"That's probably the most I've ever heard you lie in one day," Nightingale said, appearing from the mist after Tailuo left. (Quality#……Net)
"Who told you the visitor was the High Priest of the Church," Roland spread his hands, "How is it, can you distinguish the other party's lies?"
"No, the scene around him is swallowed by the God's Stone, I can only see a ball of darkness."
It's a pity that the High Priest can't be treated like a nobleman, Roland thought regretfully. He placed the two pills on the table, "You say, is this thing really as magical as they say?"
If it's to relieve pain, *Mafei* can do it. As for making soldiers incredibly strong, it sounds like the effect of adrenaline. The question is, extracting these two substances to make pills? If the Church had this level of technology, they should have conquered the world long ago.
Wait... Roland suddenly thought of a possibility, could it be related to magic power?
"You can see the flow of magic power, right?" He looked at Nightingale, "Is there magic power in these two pills?"
Nightingale observed carefully for a while, "I can't see magic power, but it's a bit like the God's Stone."
"God's Stone?" Roland was stunned.
"Yes," she nodded, "You've also seen the world under the mist, only black and white, but that kind of black is different from the darkness formed by the God's Stone. The latter is more like a void, swallowing the surrounding world into it. I don't know how to describe that feeling..." Nightingale hesitated, "Rather than saying the hole is pitch black, it's better to say there's nothing inside."
"Nothingness?"
"That's right, it's nothingness," she nodded, "These two pills also have traces of nothingness, but they are extremely subtle, and... they are not circular voids either, but rather like flowing black threads."
"Can this nothingness affect your ability?"
Nightingale grabbed the pills, unfolded the mist, and quickly retreated, "Doesn't seem to have any effect."
"It seems necessary to find a death row inmate to try these two pills to test the effect," Roland carefully wrapped the pills in paper and put them in his arms.
"I didn't expect the Church to be so optimistic about you," Nightingale sat back beside the prince, somewhat sullenly.
"If the High Priest wasn't wearing the God's Stone, I'd bet nine out of ten sentences are lies." Roland curled his lips, "The most important thing is that what they do and what they ask for are completely mismatched."
"Why?"
"Look at what they want: more churches, more believers, a prince or king supported by themselves, to solidify the propaganda of divine right of kings. A stable country is more conducive to them to develop believers and develop their power. Otherwise, under years of war, churches and monasteries will also become the target of looting by refugees and nobles."
"But don't they value the fact that you can bring a stable life to the people?"
"Not so," Roland shook his head, "Stability comes from unity or balance, even if the monarch eats, drinks and plays all day long, the people of a unified country live better than refugees in war. So it's not surprising that they support the Second Prince, it's not surprising that they support the Third Princess, it's too strange to come and support me, especially when Garcia has won a great victory."
At this time, if the Church fully supported Garcia, I am afraid that the royal capital and the eastern front would not be able to hold out for half a year before being swallowed by her in one bite. At that time, seventy percent of the territory of the Kingdom of Greycastle will belong to the Queen of Clearwater, Roland thought, and the pressure he faces will also greatly increase. Instead of helping the strong, they choose the weakest one, which seems that the Church's decision is beneficial to him. But assuming he accepts their support, the situation of the two kings vying for the throne of Greycastle will become more chaotic. The direct consequence of staging an otherworld version of the Three Kingdoms is that the population will be greatly reduced, wealth will be rapidly lost, and the flames of war will spread throughout the country, delaying the date of unification again and again.
What good is this to the Church? Not to mention expanding believers, I am afraid that the churches built everywhere will be torn to pieces.
"I don't understand you nobles' thoughts, always twisting and turning," Nightingale sighed.
"Yeah," Roland responded with a smile, "Except for me."
"..." The witch narrowed her eyes and stared at the prince for a long time, "
Strange, why is that sentence also true?"
Three days later, Roland finally emptied the castle and fortress library, and boarded the Small Town ship on the way back with satisfaction.
Following the Redwater River closer to Border Town, the scenery on both sides of the river has changed. On the open space burned out by Anna opposite the town, many people are busy dressing up, they should be the serfs who were first transported to the town. On the side closer to the Impassable Mountain Range, many simple wooden sheds have been built, and people are vaguely active in the wooden sheds. Roland guessed that those people were the serfs' families.
These people have been tied to the land for generations, and their children are also serfs. Because they can't see hope, most people live a numb life. What drives them to work is not the heartfelt desire, but the slave owner's whip and lasso. The low production efficiency is simply a huge waste of human resources.
There is no doubt that the slavery is the enemy of industrialization, and is the system that must be abolished. However, Roland does not intend to simply wave his hand and turn them all into *ziyou* citizens, but instead provide a channel so they can see the hope of being promoted to *ziyou* citizens. Because there is a precedent for the *zhu ren dà* to show kindness and let slaves escape from slavery, this compromise will not have much impact even if it spreads, at most it will make other nobles think he is just a softhearted person.
When the time is ripe in the future, he will fully implement the abolition decree, and the resistance will be much smaller.
The pier was crowded with sailboats, and it was clear that this small pier could no longer bear such heavy transportation pressure. Fortunately, the Small Town ship has a shallow draft and can dock directly without a pier. It seems that expanding the pier also needs to be put on the agenda, Roland thought.
After the group returned to the castle, he didn't bother to rest. He returned to the office and immediately called Barov to report on the receipt of materials.
The Minister Assistant was also prepared, took out a roll of parchment from his pocket, and spread it out on the large wooden table.
"Your Highness, the things you have transported back to the castle these days have really scared me," Although he said so, the wrinkles overflowing from his face betrayed his mood, "Twelve apprentices spent a whole night to count the various coins, totaling more than 14,000 gold dragons! Your Highness, this is equivalent to the income of an ordinary town in a year!"
The Duke probably spent more than twenty years accumulating these gold dragons, Roland thought, from the plundering, looting, and exploitation of the people of the Western Region. He will turn them into food, steel, and machines as soon as possible. "What about the gems, jewelry, and handicrafts?"
"I haven't had time to convert them yet, but the conservative estimate is also around 10,000 gold dragons. If they are sent to the royal capital for auction, the price will be even higher. Now they are all stored in the basement of your castle," Barov paused, "But in this way, the room originally used to store food is not enough. I suggest you expand the castle area and add warehouses to store other materials."(。If you like this work, you are welcome to come to Qidian to vote for recommendations and monthly tickets. Your support is my greatest motivation.)