"My lord, this is the newspaper you wanted!"

Rose curtsied, and she took out a stack of newspapers from the bamboo basket: "I met the postman Rohr in the town, and brought it to you by the way." ”

"Thank you Rose. What kind of flowers is this?" Sean pointed to a bouquet of flowers in her bamboo basket.

These flowers are not delicate or precious, they are all golden, white, pink and sky blue petals, they are not conspicuous on their own, but when combined, they are like stars in a clear night, and they are extraordinarily beautiful, stylish and interesting.

"I picked them all in the field, they're pretty, aren't they?" said Rose.

"It's beautiful. Sean complimented, "It would be so nice if you could put these flowers in the long-necked vase in my study." ”

"Okay. Rose smiled and walked into the rose garden.

Sean sat on a chaise longue under the big banyan tree, flipping through the newspaper that Rose had brought, and the maid brought a pot of tea.

Sure enough, the most important news was that Emperor Carlos II declared the true god religion an illegal religion.

This news caused a shock and backlash in the world, although the ancient religion of True God is weak, it has a large mass base among the people, and even Sean's loyal servant Emma is a devout True God believer.

Many True God clergy were forced to take off their white robes, but some openly rebelled, and there were already small-scale riots or riots in the north.

In this regard, many people of insight are worried. Reading between the lines of a few newspapers, however, the 61-year-old emperor was running out of energy and making a mistake in his judgment, and that the young crown prince should be held more responsible.

According to another source, the Pope of the True God asked to meet the emperor, but was ruthlessly refused. The grief-stricken Pope left a suicide note, arguing that the Cult of the True God has nothing to do with the Cult of the True God, and that although it is true that some clergy have secretly joined the Cult, it is by no means the purpose of the Cult of the True God.

The Pope tried to commit suicide by poisoning, but was saved by the congregation. I don't know if he really wants to do it, or if he is obsessed with the world and deliberately attracts sympathy.

Another gossip sarcastically said that the imperial court had taken a fancy to the property of the True God Cult, and although it was only a drop in the bucket compared to the God Cult, it was also quite a lot, and its value was estimated at 30 million gold louis at the most conservative estimate.

In contrast to the main newspapers in the Holy City, some of the tabloids focus on the curious news about werewolves.

It is said that werewolves have existed as a heterogeneous species in historical records since the beginning of written human records. Legend has it that they were normal humans, but they only became evil alternatives because they drank the demon's wine.

They have the characteristics of both humans and wolves, and although they walk upright like humans, they are good at running, and their speed can be compared to that of wolves, but they are not sustainable.

They have the same IQ as humans, and their strength and speed are much stronger than humans, but like blood warriors, their shorter lifespan is their weakness, and their living environment is harsh, so the werewolf population has not been able to expand.

In the distant past, werewolves had to flee into the mountains to survive after losing the war against humans. They seldom set foot in human life, and only exist in religious paintings and legends, which become the best excuse for those old people to terrorize their children.

It is not clear that they have suddenly rekindled the flames of war and provoked civilized society, considering that today's human beings have become more powerful since the invention of gunpowder weapons.

The local newspaper Poitou, which was published this morning, also smells of pungent ink, and the quality of the printing is so poor that you can dye your hands black if you are not careful.

One of the things that caught Sean's attention the most was that the front page was devoted to a long report on the horrific events that were happening north of the Ott Mountains.

Intimidation, absolutely intimidation.

Thinking of the purpose of Director Daley's arrival today, the results speak for themselves, and the official tone of public opinion has long been set.

And this intimidation culminated when a werewolf corpse was delivered to Poitou.

When the werewolf corpse was seen, Sean was being invited to attend the Estates-General of Genoa on February 1, 1831, in Poitou.

It was a council of clergy, nobility and wealthy, especially the urban bourgeoisie, three privileged classes, and that was the essence of the Estates-General.

Not to mention the clergy and aristocracy, the third class consisted mainly bankers, usurers, factory owners, large merchants, guild presidents, and large landowners, as well as some scholars, lawyers, and doctors of higher social status.

In terms of wealth, the bourgeoisie in the Third Estate as a whole has surpassed the first two, and their wealth has grown much faster than the Church and the aristocracy, which depend mainly on the land for their livelihood. These people are mainly concentrated in the provincial city of Poitou, and they pay no less than 7 million in taxes every year.

As wealth and tax payments grew, the bourgeoisie inevitably demanded a greater voice.

They respected and aspired to the nobility, which had many more honorable rights than them, such as the ability to wear the coat of arms of the family that had been passed down from generation to generation, and to have a prominent seat in the church with incense from the clergy. When a nobleman was accused of a criminal case, it could only be heard by the High Court of the Holy City, and the local government was not allowed to intervene.

They did not pay as much in taxes as they did, and they all owned land, and the nobles did not need to pay land taxes, but they had to pay, not to mention their other properties. However, when it came to voting on the issues they cared about, the nobles spoke with much more weight than they did.

This is what the bourgeoisie loaths. Rather, they are political groups created to pay their taxes, and they do not have the quality of a hierarchy – dignity.

The aristocracy mostly looked down on the bourgeoisie from the bottom of their bones, believing that they smelled of copper from head to toe, and as for whether they were jealous of the latter's wealth in their hearts, only they themselves knew.

Poop had only two counts, three viscounts, and seven barons, while there were thirty other minor nobles in the province, who lived in the other five cities of the province, and all of them had a wealth ranging from 300 to 300,000 louis a year.

The Robinson family, which has an annual income of 300,000 gold louis, can be called rich, which is certainly not a pure income, and the aristocracy with an income of only 300 gold louis is definitely the poorest noble.

The poorest aristocracy was undoubtedly the Davis family from the city of Bern, a small family with no sense of existence. The status of nobility gave the family a natural seat in the Estates-General.

Baron Davis heard that he was bedridden, and his eldest son was named Edward Davis, a young man of twenty-three years old, who represented the Baron at this Estates-General.

If Baron Davis were to die today, the heir, Edward Davis, would not even be able to raise enough money to gain recognition from the court and the royal family, and the title would be in danger of being lost.

The title of baron required at least 5,000 louis to keep it, and it was difficult to earn it on a small piece of land. The old baron's debt he borrowed when he inherited it has not yet been repaid.

Therefore, the Davis family is willing to try any industry that can make money. For example, his family has set up a small textile factory to purchase some raw silk from the Robinson family every year. In the eyes of the conservative southern aristocracy, this was contrary to the so-called tradition of the aristocracy, which was supposed to live on the land.

The factory was a larger workshop, and Edward Davis hoped to produce a steady stream of silk like the big textile mills in the North, but he didn't have the capital.

Sean knew this because Posey Robinson introduced him to him, and the implication was to ask Sean if he could lend him a sum of money.

This surprised Sean:

"Is there anything richer in Genoa than the Robinsons?"

"But that's not my personal wealth. Percy replied solemnly, "If it were me, I would only be able to come up with two thousand louis, but he needs twenty thousand, and the steam engine is a money-swallowing monster and very squeamish." ”

Sean somewhat understood that the Robinsons were clearly a very traditional family, keen to invest in land and other real estate, and not interested in new things. Although Percy is an outstanding member of the family and has very important responsibilities, the big family always has too many constraints.

"Do you have an old relationship with the Davis family?" asked Sean.

"Edward was a college classmate of mine. "I even wanted to introduce one of my cousins to him, but his family's financial situation ......"

"Oh, you can introduce me later. Sean said politely, not really taking it seriously.

He didn't ask Percy why he found him, did his reputation as a "stupid person with a lot of money" already known to all children?

"Okay, that's his climb. ”

Regardless of what the people in Poisto said, in Posey's opinion, Sean was no ordinary country aristocrat. As a neighbor, Sean's series of sassy operations are all in his eyes.

Edward Davis is just a baron heir, and the poor jingle is a good climb to introduce him to Sean.

The meeting took place in the Great Hall of the Doge's Palace, in front of which 43 nobles or representatives of nobility had gathered, 23 high clergy, and the rest 43 representatives of the Third Estate.

This combination of numbers is worth looking into and represents some kind of balance.

Dressed in black robes were clergy, and to distinguish them from ordinary clergy and aco-priests, these high-ranking clergymen would trim the cuffs of their black robes with gold threads.

Of course, it would be better for them to be eligible to change into the red robe representing the bishop of a province.

Aristocrats generally wore brighter dresses, and the style of tuxedos was dominated by crimson, purple, and royal blue. Their costumes were flamboyant and elaborate, with intricate embroidery and densely breasted tops, and trousers tended to be loose and comfortable.

Sean also did as the locals did, not wearing an intricately pleated collar around his neck to look dignified, and his shirt had a pronounced turn-out neckline, and then tied a bow tie with sky blue muslin. Such an unconventional outfit made him the center of attention.

As for the third estate, the rich people's clothing style is on par with that of the aristocracy, except that their clothing is not so gaudy and elaborate, and they only pay more attention to the texture of the clothing, otherwise they will be criticized.

Contemporary civilian clothing tends to be more and more simple, simple and natural. Sean usually only wears a three-piece tuxedo, but at the moment he doesn't dare to wear a black one.

As far as Sean observed in the Holy City, the costumes of those northern nobles on important occasions were not as elaborate as those of southern nobles. This also seems to illustrate the conservative and stubborn conceptuality of the southerners.

Here Sean and Percy were talking quietly, and the personable Viscount Lincoln walked over.