Chapter 109 Rest Time (Twenty) (Update Completed)

The nobles, hereditary nobles and noble priests whispered to each other, as if they thought they were the managers and masters of this city.

The small council hall was filled with red wine and cakes, and the nobles in different clothes were toasting each other. Antonio's bad news was a good thing for them. They could use this as an excuse to incite other members of the Holy Adventists to put pressure on the Pope's people.

They had long been disgusted with these living fossils who adhered to the commandments.

The hereditary nobles even set up their own small councils independent of the church. According to the rules, any group must have priests stationed. They have bribed the bishops who manage this matter and placed their own people in it.

Yes, half of the city's wealth is already in their hands. What can this unenterprising church rely on to compete with them? In the struggle and erosion

The commandments are everything to them, and the commandments also prevent them from using any force outside the rules.

They feel that it is time to force the church to make a small concession to them. Some bishops and patriarchs have recognized their hints and agreed to let them know nothing when they act.

Gold is such a fascinating thing.

It can even transcend the commandments.

The power in the hands of the church, a little bit of crumbs that slip through their fingers, is enough for them to eat and fill their stomachs.

Just like this, little by little, they satisfy their desires.

Moreover, there are many people who are dissatisfied with the Pope who sits calmly in his position. He has lived too long, allowing the city to prolong the stable situation.

The stable situation means that the scale of the nobles will never break through the boundaries drawn by the church for them.

The long peace also makes them ignore the other side of this behemoth.

It’s just that he still controls the crusaders, so they can’t compete with the church in force, but the enlightenment and tolerance of the church have brought them opportunities.

The silence of the Pope and the Privy Council was regarded by them as a sign of concession.

The noble priests casually threw the commandment code in their hands aside and raised their glasses to celebrate to other people wearing complicated patterns, as if they had achieved the final victory.

At least they have reached a milestone in their goal.

This will be a very long game. He will use his own means to deal with the church. This feeling of holding the future in his own hands makes him addicted.

The noble priest fantasized.

Until another noble came to his side and whispered to him that some distinguished guests had arrived.

The noble priest immediately put down the cup in his hand and walked out the door.

"Cardinal Oren, you are here!"

He immediately put on a hypocritical face of respect and humility, looking at the cardinal who pushed the door in, and the latter responded to him with a gentle smile.

The cardinal immediately smelled the rich, pungent smell of wine from the noble priest. The mellow wine smelled simply exuding a disgusting stench at this time.

"Oh, are you celebrating?"

Oren, the cardinal raised his inner doubts.

"Of course, this is a moment worth celebrating."

The noble priest looked at the kind face of Bishop Oren, and it was inevitable that he felt a little painful.

Just the day before yesterday, a black market intelligence dealer told them that the cardinal was in financial difficulties, so they tried to contact Oren.

The cardinal accepted their gift very quickly. The noble priests used the crystal to record the scene of their transaction. Oren's handle was in the hands of the nobles. The money he received was an amount that would make most nobles crazy.

The noble priests thought it was completely worth it, the support of a cardinal.

This is something that you can't buy with any money on weekdays.

"Bishop Oren, would you like a glass? This is the wine produced by the best winery in the holy city."

The noble priest invited him.

"I remember you like wine."

Oren nodded and smiled

"Of course."

All the nobles in the hall were in full view.

"It's my honor! There are many people who want to meet you. If you are free in the evening, my father has also arranged..."

The noble priests surrounded the cardinal in the center, like a group of sparrows gathered, chirping about their glory, wealth, and family.

Oren didn't care about them.

————

"Oren."

"Your Majesty, I'm here."

Oren saluted and made his own answer, his eyes fell on the old man shrouded in sunlight, time has left too many marks on him.

"I am shocked by their stupidity."

"Arrogance has eroded their human reason, Oren."

The old pope sat in his seat and said slowly, the feather pen in his hand crossed the paper, leaving a line of standard handwriting.

"Yes, Your Majesty, you just simply put out the hook, and they are eager to bite it tightly."

Oren leaned forward slightly to salute to show his inner respect and admiration.

"I admire your wisdom."

"......"

The old pope did not respond to Oren's compliment, and Oren still maintained his posture quietly, waiting for the pope's instructions.

"Oren, how is the list?"

Oren knew what the list the Pope was talking about was. This was the main content of his summons today. He took out a piece of paper full of names from his priest's robe and handed it to the Pope for him to review.

"In order to implement the plan, there is still a gap in the church's assets."

The Pope looked at the list of nobles given by Oren, as well as the wealth owned by the families they represented, the location of these wealth, and their family industries, and showed a rare smile of satisfaction.

In order to maintain normal operations and maintain the normal funds of each existing branch church.

There is still a three-quarters resource gap.

If this money is obtained entirely from the sale of church assets, it will greatly damage their ability to control the diocese, which will then have a chain impact on the implementation of their plans, and the gains outweigh the losses.

The nobles who have accumulated wealth for hundreds of years can just fill this gap and still have a surplus.

The old pope tapped the table lightly, and his eyes scanned the roster submitted to him by Oren over and over again, comparing the data on the two pieces of paper.

“If there are these people, the funding gap can be filled.”

Oren quietly concealed his expression. He could clearly see the paper placed in front of the Pope, which accurately recorded various resources. As a cardinal, he had never heard of any economists around the Pope, and he knew very well that there were no secret investigators around the Pope.

During this time the Pope was alone.

And who is helping the Pope prepare this detailed report in front of him?

Even standing in front of the statue of the Goddess of Light, bathed in the sunshine, Oren couldn't help but feel a chill running down his spine.

Secrets are secrets because they are not meant to be noticed.

Oren looked back, remaining humble.

"Their death has value if it contributes something to us."

Oren responded, gritting his teeth and putting forward his own ideas.

"In addition, we should also take this opportunity to clean up internally. Among the newly recruited priests, the belief in the commandments has become increasingly rare. The Privy Council's control over each parish has gradually declined..."

The Pope put down the quill in his hand, cast his solemn gaze on Oren, and the cold breath spread.

Oren gritted his teeth and still insisted on what he said, as if he could see something from the Pope's recent plan.

He has witnessed the decay of the Church of Light and is pained by its increasing decay.

"If we want to strengthen our control, there is no doubt a round of purges from top to bottom... We need to select people with real talents to become priests, who will..."

The Cardinal considered his words.

“Non-performing asset removal.”

"Go on."

The Pope looked at Oren with a half-smile, waiting for him to speak, looking at the veteran minister who had been working with him for sixty years.

"If you are about to have a handover...then do all this well before the handover, leaving a controllable environment for the successor. Many people's loyalty is only to your Majesty, and the next pope's administration will face them. There will inevitably be difficulties..."

After finishing what he was thinking, Oren breathed a sigh of relief, then looked up at the Pope and met his eyes.

"Oren."

The pope exuded his own cold and majestic aura. At this time, he was more like a warrior and an ascetic than a noble and kind pope. Oren knew that this should be the pope who controlled the entire Holy City, the supreme commander of the Church of Light.

said the pope in a most gentle tone.

"This kind of thing is a cycle every thousand years. A church without the ability to correct itself cannot exist for a long time, and the same is true for cities. Mistakes will continue to accumulate until the day they collapse like a landslide, the entire church will be destroyed. With its collapse, we did the right thing."

The only lesson that mankind has learned from history is that mankind never learns from history.

A corrector must step forward and put everything out of balance back on track.

The children are still too young, still too young, their blood is hot, they are still standing under the shelter of the faith of the Goddess of Light, exuding vigorous vitality.

very nice.

He is different, his blood has already cooled down.

Even if a molten spring once boiled under that old body, it would only condense into a hard rock river a hundred years later.

Cold and thick.

The old pope looked out the window.

The Skitarii have stood in front of the Goddess of Light for decades, holding their spears in front of them. Everyone in the city has adapted to the existence of these few-word protectors.

The soldiers' front reflected the cold light in the sunlight.