The priests of Louen did not know what was happening outside the sealed city wall. In fact, even if there was no blockade, they would not have noticed the infiltration and destruction from the lowest level of the population. Since the public burning in the square that day, Louen had temporarily calmed down. The priests of the cathedral thought that burning the propaganda materials had solved the problem, or at least stopped Cecil's people from further destruction. But in fact, more turbulent forces were brewing under the illusion of calm, brewing in every corner of the sealed city.
Some rumors of unknown origin began to spread in the city. People secretly gathered in their houses after nightfall to discuss the dwindling rations and the locked gate of the church. Some people said that they saw carts of food being transported to the church. Some said that there was enough food stored in the ground of the cathedral to feed the entire city for a year. Some more disturbing news pointed out that the priests in the city had begun to prepare to flee. All kinds of rumors bloomed overnight and then spread rapidly throughout the outer city.
More and more leaflets and booklets entered the city through secret channels in this turbulent undercurrent.
The burning and burning in the square had a strong deterrent effect. A large number of civilians were frightened. After the new leaflets appeared, many people immediately chose to hand them in, but some chose to secretly keep them. In the second batch of leaflets, there were not only revelations about the Church of Holy Light but also descriptions of another better life: more enlightened faith, more prosperous life, and the holy light that belonged to everyone. These things were indescribably attractive to the people of Louen who had endured a high-pressure life for a long time.
Therefore, while a large number of flyers were voluntarily handed in, another part of the flyers were transferred to more secretive channels. They spread in the alleys that no one paid attention to, spread in the dark night, and spread among the hungry and frightened people. They might have a harder time spreading, but they left a deeper impression in people's hearts. And in this process, Louen City was gradually dividing in an imperceptible way.
The priests in the cathedral probably would never understand why the leaflets were so attractive to the civilians. However, the MIB agents who were sabotaging the city could understand all this. Before the rise of Cecil, no supernatural group or noble group in the world would talk to the people with a "human" attitude. Even if the conversation was just a few words printed on paper, just a few greetings, a few words of encouragement, and a few promises, the warmth they carried was precious in this cold era.
The civilians in Louin City were considered the upper class among the civilians. They were wealthier, more respectable, and had a higher literacy rate than the average civilian. But they were still civilians after all. In this era where everyone had a clear hierarchy, they were still at the bottom of the hierarchy in Louin City. In times of peace and prosperity, they might be able to live better than people in other places, but when the situation became difficult, their living conditions would plummet. And this huge gap intensified their dissatisfaction, creating a deeper estrangement between them and the priests in the city.
Of course, the cathedral was not always unaware of all this. The edge of the church district was inextricably linked to the outskirts of the city. As new leaflets were discovered and handed in, the high-ranking priests were finally alerted. They were shocked by the number of leaflets and the speed at which they were replenished. Then, they began to search and interrogate in various areas. In the process, Bishop Fran Belen of Louen, Archbishop of Louen, preached in the city. Belang specially gathered all the citizens of the city and preached a sermon in the square. He told everyone that Loen City's current difficult situation was caused by the blockade of the Cecil people, and that the Cecil people were the main culprits. He called on everyone to maintain their piety to the God of Holy Light and loyalty to the church, and to face the current difficult situation with the greatest tenacity.
This is a successful sermon, Fran Mandel. Fran Belen slightly restored the confidence of some civilians. However, after the sermon, dozens of civilians who were suspected of discussing the church and leaflets in private were publicly whipped. As the whip fell, more people only accumulated resistance and resentment toward the Louen Cathedral.
It might be Cecil's people who blockaded the city, but it was the monks who waved the whip and plundered the rations. For most ordinary people, they did not care about the details of the confrontation at all. They only cared about their own lives.
More video materials were sent out of Louen, to Cecil's mainland, and to the printing factories in the four new industrial cities in the south. They were turned into tens of thousands of newspapers and sent to the entire south.
With the application of the industrial printing press, the circulation and frequency of Cecil's Weekly had greatly increased. Now, not only could it publish all over the country, but it had also increased from one issue per week to two issues per week. Occasionally, it would add a special issue.
Cecil's Weekly, which had a wide audience, now had more and more readers. Businessmen used it to sniff out business opportunities, scholars used it to accumulate knowledge, and literate civilians relied on it to understand the changes in food prices and government decrees. Even the illiterate would gather around literate people and listen to them read the contents of the newspaper to understand the changes in the land, because this information was closely related to their basic necessities.
Benny, who lived in Calore City, was a person who had a close relationship with newspapers. He would come to the place where newspapers were sold early on the first and sixth days of every week to get the latest issue of Cecil's Weekly before anyone else, and he would take many copies at once.
Because he was a newspaper boy.
This was a new "profession", and it could not even be called a profession. In order to release the newspaper as soon as possible and reduce the pressure on the newspaper bureau, the government officials recruited a group of children from the newly established generic schools. The recruitment criteria were that their families were poor and had good grades. These children went out to work on Monday and Saturday mornings when there were no classes. Although the half-day income was not much, it was still a valuable supplement for them and their families. Benny, who had learned some spelling skills from his father and had good grades in school, got this valuable job.
In the early morning, when the first ray of sunlight was still hesitating on the horizon, and the new magic crystal lamps on the city streets had not yet been extinguished, Benny had already arrived at the door of the newspaper bureau. Behind him were a dozen people, half of whom were children like himself.
Time passed by unknowingly as Benny greeted his friends, talked about the new things in the city, and talked about the teachers in the generic schools. Benny enjoyed this relaxed and comfortable feeling. Although he could not describe it, he knew that the arrival of Cecil's people had changed everything in the city. Many adults seemed to be worried about the changes in the city, but Benny felt that life was pretty good now.
Soon after the first ray of sunlight rose above the horizon, the newly built mechanical clock two streets away rang. With the first chime of the day, the magic crystal lamps on both sides of the road went out one by one, and the door of the newspaper bureau opened.
Not long after, Benny received the newspapers that he was going to deliver and sell today. He had prepared two large satchels. One satchel contained the newspapers that others had ordered, and the other satchel contained the newspapers that he was going to sell.
The rich, such as merchants and scholars, wanted to see the new newspapers as soon as possible. They would usually pay a few more copper coins for a "newspaper delivery service" for a month, where the newspapers would be delivered directly to their homes. It was said that in the big cities in the south, such work was done by professional postmen, but there were not enough postmen in Calore, so the job of delivering the newspapers was also handed over to the newsboys.
Benny carried the heavy satchel and walked quickly to the street. He quickly completed the task of delivering the newspaper to the street, then found a quiet place, took out a newspaper, and read it carefully.
It was considered slacking, but in a street corner where no one was looking, no one would bother him.
Benny was not worried that he would not be able to complete the sales task of the day because there were more and more people reading the newspaper, and it had always been in short supply.
At least for now.
Benny read it carefully. He finished reading the news and current affairs on the first page, and then began to read a new section that caught his attention recently.
This section was called "Faith and Church".
It was a new section that first appeared in Cecil's Weekly three issues ago in a special issue.
In the first two or three issues of the newspaper, the content of this section was not unusual. It was mainly about classic religious allusions and easy-to-understand fables. It also talked about some common knowledge about religious rituals and gods. Anyway, no matter what it said, it was very interesting to Benny. He read it as an interesting story.
But this time, the content was a little unusual. Instead of the short stories and fables, Benny saw a full-page article, and the eye-catching title of the article:
"The Way the Church of the Holy Light in the North Works: Where the Wealth of the Clergy Comes from"
Benny was a little curious, but just as he was about to continue reading, a curse from the side interrupted him. "What the hell!"
Benny was startled. He turned his head and saw Old Tom, who lived in the same neighborhood. The old cobbler was holding a newspaper in his hand. He looked angry and cursed again. "I don't believe it!"
Benny shrank his neck. He was a little afraid of the old man. Old Tom was a believer in the Holy Light, and he was devout and stubborn. It was said that he donated half of his property to the church after his wife died. He lived a frugal and solitary life. As a cobbler, Old Tom's craftsmanship was unquestionable, but as a stubborn and solitary old man, he was very difficult to get along with.
Children were afraid of him.
At this time, Old Tom was still cursing under his breath. He seemed to be very dissatisfied with the contents of the newspaper. However, he couldn't help but pick up the newspaper and continue reading the contents. He cursed almost every sentence he read.
The more Benny looked at him, the more scared he became. He felt that this reclusive old man was not in his right mind, so he quietly retreated, ready to leave quietly. But before he could move, the eccentric old leatherman called out to him, "Child! Don't you think the things in the newspaper are nonsense?! "
Benny immediately shrunk his neck again. He mustered up his courage and raised his head, preparing to leave after a few words. However, the moment he raised his head, this half-grown child was stunned.
He saw the eccentric, solitary old widower staring at him. His eyes were frighteningly red, and his face, which had always been cold, was twisted in pain.
"This is all nonsense! This must be nonsense! " Old Tom grabbed the newspaper. The newspaper was almost crumpled in his hand, but his voice was trembling. "They told me … They said … When the gold coins jingle, my name will be in the kingdom of God, and Marsha will be waiting for me in the kingdom of God …"
Benny blinked. He did not know what the old cobbler in front of him was talking about, but his eyes swept across the newspaper in his hand. On it, the "theological commentator" signed "White Knight" wrote the words clearly and clearly:
"… They (the priests) are good at using all kinds of unverifiable empty promises to cheat believers of their money. The most common sayings are … When the gold coins jingle, you can reserve your place in the kingdom of God, or send the soul of a recently deceased relative into the kingdom of God, but in fact, this has nothing to do with the doctrine of the Holy Light …
"In the Original Codex of the Holy Light, there is a clear statement about the salvation of souls, but the priests never let ordinary people see this part of the content, or do not interpret this part in detail …"
Old Tom's emotions seemed to have finally calmed down a little. His eyes were still red, but he no longer cursed. Instead, he picked up the newspaper and quickly read the contents again.
"Bah."
He spat to the side, and then seemed to hesitate whether to throw the newspaper away, but in the end, he stuffed the newspaper into his clothes and walked away slowly with his body hunched.
Benny looked at the scene in confusion, and then noticed that there were more people around with newspapers in their hands.
People gathered in twos and threes, discussing the contents of the newspaper. Some were worried, some were angry, and some were confused.
No one seemed to react as fiercely as Old Tom, but they were undoubtedly very concerned about the contents of the newspaper. There were many who did not have the newspaper in their hands, and they seemed to be asking the people around them about something.
Benny thought for a moment and suddenly knew what he should do.
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