Darkstone Code-Chapter 783 - 0781 Willing to be a person...

"Rescue... us?"

The young Count looked at Lynch with wide eyes, and even the former Countess looked at Lynch with a bewildered expression.

The matter of the Elder betraying the interests of the nobility had spread throughout the entire Empire within a day, and even the commoners knew about it. But Lynch’s words left the mother and son in a state of confusion.

About ten seconds later, the young Count shook his head dejectedly, "I don’t understand, Mr. Lynch, they have removed a powerful Minister of Finance from our ranks, taking away a dependable power from us. This is clearly harming our interests, so how can it be considered rescuing us?"

In the eyes of most nobles in the Secretariat, what the young Count said was what they were thinking: once a Minister of Finance emerged from their ranks, other nobles from the Secretariat could be placed in various financial departments to take on important roles.

The Secretariat having a spokesperson among the ministers meant they could have a voice before His Majesty the Emperor, and even use this as a base to place nobles from the Secretariat into other departments in crucial or less significant positions.

Many people saw the confrontation between the Emperor and the Prime Minister as an opportunity for the rise of the Secretariat nobles. This was also the first time in many years that both the Prime Minister and the Emperor agreed to let the Secretariat submit a list of ministers.

Yet this golden opportunity was dismissed by the Elders with the excuse of "not being able to provide a suggested list." What’s more, they even intended to propose to His Majesty the Emperor that the Prime Minister should also hold the post!

To say there was no shady deal behind this, even the nobles themselves wouldn’t admit it, let alone the ordinary people watching as bystanders.

Clearly a bad thing, yet in Lynch’s mouth, it turned into a good thing. This... was a little hard to accept, even though the young Count admired Lynch very much.

Lynch looked at him, seemingly guessing his thoughts, and casually asked, "Seems absurd?"

The young Count nodded, "I completely don’t understand..." he said with a wry smile, "If this is what you call politics, then politics is a bit too complicated."

While biting into an apple, Lynch shook his head, "Politics is not complicated at all, but there’s a premise: you must be able to peel back its layers to reveal the real core inside; only then can you clearly see the thread and development of the entire matter."

"Do you know about the Federation Congress?" Lynch suddenly asked an unrelated question, to which the young Count nodded again; he knew about the Federation Congress.

In some reports in Gafura, the Federation Congress was described as the most ridiculous place on earth, where Members of Parliament who could influence national policy would occasionally greet each other’s families in Congress because of different stances.

No matter how unpleasant the insults were, such as swearing oaths or questioning each other’s morality, they were considered normal actions; sometimes they even fought!

To the Gafura people, who maintained a serious political stance, it was a farce, a boring, ridiculous comedy. Most Gafura people had this understanding of the Federation Congress.

Lynch then asked, "What do you think of Congress?"

The young Count thought for a moment. He suddenly realized that Lynch was not only testing him but also imparting experience and knowledge. This feeling was quite wonderful, and he became serious, thoughtfully preparing before answering.

The scene happening in front of the former Countess made her momentarily disoriented, as if she saw her late husband sitting on the sofa, humorously and lightly passing on his rich experience and knowledge to the next generation.

Her eyes became slightly moist, and she immediately bowed her head to hide her loss of composure.

The young Count did not notice this; after serious contemplation, he replied, "It’s chaotic; everyone’s views are different, and every break time, there are lobbying groups trying to persuade Members of Parliament to change their stance."

"They’re like... a handful of pebbles that won’t hold together no matter how hard you squeeze; as soon as you let go, they scatter."

He used a very vivid description: pebbles, not sand.

In reality, sand, when wet, can clump together and is not easily scattered completely, while pebbles, whether wet or dry, will inevitably scatter the moment you release your grip, no matter how forcefully you try to hold them in your hand.

Lynch nodded with satisfaction, although the question was not difficult.

"So let’s make an assumption: what would happen if the Members of Parliament united together?"

The young Count fell into contemplation again. He had a feeling that once he understood some of the logic here, the fog in front of him would instantly clear, revealing the essence of the matter.

He thought of many possibilities. Although he wasn’t well-versed in the Federation’s political system, he knew the Federation Congress had the power to enact and amend laws.

Some clauses even had the power to affect the President, with Congress making the final decision during presidential impeachments.

After much deliberation, he tentatively answered, "If Congress unites, the Federation President would be in great danger?"

His thinking was that if the Members of Parliament truly united, whether or not there was a President in the Federation would no longer matter. After all, they would be the ones making decisions about everything, who goes up or down; the President would become a puppet of Congress.

But Lynch shook his head, "Though your guess was wrong, it wasn’t far off."

"Once the Members of Parliament unite, Congress could be dissolved, and the Members of Parliament might completely disappear from the Federation’s political stage, or continue in a barely maintained form."

"The highest authority is never to be challenged. The Federation President and the Military would not permit such a dangerous ruling class to emerge; they would directly initiate an internal war to cleanse all those attempting to control the country."

"Therefore, Congress’s unity is not a good thing; it’s a bad thing, a massively bad thing."

"Now let’s consider Gafura’s current situation; have we gained any new insights?"

Lynch looked at the young Count with a half-smile. There was only an apple core left in his hand, and the former Countess proactively pushed over a small trash bin for disposal, leading Lynch to thank her before discarding the core.

While handing Lynch a handkerchief, the former Countess said, "Thank you," aware that it was not Lynch’s responsibility to help the young Count better understand the world.

Yet he did it, so gratitude was due. It wasn’t akin to earning some money; it was like passing on wisdom, which was much rarer than making money.

Lynch shook his head with a smile, saying nothing.

He thought highly of the young Count; Gafura and the Federation were destined to become competitors in the future. Establishing good relations with these people now and drawing them to his side was akin to planting early seeds.

No matter what, these people’s futures were worth anticipating.

Even if some of the matters Lynch predicted did not materialize, these investments were not in vain, and would still yield enough returns. So why not do it now instead of regretting later, thinking "why didn’t I do it back then"?

After several minutes of thought, the young Count exhaled deeply, his eyes becoming exceptionally bright, "I think I understand something!"

Lynch pulled out a cigarette, and the former Countess lit it with a desk lighter, "Let’s hear it."

He crossed his legs, hands on his knees, giving an impression of maturity and sophistication, not at all like a twenty-three-year-old—yes, he had just celebrated his birthday in October, now he was twenty-three.

But to the mainstream of this world, he was still a young man, a big kid!

"The Secretariat is very united now; once we gain some power, and it spreads, we will become the most frightening group in the Empire."

"Neither the ministers nor His Majesty the Emperor can do anything about us because we almost equate to the nobility!"

"If a Minister of Finance really appeared among us, that person along with us would definitely arouse suspicion from the ministers and the Imperial Family."

"So the position of the Minister of Finance will not, by any means, fall into our hands. Therefore, it’s more appropriate for the Elders to exchange this impossible position for something we can actually obtain."

"Perhaps tomorrow we’ll find out, and some colleagues might have joined the finance department, becoming new officials."

"Am I right?" he asked expectantly, looking at Lynch as if he were a child who had scored ninety-nine on a test, eagerly awaiting praise.

Lynch nodded, "You got a small part right... but that’s already remarkable; at least most couldn’t see the connections here at your stage."

The young Count was slightly stunned after hearing this; he thought he had seen the whole picture, never expecting Lynch to say he only got "a small part" right, not even half!

It was like scoring ninety-nine on a paper with a top score of two hundred or three hundred; this score was hardly satisfying!

"Can... you tell me more about those other things?" He was now a bit excited; although politics was dull, once the proper way to open it was found, it became interesting.

After all, the battle among people is always the most pleasurable—of course, this is based on winning, as those who lose never find it amusing.

The former Countess’s gaze at the young Count was full of maternal glow, with a mix of sentiment and comfort.

Naturally, Lynch’s back was also shining in the Countess’s eyes, a gleaming gold...