Chapter 77 The Order of St. George and Tithes (Two in One!)
Chapter 77 The Order of St. George and Tithes
Lateran Palace, side hall.
As the first person under the Pope, Cardinal Camus Blanchard was squinting his eyes, listening to the bishop beside him reporting on the income and expenditure of last year's tithe.
According to the regulations of the Holy See, tithes are mostly collected in late autumn and early winter each year, and by the time the tithes from various noble territories are delivered to Bethlehem, it is usually the spring of the following year.
"The tithes sent by various noble territories are mostly similar. Although there is some loss on the way, it can be ignored. Only the Duke Eric in the north of the empire... this year... did not pay anything..." a bishop whispered.
"He refused to recruit people and refused to pay the tithe... What? Is Duke Eric determined to go against the church now?" Camus Blanchard slowly opened his eyes and said with an unhappy look.
For several years, Duke Eric, who was guarding the northern border of the empire, delayed the collection of tithes on the grounds that the military situation in the north was tense and food consumption was extremely high. In the past two years, he has not sent a single grain of rice to the church.
"Perhaps... the army of the Odin Empire has indeed been a little uneasy these days..." an archbishop explained in a low voice.
“Albad…” Cardinal Camus Blanchard suddenly looked at the archbishop who had spoken and said, “Since you officially took over the supervision of the major dioceses in the north, the pagan activities in the northern border of the empire have increased significantly, and the number of civilians who believe in the church has been shrinking again and again. Please tell me, how do you… manage the northern border?! ”
As soon as Camus Blanchard finished speaking, light suddenly burst out from his body, and the seat under him suddenly caught fire.
The hall, which was originally a little dim, was suddenly covered by a blazing fire, like a miracle from the God of Light, illuminating the entire hall.
“Plop…”
Seeing this scene, all the bishops present knelt on the ground in fear.
"Lord Blanchard..." The bishop called Albade was trembling all over. He could only lean his forehead against the ground nervously.
"Lord Eric's gold...is not easy to take..." Camus Blanchard's short words completely broke Albard's psychological defense.
I saw a light yellow liquid gradually soaking through Albard's robe...
"Where is the gold? Write it down..." Camus Blanchard waved his hand, and a servant came over and placed a roll of parchment and a quill pen in front of Albard.
Albard looked at Blanchard with a pleading look: "Please spare my life... sir..."
"Write!" said the cardinal in a deep voice.
Seeing this, Albade grabbed the quill pen with trembling hands and tremblingly wrote down a long list of place names.
"Sir... please punish me to build a colossus. I am willing to build the statue with the common people..." Albad begged, stopping writing.
"Cardinal Albade, for blasphemy, shall be punished by coffin execution and publicly displayed in the Papal Forum." Camus Blanchard said coldly, "Also, have the Crusaders bring all the gold here."
Upon hearing the cardinal's verdict, Albade's eyes widened.
Coffin punishment...also known as coffin punishment, is to put the prisoners in a small cage so that they cannot move, then hang the metal cage on a tree or gallows, and let crows peck at the prisoners.
The victim often does not die immediately, but can only watch as the crows peck at his body, and this process may last for several days...
"Your Excellency... You can't do this. I have shed blood for the Holy See and have made contributions to the Pope! You are just a cardinal. You have no right to judge me. I want to see the Pope!!!"
"Take him away and put him in the coffin!" Camus Blanchard said with a frown.
Then, several Crusader soldiers dragged the crying Albade out, leaving only a trail of yellow liquid on the floor...
"Send someone to tell Duke Eric that the payment of tithes is written in the Imperial Code and is approved by the Regent Council and His Majesty the Emperor! Tell him to deliver the tithes immediately!" the cardinal said in a deep voice.
"Yes..." The other cardinals lowered their heads and echoed.
In the hierarchy of the Holy See, below the Pope are the cardinals, and then the cardinals in charge of the various dioceses in the Norman Empire.
Although there is more than one cardinal, Camus Blanchard is the only one authorized by the Pope to take charge of the affairs of the Vatican.
Camus Blanchard waved his hand and asked the cardinals and bishops present to retreat.
Duke Eric of the northern part of the empire has always been extremely resistant to the Vatican's collection of tithes. The repeated resistance came from the church's edicts, which undoubtedly caused the cardinal a lot of headaches.
The northern part of the empire has been deeply influenced by the Odin Empire, and pagans from the Odin Empire frequently travel back and forth to the northern border of the empire, making it difficult for the church to expand in the north of the empire. In addition, some scum in the church turned a blind eye to those pagans, which made it even more difficult for the church to preach in the northern border of the empire.
but……
Camus Blanchard raised his hand, and after a moment, a flame appeared between his palms.
This was the power he gained after entering the Bethlehem Star Cave for the fourth time. It was said that this was the god's recognition of him, so he had just performed a miracle...
It was also inspired by this miracle that Camus Blanchard firmly believed that the God of Light was the only true God in this world, and all other pagans should die! "How is the construction of the statue of the God of Light going?" Camus Blanchard asked casually.
As soon as he finished speaking, the armored Crusader Commander Julian Gallia slowly walked out from behind the stone pillars of the hall.
"Respected Lord Blanchard, the difficulty of building the statue is far beyond our expectations. Except for the smooth excavation of stones outside the city, the progress of the rest of the project has been delayed to varying degrees... Moreover, three civilians have died of exhaustion in the past week..."
"What?"
Blanchard was not surprised by the civilian casualties, but by the slow progress of the project. "Tell me, what's going on?"
"Most of the civilians sent by local lords to work were forcibly conscripted, and many of them were even very old men. Therefore, the workload was naturally difficult to meet our original expectations. In addition, the location of the statue was changed from the original construction on the Pope's Square to the construction on the mountain outside Bethlehem, which at least doubled the difficulty of construction..."
"I don't care about the process, I only care about the result. The Colossus of the God of Light must be completed before the advent ceremony presided over by the Pope in three years. Since the civilians who mined the stones can complete the expected task, then other civilians can also complete it!"
"But..." Julian hesitated.
"Speak!" Blanchard glanced at him and said in a deep voice.
"The reason why the civilians who were mining the stones were able to complete the assigned task was because some of them were believers. When they were working, they were like madmen, and their words and actions were... extremely strange..."
"Weird? How weird?"
Julian hesitated for a long time, and finally said, "It's hard for me to describe it, Lord Blanchard, you will know when you go and see it for yourself..."
…
Outside the city of Bethlehem, at a construction site responsible for quarrying stones.
The "myth" of the Idar people has been widely spread among these serfs, and almost every civilian knows that there is a group of civilians who have a lofty belief in the God of Light. They are hardworking and fearless of hardships. Even if the work is hard and tiring, they will find a way to finish it.
Therefore, every time they took a break after work, the common people from other noble territories would gather spontaneously and come to the tent where Mike and others lived to listen to the class.
And this so-called "lesson" talks about how the workers responsible for quarrying rocks should chisel rocks correctly, how the workers responsible for transporting wood and stones should cooperate closely, and what the workers responsible for building statues should pay attention to.
As for the Crusader soldiers on duty, they tacitly approved the existence of such classes, because if the Colossus could not be completed on time, they would also be implicated.
But this evening, the Crusader soldiers on duty actually saw Cardinal Camus Blanchard outside the civilians' tents.
"Lord Blanchard." The soldiers saluted respectfully.
"Where are those Idar people...? Take me there." Blanchard said.
When approaching the tent, Camus Blanchard finally heard the sound coming from the tent.
"What are you doing?" he asked in a deep voice.
"Teach...lecture..."
The soldier was trembling with fear. He heard that Cardinal Albade was still hanging in the Papal Square! "You go down first." Blanchard said. He wanted to know what was so strange about these Idar people, but before he entered the tent, he was attracted by the sound coming from the tent.
"...Of course, in addition to these key points that need to be paid attention to when working on the construction site, everyone present should remember the teachings of the God of Light and feel the teachings of the God of Light from the bottom of their hearts. This is the most crucial point!"
"We were believers originally, but we were forced to come here. If that's the case, we might as well not have believed in this religion in the first place!" a civilian retorted.
Just as Blanchard was about to walk into the tent and teach the civilian who spoke like that a lesson, he heard the Idar man say again: "How can you talk like that!"
Mike stood up from the ground excitedly. He loudly refuted: "The God of Light is not only looking after us, but also the millions of believers living on this continent. Once the statue of the God of Light is built, not only Bethlehem, but also the civilians around Bethlehem will be able to see the appearance of the god and feel the teachings of the god! We work so that more people can feel the glory of the God of Light! How can you complain about this!"
"Once the statue is successfully built, the God of Light will appreciate the faith and sincerity of common people like us, and your family far away will be able to receive the grace of the God! The difficulties you are facing now are just a test from the God of Light! If you can't even withstand this little test, then how can you say that you are a believer of the God of Light?"
"As I said before, there are millions of believers in the empire. Why did they choose only us to build the statue? It is because the God of Light once felt our faith and sincerity. You didn't seize such a precious opportunity, and you are still talking nonsense here!" Mike condemned righteously.
Mike paused, then concluded: "Do you know why we Idar people can complete our daily tasks in a shorter time and with higher efficiency? It's because we have God in our hearts! Only by truly dedicating our hearts to God can we find the path under our feet under the guidance of God!"
"That's what I want to say today. There are still people among you who blaspheme the gods. This is simply unreasonable! You must reflect on this carefully when you go back. Only if you truly believe in the God of Light will you receive His blessing!"
Mike finished his words, but Cardinal Camus Blanchard froze outside.
Among the common people... there are such sincere believers in the God of Light! This made Camus Blanchard clear away the haze in his heart.
Camus Blanchard was actually aware of the living conditions of the civilians, so he was extremely shocked by the Idar people's interpretation of the God of Light.
"This man's name is..." Blanchard looked at the Crusader soldier beside him.
"Mike, a civilian from Idar Territory."
After the other civilians had dispersed, Cardinal Camus Blanchard walked into the tent.
"Are you Mike?" he said in a rare friendly manner.
"I am here to see His Eminence the Cardinal." Mike quickly bowed deeply to the visitor.
"Do you know me?" asked Camus Blanchard.
"I don't know him..." Mike said hurriedly in fear and trepidation.
But he secretly complained in his heart, you are wearing a red dress, who else in Bethlehem dares to wear red except the cardinal?
You know, Michael is not just one of the gangsters, he is also the former guard of Count Bruno of Idar! He is also the only one in this group of gangsters who is mentally normal and not brainwashed!
Therefore, although I thought so in my heart, I absolutely could not say it out loud: "But, as soon as you entered this tent, I felt like I was bathed in spring breeze, as if the God of Light had descended upon the world, making me feel warm all over, and all the fatigue in my body disappeared without a trace in the instant. If it weren't for the Cardinal who is well versed in the teachings of the God of Light, who else could have such an aura..."
What did our Lord the Earl say?
Lick! Lick hard! Lick to the end, and you will have everything!
…
Thanks to "圣☆帝俊" and "0很怪0" for the tips! Go go go!
No more.
(End of this chapter)
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