Director Daley personally asked to see Cardinal Shackley.

Shackley refused to meet with him on the grounds that he was busy with academic affairs.

Daley was not annoyed and went back obediently. But the next day's newspaper poked out Shakley's refusal to see Daley, and between the lines, it led public opinion to another possibility—the church's heart was empty.

Since January of this year, Shackley has been vaguely aware of a dark arrow piercing the church. At the beginning of the year, the underground publication of the picture book called "Secrets of Genoa", which contained a large number of contents suspected of "slandering" the sanctity of the Church, one of which was impressive:

A werewolf dressed in the black robe of a priest with a girl in his arms.

The power of this dark arrow reached its peak with the assassination of the Countess of Coval.

In front of Sean, Lord Cardinal unabashedly expressed his dislike for Countess Coval:

"Sean, why did you come to the aid of that old woman? If she died on the spot, I would never have performed a funeral for her, and I would refuse to allow any priest to participate. ”

What Shakli said was nothing more than angry words, if the Countess of Koval was really dead, the bishop would probably rush over to help take care of the aftermath, otherwise he would be really empty-hearted.

"Your Excellency, the Countess is a victim. Sean reminded.

"I don't need your reminder, Sean. Anyone with a discerning eye knows that the church is the one who loves the victim, and we have no motive to hurt a noble lady. "This is a bitter ploy, and the nobles have become bad." No, the aristocracy was originally a class full of intrigue. ”

"Standing in front of you is also a nobleman, Lord Bishop. Sean grumbled.

"Of course you're a nobleman, but you know, I'm not talking about you, and not all nobles, at least the straight-hearted Viscount Brandon wouldn't do such a thing. I'm talking about the wealthy aristocrats who look so cultured on the surface, the more noble and old the family, the more dirty, and they have a secret burial room in their castles and estates. "I have heard that the Koval family has been full of guests these days, and in my opinion, since the Countess is so energetic to meet guests, it is obvious that she has suffered an indelible psychological wound, which is completely false. ”

"This is a war of public opinion, Your Excellency. People are emotionally rich and need the truth, but the truth comes from what you want to tell them. "Apparently, Countess Koval has won the sympathy of most people. ”

"Public opinion war? Yes, that's what it means. Xia Keli nodded heavily, "I should have been on guard since the beginning of the year, but it's a little late. Did the 1/20 tax become a universal tax, which the nobility and the third estate did not pay? In particular, the Corvar family was the leading landowners in Genoa. ”

"So, the church is ready to back down?" asked Sean.

"In fact, paying 1/20 tax is not unacceptable. I'm just worried that the authority of the church will be challenged more and more in the future. "The privilege of the church is not a worldly gift, it comes from God's approval. The land of the Church does not belong to us personally, we are only the custodians. ”

Paying taxes alone does not hurt the church, and Shackley fears that the privileges he has enjoyed for thousands of years will be further curtailed, and one or two will be further reduced, which he cannot tolerate.

In fact, the Church is under increasing pressure to be challenged, and with the flourishing of the natural sciences over the past hundred years, as well as the development of the capitalist economy, the ideas of freedom and equality have become more and more fashionable, even if they are a buzzword or a mantra, and the sacred cloak draped over the Church is the most directly challenged.

Even within the Church, some of the middle and lower clergy criticized the high clergy, who preached rebellion and independence, who tried to evade all taxes and obligations to the state, and who, according to them, was humiliated to obey...... The property of the poor is seduced, the orphans are weeping, the widows are groaning, and the cruel high priests, who are supposed to give to these people, wipe away their tears.

Yes, of course, there are hierarchies within the Church, and a country missionary is a long way apart from a cardinal. The former dealt with peasants with dung on their legs and peddlers and pawns, while the latter lived in luxurious apartments, ate fine food, and enjoyed the luxury of a group of slaves.

"What have you been up to lately?" said Shakley, seeing that Sean was in a daze, and asked dissatisfiedly.

"Oh, I just bought a newspaper, Le Genoese. In addition, there are two printing houses, and I plan to use new printing machines, which will save at least 20% of the cost of a newspaper, so that more people can subscribe. Sean replied.

Shackley didn't notice his wonderful eyes.

"Not doing business...... Wait!" exclaimed Shakley, "Uh, you say you own a newspaper now?"

"As you say, I pay the price of twenty thousand louis for this. Sean nodded.

"The church should also have its own newspaper, and in this war of public opinion, the church must have its own position. The more she thought about it, the more she felt the need, "Sean, I have to admit that you can always think ahead of me. Why don't you transfer the Genoese to me? ”

"No, Lord Bishop, I just got it. Sean shook his head.

"I'll give 30,000, no, 40,000!"

"It's exciting, but it's still not good. In addition, if you are willing to pay 40,000 yuan, you can buy any newspaper you like, so why do you have to buy mine? Except, of course, the Poitou newspaper, which is a state-run newspaper controlled by a group of old pedants, and cannot keep up with the times. Sean said.

"Sean, as a nobleman, do you have a different opinion of the church?" Shackley gave Sean a hat, "If I go to buy other newspapers, won't it take time?"

"Then you can find some people with quick thinking to write articles, as long as they don't go too far, and they don't violate the laws and basic ethics, and I can guarantee that the people of Poittu will be able to read them. Sean suggested.

Shakley's bid was tempting, but Sean valued the value of the newspaper Le Genoese, which was composed mainly of a group of progressive intellectuals, and as a new newspaper, it became the second largest newspaper in Genoa in just over a year.

Besides, Sean didn't want it obvious to others that he was wearing the same pants as the church. Of course, if anyone felt the need to refute the views of the Church in the Genoese Gazette, Sean would never object.

It is also necessary to take precautions and grasp a certain amount of public opinion power.

The next day, the "Le Genoese" published an article written by a person claiming to be an anonymous person of the church, in which he bitterly criticized the murderer's crimes, and introduced the origin and origin of the murderer with the theme of "what made the murderer come to this point", describing the murderer as the son of a tenant from a humble background but working hard.

In the eyes of his neighbors, the murderer was an honest and quiet person who was very helpful. The report recounts the murderer's tragic childhood and adolescence in particular detail, drawing the reader's attention to the cause of his distorted and painful psyche – the oppression of some indescribable aristocracy.

The report was sprinkled with 3,000 words, not a single word of which violated any law. But every reader who reads this report will develop a kind of "extenuating" sympathy for the murderer's crimes, as well as a strong curiosity - who is that indescribable aristocrat?

In the days that followed, other newspapers quickly followed suit and gave the answer that the murderer's family had been tenants of the Koval family for generations.

Public opinion immediately changed the direction of the wind, and most of the reports revealed a message between the lines, which was the revenge and rebellion of a poor man against a wealthy nobleman.

Shakley publicly declared that the Church should not only improve the treatment of the lower class clergy and care for their lives, but also donate a large sum of money to workhouses and orphanages, so that the old and the young can be supported, claiming that this is God's mercy.

Shakli ate the Koval family's tofu and pursued the victory, which not only turned the wind around, but also improved the reputation of the church.

After a few days of silence, the Koval family began to fight back in the newspapers, again looking for the Genoese newspaper, detailing the arrogance and corruption of the Church, one accusation after another, pointing to the legitimacy of the existence of the privilege of the Church.

Poitou's literate newspaper readers were attracted by the back-and-forth polemics between the two sides. But it was the church and the nobility that were hurt, and the third estate was snickering.

Sean watched coldly, and even used some tricks in secret.

He was not worried about the overthrow of the church and the aristocracy, as long as the empire remained strong and solid. The first and second tiers are too powerful, and it is necessary to make these two tiers somewhat weakened in order to allow Sean to unite some forces.

As long as Shackley was the Cardinal of Genoa, the Church was his ally, and there were some nobles who had a great affection for him, especially the poorer nobles, who saw Sean as a model for making a fortune.

A group of propertied people in the Third Estate counted on Sean to be their spokesman, the most enthusiastic of the Genoese aristocracy in setting up business, a rarity in the South.

Of course, the price he paid was that the Koval family had become wary of him, but they could not publicly accuse him.

The Koval family had a faint sense of a challenge from Sean, which was not yet obvious and difficult to even detect.

Sean disliked the family, which seemed to see themselves as the spokesmen of Genoa, and beneath the surface elegance and politeness, there was arrogance and disregard.

Although this family has great influence in Genoa, Sean really doesn't see how much benefit this family brings to the Genoese people, this family only cares about its own interests.

Since the family is doing things against the church and the nobility in order to curry favor with the emperor, Sean doesn't mind adding to the fire.

Who can tell the difference between conspiracy and conspiracy?