Chapter 498: Tarot Club in the Emperor's Absence
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Above the gray fog, the Tarot Gathering was held as usual.
Everyone noticed that the Emperor's seat was empty. "Justice" Audrey was a little worried, but after seeing "The Magician" next to her, she thought: As long as Fors can participate in the meeting normally, it means that Hobert has not encountered any danger. It may just be that he doesn't have time to participate. She can try to get some information from Fors later.
"The Hermit" Cattleya thought to herself: Could it be that "The Emperor" was killed by some being because he knew too many secrets? Hehe, it shouldn't be, after all, his identity is not simple.
"The Hanged Man" Alger didn't think much about it. Based on his understanding of "The Emperor," he thought that "The Emperor" might have suddenly encountered something urgent. After all, he is a favored one of "The Creator," and Mr. Fool also values him very much. With such an identity, it is impossible for him to withdraw from the Tarot Club for no reason.
"The Magician" Fors just felt it was a pity that she couldn't trade for that kind of high-level information at this Tarot Gathering. But she didn't know why, her spirituality seemed to be particularly active suddenly, which made her very worried.
"The Sun" Derrick was purely worried and didn't think about anything else.
"The Moon" Emlyn glanced at "The Emperor's" seat: I asked the Sanguine about some secret history of the Fourth Epoch last week, and I was planning to discuss it with "The Emperor" to show the Sanguine' erudition, but he's not here!
"The Fool" Klein had just checked, and Hobert had simply encountered a sudden event and was not in any danger. He was the one who didn't take "The Emperor's" absence seriously.
After everyone was briefly stunned by the absence of "The Emperor," the meeting officially began.
Without the participation of "The Emperor," the trading session of this Tarot Gathering ended quickly, and the free exchange session arrived.
Audrey said first: "I had a very boring week. Does anyone have any wonderful experiences?"
Everyone's lives last week were routine, except for the one sitting at the head of the bronze table who played the role of the Supreme Commander of the Sonia Sea Navy.
They didn't encounter any major events, except that the Supreme Commander's lover was contaminated by an Outer God, and his younger brother was suddenly dismissed.
Yes, these are not major events.
Seeing that everyone was silent, Fors leaned her upper body forward slightly: "Um, I don't know if my experience can be considered a wonderful experience?"
Audrey showed a very interested look: "Even if it's not wonderful, it must be exciting!"
"Yes, very exciting." Fors said, "Last week, I participated in an encirclement and suppression of demons. We killed a total of six 'Desire Apostles' and..."
Those who knew how difficult it was to kill Beyonders of the "Demon" pathway were all shocked.
Cattleya interrupted Fors's speech: "How many of you are there? You can kill six 'Desire Apostles'?"
"We are about fifty people. The other party should have more than ninety people, of course, they did not participate in the battle all at once." Fors smiled:
"Our overall strength is not as good as the opponent, but thanks to the commander-in-chief of this battle who had a perfect plan, our advantages were brought into full play."
Everyone was stunned again. Is this reasonable? Fifty people fighting ninety people, and still without an advantage in strength?
Emlyn almost blurted out "bragging," but he thought that Miss Magician rarely spoke and didn't seem like a liar, so he decided to listen first.
"You may not understand what I mean," Cattleya said, "Why didn't those demons run away? As far as I know, they have the ability of 'malice perception'. Generally, as long as you have malice towards them, they will immediately hide.
"So, generally speaking, the most difficult thing to kill Beyonders of this pathway is to find them!"
Alger also said: "I am very curious, under what circumstances would there be more than ninety people of this pathway gathered together?"
Fors then briefly described the general situation on the west bank of Full Moon Lake and the brief process of the battle.
Cattleya then understood that the "demons" must have sensed the malice, but they also knew that their strength was stronger than the enemy, so they did not escape: The commander of this battle played a huge role in achieving such a result. And this "Magician" Miss, sure enough, you can't ignore her just because she is lazy and doesn't like to talk. She also has a powerful organization behind her.
Alger also summarized in his heart: The commander of this battle is very strong and has a good mind.
Audrey exclaimed: Hobert did such a big thing last week! Could it be that he didn't attend because the matter hasn't been completely resolved?
Klein recalled his previous experience in Backlund: At that time, an "Desire Apostle" caused everyone a headache, but that was also because of the relationship in Backlund. As "The Hermit" said, the most difficult step in hunting "demons" is actually finding them. In Backlund, it provided enough hiding places for the "Desire Apostles". But the situation encountered by "The Emperor" and "The Magician" was a special case. The "Desire Apostles" not only did not run, but also prepared to kill their opponents.
Fors added: "We, we, to be precise, our demigod, also killed a demigod from the other side!"
Everyone was a little surprised again, so it seems that this battle achieved extremely amazing results!
Audrey asked: "Can you tell us in detail about the process of the demigod battle?"
Fors was a little embarrassed: "My strength is too weak, I didn't see the process of the demigod battle."
If she saw it and described it, everyone would probably be even more surprised.
...
Feynapotter Kingdom, west bank of Full Moon Lake.
Not far from the gate of Baron Felix's lord's mansion, there are five tall fir trees.
Those are five yellow firs, tall and straight. In autumn, the leaves are golden. During that harvest season, almost everyone in the entire territory can see these five golden fir trees.
These five yellow firs have become the symbol of the lord's mansion. Of course, before that, they did not represent authority, but only a large yard.
At this time, Hobert stood under the five yellow fir trees with his hands behind his back and received ten representatives elected by the people.
As soon as the ten representatives met, they felt the unquestionable majesty emanating from Hobert.
They quickly knelt down and asked Hobert to forgive the previous riot. They said that they had just lost control of their tempers at the time, which caused such an unpleasant thing to happen.
Hobert said: "Get up."
He said to Seel, "Let them all come over too, but they can only listen and not speak at will."
The "they" that Hobert said refers to the people standing not far away.
The guns in the hands of Seer and others kept them far away.
Although they were asked to come over, Seer did not let the soldiers put down their guns. They still had to rely on this to maintain order.
When the representatives got up, Hobert and others were surrounded by people. On one side were Conrad and other officials and young adults from the east bank, and on the other side were the people who participated in the riot. They were separated by several meters and were clearly divided.
Hobert said to the ten representatives: "Tell me about your demands for launching the riot."
An old man who was publicly elected braced himself and said: "Lord, you should have heard that we have our own gods to believe in. Please let us continue to believe in them.
"Everything else is easy to discuss. You say how much tax to pay, and we will pay that much tax. If you need manpower anywhere, we will do our best to provide manpower and resources."
"Is that really a god?" Hobert asked with a smile.
Just as the other party was about to reply, Hobert suddenly asked, "You look like you're over sixty years old, right?"
"52."
"Is your family relatively poor? Why are you dressed so raggedly?"
The old man replied: "The people on our west bank dress almost like this. Well, as far as I know, the east bank is not much better than us.
"The lord has never had to worry about food and clothing, and doesn't understand our difficulties."
"You're wrong!" Hobert smiled: "A ruler who doesn't think about the people's food and clothing is not a qualified ruler."
He asked in the direction of the lord's mansion: "Are there any young men from Shandy Village?"
Several people shouted: "Yes!" "Lord, I am."
Hobert randomly pointed to one: "Tell them about the changes in Jeffery's territory in the past six months."
"Yes!" The young man excitedly squeezed away his companions, grabbed his clothes and said to the old man: "Old man, do you see this? This is a new piece of clothing. I just made it last month.
"Half a year ago, Shandy Village was much poorer than you here..."
The young man enthusiastically described the changes in Shandy Village, the poorest village in Jeffery's territory, in the past six months. The people who participated in the riot listened attentively, but they were obviously a little unbelieving.
But seeing the clothes and mental state of the people in the direction of the lord's mansion, they couldn't help but doubt their own cognition.
After the young man finished speaking, Hobert said to the old man: "Belief is a matter that should be considered after being well-fed, or in other words, a belief that conflicts with being well-fed is basically problematic."
The old man was suddenly speechless by this conclusion and unique way of thinking: "This..."
A middle-aged representative on the side said: "Lord, we, we are used to that kind of belief. Please don't disturb us. As for other aspects, we are willing to listen to you and your subordinates' arrangements."
"Are you used to it?" Hobert asked sharply: "Do you think those demons will come back?
"I can tell you clearly that I can defeat them once, and I can defeat them twice.
"It was the Feynapotter government that gave this place to the demons. Baron Hobert doesn't owe you anything. On the contrary, I really couldn't stand it and rescued you.
"I gave you tents, I gave you seeds, and I let you replant in the spring.
"You didn't even have any gratitude, so why vent your resentment on me?"
The middle-aged representative was stunned: "I, I, I..."
When did he have resentment? Why did the topic completely run off track as he spoke, and it seemed as if he was really being willful to make such a request?
Everyone around was reminded by Hobert and suddenly turned the corner: That's right, why is my anger vented on the people who helped me?
Hobert noticed everyone's reaction and concluded in his heart: Most people still have normal logical abilities.
"Everyone can go out and take a look," Hobert said loudly: "This is the only place in the entire country that has been ruled by demons.
"Those demons are like mice in other places, afraid to show their faces.
"To be honest, I'm hoping they counterattack, so that I can defeat them again!"
This is the core of the problem: I have the strength to protect you!
The ten representatives looked at each other, not knowing how to continue the conversation.
Most of the people who participated in the riot were persuaded, but no one showed shame. After so many years of demon rule, they had become accustomed to solving problems with violence.
So they were only persuaded, but they didn't think there was anything wrong with their solution.
At this time, a reckless representative said: "I don't care, we just want to restore our faith. Unless you kill us all, we will go back and carve statues!"
The old man and the middle-aged man were both stunned. Then these two representatives quickly begged Hobert to forgive them and asked Hobert not to believe what he said.
Hobert carefully observed this reckless man. He tilted his head slightly, trembled unconsciously, his eyes were fierce, and the expression on his face was uncertain.
This is the kind of person who has obvious mental problems!
Hobert nodded with a smile: "You have guts!"
He said to all the representatives: "In my opinion, most of you want to have a better life, and only a few people insist on restoring their faith.
"In this way, you can distinguish yourselves on your own. Those who are willing to continue living in their homes, I promise you that if your harvest this year meets my requirements, I can ignore your beliefs.
"Don't worry, this requirement will not be a difficult goal for you to achieve. Well, I will send people to each village to do statistics and redistribute the fields, and set goals for you based on the amount of land and population.
"Since wheat is planted this season, I think it is more appropriate to set it at 400 jin per mu (about 400+ pounds). As long as you take care of it, you can completely achieve this yield per mu even if the rain is not so timely.
"If you have any objection to the requirements, you can come to the lord's mansion to request a recalculation, but after the requirements are set, you must start implementing them and cannot shirk your responsibility.
"Before the harvest, you are not allowed to carve stone statues privately, how about that?"
The old man couldn't believe it: "Are these the only requirements?"
Hobert nodded: "Yes, these are the only requirements, but if you privately carve any statues or symbolic symbols about demons before the harvest, the entire village will completely lose the right to freedom of belief."
The old man still couldn't believe it: "You must do what you say."
Hobert smiled: "When have I ever lied?"
The old man exchanged glances with the other representatives, and then said: "We agree to these requirements."
"I don't agree!" It was still the reckless representative who said: "We want to restore our faith immediately!"
Hobert smiled: "This is exactly what I'm going to say next. Separate those who would rather die than restore their faith. You will be immediately gathered together and guarded by someone."
The reckless representative asked: "What are you going to do with us?"
"Aren't you even afraid of death?"
"I just, I just want everyone to know your brutal side."
Hobert nodded slightly. People with severe mental problems weren't completely devoid of logic.
However, he had chosen the wrong opponent if he wanted to argue with Hobert.
Hobert sneered, "If you had said those words to a demon before, you would already be dead!"
Not only was that blockhead representative stunned, but everyone around him was also taken aback. That was indeed the case.
Hobert said with an expression of righteousness, "Why weren't you so brave back then? Instead, you use this sarcastic tone towards people who have helped you and are willing to listen to your demands.
"You even say it with such confidence, it's simply hateful, pathetic, and pitiful!"
Conrad took the lead in applauding, and everyone finally reacted and joined in.
Hobert's words poured out the grievances in the hearts of the people from the East Coast.
The blockhead representative was scolded and stood there dumbfounded, not knowing how to react for a moment.
When the applause stopped, Hobert said, "But I can tell you your fate!
"Although you can immediately restore your faith, you will be assigned to back-breaking labor until you die on the construction site!"
The other representatives lowered their heads with some awe.
Hobert spread his hands, "Whether you are willing to put in the effort to achieve your goals in the future, or completely give up on your life, it's all up to you!
"In addition, even those who choose to stay in their homeland will have to send two young people from each village and five young people from each town to Jeffery's territory for three months of compulsory labor.
"This is a punishment for your riot, because you could have made demands to the town government and negotiated, but you used the most violent and worst method.
"If you choose the wrong method and do the wrong thing, you will be punished!"
The other representatives all said, "We accept the punishment, we accept the punishment."
In their view, the punishment for a riot was to have two people from each village arrested and executed, which was a very light punishment.
Yes, they naturally assumed that the arrested young people would have no chance of survival.
Next, Hobert instructed Conrad to assign people to count the fields and population of each village to determine the targets set for them.
On the one hand, he would concentrate the people who wanted to restore their faith immediately to the almost deserted Eugene Territory.
Most importantly, he would count the young people who were to be punished in each village and town, and they would have to set off within three days.
Hobert publicly assigned tasks, and the people who participated in the riot were completely relieved. Some villages even selected the people to be punished on the spot, causing a burst of crying and wailing.
As for who was willing to stay in their homeland and who was willing to go to the wilderness, it was easy to distinguish. Some people had already consciously gone to the wilderness.
Hobert saw three children, eight or nine years old, also going to the wilderness together. He couldn't help but stop them, "Are you going to Eugene Territory too?"
The three children looked fierce, and almost said in unison, "Yes."
"The kitchen here needs three helpers," Hobert said. "You will start doing hard labor from now on! Go to Eugene Territory tomorrow!"
The three children were about to say something, but Seer kicked them one by one towards the gate of the lord's mansion, "Bastards!"
It was unclear whether he was cursing the demons or the three little brats.
In the evening, under the escort of the Dennis brothers, a new batch of supplies arrived.
When Conrad and the others retreated earlier, their supplies had no time to be taken away. Without this batch of supplies, the dinner problem for hundreds of people would be difficult to solve.
In addition to the people Dennis brought, nearly a thousand people from the East Coast had gathered here. At night, they camped inside and outside the lord's mansion, brightly lit, looking very lively.
As for the group of people who had gone to the wilderness in advance, Hobert planned to let them starve and freeze for a night first.
During dinner, Serena at the same table asked, "Teacher, if they complete the targets given to them, are you really going to restore their faith?"
Hobert smiled and said, "I got definite news from Bishop Simpson that most people have a chance of recovering from mental corruption as long as they don't come into contact with elements related to demons in the next few months.
"And imagine, after a few months, they have received unimaginable gains, and there are no signs of the demons returning. The people who were punished on the other side tell them about the great changes in Jeffery's territory.
"If these are not enough to make them change their minds, then they should be given some treatment."
Freya was more concerned, "What are you going to do with the group who demanded immediate restoration of their faith? Are you really going to let them die in pain?"
Hobert sighed and said, "Of course, I will gather them together to prevent them from affecting others.
"Before finding a way to treat them, I will drain their energy to prevent them from harming others."
Freya nodded seriously and continued to eat her bread. She knew that her teacher would not disappoint her.
While everyone was eating, a servant from the East Coast, under the protection of two guards from the lord's mansion, found Hobert and the others who were sitting on the ground eating.
After seeing Hobert, the servant said, "Your Lordship, the Madam asked me to report to you that a riot also broke out in Viscount Teuton's territory this afternoon.
"Viscount Teuton has already begun to kill on a large scale. It is said that the effect is quite good."
Hobert was slightly stunned and immediately understood that this was Archibald's notification to him.
It can also be regarded as a kind of advice to Hobert, or a suggestion.
After all, solving problems with killing saves time and effort, and does not cost much resources.
Hobert said to the servant, "Go back and tell Archibald that I am not the same as Teuton.
"Tell Archibald again that as long as I am not here, Fors is the master of the territory."
The servant carefully remembered Hobert's words and immediately embarked on the return journey without rest.
Hobert looked around at everyone and finally asked Conrad, "What do you think makes a qualified ruler?"
Conrad quickly swallowed the food in his mouth, thought for a moment, and then said, "Just as Your Lordship said this afternoon, the ruler must first solve the people's problems of food and clothing."
"That's just the most basic requirement," Hobert said. "Ruling is a responsibility! Whether now or in the future, everyone's standard of governance is 'people-oriented' and to have enough respect for life.
"Such a governance philosophy is hard not to be thriving.
"Only by building a safe and mutually respectful society can it be an open society and can it be completely prosperous.
"This is a very simple cause-and-effect relationship, but often simple things are the most difficult to do, so some people always want to find so-called shortcuts.
"We can't be so impetuous, we must operate patiently, I believe that through our joint efforts, we will be able to create an unprecedented prosperous society!"
Everyone in the circle present had their eyes shining.
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