A steady stream of news about what happened in Xiqiu had already reached the imperial capital.
After Andy's careful support these days, the empire's newspaper industry has already developed to an extremely developed state. People's enthusiasm for this new gadget continues to rise. In Andy's view, newspapers have become an important tool to guide and even control people's hearts.
The scandal about the cult in Xiqiu has been published in newspapers in seven or eight versions.
Andy insisted on writing one thing into seven or eight different story versions, which originally made Fatty a little puzzled.
The old skeleton just smiled faintly and said: "In this world, human curiosity is always the strongest. And in the face of such an interesting thing, if we just say it simply, there will always be some loopholes, and there will always be some loopholes. Some smart people will see some flaws, but we deliberately tell several different versions of the story. Even if there are some loopholes, our purpose is to muddy the waters anyway! After seven or eight versions of the story are published, people will definitely start to argue about which version is true! No matter how long they argue and what the outcome is, the scandal of the divine religion has been revealed to everyone. It left a deep impression! As for the truth of the matter... Hehe, a thousand people have a thousand mouths, and these thousand mouths may be able to say ten thousand things! Haha... "
The fat man looked at the old skeleton and smiled sinisterly. After pondering for a moment, he said slowly:
"Old guy, when it comes to conspiracy, I've never seen anyone more sinister than you!"
In any case, the prestige of the divine religion has been completely destroyed. Under the propaganda of the empire's emerging industry newspapers, public opinion throughout the empire seemed to be discussing the scandal that occurred in the Tulip family fiefdom.
Regarding the arrangements for this event. The old skeleton also put a lot of thought into it. First of all, the Tulip family's fiefdom is a place where the religious power is relatively weak. Secondly, the Tulip family is now close to a god in the hearts of the people of the empire. It is an idol worshiped by thousands of people. Now that such a scandal has occurred in such a sacred place, people are despising this despicable practice of the divine religion. At the same time, there will also be a kind of anger! That is a sacrilege to the sacredness and glory of the Tulip family!
The newspapers in the imperial capital are making follow-up reports almost every day.
For example, the arrested bishop made any new confessions.
For example, many people are talking about how the greedy bishop embezzled such a large amount of money...
And those things like whips and iron shackles that were found also aroused the discussion of some special people...
Finally, on a certain day, almost all newspapers in the empire published a headline report at the same time.
"Under the brilliance of that halo, is it sacred or dark?" 》
In such a large text. Both the words and the words pointed the spotlight at the Divine Religion! Although it is not stated directly, most people who have read this article will ask this question: How many such greedy sects are there in the divine religion? Although a bishop was arrested, the others were not. Is it really clean
Do the many religious taxes we pay every year go to God, or do we fatten up these greedy gods
For a moment, the empire was in an uproar!
As for the signature of this report, it is naturally the chief comment writer: Mr. Andy.
****
Under the setting sun. A group of people escorted the carriage and slowly entered the imperial capital.
Sitting in the carriage were Lord Marquis Roddy and his wife, Miss Nicole of the Tulip family. And the remaining two confidantes.
Under the protection of a group of Royal Guards and fifty of the most elite Thunder God's Whips, Rody returned to the Imperial Capital in a low-key manner, ending his leisurely days in Xilin Province.
During this period, Rody was in great trouble in Xilin. First of all, the Divine Religion immediately sent people to demand the release of the bishop, and also requested a detailed investigation into the matter in order to return the glory of the Divine Religion!
Roddy acted even more strongly towards such tough demands. He once directly kicked the elders of the highest religious institute from the theological sect out of the Tulip Villa. This elder was an old guy from the group of elders who came from the imperial capital to deal with the matter after the incident.
Rody said confidently: "I'm not a believer! Your religious rules can't control me! I'm only responsible for the laws of the empire! So stop fucking telling me what to do!"
The elder, who had a very high status in the religious sect, was so angry that he almost fell out on the spot. In anger, he immediately summoned the two thousand flame warriors stationed in Xiqiu City, and almost used force to rob people.
But after all, Deputy Commander Stryer of the Flame Warriors was quite rational - he came earlier and had already seen how tough the Marquis was. For a person who does not believe in theology, any talk of persuasion is all in vain!
Moreover, he carefully advised the angry elder: "We only have two thousand Flame Warriors here, but they have thousands of Royal Guards! If nothing else, let's really fight... Hehe … Moreover, he is a member of the Royal Guards, which means he is the face of the imperial family... "
Although these words were not pleasant to hear and inevitably made people feel a little discouraged, the elder finally calmed down. After all, no one who can achieve such a high status is a fool. He was just irritated by the young Marquis's arrogant attitude. When he calmed down, he immediately thought of one fact: This Marquis Rody was deliberately looking for trouble!
Since being tough isn't enough, let's be soft.
But Rody didn't give him a chance anymore. He just closed the door and didn't see the guests every day. What does it matter if you are an elder of a divine religion? The gate of the Tulip Courtyard was closed, and the Royal Guards and the Thunder God's Whip held their hands outside. It was the Pope who came. I guess they don’t buy it either!
The Royal Guards only recognize the Emperor, and the Thunder God’s Whip only recognizes Duke Tulip or Miss Nicole!
The Cult also changed its strategy quickly. It is estimated that the pressure of public opinion in the imperial capital was too great. They started by asking for an explanation, and finally turned into demanding that the heinous bishop who had "blasphemed God and betrayed the trust of the church" should be executed immediately! Although such an action is almost equivalent to an admission of guilt. But if the matter can be ended immediately, it is always better than the situation now getting worse and worse!
But Roddy still ignored him and simply replied: The case is complicated and is under investigation! He drove the visitor away.
The Divine Cult has been able to operate in the empire for so many years because it has no roots. Many officials in the empire are also believers of the church. Since it cannot be done privately, the Divine Cult also wants to find other ways, such as through officialdom. The young marquis exerted a little pressure - of course, almost no official in the empire dared to offend this young man. Marquis Rody has a bright future, but using emotion and luring him for profit is always the eternal truth in official circles.
But Roddy is extremely tough!
Especially in the Tulip family fiefdom!
As early as when Roddy came back from his first trip to the northwest to fight, he encountered a rebellion by the local governor. He took the opportunity to sweep the entire Tulip fiefdom, and almost all the original forces were reorganized. Now within the Tulip family fiefdom, everyone is absolutely loyal to the Tulip family from top to bottom. Some officials were simply retired officers who had fought with the Duke in the northwest!
Facing these people, the official forces of the divine religion are also helpless. There is no room for performance at all.
So, after dealing with it for a while, Rody got the secret message from the old skeleton. He led the people out of the fiefdom and returned to the imperial capital.
The carriage entered the Imperial Capital. Although it was evening, Rody could still see something strange in the Imperial Capital.
The clergymen walking in twos and threes on the streets, which were once common in the imperial capital, have almost disappeared. It seems that there are no clergymen walking around on the streets now. Even if they occasionally see one or two handymen wearing religious uniforms, they all keep their heads down and move in a hurry.
Rody returned directly to his Marquis Mansion, and then led the guards to the palace to meet the old skeleton.
In the royal training ground inside the palace. Everyone was ordered not to enter, and there was only a group of Royal Guards guarding far outside. Roddy walked in alone, and all the guards who saw him bowed their heads and saluted.
The heavy door was pushed open, and a loud roar was heard inside, followed by a cold light.
Almost as a conditioned reflex, Rody pulled out the scimitar with his backhand like lightning and held it horizontally. He heard a crisp sound, and the other party snorted, took two steps back, and the long sword in his hand broke into pieces. Two cuts.
Rody didn't feel uncomfortable at all. The person who attacked him was extremely powerful. Rody blocked it in a hurry. He felt a force in his chest, his arms were numb, and he grunted, just relying on his own strength. The Dragon Curse Scimitar was a treasure, so it broke the opponent's weapon.
After Ruolan stood firm, she gave Roddy a hard look and sneered: "Boy Rody, you are really good at it. The old fat man said I can't hurt you now!"
Rody forced a smile. His strength has been recovering slowly. So far, he has only returned to the realm of the Sword Saint Warrior. As for the realm, it means that he cannot reach it. Although this made Roddy very depressed, he knew that the spiritual consciousness he had swallowed was not an ordinary thing. If he wanted to regain his strength, it might not be possible in a short time.
There was a burst of applause. Fatty Tianlie stood in the corner of the martial arts training ground, looked at Roddy with a smile, and then shouted: "Good boy, you finally didn't embarrass me!"
Ruolan pondered for a while and shouted: "Fat man! I still can't beat him! Let's keep practicing!"
Rody calmed down a little, and then suppressed the conflict in his heart.
The old skeleton wore a royal robe and sat on a chair. He crossed his legs in an inconspicuous manner and looked at the two fat men, a man and a woman, who started to play ping-pong-pong again. Then he glanced at Roddy from the corner of his eye and waved: "Boy, are you back?"
Rody walked over and said with a wry smile: "You have caused me a lot of trouble again. The elder of the God's Cult blocks me at the gate of Xiqiu Tulip Villa every day. If I don't come back, sooner or later I will become impatient. Chop him with a knife!"
Andy glanced at Roddy with a smile, and suddenly whispered: "Then chop him up!"
"What's wrong? Is it time to take action?" Rody glanced at him.
Andy sighed: "I have ordered an investigation of religious taxes throughout the empire. Starting yesterday, all religious taxes will be stopped in all territories of the Empire of Light!"
Rody took a breath: "Wouldn't that cut off the financial source of the divine religion? Will the Pope agree?"
"No way!" Andy smiled coldly: "Unless he is sure that he will turn against us immediately and start a civil war!"
Rody thought for a while and said: "It is impossible to start a war. After all, the empire's military is now strong, and the Flame Warriors are scattered all over the place. Our Thunder God's Whip has just been adjusted after the war. The military is absolutely loyal and has morale." , are at their peak stage, and the current atmosphere within the cult is probably not that united.”
Andy chuckled: "After this incident happened, many devout believers in the imperial capital have greatly reduced their loyalty to the divine religion. I guess it is the same in other places. I heard that even within the Flame Warriors, The morale of the military is not that stable. Even if they start a war, those warriors will probably have to think about whether such a despicable religious religion is worth their lives, so the Pope will never dare to go to war! "
Rody thought for a while, frowned and said, "But now that you have made the matter so big, what do you want to do next?"
The old skeleton murmured: "Rody, do you know? People's belief in God is nothing more than a kind of spiritual sustenance. People need a role model and an idol as a comfort in their hearts. Religion is nothing more than giving It's just a kind of spiritual satisfaction." He paused and said with a smile, "So, it is impossible to completely eliminate religion. So, what I mean is..."
He squinted his eyes and smiled: "Use a new religion to take over the current divine religion!"
Looking at Rody's puzzled gaze, the old skeleton smiled and continued: "The empire has believed in gods for hundreds of years. This foundation cannot be completely eradicated by you and me, so I don't want to do that kind of wasted effort! I The meaning is to let everyone understand that God does exist, and we do want to believe in great gods, but the current religious religions do not represent gods! We can lead people to feel that the current religious religions have abandoned them! The teachings of the gods! They have degenerated into a blasphemous existence! They are no longer worthy of serving the gods! Therefore, I will create a new religion in the empire to replace the current one! "
Rody seemed to realize something and whispered: "What do you mean..."
The old skeleton stood up, clapped his hands and said with a smile: "What I mean is, create a new idol for people to worship, and create a new god for the public to believe in! And we happen to have a unique and excellent condition! We’ve got a brilliant baby!”
Having said this, the old skeleton smiled with a bit of malice and whispered: "Boy, are you interested in becoming a god for once? Lord Tulip Duke...my great 'God of War'?"