Chapter 197 Macragge's Travels (2)
Robert Guilliman fell into a brief daze at Perturabo's reminder. For the Primarch who devoted his energy to Macragge, where he grew up, leaving Macragge after a month was almost a strange sentence made up of a string of familiar words, which was difficult to understand and difficult to accept.
After more than ten years of longing for the gathering of the same kind, it would have been a dream-like thing to be reunited with brothers of similar minds, not to mention that Conor Guilliman and Thalasa Yuton were still Calling him "child" without thinking, all the factors combined, it was almost a godsend of good news and a dream come true. But once the condition of leaving Macragge on the eve of the revolution was added, all the happiness was suddenly covered with a dark background.
In fact, Guilliman felt that if he did this, it would be tantamount to betraying Konor, Jotun, the entire people of Macragge, and Macragge itself - he I could hear the exaggerated complaints in my own voice.
"Do I have to leave right now?" Guilliman asked, hiding his rising alertness. "First, no matter how good a general is, it is impossible to sharpen a sword with his army in one day. Secondly, a defector who easily abandons the happiness of his citizens is not worthy of trust..."
"We have no intention of forcing you to do anything." Angron interrupted warmly, the voice coming from his broad chest low and thick, "If you rely on force to make people join a cause, then the cause itself must be incomplete and despicable. "This is not the meaning of the Great Crusade, nor is it the Emperor's wish."
Perturabo put aside the words he had just composed, leaving the opportunity for dialogue to Angron.
He didn’t know what the Emperor was talking about with Angron in the Nuceria Memorial Hall, but he felt that this gladiator brother who resisted powerful authority could have such high regard for the Lord of Mankind. Thanks to Morse for designing the first encounter.
As he has been engaged in the secret construction of the Webway on Terra for the past five years, he has had many opportunities to communicate directly with the Emperor, and his understanding of the Emperor has also deepened a lot. His vision became more pure and moving in the eyes of Perturabo, but the mysterious personality of the Emperor himself, who was like a patchwork of many fragments, often confused Perturabo.
In short, if the matter of welcoming Angron to the expedition was left entirely to the Emperor, he could hardly imagine what a disaster it would be.
"In the Emperor's grand propaganda spread across the galaxy, you will hear many concepts of unity and liberation, and you will see repeated in countless forms about the burning of the inexhaustible for the revival of the human race and the welfare of mankind itself. Purity and darkness, expelling aliens and heretics, and embracing humanity into the light again with the glory of the Eagle flag."
Angron used a calm and gentle tone to state these things that could be described as fanaticism. Vocabulary invisibly strengthens his persuasiveness.
After learning that he would not be forced to leave, Guilliman no longer calculated how completely impossible to resist the astonishing force of the two hundred thousand troops above his head - in fact, he did not feel that his new The brothers he met had the potential to be so cruel, but his rationality was one step ahead of him. He relaxed and focused on Angron's amber eyes.
“Any ruler, person in power, or even an oppressor who takes away public power from the people and uses it for private use can say these beautiful words and do things that are hundreds of times more exaggerated. Propaganda. But the Emperor is different. His true desire is greater than the dream he speaks, and what he can do for it is more than what he promises on the surface, because he was undoubtedly the one he was determined to protect. A member of mankind, and he still retains that precious side."
Angron said with emotion.
"A year ago, on my own planet Nuceria, I held a wide-ranging meeting with a large number of my citizen representatives and descendants to discuss some of the mistakes we had made and where we were going from here. I did not know that the Emperor was in the crowd, for he was neither wearing a crown nor a golden armor. He blended in with the crowd so plainly and easily, listening to our council and proposing all matters that could be implemented immediately. "His first proposal was that there should be a limit on the speed of transportation within the city, because accidental collisions were always happening in Yana. His follow-up proposal. Some are related to the structure of Nuceria's management, and some are connected to the lives of citizens... He is concerned about whether everyone can have a better life and build a better culture based on his own civilization. I almost will. He was regarded as a star in the future governance of Nuceria, until I discovered that he was actually the Lord of Mankind."
"If Macragge joins the Empire, the Macragge people will also join his. Under the care of him." Guilliman thoughtfully extracted the most crucial information for him from Angron's sigh, and also added a vague understanding of the father he had never met.
Perturabo had an uneasy feeling about Angron's emotional approval.
The display that the Lord of Mankind made in front of Angron was obviously too successful, and the following year of separation continued to further beautify the Emperor in the eyes of the Lord of Red Sand.
But if Robert Guilliman really viewed the Emperor in that way, Robert would probably have a huge heartache when the busy master of the Empire found some free time and was urged by Malcador or Mors to visit Macragge in person. Feeling confused.
"There is no doubt about it," said Perturabo, gently reminding Robert Guilliman not to have too high expectations of the Emperor, "but I need to explain to you that the Emperor He does not often have time to show his closeness to the citizens. Likewise, he does not directly take over the entire government of a planet. He is a higher-level leader who acts as an almost symbolic figure. Core responsibilities. "
"In addition to remembering the truth of the empire and paying a certain amount of taxes when joining a world in the human empire, unless Terra is offended, managers are often still local residents of the planet, and their management methods are also different. Mainly local autonomy. Just like Olympia still belongs to me personally, and I entrusted it to my good friend Carifon in Olympia, asking her to take Olympia to a better level-in addition, it is up to us. The planets under the jurisdiction of these Primarchs do not need to pay taxes to the solar system."
"This means that after my departure, the Archon will continue to govern Macragge, which means that the Archon's reforms will not be interfered with. , and you also need to push yourself."
"You can also take care of it yourself, Robert. It will not be difficult for any of us to take time off from the expedition to take care of government affairs. I introduce you to Roger Dorn. , Although he is silent now, his pocket empire, which includes several galaxies, is completely under his control." The three original bodies turned back, and Dorn, who was walking behind, was obviously listening intently, with a very expression on his face when he nodded in recognition. Calm: "I can show you Invit's military expense report for this year. Do you need me to do so?"
"No, thank you." Perturabo continued, "Robert, you can even stay for a few more years, just make sure that your legion's expedition progress is not put on hold during this period. Just like Angron He stayed in Nuceria for a full year, and his legions fought under my and Dorn's command, until we decided to come together to find you."
Guilliman was moved. "Then my legion..." His rapid thinking immediately stopped him from throwing the tens of thousands of military forces called "sons" he could obtain to his brothers. Under Konor's appointment, he had already led Macragge's army in several overwhelmingly successful battles.
He continued: "I will make my decision after I meet with them. I noticed that you just mentioned a word, Imperial Truth, which is a set of internal systems of the human empire. "Is it a general charter or code?"
"Yes, and no," Perturabo said, "It is indeed a set of mandatory regulations in theory, but it is also quite difficult in the implementation process. Flexible.”
"For example, the key core of the empire's truth is that there is no irrational superstition in this world, let alone witchcraft, magic and belief rooted in ignorance and blindness. We cannot be intoxicated in the pursuit of power beyond the cognitive level, buried in idealism and The shadow of hypocrisy. Of course, psychic powers and alien species that humans cannot understand for the time being exist, but this does not prove the existence of any original gods with consciousness and destiny; attributing them to gods is just a symptom of limited understanding- —But if primitive religious beliefs do exist somewhere, the Emperor will not exterminate the entire planet at once for no reason."
He suddenly remembered that Morse directly killed all the bishops in Olympia, and then gradually. A smile flashed across the face of the Olympian Cult, which began to replace personnel from the roots up and gradually faded from citizen life.
"It has been mentioned in the museum that at the distant origins of Macragge's culture, there are indeed legends about many gods," Guilliman said. Even if he did not mean it, there was still a hint of mythology in his words. existential dissatisfaction. "Although there are only a few fragmentary assertions left to this day, when I was reading when I was a child, I could still easily deduce countless contradictory statements from them, and many phenomena in between can also be regarded as symbolic interpretations of certain natural or humanistic activities. and hidden feedback. However, in the old days, people actually believed in the myths and legends compiled in a few words, and even used them as theoretical basis to guide reality. Development has been slow and stagnant for a time. "
"It seems not easy for you and me to accept that mortals do not always have the eagerness to make progress. When I was in Olympia, I have debated with the local alliance of wise men known as the 'Nine Wise Men of Pelecontia' more than once. Although we have many disputes, we have always been on the same front in opposing rigid religion. After all, this is the first time I have come into contact with the Olympians in my memory. At that time, I met a very annoying religious person who was full of nonsense and aggressive, and wanted to make me embarrassed in public."
He paused, and found that he had found someone while chatting with Guilliman. An elder's pleasure in telling childhood stories surprised him a little - from the time he became conscious, he was only in his twenties this year. Even among mortals, he could be called young, let alone the original body. It is still unclear whether the body can age, so why do you start to reminisce about the glorious past?
"Our Senate discusses real practical issues," Guilliman said, his eyes shining brightly. "If a cleric comes in and spreads superstitious lies, we can even accuse him of lying in the honorable chamber. Although we usually don't do that, it can certainly be used to sentence the liar to death."
Perturabo smiled: "I would like to suggest that Callifon put this rule into the proceedings of the Olympian Lokos Palace. But after I asked her about foreign etiquette last time , She hasn’t given me a reply yet. Perhaps it’s because of the instability of remote astrology.”
“Similarly, I will also add Imperial Truth to Macragge’s reform in advance,” Robert said. His hands waved energetically in front of his chest. "Be prepared in advance for the regulations that will follow when Macragge joins the Empire."
Perturabo did not expect that Robert Guilliman would have such an obvious preference for the truth of the Empire. The hesitation and alienation that had arisen were driven away by the Imperial truth created by the Emperor. Through this layer of theoretical doctrine that displays the core thoughts of the Emperor, the primarch, who like the Emperor wears a laurel crown, obviously sees a beautiful world that is more in line with what he has in mind, a world filled with sufficient rationality and positive subjective motivation. A transparent ideal country built.
Once again, Perturabo found himself unlucky enough to be the one to break his brother's imagination, for Imperial truth itself was a religious lie. He began to wish that Morse was here, because the black-robed craftsman was the dissatisfied person who worked tirelessly to expose all the beautiful dreams.
"Of course, as the leader of the human empire that encompasses the galaxy, the essence of the imperial truth created by the Emperor is also a set of theories used to describe reality, not the real truth. As a core political concept, if it Conflict with reality, in order to avoid shaking the foundation of the empire, changing the truth of the empire will be difficult and long-term. My brother, if such a day comes, I hope you will understand this. "
"Theory and practice are the keys to mutual reinforcement," Guilliman said, his palms spread outward, as if he were delivering a key speech in the Senate before five hundred people. "And hypothesis is observation and analysis. The biggest trap. The doctrine based on denying superstition and respecting truth can undoubtedly lay the foundation for mankind to achieve great achievements. Yes, myths need to be dismantled. Experience and rationality are the foundation for the development of a new world for mankind..."
"You are right, but you also need to admit exceptions." Roger Dorn suddenly spoke up, seemingly finally finding what he thought was a good opportunity to join the conversation.
Guilliman turned around.
I saw Rogal Dorn holding an expressionless hand in one hand, floating in the air and surrounded by layers of flowing golden runes. The skull - he thought it was some kind of ornament with cultural characteristics, and the upper and lower jaws of the skull were opening and closing, making a clicking noise. The source of the unintelligible sound, which had no sound-producing device at all, was making an extremely strange sound directly in the air. rang out, using a voice that combined the tone of the white-haired original's own voice and a featureless synthesized voice, and spoke without any reason.
"What Rogal Dorn means is: Sometimes, some power that does exist can also be used in a controllable manner because of its practicality."
WBG - I even just expect you to give it a try 1:3——
(End of this chapter)