Yang Hao wrote down Arthur's suggestion in the notebook he carried with him. But at this moment, Theresa suddenly said thoughtfully -
Since it is almost impossible to change the internal structure of a factory built from ancient trees in the future, why not consider the possibility of future "improvements" from the beginning and reserve space and room for improvement in advance
"Just like when we clergy take an oath, we always leave some room for error. The oath of the Church of Light deliberately says [Do not wear gold, silver, jade or other precious stones in sacred occasions]. But even the God of Light himself may not know what "sacred occasions" actually mean, so naturally, the priests of the Church of Light will openly wear gold and silver rings on the street...
Even the idiots over there know to leave room for themselves, why do you two want to nail down the direction from the beginning?"
The little nun looked at Yang Hao as if he was an idiot, while Yang Hao and Arthur looked at each other at the same time.
Then, he used his pen to make a strong stroke in the small notebook, changing the original "Fully Automatic Factory Reform Plan" to "Fully Automatic Factory Reform Plan with Diversified Internal Transformation Capabilities". He then hugged his lover tightly and thanked her for her reminder in her ear.
…
Because they also needed to inspect the supporting industries around the Oak Mine, Yang Hao and others, under the guidance of Arthur, went to a village not far from the mine to rest.
The elves here have been blacksmiths or arrow makers for generations. Compared with Fingal in the Sky Garden, the ratio of men to women in this village is relatively balanced.
If we ignore the male elves who stayed behind, they all seem to be relatively young, while the female elves seem to be "old maids" who have lived for hundreds of years.
Arthur seemed very familiar with this place. He wanted to take them to a small restaurant to enjoy the elven folk delicacies, but at this time he was affected by the riot in the village.
"Let me go! Let me out! Let me leave here! I want to avenge Finn! Don't stop me... Don't stop me!"
At first there was a shrill scream from an elf woman. Yang Hao and Theresa frowned, while Naluga took a step back warily and secretly created a smaller golem behind her just in case.
In response, Arthur held his forehead with his hand in distress.
It's happening again - the masked man said with a wry smile, it should be the "remnant branches" in this village that caused the chaos. If nothing unexpected happens, the elf guards will come to clean up the mess soon.
But the elf guards had not arrived yet. Instead, the first to arrive was an elf with a determined and sullen expression who broke through the crowd in the distance.
Arthur quickly pulled Yang Hao and Theresa, who were standing in front, behind him, and then he followed the angry elf woman. The moment she turned around and scolded him, he used some kind of enchantment on the mask to release a spell.
There was a flash of blue light. The elf fell to the ground and was held in Arthur's arms, apparently passed out.
The other elves who had hurriedly caught up were as relieved as if a stone had been lifted off their shoulders. They bowed and nodded to Arthur to express their gratitude in front of the stunned Yang Hao and others, then took the elf from Arthur's arms and carefully sent her back to the house in the village.
"That elf's name is Nitas...hiss, it's a long name, and he's an elder, probably over 1,000 years old." Arthur muttered softly, motioning everyone to follow him.
"Her condition is somewhat complicated, and it's gradually becoming the norm in elf society... Well, where should I start explaining? Why don't we go eat first?"
"Compared to the explanation later, I am more concerned about the fact that you seem very skilled in stunning the elves. It's like you are a repeat offender who has kidnapped countless elves..."
"Of course. Before I married Wei Ya, I used this method to stun so many lovely ladies... Thinking about it carefully, it was dangerous back then. If I hadn't reached an agreement with them, those elves who loved their lovers so crazy might have started a battle royale because of me...
Alas, being handsome and capable is also a mistake, so Your Majesty, can you please stop letting the two women look at me like trash?"
Arthur looked up at the sky, while Yang Hao looked at the backs of his subordinates and fell into deep thought.
It seems that not only are the elves' production and army outdated, but their society has also been flawed because of "perfection"
This is not good news. Yang Hao shook his head. It was really not good news.
…
This is a restaurant in the village surrounding the Oak Mine. It is famous throughout Caparia for its special local cuisine before the Calamity War.
Arthur generously booked the best private room, and after everyone ordered the food they wanted to eat, he took off his mask and said:
"That elf - well, let's call her Nitas. Nitas is a real old lady to me, and the main reason why she became a "broken branch" is related to what happened before and after the Demonic War a thousand years ago.
I also heard it from the village chief, but considering that many old elves are still brooding over what happened back then, I will just assume that it is true.
But before that, I will explain the most important characteristic of elves: they are very...stubborn when it comes to "feelings."
"We all know this." Yang Hao nodded, "So this is actually related to "feelings"... Is it an embarrassing thing? And what about the "remnant branches"? Are they the hostile people in the Elf Kingdom? I just thought that they were arresting those patients with infectious diseases, not treating their own people..."
"It can't be said that we are hostile..."
With these words as his opening remarks, Arthur sighed and explained to Yang Hao and others what weight and influence the most important "emotion" had in the elves' seemingly perfect social structure.
If an elf loves someone, it will use the most extreme means to keep that person by its side.
Similarly, if an elf hates someone, it will expel or kill that person in the most extreme way.
Elves rarely feel hatred or resentment towards other elves. In other words, if elves really reach a romantic relationship with each other, then they will be the most stable partners, partners that no one can separate.
But in the Demonic War thousands of years ago, in order to fight against the disaster called "Demonic War" that swept the world, and to fight against invaders from another dimension, many elves left their hometowns with the awareness of death. Many elves also watched their backs as they left, feeling that their husbands would die in a foreign land.
If the warriors who went to the battle really died at the hands of the devil, perhaps the "broken branches" would not have appeared.
But the thing is...
They did not die at the hands of the demons of the "Demon Disaster", but died at the hands of human swords.
"According to uncertain records... it seems that an empire called "Baerjans" was stabbed in the back by the vassal state they protected, and had to sink into the ground and perish together with the demonic disaster - during this period, many elves were also implicated.
But that's not the point. If the elves were to live and die together with their allies, they would have no complaints.
The point is that some of the elves who escaped were killed by "betrayers" on their way back home to tell their fellows about it.
Perhaps it was the lack of intelligence that led to the misjudgment, or perhaps the other party possessed the "power of light" that only the Bayerzans Empire possessed...
The elves were killed without any warning, all their equipment was stripped off, and even their bodies were thrown into the forest to be eaten by wild beasts.
When the broken branches headed to the battlefield with the intention of recovering their husband's belongings, they found the body of their husband who was killed by humans on the road...
At that moment, the elf changed from an ordinary individual to a "stump", and became an individual that seemed too crazy and obsessed in the eyes of the elves. "
The waiter brought the dishes. With the sound of the dishes gently colliding, Arthur was silent for a while until the waiter left before he spoke again:
"Elves will only love one person in their lifetime. They will respect that person's ideas, but they will also do whatever it takes to keep that person.
Your Majesty, imagine if it was you, carrying your beloved to the battlefield, and spending more than ten days in anxiety, fearing that she might die at the hands of the enemy. When you finally mustered up the courage to collect her body, you found out that she was killed by the person you were supposed to protect... What would you think?"
Yang Hao was stunned for a moment, then turned around and looked at Theresa who was eating with her head down.
He thought for a while and answered without hesitation: "I will find the murderer and torture him in the most cruel way."
"That's right."
Arthur snapped his fingers, picked up a piece of vegetable with his knife and fork and put it in his mouth.
Crunch, crunch. The vegetables made a crisp sound when they were bitten. Even while eating, Arthur did not stop his explanation.
"The Broken Branches discovered that their husbands had died in the attack of a betrayer. From the perspective of the elves, they naturally needed to seek revenge.
But Your Majesty... The lifespan of the elves is really too long, and the betrayer is a human, whose lifespan is too short in comparison.
Some "remnant branches" are lucky enough to find the dying murderer and take revenge. But for other "remnant branches" who may find their husband's body hundreds of years later, who can they seek revenge on? "
Elves can live for a very long time. The longest-lived elf is said to be nearly two thousand years old.
In this case, what happened "hundreds of years ago" for the elves may actually be what happened "ten years ago" for humans.
Humans would do anything to search for babies who were abducted twenty years ago, let alone elves
But the problem is that human life is too short.
The hatred of the elves still seems like yesterday, but for humans who have lived for hundreds of years, they only feel that the elves are judging them based on the sins of who knows how many generations ago, which is simply nonsense and completely unreasonable - murder.
But the elves are a race that keeps their promises.
In the absence of direct evidence, even if the "branches" are crazy enough to believe that the enemy who killed their husbands is a believer of the Church of Light, the Elf Kingdom will not be the first to break its promise before finding evidence.
But what if we find evidence
The culprit back then has died, and the remaining bloodlines believe that they are innocent citizens and should not bear the responsibilities of their fathers. What's worse, even their bloodline may not be preserved, and the one who inherits the title may be a deacon who has been educated and promoted in an orphanage.
As for the resentful "branches", they still remember the heart-wrenching pain and anger hundreds of years ago. They can't forget the pain of discovering their husbands' bodies, and they can't forget the anger after realizing that their husbands were killed by betrayers.
Their love for their husbands was completely transformed into hatred for the betrayers, but the elves who kept their promises could not provide evidence to help their people.
Come to think of it, the perfect race of elves is indeed too outdated - they are out of date in keeping all their promises and living according to ancient traditional methods, which has caused the "broken branches" to be twisted in blood and tears, and become what Yang Hao and others have seen.
The "Branch" still longs for revenge. The elves will not harm their own kind, so they can only restrict their entry and exit, and let the respected elders comfort and persuade them.
But since those elderly people themselves cannot get out of the vicious circle of racial emotions, how can we expect them to resolve the inner problems of the "remnant branches"
"So—this is totally fucked."
When Arthur said this, his face was full of bitterness and relief: "If you ask me, if the elves didn't keep their promises, or if they weren't so stubborn about their feelings, the "Branch" wouldn't have been born...
But the elves are such an awkward "perfect race". Under the seemingly perfect society, there are already holes like a honeycomb...
This is also one of the core reasons why Finn hopes that Your Majesty can come and preside over the reforms.
If the elves do not make any changes in their social, racial and spiritual culture, their already sparse population will soon be on the verge of collapse due to the emergence of more and more "broken branches".
It's fine in peacetime, but in wartime, especially when the parish is invaded, the number of "remnants" will inevitably increase. She hopes that you can bring changes to the elves to cope with war, but she also hopes that you can change the nature of the elves. "
With that, Arthur had finished his delicious meal.
After realizing the reality that beneath the elf's perfect skin were all outdated holes, Yang Hao could only think silently and realized a problem.
Even from the perspective of the elves, this is not a reform problem that can be solved by short-term governance.
The elves actually want to be the regent of the elves forever.
…
They enjoyed the delicacy in silence, which lost its taste in their mouths.
On Yang Hao's little notebook, more and more plans and ideas were crossed out with ink.
In the end, he came up with an idea: "It is better to unblock than to block."
War with the diocese was now a done deal.
If the "branches" can be instructed to undergo military training while minimizing casualties, they will become determined and fanatical soldiers.
Since they believe that it was the ancestors of the Church of Light who killed their husbands, let them just kill the humans of the Church of Light to vent their anger.
And not only will this be done in this war, in the future, the Elf Kingdom will also have to declare war on the parish.
However, it is a strategy of "declaring without attacking", using the "no fighting on the front line" method to provide time for domestic development, while using the fact that "we have entered a period of war" to appease the "remnant branches". But this is also good.
Under the threat of war, the cohesion that race unleashes is unparalleled.
Back then, Yang Hao's sworn brother united all the tribes on the plain in the name of their common enemy, the barbarians.
This time, it was naturally very easy for the Elf Kingdom to gather the recognition of the marginalized "remnants" in the name of the enemies of the parish.
In this case, Yang Hao had to consider the emotional defects of the elves.
They seem to be really stubborn now. This is a good thing in a sense, but for some people, it is really a bad thing.
The most typical example is Arthur in front of us.
"Are you really okay with being watched by so many elves?"
Facing Yang Hao's concern, Arthur just shrugged: "It's okay... [After I marry Wei Ya, I will definitely contact them regularly] is a promise I made to make them willing to give up fighting each other - in a sense, as long as I continue to dance with swords like this, Wei Ya will be fine."
"Then Wei Ya also broke your legs?"
"After all, the one who wants to fight them to the death the most is Wei Ya, so in order to avoid bloodshed, can't I just use my leg as a trade
It's better for a man to lose one leg than for a dozen women to fight secretly until only one is left...
Alas, Your Majesty, I am not saying anything, being liked by one elf is fine, but being liked by dozens of elves at the same time is really fatal. "
"Thank you for your hard work, Arthur."
"Thank you. But Your Majesty, I think you may have to work harder than me in the future..."
Faced with his subordinates' persuasion, Yang Hao felt his scalp tingling for some reason.
He suddenly realized that not only Arthur, but he himself seemed to be targeted by a powerful elf.
The elf gave him the position of regent, and vaguely seemed to hint that he could rule the elven kingdom on an equal footing with him...
…
In a sense, being loved by elves is not a good thing.
He was sighing in his heart and ate all the cold vegetables in the bowl.
Mother Teresa, who had already finished eating everything, just watched quietly.
There was a wonderful sparkle in his eyes.
Chapter 21: The Queen in the Wall, Isgarde's Dialogue, and the Parish's New Industry
On the same day, in the territory of the Roman Empire.
The Queen's voice came from behind the curtain. The cold command issued by the clear voice and the importance attached to the empire in the command did not sound like something a little girl could say.