Hearing Hadillon's words, Mathilda subconsciously wanted to frown, but this action only appeared in her mind for a moment before it was covered by her indifferent expression.
"Now the city is still filled with tension, but the order of the factories and markets has begun to gradually recover." She came to Hadillon's side and said amiably, "Due to the intervention of the royal family, the merchants who tried to profit from the chaos and the nobles who tried to transfer their assets were killed in advance. The supply of food, cloth, and medicine is no longer a problem … More than half of this is due to your contribution."
"During a special period, we need to use some special means to make some people 'behave'." Hadillon chuckled. "It's human instinct to pursue profit, but some people's instincts are too out of control. By the way, sister, I heard that there was a confrontation between the National Knight's Regiment and the National Eleventh Regiment. Has it been resolved? "
"We found a group of commanders and soldiers in the Eleventh Regiment who were mentally contaminated, and a few people who were excited by shallow beliefs. They were the source of the confrontation. They have all been sent for treatment," Mathilda said. "As for the others … When Grand Duke Ferdinand showed up, the situation quickly calmed down."
"Grand Duke Ferdinand …" Hadillon showed a thoughtful expression. "He is the most respected person among the military nobles. The National Knight's Regiment that he controls is absolutely loyal to the royal family and completely isolated from the Church of the God of War. With him standing up, it's more effective than a hundred generals."
Mathilda nodded slightly. "As long as the army is effectively controlled, the military nobles remain loyal, and the corruption of faith in a few core regiments is eliminated in time, the situation will soon be alleviated. Moreover, we have a large number of battlemages who are completely unaffected by this' plague ', and the Royal Association of Mages has always been on the side of the royal family. As long as these two forces are not out of control, order will not be out of control."
Hadillon's gaze fell on the list next to him, and the corner of his mouth curled up a little. "This is also the primary guarantee that these lists will be properly 'handled'."
He knew that when a series of crises suddenly erupted, many people in the country were pessimistic. Some people who knew too much even thought that the Augustus Family would never recover from this setback, and that the Typhon Royal Family was done for. Government decrees could not go out of Obsidian Palace, the frontline army was out of control, a 'mental plague' appeared in the capital, and the parliament was in a state of panic. It seemed that the situation had reached the point of complete collapse, and the country's royal family could not do anything about it …
Hadillon actually understood these pessimistic and even extreme emotions, but he did not agree with them.
This was because a large number of armies, including the Kingdom's Knight Regiment, the Obsidian Palace Guards, and the rogues, were still firmly in the hands of the royal family. Furthermore, due to the deliberate control of the Typhon Royal Family over the years, these armies were not influenced by any church. The Royal Association of Mages had always been on the side of Obsidian Palace, and the current president of the association and almost all of the high-ranked mages were staunch supporters of the royal family. Not only did these mages possess powerful military strength, they also possessed technology. They were the key to quickly purifying the entire country's communication network and quickly filling in the loopholes in the communication system. Other than that, the powerful nobles led by Ferdinand Wendell also had reliable loyalty, and had already distanced themselves from the Church of the God of War, either openly or secretly …
Typhon was facing a crisis, but the situation was not out of control. The Augustus Family was just caught off guard.
In this crisis, the only thing that made the young Hadillon feel uneasy and unable to control was those Cecil's men who seemed to have calmed down.
The enraged Cecil's men were dangerous, but after they calmed down and silently occupied the Winter Wolf Defense Line, they might be even more dangerous. The scary thing was, all of this was not something that Typhon could control.
He shook his head and rubbed his slightly sore eyebrows. Mathilda's voice sounded in the next second, "Perhaps, you can leave some of them to me …"
Before Mathilda could finish speaking, Hadillon shook his head. He raised his eyes and his gaze fell on his sister's face. With a very serious expression, he said, "We both know why this matter must be left to me."
Mathilda frowned but did not say anything. She understood what Hadillon meant, and out of tacit understanding, they did not delve into this topic.
Right at this moment, a slight buzzing sound suddenly rang out. One of Mathilda's earrings emitted a faint light and a buzzing sound. The conversation between the siblings was interrupted. Hadiran quickly reacted and said, "Father is looking for you."
"It seems so …" Mathilda touched her earlobe and nodded to Hadillon. "Then I'll take my leave."
…
Not long after, Mathilda, who had bid farewell to Hadillon, walked through the deep and long corridors and rooms in the Obsidian Palace and came to a study in the inner court. Her ambitious father was sitting on his favorite high-back chair. When Mathilda entered the room, Rosetta Augustus was reviewing several documents. He looked up from the documents and smiled faintly when he saw his daughter. "You came a little earlier than I expected."
"I happened to be at Hadillon's place," Mathilda said frankly. "When I received your call, I immediately came over."
"Hadillon … He should be very busy recently," Emperor Rosetta said casually. "So, what did you talk to him about?"
"It's just a discussion about the recent domestic situation," Mathilda said. Then she paused and could not help but say, "The list, more lists … To be honest, it looks a little uncomfortable."
Rosetta looked at her and shook his head after a few seconds. "Believe me, Mathilda, more than anyone else, I don't want to see such a list increase. But after all, this is what we have to do. There are still many things that need to be changed in this country, and this crisis has exposed those hidden problems. If we don't have the determination to take this opportunity to eradicate them, then we will face more long-term difficulties and accumulate more hidden dangers in the future. "
"Of course, I understand," Mathilda said immediately. "But … I always feel like I'm just a bystander."
"… Being a bystander is the best way for you to 'participate' now," Emperor Rosetta looked at Mathilda deeply. Then he seemed to hesitate for a moment, and then said softly, "Remember, child, your hands can't get dirty, especially on this matter."
Mathilda's heart skipped a beat, and she could not help but widen her eyes slightly.
In fact, she knew that her father would make this matter clear sooner or later, but she never thought that it would be under such circumstances and in such a way.
After a short silence, Rosetta Augustus continued, "Mathilda, remember, if you want to shoulder a country, you have to look at the long-term future in everything you do. You have to think further than anyone else, and consider all the costs and possible effects from the beginning. Specifically, this time, what you need to do is to ensure that your hands aren't dirtied. You need to appease the nobles in a perfect manner, meet with the citizen representatives, and announce the follow-up welfare, production, and supply policies. You need to be the protector and builder of order, and those unpleasant things … have to be done by others.
"Even if a lot of things and decisions are made by you, you have to maintain this' decent cleanliness'.
"Mathilda, we all know that the list and the purges that are not on the list are to purge the Empire's parasites, to rapidly stabilize the situation and resist threats from both inside and outside. However, most people would not pay attention to the long-term results. They would pay attention to the terror and tension in the process, as well as the 'justifiable victims' … In fact, their thinking might even be correct. Regardless of the purpose of the purges, their methods were not honorable. If they were misused, it would even be a breach of Order. No matter what the results of these actions are in the short term, they are bound to be controversial in the long term, and these controversies cannot fall on your head. "
At this point, he looked at Mathilda deeply again, and a smile appeared on his face. "Do you feel that I am overprotective of you?
"Mathilda, many years ago, I faced a situation similar to today … or worse, because the list I made back then was much larger than today's, and the people I had to deal with were much more cunning and sinister than the opportunistic merchants and selfish nobles. And I could only do it all by myself back then.
"The consequence of doing it personally is that I have to make more compromises, more trade-offs, more leeway, and more enemies that I can't destroy directly because only in this way can I prevent the whole country from falling apart. I used a dozen years to mend those cracks and push through many imperfect new policies with patchwork. Even so, there were still many who secretly resented me, and as time passed, their hatred deepened. Today, I have to put those people on a new list, and face many new opponents influenced by them.
"It is too exhausting, Mathilda. I don't want you to walk the same path I did.
"So, your hands must be clean."
Mathilda quietly listened to her father's teachings, and a thought suddenly came to her mind. Her steel-like father rarely spoke so much to her in recent years.
"I understand what you mean." She nodded. "But Hardien …"
"He knows what he is doing, and I think you can see it too," Rosetta said in a low voice. "This may be unfair to him … but this is the responsibility of the royal family."
Mathilda sighed.
"Now let's get down to business." Rosetta changed the topic. "I called you here because I have something to tell you."
Mathilda immediately became serious. "Please tell me."
Rosetta reached for the drawer next to him. He took out a thick document, put it on the table, and pushed it to Mathilda.
Mathilda took the document curiously. After opening it, the first thing she saw was a line of large printed letters — "On the plan and long-term significance of the establishment of Typhon's memorabilia library."
She continued to flip through a few pages and soon found that a considerable part of the content was a list of books, a large number of books.
"This is …" She faintly guessed in her heart, but she dared not believe her own thoughts. She showed a startled and puzzled expression and looked at her father.
"We are going to secretly build a memorabilia library, including everything about Typhon. The scholars had already sorted out all the history books and technical books, and the next step of searching and sorting was being carried out intensely. According to the plan, more books will be included, and eventually a huge set of encyclopedias will be formed. In addition, the collection and sorting of poems, plays, architecture, paintings, and other works of art has also begun. Now this work will be handed over to you to continue. "
Mathilda finally could not help but interrupt Rosetta's words. "Your plan … Is it preparing to …"
"Just in case," Rosetta said calmly. "If we fail, we need someone to ensure that our tradition and history can continue."
"Is the situation already so critical?" Mathilda could not help but ask. "At present, it seems that everything is under control …"
"Everything is indeed not at its worst yet, but we are walking on the edge of a cliff, and there is a possibility that it will worsen. If that day really comes, the work of preserving history and culture must begin now."
Mathilda listened carefully and thought. Then she suddenly realized that what her father was really worried about was not the high and mighty gods, but people. "Do you think that those Cecil people will take this opportunity to launch a destructive war? And do you think that they have the ability? "
"I admire and am willing to support Gawain Cecil and the 'propositions' that he declared. However, we can never completely trust our enemies. As for whether they have the ability to do so … Mathilda, it's fine as long as they have the motive. I've recently discovered their motive for doing so, and even their specific actions."
Mathilda fell into a brief moment of thought. After a few seconds, she said in a low voice, "… If it really comes to the situation that you are worried about, then even if we sort out and preserve these books, I am afraid that they will only become collections in the Cecil people's museum, used to display their successful conquest."
"So this is the worst plan, and it is not even an effective countermeasure," Rosetta said faintly. "If this crisis is over, we will naturally have time and space to slowly solve the problem, but now … there is not much we can do."
Mathilda stared at her father for a long time before finally lowering her head. "… I understand, Father."
Rosetta nodded faintly, and then the study fell into a short but suffocating silence. When Mathilda could not help but want to speak, Rosetta suddenly said, "Do you think I am too pessimistic?"
Mathilda hesitated for a moment, but still nodded. "… Yes."
"Indeed, I am a little pessimistic, especially not long ago, we were still immersed in the confidence of our powerful national strength, proudly planning for the glorious era in the future. My pessimism now seems particularly unreasonable … But, Mathilda, I am taking a big gamble.
"A ruler should not be a gambler, but I have always encountered situations in my life where I have to be a gambler, and according to my experience, in the face of a gamble … it is better to be pessimistic than blindly optimistic."
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