The next day, all the major newspapers in the empire reported the news. The accompanying picture showed Dulin holding Ophelia in his arms and showing off their engagement rings. They also reported on the surprise in the engagement ceremony, which made people marvel. Dooling's romance is based on money.
In an entertainment program in the evening, the host also used this topic to analyze the engagement ceremony, which is known as the most romantic love, and how much money is needed to make it romantic.
After a professional accountant made a quote, people finally got a horrifying figure, at least more than three hundred thousand, just for an engagement ceremony.
Considering that the invited people are all members of the upper class of society, the food and drinks served at the buffet before the engagement ceremony would cost almost hundreds of thousands.
Next are those very famous "voices", which cost at least 5,000 yuan in appearance fees, and may cost more than 20,000 yuan, such as the first baritone in the empire. Plus other random things, three hundred thousand is just the minimum expenditure.
The host did not forget to tease during the show that the word romance may be equated with wealth from today on. Without money, there is no romance that can make everyone jealous, and there is no chance of a prince charming coming out of the dream, unless that prince is Du Lin.
The storm of this engagement ceremony even spread abroad. Most people commented positively on it, but there are always a few people who think it is extravagant and a show of wealth. Fortunately, such opinions are always in the minority. , after all, this is a world where rich people dominate society, and people's respect and fear of wealth are relatively common.
Du Lin didn't care at all about these comments. It was impossible for a person to take care of everyone's emotions when doing anything. If he wanted to take care of everyone's emotions, he might as well do nothing.
Even doing nothing can be dissatisfying because they are still trying and you are slacking off.
In the afternoon, Dulin went to see his "Uncle Mags" again. As for why it was in the afternoon, there was actually a valid reason.
On the night of the engagement, Du Lin and Ophelia were finally able to synchronize their spiritual frequencies. Sometimes the frequency would be slightly faster and sometimes slower. Ophelia, who was on the same wavelength as someone else for the first time in her life, hadn't fully adapted yet and needed someone to take care of her. So in the morning, Du Lin took care of the woman who would become his wife, and it wasn't until the afternoon that he had some time.
He went to see Mags because he felt that there were still many unsolved mysteries in the empire that bothered him, including things he had been speculating about, such as whether Mags and Powers were really in a relationship. , why Powers is still the party whip and Harry is out, these are very important things.
You know, Maggs will retire in just over a year and three months.
"Have you noticed?" If Mags had no official duties in the afternoon, he would read books and documents in the study. He is an old man who respects knowledge. Perhaps this is why he is the prime minister.
He asked the butler to bring a pot of scented tea. After the two sat down, they closed the door. Mags was holding the tea cup but did not take a sip. He was thinking about something.
After a while, he sighed and decided to talk to Du Lin about something deeper, "I told you last time that this was not the best time, do you remember?"
Dulin nodded, "Yes, I remember this. You asked me to run again in the next general election." He paused and asked, "Is it because you want to retire? "
"Part of it is because of this, but the other part..." He hesitated a little. He didn't know whether he should tell Du Lin, but after thinking about it carefully, he felt that it didn't make much sense to say it or not, and Du Lin was also one of his own. , let alone hiding it now, after he finds out, he will inevitably feel that he doesn't trust him enough and destroys the delicate relationship between them, so let's just talk about it.
He sighed again, "After I retire, Kubal... Kubal will become the Prime Minister of the Empire..." This is definitely a huge bomb. Kubal is the leader of the old party. If Kubal comes to power in this general election, it means that The period of the old party's rule is coming.
Everyone knows that the old party has been suppressed by the new party for more than 20 years. The old party's sphere of influence is also constantly shrinking. Some even think that the old party will eventually withdraw from the stage of history. But now Dulin clearly heard Maggs telling him that the old party was going to be in power. His first thought was ridiculous. This was false news.
The votes of the old party have been suppressed by the new party. The shrinking sphere of influence means that there will be fewer votes. So why can the old party be in power
But he soon realized that this was not false, because this was what Mags told him. These people must have some way to control the votes, maybe even through cheating!
This also makes Du Lin feel a little pained. If there is fraud in this kind of thing, is it possible that he will have to face such a situation when he wants to run for prime minister in the future
Seeing the change of color on Du Lin's face, Mags was a little proud. This little bastard was as if he was born to know everything and understand everything. This made him feel a little scared, but now look at how helpless he is. Mags looked relieved, at least he was a normal person.
He took a sip of the tea in the cup and laughed twice. He knew what Du Lin was going to ask, so he gave the answer without waiting for Du Lin to ask. This is also the difference between smart people and wise people. The level of tacit understanding and synchronization is something that people like Henry will never experience.
"When I step down, Powers will be the leader of the new party, the chairman of the new party committee will remain the same, and deputy chairman Dolly will be the whip, so I told you, it's best to wait, but you have your Idea." Magus glanced at Dulin with a bit of schadenfreude, and Dulin's eyes became a little deeper.
This is indeed not the best time, it can even be said to be the worst time!
When the old party is in power, the main resources of the entire society are definitely in the hands of the old party members. If you want to do well in office, it is absolutely impossible to rely on the cabinet's policy preferences and resource allocation. You can only rely on your own efforts.
What is even more troublesome is that Powers, who represents the "popular faction", will come to power. This person has criticized Dulin and targeted him more than once before. Whatever the purpose of what he did in the past will become unimportant after he comes to power. What happened in the past will become a signal, a signal of trouble.
Powers did not like Dulin, so naturally there would be a large number of Powers' followers who would embarrass Dulin when necessary to ensure the correctness of the political line.
Even if Powers has no prejudice against Dulin, he will not take back the things he has done and his views. A party leader cannot waver in his position. Even if he does something wrong, he must stand firm to maintain his position. authority within the party.
With regard to the problems of the old party and the popular faction, the next eight years were indeed a troublesome time.
Du Lin had been meditating, and Mags did not disturb him. He quietly got up and walked behind the desk, put on his reading glasses, held a book and started reading. Dulin's improvement by speaking out about some things is far greater than the improvement Dulin would get if he figured it out himself, and there are some things in these changes that go straight to the core of politics, which requires Dulin himself to understand.
About forty minutes later, Du Lin suddenly picked up the cup and took a sip of tea. He shook his head, sat on the sofa and looked at the ceiling.
Mags lowered his head, glanced at Du Lin through the gap between his glasses frame and his forehead, and then put the book down, "Do you understand?"
Du Lin nodded fiercely, "I understand!"
Mags laughed twice, "Tell me about it and see if what you think is right."
Du Lin smiled bitterly and sighed, "Contradiction, reconciliation!"
There were only two words, but they were enough to make a huge change in Mags's eyes. He really wanted to understand. Maybe this was the reason why he always liked Dulin. This young man's political sensitivity was so terrible that many people You may not even understand what happened here, but it took this young man less than an hour to find the core of the problem. This kind of intuition is simply terrifying!
"In the past twenty years or so, this empire has been ruled by a group dominated by nobles. Although the New Party under your leadership has given civilians more paths and opportunities for advancement, you yourself are the representative of the great nobles. For nearly thirty years, people have been talking about a new era and a new society, but so far no leader from the civilian class has emerged.”
"The popular faction within the New Party has developed a lot of grievances. I heard that they believe that they are dissidents who have been excluded from the core group. These grievances are bound to explode after thirty years of accumulation. , and at the same time, it also needs to satisfy more ordinary people in society’s understanding and recognition of the ‘new’, so Powers must come to power.”
"But Powers knows too little about this empire. He cannot rule this empire for hundreds or thousands of years like a noble. He lacks many necessary conditions and accumulation. In the past thirty years, his Emotions and rationality are gradually becoming extreme under repression. If the new party continues to be in power, Powers may do some terrible things, such as... "
"Purge the nobility!"
"So you are retiring, easing the conflicts between the civilian faction and the aristocratic faction in the new party, letting Powers become the leader to ensure that the new party's political line will always be implemented consistently, and determine the correct political line for you to overthrow the royal rule."
"The old party will be in power again to ensure that Powers will not be too extreme to make serious consequences for the empire, and to spend the next eight years peacefully..."
(End of chapter)