When the Saint comes, she does not collect food

Chapter 1064 Choosing a New Ruler
"...Our Longbow City, or rather, Longbow Fortress, has existed for a thousand years, abandoned and rebuilt three times..."

"Among the other towns on Dawn Island, only our Longbow Keep has survived since the time of the El Empire..."

"We survived the Gothic rebellion, the Norn counterattack, and even the dark ages of warlordism..."

"It's not because our city is stronger than others, but because we are never rigid or outdated; we welcome and embrace change..."

In the circular meeting room of the Longbow Castle Knights Hall, a middle-aged man wearing fake ruffles and a lace collar slammed his large hands on the table.

Before him, behind the crowded seats filled with new people, sat representatives from all levels of Longbow Castle.

The delegates wore striped, puff-shoulder corsets and cloth clogs with curled toes.

Sunlight streamed through the stained-glass windows, illuminating their ever-changing faces; some applauded the speaker, while others watched with indifference.

"Faced with such a change, the Holy Path Sect and the Holy Alliance are the best choices!"

"What awaits the Francois is nothing but corrupt bishops, no different from the past."

"As for negotiations, you have all heard Bradak read the article written by His Majesty Galar. The tyrant Omes will never make peace with us!"

"We've already received news from Changge City. My informants have made contact, and they're recruiting troops."

"I'll just say this: it's the tyrant's son, the renowned general Putzillo who rose to prominence in the Battle of Thousand Rivers and the Battle of Windmill Lands, leading the army. There's no possibility of negotiation..."

"Longbow Fortress is now facing its fourth critical moment. Shouldn't we rise up in resistance?"

The mosaic glass panels depict the three destructions and three reconstructions of Longbow Castle.

Is this the fourth time?
However, any educated citizen knows that the "three destructions and three reconstructions" never destroyed the fortified towers of the city's oligarchic families.

Bradak looked at the 45-man guild's representative, Shabo, who was giving a passionate speech, and couldn't help but sigh, "Representative Shabo is still so enthusiastic."

“An orator, with a distinctly French flavor.” Tora, standing nearby, leaned against the oak railing.

“You can’t call someone an orator just because his movements are a bit exaggerated.” Bradak looked at his childhood friend. “I talk like that too.”

Despite the fact that the Kingdom of Leia claims to be the former Royal Guard and has inherited the culture of the El Empire.

However, in reality, the Leia people admired military or chivalrous culture more than the oratorical culture of the Franco.

Tora scoffed, “I hate him. He’s a hypocrite, just like that Durdafoe or Barneyforth.”

After the end of the Thousand River Valley War and the rise of the Holy Alliance, this war has become a long-standing topic of conversation in various towns.

Even more remarkably, before the Holy Alliance completed its own "History of the War of Thousand River Valley," it first wrote "The Heroes of Thousand River Valley."

Durdafoe and Barniforth became representatives of hypocrisy, corruption, greed, and lust among the bishops.

"At least he's on our side now, and the blacksmiths' guild he represents is one that controls a guarded area."

Even within a 45-person guild, they are a pivotal force.

Currently, the power structure of Longbow Fortress is divided into two layers.

The first tier consisted of a council of sixteen local traditional merchant oligarchs, while the second tier comprised a guild of forty-five emerging merchants and artisans.

Of course, there were also churches for bishops and nobles, as well as a town hall.

The bishops have been expelled, and the former noble mayor has been placed under house arrest.

Generally speaking, the real power lies with the sixteen-member council that controls the eight guard districts.

Compared to the 45-member guild that can be joined through elections and recommendations, the council of 16 can only be established through bloodline and surname.

Either your parents are members of the Council of Sixteen, or your husband or wife or their parents are members of the Council of Sixteen.

As for the guild of forty-five, it can only hold meetings independently with the permission of the council of sixteen.

However, the members of the 45-person guild are already very satisfied with the current result.

After all, before this, they didn't even have the right to sit at the table, let alone hold a meeting.

Holding meetings is a very important right.

Everyone knows that a blame-sharing meeting will inevitably assign blame to those who didn't attend, and a power-sharing meeting will similarly not give power to those who didn't attend.

Otherwise, how come throughout history, there have always been cases of people being plotted against, arrested, or subjected to coups while attending meetings?

Because it was a scene that was almost unavoidable.

Tora looked at the incessantly talking Shabo with annoyance: "I hate the council the most. It's full of liars and thieves, always making a racket, and it can't get anything done."

"Clap clap clap!" In the sixteen-member council seated at the head of the table, a member with permed hair tapped the table with a small wooden mallet.

"Representative Xia Bo, Representative Xia Bo, sit down! You've seriously exceeded your time limit!"

Xia Bo continued speaking at length, but was interrupted several times by the council of sixteen before finally turning away from the podium in a huff.

At this moment, one of the sixteen council members leading the meeting looked at his colleagues beside him: "What do you all think? The Holy Alliance's envoys and military officers will be arriving soon. What should our attitude be?"

“I think we should spread the word…” “If our city wants to be preserved, then we must shut out the Holy Alliance, otherwise there is no room for maneuver.”

"I thought the Grandson was a hero, but I didn't expect him to be a coward."

"So it turns out I have to do it myself after all that!"

As Torah stated, even after entering the debate and voting phase, the sixteen-member council was still unable to pass any resolutions.

The noisy shouts, the incessant debates, and even the physical altercations wasted all the time.

After expelling the bishop and placing the noble mayor under house arrest, the administrative efficiency of Longbow Castle actually decreased instead of increased.

The noise lasted all afternoon.

The all-day conference ended in discord amidst Xia Bo's furious shouts of cursing the sixteen-member council for incompetence and being incompetent.

Looking at the imperial calendar on the wall, Tora glanced at Bradak, whose face was pale: "Where are the Holy Alliance envoys?"

"There are still three or four days of travel left. Damn it, I can only hope that we can reach a conclusion before the day after tomorrow."

…………

As Xia Bo left the Knights' Hall, representatives from the other forty-five guilds patted him on the shoulder or waved goodbye.

Xia Bo then took their arms and embraced them affectionately before boarding the carriage and leaving amidst the admiring gazes of the crowd.

He was a rising political star in Longbow Fortress; no one could have imagined that an ironware merchant could interfere with the city council.

This was all thanks to his use of the Holy Path Sect, which radically raised its banner and won over a large number of civilians to his side.

Even after getting into the carriage, Xia Bo was still unable to shake off his excitement.

He sat upright in the carriage, already imagining the scene of his future rule.

Thanks to the Holy Grandson, even a new merchant like him can get a share of the pie from the closed Council of Sixteen.

Back in his little house, Xia Bo said something to the old servant at the door and then pushed the door open to go inside.

The room was pitch black; you couldn't see anything, even the curtains were drawn.

Xia Bo frowned: "Green Silk, Green Silk, let's turn on the lights. We're rich now, no need to be frugal."

"hiss--"

A soft tinderbox clicked, and a dim yellow light shone in the center of the room, illuminating the faces of the burly men in black.

Xia Bo turned to run, but was blocked in one fell swoop.

"Why are you running? It's me!"

Hearing that familiar voice, Xia Bo finally breathed a sigh of relief and complained, "Did they have to do this? I thought it was the Council of Sixteen coming to assassinate me."

"The matter is urgent, and I must inform you in advance." The man in black was large, but his voice was effeminate. "Make preparations, and we'll launch the operation the night after tomorrow."

"The night after tomorrow, so urgent?"

"It's too late if we don't act now. The Shadowless People have investigated thoroughly. Among those who came this time are Holy Alliance witches and apostle-level monks, but we haven't found out exactly who they are yet."

"Is it really necessary to be so nervous...?"

"Be careful. Those high-ranking monks in the Holy Alliance are the most skilled at bewitching people. Your amateurish tricks are no match for them."

"My family has been operating in Longbow Fortress for decades..."

Xia Bo was interrupted by the leader of the men in black before he could finish speaking.

"We'll sleep at your house tonight, and once your wife and children reach a safe location tomorrow, we can take action tonight."

We'll prepare for two scenarios: first, kill the Holy Alliance's envoy, and then you can stage a coup and seize power.

"Okay." Xia Bo had no choice but to nod at this moment.

As a city, Longbow Fortress has lost the possibility of negotiation.

However, the people of Longbow Fortress, especially emerging merchants like Xia Bo, still have the possibility of negotiation.

The simple political principle is that after capturing Longbow Fortress, the king cannot rely entirely on locals nor can he rely entirely on outsiders.

Therefore, they will definitely need a group of local loyalists to counter them.

It wasn't that Xia Bo was cruel, but rather that the Holy Alliance was inhumane, and it was simply fate.

If your Holy Alliance could just send a whole battle group over, why would I, Xia Bo, bother with this?

If the Holy Alliance doesn't have the guts, then don't blame me, Xia Bo, for choosing another wise ruler.

(End of this chapter)