Three days later, at the Muse Café in the Golden Flower District.
It was noisy here.
It was a gathering place for young people.
College students, young workers, and businessmen spoke loudly and freely.
It was a place where they competed to express their opinions.
Lin Daiyu wore a large top hat.
She was wearing men's clothes and tried to keep her head down. She followed the guide in front of her and walked through the crowd.
They went around one corner after another.
The crowd gradually thinned out.
The guide lowered his voice. "We're here. Miss. "
It was a large living room in the basement of the café. It was covered with a comfortable Persian carpet, and sofas and chairs surrounded a long table.
There were some books, pens, ink, and paper scattered on the table.
At this moment, all the seats were full.
Dark eyes were all looking at her.
"Welcome." Annie stood up and took Lin Daiyu's hand. She introduced her to the people present. "This is Anna."
The guests in the basement cautiously examined the female writer who came in men's clothes.
Lin Daiyu also quietly sized up the people in the room. They were all young faces, and the oldest among them.
The oldest ones seemed to be around forty years old. Most of them had serious expressions. She even saw some acquaintances among them: the sunny and handsome, brown-haired and brown-eyed Ernest, Ernest's friend, the tall and slightly plump young man who looked like a warrior, and the black-haired and green-eyed handsome young man, Klemont.
They were all among them.
In the end, it was Ernest who stood up first and whistled happily. "Welcome.
Miss Anna's beauty makes this place shine. "
People applauded together.
With sincerity.
They made room for her.
The group of people here were all men. Annie considerately adjusted her seat and sat next to her to avoid awkwardness.
Lin Daiyu bowed to them before sitting down.
After sitting down, Annie smiled and took the initiative to bring up the topic. "Dear, everyone here is trustworthy. I know you have a lot of doubts in your heart. So, today, let's open the sky window and talk frankly. Your uncle, Lin Shan, is a name that many people have heard of here. "
The two words "Lin Shan" were the same as "Lin Ruoshan" at the ball. They were both written in the mandarin of the Central Plains.
Upon hearing this name, those who were slightly older all nodded their heads.
He clenched his fists tightly. She stared at Annie. "Who are you?"
The Central Plains and Tai Xi did have trade relations, but the trade between Tai Xi and Tai Xi was mainly done through the Business League.
Now? With the destruction of Guangzhou and the remnants of the Business League's Freedom Army retreating to Nanyang, the Business League's trade routes with Thailand and the other countries were probably all controlled by the Imperial Court.
The reason why Luster was chosen as the place to stay when they first arrived in Taixi was purely because the Emperor of Luster had been pushed to the guillotine. The country was in chaos and it was convenient for them to hide.
They never expected Allan I to return to Luster.
This was also one of the reasons why she would rather stay in Abat to make a living than expose her identity and come to Bona to find the operator of the Business League.
Being arrested in Bona and detained by the Imperial Family was a pure accident.
Lin Daiyu glanced at these faces and pursed her lips.
She had a photographic memory since she was young. On the way to Tai Xi, the Freedom Army's guide had introduced the operator of the Business League. The description of their identity, age, and appearance did not match with most of the people present.
However, Annie had helped her several times and directly mentioned her uncle's name. It was obvious that she knew her identity and had her eyes on her. So much so that she had to come to the appointment to prevent her identity from being exposed.
Who were they and what were they after?
They saw her tense body and cold expression. She was obviously very vigilant. They looked at each other. The oldest middle-aged man in the crowd stood up and placed a folding fan in front of her. He spoke in Central Plains mandarin with a Suzhou accent.
"Little girl, don't be afraid. Please look. "
Dongfang opened the folding fan, and her lips began to tremble slightly.
There were only seven words written on the folding fan:
To Comrade
Lin Ruoshan Question.
A series of memories flashed through her mind.
The City of Freedom, the Freedom Army, the Freedom Song, the city's kapok was as red as fire.
Her eyes were slightly moist as she murmured, "To Comrade …"
Comrade, since the Spring and Autumn Period, had referred to people with the same ambition.
Her uncle's lifelong pursuit was to remove the shackles of the world and lift the shackles of all living beings.
She suddenly looked over with a sharp gaze. "You are Luster's revolutionary party."
The middle-aged man smiled. "Before the Dinner Revolution, people called us' Nameless People '. Your uncle and I met 20 years ago. "
So that was it. As expected.
She remembered Madame Géron and Miss Volgue's advice and the "Nameless People" that people talked about. She suddenly understood.
Her uncle had indeed mentioned that when he was traveling in Tai Xi, he had made friends with Luster who pursued freedom.
At that time, they were plotting a revolution.
After her uncle returned to the country, he was still thinking about the careers of these friends. Occasionally, he would mention Luster's situation to her and happily say that his friends had probably succeeded. That was why she was certain that Luster was in chaos and chose Luster as her foothold.
She closed the folding fan and bowed to the middle-aged man again as if she was meeting an elder.
They had no need to lie to her.
She was alone and had lost contact with the Business League and the Freedom Army. She was just an orphan from the East with her new literary reputation.
What could they possibly gain by lying to her?
Luster was a man who could barely take care of himself in his own country, let alone reach far to the East.
Moreover, when people mentioned the Dinner Revolution, they only dared to call it a countercurrent. From the looks of it, Alan I said on the surface that he would pardon the world and let bygones be bygones. He wanted to be a good king of the third rank, but in reality, he would never let go of the revolutionaries who had cut off his father's head.
At this time, there was no benefit in pretending to be a "Nameless People". It would only invite a fatal disaster.
After a brief chat about her current situation, they became more familiar with each other.
"Please sit down. Oh, right, let me introduce myself first. My name is Bard. "The middle-aged man said," Anna, we already knew of your existence when we were at the port. We wanted to be more cautious, but I'm afraid it's a bit abrupt to suddenly meet you today. There's just one question that we're anxious to know. "
He gestured to Annie.
Annie smiled sweetly, "Don't be nervous, it's a very simple question. We just want to know what Allan I said to you in the inner palace. "
She blinked, a little innocently, "You know, although I go in and out of the palace, there are always some occasions that I can't go to."
This wasn't something that couldn't be said.
Lin Daiyu said frankly, "Allan I wanted me to atone for my crime by writing a manuscript about exposing the Church."
The people in the room couldn't help but look at each other.
Ernest slapped his thighs and exclaimed, "Wow, wow! The Church is a dog! "
Ever since Mabel's death, he hated the Church. At this moment, he immediately declared, "I support!"
Bard waved his hand and interrupted Ernest. He said in a deep voice, "It's not easy to write such a manuscript. The power of the Church is far greater than you can imagine. What do you think? "
"In fact, Allan I's proposal is exactly the topic I'm planning to write about next."
"That's good." Bard nodded, "We also agree with you writing this. No matter what we think of Allan I, the Church is the first to die. "
"But you have to be careful. The Church has many paragons. When the rebellion army attacked the monastery during the banquet revolution, they encountered one of the biggest resistance forces. It was the paragons and fanatics under the Church. If there's anything you need help with, just let us know. Back then, your uncle helped us a lot through the sea trade route. "
Lin Daiyu hesitated for a moment, "I have a question now."
Under everyone's gaze, she smiled bitterly and said, "My previous few plays all borrowed the glory of the Central Plains. It's just that this manuscript about the Church is giving me a hard time. My understanding of the Church is really shallow. It's not enough to support the writing of this one. I really don't know how to expose the Church in order to touch people's hearts to the greatest extent. "
"For example, I only know that the Church is abominable. But at this time, when people talk about the Church, it seems that the Church has always been comforting people's hearts, giving porridge to the poor, opening education, and adopting orphans and widows. "
"I heard people say that the Church is abominable, and one of the most abominable things about it is the eleven taxes."
Lin Daiyu said, "But when I first heard about the eleven taxes, I remembered that the landlords of the Central Plains only took 30% of the rent, which is already considered charity. It seems that the Church taking 10% of the rent isn't unacceptable. "
When everyone heard her words, they all burst into laughter.
Ernest laughed so hard that tears almost came out of his eyes. Even Annie was trembling with laughter.
After a long while, Ernest wiped his tears and cleared his throat, "Let me explain this problem. My family owns a factory, and several of them went bankrupt because of the eleven taxes. "
"First of all. The Church's eleven taxes are collected separately. After the Church collects the eleven taxes, we still have to pay rent to the lords, nobles, and landowners, or even a piece of land that belongs to the Church. The eleven taxes and rent have to be paid. "
"Secondly," Ernest shook his finger, "You probably think that the Church's eleven taxes are taken from our profits. Wrong. The Church's eleven taxes are taken according to the amount of the transaction. "
When Lin Daiyu heard this, she was shocked, "Transaction amount?!"
She calculated in her heart and felt that it was crazy.
Ernest nodded and sighed, "It seems that you understand." This means that we have a trade. Let's assume that the transaction amount of this trade is ten thousand gold, but in reality, the net profit I get is only three thousand gold. However, the Church's eleven taxes are one-tenth of the transaction amount. In other words, the Church wants to take away a thousand gold from my transaction. The problem is that my net profit is only three thousand gold. It's equivalent to the Church taking away a third of my income without risking anything. This is still less. "
"No wonder …" Lin Daiyu muttered.
The Divine Sect is really … good at making money …
Hubert, who was tall and slightly plump, with sharp eyebrows like a warrior's, nodded and said, "The Church's empty-handed scheme is more than that. They say that the Church comforts the soul, but do you know that the Church comforts the soul and prays are not for nothing? If you enter the church to pray once, you have to donate a large amount of incense money to the Church. If you violate the Church's precepts, you have to pay a large amount of incense money to pray for atonement. "
Lin Daiyu said, "Then it's fine if you don't go."
Even someone as gentle as Kleimont couldn't help but chuckle.
Hubert smiled and shook his head, "If you don't want to go, then don't go. But if you don't go to the church on time to pay the incense money? Unless you have a child who went to worship the Church and entered the upper echelons of the Church, otherwise, the Church's harsh methods against heretics and those who disobey the Church's rules are not something you can imagine. Tithing, paying incense money on time, these are the most important precepts. "
Lin Daiyu frowned, "With such strict precepts, do you think everyone will believe it?"
Ernest sneered, "You have to believe it even if you don't. The entire Luster, no, the entire Tai Xi, is under the Church's influence. Every Tai Xi person is born, and their name is recorded in the Church's parish register. The Church has countless Church Soldiers, relying on the land 'donated' by the believers, they have occupied a third of Tai Xi's land. Including Luster, the most fertile land in the country is also in the hands of the Church.
During the Banquet Revolution, the first target was the Church, and even some of the nobles were secretly involved. Although the old Emperor was executed, it was because the old Emperor was a fanatic and protected the Church too much.
Even after the Banquet Revolution, the Church and the nobles who colluded with the Church died in large numbers. The Church's influence is still not to be underestimated. "
He was in the field of industrial technology research and worshipped science, he hated superstition, prejudice and ignorance the most, he was furious, "The Church's influence is immense, and they even use their strict precepts to persecute things that they do not like."
Kleimonte also spoke softly, "Miss Anna, you only know that the Church once gave out food to the poor, opened education and adopted orphans and widows, but you do not know that the majority of the Church's education, is to produce people who will follow and enforce their strict precepts. The orphans adopted by the Church, are all on the basis of receiving the inheritance from the orphans' parents, and, after the orphans' inheritance is' taken over 'by the Church, it is said that they will return it when they grow up, but in reality, most of the inheritance is' voluntarily 'given to the Church."
He shook his head, his green eyes sighing, "As for the money that the Church gave out to the poor, compared to the Church's thousands of years of exploitation in Tai Xi, it is insignificant."
Lin Daiyu listened and sighed, "The Church is really like the Confucian Church."
Bard listened to her sigh and smiled, "Anna, you are not entirely right. Your uncle and I have also discussed this issue in the past. The Church and the Confucian Church, there are similarities and differences. "
"Among them, the Confucian Church and the Church are divided into levels. The Confucian Church has the Three Principles and the Five Constant, and the Church has three levels. But the Divine Sect was even more rigid and perverse than the Confucian Sect.
The Three Principles and the Five Constant of the Confucian Church are for the lower and not for the upper. Of course, the ruler and his minister, father and son, cannot be overstepped, but the ruler offending his minister, is not a big deal. The superior can kill the inferior without being punished, in order to maintain the clan law and the land gentleman imperial court for thousands of generations.
But the Church, the Church has three levels, the reason why it cannot be overstepped is not that the levels are insurmountable. It is because these three levels are the precepts engraved in the Church's Holy Book.
When the Church kills people, offending the level is secondary, offending the level is equal to violating the precepts. Violating the precepts is the root of the Church's killing.
In the Church before the Banquet Revolution, as long as you violate the precepts, you will be executed according to the Church's rules — no matter what level you are. "
Lin Daiyu frowned tightly, thinking about their words.
Precepts …
Confine …
Her brows gradually relaxed, and she grasped the core a little. Touching the folding fan in her hand, she suddenly remembered the Song of Freedom and suddenly understood.
So that's it.
She smiled and said, "I know where to start to expose the Church. Thank you for the information. "
"It's good that it helps you."
Annie was counting the patterns on her fingernails out of boredom. Seeing that they finished talking, she pouted and urged, "Hurry up, don't let Hathaway find out that Anna is here."
Everyone got up and said goodbye to Lin Daiyu.
Bard patted her shoulder, with a little kindness in his eyes, "We believe that you will not leak our information. Please also believe us, if you have any difficulties in the future, you can find us through Annie. "
Lin Daiyu was full of passion and left.
You've already exceeded your reading limit for today. If you want to read more, please log in.
Login
Select text and click 'Report' to let us know about any bad translation.
