Chapter 100 Hope Blue Diamond (Seventeen)
◎Cardinals' Conference◎
When Raphael stepped into the Hall of Our Lady where the Cardinals' Council was held, the cardinals who had been waiting inside for a while stopped whispering at the same time.
After Raphael sat down at the head of the table, the cardinals, wearing scarlet cardinal robes and golden sashes on their shoulders, stood up and bowed deeply to the Pope: "Holy Father."
Raphael nodded: "Please take a seat, my respected adults."
There were twelve cardinals present. The oldest one was old enough to be Raphael's grandfather. His hair was so sparse that he needed to wear a hat to cover the reflective head. His snow-white beard was thick and neatly braided into three braids with gems at the end. Raphael could tell at a glance that it was mixed with fake beard. This cardinal was obviously very particular about his demeanor.
Cardinal Materazzi, he bought the cardinal's red chasuble from Raphael with his strong financial resources. When Raphael first came to power, in order to strengthen his power and fill the treasury that was emptied by Leon VI, he sold two red chasubles at a marked price.
One of them was Materazzi, who successfully joined the Cardinals' Conference at the price of 160,000 gold florins and became a person of the first class below the Pope.
Because of this, Materazzi was always more respectful to the Pope than others, which caused dissatisfaction among other cardinals. Such dissatisfaction would not be shown openly, but they always excluded Materazzi and another "Golden Robe" cardinal intentionally or unintentionally. Such exclusion was not painful, and Materazzi did not take it to heart at all.
Raphael placed his cane on his lap, and the monk standing beside him asked as a matter of routine: "What do you have today that you need the saint to listen to or judge?"
The cardinals looked at each other, and someone cleared his throat and said, "Regarding the recent conscription, the people in the Papal States have been fully mobilized by various churches. It is expected that adult males aged 14 and over and under 35 can form two legions. The fundraising activities are also going smoothly. The believers are willing to donate generously to support the construction of the Kingdom of God on earth..."
These situations were transmitted more quickly in Julius's secretariat. Raphael received more complete and comprehensive information than the cardinal, so he just listened quietly without expressing any opinions. After the cardinal finished speaking, he nodded and said, "The Holy Lord will protect His pious children."
Another cardinal added: "The nuns in the monastery are spontaneously preparing clothes for the soldiers. They are asking the Holy See to provide them with more cloth, and they will make suitable hats and socks and send them to the expeditionary force."
Raphael did not think much about it. He raised his hand and motioned the secretary beside him to write it down. "The Secretariat will prepare this matter. The money for purchasing the cloth will come from the treasury of the Pope's Palace. It would be best if we could provide each of them with a smock before they set off. Mobilize all monasteries to work together, and strengthen publicity among the people. Part of the purchased cloth will be distributed to various churches, and believers who are willing to help can receive it for free."
The secretary hesitated: "If they received it but didn't..."
Raphael glanced at him and said casually, "Can't I afford such a small amount of money? But remember, the fabric doesn't have to be too expensive or too beautiful, as long as it is strong."
Rich people look down on this kind of cloth, only poor people care about this extra piece of clothing. If it can help a person who has no clothes to wear, then what's wrong with letting him claim it?
The secretary hastily wrote down the Pope's instructions.
The second half of the meeting was filled with similar trivial issues. These issues were not worthy of being presented to the table of the cardinals' meeting, but no one raised any objections. It was like an especially gentle wave before a huge storm. Everyone knew how big the thunder would be behind, so everyone was absent-mindedly accumulating strength for this.
Finally, when Raphael showed his impatience at the right time and looked at the grandfather clock for the second time, a cardinal adjusted his posture and cleared his throat. Like a bullfighter about to rush into the arena, he was full of courage and determination: "Holy Father, the cardinals have some ideas about the kingdom of God on earth."
"Oh?" Raphael thought. He was finally here. He was too lazy to listen to any more meaningless nonsense. "My dear gentlemen, what suggestions do you have?"
"No, it cannot be called a suggestion," the cardinal bowed his head respectfully, "it is just a small and insignificant supplement to your great plan."
"Well, please go ahead." Raphael held his cheek with his hand, and with the other hand he boredly stroked the scepter lying across his leg. The cold gem made his fingers itchy.
"…Regarding the issue of Assyria's faith, this will be an issue that cannot be circumvented. We cannot deny that Assyria is already a land that has been completely eroded by pagans. The people living there are primitive and stupid, and they believe in backward and barbaric pagan gods. If we want to rebuild the Kingdom of the Holy Lord there, that will be the biggest obstacle for the Holy See." The cardinal stated the well-known situation, and every cardinal at the long table nodded in agreement as if they were hearing these words for the first time.
Raphael glanced at the guy who was pushed out. He might not be unaware of what he was doing, but it was obvious that the agreement they reached privately made him willingly serve as the gun charging forward.
"So what do you think?" Raphael asked politely.
"Perhaps we need some tougher measures," the cardinal said implicitly.
Raphael looked at him thoughtfully for a while, and suddenly understood what he meant. He glanced at the cardinals at the long table, remembering their surprised, puzzled, or calm faces, and then nodded: "Please tell me more details."
At the same time, Raphael raised his hand on the scepter slightly backwards, as if it was just an ordinary gesture, but the next second, a cup of steaming tea was gently placed in his palm, and it was considerately adjusted to the most comfortable angle.
The cardinals then realized that there was a man standing behind the Pope, wrapped in a black monk's robe. He looked no different from other monks, but everyone knew who that man was.
The Pope's watchdog.
This insulting name came to their minds at the same time, and to a certain extent, it was precisely because of fear that they would argue over this meaningless language.
Anyway, Ferrante didn't care what they called him. He even felt a secret and obscure pride in this title, especially... at certain moments.
Raphael would occasionally scold him, calling him a dog, but Ferrante was not angry at all. Instead, he licked his face and moved closer, trying to hear more emotional words from the calm and composed Pope, who was always unmoved by anything. These emotions were visible only to him and only appeared because of him.
Ferrante was very good at hiding himself. If it weren't for Raphael's deliberate reminder, no one would have noticed him. Such a sudden interruption made everyone notice his presence. The attention of the speaking cardinal was also diverted for a moment. He stuttered for a while, and then he remembered what he wanted to say in the Pope's suggestive eyes: "...For the current chaotic Assyria, the effectiveness of using a conciliatory approach is not high. The expeditionary force has already undertaken important combat tasks, and we can no longer entrust them with more complex ideological supervision tasks..."
Hearing this, Raphael had already determined their purpose.
As expected, the cardinals were still not satisfied with what they would get in the future. Although those illusory benefits were tempting, what attracted them more was undoubtedly the benefits that were within their reach. Compared with the power and status after victory in the war, they hoped to get tangible benefits now.
What they wanted was to legally extend their influence into Assyria.
However, they still had some sense and knew that it was impossible to interfere with the Knights of Lesherte - that was the Pope's base, unless they wanted to break off relations with the Pope.
So they "wisely" chose another direction, which is one of the Vatican's main jobs.
——Supervise and educate people’s thoughts, spread doctrines, and influence pagans.
"So..." Raphael paused deliberately.
The cardinal said impatiently: "We can restore the former supervisory bodies of the Holy See, release the power of supervision and trial to them, and identify the pagans who can be converted. When the Holy See was at its most glorious, the Inquisition was the most important knife in the hands of the Holy Father. If Florence had not been invaded by the shameless coalition army and the glory of the Holy Father had not been burned, how could the Holy See have disbanded the Inquisition and fallen into a century of decline?"
The more he spoke, the more excited he became. He was completely in a state of concentration, spitting everywhere as he denounced the Allied Forces that had long disappeared in history. In the most glorious moment of the Holy See, monarchs of all countries had to prostrate themselves at the feet of the Pope, and their crowns were controlled by the Pope. Naturally, the cardinals also possessed power comparable to that of monarchs.
According to the records of the Holy See, that was indeed a brilliant time, so beautiful that it fascinated every believer who read the relevant records, not to mention those ambitious cardinals.
Raphael was indifferent to his excited speech, as if he was just an indifferent listener. After his dancing performance ended, he said calmly: "I noticed that you mentioned the Inquisition."
The Pope whispered, “In the Holy City Treaty, we are required never to reestablish the Inquisition.”
"We were also asked to never expand the size of the Knights, and the number of Knights could only be below 200." A cardinal who had been sitting there without saying a word said quietly, "But now the Knights are already able to conquer Assyria."
"Please be careful with your words, sir. That was an expeditionary force organized by the people themselves and they begged the Knights for military guidance. It was not the Knights. We always keep our promises, regardless of whether it was a treaty we were forced to sign."
Raphael calmly corrected the other party's wording.
The cardinals sitting at the long table smiled knowingly. ♀
The cardinals are not fools. Raphael reused Lesherte to rebuild the Knights Templar and kept Ferrante by his side. How could they not know what the Pope wants to do? The Treaty of the Holy City cut off the Pope's arm, which is also an indelible knot in the heart of the Holy See. The Holy See dreams of rebuilding the glory of a hundred years ago, and the Knights Templar and the Inquisition are indispensable and important existences.
So they turned a deaf ear and watched as Lesherte's men grew in number, and as Ferrante's Holy Crows spread across the Papal States, and then flew to Calais, Roman and other countries.
But this is the first time they have brought the issue to the table for discussion.
They didn't dare to interfere with the Knights of Lesherte, but as for Ferrante's Arbitration Bureau... they hoped to add a little strength of their own to it.
Sistine I would never really want to be a dictatorial monarch, right? The cardinals believed that they had cooperated sufficiently with all the Pope's actions, and in return for mutual benefit, the Pope should also give them some of the profits.
Raphael gripped the smooth handle of the porcelain cup and shook it gently. The ruby-like crystal clear tea formed regular circles, breaking up his face on the water into a blurry halo.
The Pope was deliberating, and the cardinals below all held their breath and waited nervously.
As Raphael remained silent for longer, the cardinals became more nervous. The things that Pope Sistine I had done began to replay in their minds, from the crematorium that burned for more than half a month during the Great Plague, to the square soaked in blood during the June Trial, to the spy who was dragged into the interrogation room of the Arbitration Bureau and never returned again... It seemed that without knowing it, the puppet pope who was helped to ascend the Holy Throne by the Portia family with money had been completely shrouded in the shadow of authority and blood.
They began to exchange uneasy glances.
Are their demands too much? Absolutely not! The Vatican's Inquisition has never been ruled solely by the Pope. The cardinals and the Pope have always jointly presided over this power institution. This is just a very common request.
Could it be that Emperor Sixtus I was so greedy and despotic to this extent?
The vague anger even overshadowed the uneasiness. If this huge and sharp power could not be shared by them, they would not mind destroying it completely - who would not be afraid of the ubiquitous prying eyes?
Raphael left them alone for a while, thinking it was about time, before he took a sip of tea and showed a gentle smile on his face. He did not look back, but lowered his eyelids and looked at the cup, and asked casually: "Ferrante, you have heard the cardinals' suggestions. You are the head of the arbitration bureau, what do you think?"
Without hesitation, Ferrante bowed his head, knelt on one knee, and meekly exposed the back of his neck to the pope: "I follow all your instructions, Holy Father."
He was as obedient as a dog before the Pope.
The cardinals made vicious comments in their hearts, and it was hard to tell how much of these comments were due to jealousy towards Raphael.
"That's it," Raphael raised his hand and lazily stroked Ferrante's head - this gesture was really no different from stroking a pet dog, and there was absolutely no respect for the powerful director of the arbitration bureau. "Sometimes
Sometimes we do need some fair and objective supervision from others, which can keep us rational. ”
"Yes, I will obey your will." Ferrante answered obediently, not seeming to be dissatisfied with the dilution of his power.
Raphael saw the sudden ecstasy on the cardinals' faces and couldn't help but smile slightly. How great it was! They felt that they had gained something, and he - he had obtained a stupid lamb that could be used to take the blame after the war.
The development scale of the Holy Crow has reached a terrifying level. During the war, no one would delve into its horror, but when the dust settles, this organization will become a target of public condemnation, just like the Inquisition a hundred years ago. He had not originally intended to put this issue at the top of the list, but since they can't wait to get a piece of the pie, he will take on the responsibility together.
Want to steal something from him? How greedy and naive.
Thinking of this, he gently pinched the back of Ferrante's neck, and looked at the man who looked up at him, a genuine smile flashing across his lavender eyes.
“Don’t worry,” the pope said, speaking so quietly that only Ferrante could hear. “No one can take your place. Ever.”
The author has something to say:
Raphael: Thanks to the Conference of Cardinals, I have solved a small problem.
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