Chris disliked religion, but he knew perfectly well that he could not eradicate it.
Chris understood that Huaxia civilization was fundamentally different from other civilizations. Applying traditional Chinese attitudes to foreigners simply would not work.
In both ancient China and modern society, the supremacy of imperial authority over divine authority was a distinctive political and cultural phenomenon, rooted deeply in history, culture, and society.
That attitude had been cultivated by the concentration and supremacy of imperial power, the resulting dominance of Confucianism, and the prolonged efforts of emperors, bureaucrats, and other rulers to secularize religion, turn it into a tool, and control and restrict it.
In other words, without a few thousand years of history, you really could not cultivate the mindset of "If a god is useful, I'll worship them. If they aren't, they can get lost."
No freeloading people, and no freeloading gods.
In this world, however, Chris had discovered from his predecessor's memories and his own observations that divine authority and royal authority were equal. At present, though, divine authority was attempting to overwhelm royal authority.
What that middle-aged bastard Alanka had done in Dining Hall Square was a probe. The man was looking to stir up trouble.
After Chris publicly announced his decision and imposed severe restrictions on religious propagation, he had a feeling Alanka would not let the matter rest.
And that was exactly what happened. That afternoon, shortly after Chris returned to his office, the Clerk knocked on his door to report.
"Priest Alanka requests an audience."
"Let him in."
Still wearing his Lumberjack clothes, his face bruised and swollen, Alanka pushed the door open and entered. His very first words went straight to the point.
"I implore you to reconsider the decision you made today."
"Why?"
"You should not prevent mortals from receiving