"Gentlemen who support reforms, it is said that 'the abolition of serfdom' is your consensus, and it is fair to say that I do not like serfdom either, but I am compelled to ask the question of where did the slaves come from, which was deliberately or unconsciously covered up by the reformers?"

"If we do not try to eliminate the root causes of serfdom and are content to abolish serfdom, then it is conceivable that when you liberate a group of serfs and a new batch of serfs are made, will such a reform not be doomed to failure?"

The answer lies in front of our eyes, because more and more countrymen have lost their foothold due to the intensifying land annexation, and if they sell their land and still cannot pay their debts, the only thing they can sell is their own freedom! Is there a second way to go other than to sell yourself into slavery? Isn't this the source of slavery?! ”

Bishop Claude's eyes were like lightning, and he glanced at the room, as if he heard someone whispering, and the corners of his lips rose slightly.

"I hear someone saying 'flee'? Naive, young man! Do you think you can start a new life by escaping debt? Don't forget that the creditor still has the weapon of law in his hands, and don't forget that our government still owes a lot of debt to the merchants, and the entire imperial bureaucracy has to serve the interests of the creditors, even if you flee from your hometown and escape from the debt prison, you still can't escape the crime of being a fugitive, you don't have a legal identity, you can't engage in a legitimate business, you can only hide in the gutters and alleys, and live a shady life like a mouse! ”

"Are there fewer such debt fugitives? In the dark corners of our city, there are tens of thousands of homeless people of unknown origin, most of whom are in debt, have no hope for life, and only resentment in their hearts! ”

"Do you know what a tragic life these poor people who have lost their land, gentlemen of the well-dressed reformers? Go to the slums, just outside your mansions and your study, the undercurrent of despair is surging in the slums, we are sitting on the crater at the moment, if these angry vagabonds are not properly settled, sooner or later the volcano under your ass will erupt, and then we will lose not just the Far East, but the whole empire! ”

"Gentlemen, who claim to be progressive, don't you call for reform all day long? Very well, I am not against reform, the question is what is the purpose of reform? Will the poor, who make up the vast majority of the empire's population, have at least a bite to eat and not starve to death on the roadside without collecting their corpses, or will it further exacerbate the land annexation and the gap between the rich and the poor, and further intensify social contradictions? ”

Bishop Claude was so distressed that his eyes were filled with tears, and at last he choked up and let out a deafening roar.

"If reform only enriches the small group of people who advocate it, but doubles the poverty and misery of the silent majority, is this so-called reform more terrible than tyranny?!"

Bishop Claude finished his speech, wiped the corners of his eyes, and sat down slowly.

There was silence in the conference hall, and people were still reminiscing about Bishop Claude's denunciation, some of whom were deeply in agreement, and others who were thinking of countermeasures.

Prince Frank coughed lightly and gave Alberton Weinstein Jr., the number one theoretician of the "reformers" sitting across from him.

Little Alberton took a deep breath, solemnly raised his hand, and asked to speak.

Bishop Claude's eloquence put a lot of pressure on the "reformist" camp, but Alberton Jr. was no ordinary person, withstood the pressure, stood up to speak in an elegant style different from that of Bishop Claude, and refuted his accusations point by point.

"I deeply agree with Bishop Claude's denunciation of the disadvantages of land annexation just now, but Lord Bishop seems to be deliberately avoiding the fact that the main force of the empire's land annexation is none other than the Church of the Holy Light!"

"Let us recall the History of the Life of the Commoners in the Provinces, published in 1613 by the historian Gyanona, who, in order to write this work, traveled all over the empire, searched for thousands of local chronicles, interviewed countless inhabitants of the provinces, and sorted out the land annexations throughout the country through detailed data, and the conclusion surprised us that half of the property in our country was in the hands of the Church and its subordinate monasteries, and that Mr. Claude had insidiously seized the landlord's land. Isn't it clear who is the culprit of the land annexation compared to the church as the money lender owns only one-tenth of the country's land? ”

Alberton Jr.'s speech caused a controversy in the conference hall, with the "conservatives" complaining that he should not use the work of Gianona, a "heretical scholarly authority", as an argument, while the "reformers" emphasized that Gianona's scholarly character was well known, and that it was precisely because of his writings and criticisms of the Church's greed that he was retaliated against, forcibly accused of "heresy", and forced to go into exile.

When Roland was looking for materials in the Imperial Library yesterday, he paid special attention to the land annexation of the Assanian Empire. Although it is not possible to borrow the "**" of Gianona in the public reading area, Roland's calculations based on the data from the Almanac published by the Imperial Bureau of Statistics confirm that Gianona's conclusions are reliable, and that nearly half of the estates of the Assanian Empire are indeed listed in the name of the Church. Thus, Alberton Jr.'s criticism of conservatives hit the nail on the head.

Alberton Jr. gave the conservative clergy a "dismissal", and then went on to make a ruthless move, bluntly accusing the senior clergy of betraying Perrault's teachings and becoming a vested interest in obstructing reform.

"I am deeply surprised that Bishop Claude accuses the merchants of extravagance and depravity, and that he is not aware of the corruption of the Church itself, which only sees the shortcomings of others? To see what kind of life the bishops, church priests, abbots and high deacons of those districts lived, and most of them were not also rich in fine clothes and even wives and concubines, who owned large tracts of land in their dioceses, and lived in princely luxury by virtue of the rent and lending that His Excellency Claude condemned? From the Holy City to the provincial countryside, who owns the most magnificent and gorgeous buildings? Aren't the churches everywhere more spectacular than the government offices or even the governor's palace? Why didn't Mr. Clode condemn the robed moths of the gowning priests who lived in their splendid churches and castles with the hard-earned money of the countless taxpayers while the poor of the country starved to death on the roadside? Does this mean that you have selectively ignored the ** of the church? ”