"I will be presiding over this week's regular meeting. First of all, I would like to thank all of you for your support to the work of the council. This city's achievements today are inseparable from your hard work. However, before the meeting begins, I would like to remind all of you to exercise your power cautiously. Every vote you cast will affect and even determine the fate of this city." Viscount Hutton paused for a moment. "Now, I announce the official start of the 26th regular meeting of the city council this year." After that, he took over the statistical data handed over by the staff. Although he had tried his best, when he saw the two numbers on the paper, his expression was still very interesting. He paused for a moment before continuing. "That … the number of people attending this meeting is 123, but the actual number is 124. Inspector, please make a final confirmation."
The inspector nodded and signed his name on the piece of paper.
"Now, let's proceed to the voting of the proposal. The first proposal of this regular meeting is from Councilor Sullivan. It's about the kidnapping of Archbishop Morteris. Councilor Sullivan regrets the progress that the garrison has made so far. He believes that the relevant people in charge may have committed different degrees of malfeasance. Therefore, Councilor Sullivan proposes to adjust the personnel and suspend the main person in charge for investigation. Regarding this proposal, let's first invite both parties to make their statements. The time limit is half a magic hour."
…
The meeting proceeded in an orderly manner. Viscount Hutton was very worried at first. After all, Dardarion's unusual appearance in the city council today was like a ticking time bomb. As the host, Viscount Hutton was afraid that Dardarion would suddenly cause trouble. However, in fact, throughout the entire morning, D 'Dardarion was very calm.
He just sat in the corner, yawning and flipping through the set of books in his hands. It seemed that he was not interested in what was happening in front of him at all. However, when the fourth proposal was voted on, Viscount Hutton finally heaved a sigh of relief.
At least for now, it seemed that Dardarion was not here for him today. The proposal that Viscount Hutton was most concerned about came from Councilor Hubian. The content of the proposal was to ask the city council to allocate funds to renovate a public square in the west of the city.
Everyone who worked in the Parliament knew that Hubian and Hutton didn't get along normally, and the two of them often had conflicts. However, this was just a deliberate act they put on. The two of them had already known each other before entering the Parliament, and they were very good friends. However, in order to cooperate more effectively, they created the illusion that they were political opponents.
For example, the real beneficiary of the renovation of the square was Viscount Hutton. This was because most of the properties near the square were under his name. Once the proposal was passed, the city council would have to pay him a large sum of money during the renovation process. After the renovation was completed, the flow of people in the area was expected to increase. As a result, the value of the properties under his name would increase as well. After the proposal was passed, it was estimated that his personal assets would double.
If this proposal was put forward by him, there was an 80% chance that the city council would reject it. Moreover, it might even give his enemies something to use against him. However, now that his "enemy", Councilor Hubian, was the sponsor of the proposal, no one would suspect him. Moreover, Hubian had no interest in this proposal, so it was naturally easier for the council to pass it.
According to Viscount Hutton's understanding, they were not the only pair in the city council who were enemies on the battlefield and friends off the battlefield. In the end, this was just one of the countless strategies that could be used to push a proposal through. The city council was not a battlefield, but it was no less complicated than a battlefield.
No, it should be said that the current situation was even more complicated than a battlefield. Viscount Hutton was also a knight, and he had a period of military life. Sometimes, he couldn't help but feel that life in the army was much simpler. Even if there was any conflict, everyone could solve it by fighting. At night, they would still gather around the campfire and drink together.
On the contrary, none of the councilors in the meeting were easy to deal with. Even if they were friends, they couldn't completely trust each other. Alliances and betrayals were performed here every day. Everyone was trying their best to maximize the benefits for themselves or the forces behind them. For this, they could easily betray their former allies.
Scholar Tobias once said that so-called politicians were like sharks. They would be attracted by the smell of blood, and when necessary, they would not hesitate to devour their own kind.
Viscount Hutton was already used to this. When he first entered the council, he had a few of his father's old friends to take care of him. Even so, he had suffered a few big losses. Now, he had become one of these sharks, and a very strong one at that.
However, he was almost tired of these days of intrigue. In the past two years, he had used his power to make a lot of money. Plus, he had made a lot of money this time. He could already start thinking about his life after retirement. Coincidentally, his eldest son was 27 years old this year. In another two years, he would be able to take over his position in the city council.
Viscount Hutton was a little lost in thought. This was the work process of the city council. Generally speaking, the more important the proposal, the higher it would be. Unless the seven members of the round table had different opinions on a certain proposal, the proposal would be put aside for a period of time. In the afternoon, after the other proposals were finished, a new round of discussion would continue. Today was relatively smooth. In the morning, most of the important proposals had basically reached a consensus. In fact, everyone was actually mentally prepared. However, after that, D 'Daron did not cause any trouble. Instead, he abstained all the way until now. Everyone began to wonder if they had misunderstood this guy. Perhaps he simply wanted to come to the city council to read some books? In this case, the work in the afternoon would be easier. Viscount Hutton could also relax a little.
"Then … the last proposal for today is from Mr. Stuart. The marriage fleet of the Ferdinand Family will arrive at Gudilesi in a month and a half. Please allow them to dock at the port."
The news of the marriage between the Ferdinand Family and the Bretton Family had long spread like wildfire, and everyone present had naturally heard of it. It was said that the head of the Bretton Family, Hartfilia, was now secretly studying in Gudilesi, and the thing that the kid named Mograine was doing now was undoubtedly extremely romantic. He was bringing an engagement across the ocean. Such extravagance was rare even among the nobles, and it was just like a girl's novel.
So now, a group of people were waiting for the follow-up development as if they were watching a serial. People could never get tired of watching the drama of lovers getting married. Therefore, at this time, the members of the city council would not dampen everyone's spirits. In fact, the Ferdinand Family's fleet sent a letter to the university town requesting to dock was more out of courtesy. The fleet itself did not carry any dangerous goods. Except for the two frigates that carried weapons, the other ships were only used for transportation. The reason why the frigates were equipped with weapons was to deal with the harassment of pirates. This level of armed forces would not threaten the safety of Gudilesi at all.
However, after all, the two sides belonged to different forces. This time, the Ferdinand Family did not want anyone to find fault with them. So, they followed the procedure as it should be. But in fact, both sides knew that this was just a formality. Mograine thought so, Viscount Hutton thought so, Speaker Wood thought so, and so did everyone else in the conference hall.
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