Ratledge tapped his fingers on the table and said coldly, "I don't think I need to repeat the relationship between Twilight City and the Papal States, right? ”

Ratledge clenched his right hand into a fist above his head, "And right now, this is the time when the Church of the Heavenly Father is at its weakest. Their immediate army was almost completely wiped out in the Battle of the Holy Acropolis, and on the other hand, the Pope of the Church of the Father was slow to choose a successor after his death due to internal power struggles. ”

"If we don't take advantage of this time to launch a decisive battle to uproot the church, it will be very difficult to find such an opportunity in the future. ”

Rutledge turned his gaze to Emerson, "What I don't understand is that in the face of a low-hanging victory, the cabinet has been backing down, as if it had decided the defeat of Twilight City before the war, what is the reasoning behind it?"

Emerson shook his head vigorously: "A low-hanging victory? Do you know what you're talking about? Do you know how many soldiers and how many supplies you need to mobilize to launch a campaign against all the parish kingdoms?"

"And, although you keep saying that you are targeting the Church of the Heavenly Father, you are going to lead an army into the territory of the secular kingdom, do you think those secular kings will watch you break in? Do you think they will not resist?"

"The most important thing is that the decision to send troops to the diocesan kingdom will completely isolate the diplomatic situation in Dusk City, so that we will no longer have an ally in the entire diocese. At that time, you will face a coalition of more than 200 kingdoms in the diocese, with a total strength of nearly 190,000!"

Listening to Emerson's argument, Ratledge shrugged his shoulders without any concern and said, "Prime Minister, let me answer your questions one by one. ”

"In the Battle of the Holy Acropolis, our army had less than 3,000 men in battle, and the total strength of the enemy army reached 20,000. As a result, the Church army was almost completely wiped out, and fewer than 100 soldiers were killed in the battle of Twilight. Today, the total strength of Twilight City has reached 15,000 men, and our opponents, in terms of morale, command, strength, and equipment, are far from comparable to the Church army in the Battle of the Holy Acropolis. Even if we take 10,000 steps back, the enemy army is large in number and our army is insufficient, but we still have hundreds of thousands of reserve troops, and they can sacrifice their lives for the great Dusk Kingdom at any time!"

A group of students stood up excitedly and shouted in the middle of the meeting: "If the kingdom needs it, we are willing to give our lives!

In the stands on the second floor, Huggins shook his head in disbelief and said: "Are these young people in school stupid to study? Where is the war such a simple thing?! The reason why the Battle of the Holy Acropolis was able to be won was because of many factors, such as the elite soldiers of different species, the superiority of the city's defense, and the suspicion of the enemy...... Do these young people, who don't know the height of the sky, think that fighting a war is a charge?"

Todd clenched his right hand into a fist and cupped his cheeks, thoughtfully.

"The war we are waging against the Church of the Father is a just war, a war to break down superstition and hypocrisy, a war to free those who have been deceived and enslaved by the Church!" Ratledge waved his arms vigorously and said confidently, "When our army enters the parish kingdom, those nobles and people will not only not embarrass us, but will join us in the fight against the church!"

The students in the audience shouted, "That's right! Our army is the savior of the world!" The awakened people will join us in the fight against the church!"

Looking at the scene in front of him, Emerson rubbed his temples vigorously and shouted loudly, "If you do this, you will completely bury all the efforts of the Twilight Kingdom before!"

The old man pointed to the young faces in the audience with trembling hands, and said bitterly: "From the invention of the printing press, then the doctrine of justification by faith, to the attack on tithes, indulgences, and the divine rites of kingship, and finally to the establishment of Protestantism. You young people, where will you understand how many difficulties we have overcome and how much effort we have put in to fight against the Church of the Father, so that we can get to where we are today!"

"It's like a terminally ill person, if you pour a dose of strong medicine on him, the patient will die nine times out of ten. Only through slow recuperation and long-term medication can he recover his health!" Emerson slammed the table with his fist and roared, "Why don't you understand this truth?!"

Ratledge got up from his chair, ignored the host's obstruction, walked up to Emerson step by step, looked him in the eye, and asked loudly: "Prime Minister, I would like to ask, according to the method you said, how many parish kingdoms have now taken to Protestantism?"

"Twenty-six, and it's growing!"

Ratledge smiled and continued, "Since a few years ago, the cabinet has set out to crack down on the Church of the Heavenly Father, and after such a long time, only twenty-six kingdoms have left the church. So I would like to ask, how long will it take for all the diocesan kingdoms to abandon the Church of the Father? 10 years, 20 years?"

Turning his face to the audience, Rutledge smiled and said, "If it had been longer, I suspect that some of you here would not have seen the day when the church would fall." ”

Amid the laughter of the crowd, Ratledge turned his gaze back to Emerson: "And, Your Excellency, have you ever wondered why twenty-six kingdoms have left the church and joined us?

"In the final analysis, war is just a means of political continuity, which can be used to speed up the pace of change and maximize the interests of the victors. Rutledge looked at the angry Emerson and said calmly: "As for my Prime Minister, you are old, and your theory is outdated. ”

Without waiting for Emerson to speak, Rutledge slowly walked off the stage of the debate with the attitude of a victor.

The host of the venue hurriedly walked to his side and said urgently: "Mr. Daurson, the debate is not over yet, and there are still some topics ahead. ”

Rutledge looked at the supporters in the audience and raised his hands with a smile: "This debate has no meaning to me anymore, I see a group of backward, stubborn, and old-fashioned administrators leading this kingdom in the wrong direction! I must stand up, correct their mistakes, and lead the kingdom back to the right path!"

The students took the lead in standing up, raising their hands and shouting, "Correct your mistakes!"

Ratledge pushed the host away, came to the middle of the students, and raised his arms and shouted, "Long live the Twilight Kingdom!"

"Long live the Kingdom of Twilight!"

I saw Rutledge's performance and demeanor in the debate, at first just the students, then the young observers around me, and finally the entire audience gradually joined the team.

In the stands on the second floor, Todd let out a long breath, stood up and said, "After the play, it's time to go back." ”

Huggins looked at Emerson on the stage and asked in a low voice, "What ......about that?" Prime Minister, ...... him?"

"Don't bother him at this time. ”

Todd looked at the cheering crowd around Ratledge and whispered, "Careerists, greedy, fools, and ...... Philistine......