699: Chapter 16, The Inspiring Spy_1 699: Chapter 16, The Inspiring Spy_1 With the implementation of the three-year plan, a plethora of messy issues was gradually accumulating on Hudson’s desk.
The most notable of these was the issue of religion.
The clergy’s influence on the upper echelons of the kingdom had been cleaned out in the power struggle between the royal power and the divine power.
However, its influence on the lower strata had not diminished at all.
This was not very noticeable when the population in these territories was small.
After all, fanatics were in the minority and did not cause significant disturbance.
But now, the situation had changed.
With the rapid increase in the population in these territories, the number of fanatics grew, and even penetrated into the grass-roots management team.
Hudson did not rush to take action.
The issue of religion was never something that could be solved overnight.
The lower classes, struggling at the line of death, could not live without faith.
Checking the practices of other nobles, they all converted the local church, into their own, thereby obtaining full control of their territory.
Before this, Hudson had also followed this strategy.
The issue with the Mountain Domain was simply that there were too few priests and there was no time to reach out to the grassroots.
“Perhaps the doctrine should be modified!”
Such a matter was not something a lord could initiate.
Looking across the whole continent, the only ones currently having the courage and capability to launch a further religious reform were Anti-Church Charles III and Caesar III.
After hesitating for a while, Hudson decided not to rush.
At present, the situation in the kingdom was not optimistic.
Caesar III’s health was worrying, clearly not suitable for drastic actions.
Charles III was indeed vigorous, but he was too far away from Hudson and couldn’t exert any influence.
Based on his actions, Hudson felt that even if he did nothing, Charles III would launch a new round of religious reform.
There only needs to be one hegemonic monarch within the human race.
The Frank Kingdom and the Clergy had turned against each other long ago.
If they did not overturn the ruling foundation of the Clergy, the Frank Kingdom’s position within the human race would not stabilize.
In Hudson’s view, the establishment of the Arcane Academy was the first shot that Charles III fired in his Anti-Church campaign.
Religious reform always starts from liberating the mind first.
If there were no divine spirits, then considering the negative image of the Clergy, the various countries already have the foundation to launch a full religious reform.
Taking into account the existence of the Lord of the Dawn, everyone was inevitably cautious in their actions.
They also had to insist: Anti-Church, not anti-divine spirit.
Restrict the struggle within the framework of internal strife among believers.
At present, all major forces targeting the Clergy were trying to divide the church, but none of them directly targeted the doctrine.
After hesitating for a while, Hudson started to write fast.
The Arcane Academy, this Anti-Church headquarters, must be established.
The Mountain Domain does not have the capacity to establish an Arcane Academy, but the Alpha Kingdom does.
If he does not take advantage of Caesar III’s reign to get things implemented, the successors will most likely not have the courage.
Once the Arcane Academy takes root in the Alpha Kingdom, there will be people to revise the doctrine.
Hudson does not need to be the front-runner.
After outlining various pros and cons, and noticing no omission, Hudson was about to seal it when his face suddenly changed, cursing himself for being foolish, and immediately released a fireball spell to burn the secret letter.
There was no way around it, Caesar III was not a king who could be easily swindled.
He actually wanted to use him as a pawn, did he really think the king was easy to bully?
Hudson dared to bet that if this letter of his reached Caesar III, he would be listed as one of the founders when the Arcane Academy is established in the future.
There would be no suitable reasons to reject it.
The pit he dug, only he could fill it.
Avoiding a crisis, deep down, Hudson was still somewhat nervous.
At this moment, he suddenly understood why the major nobles didn’t like a hegemonic monarch.
The king was too shrewd, and while he managed domestic and foreign affairs efficiently, he was not easy to fool!
With a slight carelessness, if he did not fool the king, he would dig a pit and bury himself.
He estimated that the major nobles in the kingdom had suffered a lot in the past.
After being tricked many times, everyone had learned to behave and had become more prudent.
After understanding all of this, Hudson immediately decided to shift his strategy.
He would secretly send people to preach the benefits of establishing the Arcane Academy, and avoid personally advocating the idea.
No one knew if he would succeed, the matter now relied on who would be the first to jump out and promote the establishment of the Arcane Academy.
All these troubles were the results of geographical politics.
If he were an inland lord, things would have been simpler and Hudson would never have backed down.
However, he was a coastal lord.
If he attracted too much hatred, he would face bloody revenge from the Clergy when he ventured into the ocean in the future.
“Tom, send someone to inform Cain, Jacob, Rudolf…
to come over tonight for a meeting.”
Hudson ordered.
“Yes, Earl!”
While speaking, Tom outside the door had already turned to leave.
The only change was that two big words– “Impetuousness Alert” had been added to the parchment on Hudson’s desk.
Despite never boasting about his continuous success, deep down, he inevitably felt somewhat complacent.
Complacency leads to losing one’s composure.
Hudson found that he had unwittingly become “restless” inside and had almost made a foolish decision to use the king as a pawn.
Luckily he reacted in time.
Otherwise, if he continued like this, he would definitely dig his own grave.