Outside the venue, he paced back and forth, waiting for his appearance. Theodora sat at the table across the room, writing something quickly.

In the evening, all the senators who could reach were urgently summoned for an impromptu meeting. Just now, Prime Minister Wang made a report introducing the general situation of the turmoil, and then admitted his mistake to everyone and announced his resignation.

At the end of his presentation, the elders would have a brief discussion about it. After that, it was the turn of Dehuan to come on the field, as the host of the investigation and aftermath work, to make a phased summary of the current progress.

"This matter should be told by Guo Kanganda." Tuhuan glanced at the manuscript in his hand and complained: "I've been sleeping, what's there to talk about......

"You're talking about all kinds of work after the fact." Theodora corrected without raising his head, "Isn't that exactly what you did when you woke up?" ”

"I don't think there's much to talk about." Tuhuan said bluntly: "Aren't these just a summary of documents, you can say it to any little official." Let me tell you something......"

"Brother Kang's status is not high enough, and the same is true for the little officials you just find. That's the rule of politics, nasty, but for us, it's even more terrible without it. Theodora put down her pen and looked up: "And if you don't follow the rules, then I'll be on my own." ”

"Okay, okay—" Tuohuan had no choice but to admit defeat.

"Don't be perfunctory." Theodora admonished: "This time it is true that you were allowed to play in advance, and it is normal that you are not fully prepared, but it is not someone who deliberately embarrasses you." This arrangement is still to take care of political rules and maintain political balance. ”

"Brother Kang has made such a big thing, and the court must show its attitude. Reasonably, we can't deny his approach, so we can only recognize his merits. But in this way, he has taken too many merits at once, surpassing everyone in his generation. When this kind of thing happens, you can only play early to deal with it. ”

"It's like I'm going to fight with him." Tuhuan complained: "As for ......?"

"It's not for his own good, it's for his good. This matter, even if it turned out to be successful, was beyond the scope of what he could bear, and someone had to support him. Otherwise, I'm afraid the trouble behind will be endless. Theodora shook her head: "The credit and responsibility are also equal. More people take credit for his work, but in fact, they also throw everyone into the same boat. In the future, no one can easily attack him with this matter. ”

"Well, that's ...... that's what I said."

Tuhuan was about to say something, but the door to the waiting room suddenly opened, and a clerk ran over to inform him. Tuohuan hurriedly took the manuscript and walked into the venue.

Prime Minister Wang Cheng had just finished his speech and was bending over to leave the venue. Although Tuhuan knew that he should have understood what had happened before, and under the coordination of the other pillar countries, he discussed the follow-up disposal with everyone and reached an understanding. What is announced here is already the result of the discussion. But it was clear that even just announcing it to everyone was still very devastating. A few familiar elders comforted him, and then he returned to his position and remained silent.

He also stood beside the patriarchs, talking to some of them. Tuohuan walked over, heard him answer the question there, and said in an affirmative tone: "That's right, I also agreed to this matter of Xiao Guo Gongzi." He had talked to us about the selection of soldiers, and I told him that if he found a violation of military law in the regiment, he could also investigate, report it, and correct it. He should have thought of this before he acted immediately. ”

"Is this your specific instruction? He had a plan in advance? One of the patriarchs asked.

"That's fine." Peng Saihan nodded: "If it weren't for the fact that he had been arranged to prepare in advance, a child could do such a big thing at one time?" It's just that we really didn't think of the specific timing, otherwise it should have ended more neatly. ”

After saying that, he happened to see Tuohuan, so he left the patriarchs, returned to his seat, and then waved his hand at Tuohuan, signaling that he could start.

There were more than 200 veterans sitting in the conference room. Tuhuan knew all of them, and was familiar with many of them. But even so, this is the first time that he has been publicly in charge of public affairs and has reported according to the proper process. If it hadn't been for Guo Kang's work, the work would have started a year later, after they had conquered the Magyars or southern Italy.

But since it's happened, there's no point in dwelling on it. Tuhuan picked up the document and began to introduce the aftermath work one by one.

With all that out of the way, it's time to make a summary. However, after reading the qualitative words, Tuohuan frowned and put the manuscript aside.

"That's it for the summary of the disposal work." "However, I still have some conclusions to say. ”

Although it seemed like an improvisation, the elders did not know if it was an arranged process, so they routinely kept silent and let him continue to speak.

Back then, Zigong asked Confucius, what does it take to govern? Confucius said that there should be enough food, sufficient armaments, and the people should trust the imperial court. Zigong then asked: If you have to do it, you must remove one of them, which of the three must be removed first? Confucius said: First remove the armament. Zigong asked again: If you have to do it, you still have to remove one item, which of these two items should be removed first? Confucius said: Remove the grain. Since ancient times, people have to die, but without the trust of the people, they cannot stand. Tuhuan said: "Everyone should know this allusion." ”

"For us, I've thought about it too."

He looked around at the crowd and talked about his previous experience: "I have talked to Mr. Guo Kang just mentioned about this before. I asked him at the time that the official name of my dynasty had four words, 'Senate and the Roman People'. If one of the senate, Rome, and the people had to be abandoned, who should be given up first? ”

"He told me that I should give up the Senate first." After he finished speaking, he looked at the reactions of the crowd again, and saw that they were a little surprised, and began to concentrate, so he continued to explain.

"I was just as weird as you were at first. But after thinking about it, I found that the reason for this is also very simple. The position of patriarch is just a fictitious title. Official positions and titles, to put it bluntly, are also useful things that are recognized by others. As he spoke, he asked, "Our ancestors first ran a farm in the Bulgarian countryside. At that time, how could there be patriarchs, pillars and various officials? ”

Little by little, they built water conservancy and farmland, and even the chiefs got up early every day to clear the wasteland of thorns and shrubs. At night, you have to take turns staying up late to guard against wild beasts and thieves. For decades, our fields were everywhere on both sides of the Danube, and people from all over the world ventured to flee and say: 'Romania has food!' So he honored the great chief as the Khan, and elected the leader as the elder. That's how these positions come about. ”

"So, even if there is no Senate, it is not a big deal. As long as people still want to fill their stomachs and not be plundered by the barbarians, this governing body can be restored at any time. These are the least important things for us, or for ordinary citizens. ”

After speaking, Tuohuan looked at everyone's reactions, and sure enough, he saw that many people seemed to understand what he meant, and they no longer seemed confused, but began to figure it out.

Then we began to think again, asking Rome and the people who should give up if they had to give up one. The conclusion was that Rome should be abandoned. He continued.

"We weren't called Rome in the first place. When the ancestors established the foundation, they didn't even have a country name. When you need a flag, you can use your last name to make it up. Xian Khan didn't even know how to name a self-styled title, so the old prime minister Guo Yuanting helped him deal with diplomatic documents, and simply wrote 'Hebei Liu Gong' directly. It wasn't until he married someone later that he began to erect a purple tent and call himself Rome. ”

"But compared to the Greek dynasties, we are the most powerful." Compare with the dejoy:

"The change of dynasty of the Greeks is nothing more than the original princes and nobles, with the help of mutiny, rebellion, and usurpation. In the past dynasties, it was the Cao family and the Sima family, and the people were accustomed to it. ”

As a result, it was too easy and unorthodox for all dynasties to win the country, so that the majesty of the imperial court was swept away, and the disasters of the eight kings emerged one after another. Rebellion broke out everywhere, barbarians slipped through the barbarians, and they could not be stopped for thousands of years. The Greeks were not ashamed, but proud, so that the great power was torn apart, and the territory of their ancestors became an enemy. What's the use of having the name of Rome empty? He shook his head.

"My great-grandfather, Duke Liu, was originally only a farmer on the Danube, not an official or vassal of a Greek dynasty, who never accepted their favors and appointments, and rebelled against them. It was only because he couldn't bear to see the people suffer, so he carried a three-foot long sword, led the tired farmer, ran around, painstakingly ran the country, and gradually became stronger, that he accepted the invitation of Dadu and inherited the title of Rome. ”

"Since the founding of the city by the ancestor Romulus, there have been dozens of imperial courts in the past dynasties, but there is no more righteous country than this dynasty." He confidently said, "Is it because we were Rome before we won the hearts of the people?" Not really. But it was because we got the hearts of the people that we became Rome. Otherwise, why are we succeeding, and not the Greeks? ”

"I heard my grandfather say that when General Li Tiance led his army westward, we were not used to using the Roman flag, but we were Alemanni who liked to call themselves the 'Holy Roman Empire'. But when the fathers and elders along the way saw us coming, they all said, 'The Romans have finally come,' and when they saw the Alemanni army appearing, they said, 'The barbarians have come to raid again.'" For a long time, even the Alemanni who defected to us considered their king's army to be a bunch of barbarians. Is this a question of flags and names? Obviously not, it's just the desire of the people. ”

"Emperor Zhaolie said that to do great things, we must be people-oriented. Tang Taizong said that the monarch is the ship, and the people are the water. Therefore, even if we lose the Roman name, as long as the people recognize it, the name will naturally come back. ”

He paused again, looked at the three sides from the podium, and found that the patriarchs were really touched, and although they obviously had their own ideas, they all took the initiative to think about it, and even recorded it.

These should be just simple truths, and the two children could think it through back then. But now—" he knocked on the wooden podium, "I think there are some of us who have forgotten this common sense. ”

"We in Rome want to protect the interests of all the Roman people, and naturally we must do our best to protect the interests of the senators. However, some elders and elites have begun to corrupt the country and harm their own protectors. ”

"Externally, we don't want the barbarians to come in again, to let the Poles, the Alemannis, the Italians, and the like show off their might here. It's not just bad for the civilians, it's bad for us – do you really believe that if Rome is gone, the barbarians will still protect your interests, share and coexist with you, instead of killing you and taking all the benefits for themselves? ”

"Internally, it's the same." He emphasized; "If we upset the people, they're going to try to get a new batch. As I said earlier, whether it is called Rome or not, whether it is called the Senate or not, you can choose it. Therefore, for the sake of the country, but also for ourselves, we must be cautious when dealing with the people! ”

"Our ancestors recognized this problem early on. They have arranged a triple guarantee for us to maintain the stability of the country and convince the people. ”

"First and foremost, our faith. We all have different fathers and belong to different families, but we all have a common, heavenly Father. Before the Father's eternal life, all people are also one big family, all brothers and sisters. This is the most basic common relationship, the maintenance of this family of faith, and the most basic 'common desire' of our kindness. On top of this, a universal state, Rome, can be established more steadily. ”

"The second is our leader. Rome was a country of citizens, and citizens were members of legions. The leader of all legions is the common leader of everyone. In ancient times, the Roman senate and his subordinate institutions relied on the power of the commoners to restrain the aristocracy, not the other way around. This result is also a natural development, and it is the most beneficial choice for the country. ”

"The third is a series of monitoring and feedback systems. In many cases, it is not that we do not want to, but that the opinions of ordinary people are not easily known to those in power, and even if they know what they know, it may not be the true wishes of most people. Therefore, in ancient times, the Romans arranged tribunes to reflect the opinions of the common people. These positions are meant to express the views of the people and to enable them to gain appropriate power in the affairs of the state. ”

After he finished introducing, the conversation changed: "However, now these three guarantees have been loosened, and even collapsed!" ”

"Our church, this time, has met the requirements for upholding the faith, but such a big thing can be revealed by relying on an advisor, not even their own monks. I have heard that the Catholic churches in the west have been seriously corrupted, which has led to the rampant heresy, and many people from top to bottom are dissatisfied. Should we in the Roman Orthodox Church follow in our footsteps? ”

"Our Khan's court did not provide the help that should have been given in time this time. If we had paid attention, we would not have been able to do so this time. He bluntly said: "To be able to backlog problems to such a point, all those involved in the administration, including myself, have a responsibility that cannot be shirked." ”

"And our tribune system has long since disappeared completely. In different fields, the position has either changed its meaning and been used for other purposes, or it has simply been abolished. ”

"None of this is good news." Tuhuan shook his head: "If all these guarantees fail, our people will not give up." They will find another way for themselves, and this will not be a good thing for Rome and for our senators here. ”

"Let's think about it, everyone!" He put the manuscript away and simply declared it over: "That's all for my summary!" ”

(End of chapter)