That is, within the empire, the Orthodox Church demanded almost obedience to the demands of the royal family. The existence of the Ecumenical Patriarch still depended on the support of Palaiologos, and Gregory III, who had just gained some prestige among the people, would not allow the credibility of the Church to be swept away by this plague. Besides, whether the universal Church can gain absolute control in Epirus depends on the will of His Majesty the Co-Emperor

Even in the face of the opposition of such prominent scholars and theologians as Brother Arion, as soon as John's edict was issued, almost all the monks in Athens began to preach the benefits of washing their bodies and hands.

The so-called pore theory was completely overturned by them overnight, and the plague was caused by the demonic filth on human bodies, which could only be washed away by washing it with water three times. Especially on the hands, the filth will pass on to the demon's minions through various contacts. If not cleansed in time, God will even throw mortals into hell because of their evil breath.

Even the saying that "the ancient empire opened the baths because it was guided by God to fight against the demons that plagued the world" is also very simple, but the citizens of the empire firmly believe in it.

That is, in the territory of the empire, the words of the patriarch made the commoners "enlightened", and they spontaneously began the pure baptism of "expelling demons". Washing the whole body, an activity that was originally strongly religious, seemed to have become popular overnight. The matter of bathing is no longer so sacred.

Although the clergy repeatedly emphasized that the Church used the sacred and noble "holy water", which was completely different from the ordinary spring water of the mortal world, the common people had long since become less concerned about this issue.

In addition to this, the clergy even led by example, drunkenly donning the linen masks "invented" by John. The taste of rum was not actually very popular with the general public, but the citizens of the empire soon developed their romantic mood from the Aegean Sea. Merchant families with a little extra money will choose delicate and comfortable three-layer silk weaves to make more "high-end" masks. Civilians would layer linen fabrics on top of each other and add their favorite fruit wine to them.

This was a far cry from John's original intentions, but it was no less surprising that the habits of bathing and wearing masks could spread so quickly across the Empire.

"Then let's just do nothing."

"Your Majesty John...... But...... If this has no obvious effect, it will affect the ...... of the church" Several lay monks around John, and they still had some resentment at John's use of the church's voice to control public opinion. The activities of the Church itself remained sacred in their minds, but the Orthodox Church was now unable to resist any demands of the royal family.

It can even be said that Gregorio III was able to sit firmly in the position of Patriarch of Hagia Sophia and the Ecumenical Patriarch purely because the Palaiologos family looked at him more pleasing to the eye. The Romans were a nation that, on some levels, had more experience in internal fighting than in the conquest of foreign enemies. At the height of the empire's weakest period, the first act of John VIII, including Constantine XI as monarch, was to frantically reclaim the rights of the Church, the Senate, and the upper nobility.

After several years of repression, the Church and the Senate had become fully the instruments of the Palaiologos to consolidate their rule. Not to mention, the Inquisition Court is completely the backyard of the royal family. As for the aristocracy......

Even if John was able to kill a nobleman recognized by the empire in Constantine Square so recklessly, in any other country on the continent, I am afraid that it would set off a huge rebellion. On the contrary, in the empire, except for the outer vassals such as Thomas and Latius, the princes of Morea, who threw military power, the other nobles were completely deprived of the right to control the army. They just verbally rebelled, and if they really wanted to spend all their savings to organize mercenaries to rebel against the empire, rather than enjoying the benefits given by the empire, this was a very simple choice.

"Does it affect the authority of the church? Haven't you ever thought that if my decision succeeds, the church will become a god in people's hearts? John had always scoffed at the pretentiousness of the clergy, "I know what the church is thinking. I'm afraid that the monks of the Catholic Church have been coveting the indulgence stall at the entrance of the church for a long time, right? ”

"Your Majesty...... We don't have any ...... about money."

"Then the financial aid will be halved? Anyway, it's probably just to buy more expensive accessories......"

"......" Several general monks looked at each other a few times, and finally reluctantly succumbed to the so-called aid funds, "What to do, Your Majesty, please say." ”

In the days that followed, all the people who came to the monastery to pray or seek healing from the monks would hear the priest talk about something.

God whispered in the ear of His Majesty the Co-Emperor and made him a messenger of the Lord against the devil who invaded the Empire. Every edict given by His Majesty John is in fact the wisdom of the Lord.

"God will forgive us, won't he......"

Several of the monks took the money bags that John had given them and sighed helplessly.

……

When Constantine XI learned that Sophia was infected with the disease, he personally sent some people to escort some things to the Monastery of Casariani.

When John dragged his tired body back to the monastery, Eustina was bringing Sophia a bowl of gruel made from Castilian rice mixed with stewed, spice-coated venison minced meat.

John estimated that this was a recipe that Ginch had brought with him from the Far East. Rice is extremely rare in Europe, and spices are equivalent to gold. At the peak of the spice trade, a pound of cloves could even be exchanged for three pounds of gold, so that the lucrative trade drove the people across the ocean to start a bloody spice trade. There are countless people who have become the souls of the dead under the stormy waves.

When the common staple food of the European people is still hard bread that can be stoned to death, this bowl of meat porridge may be fried at a sky-high price.

Sophia was happily enjoying this not-so-shocking delicacy, accustomed to the delicacies of the royal family, and this light and chic meal aroused her appetite for a long time.

"Brother......

"How's it going, have you felt a little better in the past two days?"

"It's a lot better. The other patients who had been housed in the Casariani convent also made some improvements. This plague should only seem to spread quickly, and it doesn't seem to be that serious. ”