Hermione, join me as Minister of Magic!

But he can try to guess—in the gold cup and locket left by Mrs. Smith, he has found the gold cup and confirmed it as a Horcrux, so the locket is unlikely to escape Voldemort's clutches.

In addition, from the point of view that Voldemort is keen to collect the relics of the founder of the academy, the relics of Ravenclaw and Gryffindor may not escape Voldemort's hunting range, even though Gryffindor's sword is in his hands, But Gryffindor isn't just one relic.

There are too many clues, but Dumbledore is too busy, he is not at ease

Leave it to someone else, so it's hard for him to find time for politics in the future

"Gidero, I sincerely hope that you can play a bigger role in this matter." Dumbledore made up his mind and prepared to delegate power.

Lockhart also behaved very simply, without even a bit of hesitation.

"What do you want me to do?" he asked.

"As much as possible, unify the consensus within the Ministry of Magic, and find companions who believe that Voldemort is about to return. And I hope you can spare some energy to monitor those who used to be Death Eaters. If they make any moves, I hope you can Know in advance

"No problem, I've always done that," said Lockhart, "Any more

"temporarily unavailable."

To be honest, Dumbledore's ability to think of these has exceeded Lockhart's expectations, and he didn't let Lockhart immediately spread the news that Voldemort is coming back, which already shows that he has thought about the essential problems of the Ministry of Magic system, which is better than "the original "It's much stronger.

But in Lockhart's view, this is far from enough.

"About the Big Five Tournament, do you have any new ideas about it?" Lockhart asked tentatively.

Dumbledore shook his head lightly: "I'm going to hand over this matter to Minerva and Alastor. Considering that Voldemort is about to return, most of my energy this year will be on tracking down the mystery of his eternal life." .”

Dumbledore kept an eye out and didn't tell Lockhart directly about the Horcrux. This is not a question of trustworthiness, but he has long been used to not putting all his eggs in the same basket.

Seeing that he didn't say anything, Lockhart had no choice but to keep the Ravenclaw crown on his own.

I kept it a secret, and waited for when he would inform himself, and when he would take it out.

"Mr. Moody? He's going to be Defense Against the Dark Arts professor this year?" He feigned interest.

Dumbledore affirmed his "guess": Damn, judging from the security work of the World Cup, his ability is still quite good.And the teaching work already has an outline, he just needs to improve the students' practical ability... By the way, how is Remus doing recently? "

"He's doing well, and he's also very busy. He didn't even come to the World Cup." Lockhart replied, and Wu also said that he had to help the wizard tribe over there with their work problems...it was a big job. "

Regardless of Nigeria's lack of international presence, Nigeria has a population of 2 million people, more than the Japanese. Lupine's job is not as simple as it seems on the surface.

But since Dumbledore changed the subject, that is to say, he was not going to discuss school issues with Lockhart.

Lockhart wisely changed to another place: "In addition, I invited the Muggle Prime Minister to participate in the opening ceremony of the Tournament. I hope the school will arrange it at that time. In the process of fighting Voldemort, we may also need some small Muggle friends." Little aid."

"Aid from Muggles?" Dumbledore raised his eyebrows. "You should know that the Statute of Secrecy prohibits Muggles from participating in the internal affairs of wizards."

Although Dumbledore regards the Death Eaters as enemies, his position is still biased towards wizards, so even though he has known about Lockhart's plan for a long time, he still feels a little worried.

It would be fine if Muggles had no effect on the civil war between wizards, but what Dumbledore was even more afraid of was, what if Muggles could really help?

If Muggles can indeed help the Lions defeat the Snakes, then of course they

It can also defeat wizards, and Dumbledore is honest, because of his childhood, he actually doesn't like Muggles.

"Don't let them participate, but let them provide some help, such as food, conventional weapons, and...reconnaissance." Lockhar pointed out.

How come you asked Sirius to help Muggles catch criminals?Desire to give first?" Dumbledore frowned, seeming to understand something, "But have you ever thought that if we let Muggles interfere too much, let them find that wizards are not invincible and lose their mystery? How should a sexual wizard deal with himself?Don't forget America... I'm sure you know better than me on this. "

Lockhart spread his hands: "Sooner or later."

"what?"

"I mean, Muggles will find us sooner or later. They can't keep turning a blind eye to the mysterious field, so I personally think that we should not only avoid passively, but also actively participate in Muggle affairs. It is best to control Part of the power, like the right to vote."

Dumbledore was silent for a while before signaling Lockhart to continue: "I would like to hear more about it."

"After the Muggle Prime Minister comes to Hogsmeade and attends the opening ceremony, I plan to take advantage of the trend and propose to the Muggle government to set up a local self-government elected council in Hogsmeade, which will enjoy the right to collect taxes independently and be controlled by the Ministry of Magic. Of course, the side effect is that we may need to send representatives to pay homage to the Queen."

Dumbledore found sadly that he didn't understand a single word of what Lockhart said just now except "to serve the Queen".

Chapter 270 The Third Invitation Letter from the Order of the Phoenix

After a difficult explanation, Lockhart finally explained the doorway to Dumbledore clearly.

In terms of political system, the UK can be said to be known as the "home of local self-government bodies". Anyone who adopts the local self-government system in the world has more or less referred to the British system of government.

Although Britain also has a parliament, it is very different from countries like the United States, Germany, and Germany.

Britain, like China, Japan, and France, is a country composed of several administrative units, which is the so-called "unitary system". The degree of centralization is higher than that of a federal state. The federal system of the Xi'an law is fundamentally different.

To give a simple example, the British central government has the right to dissolve local councils and establish the sphere of influence of local governments.But a governor in the United States can be angry with the president and say, "You can't control me." kind.

Therefore, the British wizarding community has established a Ministry of Magic, made its own legislation, and delineated wizarding administrative regions. Strictly speaking, these actions are illegal.

But at the same time, although the UK and China are both unitary countries, China is a unitary country with a high degree of centralization, while the UK is a unitary country with local decentralization, and the power of local governments is quite high.

What Lockhart wants to do is also very simple, that is to take this opportunity to turn the Ministry of Magic into a legal institution, and use Hogsmeade Village as a "tourist resort" in Scotland, establish a local government, and enjoy tax collection, Voting rights.

Dumbledore had no idea why Lockhart would do this, because not only did it expose a wizarding settlement to the Muggles, but in terms of power, it was tantamount to archaic

He handed over part of the power to the Muggle government, in exchange for the Muggle government's recognition of the wizarding world.

Although he has not consulted, Dumbledore can be sure that it is absolutely impossible for the leaders of the wizarding world to agree to Lockhart's idea.

"We don't need this face, but we have to give up too many real benefits for this. This is impossible to pass, and you will also be regarded by wizards as a spy sent by Muggles." Dumbledore said truthfully.

But Lockhart's attitude was also firm.

"It's really unlikely to be passed at the beginning, and I don't have the power yet, but I'm going to try anyway." He said to Dumbledore, "The wizarding world cannot stay on its own forever."

"But... what's the good of it?" Dumbledore was still puzzled.

Lockhart put a piece of material he had prepared in front of Dumbledore: "It will be difficult to explain clearly to you at this moment, I think it's better to write what you want to say on paper."

Dumbledore unfolded it and found that it was a policy statement document titled "From "Defensive Realism" to "Offensive Realism".

:oo You can keep it and read it slowly, I can give you a rough summary-I think that after the establishment of a self-governing body and the name on the Muggle side, although some powers in the wizarding world may be let out, but at the same time we wizards It can also be used to enter the Muggle regime.

We are always worried that Muggles will be disadvantageous to us if they discover wizards, but think about it another way, why can't we take the initiative to intervene in Muggles' economic and political power operations while wizards still have an advantage?

I personally think that instead of passively waiting for Muggles to discover us, it is better to actively participate in Muggle affairs. I believe that Muggles will need the power of us wizards to deal with some affairs, and we wizards can also benefit from the development of Muggles. get more than now

the benefits of.

If my idea is completed and we have money, power, and connections, Muggles must weigh whether they can resist the double blow from witchcraft and capital at the same time if they want to harm us wizards.

But the premise of all this is that we must join them and become their part. "

Dumbledore stared at the material for a moment, then shook his head.

He didn't want to object, but because he didn't understand it at all.

"It sounds like you want us to join the Muggle political game?" he asked.

"Yes."

"But... do you think we can play them?" said Dumbledore worriedly. "What you have written seems to be a simple outline, but I can't understand it. I don't know if anyone but you There are still a few wizards who can understand this..."

"Right now, our people won't be able to win elite-educated Muggle civil servants and politicians, but we can take our time."

"Like?"

Lockhart is familiar with this: "For example, through donations and political operations, let our people get recommended places to enter Oxford University; another example, let our MPs enter Whitehall and become ministers; and then join some clubs, establish A few IMFs... We will probably be able to officially play chess in one or two generations."

"So... what's the point?" Dumbledore still didn't understand his purpose. "After the reform, what can we have?"

"We will have better living conditions, more respected social status, and...liberation!

My dear principal, there is actually only one core idea in my doing this—that

It is to liberate the vast number of wizards from those low-level jobs to do more efficient work that can create more value, thereby improving the overall productivity of the wizarding world.

I don't think it's efficient to have a witch squatting at home and make patties, or a wizard to grow potatoes. A lot of our work can actually be outsourced to Muggles. "

Dumbledore thought for a while, and then remembered what Lockhart had been doing all along: "If I remember correctly, you set up a drilling company, transformed Hogsmeade, and prepared to sell potions to Muggles. ...Is it all for this?"

Lockhart nodded without hesitation: "Yes! Some reforms are inclined to the common people, and some reforms benefit the Snake faction, but those are the means I use to do things, only "increase production efficiency" My core purpose. "

Dumbledore felt as if he understood a little of what Lockhart was thinking.

Frankly speaking, Dumbledore has always had some opinions about Lockhart.He always felt that this young man's moral bottom line was too flexible, and he was more concerned with tactics than principles in doing things, so although he admired Lockhart's ability and had been giving Lockhart power, he always None of them allowed him to touch the core power level of the Lion faction.

But if Lockhart is really what he said, then he is actually a person with "principles", even if this principle appears because he wants to "self-realize".

It's easy to have principles, but Dumbledore doesn't know how far Lockhart can stick to his principles.

"So, between pure blood and civilians, which side do you prefer?" Dumbledore asked the key question.

"Why not 'Republic'?" Lockhart asked rhetorically.

Dumbledore fully understood.

From Dumbledore's belief that "love can save the world" and "the savior should have perfect character", Dumbledore is an out-and-out classical republican, or "citizen humanist".

Although the great prophet Rowling may not be aware of it, her thinking when she wrote the book is undoubtedly a kind of simple "civic humanism", so in her writing, the most decent people have also become the proponents of civic humanism. Pet.

So Lockhart is totally doing what he likes, even if he himself has a slight criticism of civic humanism.

Because modern realists and rationalists generally believe that under the premise of lack of institutional constraints such as democracy, constitutionalism, and checks and balances, the ideals of "co-governance", "sharing", and "peace" pursued by republicanism must not be realized. .

Democracy and constitutionalism should be the dominant factors in a republic, and only a republic based on constitutionalism is the republic that best conforms to the republican spirit.

But that didn't matter, all he wanted now was Dumbledore's support.Because without Dumbledore's support, he wouldn't be able to use the five-wizard tournament to do some secret tricks under the cover of Hogwarts.

Sure enough, after Dumbledore thought for a while, he abruptly extended his hand to Lockhart.

"Gidero, I don't know if you've heard of an organization called "Order of the Phoenix 5"

PS Damn, the time is set wrong

Chapter 270 Fourth Communication

After Lockhart left Hogwarts, his identity had become a pink and tender member of the Order of the Phoenix.

It's not easy, it's really not easy.

Although this identity has no practical benefits for Lockhart for the time being, and he has to bear many responsibilities because of it, Lockhart knows that only with this identity can he "obtain the right to distribute benefits after standing up."

After all, he was the one who handed in the "Certificate of Surrender" and destroyed Voldemort's Horcrux with his own hands. He was the one who would never surrender to Voldemort anyway. If he still couldn't gain Dumbledore's trust, it would be too bad .

Contented, Lockhart slipped out of Hogwarts and returned to the Ministry of Magic, ready to start the opening of the Tournament.

Crouch's death did not prevent the holding of the Big Five Tournament. On the contrary, after the vicious murder occurred in the World Cup, Fudge strengthened his determination to hold the Tournament successfully.

Just as a Japanese prime minister intended to use the Olympics as his curtain call, so did Fudge.

He originally planned to use the Quidditch World Cup and the Triwizard Tournament to make a brilliant commentary on the "prosperity" he brought, but now that the World Cup has a murder case, the only thing he can rely on is the Five-wizard Tournament game.

He must not allow his years of hard work to be treated as a joke, so naturally he was desperate.

This is actually very beneficial to Lockhart, because he is in charge of organizing and preparing for the five-wild tournament almost from beginning to end. If Fudge wants to show his face, he must go through his own hand, and he can take the opportunity Take extra benefits.

If Fudge judges the heart of a gentleman with the heart of a villain, and thinks that Lockhart will play tricks in this regard, then he is very wrong.

Because not only did Lockhart not intend to make trouble for Fudge in this matter, but he even planned to help Fudge, let him show more face, and give himself some opportunities to show off.

As for his purpose of doing this... Of course it was not out of good intentions, everyone understands.

A year and a half into the project, Lockhart's Nigerian wells are finally starting to generate positive returns.

Although Lockhart used the word "finally", I believe that anyone who has worked in petroleum refining and chemical companies should know that there are not many new oil fields that can produce oil and realize profits within a year and a half.

The development of many deep oilfields is even counted on a ten-year basis. The Daqing Oilfield, which can be completed within half a year from exploration to oil production, is a miracle created only when the enthusiasm of the workers reached its peak.

In this regard, Sniff Exploration Company's explanation is "mature management", "advanced technology", and "in-depth cooperation with BP and Aiming"

Of course, they didn't need to explain, but their company is about to go public.

As long as we wait another six months, according to British law, Sniffer Drilling Company can enter the process of direct listing. Lockhart didn't want to go so soon.

But in order to make a profit, capital is sometimes unwilling to wait even a day, let alone half a year.

Therefore, under the "strong suggestion" of BP, Sniff Drilling Company smoothly acquired an old refining and chemical company with more than [-] years old, and then took the route of backdoor listing.

Unsurprisingly, the overly beautiful financial statements of the Sniff Drilling Company immediately attracted attention.

skepticism of market investors.

Which exploration company is so awesome?100% hit rate?

Which refining and chemical company has such a background?The local rebels dare not harass?Is this company bigger than BP?

Let’s look at the operating expenses again—heh, the cost of equipment maintenance and wear and tear is almost zero, and almost all the expenses are raw materials, fuel and workers’ wages. This is really a fool.

Even laymen know that industrial equipment cannot be free from wear and tear.And more professional oil industry investment analysts will also tell you that wellbore fouling caused by different oil viscosities and textures, pipelines and submerged pumps (corrosion and deformation of pumps, and sand production) will account for the daily life of oil wells. Approximate share of production loss.