The Manor of the Bardon family suddenly became lively, and a large number of western nobles, the western generals of the legion and their entourage, the senators of the western constituency, the officials in charge of agriculture in the imperial court, and the commissioners of the Constantinople bank, these dignitaries and dignitaries came to fill every room of the main building of the manor, and even the eastern general of the legion sent men.

Among these nobles, the Barr family and the quasi-in-laws Crisius family are undoubtedly the core of attention. In various introductions and self-introductions, Maximi discovers that there are many of his future relatives. If we talk about relatives formed by blood for hundreds of years, the entire upper echelons of the Eastern Roman Empire are relatives. The people who came to know Maximi were relatives who had been married to each other for less than two generations.

Maximi's wife has become the center of the noblewomen's flocks, watching his wife happily talking to all kinds of people, shaking hands, hugging, Maximi can't help but retreat. I asked for a glass of lemonade at a small bar near a corner, threw in a grain of baking soda, and just took a sip, and a person sat down next to me. At first glance, Maximi turned out to be the under-secretary of the Minister of the Interior. His Excellency the Vice-Chancellor asked for the same drink, threw in a grain of baking soda, took it up to Maximime, and took a sip.

In addition to some of the work of the Minister of the Interior in the sun, there is also a part of the work that does not see the light, which makes Maximi a little wary. If he left immediately, it would be obvious that he had a ghost in his heart, and Maximi sat down and continued to sip the carbon dioxide bubble lemonade.

The vice-lieutenant took another sip and hiccuped a little, before he said, "Your Excellency, you are probably the most envied person in the empire now. ”

Maximi was wary in his heart and smiled in a calm tone as much as he could: "I just let the children do their own thing. ”

"Yes. That's why you're so envied. As the daughter of the patriarch, she is about to become the eldest son of the lieutenant general of the legion. We all know that these two children have achieved their current status on their own, and Your Excellency has become the new leader of the republican faction on his own. That's why everyone wants to connect with your family. It won't be long before the Clysius family will become one of the most illustrious families in the Empire. ”

This is a compliment when it comes out of the mouth of an ordinary person, but it really can't be seen as a simple envy when it comes out of the mouth of the Vice-Minister of Internal Affairs. Maximi couldn't help but say, "Are you reminding me? ”

"Hehe, Your Excellency don't need to panic, I don't think anyone dares to touch Your Excellency now. Politics, the legion, the business world, so many people are looking forward to your favor. Your Excellency is also a leader in the academic world, and as far as I know about the academic world, some people may be jealous of Your Excellency. However, Your Excellency has the blessings of nobles, senators, legions, and the province of Europa, and these people cannot move Your Excellency at all. ”

"Academia?" Maximi was very sensitive to the word.

"It has been said that Your Excellency insists on the republic and seeks to overthrow Barcellus. We are unbelieving. After the lieutenant finished speaking, he took another sip of lemonade.

Maximi was shocked, what the lieutenant said was really horrific, but it was in line with the style of the scholars. The jealousy of the scholars was terrible, and even the wise Lord Tiberius once attacked Sheila in a mad frenzy. The fact that Tiberius's attack was entirely public is a testament to Tiberius' noble personality.

Seeing Maximi's expression shocked at first, he quickly became thoughtful, and the vice minister smiled slightly, "Your Excellency, don't worry, everyone in the court knows your position, and this kind of denunciation may be used as a weapon in the future struggle, but everyone doesn't believe that Your Excellency will really betray Baseleus." And speaking of which, I'm a republican myself. ”

The corners of Maximi's mouth stiffened, and he couldn't be sure what the lieutenant meant, so he could only pretend not to hear it. Then he continued: "Your Excellency, the Minister has been waiting for the committee to come up with a final plan. We know that you have rejected many of your proposals, and we very much agree with your caution. But caution alone is not enough, and the ministers are already a little impatient. Please come quickly. ”

After speaking, the deputy minister's sharp eyes looked at Maximi, and after a moment's look, the second minister suddenly smiled again, "We also know that Your Excellency will have to deal with some family affairs soon, at the end of the year." Make sure you come up with a plan before the end of the year. ”

With that, the deputy chief drank the remaining carbonated lemonade and burped a lot, and the deputy chief stood up and walked to the center of the venue. Maximi only felt stiff and unable to move at all. On weekdays, the Constitutional Council is a very relaxed place, and no one seems to take them seriously. All eyes were on what of the elders had proposed an interesting bill, or what had caused a dispute in the Lok Sabha.

This was not the case, and at the suggestion of His Excellency Tiberius, the Constituent Council would propose a complete plan for the re-establishment of the republican system of the Eastern Roman Empire, and the final steps of the Roman retro could begin with the approval of the imperial court. The words of the Deputy Minister prove that at least the Secretary of State for Home Affairs has been monitoring the functioning of the Constituent Commission and has made a time request.

Yes, Maximi can completely ignore the opinion of the Home Secretary, but this will most likely lead to the failure of the retro. Because the current Senate and the House of the People are actually just a transition from this retrospect, from the perspective of historical experience, even if these two institutions can function well, when the crisis in Eastern Rome is resolved, and the imperial court has the means to solve the problem, it will turn these two institutions into the emperor's advisory bodies, as in history, and finally let them disappear.

Of course, the deputy minister could not believe the words that he was a republican, but the republicans did feel great pressure and kept urging Maximi to quickly come up with a final plan for discussion. It seems that time is running out for Maximi.

The large banquets of the nobility were held for several days, especially after the harvest. A few days later, Duchess Bardon announced that the wheat output of the farm's 210,000 mu should exceed 50 million catties, and the venue immediately resounded with sky-shaking applause and cheers. Sulun's estate in the east has expanded its cultivated area, and the wheat production has reached 20 million catties. These two large estates alone produce 70 million catties of wheat, and the output of potatoes and pumpkins produced by other estates that have been approved by the legion is expected to exceed 230 million catties, and the output of sweet potatoes can also meet expectations. The imperial court owned five times as much grange land as the two groups represented by Barden and Sulen. The food produced from these lands has been struggling to support the food supply of Eastern Rome.

The Eastern Romans had 200,000 legions, and only 2 million with all their dependents. These grains, together with caramel and various vegetables, were able to ensure the food supply of the legion and its families.

Previously, many eastern and western nobles expressed their willingness to join the list of estates for the imperial court to purchase grain, and according to the survey, the total amount of land they owned was more than three times that of the two major groups represented by Barden and Suren. With the grain supply of these few pieces and the grain sold by other grain producers, perhaps in the following year, the food crisis that plagued Eastern Rome will be completely resolved by domestic supply.

Maximi was happy with the news, happy and at the same time feeling the crisis. It was the food crisis that drove the Roman retro, and once the imperial court solved the food crisis, the next solution was likely to be the retro. If retro can solve the immediate problem, where is the necessity of retro?

Everyone in the banquet hall laughed happily, and the nobles solved the problem of selling grain at a low price and not making money, and they were very happy. The legion does not have to worry about the food of the legion and its families, and is very satisfied. The ministers of the court saw that the dawn was imminent, and their smiles were as bright as flowers. The representatives of the Constantinople bankhouses looked a little reserved, but everyone knew that it was the money provided by the bankers to the nobles and the granges of the court to improve production, so that they could buy agricultural implements and the technical guidance of the agricultural service company of the province of Europa, which promoted the progress of agriculture in Eastern Rome. Everyone owes a lot of money.

As for the province of Europa, which has no roads, Maximi knows their strength very well. These people would later become the new upper echelons of the Eastern Romans, and they would be able to hold up the Eastern Roman state until a new crisis shook their position. The Clysius family had risen through this crisis to become one of the most prominent families of Eastern Rome, and Maximi could not have imagined such a possibility in his wildest dreams. But now he feels dissatisfied, perhaps because he has seen with his own eyes that such an incredible thing can be done, and Maximi is willing to work hard for the dream of not knowing what to do.

When the banquet was at its highest, Maximi slipped up to the Undersecretary of the Interior and gestured to him. The vice-minister did not show surprise, but took a chance to get to Maximi, who was at the edge of the hall, and it was not long before the two of them reached the pergola outside the banquet hall. Maximi asked, "Your Excellency says that you are a republican, and I wonder why Your Excellency believes in a republic. ”

"Because it turns out that the Senate and the Lok Sabha do elect some of the right people. Without the republican system, Her Excellency Sheila could not solve the problem. The Lok Sabha and the tribune have also made a number of decisions that I admire. ”

Maximi was not amused by this, and when he heard that the lieutenant was not really satisfied, he asked, "And then?" ”

"We think a republic makes sense, but that's about it. If the restoration of the Senate, the Lok Sabha and the Tribune would solve the problem, why should we support a republic. Speaking of this, the lieutenant stared at Maximi and said, "Your Excellency, we agree with Patriarch Sheila, which does not mean that we agree with all the patriarchs. Your Excellency Maximime, we owe allegiance to Baseleus, and we do now. ”

Maximi didn't speak, and the blunt words pierced him deeply. It is true that very good people can be elected through elections, and a lot of disgusting people will also be elected. Sheila's participation in the election was just a chance for the monarchy to respond to the crisis by giving people who were willing to come forward. Maximi knows better than anyone where his daughter Sheila's power comes from. Such elections are not at all the same thing as the Republican ideal.