"The reformist literati frequently published articles in the press, such as advocating the abolition of serfdom, allowing land to be bought and sold freely, abolishing the Inquisition, expropriating large tracts of land held by monasteries, and introducing parliamentary politics...... The ideas put forward were radical, but the reformers were only a man of the pen, had no spokesman of their own in the cabinet, and the public responded equally lukewarmly to their calls. Anthony smiled sarcastically, "They can only hope that the old Emperor Charles, who has been ill for a long time, will be called by the Lord as soon as possible, and Frank will reuse their gang to implement reforms after he ascends the throne." ”

"Don't go so far, tell me why the reformers are against the Crusades."

"Well, it's mainly against the loss of labor and money, I can't bear to see the lives ruined or something, literati always like to hold high the banner of morality, but Prince Frank has a few words to the point."

"Oh, what did he say?"

"Prince Frank said that it had been less than three years since the Far Eastern Province was out of the control of the Empire, and everyone had an impression of what it was like to be poor three years ago. Now that the Far East is said to have changed, and the peasants are not only fed and clothed, but also have a large amount of surplus grain handed in, shouldn't we reflect on why there is such a change? What measures did the rebel party take to promote the rapid growth of agriculture in the Far East? If we do not understand these systemic problems and learn from these truly valuable wisdoms, and only want to use force to regain the Far East, what good will it do to successfully recover the lost territory? If you follow the old methods of governing the Far East in the past, you will not be able to operate 100 million acres of fertile land, and if you blindly expropriate and destroy production, within two years the Far Eastern provinces will be transformed into the original barren land, which will not only fail to make up for the empire's financial deficit, but will also inspire the local people to resist endlessly, and carry a heavy burden on their backs. Anthony took a sip of water to moisten his throat, "All in all, Prince Frank believes that the empire is vast enough and rich enough, and the reason why it is in financial trouble is not a lack of resources, but a failure to properly govern, instead of going on expeditions to loot the wealth of the Far East, it is better to learn from the governance strategy of the Far Eastern authorities and follow the reform experience of the Far East, which is the foundation of a strong country." ”

"This statement hits the nail on the head, and it hits the nail on the head!" Roland couldn't help but admire, "Your Highness Frank, you have the strength of a wise monarch. ”

"Don't get excited, I'm not done yet." Anthony looked at Roland playfully, "The crown prince also said that when the Yashan Empire succeeds in eliminating the evils of the times, there is no need to worry about bankrupting the country's finances with a war, and it can easily recover the lost territory in the Far East with its strong national strength." ”

Roland touched his chin and muttered for a long time before he spoke.

"If I were in his position, I would have changed my position decisively, given up my criticism of Mueller's party, and instead propped up the shaky cabinet, suppressed the military radicals by stabilizing Mueller's position as prime minister, and then pursued my own reform program."

Anthony put down his teacup and looked at him in surprise.

"It's really your guess, His Royal Highness Frank did this, yesterday he held a banquet in the Puai Palace, a high-profile banquet for Count Muller, and the Prime Minister attended the dinner, which is not surprising, in order to maintain his status, he can only accept the olive branch thrown by the crown prince."

"Your father also attended the dinner at the Palace of Love?"

Roland's unthinking questioning made Anthony stunned for a moment, and he hesitated for a moment before nodding his head in acknowledgement.

"Not only my father, but all the key members of the Weinstein family were in attendance, and you know, Frank always considered himself a protégé of old man Weinstein."

Of course, Roland knew that the Fogel family was the representative of the financial industry of the Yashan Empire, and the Weinstein family was the oligarchy of the empire's industrial circles.

"How did the military react to this dinner?" Roland continued to ask.

"In fact, the military is not monolithic, for example, Field Marshal Sigmund belongs to the moderate, he once said, 'The so-called strategy of victory is to think about yourself in the position of the vanquished.'"

The remarks of the Imperial Marshal reminded Roland of the famous saying on Earth - "Before you win, you lose first".

"Marshal Sigmund has experienced too many wars in his life, and has personally experienced the cruelty and bloodiness of war, and he will never start a war unless he is forced to do so, but it is a pity that an old-fashioned and steady person like her is not the mainstream in the army, and the young Zhuang officers who are eager to establish meritorious service have quite a complaint about his conservative position, if it were not for the fact that the marshal is the brother of Emperor Charles, I am afraid that he would have been driven home by the radical and militant hawks to retire."

Listening to Anthony's description of the words and deeds of the young Zhuang faction of the imperial military, Roland naturally thought of the Showa military headquarters in the old Japanese imperial era on the earth...... The atmosphere of ambition and exuberance and radicalism is very similar, and those who take the overall situation into account and reluctantly suppress this radical force will only provoke a stronger backlash, and sooner or later there will be a big mess that will break the sky.

"What is the movement of the Imperial Holy See, and what is the attitude towards the Eastern Crusade?" Roland asked Anthony.

The Assanian Empire was a theocratic state, and the emperor was also the leader of the church, which played an important role in the political arena and had an influence on the government and the opposition.

"The Church is also divided into conservatives and reformers, the reformers take Prince Frank as the banner, as for the conservatives, most of them follow the teachings of the Ecumenical Patriarch and the saint Gregory, and the Central Holy See has not yet expressed its position on the Crusades, but the Patriarch has always been in opposition to the crown prince, and since the crown prince opposes the Crusades, the Patriarch will most likely support the Crusades in private." Anthony's tone was heavy.

"The Holy See is also full of contradictions......" Roland suddenly remembered someone, "Anthony, I happen to have a suitable candidate here, this person is not only an important figure in the Imperial Holy See, but also the pioneer of the first to practice the concept of the Reformation in his own diocese, and what is even more commendable is that this person is also close to Prince Frank, if he is asked to show goodwill to the Imperial anti-war faction on our behalf, and unite all the forces that can be united against the Imperial military, there is no chance to avoid this war." ”

"What? Is there a reformist bigwig of the Imperial Church in Krasbourg, or is it an old friend of Prince Frank? You're not kidding, are you? Anthony stared at Roland in surprise, and the other party's serious expression didn't look like a joke. When he was half-convinced, he suddenly had a flash of inspiration, and he couldn't help but exclaim.

"Wait! I remember! The person you're talking about is ......?"

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