An open stratagem

Kronos only learned of Old Fan's plan after returning to Saint Hilleran Cathedral.

However, Kronos was very supportive of this plan and intended to contribute his own strength to it.

Old Fan might know that Kronos had a good relationship with the Negan and Levett Family, but he still didn't know exactly how good it was.

As long as Kronos makes a move, these seats are basically secured.

For the Conservative Party, which often holds four or five hundred seats, those forty or fifty seats are really nothing.

When the time comes, the Church of Steam and Machinery will arrange for these Factory owners to run for office under the name of the New Party, with the Conservative Party providing support. It all seems like a natural progression.

After calming the people in the Saint Hilleran Cathedral, Kronos returned to his room to continue his research and verification of the Material Structure.

According to Kronos's calculations, the Advancement Ritual was already nearly perfect; it would be completely perfect once his father was promoted again.

His father is currently focusing more on other areas, and if he wants a promotion, it will be very soon.

Therefore, the rate at which Kronos digests the Potion must be accelerated.

He planned to Advancing to Angel after his Betting Duel with Baoli Dellaud was over.

There are only about two months left, so we must put in extra effort.

After daybreak, Kronos did not leave his room, but the entire Saint Hilleran Cathedral came to life.

Apart from those responsible for maintaining normal Church operations, everyone else left the Church.

Some went deep into the Saint George District to win over Factory owners who were eligible to run for office.

Another group lobbied various figures within the New Party, hoping to gain their participation in the New Party's leadership election.

This is a good thing for the New Party.

Although the Church of Steam and Machinery is the weakest of the Three Great Churches in Loen, it still wields considerable influence.

With the support of both the Church of Evernight and the Church of Steam and Machinery, the New Party's leadership transition is practically guaranteed.

It's certainly impossible to oust the Conservative Party in one fell swoop, but gaining more seats and a greater voice is still achievable.

Furthermore, the current government employee system was proposed by the New Party. Uniting these government employees might actually allow them to keep pace with the Conservative Party.

Therefore, after receiving hints and offers of enticement from the Church of Steam and Machinery, some of the leading figures of the New Party arrived at the Earl Hall's mansion without prior arrangement.

As a hereditary Earl and one of the most influential Member of Parliament the House of Lords, Earl Hall was the brains of the entire New Party.

Therefore, matters concerning the Church of Steam and Machinery naturally need to be discussed with him.

So, without prior arrangement, a small meeting was held at Hall's residence.

The attendees were naturally Earl Hall and the representatives of these New Party, oh, and a spy dog.

When so many people arrived at her house one after another, Miss Audrey knew that something important had happened, so she immediately dispatched her Dog of Imagination.

Gather more information so you'll have more to talk about at the next Tarot Club!

This was Audrey's truest thought at the time.

In Old Fan's plan, contacting the New Party members would be a gradual process, so naturally they wouldn't contact Earl Hall immediately. Therefore, Earl Hall only learned about the Church of Steam and Machinery's attitude from these people.

After learning these things, Earl Hall fell into deep thought.

It's certainly a good thing that a large church is willing to side with the New Party.

However, the pros and cons must be clearly analyzed.

First, there are the benefits that the Church of Steam and Machinery can bring.

With the support of the Church of Steam and Machinery, a large number of Factory owners were able to completely side with the New Party.

There were some Factory owners in the New Party, but they didn't hold high positions because the main force of the New Party was still bankers.

Only these emerging bankers can rival the established aristocrats in terms of capital.

However, with industrialization accelerating and Factory owners accumulating more and more capital, their influence cannot be ignored.

However, the involvement of the Church of Steam and Machinery also had its drawbacks.

According to the Earl Hall's understanding, the Church of Steam and Machinery's power in the navy was based on the Negan.

In this situation, the Church of Steam and Machinery is likely to become a fence-sitter, and its support for the New Party may only be a "nice-to-have."

Moreover, I've heard that the Church of Steam and Machinery has had a very unpleasant falling out with the other two churches because of the naval issue.

Will the addition of the Church of Steam and Machinery provoke hostility from the Church of Storms?

The political party struggle is just a power struggle, but no one wants to mess with the Church of Storms; those hot-tempered guys are a real handful.

Moreover, while the addition of the Church of Steam and Machinery seems to have brought an ally to the Church of Evernight, it is unclear whether the conflict between the two sides has actually been resolved.

Let's hope that before the Church of Storms even makes a move, the two churches supporting the New Party start fighting amongst themselves.

By then, let alone seizing Conservative Party seats, simply keeping the current seats would be a challenge.

Earl Hall's concern stemmed from his high position, which allowed him to understand the conflict between the Three Great Churches.

Therefore, after some contemplation, Earl Hall expressed his concerns to everyone.

Everyone here is a representative figure of the New Party, but their energy is focused on politics, so they don't really know much about these things.

After listening to the Earl Hall's account, I also felt that something was amiss.

Everyone's current partners are the Church of Evernight. Although their faith may not be the strongest, they still don't want to cause trouble for themselves.

Among the group, a middle-aged man hesitated for a moment, as if he wanted to say something, but ultimately remained silent.

He was Laurien, a representative figure among the Factory owners in the New Party, and the only one among these Factory owners who supported the New Party who was able to participate in meetings at this level.

The Church of Steam and Machinery had already contacted him before he came to the Earl Hall's place.

He had come to the Earl Hall in high spirits to deliver the good news.

The addition of the Church of Steam and Machinery gave the New Party greater strength and a greater voice.

As a representative of Factory owners in the New Party, he would naturally have a higher status once the group of Factory owners became larger.

To put it in a daydream, it's not impossible that one day I could be on par with the Earl Hall.

But to my surprise, Earl Hall poured cold water on my enthusiasm.

If he didn't know Earl Hall, he would definitely think that Earl Hall was suppressing the Factory owners.

Given Earl Hall's influence, and the fact that his words were indeed without fault, no one brought up the matter again after he finished speaking.

After chatting for a few more minutes, the key members of the New Party took their leave of Hall's residence.

Before they rose, Earl Hall uttered one last sentence.

"There should be no public response regarding the Church of Steam and Machinery. I will find an opportunity to discuss it with Archbishop Anthony of Saint Samuel Cathedral."

"If he can accept the inclusion of the Church of Steam and Machinery, then we'll respond to the Church of Steam and Machinery; if the Church of Evernight doesn't accept, then let's just forget about it."

No one objected to this approach, as it was the safest course of action.

The New Party has finally gained the ability to fight back in the current situation, so it will definitely prioritize stability.

After leaving Hall's mansion, Laurien went straight to Saint Hilleran Cathedral.

From the New Party, he certainly agreed with the Earl Hall's approach.

However, for a Factory owner at the bottom of the food chain within the New Party, Earl Hall's decision could very well cut off his chances of rising to power.

Therefore, he naturally had to inform them immediately.

As the most important "Information messenger" in this project, Laurien received the most solemn reception from Archbishop Horamick as soon as she arrived at Saint Hilleran Cathedral.

Kronos had no intention of keeping it a secret and instead gave Laurien a grand reception.

This gesture is meant for all those who are watching and observing.

Kronos wanted to tell the New Party nobles and bankers that even if they didn't support them, the Church of Steam and Machinery had the ability to send its own people into the New Party, unless they were willing to abandon the Factory owners.

At the same time, it was also a message to the Factory owners in the New Party that the Church of Steam and Machinery could be their support.

Of course, the Conservative Party could also see this, and they could naturally guess that the Church of Steam and Machinery might have some connections with the New Party.

This is a blatant conspiracy, and regardless of whether the New Party accepts it or not, its influence is unlikely to disappear in the short term.

After Laurien was given a grand entrance into Saint Hilleran Cathedral, he understood why.

Laurien was not the largest or richest Factory owner in Backlund, but he became a representative figure of the Factory owners in the New Party because he was more meticulous.

So when he saw the kind-looking Archbishop Horamick, his first question was, "Will your scheme succeed?"

There was no anger, no questioning, but rather a calm acceptance of the outcome.

Kronos looked at him with admiration and said, "It's hard to say whether you'll succeed on the first try, but there will be many more. You'll succeed eventually."

Through this statement, Laurien understood that the Church of Steam and Machinery had a complete plan.

So he said, "What will I get in return if I cooperate with you?"

He was just a Factory owner, a nobody in the eyes of both the Church of Steam and Machinery and the New Party, so he might as well fight for some benefits.

Kronos asked directly, "What do you want? Tell me."

Kronos does not rule out recruiting intelligent people into his camp.

"What do you need me to do?" Laurien didn't state her conditions directly, but instead asked what she needed to do first.

"It's nothing much, just uniting the Factory owners who support the New Party, so they can support our efforts in the New Party at crucial moments."

Kronos had no intention of having him gather Message.

After what happened today, there's a high chance the New Party will no longer invite him to any meetings related to the Church of Steam and Machinery.

But it doesn't matter, because Kronos has already heard Earl Hall's decision from Laurien.

Archbishop Anthony is easy to deal with; as long as he mentions it, Anthony won't cause any trouble.

Then the Church of Steam and Machinery will be able to legitimately support the New Party.

However, external forces always need the cooperation of the elders in order to quickly gain a foothold.

Clearly, Laurien is the right choice.

After listening to Kronos's words, Laurien knew that this was really not difficult, and that others could do it even without his help.

So after a moment's thought, Laurien said, "I want to expand my Factory a bit more."

Because what he needed to do was very simple, Laurien didn't make any high-value demands, which showed she knew when to back down.

Kronos smiled, saying nothing more than, "It's a pleasure doing business with you."

It's very pleasant to work with such a smart person.

What Laurien's Factory does, how large it is, and how large it plans to expand are all outside Kronos's concern.

These were not problems for the Church of Steam and Machinery; they could simply be left to their subordinates.

Afterwards, Archbishop Horamick, beaming with smiles, saw Mr. Laurien, the representative of the New Party, out of Saint Hilleran Cathedral.

Because of the grand spectacle that happened earlier, the entrance to Saint Hilleran Cathedral is now packed with people from all sides trying to gather Message.

So they witnessed this scene firsthand, almost definitively confirming the claim that the Church of Steam and Machinery supported the New Party.

Let alone the other members of the New Party, even Earl Hall, who had the best composure, was almost so angry at this Message that he smashed his cup.

He was not opposed to the Church of Steam and Machinery joining, but if this rumor affected the Church of Evernight's attitude towards the New Party, it would be a huge loss.

At best, this would cause the New Party to lose this opportunity to fight back against the Conservative Party.

In severe cases, it is possible that the New Party could completely withdraw from the political arena.

So after venting his anger, Earl Hall got into his carriage and headed straight for Saint Samuel Cathedral in the North Borough.

We must give the Church of Evernight an explanation immediately; every minute of delay could lead to irreversible consequences.

Earl Hall was one of the most important collaborators of the Church of Evernight in Backlund, so he frequently visited Saint Samuel Cathedral.

His arrival was completely unimpeded; instead, he was led by a special person to the door of Archbishop Anthony's room.

After knocking on the door, Earl Hall entered Archbishop Anthony's room.

Archbishop Anthony was sitting behind his desk, and opposite him sat a young man dressed in black, and the two were talking.