The atmosphere in the air is thick and wants to condense.

The knights surrounded His Majesty the Emperor, and the nobles guarded the coffin of the Emperor, and both sides stood together, except for a few priests who were sandwiched in the middle, looking a little dazed.

Although the clergy now have a considerable status at the local level, they still lack the de facto right to speak in the center of the empire, in front of the emperor and the real grand dukes. They have agents on both sides, but they can't form a real political force themselves.

The Emperor stood on top of a mound of earth before he was surrounded by knights. The cheer just now was the sound he had been looking forward to since he was sensible, but when it really came, he was a little hesitant.

"Your Majesty......"

Looking at the emperor's uncertain face, Sword couldn't help but ask.

The nobles did not bring their attendants now, and it was indeed the best time to get rid of them, but the price after getting rid of them was not what the current Perris I was willing to bear.

The current emperor and nobles are under the rule of a well-known rule set by his father, Nordin. This rule once became the anchor of the country, and if it were not for such a rule, perhaps the current empire would be a simple idea, rather than a de facto existence like today.

Frankly, admittedly. Now, the imperial throne of the empire is no longer under great threat, and it is no longer as shaky and precarious as it was during the Notting period, but it is still not the emperor's monopoly. The cancer that remains in the government and infiltrates is only a small part of it, and getting rid of them does not mean that the scourge is removed.

Thinking of this, Perris tested Ward's eyes, the latter's eyes were full of enthusiasm and eagerness, while the former's eyes were bitter and helpless.

Sword's heart suddenly became clear, his face was covered with a look of defeat, and he walked listlessly on the way back to the palace, followed by a group of knights, who pulled the carriage and surrounded the new monarch and left this place of right and wrong, leaving only a group of dukes still lined up in their previous positions, and they gasped for a few breaths to relieve the oppression caused by the excessive tension just now

"Is the new monarch still a benevolent lord like the first emperor?" Looking at the back of the new monarch leaving, a middle-aged duke whose face had begun to roll up wrinkles couldn't help but ask.

An older old duke, on the other hand, had a gloomy face, and he didn't say anything, but hurried back in the direction of the capital.

A good funeral turned into a farce, which made the clergy who originally planned the funeral lose face, they understood that the so-called "clergy" official appearance is just a layer of skin, really to the critical juncture of the distribution of benefits, the so-called "Sadinian servant" identity can not really keep them thoughtful. Now, it's time for them to take sides.

Standing in the middle of the road and thinking about it for a while, a middle-aged monk in an orange robe finally gritted his teeth and said in the direction of the palace.

"The bones of the first emperor have not yet been buried, how can we leave them alone. ”

When several monks heard this explanation, their faces suddenly showed a little relaxed, and then they followed the steps of the orange-robed monk and hurried towards the emperor's back.

In front of the carriage, the Grand Master of the Rainbow Knights, who should continue to be serious and quiet, and the Emperor who will be the emperor in the future, have abandoned the procedures of detention at this time, and talked about the current political conspiracy in front of the corpse of the former emperor.

"Your Majesty, I couldn't have found a better time. Don't look at the group of 'big masters' one by one they look like they are wearing armor and wearing swords, but in fact, they are really just a bunch of goods, as long as you give an order, the entire old land of the Abbasquia Kingdom will be under your real control. ”

After Perris heard Ward's words, he first looked at him deeply, and there was no lack of regret in his eyes, and after hesitation, he replied, "Your Excellency, Grand Master... I believe that you and your Order are the best knights in all of Grand Prus, and I have never doubted your loyalty. However, with your strength, can you compete with the nobles of the entire empire?

In just a dozen years, those nobles have all been connected. Did you know that Count Consnard's nephew was the husband of Duke Richard's niece...... And their unborn son has already taken up a family affair with our Prime Minister. And your family, the Maltese family. I believe that the Duke of Malta is naturally central to the Empire, but his younger brother, your uncle, the Earl of Tak Malta, happens to be the father-in-law of the newly appointed Duke of Datin.

And the Duke of Datin, the man just stood there.

Can you really do it? Can I really order it to do it?

The so-called supreme imperial power is only the product of mutual compromise with the aristocracy. The Emperor is the supreme arbiter, not an extended version of the King.

Can you understand?"

Ward's heart lit up like an open window, but at this time, he still painted a panic on his face

"Your Majesty, I have overstepped it. ”

But he secretly speculated in his heart that if you really want to be an emperor who does nothing, you will never take the sword.

The sword of the world upholds the rights of the world.

If Perris really wanted to be an emperor who ruled by nothing, it would definitely be a big mistake to take over the sword. That would only arouse the vigilance of the nobles, and then stir up the internal pattern of the entire empire, and at that time, the peaceful pattern at this moment would all turn into black cherry

At this moment, his heart was clear, at least the knight commander thought that he had completely read the crown prince's heart.

"It's just that he doesn't feel that the cards in his hand are enough to play, so he has a little cultivation, and compared to his father's old fox, it's really too tender. How can an emperor who loves to hunt and a person who is so happy with his achievements be as cautious and inactive as the emperor of the past?"

The emperor was unaware of it at the moment, and he thought that letting go of those nobles and princes was just a manifestation of his self-denial. The so-called taking into account the overall situation is nothing more than that.

At this moment, the orange-robed monk ran all the way up, his face was always serious and chaste, like an immortal who had fallen into the world, but at this moment he walked over with a little flattery.

"Your Majesty......"

The two men, who were still plotting, suddenly stopped their conversation, and together turned their suspicious eyes on the Bishop of Abbaschia. With the gradual development of the city, many new forces are rising, such as the government of the citizens, the trade unions of the commercial industry, and then there are many archbishops rooted in the city, and the one in front of him is the archbishop of the imperial capital who is the richest of the archbishops and knows how to drill camps.

Abbasquia now has a permanent population of more than 50,000, and at least 45,000 of them are devout Sardinians, who spend a portion of their income every week to support the priests in the city who study the doctrine and pray for the people, and, under normal circumstances, if a missionary priest wants to ask a religious to do something for him, they will probably not refuse.

Thus, in a sense, the Gothic Archbishop, dressed in an orange robe, can also be considered a local aristocracy with 40,000 people.

Although the clergy were less than the aristocracy, could not engage in their own production and business, and did not have an independent private army, they had the dignity of being "servants of God", and this went on for a long time......

"Your Excellency, have you come here for any funeral orders?"

The person who spoke was His Majesty Perris, and when he opened his mouth, he fully proved the master-servant relationship between the two.

Bishop Goethe, however, was in no hurry to speak, he first stood still on the ground, then dragged down the hood of his robe, and after exposing the bare part of his head, he continued to say what he had just wanted.

Perris just stood aside, looking at this set of rituals that the priests themselves tossed out, and felt very fresh, and only felt relish.

"Your Majesty the Great Emperor, the affairs of the first emperor are in the hands of your noble bishop of the court, Sardinia taught us unity, Sardinia taught us ignorant Abbastians to divide labor and cooperate, so that we can improve the efficiency of Petz, and do not disturb each other, so that the farmer can give birth, the knight can have time to practice martial arts, the scholar has time to study knowledge, and all the people have their own duties, so that we can have the prosperous life we have now. ”

"At the funeral of the first emperor, the bishop did not discuss the ritual specifications of the funeral with the new monarch, but he wanted to talk to His Majesty about theology?

Sword couldn't help but reprimand the theologically charged priest and turned his face to Perris to show his loyalty. As long as he gives the order, the Gothic bishop will soon disappear in front of the emperor, and what awaits him will inevitably be the punishment of the emperor's gaffe.

But Perris was thoughtful about what he said, and he nodded slightly, and asked in a rather imperial manner: "Listening to the bishop's great meaning, the god of Sardinia is like the emperor of our Abbasquia family. ”

The bishops who followed Bishop Goethe chased after him, but as soon as they heard the emperor's reply, their faces immediately turned gray. Ordinary lords and merchants can't clean them up, it doesn't mean that His Majesty the Emperor can't clean them up, in the current imperial specifications, only the emperor is the real "God's chosen one", and their family has great merit, it is a "rising heroic bloodline". After death, he is a living saint who can have a place in the "garden".

Their so-called "great" bishops, in the eyes of the most devout believers, were only some of the lucky ones who could occasionally hear the words of Sardinia, not only in secular power, but even in religious status, and did not have the capital to compete with the emperor.

Compared to those nobles, they are the real fat sheep.

But among these bishops, only Goethe, who spoke at the beginning, still maintained the dignity at the beginning, and did not hurry to make another salute to the emperor, before arching his hand and continuing to add:

"A member of my empire is an ordinary people of the Great Prus, and naturally he should be restrained by His Majesty, and at this point, His Majesty's status in my eyes is naturally second only to Satina's nobility, and even on a certain level, I think that most believers should first be loyal to you, and then to be loyal to Sardinia, which is the duty of a country. ”

If, just now, the clergy wanted to persuade him to know what it meant to be a high earth and a thick guide, now they just wanted to scold him for forgetting his ancestors.

It is true that the establishment of the Fengchang Empire was inseparable from the question of religion, and even the earliest language of the same language, and even the current script, were invented by the clergy. To put it mildly, if there were no Sardinians, there would never be a Red Lion Expedition.

In the traditional tribal period, the priests were actually able to directly control some of the secular power, just like in some remote villages now, among some gods, the priests are the local rulers.

Therefore, no matter who is the ruler of this land, he must give these religious people a little bit of thin noodles, otherwise, just launching an offensive from public opinion will be enough for them to eat a pot.

It was only when the Four Kingdoms were established that the kings invariably reached out to clean up the religious forces, driving them out of the decision-making center and replacing them with a group of court nobles and square meter clerks. If it weren't for the fact that the first prime minister of the empire was himself a clergyman, he still retained some of the local privileges of the clergy when the empire was established for various reasons. The Empire may not have the office of archbishop at all.

Now, the bishop from Abbasquia seems to be giving up the privileges that his ancestors had earned through a lifetime of loyalty, careful planning, and great luck.

Fortunately, before the monks could lose their dignity, the Gothic bishop spoke again, patted the dust that was not there, and continued in a hymn-like voice.

"Your Majesty, have you not realized that in your empire it makes no sense for you to directly hold the so-called religious rights, and even that the sanctity of your crown does not come from the gift of Sardinia, you are the emperor of the people, and therefore great. ”

"Your religion is like a candle burning next to the sun, it means nothing to your light, but the light of Sardinia is a very important mission to guide the helpless. Therefore, I would like to ask you that our religion should have the right to take care of itself, so that you no longer have to give your wealth to Sardinia in the name of royalty, but that we can pay taxes to you like merchants and nobles. ”

Everyone