Pope Augustus

However, Katerina would not reveal all of this to Augustus on their first meeting, even though she had a good impression of him.

"It's alright, I've gotten used to it over the years." Katerina outwardly remained nonchalant, but her heart was far from calm.

"May I have the honor of reading your works?"

"You really want to read my book?" Katerina's excitement was hard to conceal. She had seen too many kings or nobles who pretended to be humble and open to suggestions over the years; it was all just a show. Augustus was the first person who truly wanted to read her book.

"Of course, it's true, why not?" Augustus was somewhat surprised by her strong reaction.

"Yes, of course, yes! This is wonderful! If you read my book, does that mean my book can be published in the Papal States?" Katerina asked excitedly.

"That will be decided after I've read it." Augustus said with a smile. Making promises casually before reading the content of a book was irresponsible and disrespectful to the author.

"Yes, yes, of course, I'll go back and get the book for you now, is that okay?"

"That would be best." Seeing Katerina suddenly act like a different person, Augustus, who had just been surprised, now understood. Augustus even began to suspect what Katerina's main purpose for coming was; the rhythm had clearly been thrown off. However, since he intended to use her, it was always good to learn more.

Soon, Katerina returned with a backpack full of books.

"They're all here. I've made some copies of my books, but these are all the original manuscripts." Augustus had shown her enough respect, and Katerina, in turn, showed her sincerity.

"So many, it seems I'll need to spend more time to finish them." Augustus said with a wry smile. He had originally thought there would only be a few, but he hadn't expected so many. He had dug himself a hole; reading all of them would take too long, and reading only a part wouldn't be good.

"You don't need to rush, and don't feel burdened. These books can stay with you for as long as you like, and you can read them whenever you want. Anyway, they're useless if they stay with me. If you don't want to read them anymore, just say so, it's perfectly fine." The understanding Katerina immediately guessed Augustus's thoughts.

"It's good that you don't need them back urgently, so I'll read them slowly. If you have no issues, then the editor-in-chief of the Rome Newspaper is decided to be you, is that okay?" Augustus asked politely.

"It would be my honor." Katerina agreed very readily.

"Then, first, let Faol show you the current situation of the Rome Newspaper. Tell me your thoughts later, and I will support you as much as possible, alright?"

"Thank you for your trust. I won't disturb you any longer then; I'll go and understand the situation quickly." Katerina seemed even more eager than Augustus.

"Go on."

After seeing Katerina off, Augustus casually pulled a book from Katerina's collection. He flipped to the cover and saw several large characters prominently printed on the title page: On the Disadvantages of the polish election system.

The polish election system? Augustus thought for a moment.

There had been precedents for the Polish royal election; as early as 1386, King Władysław Jagiełło of Poland was elected.

The true polish election system was first implemented a year after the last king of the Jagiellonian dynasty, Sigismund Augustus, died without an heir, which was in 1573. From then on, the polish election system was established and continued until its first collapse.

The book first explained, based on historical facts, the following characteristics of the "polish election system":

1. Free election: All nobles participated according to their wishes.

2. Sejm: Parliament convened every two years by royal command.

3. Pacta Conventa: "Agreements supported" by the royal election system, including a list of powers and treaties binding the king.

4. Rebellion: The power of the Szlachta (nobility) to rebel against a king who infringed upon their liberties.

5. Liberum Veto: The power of a private land envoy to oppose a decision supported by the majority when the Sejm (parliament controlled by the nobility) was in session; exercising the "liberum veto" could invalidate all legislation declared passed during the session.

6. Confederation: The power to organize armies to achieve common political goals.

Augustus only knew a little about this period of Polish history, and some of the things mentioned in the book seemed utterly incredible to him. Especially the point about rebellion, where a legitimate rebellion could be launched on such a ridiculous pretext as the king infringing upon one's freedom, Augustus felt his worldview was about to be overturned.

If he had seen something like this normally, Augustus would certainly have been very skeptical and would have thoroughly investigated it. Yet, the book presented its arguments with sound reasoning and evidence, making it convincing. Augustus knew about some of the events, so it certainly couldn't be false.

Amidst his shock, Augustus also realized that this book was not read in vain. Reading it for a short while saved him countless hours of sifting through historical materials, and he became even more convinced that employing Katerina was a very wise decision.

Next, the book pointed out that the polish election system was a mixture of the following systems:

1. Confederative and Federal System: Regions had extensive autonomy. However, it was difficult to call the Commonwealth a confederation or a federation; the federal system was a mixture of both (commonly referred to in Chinese as the "Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth" as a "federation").

2. Oligarchy: Only the Szlachta—about 10% of the population—possessed political rights.

3. Noble democracy: Because all nobles in the Sejm were equal in power and privilege, and the Sejm could veto the king on important matters such as legislation, foreign affairs, declarations of war, and taxation.

4. Elective Monarchy: Because the monarch was elected by the Szlachta and was the head of state.

5. Constitutional Monarchy: Because the monarch was limited by the Pacta Conventa and other laws, and the Szlachta could defy any royal orders they deemed unlawful.

Upon reading this, Augustus's negative impression of the polish election system, which had arisen from the previously mentioned characteristics, lessened somewhat. Although it was a democracy of a minority, in this era, compared to other countries, Poland's democratic politics could be said to be very advanced. It was just a pity that what Europe truly needed at this time was not democracy, especially Poland.

Further down, the book began to discuss the advantages of the polish election system. Augustus felt a bit confused; wasn't the book's title about its disadvantages? Why was it now talking about advantages? Was it a case of praising first to criticize later?

The content merely discussed things that could be thought of with one's toes, such as ensuring a smooth succession to the throne in the absence of an heir without interference from great powers, and preventing the monarch from acting recklessly due to excessive power.

Finally, the book reached the disadvantages of the polish election system. At this point, less than a third of the book had been read, and the main part of the book had arrived. Augustus paid close attention to the content, extracting the following key points:

1. When the throne was regularly left vacant, nobles preferred to elect foreign heirs who had not yet inherited other powerful dynasties. This strategy often led the Sejm to elect completely incompetent monarchs, or those who were at a disadvantage in conflicts with the nobility, which was clearly very detrimental to the nation.

2. According to the liberum veto, if even one member objected, the bill could not pass. True democracy is based on the principle of the minority submitting to the majority, so this noble democracy led to extreme democracy and anarchy in Poland. This also caused controversial issues to often remain unresolved, thereby preventing the national will from being expressed.

3. The high degree of autonomy and independent governance of local nobles not only led to extremely low administrative efficiency but also made it very easy for a situation of fragmentation and separatism to form.

...

In the course of the discussion, Katerina unreservedly cited multiple Polish kings as examples, and even directly stated that the current Polish king, Sigismund III, had an illegitimate claim to the throne and was engaging in excessive military expansion, which would leave great hidden dangers for Poland.

At the end of the book, she even boldly asserted that if the election system was not abolished, Poland would surely fall.

Augustus couldn't help but feel a pang of worry for Katerina. It should be known that the current Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth was in its "Golden Age" of dominating its neighbors, and still had several decades of upward trajectory.

At this time, speaking of national demise would probably be considered alarmist by anyone, and this book had offended the entire Polish nobility and royal family.