"Hyah!"
With a soft shout from Dominica, who was driving the carriage, the eight newly selected white horses began to pull the carriage forward.
After returning from the battlefield of Demon Island, Dominica had once again become Luo Li's driver.
Of course, this position was not one that just anyone could hold.
Imagine how terrifying it would be if, while the emperor was sitting inside, the driver suddenly whipped the horses into a frenzy and delivered the ruler straight into the enemy camp.
Therefore, being able to drive for the Saintess was an honor held by only a few within the entire knighthood.
Fifty elite knights, two hundred infantry, and the nuns riding in the auxiliary carriage made up the escort.
The convoy, totaling nearly three hundred people, departed from the Temple.
As the Saintess of the Moon, the only figure in the Eight Nations of the Holy Church to hold both political and divine power, Luo Li's every move was a matter of state.
Even if she wanted to go on an incognito visit, she had to consider whether Lola and the others would allow it.
Clearly, Lola and the rest would never let Luo Li go on an incognito visit easily.
Only a foolishly loyal person like Hilda would indulge Her Highness.
In any case, ever since Lola herself had survived an assassination attempt, she had become extremely vigilant regarding Luo Li's whereabouts.
Furthermore, the events in Moonrise City had made Lola realize one thing clearly.
Those nobles... actually dared to strike at Her Highness.
Even though they knew their excuses were transparently foolish, they were just that stupid.
As long as they had the slightest pretext, they would dare to take massive risks for a sliver of a chance.
"Is such a large escort really necessary?"
Sitting inside the Saint's Carriage, Luo Li lifted the curtain and looked out the window.
Snowflakes as large as goose feathers drifted down from the sky, and a thick layer of snow had already accumulated on the ground overnight.
Along the road, shopkeepers were already coming out of their stores to clear the snow from their doorsteps.
When the Saint's Carriage passed by, the commoners spontaneously bowed their heads without needing to be told.
On both sides of the carriage, dozens of knights maintained a strict perimeter, leaving almost no gaps.
Luo Li could only catch glimpses of the people's lives through the occasional opening between the guards.
"Your Highness, your safety concerns every person in the Kingdom of the Moon. We cannot be negligent."
Lola lightly pushed up her gold-rimmed glasses, her face full of solemnity.
"Please do not take unnecessary risks, Your Highness."
Luo Li blinked. She hadn't really done anything, had she?
Was all this truly necessary?
They were treating her like a prisoner.
If she were a prisoner being escorted by this many people, she would surely be a high-profile criminal destined for immediate execution upon arrival.
Not dwelling on the matter further, Luo Li looked down at the snow on the ground.
The current Kingdom of the Moon did not yet have a complete political system.
Because divine power and royal power had been unified for so long, the internal official positions of the Kingdom of the Moon were in disarray.
As a result, many matters ultimately ended up being piled onto Lola at the top.
This was the consequence of the two powers not being fully separated.
It was to the point where the Finance Minister and others had almost no presence before her.
This was because the money had previously been under the control of Martha, the personal nun.
And now, the one controlling the finances was Lola.
Fortunately, the military system was basically separated already, so no further changes were needed there.
Sitting in the carriage was boring, so Luo Li thought for a moment and struck up a conversation.
"Lola, you have looked very tired lately. Is it... because there are too many things to handle?"
The green-haired girl lightly pushed her gold-rimmed glasses, her expression remaining calm.
"This is my duty."
Well, that was a perfect answer.
But that wasn't the issue!
Relying on a single person was not sustainable!
A nation needed countless people to maintain it; one could not simply look for a genius every single time.
After all, this was a massive mechanical entity that required stability.
Like the Shu Han state, Zhuge Liang worked himself to death alone, which ultimately led to the difficulty of launching campaigns after his passing.
There simply weren't enough talents.
A mechanically operating state system cannot be driven by a single, absolutely powerful gear.
After all, if something goes wrong with that gear, the entire nation's operation will fail.
What it needs are countless small gears to maintain the entire system.
Even if a few gears break, the nation won't collapse as long as they are replaced in time.
The benefit of this approach was that small gears always had replacements ready.
"Lola, continuing to work like this is not a long-term solution. We still need to gather more talent."
Lola was like a massive gear right now, forcibly driving the normal development of the entire Kingdom of the Moon.
But once she fell, that massive gear would stop turning.
In that instant, almost all administrative affairs would come to a standstill!
"Does Your Highness mean to say I am not doing well?"
Lola's eyes flickered with a hint of doubt and inquiry.
Did Her Highness start to dislike her?
Had she done something to displease Her Highness?
Or was Her Highness like other monarchs, fearing that her subordinate's achievements would overshadow her own, leading to a struggle for power?
If that were the case, it would only mean she had chosen the wrong monarch.
However, Her Highness's response immediately swept away the doubts in her heart.
The moment Lola asked that question, Luo Li keenly sensed the alarm and suspicion in her heart.
After all, such things had happened since ancient times.
It wasn't surprising.
Luo Li pondered for a moment and reached out to take out her pocket watch.
Among the Eight Nations of the Holy Church, no other country produced a pocket watch as exquisite as the one in her hand.
The Eight Nations of the Holy Church each had their own industrial systems, but only the watchmaking nation of Berne could create such a masterpiece.
It was a small country within a league located between the Kingdom of the Sea and the Kingdom of Flame.
The exquisite pocket watch had four hands with different functions.
They were the power pointer, the direction pointer, the second hand, and the moon pointer.
The entire watch used a miniature magic array for time calibration; it could be said that it almost never needed adjustment.
One only needed to wind it periodically for it to run long-term.
A watch like this was worth at least several thousand gold coins.
What did that mean?
In terms of general purchasing power, it was at least worth tens of millions.
"Lola, look at this. What is it?"
Lola looked closely and responded calmly.
"It is a pocket watch made in Berne by the master watchmaker Heller. It took two years to build and is named the Heart of the Blue Sea."
She could instantly name everything Her Highness owned.
Whether it was the towels, bedding, or carpets Her Highness used, or even the dozen different combs on the table made by different craftsmen, she could distinguish which was which in an instant.
"Yes, that is correct. But despite all that, it is merely a tool for telling time."
Saying this, Luo Li pointed to the watch's mainspring.
"Lola, how many mainsprings does this watch have?"
"One."
"What if the mainspring breaks? It would stop running, wouldn't it?"
Lola paused and then nodded.
"Yes."
"Then let me ask you another question. Lola, look at my Saint's Carriage. How many horses are there?"
"Eight... horses?"
The Saint's Carriage had four in the front and four in the back, totaling eight white horses to provide power.
On one hand, it was for prestige, and on the other, it was to make the carriage's operation more stable.
Even if a few horses had problems, it would not delay the carriage's progress.
"Then I ask you, if we removed four horses, could the Saint's Carriage still move?"
Lola's brow furrowed slightly.
"It could."
Her Highness's thoughts were already beginning to reach her mind.
Luo Li nodded and put her watch away.
She had gone through a lot of trouble to have Nara buy this for her using the Temple's private coffers rather than the national treasury.
As a former... male, her love for mechanical objects like watches was etched into her bones.
"Exactly. What I want is not a nation like a clock, but a nation like the Saint's Carriage."
"Lola, in the future, both you and I will grow old and pass away. Even the first Pope did not achieve eternal life."
Luo Li looked toward the distance and stretched her hand out the window. A snowflake as large as a goose feather fell into her palm.
In an instant, it melted into a puddle of water.
"Just like this snow, it will melt sooner or later."
"What we must do is not simply push the Kingdom of the Moon to its peak, but ensure it can maintain its peak at any time."
"If the mainspring breaks, the clock stops. If a horse dies, the other horses can still pull the carriage."
"But in the current Brilliant City, you and I are that mainspring, driving its operation."
"But what I want is a carriage like this."
Only such a nation could withstand the test of time.
Saying this, Luo Li turned back to look at Lola.
"During the time I was away, did the operations of Brilliant City remain as smooth as before?"
Lola pondered for a moment and shook her head.
"I understand Your Highness's meaning. However, Your Highness, there are not that many good horses right now."
"It does not matter. If there are no good horses, we will select them ourselves. We will find horses with potential and train them into good ones."
If a nation did not have a system for cultivating talent, then that nation would eventually decline.
"But Your Highness... if we do that, won't it just give rise to more nobles?"
Good horses would have more resources, and those resources would be taken by those horses to train their next generation.
Passing down from generation to generation, they would become nobles.
"No, we do not produce horses; we are merely the transporters of good horses."
"??"
The problem Lola mentioned would appear in any era.
It was almost inevitable.
What Luo Li wanted to do was to allow this nation to survive safely in such an environment as much as possible.
"We do not need to produce horses. We only need to train horses with potential. For example... schools."
Of course, this problem could only be solved slowly; it was impossible to eliminate it in one go.
However, it could be gradually expanded.
Luo Li smiled and turned back, pulling in her small hand which had turned slightly red from the cold.
"What we need to do is train people like you who can handle many things. This training will be based on rules we set, making it difficult for nobles to interfere. As for the problem you worry about..."
That would have to be left for the people of that era to solve.
Of course, Luo Li did not say those words out loud.
Lola was more of a perfectionist and an idealist.
If such a problem were discussed too openly, it might deal a blow to her faith.
It was better not to make it too clear for now.
"I will solve it."
To that end, the first step was to compile books.
First was the popularization of literacy.
Compiling textbooks and then recruiting educated people to serve as teachers.
This was the first step toward opening an academy in this other world.
In the current Kingdom of the Moon, the problems were indeed too many to count.
As for the problem of the nobility, as long as 'land' was restricted, the nobility could be restricted.
Changing from 'granted as a gift' to 'granted as a lease'.
Sovereignty would remain in the hands of the Temple. No matter who it was, they would only have the right to use the land, not the right to own it.
All rights of interpretation would belong to the Temple.
This could prevent the proliferation of nobility.
To put it simply in one sentence.
Nationalization of land.
This was the only way to restrict land consolidation.
At the same time, universal taxation for the gentry was also something under consideration for the current stage.
Discussing these visions for the future, Luo Li actually enjoyed acting like a teacher for a while.
However... Lola took these matters to heart.
The carriage traveled all the way to the army camp. Luo Li was not very familiar with the situation inside the camp.
When she led troops into battle, they were mostly at the knight rank. Infantry did not participate in those battles, so she did not know much about the structure of the infantry.
As she was thinking, the Saint's Carriage stopped in front of the army camp.
Before Luo Li could even step out of the carriage, an uproar was heard from afar.
It seemed that something had happened.
Luo Li's brow furrowed as she instinctively looked toward the camp gates.
Dominica, who was driving, immediately went into a state of high alert.
"Knights, form up!"
"Yes!"
As soon as the command was given, the fifty knights quickly surrounded the Saint's Carriage, encircling it so tightly that not even air could pass through.
The lances that had been secured to their mounts were now held in their hands, pointed toward the camp ahead.
The guards at the camp were dumbstruck by this sight.
"The... the Saint's Carriage?"
Dominica's brow was locked tight as she leaped down from the carriage.
With one hand resting on the longsword at her waist, she stepped forward.
"Her Highness the Saintess has arrived at the camp to inspect the troops. Why have you not knelt?"
The guarding soldiers looked at each other. One of them, clearly reacting quickly, immediately knelt down.
The others exchanged glances and followed suit, responding in a scattered fashion.
"We welcome Your Highness."
"You may all rise."
Luo Li's voice came from inside the carriage. She wanted to step out, but Lola and Nara behind her stopped her.
"Your Highness, you must not take risks easily!"
"Your Highness, your safety is paramount."
Seeing that the two people closest to her were saying this, Luo Li could only resign herself to sitting back down.
She spoke up to ask.
"Who is the captain? Step forward and speak."
The soldier who had been the first to kneel stood up, took a step forward, and bowed his head, responding in a low voice.
"Reporting to Your Highness, I am."
Through the carriage door, she looked at the soldier kneeling on the ground.
"I ask you, what is happening inside? Why is it so noisy?"
"Reporting to Your Highness... it seems, it seems someone is causing trouble."
Causing trouble?
Trouble in an army camp was no simple matter.
If handled poorly, it could even lead to a mutiny!
Ignoring the protests of Lola and Nara behind her, the girl stepped out of the carriage.
"Open the gates immediately!"
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