Todd put a small slice of sashimi in his mouth, chewed it carefully, and sighed that the food in Twilight City was more delicate, and asked, "I heard that the main competitor in this re-election is the Chamber of Commerce Alliance, who are they?"

Emerson cleared his throat: "I'll introduce you." The business alliance is composed of forty-nine large chambers of commerce, covering industry, textiles, maritime, printing, breeding, winemaking, etc., basically including all industries except for heterogeneous affairs. ”

"The high-level personnel of the Chamber of Commerce Alliance talk about their origins in a variety of ways. For example, the president of the Nilsko Mining Chamber of Commerce used to be a priest authorized by the Pope himself, and the president of the tracing merchant was a retired military officer of the empire......"

Todd suddenly asked, "Are these people eligible for the cabinet election?"

Huggins, who was standing on the sidelines, explained softly, "According to the Security Bureau's investigation, they have all been living in Twilight City for more than three years, and they have all achieved the status of honorary knights......"

Emerson shook his head and said, "But these people are intertwined with other forces, and many of them have estates and families in the cities of other kingdoms. ”

Todd asked, "Who is the leader of the Business Alliance?"

"Rutledge Daulson. Emerson said the name with a headache: "An old nobleman from a family of the Silverring Kingdom, once led troops in the Northern Legion, lived in Twilight City as a captive, and later became an honorary knight. ”

Todd was a little surprised: "How did such a person become the leader of the Chamber of Commerce?"

Huggins helped explain at this time: "The Daurson family itself is the great nobles of the Silver Ring Kingdom, and Ratledge's father and grandfather have made great achievements on the battlefield against the north, so they are inextricably linked with many old aristocratic forces. In that battle to destroy the country, the Dawerson family saw the weakness of the royal family of the Silver Ring, and transferred the family wealth to other places early, and was the first noble family to take refuge in Twilight. ”

Todd looked at Huggins and questioned, "How did he get his honorary knighthood?"

Huggins lowered his head and said, "After the Daursons entered Twilight City, they funded universities, built schools, supported artists, and helped the poor...... The citizens of Twilight City have a great affection for this family. At the first canonization ceremony of knights elected by citizens, six members of the Daurson family were occupied. ”

Todd frowned and nodded at Emerson and said, "You go on." ”

The Daweerson family controls nearly 27 percent of the city's processed goods, 25 percent of the smelting and processing industry, 14 percent of the textile industry, about 9 percent of the land title, and about 5 percent of the land transportation industry. ”

Following Emerson's topic, Terrence added: "The Daurson family is also the largest funder of the University of Twilight, with more than 90 professors and nearly 600 students, and there are almost 130 studios and laboratories named after his family. ”

Emerson glanced at Todd and said, "Your Majesty, casually mention, the chair you are sitting on now, and the tableware you use are all made by Daurson's manufacturers. ”

Todd put the silver fork in his hand in front of him, and a special sign starting with a D on the handle made him fall silent.

Not only that, but in the past few years, Daurson has formed a solid business group with the Sanchez and Tobias families in Twilight City by means of marriage and equity exchange. Whether it is negotiations, disputes, demands, etc., they have clear rules of interest and division of roles within them. ”

Todd rubbed his forehead with his hand: "Over the years, we have been busy dealing with threats from the outside world, but we never thought that we would grow such a behemoth by our side. ”

Catching a glimpse of Huggins' guilty expression, Emerson explained, "Your Majesty, we can't be blamed for this. The Dawsons registered a number of business names and controlled many assets and businesses in Twilight City by way of proxy and indirect control. Even if we go to check, we can only find many unrelated controllers, and we can't find the real owners behind them at all. ”

Todd waved his hand: "Needless to say about other things, let's talk about this re-election, what are your chances of winning?"

Emerson glanced at the others and said embarrassedly, "The odds aren't great. ”

"Why?"

Some of Dawson's campaign slogans and governing policies have won the approval of the overwhelming majority of citizens. ”

Emerson held out his index finger: "The first thing to bear the brunt of is the parish wars." The Daursons propose to wage a "war against God" to wipe the filth of those churches from the world. They say that those liars of the church, with a false god that does not exist, deceived and oppressed believers, deprived them of their wealth and humanity, and it is time to pay everything back. ”

Moore Rupert, who was sitting at the end of the table, the head of the Twilight Cathedral, couldn't help but speak at this time: "The remarks made by these people are not only attacking the Church of the Heavenly Father and the Most Orthodox Church, but also attacking Protestantism, and they are questioning Your Majesty's divine identity. Now, at the entrance of the Twilight Cathedral, a group of students who do not know the height of the sky are handing out leaflets to the believers, claiming that God does not exist and that religion is nothing more than a deception. ”

Hearing this, Cumberland, who had endured it for a long time, finally couldn't hold back the anger in his chest.

I saw this grumpy old knight rise up and roar loudly: "If you want me to say, just send out the soldiers and send all these troublemakers to the gallows! Then hang the corpse on the flagpole in the center of the square, and let those bastards see what kind of fate it will be to be dishonest!"

Elijah, who was born as a scholar, immediately stood up and objected: "If we do that, what difference do we have from the brutal and unkind heretical inquisition?!"

Terrence touched Elijah with his elbow, motioned for him to sit down, and said slowly: "Killing can only solve a temporary predicament, but it cannot completely eradicate the source of the problem. ”

Mrs. Raglan, who managed the kingdom's economy, suddenly proposed, "Wouldn't it be all right to let those people go to Heaven and have a look?"

Emerson and Cumberland looked at each other, and both turned their inquiring gaze to Todd.

The latter shook his head with a wry smile and said softly, "The kingdom of heaven is only open to devout believers. ”

That's what he said, but Todd knew it was just a prevarication.

The real reason is that he pins his hopes on the autonomy of the people, and if he uses the soul space as a means to win over believers, the city will return to the old path of monarchy.

While Todd is still alive, he may be able to maintain the sacred temple of Heaven, but once he dies and the soul space completely collapses, the faith in this kingdom will come to an end, and society will return to darkness and turmoil.

It wasn't the outcome he wanted to see.

Seeing that everyone was silent, Emerson coughed, and continued, "Declaring war on God sounds like a bloody affair, but it will completely destroy the religious image that Twilight City has painstakingly managed for many years, and completely push this kingdom into opposition to other parish kingdoms. ”

Cumberland shook half a sausage in his hand and said coldly: "Those idiot merchants, their eyes are only to occupy the land and find workers. They think that fighting a war is as simple as a child's house. If we do go to war with all the parish kingdoms, we will no longer face the direct army of the Church, but the coalition of 190,000 secular kingdoms!"

Moir Rupert continued: "Moreover, the plan to divide the diocesan kingdom by Protestantism has already begun to bear fruit. Twenty-six kingdoms have left the Church of the Father and joined Protestantism, and that number is accelerating...... But if Twilight takes aim at God, then our enemies will change from the Church of the Father to all the parish kingdoms, and the so-called Protestantism will become a joke. ”

Todd put down the wine glass in his hand, looked at the cabinet members in front of him, and asked, "Didn't you mention these reasons to the people? Anyone with common sense should know that starting a war at this time is the worst decision. ”

Emerson sighed heavily: "Your Majesty, common sense is one thing, but public opinion is another. There will be a political debate the day after tomorrow morning, so if you have time, please visit it. When the time comes, you'll understand what I mean. ”