On December 23, 1687, the day before Christmas Eve, half a month after the new decree of "abolishing tithes" was promulgated, the city of Hansha, the capital of the Pole Kingdom, was as calm and prosperous as ever. If there's one thing that's different, it's that the smiles on the faces of ordinary citizens have increased.

After the abolition of tithes in the kingdom, new taxes were introduced, but the taxes levied on the people were still much smaller than before. In fact, the Kingdom of Pole withheld the small part of the tithes that had been collected before and then returned by the Central Church, and the huge amount of money that should have been given to the Central Church was gone. Because of the compensation, the income of the secular aristocracy has not decreased, so they do not have many opinions, while the burden on the common people has been greatly reduced, and they are naturally quite happy. The only people who are angry are the churches and churches scattered throughout the kingdom.

The clergy had not yet learned from the assassination of the diocesan bishop, and they still had the old mentality that "servants of God in the light are not restricted by secular laws", ignoring the new decrees of the kingdom and forcibly collecting tithes directly from the common people, with the serious consequence of which was the decisive suppression of the kingdom army. In just half a month, 25 churches across the country have been closed, more than 400 clergy have been imprisoned or spread, and tens of millions of gold coins of church property have been confiscated. The rest of the churches didn't expect the Poeller Kingdom to come, so they were so frightened that they didn't dare to tremble, and naturally they didn't dare to act rashly.

Immediately afterwards, the kingdom officials sent their own priests to the confiscated churches in various places, filling the vacancy after the original clergy were imprisoned and spreading, and in fact, the control of religion in the Pole Kingdom was snatched from the central church to the royal family.

The common people saw the iron-blooded methods of the kingdom's officials, and naturally understood the king's determination to abolish tithes. They don't care about politics, they don't care about the struggle in the central church, they only care about their wallets. Although it is not known whether this decree will last, as long as it can be seen with the naked eye, even if it is only a month's tithe, the common people will support it, and the praise of King Duris will fill the streets.

Tomorrow is Christmas Eve, and in the days of the Matan Dynasty, there was a custom that kings would walk out of the city of Hansar with their queens, princes, and princesses on Christmas Eve, praising and blessing each other with their people. After Duris entered the Pole Kingdom, in order to appease the old people, since the second year of Princess Diyu's birth, King Duris inherited this custom of the previous dynasty, year after year, and never left. Although the year 1687 was an eventful year and King Duris was in hid for several months, it was confirmed that this year's expedition would not be changed or cancelled. Tomorrow, noon on Christmas Eve, King Duris will appear in the streets with Queen Catherine and Princess Dieucalyptus.

At this moment, soldiers and servants were sweeping several of the main roads of Hansar City in anticipation of the departure of His Majesty the King and his family tomorrow, and the shops along the streets were inspected twice by the palace guards for safety.

Because of this, a man and a woman who had come to Hansha City a few days ago and spent every day in a tavern in front of the palace to observe the movements on the street had to move their positions in order to avoid unnecessary trouble.

At this critical moment, Sophia should not have left the Avenger camp and left her own people, but the information brought by Ray made Sophia feel very concerned. After several days of hesitation, Sophia finally made up her mind with Owen's encouragement. After leaving the task at hand to Alice and a few trusted nobles, Sophia quietly left the Revenge camp with Owen without alarming anyone.

After arriving in Hansand City, Sophia accepted Owen's proposal, and instead of contacting or communicating with Duris or Catherine, she hid among the common people in a low-key manner, secretly observing the development of the situation.

The two of them were sitting in a room at a hotel far from the main road, carefully monitoring everything they could see through a small slit in the window.

"It's loose on the outside and tight on the inside. Owen could see at a glance, "Soldiers have been secretly assigned to the hidden corners where attacks may be launched, crossbowmen have lurked at various commanding heights in the city, pedestrians on the streets and merchants on the roadside, many of whom are actually military pretends." Impenetrable. It is estimated that this hotel will not stay long, and the army will soon take over. ”

"When I was a child, I also participated in such Christmas Eve patrols, and the royal father had never made such a big scepter before. Is that pretentious fellow of Duris afraid of being assassinated too?"

"After all, it's easy to block open guns, but it's hard to defend against hidden arrows. Even if Duris is more powerful, he is a flesh and blood body that can be injured and die. At present, there is no successor to Duris, and once he has any opinions, all his previous efforts will be in vain. ”

"Uh-huh......"

Sophia nodded in agreement. After all, Princess Eucalyptus is still young, and if she is forced to come to power, she will only become a puppet, and as for Catherine, she can indeed be crowned as an empress. But after several encounters with Catherine, Sophia also knows a little about Catherine's personality. Although Catherine is a talented and capable woman, she is only suitable to be a deputy who does what she is told, but not a leader who needs to make decisions on her own. Even in the months that Duris was away, Catherine was just running the country step by step according to the arrangements and plans that Duris had made in advance. If Duris no longer exists, the Pole Kingdom will not be able to continue, which is indeed a big problem.

"What's more, Duris also stabbed such a big one. Owen added that he was referring to the recent New Decree "Abolishing Tithes."

"Is this what Ray calls a 'big deal'?" Owen, so do you think the killers of the Central Curia or the Truth Society will assassinate Duris tomorrow?"

"Whether there will really be a killer or not, I can't say for sure. But if I want to assassinate Duris, tomorrow when he goes on patrol with his family, it will be a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. ”

At this point, Sophia fell silent. If the assassination of Duris did happen tomorrow, what choice would she have? Will she sit back and watch the fight, or stand up and fight the killer hiding in the shadows? Sophia's inner struggle has never stopped. Duris was the enemy who killed her father and brother and took the throne, but she had to protect such an enemy. Although there were several times before when he was on the same side with Duris against a common enemy, at that time it was the city and millions of people who had to be protected, not Duris himself. Even if Sophia is clearly aware of her "righteousness", there is always a hurdle in her heart that she can't get over - even if she has already made a choice in her subconscious.

Just when Sophia was in the midst of a battle between heaven and man, there was a sudden commotion on the street below. The soldiers patrolling the streets, having received a certain order, hurried to the city gate en masse.

"I'm really afraid that the world will not be chaotic, they actually came here at this time. Owen's spirit probed what was happening at the city gate, and he couldn't help but smile wryly and shake his head.

"Who are 'they'? who are coming?" Sophia was puzzled.

"Who else do you think there is?"

"Could it be ......" After Owen's reminder, Sophia immediately realized who he was referring to, and she couldn't help but sigh helplessly, "Alas, it's really enough to add to the chaos." ”