When the Saint comes, she does not collect food

Chapter 1116 Parliament Hill

“Those farmers seem to be making some moves lately.” Mosley, a shipping merchant and oligarch from Leby, suddenly put down his newspaper.

Inside the swaying carriage, Gatz, the Silver Fortress councilor and leather merchant sitting opposite him, stopped wiping his eyes.

He looked up, squinting at Mosley in the light from the car window: "What did you hear?"

"No, but that's precisely why I'm scared; they hardly make a sound."

“This is a good thing.” Gatz put on his glasses. “You don’t understand. Farmers don’t know these things, and they don’t care.”

"You really don't care?"

Unlike Gatz, a new oligarch who rose from humble beginnings in the family of the guild leader, Mosley comes from an oligarchic family.

Compared to Gatz, his understanding of the lower classes was too limited, so he often had to consult Gatz, this older generation of bourgeois counter-revolutionary fighter.

"Of course, look at the history of the empire, apart from the Holy Alliance, when has a farmer ever voluntarily entered politics?"

Even the Holy Alliance was started by the laborers and citizens of Jeanne d'Arc, and then the saint's grandson forced the surrounding farmers to join the rebellion.

If the house doesn't leak and there's bread in the box, that's considered gratitude to the Father. Do they even have a concept of Dawn Island or a nation in their minds?

Not to mention politics, can an ant understand the ocean?

Mosley still sensed something was amiss: "We promised the farmers the right to send representatives..."

“We also pledged our eternal allegiance to the Leia royal family!” Gatz reached out and squeezed Mosley’s shoulder. “As for those representatives, haven’t they all been chosen?”

They are all polite, gentlemanly armed peasants; they will be on our side.

"But in my heart..."

"Didn't we agree on this before? Are you going to go back on your word now?" Gatz's eyelids twitched.

Seemingly sensing the underlying threat in Gatz's words, Mosley frowned: "What are you saying? Isn't my name on that proposal?"

He was so confident when he signed the document, but when the time came, he wavered and regretted it.

It's too early to bet on this.

"So what exactly are you worried about?" Gatz helplessly withdrew his hand and looked at him.

Mosley tugged at his high collar in frustration: "I don't know... Do you think we can really win this time? And what happens after we win?"
This time, the Holy Alliance put in a lot of effort, but we, in cooperation with the French, reaped the benefits.

If the Holy Alliance retaliates, not to mention anything else, just the blockade of our ships entering Thousand Rivers Valley would be a devastating blow.

Gatz slapped Mosley's thigh, startling him, before he spoke: "What reason do we have not to win?"
You should know that the Holy Alliance's Worship of the Fathers has only been operating here for two or three years, while Fran has been operating on Dawn Island for decades.

You have connections everywhere, and you have trump cards everywhere, so what are you afraid of?

Look at the other city councilors in the recent Dawn Island Provisional Council, aren't they all Franz faction members?
In the Dawn Island region, apart from a few cities whose industries complement those of the Holy Alliance, who are the members of the Holy Alliance?

"They're all our people, how can they win?"

Seeing that Mosley still looked worried, Gatz went a step further: "If you ask me, it would be better if you were rejected by the Holy Alliance!"

"why?"

"The more harm you suffer at the hands of the Holy Alliance, the more welcome you will be to the Fran." Gatz adjusted his glasses smugly. "Tell me, in the future, who will be the rival of the Empire? It will be the Fran and the Holy Alliance."

The Holy Alliance may reject or exclude you, but France will certainly want you and even give you important responsibilities; otherwise, how can the King of France demonstrate his magnanimity?

There was actually something else, which Gatz didn't say aloud, but both of them knew it.

Compared to Fran, the Holy Alliance's regulation of merchants was far too strict.

Some of the speculative behaviors that seem normal to them are illegal and considered profiteering in the Holy Alliance.

The Holy Alliance's demand to liberate workshop laborers and indentured slaves will inevitably lead to a significant increase in costs.

In addition to other restrictions and limitations, the promotion channels are also hidden, making it impossible to quickly gain power.

On the other hand, things are done openly and honestly.

If you want power, just buy it.

Compared to the environment in Fran and Saint-Union, they felt that Fran was more suitable.

After listening to Gatz's words of comfort, Mosley's unease subsided somewhat, but he felt a tightness in his chest for no apparent reason.

He opened the car window, wanting to breathe some fresh air, and saw the street scene outside rushing past.

The weather in October has already turned cool.

The sky was overcast, with a light drizzle falling intermittently. Pedestrians on the road wore felt hats and hoods, hurrying to taverns or workshops. From the rushing red brick walls and the arrow marks on the ground, one could tell that this was Longbow Fortress.

As a citizen of Leby, Mosley desperately hoped that the first state conference of Dawn Island could be held in Leby.

However, the truth is that, due to its long-term role as a logistical center during the war, coupled with some notable achievements, Longbow Keep has become the true political center of Dawn Island.

The former Knights' Hall has been renovated and expanded over the past few months, becoming what is now Parliament Hill.

Traces of the riots instigated by Leia are still visible on the ground and on the iron fence.

The glaring scorch marks on the arrow tower were left by Jeanne Lightning.

Staring blankly at the scorch marks on the arrow tower, Mosley remained silent for a long time.

Gatz noticed Mosley's gaze but remained disdainful.

Are you afraid of that saintess?

"After all, she is the Holy Maiden Jeanne of the Holy Alliance. As for what a Holy Maiden is, we all know in our hearts."

What should we do if she gets upset and goes on a rampage?

"What's there to be afraid of?" He snorted and crossed his legs nonchalantly. "We'll scatter. She can't possibly kill all the councilors of Dawn Island before she runs out of magic power!"
Moreover, her killing gave both Fran and Leia an excuse to intervene.

After saying these words, Gatz himself seemed a little guilty. He sat up straight and hesitated for a long time before it seemed as if he had made up his mind.

"Let's reserve a few more seats for the Holy Alliance in the Dawn Island Council, but let's not go too far."

The two got out of the car one after the other in front of the brown wooden gates of Parliament Hill and saw city councilors chatting in small groups.

In the shadows of the outdoor corridor, they were clearly divided into two sides.

On the left side of the gate were mostly members of the Holy Alliance, but Mosley glanced at them and saw that they numbered only about a third of the Franco faction members.

As for the independent members of parliament, some were mixed with the French faction, and some with the Holy Alliance faction, but they only accounted for about one-tenth.

This national affairs conference is a three-against-one situation, and the advantage lies with us!

will win.

Nervously fiddling with the buttons on his clothes, Mosley put on a businesslike smile and walked towards the crowd.

“Congressman Mosley is here! Come on, come on, let me introduce you to some new friends.”

"Who is this?"

"Oh dear, this guy just switched from the independent faction and now supports our joining the Fran!"

"Oh, hahaha, welcome, welcome..."

Compared to the Franco faction's members chatting and laughing loudly, the Saint-Alliance faction was much quieter.

A cloud of worry hung over everyone's brows. They looked at each other, occasionally someone would utter a word or two, and then everyone would sigh together.

The current situation is indeed not good.

This national conference decided on the abolition of several measures and the future of Dawn Island.

It has a strong resemblance to the Thousand River Valley Constitutional Conference of that time; in fact, this time it is a direct copy of that constitutional conference.

Most of the members of parliament are not elected by universal suffrage, but are nominated by themselves, leaving seats for various groups.

However, compared to the fiery atmosphere of the constitutional conference back then, the Dawn Island Nation's conference was much more peaceful.

This means that one side must have an overwhelming advantage over the other.

With a vote of one to three, can they win? Are they really going to hand over the fruits of their war to someone else?

Bradak took a drag of his pipe and shook off the ash. "Let's go in, it's almost time."

But a member of parliament grabbed his arm and asked, "Where is Her Majesty Joan of Arc?"

"Chairwoman Joan of Arc hasn't arrived yet." Bradak hesitated for a moment, but still told the truth, "She only said that she had something to do and told us to act without worry and just be flexible."

"How are we supposed to adapt to this situation?"

As the bell rang, despite their confusion, the members of parliament entered the hall.

As the doors slammed shut, everyone around knew that a meeting that would decide their fate had begun.

(End of this chapter)