I changed the world.

Page 339

"In 1615, a new translation of the Hadith was completed and published."

"In 1630, the Puritans went to the New World, and thereafter, large-scale immigration began."

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Herbert wrote down important historical moments of the Western Continent on the paper, and on the last line he wrote:

"458 years after Irving Lane was burned at the stake, in 1783 King Philip II of Grand was sent to the guillotine. After that, the monarchy lost most of its power."

Silently staring at the paper, Herbert seemed to be talking to himself, or perhaps asking Albert beside him: "In these events, what exactly were 'they' involved in? How deeply were they involved?"

"You mean, they were involved in... or promoted the Reformation?"

"If...in 1325, they hadn't perished, but instead turned from open to covert...if they believed that His Majesty Bergopelli had betrayed them...I think it's not impossible..."

Herbert's office was always kept at a constant temperature of 23 degrees Celsius, which would normally feel a bit warm. However, at this moment, looking at the thin sheet of paper on the coffee table, both high-ranking officials from the External Security Bureau felt a chill seeping into their bones.

It was as if a colossal creature was lurking in the shadows of history, watching them with a cold gaze.

As high-ranking officials in globally renowned intelligence agencies, both Herbert and Albert were accustomed to observing any suspicious clues with a skeptical and critical mindset.

There is a Western proverb that says when you think things are going to get worse, they always do.

Many people may not agree with this statement, but two veteran intelligence officers highly agree with it.

On the blank page before me, this seemingly ordinary timeline now appears to contain countless coincidences. These are things that are usually only found in short passages of ink in history books. Behind the real history, how many intricate games have been played out? How many swords have been drawn? How many battles and fights have taken place in the shadows? How much blood has been shed?

Those who possess supernatural powers, no matter how harmless they may appear now, can become the most terrifying killing machines if they so choose!

“I think you are right. At its peak, the Knights Templar reportedly had more than 20,000 members, and that was just their visible strength.” Albert said with a solemn expression, “Such a large organization, if they try to hide, no one can uproot them.”

"In particular, they also possess powers that we do not understand..."

At this point, the two fell silent once again. At this moment, neither of them realized that on the wall not far from them, on the canvas of the religious oil painting "The Baptism of Micah," which had been hanging there since the previous director's time, the Holy Son Micah was gazing at them with his eternally compassionate eyes.

“You’re right, indeed. If… the Knights Templar have truly survived to this day…” Herbert said in a low voice, “then it must be said that we knew absolutely nothing about this organization before…”

Herbert glanced at Albert beside him without saying a word. If an organization that had lasted for such a long time was indeed involved in and promoted a series of major historical events over hundreds of years, as he thought, then it was certain that "they" or "their influence" had penetrated extremely deeply into all aspects of society.

After all, this was a long-term plan and scheme that had been going on for hundreds of years...

At this very moment, he didn't even know which of those important figures from various countries were "their" people. Among the nobles? Among the high-ranking members of the church? Among the cabinet members? Among the members of the legislature? Even the prime minister himself?

Aside from King Henry IV of Grand, no one could be ruled out as a suspect. He didn't even know if there were any of "them" within his own Foreign Security Bureau, or even the deputy director before him, his old partner Albert... Although he displayed a logical attitude, who could know if it was just a facade?

If I really try to do something, who knows if I'll step into hell if I make a wrong move...

The only certainty is that "they" must possess an extremely powerful and mysterious force.

This is easy to deduce, after all, the "demon on the clay tablet," a powerful and eerie being that has existed since the age of mythology, was clearly trying to win them over and tempt them. Even the power displayed by "Mr. Valentine" in the end was undeniably capable of suppressing and even sealing them.

Even if there is some "cost" involved in this process, it at least shows that "they," or even one of their members, possess power that surpasses that of an ancient demon god.

Today, major intelligence agencies around the world have clearly recognized that any being that can be called a "god," even a so-called "evil god" or "false god," is not easy to deal with and possesses incredibly powerful strength!

Herbert had already decided to back out.

It is true that the Foreign Security Bureau is an extremely powerful intelligence agency, and as its director, he possesses seemingly prestigious power, even to the point of having direct access to the Prime Minister.

However, when faced with such a powerful and secretive organization, he thought that, if possible, he really didn't want to become its enemy...

He had no doubt about "their" ability to act, even though "Mr. Valentine" behaved like a polite gentleman.

After all, it's the lives of tens of millions of people throughout history that endorsed it.

An organization capable of stirring up such a massive wave could never be a pure and loving lamb.

Imagine Philip II on the guillotine...

Life is so precious and so beautiful... especially for those in positions of power.

"How's the investigation on the church's side going?" Herbert exhaled a puff of smoke.

"We have compiled a list of religious personnel from the 17 provinces of Grande, including 121 men whose names contain the character 'Valentine'."

Chapter 675 It's good to be confused sometimes

"As for Protestants, according to the list we have so far, there are a total of 39 men whose names contain Valentine. However, our list is not complete, and we are still investigating these people. We expect to have results later."

"Of course, it's also possible he comes from some secret cult, or maybe he's not even from Grand at all. You know, Grand is a free country, and its control over religion isn't strict..."

“I know that if he’s trying to hide himself… then we can’t find him so easily.”

After another moment of silence, Albert carefully chose his words and said in a low voice, "Your Excellency, I believe that, at least in this incident, 'Mr. Valentine' has been of great help to us..."

"I think this at least proves that he or the forces behind him have no hostility toward us, and it can even be said that they have considerable goodwill."

"It must be said that, currently, we lack effective means to deal with these mysterious entities involving 'evil gods' or 'false gods,' especially in densely populated areas where high-powered heavy weapons cannot be used." Seeing that Herbert remained silent, Albert continued, "In incidents like this, although I'm reluctant to admit it, without Mr. Valentine, our people alone would likely have caused quite serious social consequences..."

“Indeed, as you said, we can regard this incident as an attempt at contact…” Herbert gave Albert a deep look and nodded thoughtfully.

Albert, oblivious to the director's gaze, continued his analysis: "From what we can see now, both the Bergopelli Papacy and certain 'original orthodox' religious groups undoubtedly possess supernatural powers. We can even speculate that there was some kind of power struggle between these two sides in history."

“It might not even be as simple as a game theory…” Herbert added.

Neither of them continued the topic, as it was so obvious that religious wars in history were a nightmare for all participating countries. In fact, one could speculate that the real power struggle began long after Owen Lane was burned at the stake, given that the Black Death that swept across Europe and the century-long War of the Grand Succession followed one after another, a coincidence that made it hard not to draw parallels.

However, this could only be speculation, and neither of them voiced it aloud.

"Of course, there are too many mysteries here. For example, the biggest question is, if the Knights Templar possessed powerful supernatural abilities, why didn't Grand Master Owen Lane and the other members of the Knights Templar at the time resist?"

"Or rather, what force stopped their resistance?"

"For example, some of the practices of the Vatican at that time were unpredictable..." Albert said rather subtly, but because the two had discussed similar issues before, Herbert was fully aware of his implication.

Historically, during the reign of Bonois I, the Archbishop of Grand was expelled from the country on charges of treason. Later, due to conflicts with the Church, he even led his army to invade the Papacy, imprisoned the Pope at Meloton on the border of Grand, and created the famous 'Meloton Imprisonment' incident.

This history is not a secret, and it is the root cause of the skepticism that some people in various countries still hold towards the Bergopelli Papacy.

And this time, the church's attitude towards the Knights Templar at the time also seemed so strange.

To some extent, this series of events directly led to the gradual decline of the Papacy over the following centuries.

If this were a world without any supernatural forces, then such a thing would be perfectly normal, just as history textbooks describe it as a power struggle between political and divine authority.

However, as high-ranking members of the Grand Intelligence System who knew certain "truths," neither Herbert nor Albert would think so simply.

One possibility is that the Grande royal family also possesses certain supernatural powers, enough to counterbalance the Papacy's power in this regard. However, if this is the case, it would be difficult to explain why the royal family so "easily" relinquished power during the French Revolution.

Another more likely possibility is that some extremely important event occurred at the time, preventing either the Papacy or the Knights Templar from using their supernatural powers.

"But, Your Excellency, that is not the most pressing issue for us to clarify, is it?"

The two exchanged a brief glance, and Herbert slowly nodded: "Yes, the Foreign Security Bureau is not a group of historians, nor does it intend to get involved in games that are irrelevant to us. For us, the greatest objective is to ensure the security of the Republic."

"Prepare a briefing on this matter. The Prime Minister's Office has sent an inquiry. The Prime Minister wants to hear about last night's events. I will personally go there later."

"Regarding the content, you should reconsider." He hesitated for a moment, then said casually, "The investigation into that 'Mr. Valentine' should be limited to the current scope. Just confirm whether there are any people whose names contain 'Valentine' that are likely to be involved."

"Actually, personally, I'm not particularly curious about some of the unresolved historical issues..."

Albert paused, glancing at Herbert's expressionless eyes. A chill ran through him, but he replied casually, "Yes, history is full of unsolved mysteries. Perhaps it's better to leave them to historians..."

The two exchanged another glance, as if they both saw something in each other's eyes, and smiled knowingly...

Chief Herbert stubbed out his cigarette in the ashtray. As if remembering something, he picked up the piece of paper in front of him, crumpled it into a ball, and was about to throw it into the nearby trash can. But after just making the tossing motion, he seemed to think it inappropriate, stopped, unfolded the paper again, took out a lighter, lit it, and held it in his hand until it was completely burned, almost to the point of burning his fingers, before placing it in the ashtray. After watching it burn completely to ashes, he crushed the remaining ash, picked it up, went to the adjacent restroom, and flushed it directly down the toilet…

Chapter 676 Private Investment Fund Completed

承和三十七年2016年4月2日08:11临州云山坊张宅

"...Yesterday's sudden sharp drop during the trading session spread uncertainty in the market. Fortunately, the market rallied again at the end of the day, narrowing the overall decline to 20 points, but continuing the downward trend. Last night, I also reviewed the analyses from various institutions, and they were quite different. Some institutions believed that the market would experience a deep correction, as some funds needed to take profits due to substantial gains in the previous period. Other institutions believed that this was the beginning of a new market trend, and the overall adjustment had been completed."

"It should be said that, overall, public opinion is still highly polarized. Today is a day off, so we can have a good opportunity to discuss these issues in detail. Let's welcome our guest, Professor Wang Fujiang, the chief researcher from Tianzheng Research Institute. Professor Wang, what are your thoughts?"

"Hello, host, and hello to all the viewers. Those of you who know me well know that my consistent view is bullish. Here, I would like to reiterate my view that I remain optimistic about the market outlook."

"Yesterday's market showed very clear characteristics of a battle between bulls and bears. As some institutions have analyzed, many funds had a need to take profits in the early stages, which is a relatively normal behavior. After all, the market has accumulated considerable profits after several rounds of gains. However, overall, I think the amount of these funds is limited, which can be seen from the strong rally at the end of the day."

"From the current funding perspective, I believe there is no shortage of funds overall. At the same time, the moderate upward trend in the past few years has resulted in substantial returns for many investors. This profit-making effect has also attracted many investors who are eager to enter the market and hope to seize the right opportunity to obtain substantial returns."

"Let me tell you a story. This morning, I took my car for maintenance, so I came by taxi. I chatted with the driver for a bit, and it turned out he was also a new stock market investor. He had invested his and his wife's savings in the stock market and had already made a 5% profit this year. He was also very optimistic about the future of the market."

"I believe this is a typical example. Currently, a considerable amount of new capital is flowing into the market, all driven by a strong desire to make money. In fact, with the advent of interstellar travel and the continuous advancement of human technological breakthroughs, the deep space concept and related industry stocks, which are undergoing value reassessment, will definitely experience a new round of exponential growth in the future!"

"Teacher Wang, I remain optimistic about the market outlook as always."

"Yes, I believe that this market correction has created a golden opportunity, releasing the risks accumulated in the early stages and laying a solid foundation for future growth. I personally think that this round of adjustment is almost over, and those who are interested in entering the market should cherish this opportunity to get on board!"

At the dining table, Zhang Jing glanced thoughtfully at the investment expert speaking eloquently on the television beside him, then picked up a fried bun and put it in his mouth. Just then, his phone rang. Zhang Jing glanced at the caller ID; it was Sun Zhonghe calling. He picked up the phone and answered.

"Hello, is this Germany-China?"

"Um, good morning, haha, no, no..."

"Hmm...hmm...okay, that was fast enough..."

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“Great, the first payment will arrive soon. Hmm... okay... you can decide that yourself, I have no other requirements.”