01.
The first step is to incite the people and further anger the church.
The second step is to let Emperor Yulan exert political pressure on the Ice Empire.
The third step is to allow Bingdi himself to have personal feelings for the Demon Mall.
The three-step combination intensifies the contradiction between kingship and theocracy.
Anthony Blake gave a projection stone of "Pirates of the Caribbean" to Ice Emperor, and then he said, "This projection stone is a new thing in Winter City recently, and it is also sold in the shop opened by my niece. But it was banned by the church because of cooperating with demons. I think the content recorded in the projection stone is very interesting, so I brought it to Your Majesty, and you can read it when you are bored."
"The Demon Realm shopping mall that has been buzzing recently?" Bingdi asked. Although he had never been to the Demon Realm shopping mall, he obviously knew the general idea. There are chefs from all over the Magnolia Continent in the Ice Emperor's palace, and the royal family's food is naturally much more delicious than other people's food. Bingdi himself has also heard that the dishes in the Demon World Mall are delicious, but he has no particular interest, so he has not tasted them.
"Yes," said Anthony Blake.
"As the earl, didn't you help your niece?" Bingdi asked.
"Black's power is only used by Ace. This is our family motto." Anthony Black said, "Besides, it involves church power, so we must act with caution."
"Very good." Ice Empress nodded and said nothing more, he was very satisfied with Anthony's approach.
The next day, the Ice Emperor mentioned this matter at the imperial meeting. It was obvious that the city of Winter was too noisy, and now almost everyone knew that the Demon World Mall was sealed up by the church.
"Your Majesty, I think this is the people's dissatisfaction with the church's long-standing dominance, which was just aroused through this incident." The judicial supervisor said: "I think we should introduce corresponding laws to control the power of the church in the empire."
"And then, as you wish, let us create a rift with the church, and then let other countries take advantage of it?" the finance minister sneered.
"What a pity, then the church wouldn't be filling your little coffers, would it?" the judicial overseer retorted.
"I heard that your son seems to be in the protest queue too?" The Minister of Finance was used to being thick-skinned, and he was still proud of being ridiculed like this. "What if, I mean, what if these people are really bewitched by the devil?"
"Be careful." Earl White said, "Minister of the Exchequer, are you accusing that there are currently a large number of people in Winter City who are bewitched by demons?"
The White and Black families have the same functions, and generally they compete with each other for the royal favor, and the Black family does have the idea of competing, but the White family has always been safe and sound, no matter how Black provokes or oppresses them. Forbearance, and will take the initiative to maintain the relationship between the two families. This is also related to the family motto of the White family. The first-generation head of the White family was a nobleman. It stands to reason that he is more noble than the head of Black, but the other party's nobility is not only in status, but also in heart. The first-generation White Patriarch knew very well the importance of the two families to Mülheim, so he clearly stipulated in the family motto: Do not fight against the Black family, and always maintain the relationship between the two families.
The reason why Earl White spoke out this time was that he knew that the Devil’s Emporium was owned by Anthony’s niece, so he supported it; on the other hand, he also felt that the words of the Minister of Finance were too much, which would damage the majesty of the royal family. Although the two major families do not participate in government affairs, they will speak up when someone desecrates the dignity of the royal family.
Earl White has a special status. Even the Minister of Finance has to give him face when he speaks.
The Ice Empress was annoyed by the noisy crowd below. He sat on the throne of the Ice Empire when he was young, and at that time these old guys started to quarrel in front of him. It's still because Black and White are caring... This thought flashed through his mind, and then he said to the silent Grand Maester, "Grand Maester, what do you think?"
The Grand Scholar was actually the one who quarreled the most back then. When Ice Emperor was young, he wanted to kill this old man first after he took power. But in the end, when he grew up, he realized that, well, this grand scholar is really a pillar of the country, even though he is still an old bastard that makes him uncomfortable.
"First of all, we can't rule out the possibility that they were indeed bewitched by demons." Grand Scholar Lennon said slowly.
The supervisor of justice moved his lips, but in the end he didn't intervene. He knew it would be bad to interrupt the Grand Maester's speech - not because the Grand Maester was a bigger officer, but because he was too good at ranting.
The Judicial Superintendent always thought that the Bingdi would kill the Grand Scholar after gaining power. After all, everyone could see Bingdi's dislike for the Grand Scholar back then. In the end, he didn't expect that he was still alive and secure, and continued to be a bachelor. This disappointed the judiciary. It also made him a little lucky.
"Secondly, the possibility that the people are dissatisfied with the church cannot be ruled out," the Grand Bachelor continued.
The royal steward blurted out: "Then you're a fart." The royal steward is an eunuch, but his temper is no less tempered than that of a grand scholar, and his words are even more rude.
"You are too rude to growl in front of His Majesty, eunuch!" the grand maester turned his head and roared at him.
The Bingdi's ears were buzzing, he thought to himself, it's clearly you who are roaring, but the steward just spoke our hearts... at least mine.
Then the Grand Maester continued: "I think we should investigate this matter, by the way, knock on the church, and then knock on the Devil's Emporium... Oh, in my investigation, the food on the upper floors of the church is supplied by the Evil Emporium, and they give the church a lot of conditions , but the royal court only paid regular taxes... this is intriguing."
It means to let Anthony's niece understand that the royal family is in power in Winter City, not the church? Ice Emperor thought in his heart.
Bingdi nodded, "By the way, Anthony, I remember that this shopping mall is your niece's property?"
Anthony Black nodded: "Yes, Your Majesty, but I follow all your instructions."
"Since they are all our own people, there is no need to beat them. You just need to remind them verbally." Bingdi made a decision.
"Thank you, Your Majesty," said Anthony.
"There is one more question," the maester continued, "Why did the church seal the mall? According to the contract, the demons can trade in the human world. Does the church want to abolish the contract? Or should the mall really be closed? "
"I've heard a saying," said the Judiciary Superintendent, "Because the people opposed the church, the church's idea of closing the Devil's shopping mall became more serious."
"Smart deduction, my lord, maybe you will be the next bishop tomorrow!" The Minister of Finance mocked.
"Shut up all of you." Ice Emperor said: "God of Cold, next time you dare to quarrel in a meeting like this, I will strip you naked and throw you into the forest!"
The judicial supervisor said: "Then please don't throw me and the Minister of Finance together, I'm afraid that his greasy fat will disgust me."
Bingdi was amused by this sentence, "Okay, I happen to have a projection stone here, which records the movie they talked about, and now I have time, let's watch it together."
Everyone has no opinion.
"Anthony, go out and inform your niece, and tell her to come to the palace to see her."
"Yes, Your Majesty." Anthony Black nodded. He thought to himself that he had missed the opportunity to rewatch the movie. He had to be faster and try to come back before half of the movie was shown, so that he could catch up with the decisive battle later.
Olivia knew that she was a little surprised when the Ice Emperor summoned her, but she was also excited. This is an opportunity! She recognized it immediately.
"Uncle, is Your Majesty in a hurry? I want to tidy up my appearance first." Olivia said.
Anthony Blake pondered. His Majesty was not in a hurry, he was anxious to go back and watch the movie again, but naturally he couldn't say this to his niece, it would be too detrimental to his majesty. The temperament is like that of Earl Black on the cold and hard rock on the snow mountain outside the city. But going back to the movies now, it's not appropriate to let her go to the palace alone. Forget it, then...
"...don't worry." Anthony Black said heavily, "You can go and sort out the disguise first, after all, you are meeting His Majesty."
"Okay, please wait a moment, uncle." Olivia said.
Olivia is not only familiar with makeup and changing clothes, but also sent a message to Hill through teleportation.
After Hill saw that Ice Emperor and all the ministers planned to review the movie together, he looked weird.
Could this wipe out the power core of the Ice Empire Mülheim
Is this really a surprise
How about asking Olivia to bring some delicious snacks over and let them watch a movie while eating snacks
That's a good idea...
02.
Two hours ago, let us take a look at the situation of this so-called demon bewitching, why the church insisted on closing down the movie theater
Two hours later, is the church crazy? Why go crazy at the cinema? Why is such a beautiful movie blocked? why why why? !
It's gone, is it gone? Didn't you say Pirates of the Caribbean 1? What about two three four? Where did the rest go? Just one movie? what about others? only one
Why did the snacks run out so quickly? Eating while watching a movie is really unconscious! Ah, if I knew it earlier, I wouldn't pretend to be reserved and just took a little more. I'm so sorry.
Bingdi originally thought that after these years of experience, he had become a godly man, and he could deal with everything calmly, but he didn't expect that watching this movie would make his heart sway. He clearly knew that it wasn't because of some demon's bewitching, it was just because this unprecedented art form was really wonderful. Compared with this, my other entertainment methods are really boring. He looked at the expressions of the ministers and found that they should also have the same endless aftertaste.
Then he saw the girl standing with Anthony over there, and blurted out: "Elizabeth?"
"Elizabeth?" "Where is Elizabeth?" "Is it really Elizabeth?"
Olivia was a little nervous at first, but this was an imperial meeting in Mülheim, and the one sitting on the throne was the contemporary Ice Empress. The other party looked majestic and dignified, and the eyes under the silver sword eyebrows reminded her of the steep snow-capped mountains in the cold winter. Compared with his father, the ice emperor in front of him is the real emperor. The thought rising in her heart made her a little difficult to control herself.
But after hearing the words of the Ice Emperor, Olivia suddenly wanted to laugh a little, and the king was pulled down from the altar and became an ordinary person. She wasn't nervous anymore, she knew that now was the time for her to express herself, so she took a step forward and followed the etiquette of the noble lady of the Yulan Empire, "Greetings, Your Majesty, I am Olivia Jackson, Duke of Elijah Jackson Female, the actress who played Elizabeth in "Pirates of the Caribbean"."
"Are you really good at fencing?" Ice Empress asked enthusiastically.
This script is wrong... Olivia thought in her heart, but on the surface she answered truthfully: "I will, Your Majesty."
03.
The imperial meeting turned into a fan meeting in the end.
The next day, the envoy of Emperor Yulan came over.
Ice Emperor received Emperor Yulan's envoy. At noon, he felt that the chef's food was a bit unpalatable. He also invited Olivia, hoping that she would bring some food. Olivia not only brought some good food, but also a gramophone and records. This surprised Ice Empress.
After lunch, Ice Emperor went to meet the bishop of the Bright Church in Winter City that afternoon, and the two parties were not very happy. After returning to the palace, Bingdi was about to curse. He listened to light music for a while to calm down his thoughts, and began to think about this issue calmly.
That night, the Ice Emperor invited Olivia to dine again, and Olivia brought delicious food as usual, and this time also brought "A Song of Ice and Fire". That night Ice Emperor unconsciously saw the night, and coupled with the frequent contact with Olivia these days, rumors began to arise inside and outside the palace, saying that His Majesty was infatuated with a noble lady from a neighboring country and could not sleep at night.
Ice Emperor originally wanted to clarify that he was there to eat delicious food and read novels, but then he felt that this sounded like he was not as obsessed with beautiful women... So he did not clarify this rumor, but let Ollie at the luncheon the next day Via doesn't care.
Olivia nodded, and then generously asked whether the Demon World Mall could be restored. She mentioned the Yulan Empire, saying that Emperor Yulan could do whatever he wanted without the constraints of the church.
Bingdi thought in his heart that without the support of the church, the Yulan Empire is now being surpassed in all aspects, and it is said that the Yulan imperial family is famously poor. But even so, it seems that it is not bad to be free from the church... And the Church of Light in Mülheim needs to be rectified.
After making such a decision, the Ice Empress swiftly promulgated a series of policies restricting the rights of the Church—including the Demon World shopping mall. The judicial supervision had already prepared these, so it was implemented immediately.
All of a sudden, the hidden conflict between the royal family of Mülheim and the church broke out completely.
03.
Eutin Empire. Church of Light.
"I didn't expect Bishop Hank to be so deadlocked with the Mülheim royal family."
"The reason is the Demon Realm Mall?"
"The Devil's Emporium should be just a cover for the royal family, and the Ice Empress may have long wanted to attack the Church."
"How's the mood of the Mullheim nobles?"
"They were all very angry."
"... Yes, after all, the royal family is against the church without authorization, and the nobles are unlucky."
"Uh, no, said he was very angry with us."
"..."
"What happened to Bishop Hank?"
For a while, Hank, the Bishop of Winter City, blamed more.
Then someone laughed.
Everyone looked over and found that it was Theresa Shelley. Now Teresa's father, Old Shelley, has retired. Although he did not directly pass the position to Teresa, but because of his outstanding ability and excellent resume, others think that he will be able to sit at the bishop level sooner or later. . However, there is one thing about him that everyone can't stand.
"Do you have any ideas, Mr. Shelley?" asked a priest.
"I have only one idea." Theresa Shelley leaned back on the seat, raised her chin, and said coldly, "All the demons should die."
—Yes, the thing that got everyone offended was that he was too hawkish. He was so tough that even the original hawks couldn't stand him.
"We have reached a contract with the demons." The priest shook his head and said helplessly, "According to the contract, the demons will only get weaker little by little, so you don't have to worry about it..."
"Worried? You guys are too whimsical." Teresa said, "What if the demons change? Can you expect the demons to obey the contract obediently? When you see that they are opening a shopping mall or something, you think they are very nervous." Are you good?" Teresa asked a series of questions, "What if they secretly set up troops in the lower realm?"
"We have a squad of paladins stationed there," replied a priest.
"Too few." Teresa said, "If possible, I would like to let a large group go there, and let them keep a good watch on the bastards of the Demon Race."
"This..." In fact, the other priests were also a little moved when they heard it, "the demons will not agree."
"Then threaten them with war." Teresa said without thinking.
"Calm down, my child." The Pope finally spoke, "I know you have always hated the demons because of Monroe's child, but we need time and continue to cultivate loyal believers."
Teresa mumbled a few times, and then his eyes lit up when he remembered something: "Then negotiate with the demons and say that you can not close the Demon World Mall, on the condition that we send another team of paladins to station next time." Teresa confidently Said: "This time I will personally choose the most loyal men!"
The Pope nodded, "It's a good idea, child, but we need to understand the specific situation of Winter City first. In this way, you and Ashburn will go to Winter City to find out this matter. The decision caused by Bishop Hank I feel sorry for the bad outcome, maybe it's time for us to adjust our approach to countries."
Ashburn complained in his heart. He is the leader of the church and asked him to go to Winter City with Teresa. The Pope probably meant to watch him and not let him make trouble...
Theresa realized in her heart. This is to choose a bishop between him and Ashburn to be the bishop of the Church of Light in Winter City, so it seems that this time he will make a "great contribution".
Coming out of the Holy See, the spring breeze was blowing on her face, and Theresa Shelley felt more contented than ever.
Under the guidance of Captain Monroe, his undercover work is very good.
The undercover agents of other people's families were either friendly or low-key, but he happened to be a fan and ten black. He was a radical main fighter, and he talked about killing all the demons all day long. His behavior made many neutrals lean towards the main peace, and no one would suspect that he was actually having an affair with the demons.
As for what's next...
He went to Winter City to investigate, and of course he would conclude that there was no problem with the Demon World Mall and that Bishop Hank had made a foolish move.
Of course, the "negotiation" with the demons will be very smooth. He will select some paladins who are easy to incite rebellion and send them to the demon world, and send a paladin gift package to the demon king. He knows that the demon king likes paladins very much.
As for the bishop of Winter City... hum... the devil used so many moves to intensify the conflict to such an extent, then, it's up to Teresa next.
—