The copy has 0 error tolerance, and the last words on the ground are all wrong for me.

Chapter 377 The Kingdom of God is Born and the Son of the Plane

The general strike that broke out in Grimland at this time was caused by the Pine Tree Coal Mine explosion, the Sloane Textile Mill incident, and even many previous workers' movements.

This time the general strike was so fierce that it paralyzed most of Grimland.

Even if Prime Minister Ron were still alive, he would have a headache dealing with a strike of this magnitude, let alone Acting Prime Minister Glad.

Faced with this major strike, Glad chose to throw out a red herring.

The red herring effect refers to the fact that more than a hundred years ago, when the nobles of Stellan were training hounds to track foxes, they would place herring meat that had been smoked to turn red to divert the hounds' attention, thereby training the hounds to resist external interference during the chase.

This metaphor has been used in various occasions, meaning to use irrelevant things to divert focus and influence the target's judgment.

Among them, the fields of politics and public relations are the most suitable places to place red herrings.

If you want to calm a major public opinion crisis, the best way is not to solve the problem head-on, but to create another explosive news to divert public attention.

For example, whenever some shocking scandal breaks out, celebrities from all walks of life will rush to jump out and contribute incredible melons to attract attention for the big shots.

In the timeline of the Steam Phantom plane, due to the lack of the Internet, the speed of information dissemination is limited, and high-end operations such as sacrificing pawns to save the king cannot be performed, but sacrificing rooks to save the king is still possible.

The red herring thrown out by Glad was the Anti-Corn Laws.

One of the important reasons why workers lived in poverty and had insufficient food was the high food prices caused by the Corn Law.

The lower classes’ dissatisfaction with the Corn Laws has a long history, and the anti-Corn Law marches long predated the Charter Movement.

If there is anything more important than workers' struggle for political rights, it is the right to have enough food to eat.

The anti-corn laws were both topical and attracted the attention of workers. More importantly, Prime Minister Glad, as the current leader of the Liberal Party, was more supportive of the anti-corn laws than Prime Minister Rowan.

Now is a good time to kill with a borrowed knife, using the workers' anger to force the land nobles to compromise.

If the land nobles compromised, the advancement of the anti-corn law would be able to greatly calm the anger of the working class and show them that Temporary Prime Minister Gladwell cared about their survival and stood with them.

It would not be difficult to appease the workers by using the anti-Corn Law movement as a starting point and making a few speeches.

At the same time, the implementation of the Anti-Corn Law would deal a heavy blow to the landed aristocracy and greatly reduce their influence in Styland.

It would be even better if the landed nobles were unwilling to compromise.

Glad was able to shift the conflict from the one between factories and workers to the one between the landed aristocracy and the lower classes.

You are all so miserable, but these corrupt land nobles are still indifferent and want to watch you starve to death!

If handled properly, he would use the workers' anger to chop off one or both arms of the land nobles.

As a pure-blooded new noble, Glad was disgusted by the faces of the old nobles. He was also very envious of the legislative power of the House of Lords and wanted to bring it into the cabinet, but he never found the opportunity.

If the landed aristocracy wants to stop the Corn Laws, then today is the day to reshape the House of Lords.

From the moment the Corn Law Repeal Agreement card was played, the result was destined to be a win-win situation, with Gladwell winning twice.

It was just that the plan was very comprehensive, but when it came to actually implementing it, he didn't feel like he had won a big victory.

The Corn Laws Repeal Agreement was passed by the House of Commons with 427 votes in favor and 129 against.

On the day of the vote, the House of Lords also passed the proposal with an absolute majority. Queen Olivia had no objection to this and immediately signed the bill after the vote, announcing the complete repeal of the Corn Laws.

Both the Conservatives and the House of Lords seemed to cooperate extremely well with the card played by Glad. They cooperated to the point of becoming the host and they almost wanted to jump in and make the moves themselves.

This abnormality made Glad very uneasy, but things had come to this point and he had no other choice.

In this way, the anti-Corn Law movement, which had been advancing for many years without success, was easily passed in an extremely anticlimactic manner, as if the previous resistance from all parties was a misunderstanding.

As the Minister of Secret Security, Wu Chang also participated in the promotion of the Corn Law Repeal Agreement. After voting in the House of Commons, he hurried away and got into the carriage of the Secret Security Department.

Since this was not an out-of-town investigation but an official trip, Booker took over the role of Ravington's coachman.

Reventon, who was waiting in the carriage, saw Wu Chang getting on the car and asked, "What was the result?"

Wu Chang said: "It passed with a large majority of votes."

Raventon showed a thoughtful expression and said, "Those old guys seem to be planning something big."

The three-foot-thick ice does not form overnight, but the fact that the general strike has developed to its current scale requires even a superficial eye to see that there is a mastermind behind the scenes.

The landed nobles’ compromise was foreseeable, but no one expected it to happen so quickly and without any struggle.

When things are abnormal, there must be something wrong. The land nobles must have some intention.

Wu Chang said indifferently: "Let them do whatever they want. Compared with these things, I am more concerned about the dismantling results of the self-destructing cyborg at Grimland University."

He knocked on the carriage and said to Booker:

"Take us to Grimland University."

On voting day, three days had passed since the Soul Loom was discovered.

During these three days, Grimland became exceptionally "quiet". Both the Steam Parliament and the Tranquility Sect were dormant, as if everyone was watching this general strike show.

The pace of the strategy, which had been accelerating since entering the Steam Phantom dungeon, was abruptly interrupted by this strike.

Workers marching and protesting can be seen all over Grimmland, making further investigation into the assassination of Prime Minister Roan particularly difficult.

The waiting time is boring, but not completely without progress.

During the final battle for the invitation, Wu Chang prevented the Steam Council's cyborg from self-destructing.

The cyborg had been modified by a Franken-class extraordinary machine tool, and his body was extremely precise. Wu Chang could destroy it under the guidance of the omniscient crystal, but he could not take it apart with his bare hands.

If you want to disassemble the cyborg and carefully study the clues, you still need the professionals from the University of Grimmland to take action.

They had only completed disassembling the various parts of the cyborg and had initially researched the relevant clues before the vote in the House of Commons today.

The University of Grimmland is very close to the Parliament Building. After more than ten minutes, Wu Chang quickly arrived at this young university.

The University of Grimland was established only four years ago. It was jointly promoted by Queen Olivia and Prime Minister Rowan to promote teaching diversity, weaken the influence of the Holy Bishop, and study extraordinary steam engines.

Before the Holy Revelation replaced the Holy Bishop, religion held a huge voice in Stellan, and the most critical part of it was education.

The vast majority of old universities have strict restrictions on religion, and only those who believe in the Holy Bishops can enroll or teach.

It was not until Stirling broke away from the Vatican and the Queen replaced the Pope as the spiritual leader of religion that the university's restrictions on religion were gradually relaxed.

The most famous of these is the University of Grimmland.

As a representative of advancement, inclusiveness and openness, the University of Grimmland is full of vitality and brings together the world's top talents.

Wu Chang and Raventon came all the way to the Steam Machinery College, where Julie was already waiting for them.

Led by Julie, they came to a research institute. In addition to the three of them, there were also Collins, the dean of the Steam Machinery College, Luca, the president of the Alchemy Association, and Glad's secretary.

On the test bench in the center of the room, Wu Chang saw the abnormal person who tried to self-destruct that day, or to be more precise, the mechanical part of the abnormal person's body.

Judging from the disassembled parts, the structure inside the mechanically modified human body is not complicated. There are no precision parts like the core of an extraordinary steam engine installed in the mechanical part of the body.

If he is regarded as a tool, then his existence is a human bomb. Except for the detonator destroyed by Wu Chang, the rest of his mechanized body is filled with transparent particles like black crystal.

Wu Chang grabbed a few pills and placed them in his palm, and a line of prompts popped up in front of him.

「Item Name: Steam Explosives」 (Unlocked by King Badge)

"Item type: consumable" "Skill description: Uses a variety of extraordinary items, manufactured through extraordinary industrial processes, mixed with the power of the steam source, causing huge damage to extraordinary people who have not mastered the power of the source. This effect can only be used by the natives of the plane."

"Note: Steam explosives are made from a stable atomizing centrifuge. The birth of this machine has enabled Stilan to achieve a breakthrough in the field of gunpowder. It is the shining jewel in the crown of industry."

The current result is the worst outcome of all foreseeable events, no doubt about it.

The emergence of steam explosives meant that as long as there were enough raw materials, the Steam Council could produce this explosive in large quantities.

They wanted to replicate the explosion of that day with extremely low cost. If they did not take such an obvious approach, but instead secretly sent cyborgs to approach the players and then explode directly, I am afraid that few players would be able to withstand it.

If there is enough gunpowder, even Wu Chang will feel threatened.

These guys from the Steam Parliament are a real worry.

Luca, the president of the Alchemy Association, took out a list and handed it to Wu Chang, saying:

"We have analyzed the composition of this new type of explosive and discovered several of its main ingredients."

"The good news is that many of the raw materials involved are strictly controlled by the Empire. No matter how careful they are, they will leave clues."

"Moreover, the production of this type of explosive consumes a large amount of coal ore. The output of coal ore is scarce and the mining volume is extremely limited. They can't produce too much new type of explosive."

When Wu Chang heard Luca's speech, he frowned and looked at Julie. Julie knew what Wu Chang wanted to say and gave him an affirmative look in return.

It seems that Julie did not announce the fact that the extraordinary refining machine underground in the Pine Coal Mine is capable of producing coal ore in large quantities.

If the only thing restricting the production of steam explosives is coal, then there is basically no restriction.

After all, the output of coal ore at the Songshu Coal Mine is so large that in addition to supplying it to the Steam Parliament, a portion of the coal ore can be resold on the black market.

Looking at Luca's expression as he persuaded others not to worry, Wu Chang really wanted to know if this guy would still be so calm if he knew the truth.

Luca didn't notice the eye contact between Wu Chang and Julie. He continued:

"Sir Sean, if nothing unexpected happens, this matter probably involves the extraordinary steam engine. It is difficult for the police department to get involved. We need your Secret Security Department and the secret police controlled by Archbishop Julie to investigate."

Wu Chang put away the list that Luca handed over and said, "We will find out who is behind this as soon as possible."

While Wu Chang's real self and Raventon were discussing with Julie and others how to investigate steam explosives, Wu Chang's real self took a carriage all the way to the Gray Church Slums.

He was far away from the slums, but he could see the miracle tree that was dozens of meters high. Its crown was like an umbrella, covering the slums.

During the three days of the strike, most activities in the city came to a halt, but some things made rapid progress during the strike.

For example, the construction of the Grey Church slum.

The strike was so massive that it could turn into violent conflict at any time. To be on the safe side, most factories in Grimland temporarily stopped production.

The slum residents who lost their jobs saw that they could make money from slum reconstruction and began to devote themselves wholeheartedly to the reconstruction of the slums.

With the help of a large number of manpower, the slums were transformed into a new look in just two days.

The management of environmental sanitation, combined with Irene's treatment, has completely eliminated malaria from the Grey Church slums, making it one of the few pure lands in Grimland.

Seeing the changes in the Gray Church slum, Julie kept her promise and gave the poorhouse to Wu Chang, asking him to convert it into the Everlight Church.

It is no exaggeration to say that the changes in the Grey Church Slum are earth-shaking. Not only are other slums envious of this change, but even ordinary families living in the nearby working-class areas are interested in moving in.

When they learned that all the changes were caused by the Everlight Church brought by Irene, the lower-class people in the surrounding areas instantly converted to the Everlight Church on a large scale.

In just three days, the power of faith accumulated by the Everlight Church was enough to allow the Pillars of the Kingdom of God to take shape.

The area within a two-kilometer radius of the Gray Church has now become Irene's kingdom of God. Even the rules of the Steam Phantom Plane cannot affect the kingdom of God.

When Wu Chang entered the Gray Church Slums, he felt much more relaxed. The suppression of the steam rules on him was instantly isolated by the Tree of Miracles.

Relying on this kingdom of God, he is invincible in this Steam Phantom copy.

No matter how great the impact of the steam rule is on the plane, as long as he sees that the situation is not good and hides in the slums, if the dungeon boss dares to chase in, he and Irene will make sure that the other party will never return.

If Julie had been more generous, she would have given them St. George's Cathedral and let Irene transform it into the Church of Everlasting Light.

I'm afraid that within two days, the haze above Grimland will turn into clear sky.

When the time comes, affected by the rules of the plane, it will no longer be them, the players, who should be kicked out of this plane, but the son of the plane of Steam Phantom.

It's a pity that the Abyss Game doesn't allow him to do this, otherwise Irene's kingdom of God would not have been suppressed to only two kilometers in radius.

Entering the slums, he headed straight for the Gray Church like other believers who came here for the cult.

He sat on the last bench in the Gray Church, casually opened the soundproof barrier, and asked the people around him, "How are you doing recently?"

Jian Xing, who had been sitting next to him with his head bowed in a prayerful manner, raised his head and said:

"Everything went well. Leng Shan and I have successfully joined the Steam Council, and yesterday, we successfully entered one of the Steam Council's strongholds."

"It's just that they were too cautious. The carriage that sent us to the base was a fully enclosed special carriage that could block our perception."

During the general strike, Wu Chang followed the plan and had the arcane knights try to contact Henry, the editor-in-chief of the Lantern.

Because of the Sloan Textile Mill, Henry did not refuse the contact, but he was hesitant about the in-depth cooperation and did not give a definite answer.

Although they did not find out anything about Henry, the contact between the Mystic Knights and Henry allowed Jianxing and Lengshan to complete their mission and successfully join the Steam Parliament.

Jian Xing paused for a moment, and moved his head slightly closer to Wu Chang. Even though he was in the soundproof barrier, he subconsciously lowered his voice and said:
"We have just joined the Steam Council and have not been able to obtain the relevant permissions for the base. However, Leng Shan has been able to determine through the layout of the base and the concentration of the steam source power that the Son of the Plane is in the Steam Council."

"There is one more thing. The guy who received us claimed to be a member of the Steam Parliament. He said that he chose us because we, like them, possess the power of rules."

"They also said that the current influence of the power of the steam source on the plane rules is not a coincidence, but the result of their deliberate promotion behind the scenes."

"He said that every time an extraordinary steam engine is discovered by outsiders and exposed to the public, the impact of the steam rules on the world will be deeper."

After hearing this, Wu Chang frowned and thought about the information mentioned by Jian Xing.

The first thing he didn't expect was that the Steam Council, an organization that didn't look like the final villain, actually contained the Son of the Plane.

Secondly, there was the Son of the Plane, whose control over the source power of steam far exceeded his and Raventon's expectations.

Not only did he master the root power himself, he also mastered the method of making the steam root power affect the rules of the plane.

Perhaps the time when the extraordinary steam engine was discovered was different from what the Steam Council expected, but it did not deviate from their plan in general.

In other words, the extraordinary refining machine and the clues to the soul loom left at the bottom of the Pine Coal Mine were all intentional on their part.

Wu Chang narrowed his eyes, thinking that things were about to get troublesome.

After Jian Xing finished talking about the information they had collected, he looked towards the interior of the Gray Church and couldn't help asking:

“How did you find this place? I can feel that this church has a special power that can isolate the steam rules.”

"If this place didn't exist, I would be worried that the Steam Council would use the power of rules to monitor us, and I wouldn't dare to meet you so easily."

Wu Chang said: "The power to isolate the steam rule does not come from this church, but from Sir Sean's wife."

"Sir Sean asked me to tell you that if your identities are discovered by the Steam Council and you are hunted by them, try to escape into this slum."

"No matter who is chasing you, as long as you enter the slums, Mrs. Sean can guarantee your safety."

(End of this chapter)