Indeed, the establishment of the Temple of God in North Africa is definitely a great gift to the Holy See. This will not only greatly increase the prestige of the Holy See, but also bring tangible income and power.

Throughout Europe, the power of the Holy See is declining dramatically, and not many countries, not to mention large countries like France, Spain, and Austria, as well as the small countries around the Papal States, do not particularly take the Holy See seriously. According to the experience of the Holy See itself, where the poorer places are relatively poorer, where the infidels have the upper hand, the sheep are better for grazing and shearing.

"Bishop Leonard, of course, in order to guarantee that we can reasonably and legitimately contribute to the activities of the Church in North Africa, we need the Church to grant us the right to apologetics throughout Africa." Lucien said again.

In a slightly more distant era, in that Western colonizer, on the coastline of the East, set up a few cannons. In the era when they were able to occupy a country, "apologetic" has always been a good reason and excuse for great powers to invade other countries.

"If the Church in North Africa encounters pagan opposition, or de facto discrimination, or even martyrdom. Without the authorization of the Holy See, it would be difficult for us to provide support and assistance. Lucien added.

Bishop Leonard naturally understood what he meant by "encountering the difficulties of the infidels, or the de facto discrimination, or even the occurrence of martyrdom." This sentence must not be understood only literally, and cannot be understood as France will protect the legitimate rights of the Church in North Africa, but should be understood as follows: France hopes that the Church will be more active, more active, and even take the initiative to provoke some things in North Africa, and then France will jump out to defend the Church and seek more benefits for itself. Of course, this is entirely incidental.

For example, according to the agreement between France and Turkey, the French were subject to French law within the concession. Moreover, in the Barbary countries, the French also have "consular jurisdiction". As long as France has the "right to apologetic", then the missionaries who go to the local mission, although they are not from the French Church (the French Church is far inferior to the original Catholic in paralyzing the people, especially those who are still ignorant enough), can be regarded as French people, and of course they will be protected by the French "consular jurisdiction".

According to the agreement between France and Turkey, missionaries could not leave the concession and enter the interior of the Barbary countries to preach, and such an act would be considered a crime. However, also under this agreement, if French missionaries entered the interior of the Barbary countries, Turkey could only hand them over to the French consul according to consular jurisdiction. And the French consul could have acquitted them altogether. Therefore, the missionaries of the Church can do whatever they want, regardless of any ban in Turkey.

Of course, the areas that believe in paganism are very barbaric, especially in the Barbary region, where there are special pirates, it is naturally even more fierce among the people, and if you don't say three words well, maybe you will have to find a scimitar, so if you go deep into the pagan areas to preach, you are likely to be beheaded by those barbaric pagans. Just like the South Koreans who went to Afghanistan to preach.

However, to put it more clearly, isn't this exactly what France and the Church need? French missionaries, no matter what crimes they committed, are not infidels who can kill them casually, and if such a thing happens, the French government can naturally stand up for justice and demand that the Turkish authorities severely punish the murderers and make compensation. In this way, the rights in the local area will be further expanded, and the church will follow behind, so it will naturally be able to get a piece of the pie. And even the missionary who made the great sacrifice can be canonized by the Holy See and receive great glory in heaven after his death. You see how wonderful this is – for whomever it is.

Of course, if you think that the church will spend a lot of money to train a regular missionary, and it will be consumed in this way, and the loss will be great, you can also find a newly liberated Christian in North Africa, and ask him to swear allegiance to France, and then tell him, "When you die, you will take care of your wife, and you will not worry about it." "Then, even the cost can go down even further.

Of course, the Turks will certainly not be satisfied with this. But that's no longer the case. At the time of King François I and Suleiman Magnificent's famous "Blasphemous Alliance", France was trembling under the siege of the Habsburgs and the English, so it was in dire need of help from Turkey.

In 1544, the Holy Roman Emperor Charles V invaded France and fought all the way to Paris. At this time, the Turkish army launched an attack on Hungary, and the advance was directed towards Vienna, which finally forced Charles V to withdraw his troops and make peace. So at that time, France really needed such a strong pagan ally as Turkey.

By the time of the Revolution, France was blockaded by almost all of Europe, and many of the strategic materials it needed needed to be obtained from Turkey. So this pagan ally is still valuable.

But now that all of Europe is almost subjugated to France, Turkey's importance as an ally has diminished. If in the past, the French looked at the Turk and thought that he was the partner who shared the food with them at the table, now, in the eyes of the French, Turkey has become more and more like the food itself. The French did not go directly to Istanbul to ask for mines, roads and churches, which was already very polite. (Of course, even in Istanbul, the French are extraterritorial.) This was obtained when King François I was king. ）

Besides, in this part of North Africa, in the interests of France, it is ruled directly by the French, and if it is not done well, it will fall into the quagmire of religious conflicts. So it was relatively cheaper for the Turks to rule. However, the Turks must not be allowed to really gain a foothold in North Africa. Therefore, the Turks must be made unpopular, and the Turks must be at odds with the local infidels. In this way, if the Turks want to maintain their rule in the region, they have to rely on the power of the French, and the only way to go is to honestly puppet the French. It's as if in another time and space, in the late Qing Dynasty, and even in a certain period of eternal perfection, I can only honestly be the general agent of the Western powers.

On the other hand, as long as the Holy See joined this plan, it tied itself to the chariot of France, and from then on, the Holy See, or Catholicism, would be the vanguard of the colonization activities of the French.

Of course, this is not a bad thing for the Holy See either. This shows that the Holy See is still very valuable, and if it is valuable, it will be useful, and if it is useful, it will have status. So the Holy See can hug the French thigh even further. Although French dads will inevitably bully the Holy See sometimes, hugging the thighs of French dads can bully a lot of people. Is this really - is there anything better in the world?

However, the necessary bargaining is still necessary. So Bishop Leonard thought for a moment and said, "Dear Minister Bonaparte, it is the duty and honor of any shepherd to find the Lamb for God. But in the pagan areas where the proselytists are rampant, we also need more information about what support we can get, what we can do, and as I believe you know, because of our temporary problems with Austria, we now have some minor financial problems, which have reduced our ability to act, so we also hope for the understanding and help of our French friends......"

Then came the more intense bargaining. Although both sides have the sincerity to cooperate, it is precisely because of this that the argument is becoming more and more serious. The Holy See cried over the poor, hoping that the French would provide more economic aid and give them a greater share of economic benefits in North Africa.

However, because everyone actually had great sincerity, everyone finally reached an agreement. France was granted apologetics throughout Africa; The Holy See, on the other hand, received a new diocese in the future, as well as the right to build churches in this diocese, to spread religion, and to collect the tithe.

The two sides also agreed that any future action by the Holy See in North Africa that might have political repercussions would require prior consultation with the representative of the French government, that is, the local consul, and the understanding of the French consul.

In addition, in the Diocese of North Africa, the three banks appointed by the Holy See will have the same rights as the Bank of France, and they will all be treated as French banks in the region, and will be able to conduct business on an equal footing and enjoy the same protection as the French Government.

When the Holy See made this request, Lucien said at the time: "You still say that you have no money? What's going on with these banks? Isn't that your money? You're rich! ”

Bishop Leonard retorted: "How can the money in the bank be our money?" It's all depositors' money, and we're just running it on our behalf. And, because of Austria, our banks are in dire need of good projects that can make money. ”

"That's not going to work." Lucien immediately said, "It's not just about money, it's about business competition." We are worried that your bank will maliciously lower interest rates, and as a result, everyone will be able to make less money! ”

Leonard naturally said that the banks of the Holy See would never do such a thing as a slut and a cheap business, and he assured that the banks of the Holy See would never offer a different interest rate than the Bank of France, nor would they offer any disguised low interest rates. Lucien, on the other hand, insisted that the Holy See was the most deceitful, and we could not believe these promises of yours. After a final bargain, it was finally decided to create a common banking union to oversee the matter.

So far, the negotiations between the two sides have been a complete success.