Chapter 439: Chapter 427: The Imperial Court Meeting Convened Again
Although the news of doomsday continues to cause turmoil throughout the nation, with the support of the Church, it mainly results in fear of the unknown. Most people are reassured by the Church’s priests, and no major incidents have occurred.
Despite occasional disturbances, diligent police and military forces are still able to control the situation.
It must be said, the calming effect of religion at such times is indeed crucial; at least it directs most people to seek the Divine rather than resort to social revenge in despair.
As a result, the Cardinal sent by the Patriarch to assist Perfikot has been granted the qualification to attend the Imperial meeting, which is indeed a significant breakthrough for the Church.
It should be noted that in this world, though the coronation of the King still requires the Church to bestow the mandate and divine legitimacy, the struggle between secular and Church has persisted for nearly a millennium.
In ancient times, divine authority undoubtedly held the upper hand; the truly existing Divine and divine magic bestowed by the Divine made divine power literally supreme, and the original Extraordinary was indeed derived from divine magic.
However, as mystery declined over time, and the Divine gradually ceased to appear, the status of divine power naturally began to decline.
Traditional religions also declined in this stage, replaced by a more secular Church.
Yet, because of this closeness to the secular, the early Church could adhere to its doctrines, restraining desires, but as the power of the Church kept developing, some ambitious individuals used the Church’s coronation and other means to gain public favor and ascend to power, thereby inflating the Church’s power and ambition.
They intended to establish a terrestrial kingdom of God, making everyone believe in the Church, and manipulate the dethroning of all Kings and rulers.
The monarchs certainly did not wish to be controlled by the Church, thus the nearly millennium-long struggle between Church and secular kept unfolding.
With secular development and the relentless decline of mystery, the whole world gradually leaned towards the secular side, and the Church began to find itself at a disadvantage.
Especially as divine magic from ancient Divine has transformed into Extraordinary professions controlled by the secular, further exacerbating the Church’s decline.
In the era when Victory transformed from a kingdom to an Empire, the Church could no longer participate in secular governance, becoming a mere spiritual belief.
However, now facing the Empire’s dire situation and the doomsday crisis, the Imperial Center must admit that they indeed need the Church to stabilize people’s hearts.
"Currently, the churches throughout Langton have begun renovation, it is expected that within five months, more than seventy percent of the churches can be converted into shelters, and after seven months, more than ninety percent of the churches can shelter our father’s people." The Cardinal spoke for the first time at the Imperial meeting, albeit somewhat nervously, but still reporting the required content to the Imperial meeting.
The Empress listened to the Cardinal’s report, then turned to Perfikot and asked her: "Lord Brandelis, what do you think?"
"Your Majesty, seven months of renovation is too long. According to my estimation, the last winter will arrive earlier than we anticipated, possibly around September or October, when it might start snowing." Perfikot did not comment on the Cardinal’s speech but simply reported the current situation truthfully: "Moreover, if only ninety percent of the churches can accommodate people, it might only shelter seventy percent of Langton’s current population."
"Then how many people exactly do we need to shelter?" asked an official who had not previously joined the Crisis Response Committee but now qualified for the Imperial meeting, challenging Perfikot.
"The Empire’s native population is twenty million, Langton currently has a population of one and a half million, and this is the official statistics from the Empire. According to the actual situation, Langton’s current population is approximately two million and two hundred thousand." Perfikot glanced at the Minister of Internal Affairs, who immediately reported a series of figures.
"Thank you." Perfikot thanked the Minister of Internal Affairs, then turned to the official who had just spoken, using a tone that, while seemingly casual, made one feel grave: "The Northern Territory, according to the current construction progress, could accommodate two million people by the time winter arrives. The Empire’s previous migration plan and the laborers who have already gone to the Northern Territory amount to about seventy thousand.
Taking into consideration other circumstances, the Empire can still migrate one and a half million to the Northern Territory.
Among these one and a half million people, engineers, technicians, and scholars are prioritized. Approved nobles can go in the second batch along with their relatives, wives, daughters, and children in the first batch. According to the current statistics of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, this group is about sixteen thousand.
As for the remaining population quota, how many does the Military Department need? What about the Noble Council? The Military Department should speak first, how many quotas do you require for both the Army and Navy?"
Perfikot spoke as she turned to the representative of the Military Department.
"According to estimates, the Military Department needs a quota for one hundred thousand people, thirty thousand for the Army, fifty thousand for the Navy, and the remaining twenty thousand are related military personnel." The representatives from the Military Department, consisting of generals, quietly consulted amongst themselves and had the Navy Minister represent their viewpoint.
They were not implying the Empire needed to retain such large armed forces to go to the Northern Territory, but these quotas referred to the officers.