The dignitaries meeting was finally decided.

This council was seen as an enlarged council of nobles, and included not only the great nobles of the Holy City and the provinces, but also the top bourgeoisie, who were the richest.

The total number of students reached 321.

As far as the province of Genoa is concerned, in addition to Count Koval in the Holy City, Sean and Siyes are also on the list of councils. Time was of the essence, and Sean and Siyes had to arrive in the Holy City by February 7, 1834.

Time was pressing, and after receiving an invitation with the emperor's seal, Sean and Siyes immediately set off together.

At this time, more and more news came from the Holy City that the emperor was preparing to implement a wartime policy.

This was a special policy that was implemented at the end of the Fourth Reich. This meant that the Emperor had absolute power, including the power to raise any taxes, and it was rumored that the Emperor was planning to increase all taxes by 5 points except for the 1/20 tax as a general tax throughout the empire.

Sean and Siyes' journey was fairly smooth in Genoa. They took the train from Poitou to Fort Partonham, a comfortable journey with special boxes, delicious food and the service of the railway company.

But after getting off at Fort Partnam, they had to take a horse-drawn carriage north, horse-drawn carriage for ferry, and ferry for carriage. It was an extremely boring and arduous journey.

From the moment he stepped into the northern land, Siyès began to complain, the harsh climate, the potholed roads, the blackened sheets of the inns along the way, and the dead fish-like expressions of the waiters.

In short, he did not miss every opportunity to belittle the North and everything.

The scene of withering along the way shocked the two of them. St. Nouvé, the former granary, has not yet recovered from the war of two years ago, large tracts of land are uncultivated, while large cities such as Minsk are home to a large number of unemployed people who would rather try their luck in the cities than return to the countryside.

A post-apocalyptic scene unfolded in front of the two. There is no harm in comparison, and Siyes said with a sigh of relief:

"Viscount, my friend, the people of Genoese owe you a debt of gratitude. Not only did you defend the Genoese from werewolves and traitors, but you also brought jobs, food, and many people became rich because of you. ”

"Mr. Siyes, I have only done my very little duty. Sean said modestly, "The people's demands are just very simple, they only need a job to support their families, as long as they are not overly oppressive, and the rich are not too greedy, this world is actually not bad." I see this as harmony, the harmony of giving and returning, the harmony of the upper and lower classes. ”

Some of Sean's views were well known to the upper echelons of the Genoese people, and people-oriented thinking was not new.

It's just that compared with those scholars, he is a quick man, and the employees of the industries under his name are generally much better than those in the north.

It is the nature of capital to pursue profits, and Sean focuses more on improving efficiency, relying on technological progress and improved production management to increase efficiency and create higher profits.

"Viscount, I wonder what this meeting of dignitaries will ultimately bring?" said Siyes, a little worried.

The so-called Council of Dignitaries, like the Council of the Nobles, was meant to refer to a meeting attended by the great nobles, which was a concentrated expression of the political system of the current state, and the aristocracy had far greater political power than other classes.

Most of them themselves do not hold official positions, but they control the power of the country, and the emperor is their sole representative.

But this political power did not represent economic power, and the new bourgeoisie had long since surpassed the aristocracy in wealth.

Therefore, in order to appease the discontent of the third estate, and more importantly, to levy more taxes on him, Carlos II had to expand the number of participants in the Noble Council, which is why Siyes was qualified to represent the Genoese.

Compared with his financial counterparts in the north, Siyes's personal wealth is actually not enough at all. He was concerned about the adverse effects of rumored wartime policies, such as the Empire's forced apportionment of loans to major banks.

"Don't worry too much, Mr. Siyes, the sky is falling, and there are tall men on top of it. Sean smiled lightly, "I don't know if you noticed, but there were no representatives of the church attending this dignitary meeting." ”

Siyes's expression changed: "Does Your Majesty want to do something to the church? This is impossible, right?"

"Your Majesty has deprived the True God Cult of its property rights, and what is the impossibility of making another move against the God Cult?" Sean said, "I heard that His Majesty has just issued a statement that the God Cult has colluded with the bloodthirsty, and that there are as many as 300 underage bloodthirsty people hidden in several almshouses in the Holy City, which is a genuine act of treason. And the accusation is so substantiated that the church can't even defend it. ”

"Oh God!" Siyès exaggerated the cross on his chest, but Sean knew he had no fear of God.

"Some estimate that the Church of God controls about 30% of the country's land, and the cash is incalculable. This time the church will be bleeding profusely. "Bishop Shakley told me that he estimates that the nation's churches have about 700 million in cash, and that the profits of the church banks alone are much more than the assets of your first bank. ”

"I'm afraid the church won't do that easily. "Although the religious concept of the people is now very weak compared to before, Your Majesty will not risk offending thousands of subjects." ”

So, when the dignitaries convene a council, the unrepresented church may become an obvious stepping stone to the other two classes. Sean said, "I don't want to pay, so let the people who didn't come pay, anyway, the people who didn't come can't come to defend themselves." ”

"This is to unite two sides to force the other. Siyes squinted and said, "Divide and disintegrate, Your Majesty is a good idea." ”

"Overcome the difficulties together, logically speaking, no one is against it. For example, in the war on the northern border, a large number of soldiers are killed every day, and if the imperial army cannot get the necessary war resources in time, the consequences are unimaginable.

Theoretically, everyone should be rational, have money to contribute, and have the power to contribute, but as far as the individual is concerned, everyone instinctively thinks about their own interests. I can't imagine a re-enactment of the Red Moon rout......"

"Viscount, I didn't expect you to be even more pessimistic than me. "Thankfully, we're all southerners!"

Siyes had a bit of a sense of schadenfreude, and although he knew that there was no end to the eggs in the nest, it was also something he liked to see if he could make the northerners lose a lot.

In fact, Sieyès's views are very representative of the ideas of the Southerners. From the time of the First Empire, the Europa Empire was only formally and geographically unified, and the southerners and northerners were never truly unified psychologically.

Sean and Siyes arrived in the Holy City on February 1, 1834.

At this time, a large number of dignitaries gathered in the holy city, such as the empress's father, the famous Duke Hermann, the Duke of Franks and the Duke of Darnell, representatives of the historic military family, and the Marquis de Torres, the representative of the Torres family, who often held important court official positions.

Only in a remote province like Genoa in the south would a petty nobleman like Sean appear.

The arrival of a large number of foreign dignitaries, as well as their grand lineup of servants, even caused the price of goods in the Holy City to rise.

The newspapers of the Holy City were keen to report on the pomp and circumstance of the great nobles, even what they ate for their first meal when they arrived in the Holy City.

Sean and Siyes stay at the Golden Oak Hotel, the property of Sean's subordinate and business partner, the Johnson family.

Out of respect, the elder Johnson was gracious in personally arranging for the two to stay in a luxurious suite, with new décor, new carpets, soft and tidy beds, and thoughtful room service.

This is the suite that Johnson Sr. reserved for the two.

Because of the convening of the dignitaries, those great nobles have real estate in the Holy City, and the others can only stay in hotels, obviously these nobles must also stay in hotels and rooms that match their status, otherwise they will become the object of ridicule by others.

As a result, rooms in high-end hotels in the Holy City have become sought-after.

There was even a situation where two provincial nobles fought for a room, which became the news that the people of the Holy City liked to see, they not only envied the magnanimity of the provincial nobles, but also took a magnifying glass to find the shortcomings of these provincial nobles.

As a fellow countryman, the Earl of Koval had sent servants to guard the foyer of the Golden Oak Hotel a few days earlier, and as soon as Sean and Siyes had checked in, he himself came to the inn to entertain them.

Whether Sean and Siyes agree or not, as the only three Genoese delegates to the Distinguished Council, the Count of Corval must unite his mind with these two men.

At this time, the Koval family's conflict with Sean not long ago was no longer important.

Earl Scott Koval is 58 years old, a short man with a neat short beard.

After a few years of life in the Holy City, he frequently mingled among the upper classes, and apart from his size, it was difficult to see the obvious characteristics of the southerners in Count Corval.

Despite meeting for the first time, Count Koval congratulated him very warmly: "Congratulations, Sean, the future Count of Rocky Mountain!"

Siyès said, "Is the rumor true?"

Count Koval said: "It's true! With Sean's past contributions, whether it is scientific, outstanding performance in the counterinsurgency war, or the outstanding performance of the new ironclad ship in the battle against the fish demon, the hereditary title of an earl is fully qualified." ”

"Thank you very much Earl for telling me this good news. Sean said reservedly, "This is Your Majesty's love, and it is also my glory." ”

Count Koval said with envy: "Sean, as your countryman, your name has risen in the upper social circles of the Holy City, and many people want to know you. ”

Sean shrugged: "I'm looking forward to it too!"

As if echoing Count Coval's assertion, Sean received an edict from Count Torre himself that night, and the Emperor would personally hold a canonization ceremony for him in the palace.