The priests of Luan did not know what was happening outside the blockade walls, and in fact even if there was no blockade, they would not have noticed the infiltration and destruction that had begun from the lowest level of the population—since the public burning of the square that day, there had been a temporary calm in the city, and the priests of the cathedral thought that burning the propaganda materials would solve the problem, at least in time to prevent further destruction by the Cecil, but in fact, more turbulent forces were brewing under the illusion of calm— Brewing in every corner of the blockaded city.

Gossip of unknown origin began to spread through the city, where people secretly gathered in their houses after dark to discuss dwindling ration supplies and locked doors in the church district, some said that truckloads of food were being transported to the church district, some said that the underground of Luan Cathedral contained enough food to feed the entire city for a year, and more disturbing news pointed out that the clergy in the city had begun to prepare for the flight—all kinds of rumors had blossomed as if they had appeared overnight, It then spreads rapidly throughout the outtown.

More leaflets and pamphlets entered the city through covert channels in the midst of this dark tide.

The burning and burning at the stake in the square did have a strong intimidating effect, and a large number of civilians were shocked, and immediately after the new leaflets appeared, many people chose to turn them in, but others chose to secretly leave those things behind - in the second batch of leaflets, there was not only an exposure of the Church of Light, but also a description of another good life: a more enlightened faith, a more abundant life, and a light that belongs to everyone, These things have an indescribable appeal to the people of Luan, who have already endured a long period of repressive lockdown.

Thus, while a large number of leaflets were voluntarily handed in, others were diverted to more insidious channels, spreading in the alleys where no one was paying attention, in the dark nights, among the hungry and terrified people, perhaps with more difficulty, but with a deeper impression in the hearts of the people, and in the process, the city of Lu'an was gradually splitting apart in an imperceptible way.

The clergy in the cathedral probably never understood why those leaflets were so attractive to civilians, but the MIA operatives who were carrying out sabotage operations in the city could understand it all deeply: before the rise of Cecil, there had never been a group of transcendents or nobles in this world who would talk to the people with a "human" attitude, even if it was just a few words printed on paper, just a few greetings, a few words of encouragement, a few promises, The temperature they carry is also precious in this icy era.

The civilians in Lu'an are considered to be the best among the commoners, they are richer than the average commoners, more decent, and have a higher literacy rate, but they are only civilians after all, in this era of hierarchy, they are still the lowest group of people in Lu'an, in the time of peace and prosperity, they may be able to live better than the people in other places, but after the difficult situation, their living conditions will take a sharp turn, and this huge gap will exacerbate their dissatisfaction, It caused a deeper estrangement between it and the priests in the city.

Of course, the cathedral was not forever unaware of all this - the edge of the church district was inextricably linked to the outer city, and as new leaflets were discovered and turned in, the high-ranking priests finally became alert, and they were shocked by the number and speed of their replenishment, and immediately began to search and interrogate the various districts. Beran also made a special call for the whole city and gave a sermon in the square, in which he told everyone that the current difficult situation in Luan was caused by the blockade of Cecil, and that Cecil was the main culprit for the difficulties, and he called on everyone to remain devotion to the God of Light and loyalty to the Church, and to face the present difficult situation with the utmost tenacity.

This was a successful sermon, Fran? B. Braun somewhat regained the confidence of some of the civilians, but after the sermon ended, dozens of civilians suspected of privately discussing the church and discussing leaflets were publicly whipped, and as the whip fell, many more only accumulated resistance and resentment towards the Luan Cathedral.

It may have been the Cecilians who blockaded the city, but it was the monks who wielded whips and plundered rations, and for most of the common people, they didn't really care about the details of the confrontation, they only cared about their own lives.

More footage was immediately transmitted outside Lu'an, to Cecil proper, to the printing factories of the four new industrial cities in the south, and to tens of thousands of newspapers, which were sent throughout the south.

With the use of industrial printing presses, Cecil's weekly newspaper has increased in circulation and frequency, and now it is not only published throughout the country, but also from one issue a week to two times a week, with the occasional special issue.

Cecil's weekly newspaper has a growing readership, with merchants sniffing out business opportunities, scholars accumulating knowledge, literate civilians relying on it to keep abreast of changes in food prices and government decrees, and even illiterate people gather around literate people and listen to others read the newspapers to learn about the changes in the land, because this information is closely related to their food, clothing, housing and transportation.

Benny, who lives in Carroll, is a man who has a close relationship with newspapers, and he arrives early on the first and sixth days of the week to get the latest issue of Cecil's weekly newspaper before everyone else, and to get many, many copies at a time.

Because he's a newsboy.

It's a new "profession", not even a profession – in order to get the newspaper out as soon as possible and reduce the pressure on the newspaper bureau, the officials of the government department recruited a group of children in the newly established general education school, the recruitment criteria are poor families and good grades, these children go out to work on Monday and Saturday mornings without classes, and although the income for half a day is not much, it is still a valuable subsidy for them and the families behind them. Benny, on the other hand, learned some spelling skills from his father and did well in school, and was given this valuable job.

In the early morning, when the first ray of sunlight was still hesitating on the horizon, and the newly installed magic crystal street lamps on the city streets had not yet been extinguished, Benny had already arrived at the door of the newspaper office, and there were a dozen people lined up behind him, half of whom were half-grown children like himself.

Greeting his friends, talking about what's new in the city, or talking about the teachers at the liberal arts school, Benny enjoys the light-hearted feeling - he can't say it, but he knows that the arrival of Cecil has changed everything in the city, and many adults seem worried about the changes in the city, but Benny thinks that life is pretty good now.

Shortly after the first rays of sunlight rose above the horizon, the newly built mechanical bell two blocks away rang, and with the first chime of the day, the magic crystal lamps on both sides of the road went out one by one, and the doors of the newspaper office opened.

It didn't take long for Benny to receive the newspapers he was going to deliver and sell today—he had two large satchels, one containing the newspaper that someone had ordered and the other containing the newspaper that was ready for retail.

Wealthy people, such as businessmen and academics, wanted to be the first to see the new newspapers, and they usually paid a few extra copper plates for a month's "newspaper delivery service," in which the newspapers were delivered directly to their homes. It is said that in the big cities to the south, such work was done by professional postmen, but there were not enough local postmen in Carroll, so the newspaper delivery was also given to the newsboys.

Benny walked briskly down the street with his heavy satchel on his shoulder, first completing the task of the block where he was going to deliver the newspaper, and then finding a clean place, and pulling out a report for himself to look at seriously.

It's lazy, but on a street corner where no one is looking, no one will trouble him for it.

Benny wasn't worried that he wouldn't be able to complete the day's sales task because of the fact that the number of people reading the newspaper was getting more and more, and the demand for this stuff was always in short supply.

At least for now.

Benny watched it earnestly, and he finished reading the first edition of the news and current events, and then began to look at a new section that had recently caught his attention.

The name of this section is "Faith and the Church"

This is a new section, first appearing in Cecil Weekly in a special issue three issues ago.

In the first two or three issues of the newspaper, the content of this section was not unusual, mainly classic religious allusions and easy-to-understand fables, but also some common sense content about religious rituals and knowledge of the gods, anyway, it was very interesting for Benny - he was reading these as interesting stories.

But this time the above seems a little unusual, instead of the small snippets of stories and fables, Benny sees a full page of the article, and the bold headline on the article:

How the Northern Church of the Light Works: Where Does the Wealth of the Clergy Come From

Benny was a little curious, but just before he could continue looking, a curse came from the side and interrupted him: "Hell! ”

Benny was startled, and he turned his head to see that it was old Tom, who lived in the same neighborhood, an elderly cobbler with a newspaper in his hand, looking angry, and scolding, "I don't believe it!" ”

Benny shrunk his neck, he was a little afraid of the old man: Old Tom was a follower of the Light, and he was devout and stubborn, and it is said that he gave half of his family fortune to the church after his wife's death, and lived a frugal and withdrawn life. As a leatherman, Old Tom's craft is unquestionable, but as a stubborn and withdrawn old man, he seems very difficult to get along with.

The children were afraid of him.

At this time, old Tom continued to curse in a low voice, and he seemed very dissatisfied with what was written in the newspaper, but in addition to cursing, he could not help but pick up the newspaper and continue to look at it—almost reading a curse.

The more Benny looked at it, the more frightened he became, and he thought that the lonely old man was probably really in his mind, so he quietly stepped back, ready to leave quietly, but before he could move his steps, the old leatherman with a strange temper stopped him: "Child! Are you saying that this newspaper is nonsense?! ”

Benny suddenly shrank his neck again, he raised his head boldly, ready to deal with a casual sentence and leave, but the moment he raised his head, the half-grown child was stunned—

He saw the strange and isolated old widower's eyes glaring, his eyes were red and frightening, and his face, which had always been cold, was full of pain and distortion.

"It's all nonsense! This must be nonsense! Old Tom clutched the newspaper, which was almost crumpled in his hand, but his voice trembled, "They told me...... What has been said...... As soon as the gold coin jingles, my name will be in the kingdom of God, and Martha will be waiting for me in the kingdom of God......"

Benny blinked, he didn't know what the old leatherman was talking about, but his gaze swept over the newspaper in his hand, on which the words of the "theological commentator" signed "The White Knight" were clear and clear:

“…… They (pastors) are adept at defrauding believers of money with all sorts of unverifiable promises, the most common of which are several theories...... The jingle of gold coins can reserve one's place in the kingdom of God, or send the soul of a recently deceased loved one into the kingdom of God, but it has nothing to do with the teachings of the Light......

"In the original texts of the Light, there is a clear statement about the salvation of the soul, but the clergy never let ordinary people see this part, or interpret it in detail......"

Old Tom's mood seemed to have finally stabilized a little, and his eyes were still red, but instead of cursing, he picked up the newspaper and read it again with great speed.

"Phew."

He spat to the side, then seemed hesitant to throw the newspaper away, but in the end he tucked it into his clothes and walked away slowly.

Benny watched the scene in bewilderment, then noticed more people around with newspapers in their hands.

People gathered in twos and threes to discuss the contents of the newspaper, some worried, some angry, others confused.

None of them seemed to react as violently as Tom Sr., but they were undoubtedly very attentive to the contents of the newspaper, and many of them who did not have the newspaper in their hands seemed to be asking the people next to them about something.

Benny thought for a moment, and suddenly knew what he had to do.

He raised the newspaper in his hand and shouted loudly: "Sell newspapers!" Sell newspapers! New Cecil Weekly! Take a look! The Inside Story of the Church's Workings! First hand news! ”