Warhammer: Should I also sit on the Golden Throne?

Chapter 124 I noticed: Jia Lan has been corrupted.

"Do you really agree with Capio's proposal?"

After Capio left, Connor looked at his adopted son, Robert Guilliman.

Robert's innocent and carefree expression vanished, leaving only a faint smile at the corner of his mouth.

"His proposal is indeed very tempting. I don't mind if they have wealth, as long as the control of the bank remains in the hands of the Makula government."

Connor leaned back on the sofa, finishing the last bit of black tea in his cup. His voice was weary. "But Capio, I always feel like he has ulterior motives. You seem to care about him a lot too. Don't tell me you've really been bought off by Candy?"

Robert simply smiled at his father's joking words.

"Bringing the banking sector back into the hands of the government in Macurag is necessary, but Kepio certainly has other plans," Robert said.

"What private plans do you and Teacher Zhou Yun have?" Connor looked at Robert's expression and immediately realized that Zhou Yun was behind it all.

He sighed, spread his hands, and said jokingly, "That's how kids are when they grow up; they don't tell their dad their secrets anymore."

"Father!" This seemingly joking remark actually made Robert a little anxious. "That's not what I thought!"

Robert hesitated for a moment, then prepared to organize his thoughts and explain their plan to Connor.

The reason why Connor hadn't been told before was twofold: firstly, Zhou Yun and Robert only had a rough plan for the time being; and secondly, they were worried that a change in Connor's attitude might arouse Capio's suspicion.

Now that Capio has taken the bait, he can say, "Hahaha, I know, I know, your father isn't petty." Connor waved his hand, indicating that Robert didn't need to say anything more. "You don't need to tell me your plans. I don't know much about that realm, the realm the Illyrians call Anath. I can't help you with anything about that realm."

"I just want to tell you that I know that field has immense power, and power is always addictive."

"But some things, in the end, must be decided by reality, must still be entrusted with swords and spears, and..." Connor looked at the mountain of documents on his desk, "and the tedious work, documents, development plans, economic policies, and these even more boring things."

"I understand, Father." Robert nodded gently. "The power of that dimension is ultimately just a tool, not a magic lamp to grant wishes. My teacher also warned me: those who pray to that dimension for everything often lose everything in return."

Connor smiled and nodded. "Teacher Zhou Yun is a good teacher. You can trust him."

A knock sounded on the door. Connor looked up and saw the door. "Come in."

A maid pushed open a crack in the door. "My lord, Lord Jialan has come to visit."

"Oh? Then invite him in."

After the maid left, Connor looked at Robert.

"What a coincidence! Are you here to act as a go-between for Capio?" Connor said.

"Jalan has always followed your policies. Even if Capio has temporarily convinced him, he will likely oppose you again once you clearly express your opposition," Robert said, shaking his head.

According to Zhou Yun and his previous speculation, Jia Lan must have been corrupted before turning against them.

Furthermore, they were certain from the high priests that all the high priests of Macragag, except for Imhotep who carried a black stone amulet, were protected by a divine force.

Connor, as the consul and king of war, was equivalent to the high priest of the god of war, and was protected by the god of war and the spirits of the kings of war throughout history.

As the consul and chief justice, Jalan was equivalent to a second-ranking priest. Although not as powerful as Connor, he was still protected by the god of war to some extent.

Unless Jalan himself abandons the path of the King of War, violates the traditions of Macragge, and willingly becomes corrupt and degenerate, he should still be an ally at this moment.

"...However, we hope you will agree to cooperate with Capio's actions," Robert added.

Zhou Yun and Robert's plan requires Capio's plan to be realized.

According to Zhou Yun, he only needed to change a small detail to reverse Kepio's entire plan and, in turn, influence the so-called domain of the First Crying God.

"I understand." Connor didn't ask any more questions; he showed complete trust in Robert and Zhou Yun.

Or rather, Connor is teaching Robert how to use trust.

The key to governance lies not in micromanagement; even the greatest monarchs cannot know everything. Trust is the key to effective governance.

If a ruler does not rely on trust but instead on meticulous governance, presenting himself as omniscient and omnipotent to his subjects, the subjects will assume that their ruler knows everything, causing the ruler to overlook some crucial information.

"Connor!" Jia Lan's voice rang out as he pushed open the door, a signature confident smile on his lips.

Jia Lan was a strong and energetic man, taller than Connor, and always confident and full of vitality.

Some in Macurag considered Jalan to be nothing more than Connor's rubber stamp, but Robert always believed that he and Connor were among the few figures in the Macurag Senate who could be called statesmen.

There is genuine trust between him and Connor.

"Robert! My little superstar!" Jaran looked at Robert and patted him on the shoulder. "It seems your father has finally let you step onto the political stage in Macurag."

"I still need to train." Robert simply smiled and nodded; he didn't put on much of a pretense.

"Then I'll step down, and you can take on the roles of consul and chief justice to hone your skills—but before that, I need to talk to your father about something."

"You've come to be Capio's advocate?" Connor laughed heartily upon hearing this, gesturing for Jalan to sit opposite him.

"That's true, that old guy was too generous." Jia Lan sat down opposite Connor. "In my opinion, it'll be hard for us to get a higher price."

"Robert thinks so too," Connor nodded and said.

Jalan looked at Robert and said, "Good lad, you're already starting to influence your father's decisions. You're going to replace me as the number two."

Robert just smiled and said, "I'm still a long way off."

"Haha, I don't think it'll be long. I hope you and your son can still save me a place," Jia Lan said jokingly, then turned to Connor. "And Connor, to be honest, once the bank is in our hands, who will hold the key positions, what the tax rate for loans to commoners will be, how much revenue the bank will generate, and how much will be distributed to the nobles—won't that all be up to us?"

“Yes, whoever manages the wealth is the true owner of it.” Connor nodded in agreement. “That’s what I find strange. Capio and his gang are putting all their future wealth on our kindness. I don’t think there’s no other purpose behind it.”

"I think its purpose might be religion, those temples," Jalan nodded and said.

"Oh?" This made Connor raise his head slightly, drawing his attention.

In fact, Conno had some speculation about this as well.

"As you know, the high priests still adhere to the old morals, but the priests are no longer the same as before."

"Many of them had close ties with nobles, and many second sons of noble families were sent to the temple to become priests."

"In my opinion, they want to place their wealth in religion and temples, and become high priests by selling out the banking industry."

Connor nodded, agreeing with what Jialan said.

With the temple stripped of its banking functions, such a significant change necessitates the abdication of the current high priests.

As for his successor... Connor shook his head. Nowadays, most of the priests are from noble families.

If the high priest abdicates, most of the temples will indeed fall into the hands of the nobles.

This is also why Conno has been hesitant before.

"That's why I never agreed to Capio's offer; he has much bigger ambitions," Connor said, shaking his head.

"Yes, we have to be careful." Jia Lan nodded repeatedly, while reaching into his pocket. "But now that we know their purpose, we're not without a way to deal with it."

Jia Lan took out a document and placed it on the table.

"Look, I've compiled statistics on the priests' backgrounds at the temple. Eighty percent of them are from noble families, and the remaining commoners are the ones we can accept."

Connor took the document that Jia Lan had prepared.

"I'm sorry to have troubled you." Connor smiled as he opened the document and began to scan the list. The priests of many small temples were almost all nobles, while only one or two priests of a few large temples were of commoner origin.

"The priests of the minor temples can be given to them, but the priests of the major temples should preferably be commoners. The key ones are the Temple of the Gods of Tarasa, the Temple of the Broken Lighthouse, the Clean Garden of Lax, and the Temple of Simeneta."

Do you have any suitable suggestions?

Connor looked up from the document at Jia Lan and asked casually.

"My opinion is that even if the high priests step down, they will still have political influence. It would be best if the new high priests were their people, so that they could balance the nobles," Jalan said with a smile.

As he spoke, he casually pointed to the document in Connor's hand.

"Look, for example, the Temple of Simeneta, which governs the faith of one-sixth of the Macurag people, has a criminal named Lipo among its six priests, and four of the remaining five are of noble birth."

"I think their high priest Tatius is weak and ineffective, and his control over the Temple of Simeneta is already very weak. In order to balance the nobility, we should replace him as soon as possible."

"His disciple Tacitus might be a good choice, you know? Little Robert, why are you staring at me like that?" Jalan looked at Robert and asked curiously.

"No, it's alright, Uncle Jalan..." Robert smiled, then lowered his head, concealing the fleeting sadness and anger in his eyes.

It points to Jialan's sorrow, and to the chaos's rage.

He said to Zhou Yun in his heart:

Teacher, I've noticed that Jia Lan has been corrupted.