Yes, Madam Prime Minister

He did this because, during his eight-year pilgrimage, he solved a long-standing mystery.

Why do the lords, kings, and even emperors of various countries on the continent listen to the church?

Objectively speaking, the church did not have an absolute advantage in terms of financial and military power. As for faith, Oranz never took it seriously from a young age, because if there really was a God, why was he stronger than the priests?

The real reason is that the lords only know how to wage war and collect taxes, while the church is the "shepherd" of this continent.

The priests handled everything from arbitrating civil disputes and organizing daily production activities to providing assistance to the poor and sick.

It can be said that once a lord removes the church, his rule will immediately collapse, and he will not even be able to collect taxes.

Realizing this, Oranz began to train civil servants, which was the starting point for the later civil service system.

Later, Oranus also established a magic school.

He encountered obstacles during this time, but his own strength was too great, and his territory consisted of only two small towns and five villages, so the church didn't take him too seriously.

At the age of thirty-two, Hollande launched a rebellion to seize the throne, and a year later, he became a count.

At the age of thirty-five, he joined the Kingdom of Phos with his land, sparking a ten-year war.

Ten years later, at the age of forty-five, Oranz was already a duke and hailed as "the greatest magician in history," but his journey had only just begun.

At the age of fifty-six, amidst civil strife in the Kingdom of Phos, Aulan seized the throne, ushering in the second dynasty of Phos.

After Oranse ascended the throne, he did not stop there; he established numerous magic academies.

The church had a lot of complaints, but they couldn't do anything about it.

Soon after, Oranus began to consider the issue of his offspring.

He knew very well that his descendants could not be as strong as him; kings were useless after a few generations.

Oranz couldn't figure out how to prevent his descendants from becoming useless. Since he couldn't prevent his own descendants from becoming useless, he might as well make the descendants of the various lords become useless as well.

Thus, Oranz established the system of audience.

The system initially mandated that all lords must come to the capital for a year every other year, and that the journey be conducted with high standards, with each lord having to pay for it himself.

The various lords were in a terrible predicament, either in the capital or on their way there.

As for what happens to the affairs of the territory when the lord is absent? He leaves it to the secretary, who is of course specially selected by the king for all the lords, big and small, after being put to a rigorous examination.

The position of Secretary-General was created at this time.

Before Oranus died, most of the major lords had died, and the second and third generations were so engrossed in the prosperity of the capital that they simply requested to stay in the capital from now on and not return to their territories.

Hollande readily agreed.

In Ronan's view, Hollande's approach initially resembled that of the Tokugawa Shogunate in Japan, but later became the French system for centralizing power.

In short, during this process, the power of civil officials rose to prominence, and the king also achieved initial centralization of power through them.

More than a hundred years later, the kingdom's nobles all lived in the capital. In addition, the capital was a transportation hub and a trade center, so almost all the wealth of the kingdom was concentrated in this city. Even the citizens of the capital were extravagant, and the housing prices in the capital had reached an alarming level.

But beneath this prosperity...

The entire kingdom of Phos has become incredibly dire.

In less than two hundred years, a country that relied on absolute military force to intimidate its neighbors was destroyed.

And it was at this moment that a man who had changed his nickname many times throughout his life appeared.

He is Lawrence Freigo, also known as the "child prodigy," "sage," "tyrant," and "holy king."

However, Ronan felt his nickname should be "King of Reversing".

Because this guy shattered the kingdom, which was already close to an authoritarian empire, turning it into a country that was half feudal and half civil service.

Chapter Forty-Nine: The Mortgage Slave Mage, Too Many Uncles, Two Kings in Opposition

Before we begin to recount the life of Lawrence Freigo.

The book first points out a background: magicians were commonplace in the capital at that time.

Due to the widespread establishment of magic academies, a large number of magicians have been created over a hundred years. The vast majority of these people are not full-fledged magicians, but rather novice magicians who have not even fully mastered the seven basic magics.

Even if they wanted to offer sacrifices or swear an oath, they couldn't.

Because the prerequisite for offering sacrifices and making oaths is that one must have a complete grasp of the seven fundamental principles.

They are much stronger than ordinary people, both in terms of physique and knowledge, but they do not possess the extraordinary power of a true mage who can easily amass wealth and fame.

But they were still unwilling to spend their lives in a small place.

As a result, a large number of novice mages came to the capital, working to make a living while studying and cultivating, waiting for the gods to notice them and for an opportunity to come their way.

After all, examples of non-orthodox mages rising to high positions through their own talents are heard almost every day.

Unfortunately, most of them felt they were very talented, just lacking an opportunity.

With their superior physique and knowledge, most of them can afford a decent job, but the income from that decent job is still prohibitively expensive compared to the housing prices in the capital.

In ten years or so, these magicians' dreams will change from becoming superior to owning a house and settling down in the capital.

The rulers living in the capital were naturally delighted with this situation. A large number of cheap and excellent novice mages were burning their youth for the prosperity of the capital. After they had burned out, the rulers could continue to exploit them for the rest of their lives by selling houses.

These magicians are jokingly referred to as "mortgage slave magicians".

Lawrence grew up in such an era, but his childhood had nothing to do with these novice magicians who were like kindling.

He was called a "child prodigy" when he was a child because, although he was the second son, he also possessed ritual magic, and his summoned creatures grew much faster than his elder brother's.

However, according to the order of succession, he is still ineligible for the throne.

Thus, Lawrence spent most of his youth studying magical theory, becoming a renowned scholar at a young age. He possessed considerable skill and was friends with many famous magicians of the time. Coupled with his handsome appearance, humble and polite demeanor, and frequent acts of charity towards seemingly worthless and eccentric novice magicians, he was dubbed the "Sage."

Lawrence's life took a turn when he was twenty-three.

At that time, the empire bordering the northeast organized a large army to invade from the east, Weyland also crossed the sea, and the newly rising Northern Sweden League also came.

As expected, the incompetent army of the Kingdom of Fas was utterly defeated.

When the allied forces of the three kingdoms approached the capital, Lawrence's father sent Lawrence to negotiate peace while he fled, planning to take his money and lovers to a safe place.

Who would have thought that His Majesty the King would be mistakenly killed by the Empire's reconnaissance forces while on the run?

What's even more problematic is that this king was a bedroom diplomat; he married five times in his life, all of them princesses.

Each time he divorced and remarried, he would give his wife a sum of "alliance money" to take back to her parents' home.

The King of Wieland, the Duke of the Empire, and the King of Swedon were all his brothers-in-law.

Lawrence's elder brother, the "fat" Crown Prince Renault, panicked immediately. If these "uncles" invaded, wouldn't he be doomed? He immediately decided to flee, but he said that he would resolutely resist the invaders and vow to live and die with the capital. He even asked Lawrence, the second prince who was quite prestigious among mages and the common people, to organize a resistance army.

Turning around, "Fatty" Renault strategically moved away with his gold, silver, and nobles.

By the time Lawrence discovered it, it was too late.

According to records, Lawrence remained remarkably calm and delivered an incredibly inspiring speech, but whether that was actually the case is anyone's guess.

At that time, Lawrence had neither money nor soldiers. His money had all been taken by his elder brother and father, and as for soldiers, as a prince, he had no idea how bad the royal guard was.

All he owned was a now-deserted capital city.

No one knows what Lawrence was thinking at the time, but in any case, he promised the novice mages in the city that he would divide all the real estate of the nobles in the capital, and then issued these novice mages the kind of large-caliber muskets invented by Sir Rossi that could blow up even novice mages at close range.

Then, according to historical records, Lawrence demonstrated superb command skills, leading his mage musketeers out of the city for field battles, and several waves of attacks crushed the allied forces.

What? You're saying that His Majesty Lawrence spent the first half of his life reading and making friends, had no command skills whatsoever, couldn't even defend a city, and simply recklessly charged in and then ran away? He never even considered that he would win?

Insolence! To insult His Majesty the Holy King, drag him out and have the Iron Maiden serve him.

Lawrence defeated the three-nation alliance, but the matter was not over yet. Because of his father's misdeeds, the three-nation alliance did not immediately withdraw its troops.

His elder brother, who had already fled to the south, declared himself king.

Lawrence was now in a hurry. He had no choice but to grant titles to all of his tens of thousands of mage musketeers.

As for where the land came from?

Didn't all the nobles in the north run away? People who don't love their country don't deserve to be lords. All the land should be taken back and then distributed equally among the magicians.

Now that's great! Not only do they have houses, but they can also collect rent as landlords. The combat power of the mage musketeers has increased dramatically, attracting even more mages to join with their own provisions.

The mortgage slave magician is invincible. Lawrence then announced that his elder brother had been assassinated and then inherited the throne.

Lawrence was utterly cruel to the northern nobles who had lost their wealth; how could he possibly divide their houses and land?

This was especially true for civil officials, who had finally gained real power in their localities, only to have Lawrence turn back the clock and restore feudalism—a false king! A traitor!

Southern nobles were not so opposed to Lawrence, because most of them did not have the conditions to develop a manor economy. After the establishment of the civil service system, they had gradually developed into capitalists. As long as Lawrence did not ask them for money, there was not much of a problem, and even if he did not ask for much money, there was not much of a problem.

Of course, supporting "Fat Man" Renault would be more beneficial, so he is still publicly supported.

"Didi, are you reading the book Ronan gave you?" Yvette, who had just woken up, interrupted Dinia's reading.

Dinia placed the bookmark on the cover and put the book down. "This book is quite interesting. It uses history as a framework to explain the origins and development of the three forces: civil officials, aristocratic landowners, and agricultural capitalists. I didn't expect him to have such talent."

"Did Ronan really write it?" Yvette asked.

Dinia patted the book cover. "It's definitely him. Some passages are exactly his annoying speaking style. He's praising on the surface but actually mocking the late king. This guy should try the Iron Maiden."

She said she would use torture to deal with Ronan, but when she said this, her face only showed an appreciative smile.

Yvette had never seen Dinya look at any man with that expression.

Chapter Fifty: Balance of Power, Aging Nation, and the Rise of a Tyrant

Ten days later, at the royal estate more than 20 kilometers from the capital, Dinia was fishing with Lucien Freigo, the current king of the Kingdom of Fas.

"Haha, your fishing skills are as bad as ever," King Lucien laughed loudly.

Dinia, holding the fishing rod and staring at the still water, said, "Your Majesty, if you allow me to use magic, I can catch it right away."

“You’re not the one who sets the rules,” King Lucien said, pulling up his fishing rod and catching another small fish. “How was it? Were you warmly received in that seaside town?”

“I’m fine,” Dinia replied.

A hint of doubt flashed across King Lucien's face, but he quickly put on a smile. "Oh, you're not angry. It seems the other party doesn't quite match the report."

"Report?" Dinia asked in surprise.

“I have always regarded you as my daughter. As a father, of course I have to investigate the places my daughter is going to. He has received good reviews from some people.”

"King Lucien said."

The "he" he was referring to was naturally Ronan, and the phrase "received good reviews from a few individuals" meant that Ronan was a competent junior bureaucrat in the eyes of the older bureaucrats.

Dinia realized what Ronan had said and acted, and a hint of displeasure flashed across her face. "Many times, he really does resemble those annoying old men."

"Haha, if you take that statement the other way around, does this young man occasionally have a side that you find appealing?" King Lucien said with a hint of mockery.

Dinia angrily threw a pebble, not wanting to continue the topic. "Your Majesty, I have important business to attend to this time."

“Alas, children grow up and become less lovable.” King Lucien casually tossed aside his expensive fishing rod and stood up. “I agree to your request.”

Although the Kingdom of Fas reversed course a century ago, becoming a semi-feudal, semi-civilian system, the major nobles have been largely eliminated, and now there are only minor nobles, mostly descendants of the military nobles who were once known as "mortgage slave magicians."

While the civil officials of the Kingdom of Phos are said to be of commoner origin, a significant portion of them are actually descendants of the old nobles who lost their lands and titles during the "War of the Two Kings".

The two sides have both old grudges and new hatreds. After all, civil servants selected through examinations and members of parliament elected by elections are inherently at odds.

The two sides were in opposition but not out of balance, and the army was completely under the king's control.

Therefore, King Lucien was not only more like an emperor than the emperor without a ruler, but he also had far more "dictatorial" power than other kings.

He certainly has the confidence to say such things.

“But Your Majesty, you still don’t know what I’m about to bring up,” Dinia said, somewhat puzzled.

“That’s not important,” King Lucien said. “At most, you just want to bring together those seven special cities and then become their mayor.”

"You know?" Dinia asked in surprise.

Upon hearing Dinia's words, Lucien was momentarily stunned, then laughed helplessly. He had only intended to tease Dinia, but he hadn't expected her to go this far.

"As expected of you?" the king sighed. "However, I will not go back on my word. Just wait for the good news."

"Thank you, Your Majesty," Dinia bowed in thanks.

“I’ve always said I’ve always considered you my daughter. Isn’t it only right for a father to fulfill his daughter’s small wishes?” King Lucien said with a smile. “Actually, this is for the best. You should hurry up, I probably only have seven or eight years left.”

Dinia clenched her fist. "Your Majesty, you will surely live to be a hundred years old."

"When did you learn to say such empty platitudes?" Lucien said, but without a hint of reproach. Instead, he seemed pleased that his daughter had truly grown up. "When I was young, I indulged myself too much and overworked my body. I have a lot of hidden illnesses. If I weren't a magician, I probably would only have a year or two left."

Lucien was not the eldest son; he was not even the second son, but the third. Although his elder brother was not highly skilled in magic, he was kind and benevolent, and was the heir to the throne whom the councilors and civil officials all liked very much.