Mystery: From Celestial Venerable's Backup to Red Priest

Robert saw Evan's surprised expression and laughed again, then explained to Evan.

"I actually used a clever trick. I secretly persuaded some members of parliament to oppose the bill and had them arrive at the parliament early today to sit in the front row."

Speaker Daniel, who presides over the parliamentary vote, has a habit of calling on the MPs closest to him to vote first, and to ensure fairness, he calls on Conservative and New Party MPs in turn.

Because I had communicated with the members of parliament who opposed the bill beforehand, they all arrived at the parliament early and were seated near the speaker.

Finally, as expected, Speaker Daniel named a Conservative MP and then a New Party MP. The successive dissenting votes stunned everyone. You didn't see the Duke of Negan's expression at that moment; he thought his subordinates were conspiring and colluding to overthrow him.

So, in the end, out of fear and at the risk of losing face, he forcibly withdrew his proposal.

I'm sure tomorrow's newspapers will be full of fascinating stories, and his face will certainly be grim when he learns the truth after the meeting! Hahahaha!

In the end, Robert couldn't help but laugh triumphantly. Evan was dumbfounded after hearing Robert's story. He never expected that the famous Duke Negan would be so easily fooled by Robert's little trick.

At the same time, Evan could tell that Robert must have been quite stressed about the inheritance issue recently, otherwise he wouldn't have lost his composure like this.

Moreover, Evan believes that after this incident, Duke Negan will definitely reassess Robert. It's just unknown whether Duke Negan will reconcile or intensify his suppression of Robert.

Evan put himself in Duke Negan's shoes and felt that Duke Negan would not let this go easily, because this incident had greatly damaged his prestige. If he did not restore his authority, he would not be able to lead the troops.

Evan couldn't help but remind Robert not to get carried away by this victory.

"Robert, you have caused Duke Negan to lose face and his prestige to plummet. He may resort to a desperate attack to regain his authority. In the past, the attack may have been covert, but this time it may be made public and carried out with great force."

Robert looked Evan up and down again, muttering in amazement:

"He has indeed grown up and has come to understand the principle that Emperor Roselle often spoke of: 'Do not be arrogant in victory, nor discouraged in defeat.'"

But don't worry, since I've taken this step, I won't be completely unprepared.

Moreover, in my opinion, Duke Negan won't really break ties with me this time.

"How is that possible?" Evan felt that Robert was being too optimistic.

"How could that be? Just as I was leaving the council, Earl Hall sent me a letter informing me that he would work with Prime Minister Agushid to persuade Duke Negan."

Seeing the disbelieving look in Evan's eyes, Robert slowly continued.

"Do you know which members of parliament are supporting me today? Some are members of the New Party who want to obtain titles but don't want to pay a high price, and some are outstanding noblemen who don't have titles to inherit."

Needless to say, if the Duke of Negan's bill passes, they will have to pay a lot of extra costs in their land transactions with nobles, and they will have to bleed a lot of money to get the number of lands that can be granted titles from the nobles. They may not be able to come up with that much money.

The latter group opposed the move so fiercely because the increased cost of acquiring land closed the door to nobility for them. Yet, they were the true aristocratic elite, the future of the Conservative Party. Earl Hall recognized this, which is why he switched his support to me; otherwise, he would have been pushing these aristocratic elites towards the other side.

Evan suddenly realized that there was a problem within the aristocratic class. The capable elites had often volunteered for military service, and after being trained, they were both ambitious and capable.

Moreover, these noble sons, due to their fathers' lineage, all possess lifelong noble titles and often marry the daughters of wealthy capitalists, receiving generous dowries. Therefore, they are now actively seeking noble titles.

However, the land in the country is limited and is still in the hands of the old nobles. Therefore, the families they used to rely on have become obstacles to them and objects of their covetousness. They may not target their own families because of emotional reasons, but there is no reason why they would not target other nobles!

So while the Duke of Negan's Act did protect the rights of the old nobles, it also harmed their interests, because they also wanted to dismantle the current noble class to make room for themselves and inherit the legacy of the old nobles at the lowest cost.

"Isn't this just a case of a rebellious son breaking out of the family, starting his own household, and ultimately turning against his family of origin, sweeping his father and brothers into the dustbin of history?"

Evan couldn't help but mutter to himself, while also asking seriously:

"Wasn't it these same people who supported you when you spearheaded the repeal of the Grain Act last year?"

"Of course, everyone in the parliament has one vote. How could I, a junior member who has only been in the parliament for a few years, possibly repeal such a big bill all by myself?"

A few years ago, when I entered parliament, I found that all the good positions were occupied by a group of old guys. They only saw me as a so-called rising star and wouldn't let me be the one in charge.

Often when I take on responsibilities, they look at me with surprise, as if they are saying, "Young man, you're still a bit green. Gain experience for a few decades first, and then you can take over after we retire!"

A bunch of old fogies were arguing about seniority and being quite smug, so I found some young members of parliament who were in similarly awkward situations and joined them in repealing the Grain Act, cutting off a portion of the old aristocracy's income, to show them our power.

If the Duke of Negan dares not compromise this time, I will join these MPs in leaving the Conservative Party and starting a new party on our own!

Duke Negan is always talking about the future of the nobility, the future of the Conservatives, and we are that future. Let's see what he does this time!

Listening to Robert's impassioned words, Evan felt as if he was getting to know his brother for the first time. In the original owner's memories, Robert was always a calm and experienced figure, but he never expected him to have such a radical side. It's understandable that he doesn't want you to be the boss and wants to give you some experience.

But Robert's thought process was different from everyone else's. Since there was no place for him, he killed the person sitting in that seat. That way, there would be an empty seat.

Now Evan is starting to understand how Duke Negan feels. What kind of person is he?!

However, considering Robert's exploits in the Southern Continent, it becomes understandable. After all, a calm and experienced person wouldn't engage in such tactics as capturing enemy generals and seizing flags in this era.