"Rudolph, you can still laugh?" Philip slapped the table angrily, "Aren't you ashamed at all?!" ”

Rudolph smiled and calmly asked Philip: "Why should I be ashamed just because someone writes an article in the newspaper criticizing you?" ”

"This is not a fair criticism at all, it is a shameless slander!" Philip grabbed the newspaper and waved it angrily, "Don't say you don't know about it!" The evening newspaper has long become your propaganda front, and that unscrupulous literati named John is your royal pen, and this clown dares to write an article slandering me for instructing Krautz to suppress the anti-tax people, and tarnishing my reputation. ”

Philip was so angry that he couldn't help but laugh. Philip accused the newspaper of tarnishing his reputation and demanded clarification to his face, but this was exactly the purpose of his instigation of John Pullett to write a series of conspiracy theories.

Philip tried to stand up and lead the revolution during the anti-tax movement, although he failed to do so, but his image in the eyes of the people was still good, and he had a appeal that could not be ignored. Even during this period of house arrest, this ambitious old man did not give up the idea of returning to the political arena.

Of course, Roland can't let him get his wish, and the fact that he can't appear in public through house arrest is only a temporary arrangement, and the real lethality is the "declassified" articles in the newspapers, and for a politician like Philip, who lives entirely on his reputation, once his reputation is discredited, the hope of a comeback will be cut off, and it is no wonder that he is mad with anger.

"Philip, I will not comment on whether the news in the newspaper is true, as for clarifying the so-called truth...... This is not very easy to do, I think it is better to forget it, with your identity, why bother to be angry with those little people who play with the pen, it is undecent. Rudolph said lightly.

Philip trembled with anger, pointed to Rudolph's nose and said, "Sure enough, you are behind it...... Rudolph, you are a black-hearted wolf, I have never seen a person as brazen as you in my life! ”

Roland rubbed his hot cheeks, secretly ashamed, and even caused his father to carry the black pot for himself.

Philip is not Klautz after all, he understands the truth that the situation is stronger than people, and after venting, he calmed down and asked Rudolph with a hint of luck: "What the newspaper said is true, the Far East was established independently, and the Fort of Atonement held a sanctification ceremony?" ”

"Of course, it's all true, from now on there will be no Far Eastern provinces, no more Atonement Fortresses, only the Kingdom of Kolas and Korasburg, and the people of this land are no longer the sinners of the unholy Assanian Empire, the Temple of Pero has been changed to the Temple of Sindra, which is open to all the people of the Far East, and anyone who enters the temple will be blessed and free from heresy." Rudolph replied proudly.

Philip hung his head in despair, having to face the reality that the general trend was gone, and withdraw from the power struggle in disgrace.

Roland observed Philip's face and said softly: "Although the Temple of Pero has become the Temple of Sindra, the statue of Pero has not been destroyed, it has been stored in the warehouse by me, and there is no place for it in the Far East, so it should be sent to where it should go." As he spoke, he took out a key and a ring from his pocket and handed them to Philip, "This is the warehouse key, this is the ring representing the archbishop, you can keep it." ”

Philip was stunned for a moment, took the key and the ring, raised his head and looked at Roland in surprise, and it took a long time for him to show a look of sudden realization.

"You father and son want to ease relations with the Imperial authorities?"

Rudolph nodded calmly, "Your Excellency Philip, after a while we will return your freedom and escort you back to the Holy City, in addition to asking you to represent the people of the Far East to the Imperial authorities and recognize the Far Eastern Province as the hereditary fiefdom of our Kolas family. ”

Philip sneered: "You just crowned yourself with a crown, and now you are willing to be a vassal of the emperor, isn't it very hypocritical?" ”

Rudolph's face did not change: "The king of the kingdom of Kolas can also be a marquis or duke of the Assanian Empire, just like the king of Canaan is also a marquis of the empire, there is no conflict. ”

Philip closed his eyes in contemplation, tapped his fingers on the table, and broke the silence after a long while: "If the imperial authorities accept your request, the kingdom of Koras will become a client state of the empire, just like Canaan, Fijin, Hailan and Baoshihua, this not only means that your personal dignity will be damaged, but also the entire country will be disgraced, how can you account to the five million Far Easterners who have just gained independence?" ”

"How am I going to give an account to the people?" Rudolph stood up with his hands on the table, his eyes shining with no anger and arrogance, "We help the people of the Far East to break the economic shackles imposed on them by the Empire, and abolish tithes and imperial preferences; We consecrate the people and help them find their souls free from heresy. We also promised to give them more freedom, more power, and a secure life free from hunger and cold, and it is also my responsibility as a monarch to avoid war with such a formidable enemy as the Empire as much as possible, and I need not apologize to anyone for the change in diplomatic strategy! ”

Philip was shocked by Rudolph's arrogant momentum, cold sweat couldn't help but ooze from his forehead, his dry lips squirmed, and he barely squeezed out a smile:

"I was not mistaken, Rudolph, that you were destined to be a great man, and that the crown of a king is worthy of your size...... I will report what happened here as it is, and I trust that His Majesty the Emperor, the Holy See, and the ministers will make a wise decision. ”

Philip is a man who understands the times, knows how to change with the times, and chooses the most profitable position for himself according to the external environment. When he realized that the prestige of the Koras father and son in the Far East had risen to a height beyond his reach, he gave up hostility and did not mention anything to clarify his reputation, and discussed with Rudolph the possibility of reconciliation between the nascent kingdom of Kolas and the old empire to the west.

In the end, Philip reluctantly agreed with Rudolph that the empire's territory was too large for its degraded and sluggish ruling institutions, and that the loss of the Far East would be a burden to be laid down, and if the imperial authorities could wake up and work hard to reform the old system and reload the battle, it would be possible to use this as an opportunity to usher in the revival of the Far East, and the fact that the Far Eastern provinces would be lost would turn from a bad thing to a good thing.

"Reform is a necessary means to inject vitality into the empire, and it is because of the failure to implement reform in time that the Far East has evolved into a revolution, and this responsibility lies with me, and after returning to the Holy City, I will ask His Majesty the Emperor and the Central Holy See for my guilt, hoping that my failure in the Far East can sound the alarm for the top of the empire." Philip said sadly.