Chapter 407: Open the map!
Chapter 407: Opening the Map
At a regular meeting of the Council of State in April 1994, Cecil, who was in charge of the intelligence department, updated everyone on the situation in Horn Bay.
“Last year there was an incident where the Archbishop’s Messenger was thrown from the second floor in Nisborough, I’m sure everyone remembers that, which provoked the Archbishop of Horned Bay, Elvis, to go into a rage, and sternly ordered the Horned Bay alliance to hand over the so-called murderer, but he didn’t get any satisfaction, and the side of Nisborough has been dragging their feet on handing over the person. Also, the disposition of Angelo, the current Bishop of Nisborough, was lost under the resistance of the Convocation of the League, but not only the League, but the coastal nations of Horn Bay have generally expressed their support for Angelo to remain in his position as Bishop.”
Paul asked Cecil, “What about the increase in religious taxes?”
Cecil replied, “The various states have increased it just a little bit symbolically, but nowhere near the amount that Archbishop Elvis expected.”
“And the Church of the Horns is just going to let it go?”
“Of course not, the Archbishop joined forces with Collins and other inland states to issue circular after circular slamming the coastal states, and also threatened to excommunicate the rulers of the states.”
Archbishop Ford stroked his beard, “It looks like the conflict is getting deeper and deeper.”
Cecil nodded, “You could say that.”
There was a low chuckle from everyone present, they all knew about the eldest son of the Foster family coming to the Northwest Gulf to buy weapons last year. If there was a real fight, then the Northwest Gulf would be in for a treat.
The only one in the table with a heavy face was Lardy Sertia, who coughed heavily, “Gentlemen, war is not something to laugh about.”
The laughter stopped, and everyone remembered that this beautiful lady’s hometown was Horned Bay, and there was a moment of embarrassment.
“That ……” Cecil continued, “The rulers of the coastal states have generally relaxed their arrests of wizards. Because the prolonged high-pressure policy has caused a huge impact on the normal business environment, the rulers have forced their respective local churches to make concessions with the support of strong public opinion.” He felt that this was good news that could make Lady Sertia relieved.
Sure enough, Lardy’s brow, which had been tightly furrowed, soothed a bit.
“Not only that, a new wave of religious thinking is spreading rapidly among the coastal states, spurred on by the previous high-handed measures of the local churches.”
“A new religious trend?” Paul came to be interested and raised his eyebrows.
“Yes.” Cecil nodded, “Many are calling for a reinterpretation of doctrine, and while these heretical …… er …… neophytes are currently in a stage of mixed views, one thing they have in common is their opposition to the Church’s overreach.”
Paul rubbed his chin, “Kind of interesting.”
He looked around the crowd and asked, “How do you think Archbishop Elvis will end it?”
“It will never end well.” Lardy said with utter certainty, “I’ve heard of the Archbishop’s reputation while I was in Horned Bay, and heretics are often more hated than witches and heretics for someone so ‘pious’. But …… hmmm, sooner or later the Church of Horned Bay will get its comeuppance for what it has done.”
A look of indignation appeared on Lardy’s face, a rarity for her, who rarely showed emotion on a regular basis.
“If it gets too big, I think it will sooner or later attract the Church’s headquarters, the Holy See, to intervene.”
Chief Steward Ford analyzed it this way, “The offerings from the Corner Bay region is one of the main sources of income for the Holy See, and the Holy See will never let the Corner Bay go on in chaos for a long time.”
“Lord Chief Steward’s words have reminded me.”
Hansel suddenly interjected, “Lord Greymane, I think you should be prepared – as the Northwest Bay continues to prosper, the Holy See may strengthen its influence here.”
Paul frowned, “What? I let the territory prosper to fill the stomachs of the people, not to dutifully honor those brain-dead clerics.” Everyone here was one of his own, so he had no qualms about speaking.
Hansel spread his hands, “Maybe the big shots in the clergy don’t see it that way.”
“Do you have a good response?”
Hansel lowered his voice, “The current Bishop of Northwest Bay, Lord Leonard, has not been in good health since he was imprisoned by Maltz Kent during the War of the Troglodytes, and there have been whispers lately that the old man is on the verge of being called by the Lord’s grace, so perhaps this is an opportunity to make preparations now if you wish to take advantage of it.”
“I second Sir Hansel’s proposal.”
Chief Steward Ford seconded the motion.
“I am also in favor.”
“I am also in favor.”
Ruth Hayden, head of the Department of Public Safety, and others have also expressed their opinions.
Manipulating the bishop of a region was exciting to think about. “This ……” is different from this group of “cold-blooded” guys, Paul heard Hansel’s words the first internal reaction is a little sad, he is still a good impression of Leonard the old bishop. This kind of person if the Lord called is really a pity.
“This let me think about it ……”
If he intervened in the bishop’s race, who should he foster? At present, there are only two high-ranking religious figures in the Northwest Bay who have made friends with him, one is Anderson who succeeded Leonard’s original position as abbot of the North Shore Abbey, and the other is Morrison who serves as the vice abbot – that is, when Paul was rounding up the pirate Sharks entrenched in the Port of Richland, he rescued a captive from the church, because of a dishonorable past of thieves, he was pinned down by Paul. Paul has taken hold of him.
The North Shore Abbey, despite its remote location, was an important cradle for clergy from churches all over the Northwest Gulf, so it had a very special status.
But Anderson this guy seniority is too shallow, can be the abbot or his teacher Leonard’s promotion, and a bit of work, every day with flowers and plants and other plants to deal with, rather than monks, rather than a scholar.
Morrison is more smooth and worldly, but also good at dealing with mundane matters, North Shore Abbey on weekdays is he in charge, managed to be considered well organized. So it seems to be a good candidate for cultivation. I don’t know if I can control it after becoming a bishop.
At this time, he also heard Hansel say, “We can also ask for the help of His Majesty the King, when the royal family and the Holy See had an agreement ……”
The royal family? Well, this was also a force that could be utilized, before in the war of counter-insurgency in order to maintain the relationship with the royal family, one had not invested much. According to the news that Hansel had brought back from Jingyao, his own impression with the bigwigs in Jingyao was not bad.
“Lord Gleeman, I thought of another point.”
Old Ford suddenly spoke.
“Once the war ends at Horn Bay open, it will inevitably affect our trade with the East.”
Paul was shocked, the chief steward was right, the northwest bay of goods in large quantities to the corner of the bay, and then the corner of the bay merchants played the role of second-hand dealers, and then sold to the east, once the war there, can not play the role of the middle hub.
He thought for a moment, “Then we’ll just ship the goods to the east ourselves, without the middlemen earning the difference in price, wouldn’t that be better.”
“Exactly.”
Chief Ford agreed, he had wanted to say this for a long time, and added, “However, our merchant fleet is unfamiliar with the shipping routes to the East, and we need to send a specialized exploration fleet to scout out the roads, draw up charts, and examine the ports.”
“You’re right, inform Austin at once to begin preparations! Oh, and have him come to Lakewood first.”
“Yes, my lord.”
“Alas?” Paul slapped his head and suddenly thought of something.
“Gentlemen, besides exploring to the east, we can also explore to the west.”
West? The crowd was puzzled, what else is there in the west besides the vast ocean? At most, there were some desolate islands, and if they were lucky, they could only find some natives who were still in the tribal era.
As a matter of fact, in the worldview of most of the people here, the Kingdom of Aldo was already the extreme west of the world.
It was Lardy who understood Paul’s meaning, as a scholar she had been exposed to a lot of new ideas, “What does your lordship mean …… to verify that doctrine?”
“Haha, that’s right!” Paul picked up a pen and paper and drew a circle on it.
“Hasn’t someone suggested that the earth is a round ball? Let’s verify it then, if it’s really a sphere, then we’ll send two exploration teams, one east and one west, and they’ll both be able to return to Aldo after circling around for a week.
“This ……” “A sense of absurdity rises in the hearts of the people, the hallowed Earl of Alda believes in this kind of sophistry?
There are people who have heard of the earth circle theory, but it’s just a novelty, people with a normal brain think it’s impossible. If the earth is a sphere, the people living on the ground will have to fall down, no, should be fall “up”. Gosh, how can I describe it.
“Uh…… Lord Greymane.”
Chief Steward Ford tried to persuade.
“I’ve made up my mind, one east, one west! One east, one west!”
Paul’s tone brooked no argument.
Well, he was the lord, and the crowd was helpless. What the lord decided, everyone had to obey.
(End of chapter)