Philip's face turned pale for a while, and he angrily reprimanded: "Krautz, you are too presumptuous! You don't have the right to ask me to do that! ”

"You don't dare to swear, it only means that you are lying, I don't care what Rudolph is up to, but I must find out what you want to do!" Klautz's voice was full of emotion, "Stop pretending, Philip, you are already the Archbishop and Governor of the Far East, and your authority in the religious and secular spheres has reached its peak, I really don't understand what you are willing to take the huge risk of playing with fire ** to incite the mob to break the law and commit crimes, are you not satisfied with your status, power and wealth, and you still want to cut the territory and proclaim yourself king!" ”

The two glared at each other like beasts fighting to the death, and the room fell silent, and the atmosphere was suffocating. Werther peeed through the crack in the door into the argument in the room, nervously his heart pounding out of his throat.

The silence lasted for a long time, and Philip opened his mouth to break the deadlock: "Klautz, I will not hide it from you now, it is true that I sympathize with the people who resist taxes, and I do not intend to suppress public opinion by violent means, but I do not do it out of cowardice or in an attempt to expand personal power, but out of piety, out of adherence to the universal justice taught by my Lord!" ”

"Nonsense!" Klautz scoffed.

At this time, Philip calmed down and said calmly: "I'll tell you about it, Krautz, for a long time, the imperial authorities have been too harsh on the people of the Far East, and the tithes imposed on heretics are even more ridiculous, if the imperial authorities refuse to change their arrogance and prejudice in the Far Eastern provinces, then I can tell you in good conscience - the people rise up against tyranny and are fully in line with the teachings of my lord Pero." ”

Krautz disagreed with his defense and categorically refuted: "The empire is the foundation of the church, and the imperial power is the church power, and the two cannot be separated, let alone opposed!" ”

Philip took a step closer and stared into the eyes of the chief knight, his gaze was extremely hot: "You are wrong! In fact, the Church is higher than the state, the Church represents universal values, and the imperial power only represents the interests of a small number of nobles, if the imperial power is corrupt and degenerate and goes against the interests of the majority, then the Church has the responsibility to stand up and lead the people to warn those in power to restrain their atrocities, which is my duty as a clergyman! ”

Clotz was shocked: "Philip, you ...... You're a heretic! ”

"Who is a heretic, it's not up to you to decide!?" Philip flicked his sleeves to show his divine power, and the golden light that dispelled evil spirits filled the attic, and said proudly: "My piety is first dedicated to faith, and secondly loyal to the Empire. The situation in the Far East is tense, the political power and the clergy are in jeopardy, and to maintain the imperial power is to suppress the rebellious people, but if we want to maintain the clerical power, we must stand with the people against the empire. ”

The blazing glow of positive energy forced Krautz to narrow his eyes, and a trace of astonishment drifted across his face. Philip's words and deeds obviously violated the orthodox teachings of the Church of Light for thousands of years, and he was definitely a dangerous heretic, but he did not lose the divine power granted by Perot, which indirectly proved that his deviant remarks did not anger the "Radiant Old Man" and make him feel unpredictable and unpredictable.

After fixing his mind, Krautz suppressed the doubts in his heart, and reiterated his concept: "Philip, I can't agree with the fallacies and heresies you preach, I firmly believe that the empire is the Holy See, there is no church without a state, all compromise and vulgar church reforms are heretical, and maintaining the imperial power is equivalent to maintaining the orthodox church, and I will never approve of the so-called 'reform' advocated by you ** elements in the church!" ”

Philip smiled contemptuously: "I never expect the elm pimple to be enlightened, the truth always stands the test of time, let's see Krautz, the facts will prove right and wrong." ”

"Then we'll see! Philip, I'm not going to let you fan the flames in the city, be careful! Krautz pointed to the nose of His Excellency the Archbishop, dropped a fierce warning, slammed the door and left angrily.

"Hmph, stupid who doesn't know the times!" Philip returned to his desk with a sigh of rage, sat down and waved his pen. The sudden return of Klautz, the loyal dog of the Imperial Party, to the Fort of Atonement means that the Knights will also rush back at any time, and this change has disrupted his layout, and some arrangements must be launched in advance.

Philip sorted out the ideas that had been disrupted by Krautz, wrote a magnificent and majestic essay, and finally signed it as "the most loyal servant of all the people of the Far East". Of course, the reason for not publishing under his real name is to avoid suspicion, firstly, he does not want to excessively irritate the diehards led by Krautz, and secondly, he does not want to leave a way out for himself, so as not to fall into the trap, but it is not difficult for anyone who has any attention to the current situation to guess that only he Philip Wallenstein is qualified to use such a seemingly humble pseudonym.

Philip read his masterpiece aloud, nodded with satisfaction, and rang the bell to beckon the secretary Werther to come in.

"Transcribe the article and send it to the newspaper."

"Okay, teacher," Werther read the article hastily, and was stunned for a moment.

"Why are you stunned, don't do it quickly!" Philip said angrily.

Werther held the manuscript in his hand, his fingers trembling, as if the fluttering pages weighed a thousand pounds and could explode at any moment.

"Teacher, this ...... Transcribe it and send it to a daily newspaper? ”

Philip glanced at him unhappily: "What stupid thing to say, of course it will be published in today's evening newspaper!" You go to Paul Plitt and say that it is my own intention, and tell him to make sure that the front page headlines publish this article, and tell him in passing that I don't accept any suggestions for changes, and if he still wants to mess around in the city, he'd do as I say. ”

"Understood, I will stay at the newspaper office to supervise this matter until the evening newspaper is printed word for word according to your request." Werther wiped his sweat and took Philip's manuscript back to his office to transcribe it. He had to get Paul Plitt in the hands of Paul Pullett before the sun set, lest the evening editor-in-chief block the publication on the grounds that he could not make it in time for the layout.

……

While Philip brewed a new storm, Anthony Fogel, who had lived a pampered life in the imperial capital of Ashan, was enduring the most painful ordeal of his life.

Born in the Fogel family, the young master graduated from Imperial Central University, with two degrees in business school and law school, and when he graduated, he wrote a paper entitled "Discussion and Prospect of the Modern Tax System" and published it in the Imperial Journal, which was appreciated by the Earl of Müller, and recruited him into the staff and became a cabinet secretary, and later because of his family background, he was appointed as a tax commissioner and came to the Far East to collect tithes.

In addition to the triple identity of a wealthy young master, a young scholar and an imperial official, Anthony Fogel was also a gifted poet. Of course, he was different from the bards who sang in the taverns, except for the arcane and artistic knowledge that this transcendent profession had to master, and devoted his main energy to taking courses in law and eloquence, which was the biggest difference between the aristocratic literati and the wandering poets who ran the rivers and lakes, but today, sitting at the negotiating table on the fourth floor of the tax office, facing his fellow lawyer Maynard Oliver, he suddenly realized that what he had learned in school was all on paper, and he was powerless to resist the offensive of the other party's sharp words.