On 14 January, the special train arrived in Tiris.

Even if there was an accident along the way, and two Sages infiltrated the train to sabotage it, this did not affect the original plan of the Steam Church. As in Conston, the train stayed in Tyrisk for a day and did not depart again until the early morning of the next day, arriving in Trier on 17 January.

At this point, this week-long journey has finally come to an end.

"Is this Trier?"

Audrey sat by the window, looking at the city with some curiosity:

It is a sunny metropolis, located between the rivers Lane and the Serenzo, with beautiful scenery, many varieties of roses, developed humanities and arts, and is a sacred place for painters, musicians, and families. It was the capital of Intis, the first truly cosmopolitan metropolis after the reconstruction of Russell the Great......

Audrey had seen similar descriptions in the books more than once, and in the books she had read, most of the heroines of the stories were based on the aristocratic ladies of Trier, especially the Sauron family, the declining former Indisian royal family.

Audrey had a longing for the city until she became a truly extraordinary, and these things were almost nothing of attraction to her, far less amazing than she was when she first read them on paper.

Of course, although Audrey had never been to Trier, she was not ignorant of the city.

During his years as ambassador, the former ambassador of the Republic of Antis to the Kingdom of Rune, Beckron, often held balls at the embassy, inviting bankers, big factory owners, big philanthropists, and other famous tycoons and barristers from the Kingdom of Rune, and randomly giving opportunities to certain businessmen of the lower ranks.

In such an atmosphere, he would tell his guests about the prosperity and openness of Trier, that the Republic of Antis was no longer dominated by the aristocracy, and that bankers, factory owners, lawyers, and other people were the masters of the country, who directly and indirectly occupied most of the seats, determined the direction of state policy, enjoyed real freedom, and had a high status......

This behavior is undoubtedly a provocation to the royal family and the authority of the nobility, but neither the royal family nor the nobility have ever acted aggressively in this regard.

First, because Beckrang, as the ambassador of the Republic of Intius, he represents the entire Republic of Intius, and taking action against him is equivalent to declaring war on the entire Republic of Intius. Second, because Beckron's agitation does not have any substantive significance.

It has never been the nobility and the royal family that determine the future direction of this world, but extraordinary powers, extraordinary ones!

History textbooks clearly record Russell's legacy for Intis:

Rosell Gustav quelled the rebellion as a colonel, took advantage of the coup d'état, changed the kingdom of Intis into a republic, and appointed himself consul.

In the next 19 years, he reformed the legal code, encouraged invention, escorted the industrial revolution, greatly increased the national strength, and fought in the north and south, including the protection of Lenburg, Marcy, Segal and other countries, and made the three northern continental powers of the Vorsack Empire, the Kingdom of Rune, and the Kingdom of Fenerport bow their heads one after another.

At the end of 1192, when he was about to complete 20 years as consul, Russell changed the republic into an empire and called himself Caesar. Less than six years later, he fell to the White Maple Palace, ending one of the most legendary episodes of the Fifth Age's history to date.

Ordinary people can only see the legendary and inspirational life of Russell the Great, from a declining aristocracy to the ruler of a huge country, and even made the country change its political system three times!

But from Audrey's point of view, she can see so much more than the average person.

For example, the territory of the Kingdom of Intis and the Kingdom of Rune has not undergone fundamental changes for thousands of years, even if the Kingdom of Rune can be temporarily overwhelmed during the period of Russell the Great, it is not strong enough to directly annex the Kingdom of Rune, which means that the national strength of the two countries is actually almost the same.

And in the Kingdom of Rune, a colonel is at least a Sequence 5 extraordinary-

This is information that Audrey received from her brother Alfred, who is a colonel and a Sequence 5 extraordinary.

This means that Russell the Great at the time of the coup d'état was at least a Sequence 5 extraordinary, and even a demigod with a high probability of Sequence 4!

Without such strength, Russell's coup would not have succeeded at all.

Even with the strength of the 'demigods', the success of Russell's coup d'état did not depend on his own strength, but on the support of the Orthodox Church!

Can the Republic of Antis coup d'état, to what extent, and by whom...... All of this depends on the attitude of the Orthodox Church.

Russell the Great invented the steam engine, improved the sailing ship, created a large number of unimaginable inventions, completely changed people's lives, and also left a strong mark on the "God of Craftsmen" church at that time.

Even during its reign, the Church of the Craftsman God received its first public oracle since the Fifth Age, changing the title of 'God of Craftsmen' to 'God of Steam and Machines'.

The relationship between Russell the Great and the Church of Steam can be seen from this.

The coup d'état he staged was undoubtedly supported by the entire Church of the 'God of Craftsmen' at that time. And the other orthodox God Church in the Republic of Intys, the Church of the Eternal Sun, although it may not be as full as the Church of the 'God of Craftsmen' at that time, but it is likely to be happy to see it.

After all, it can be seen from the Kingdom of Rune that the three righteous churches and the royal family are not of the same mind, and they are even intriguing with each other. This is the case with the Kingdom of Rune, and other countries are certainly not much better, and it is impossible for the Church of the Eternal Sun and the royal family of Intis, who have ruled Intis for thousands of years, to be without contradictions.

And Russell, a 'hairy boy', is in the position, which can help the Eternal Sun Church reshuffle.

The tacit approval and even support of the two Orthodox Churches is the fundamental reason why Russell the Great was able to succeed in the coup!

This is not simply speculation, but is supported by facts. After all, even if Russell the Great changed the government twice, the two churches never objected from the beginning to the end. So the answer is actually quite obvious -

The reason why Intis changed from a 'kingdom' to a 'republic' was not because of how open and free the country was, but simply because the person who made it change from a 'kingdom' to a 'republic' was called Russell Gustav, because he had a strong support far beyond the royal family of Intis and other nobles!

Even if Russell the Great ultimately failed, it was because he was betrayed and assassinated by the Church of the Eternal Sun, the Sauron family of the royal family of Causes, and other nobles, and fell to the White Maple Palace. The fact that the Steam Church did not show up in this incident has actually demonstrated its attitude: the Steam Church also acquiesced in Russell's death.

Even if Intis has changed from 'empire' back to 'republic', even if they claim to be open to democracy, claim that Intis is no longer dominated by the aristocracy, that bankers, factory owners, lawyers, etc., are the masters of the country, and so on......

But in fact, the essence of the country is still dominated by the 'aristocracy'.

This can be seen from the recent situation of the Hall family's relatives in Intis.

When married to the Hall family, they were nobles.

When Intis went from a kingdom to a republic, they were still nobles.

Intis went from a republic to an empire, and back to a republic, going around and changing their form of government several times, but they were always nobles—

Throughout the history of the two republics before and after Intis, the aristocracy was not abolished from beginning to end, but no new nobility was divided. After all, if there is no king in Intis, there will naturally be no new nobles.

But this not only made the nobles decline, but also made the status of the nobles more and more noble!

No more new aristocrats will be born, meaning that there will be no more latecomers to the aristocracy, meaning that the existing nobility will always be in a monopoly position. Even the Sauron family is still one of the most powerful families in Intis!

Even if they are no longer the supreme rulers of Intis and no longer a royal family, they are still nobles, they still enjoy high status and rights, and they continue their rule openly or covertly, but they are not as powerful as before, and they no longer cover the sky with one hand as they did when they were royal families, but have to compromise and co-rule with other nobles.

This country looks very different from the Kingdom of Rune, but it is so similar in nature.

Audrey's eyes were a little complicated, and she whispered in her heart:

"It's obviously looking at the same thing, but different experiences can really make people have different perspectives."

When she was a child, she longed for the Republic of Intis, and when she grew up, she was afraid, afraid that the 'Republic' constitution would lead to the decline of her family, and that her father would be sad because of it. And now, her understanding of all this is completely different from the past.

Only then did such an idea come to mind, Audrey suddenly grasped the ruby necklace on her chest again, and frowned a little distressedly. Although she can control it well most of the time, she is still occasionally accidentally affected by 'lies' and her uncontrolled thinking diverges.

Dai Li took a gentle breath and calmed herself completely with the help of meditation.

Only then did she look out the window again.

Intis is known for its openness, and its architectural style is very different from that of the Kingdom of Rune.

The Kingdom of Rune paid more attention to preserving the original appearance of the buildings, so most of the buildings in Beckland were low, and the style was not much different from that of hundreds of years ago. And in Trier, there are high-rise buildings of reinforced concrete everywhere you look.

Although Constance also has a lot of reinforced concrete buildings, most of them are factories and are not aesthetically pleasing. Most of the buildings in Trier are residential and commercial, and there are many new styles of buildings in different styles.

Although the appearance of some buildings can be a little uncomfortable, there is always a style to find in many buildings.

On top of that, unlike Beckland, which is shrouded in smog all year round and doesn't see the sun a few times a year, the sun in Trier is really warm. The sunlight shining outside the window was warm, making the girl have a strong urge to take a nap.

But before that, there's another little problem......

A hint of doubt flashed in Audrey's eyes, and she murmured in a low voice:

"Aren't we going to make a pit stop?"

The train had already circled half of Trier, which allowed her to better appreciate the city as it was, but it also made her feel a little confused, because it was supposed that the train should have entered the station a long time ago.

Faced with the girl's confusion, Ember shook his head and said:

"The train will go directly to the Church of Steam's headquarters, the Church, and will not stop in the city."

"Straight to the Templar?"

Audrey was a little surprised, does the Republic of Antis also have a station in front of the church of the Steam Church?

This question did not last long in the girl's mind, for a huge bell was already heard in the distance.

Audrey subconsciously glanced at the clock on the wall, it was twelve o'clock in the morning.

And through the window, the church in the distance has come into view, which is the sanctuary of the Steam Church, the church of St. Russell.

Even though Audrey had never been here, she recognized it at a glance. It's not because she's seen pictures of the church, it's because it's so distinctive......

While! While! While!

Twelve bells rang in succession, white steam erupted from the root chimney at the top of the church of St. Russell, and the chant of praise reverberated inside and out, accompanied by the rotation of huge gears and levers.

At this sacred moment, in the square in front of the church, everyone stopped, or closed their eyes to pray, or listened quietly, whether they were believers in the gods of steam and machinery or not, only the white doves that were fed, and at the same time fluttered their wings and flew into the air.

Yes, this is the sanctuary of the Steam Church -

It can spray steam, turn the lever, and ring the big bell, which is completely different from other churches, but it also interprets the word 'steam' very well.

Most churches have seclusion as the primary goal, because churches are sacred places of prayer, and believers must be in a secluded environment in order to pray sincerely. Steam churches, on the other hand, pride themselves on being noisy, and the more lively they are, the more loved they are.

These traditions of the Steam Church also arose from the time of Russell the Great and were praised by the god of steam and machines, so the church was named after Russell the Great to commemorate his outstanding contribution to the nascent Steam Church.

Finally, before the huge bell stopped completely, the special train finally stopped slowly in front of the church of St. Russell.

For other churches, they move the church away from the tracks as much as possible to avoid the noise of the train as it moves. But for the Church of Steam, such a noisy affair is just right, and is instead seen as a way to please the gods of steam and machines.

The train slowly approached the square, but there was still no sign of stopping.

The tracks in front of the train lead to the interior of the church.

(End of chapter)