The temple for the worship and worship of the Radiant Cross is still under construction – mainly because the treasury refuses to pay for its expenses, all of which are donations from all sides, and the pace of construction is very slow, often suspended due to a lack of workers and necessary tools. Although Helena had not said anything, Theodore knew that the little princess was quite unhappy about the matter.

After all, this was the first temple built by Theodore to worship the Roman gods and the Radiant Cross, and in a sense, it was also a spiritual inheritance of the Holy Pande Empire in the past. However, the response among the nobles of the former empire was so disappointing that the two largest donations came from the dwarves and their husbands. This was undoubtedly a betrayal to the little princess, although she did not want to think so.

However, as soon as Theodore announced that he would officially begin the revision of the new code of the Holy Roman Empire, the once-suspended temple immediately received a large amount of money - not only gold coins, but also all kinds of necessary materials, and the labor that was urgently needed came from all over the empire. The temple, which was originally not very large, now has to face the situation of expansion, and has to negotiate with nearby shops about the transfer of land.

The fine oak, pine, and arbors of the Fort of Kaigne, the bluestone and marble provided by the lords of the northern mountains, and even the court scholars from the south who came to the Caesarea Academy to borrow scrolls about Roman architecture, referring to the specifications and patterns that helped design the temple, looked as if they were undertaking some kind of incomparable honor and mission.

The reason for this is simple - the temple was originally intended to be used as a hall for the Imperial Council, but at first almost all the nobles regarded this council as a tool used by His Majesty the Emperor to compromise the power of the place, so they did not care. It was only after they were promised to "amend the law" that they actually got involved in the parliament – and they got the real core power. These people, who were unwilling to bow their heads in front of the Senate, were eager to gild the entire temple to show their strength and importance to His Majesty the Emperor.

On the other hand, the elders of the Senate did not take this seriously—the sanctity of the Senate was not because of the marble floors, but because the senators involved in it were all highly respected and truly talented elders. At least that's how I see myself. For the absurd behavior of the provincial nobles of the Imperial Council, who were almost nouveau riche, these "elders" only reciprocated with contempt.

As for Herodotus, the chief senator, who was under great pressure from Theodore, he had to find a way to eliminate the growing contradictions within the Senate. On the one hand, as the head of the Senate, he had to maintain good relations with the most of the provincial nobles with several prestigious dukes and "local spokesmen" to quell the growing disputes between the two sides, and on the other hand, the co-optation of senators was indeed a very difficult thing for most Roman senators to accept.

There were even many senators who pointed their noses and scolded Herodotus as a betrayal of the "traditional Romans", which made the old man extremely indignant, and he gave a speech full of excitement and anger in the Senate chamber. Herodotus, as the chief senator, was naturally also an excellent master of eloquence and oratory, quoting scriptures and even talking about the Seven Kings of ancient Rome, and even the allusions of the Pander people are well known. The long, unaltered pitch, half-day-long speech silenced the opposition—and in his mouth, Theodore's inclusion of the fine provincial aristocracy in the Senate became a model for "traditional Rome".

But from this point on, it became clear to all the Roman senators that the chief senator, who had once been quite dismissive of Theodore, who was still too young, had completely fallen at Caesar's feet. Some people even can't help but speculate that even if Theodore said that the black rabbit was the white rabbit, he would be able to draw on it and deliberate back and forth. It is clear that Caesar is not right at all, and that the black rabbit is the white rabbit.

But these small voices in private are not very important issues for Theodore - a normal empire cannot be free of disputes and contradictions, and normal internal arguments are normal. It was also an inevitable consequence, and all he had to do was to ensure that these battles existed only in the halls of the Imperial Council and the Roman Senate, and that they were not resolved by force.

A war can be caused by any cause or by anyone, but it is not possible for anyone to end it. But regardless of the outcome. When it ends, it will inevitably be ruined and wealth will be exhausted. Turning the former wealth and prosperity into a ruin, it may take decades to restore the former prosperity.

However, Theodore's sudden visit was quite a surprise to Theodore - the golden lion rarely took the initiative to come to him, or of the three Aaron, Salald and Bran, only the little duke would take the initiative and come to him to discuss the problem when he realized that it existed. As for Aaron - he longed to stay in the Far North Ice Sheet forever and never come back. As he said, the chair inside the council was too narrow for him.

Slightly stunned, Theodore drove away the servants and knights of the Imperial Guard beside him, and stayed alone in the study with Salald—he had already guessed what the lion was here for.

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"You shouldn't have suddenly announced that you were going to codify a new imperial code while Aaron wasn't there. Salald didn't look very happy, sitting on a soft couch and watching Theodore enjoy his afternoon tea snack of sweet cakes and scones, and a glass of wine. As if he had a headache, he pressed his temples and turned his face to the side: "Of course, there is nothing wrong with you doing this, and from my point of view, I am very much in favor of this happening." ”

"I am an emperor, but I am not a god either. I can only grasp the situation and make the right decision at the right time. Nor would I have guessed that I would suddenly send Aaron north—it would be unfair to the northern nobles, whose duke would not be able to make a presence for them or represent them at this time. Theodore calmly cut the hemispherical sweet cake with a fork and put it in his mouth: "Why, do you think Aaron will oppose this decision?"

"No, I think that bastard would be glad to approve of your decision—I haven't seen him object anyway, except for the one at Severcro, and he's been a big fan of you ever since. Salald rolled his eyes and felt more pain in his temples: "But you really should...... Oh, sorry I was too abrupt. Maybe I should have put it more tactfully? You're the emperor, I have to ...... Take into account etiquette and identity. ”

"The Golden Lion won't tell me that, at least I think so, so forget it, don't come to Bran's!" Diodore smiled and waved his hand, pointing to the snacks on the table, "Would you like some too?" I remember there were quite a few, Helena was not a big fan of scones—they were actually quite delicious. ”

"Oh, thanks, but I'm not a big fan of sweets, and when I was in Salion, I usually only ate bread and stuff in the afternoon......" said Salald suddenly reacted, slammed his thigh, stared at Theodore with wide eyes, and said, "We, it seems to be off topic, right? What did we just say?"

"How do I know the Dao? You came to me, not me. Theodore muttered a few words, and when he saw the golden lion's increasingly unkind gaze, he pouted: "Well, I see what you mean." You...... Actually, you didn't come to me to talk about Aaron, did you? I guess...... Maybe it's because of Adil Allama?"

After seeing Salald's face, Theodore was even more convinced of his guess and couldn't help but smile. The Ultok family, who had fought against the Gatu, naturally did not have any good feelings towards Duke Alama, and it was normal for them to have a strong sense of precaution.

"You are taking a risk, my esteemed majesty! Giving the title of Elder Adil is equivalent to giving him the opportunity to penetrate into your inner circle, which is also the opportunity that the Alama family dreams of!" Salald looked so serious for the first time: "Of course, for Rome, it is inevitable to bring the Cato into rule, and it is also inevitable to entrap them, but it should not be made so smooth. Maybe it won't be long before some of your elders will start saying nice things about the Cato!"

"Do you think they'll accept bribes from the Catu?" Diodore asked with a smile, but quickly shrugged his shoulders under the aggressiveness of Salald's eyes, "Well, even if they will." ”

"Yes, it will be - I really haven't seen anyone in this world who is not bribed, there are all kinds of reasons, I am in trouble, I want to climb up, or I am simply greedy for money. Apparently Salad was not convinced: "All in all, I guess you must have some intention - I guess it would be a decoy for you to give him a seat in the senator, but you are simply gambling!"

"The purpose of conferring the status of Senator Adil Allama is to keep this guy under control of Caesarea - under my surveillance, the more dangerous the creature, the less likely I am to let him return to his lair easily, but it must be difficult to get him to stay willingly, so the price is necessary!" Diodore wiped his mouth with a napkin, acknowledging Salald's conjecture: "If you want to do what you can't do by normal means, how can you not take risks?"

"What do you want to do? Could it be that you want to take ownership of Marions?"

"No, no, no, it's not worth the risk. Theodore smiled: "I want more than that." The future leader of the Alama family must be a candidate who can be loyal to Rome, and I already have the best plan for this candidate, as long as he can succeed him, Marions will naturally be a toy in my pocket!"

"I want the entire Gatu, the entire Emerald Steppe, to swear allegiance to Rome!"

(Messi actually played high twice, this is impossible, this is unscientific!!!! is it sure that this year's German team really does not have a pig's foot halo? (To be continued......)