an adventurer or a watchmaker!"
After finishing his speech, Locke paused, observing the prince's expression. Seeing Luo Yan remain silent, he couldn't help but feel uneasy, thinking that the other party lacked interest.
So he added, somewhat eagerly.
“Your Highness, I know this sounds tedious. Compiling this book requires a great deal of manpower and resources, including visiting artisans and scholars from all over the world, and incurring huge paper and printing costs. It doesn’t have the power to summon wind and rain like magic, nor can it create endless wealth like a steam engine. At least in the short term, we may not see any benefits.”
"But I believe you are a truly insightful person! You must know just how important my work is to our empire!"
Vivian couldn't help but smile upon hearing this.
Our empire...
Kukuku, that's hilarious!
Watching the empire's citizens promote their treasures to the hellish councilors, she suddenly realized that her trip to the human world hadn't been entirely fruitless.
At least I've had a lot of fun.
Locke lowered his voice; he was prepared to be rejected.
After all, he had visited the Holy City of the Empire before going to Campbell, and even sought out the Sylph family, who were the most respectful of art.
However, everyone thought he was a fraud and refused to see him without exception. They might not lack the money, but they certainly wouldn't let anyone think their family were fools who could easily extract gold coins from them.
Hearing that Prince Colin had a special fondness for Campbell, and knowing that he had Campbell blood, he decided to give it a try.
After listening, Luo Yan gently put down his teacup, the porcelain saucer clinking together with a crisp sound.
Others may not know the purpose of his work, but he understands all too well what this encyclopedia means.
This thing was one of the sparks of the Enlightenment.
The Duchy of Campbell has no shortage of intelligent people, but intelligent people are not necessarily honest people. They may say clever things, but they may not necessarily tell the truth.
They would cut knowledge into fragments, weave them into catchy limericks, and feed them to those fools who think they are smart but have actually not read many books, giving them the illusion that they have learned something.
They will exploit the arrogance, ignorance, and inability to distinguish right from wrong of fools to achieve their despicable goals, weaving sweet traps with correct but useless nonsense.
The pub owner certainly couldn't decide the future of the Duchy of Campbell, but he also had no chance to make a mess of it. Despite his loud voice, he was lucky to even keep his position among a group of intelligent people; he had no opportunity to do anything malicious.
However, if a group of serfs were to gleefully carry their slave owner into Parliament, and then gleefully watch as the slave owner whipped the other serfs into the air like spinning tops, it would be a different story.
Then the good days for the Campbells have truly arrived.
The beer hall owner was just not smart and had no ideas, but these slave owners had plenty of ways to deal with their natural-born lackeys.
While an encyclopedia may not be able to eliminate these "learned illiterates," the enlightenment movement can restrain these clever people who have no sense of awe or bottom line.
They don't believe in retribution in the afterlife or in this life, but they will be pinned to the blackboard by thumbtacks called "common sense," at least they won't let those deceptive words go off the blackboard.
This is the true meaning of literacy education.
This is the most fundamental difference between "feudalism" and "republic," and also the most fundamental contradiction between the Kingdom of Ryan and the Duchy of Campbell.
Having won the civil war, Edward can co-rule his duchy with the beer hall owner, but to maintain this "common harmony," the only way is to enlighten the people and fight against the feudalism within the duchy.
Theodore's rule was based on the "feudal system," and the only way to maintain feudalism was to incite conflict between different social classes. He had to make the clergy indifferent, the nobles greedy, and the citizens ignorant in order to prevent unity between nobles and between citizens.
Both kings were shrewd men, and they knew that a battle was inevitable between them, given their differing strategies.
As for whether sovereignty resides with the monarch or the people, that was not a question to be discussed in 1053 AD.
Neither the Duchy of Campbell nor the Kingdom of Lane actually have their own sovereignty, so discussing this is no different from performance art.
Even in Thunder City, where industrialization was in full swing, the concepts of nation and sovereignty had only just evolved from "the weavers' insults against the king" to the shared indignation of councilors from all walks of life against the arrogant and rude Kingdom of Ryan.
They had only just realized that the enemy wasn't in some distant hell, but right beside them.
“…Mr. Locke, you have underestimated the value of this project.”
The generous Prince Colin not only did not refuse, but stood up from the sofa and looked at the poor gentleman with a solemn expression.
“Thunder City University needs an encyclopedia like this. To facilitate the completion of this project, I am willing to build a large library for you, where you can devote all your energy.”
He paused for a moment, then continued.
"Of course, this is not a task that one person can accomplish alone. Go and gather your friends. Whether they are scholars who have not yet found their place, poets, farmers in the fields, or craftsmen in the castle... as long as they have real talent and are willing to fight for your ideals, the Colin family will pay for their hard work!"
Locke was stunned, almost unable to believe his ears.
"Your Highness...are you serious?"
Luo Yan nodded with a smile.
“I am more serious than ever before, Mr. Locke. In my opinion, what you are doing is far greater than inventing a forbidden spell. Our supernatural power is built on the unity of people’s hearts and common sense, and the blueprint you have presented to me has shown me the power to unite all of this.”
A tremendous surprise overwhelmed Lockell, leaving him somewhat incoherent with excitement. He abruptly stood up and bowed deeply to the generous and wise prince.
"Your Highness... Your generosity will illuminate this era! Once this masterpiece is completed, I will inscribe your name in the most prominent position on the title page, so that future generations will forever remember your kindness! It is my greatest honor to work with you!"
"No need for that, Mr. Locke."
Luo Yan picked up his teacup again, took a sip, looked at this down-on-his-luck but idealistic gentleman, and said with a nonchalant smile.
"Just put my name together with yours, and my name will be honored because of your achievements."
The gold-edged title page will be reduced to a mere formality, but the co-authors will live on forever.
With just a few hundred gold coins, one can leave a "I was here" message in a famous historical work—there's no better deal.
...
The footsteps came in haste and then left in haste.
The only difference was that Mr. Locke's footsteps when he left were noticeably less restrained and apprehensive, replaced by joy and anticipation for a new chapter in his life.
From this day forward, he belongs to the Imperial Prince.
Even as he walked out of the manor gate, the middle-aged man, carrying a thick stack of manuscripts, still wore an expression as if he had just woken up from a dream.
"Mr. Locke, it's time to get in the car."
Seeing Lockle standing motionless at the door, a servant dressed in a butler's uniform gently reminded him.
"Oh, I'm sorry, I was just thinking about... the task His Highness Colin gave me."
Locke snapped out of his daze and noticed that the carriage in front of him had its door open. He blushed and gave a brief explanation before quickly getting in.
The carriage quickly set off, heading towards the distant suburbs several miles away.
That was where Locke was staying at the moment, at the home of a distant relative. His luggage and the remaining manuscripts were stored there, which were also his only possessions.
Prince Colin not only funded his career, but also his impoverished life.
After collecting their luggage, they will head to the tranquil eastern suburbs of Thunder City to find a spacious detached house as their office.
According to His Highness Colin, that place will be both his residence in Thunder City and the headquarters of the future Encyclopedia Editorial Committee.
Not far from there is the main campus of Thunder City University, which is under construction, and the Thunder City University library, which is being renovated.
At the same time, inside Colin Manor.
With the visitors gone, the side hall returned to its afternoon tranquility.
Vivian, who had been trying to act like a lady for so long, finally threw away her quill pen and elegant posture, unleashing her playful nature.
"Kukuku... As expected of my elder brother, you are so cunning and treacherous!"
Luo Yan picked up his teacup and took a sip, then picked up the unfinished magic book.
"Tell me, how have I been treacherous this time?"
"That human nerd!"
Her calves, clad in long white stockings, swayed beneath her violet-blooming skirt, while Vivian's scarlet eyes gleamed with a cunning light that she thought she had seen through everything.
"I've finally figured it out. Your sponsorship of that bookworm wasn't for popularizing knowledge at all, but rather to use the Encyclopedia to destroy the Word of God's influence in the mortal world!"
A surprised smile appeared on Luo Yan's lips.
"Oh? You can even see this far?"
"certainly!"
Vivian's lips curled into a wicked smile, as if she had uncovered a shocking conspiracy, and she continued confidently.
"When all the laws governing the world can be explained from sources other than the divine, the lies woven by the Book of the Holy Word will cease to exist! Those priests always hold the power to interpret the world in their own hands, defining the black and white of the world, telling people what is right and what is wrong. Once people can find the answers in the book, who will listen to the nonsense of those charlatans?"
"This is undermining Saint Sith's foundation, destroying the Holy Word's monopoly on truth! Once this book is printed throughout the continent, the foundation of the Papacy will surely crumble!"
Vivian became more and more excited as she spoke, as if she could already see the St. Clement's Cathedral collapsing.
In her view, while bloodshed is exciting, eliminating the enemy at its root without bloodshed is also a clever tactic.
This is way more exciting than casting forbidden spells!
No wonder he's her most admired older brother!
Luo Yan wore a calm smile. Although he neither agreed nor disagreed with such a naive statement, he did not deny her naivety.
Even if such a thing were to happen under extreme circumstances, it would still be a future that would take hundreds of years to materialize.
"You're only half right, Vivian."
Half is actually too much, probably around 10%.
The specter haunting the Book of the Word is the New Testament, while the Encyclopedia is haunted more by the specter of "feudalism."
Even if the world enters the next era, Saint Sith will not be completely destroyed, just like the elemental gods of the first era.
At most, it will return to its original position, becoming a specimen of the old era, along with other elemental gods sitting on the sidelines, and a cultural legacy left by the old era to the next.
However, for Vivian, understanding this level was enough. She didn't need to start a business from scratch; she only needed to preserve the legacy of her ancestors.
Luo Yan turned a page in his book and continued speaking in a slow and deliberate tone.
"The Encyclopedia was indeed the second fire I ignited, but the purpose of this fire was not to destroy, but to build."
Vivian paused for a moment, then stopped swinging her legs.
"...Construction?"
"That's right."
Luo Yan nodded and said in a gentle tone.
"Destroying the old order is not difficult. Even a bunch of mindless bandits can smash idols to pieces if given a few muskets, but they will soon be slapped into pieces by a giant who has regained his senses. Neither the Empire nor the Kingdom has even used its full strength to deal with them."
Looking at Vivian, who seemed to understand but not quite, his tone became patient and persuasive, like that of a true older brother.
"If you want to establish a truly unbreakable rule, you can't just think about destruction. You have to come up with a new set of rules that everyone can accept to replace the old ones. And if you want to maintain the old rules, you have to be careful to prevent those with ideas from uniting."
"Based on the same principle, the Encyclopedia is not meant to destroy the Church of St. Sis, but to bring together a group of knowledgeable people to cultivate new ideas. More importantly, this massive project will bring together the most intelligent and inquisitive scholars of this era under my banner... This in itself is about uniting those with ideas."
A slight smile appeared on Luo Yan's lips.
Compared to the fire that engulfed St. Clement's Cathedral, this is not a future that will take hundreds of years to materialize, but a future that can be seen in a short time.
"They will form a new class based on their shared ideals, and declare war on feudalism under the banner of 'reason'."
"They will become—'encyclopedists'."
Vivian was stunned.
She thought she had seen a lot, but she never expected that the scenery in her brother's eyes was so grand, and that he could say so many words that she couldn't understand!
Although she didn't understand, she could still roughly grasp some of it—
The Demon Lord is not only here to destroy the Church, but also to plant a new world of his own on the corpses of his enemies!
“I see…” Vivian murmured to herself, the cunning in her eyes gradually fading and replaced by a look of sudden realization.
A skilled chess player should never focus solely on the killing moves within three moves!
Furthermore, one must consider how to guide one's opponent onto the chessboard after victory, leading them into one's own strategic path!
No wonder she always failed to ambush her brother...
Vivian was filled with awe.
"Brother, I understand!"
Seeing that his younger sister had clearly grasped something, Luo Yan felt a surge of relief. Although this girl was usually a bit impulsive, she had good comprehension skills and was a promising talent.
In high spirits, he turned his gaze to the window and saw that in the garden of the manor, tender green grass had already covered the ground, and brightly colored flowers were blooming freely in the warm sunshine. Occasionally, a few busy butterflies could be seen fluttering around the hedges.
Spring is here.
The weather is getting warmer.
As he admired the beautiful scenery, Luo Yan's brows relaxed involuntarily, but soon froze for a moment.
etc--
Winter in the human world is long over, and summer is just around the corner. This hellish winter break... isn't it a bit too long?
"Speaking of which, Vivian, winter on the north shore of the Whirlpool Sea is long over. I forgot to ask you before, you're not planning to stay here until summer vacation, are you?"
"grumble--"
Vivian's expression froze instantly, and she couldn't help but let out a soft groan.
Those red eyes, which had been sparkling with wisdom just a moment ago, now darted around like rabbits in the grass, avoiding Luo Yan's gaze.
She picked up her teacup, and even though the black tea inside had long since gone cold, she still took a sip in a pretentious manner and uttered an extremely affected exclamation.
"Ah... today's black tea is really good! Is it, is it the new tea from Beifeng City? I think the roasting temperature of this batch of tea leaves is particularly well controlled, it has a kind of... uh, spring flavor."
Luo Yan narrowed his eyes.
Vivian's shoulders twitched involuntarily, and the tea in her cup almost spilled out.
"Don't try to distract me with such a lame topic," Luo Yan stared at her and asked pointedly, "You skipped school?"
"puff--"
Vivian almost spat out the tea in her mouth.
"Skipping school? Brother, how could you say such a harsh thing... I... I didn't skip school, I dropped out!"
Luo Yan: "..."
Seeing that she couldn't fool her brother with those words, she hurriedly put down the cup and sat up straight on the soft velvet sofa.
"I, I'm telling the truth!"
"A genius like me, one in a century, is far beyond what the school curriculum can provide. The professors all say that it's better to go out into the world and gain experience than to rot in the classroom. That's called 'social practice'! That's right, as long as I'm in a good mood one day and submit an internship report, I can get my graduation certificate anytime."
"And it's not just me. It's common for those demons with territories to go back to handle affairs in their territories halfway through their studies, and then return to Shanghai to study again after three to five years... Miss Padridge, you must understand what I mean!"
This wasn't something Vivian made up.
Because it's not just hell that's like this; the Os Empire is the same.
The university in the holy city has many such nobles who often go to war in their territory halfway through their studies, and then lead a bunch of cronies back to put out the fire, and return with medals after the war is over.
Some didn't come back.
For example, he was sent away by his father to marry someone else halfway through the fight.
Hell is the same, of course. True nobles don't need graduation certificates; they can just hand one out on the spot.
Luo Yan remained silent.
He simply looked at Vivian quietly.
Of course, the esteemed Councilor Luo Yan was not naive enough to think that Vivian needed that thing; he was simply thinking about his own childhood, and the more he thought about it, the angrier he became.
Why should these little devils not get wet in the rain, since the congressman got soaked?
hateful!
Not just winter break homework, but also a credit system must be implemented!
Under that suffocatingly silent gaze, Vivian's fabricated reasons grew softer and softer until they finally became nothing more than a mosquito's hum.
Three seconds later, Miss Colin's psychological defenses completely collapsed, and she broke down completely.
"Heave-ho..."
Vivian very consciously slid off the sofa, carefully selected the softest seat on the thick red cashmere carpet, and then bent her knees and knelt down with great skill.
The movements were fluid and graceful.
This is clearly not the first time they've done this.
"I was wrong! Lord Demon!"
Vivian clutched her ears with both hands, her head drooping, her meek and submissive demeanor suggesting she was earnestly reflecting on her actions.
Her eyelashes trembled slightly as she spoke, her voice quivering.
"Chirp, Chirp... School started a month ago, even if you send me back, I definitely won't be able to keep up."
Before Luo Yan could even begin to reprimand her, she hurriedly raised her head and confidently brought out her own ally.
"But you can't blame me entirely! The lectures given by those old men at the academy were incredibly boring, and no matter what question I answered, they could always cover it up for me! At first, I didn't realize that even my sneezing was correct, but thanks to Heneveld reminding me, I realized they were playing me!"
“These professors are absolutely wicked, so I wrote a letter to Grandpa Caesar, telling him that I am learning a more advanced ‘path of the demon king’ from him, such as how to control a human kingdom through economic means, or how to sever Saint Sith’s blood vessels with a tattered book!”
At this point, Vivian's eyes lit up again, her face filled with pride.
"My grandfather was overjoyed after reading the letter! He not only strongly supported my decision not to return to school, but also personally went to the college and gave those professors who had been trying to fool me a good scolding!"
Luo Yan rubbed his forehead, feeling a headache coming on.
Caesar Colin is a madman who thrives on chaos, and he's also an abnormally powerful demigod who dotes on his granddaughter in an extraordinary way.
The combination of this old man and the young boy is a disaster for the hellish education system.
"...So that's your reason for staying here and refusing to leave?"
Luo Yan sighed, then thought of another little shadow who always followed her around, "What about Nanfu? Why hasn't he gone back?"
Upon hearing about this "accomplice," Vivian immediately and without hesitation chose to betray her brother in order to lessen her own guilt.
"Nanfu too! And he's even worse than me!"
Vivian pointed to the door and loudly complained, "At least I'm still learning your ways of dominance, but that guy clearly doesn't want to go back to Shanghai! Just the other day he secretly asked me how to fill out a form, saying he wanted to study at your Thunder City University! How can that be allowed? Unless Vivian stays here to keep an eye on him, he'll definitely be eaten by a human priest!"
"Study abroad?" Luo Yan was taken aback. "What would a vampire like him want to study?"
Do you study the Word of God?
Vivian didn't leave Nanfu any privacy at all, telling him everything in one go.
"He said he wants to study history! He even wants to research the history of the war between humans and demons, saying he wants to find the possibility of peaceful coexistence between the two races from the dust of history... Kuku, is his brain filled with lava! If demons don't fight humans, are they going to fight the goblins in their own backyard?"
Luo Yan was utterly speechless.
What legendary lover king?
However, this guy is more like his father than Vivian. And Nanfu hasn't told me about this at all; he's probably decided to take the plunge.
That's fine too.
What that little guy lacks is not a guiding light to illuminate his life's path, but rather the courage to take the first step and the responsibility to bear the consequences of his choices.
Luo Yan was actually quite pleased, at least Nanfu genuinely wanted to become a true man.
Unlike his good brother who is far away.
The way Igor looked at him always sent chills down his spine.
Kneeling on the carpet, Vivian secretly observed Luo Yan's expression, trying to read the Demon King's thoughts from his subtle expressions.
Seeing the slight upturn of her lips, which seemed to indicate relief, she finally breathed a sigh of relief, knowing that she wouldn't have to do extra homework.
Lord Bayeri is above...
This was the first time in Vivian's life that she had written so many words herself, and she had never suffered such humiliation.
Thinking of this, Vivian's eyes welled up with tears of grievance again.
"...The demons of hell are becoming more and more depraved."
"Yes, yes!"
"I'm talking about you!"
"Chirp—I was wrong!"
Looking at Vivian, who was trembling and clutching her head, Luo Yan couldn't bear to scold her, and besides, scolding her didn't seem to make any difference anyway.
He only has one thing to worry about now.
If Mia discovers that Vivian has run away here, the Demon King's plans will likely become more complicated than ever before...
(End of this chapter)
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