Indeed, I did not expect the Emperor and the envoys of the Holy See to come so quickly, and to step into the land of Nijmegen ten days sooner than expected, and to arrive at the end of July, with the blessings and gifts of the two Majestics, and to come all the way despite the difficulties of the road.

As they entered the castle through the narrow drawbridge, the two envoys politely conceded to each other and ordered the coachman to give way to each other, but anyone with a discerning eye could smell the thick smell of hypocrisy in the air, and they were like two people wearing smiling tiger masks competing for the first place.

"The big guys are really good actors, and they are full of gentlemanly demeanor and do the dirtiest evil things, which is far from what we all living beings can understand."

Leonardo has been officially canonized by me as a knight and treasurer and prime minister of the count's court, and he can now wear dark robes and enter and exit the castle in a proper manner, instead of being a lowly merchant who has been described as a lowly merchant who usurps his status and ascends to power by maneuver.

"As the cousin of His Majesty the Emperor, His Majesty the Pope was able to ascend to today's high position, thanks to His Majesty's hard support, I didn't expect that now the two are drifting apart, and they are so far apart."

I stood on the balcony of the castle, overlooking the people who were busy staying in the square below, the power of the empire was to control Rome, and the revival of the Holy See also depended on the protection of the empire, and now the teeth and lips gnawed at each other, doing things that were happy for those who loved and hated.

"You just see the appearance, you must know that in this world, there are no eternal friends, only eternal interests, even if they are close relatives, in the face of absolute power, they will tear off the mask of hypocrisy and bite and fight, and then step on countless white bones and corpses to ascend to the top of power, an iron throne forged by fire and sword."

Leonardo brought me the coat of his robe and helped me put it on, reminding me that it was time to go to the hall of the lords to receive the guests from afar.

"The emperor and the Holy See use each other, and then mix sand in the back to dig the foot of the wall, the emperor does not want to have a disobedient puppet, and the Holy See does not want the emperor squatting above his head to get in the way, the kings always hope that they are the only masters in the world."

I fastened my coat and asked Leonardo for advice as I walked out, because I couldn't make up an idea: "What kind of attitude should I use when I meet them?" ”

"A calm smile, a decent hospitality, nonsense, and most importantly, don't promise easily."

Leonardo Thief smiled, like a stealing cat: "I will stand behind you, and once I feel that things can be turned around, I will give you a signal, such as kicking a stool or something......"

"You pervert, do you think you are Guo Yan?"

I complained angrily: "Look who is the puppet now?" ”

"What is Guo Yan?"

Leonardo struggled with this obscure term, and was successfully rounded into a dead end that I couldn't get out of, and the bull's stupid appearance may be his future state, a precursor to Alzheimer's disease, so the traverser dragged words indiscriminately to kill people.

The small parlor was now crowded with people, including the attendants of the two envoys, the armed guards and the entourage, and they were standing in every corner, and I even suspected that they even called in the coachmen to support themselves in the pomp and circumstance, and the demonstrations were like a crowd, and Nijmegen was not too much to feed these people, it was really a small family.

I cursed my mother in my heart, and immediately walked briskly between the two envoys with a smile on my face, and exclaimed in a flattering tone that was too enthusiastic to break the voice: "God, God must have heard my prayers, and to have two of the most plenipotentiary envoys of the world come to such a small place as Nijmegen at the same time, and it has really made my dilapidated country castle flourish, and bathed everyone in the glory of nothingness, Nijmegen has never been so glorious." ”

His Majesty's envoy to the Emperor may still be busy digesting and processing a large number of words I just casually uttered, and the processor is running at high load, but the papal envoy reacted quickly, and complimented me with a smile:

"Your Excellency the Count has really won an award, Nijmegen is a religious service to God and the Holy See, and is well known throughout Christendom, and His Majesty the Pope has held you very high, and has praised the Count of Nijmegen for his bravery in defending the glory of God more than once at the Council of the Holy See."

"His Majesty the Emperor values your pivotal position in maintaining the stability of the Lower Rhine region and the frontier presence of the empire, and he once said that the dukes are mostly old, and only you can join hands with him to create a grand hegemony that belongs to the younger generation." Not to be outdone, the Emperor's envoy joined in, and the compliments between the words became more and more obvious.

If the words are flattering, there must be something important to ask for!

The corners of my mouth twitched, and these words drifted leisurely in my heart, and then I quietly walked to my place and sat down, and instructed my attendants to arrange rooms and meals for the entourage of the two envoys, and take them to rest first.

After praising the generosity of the Earl, the people in the hall walked out one after another, and Rollo closed the door from the outside, leaving only a few people, silently tasting wine in a daze.

"On the way we came, we passed through many castles and farmsteads of the lords, large and small, prosperous and barren, and the roads were in worse condition, but it was not until we approached Nijmegen that we rediscovered the bustling markets, the crowded towns and the wide straight and wide stone roads that can only be found in Italy.

Cardinal Odosius from the Holy See was the first to break the silence in the arena and said to me with a smile: "I have long heard that Count Nijmegen is a man who dares to think and do things differently, and today I see that it is really extraordinary. ”

"You have won the prize, Lord Bishop, and I am nothing more than a firefly wandering in the moonlight compared to your wisdom and erudition."

I waved my hand to show that I deserved his praise, in the strict sense of the word, there is no such thing as the Holy See in the strict sense of the word, but there are well-organized ******, the College of Cardinals, the Holy Ministries and the Three Synods, and the overall affairs are only a cardinal composed of ten Roman bishops, and there is also a bishopric meeting that is stationed every three years to attend the Archbishops, which is responsible for deliberating and adopting the latest laws promulgated by the Holy See, and the organizational structure is somewhat similar to that of today's National People's Congress and its Standing Committee. A permanent body, an organ of power, all serve the supreme pope.

However, on the whole, the secular power of the emperor is still above the power of the pope, and even in some places, the orders of the Holy See are just a dead letter from the emperor of the sky.

Cardinal Odoses came from a well-known aristocratic family in Rome, but his second son prevented him from inheriting the title, but he found a new direction in his life from his Heavenly Father, dedicating his youth to the glorious cause of serving God.

After many years of dedication to the Holy See's Copying Department, he was well read, especially the ancient Bibles copied in the Hebrew alphabet and the Greek alphabet.

Due to the deep family background behind him, after the new pope ascended the throne, out of the consideration of balancing internal relations, especially to set aside the original conservative forces that were extremely stubborn in rejecting the Germanic pope, Odoxes rose to prominence, and was soon promoted to cardinal, entered the cardinal council of the Holy See, and became a cardinal with a single vote.

However, at the same time, he has also become a thorn in the side of the old forces, regarded as a villain who tends to be inflammatory, betrays the faith, and the dog leg of the barbarian pope, and has been assassinated several times and almost killed by the assassins.

The fact that the Pope was able to send his important henchmen this time shows the importance he attaches to improving the relationship between us that is close to freezing point of mutual suspicion.

"There are now very few nobles like you who serve their lords as devoutly, and they are more concerned with surviving in the war of swords and swords, or by taking a piece or two of undetermined land from their neighbors, who are being deceived by the devil's lustful tricks and are going further and further astute."

Cardinal Odoses shook his head and sighed, the posture was particularly like a certain expert who was talking about a stumbling girl, beating his chest was more uncomfortable than his own father, I found that the emperor's envoy's eyebrows jumped obviously, and a moment of displeasure flashed on his face, but it quickly disappeared and continued to clear the sky.

"If I have time, I would like to have a face-to-face private conversation with you, and personally hand over the valuable personal gift that His Holiness has brought to me on my behalf, and that He will miss the good times in Colon and with you, and that you are one of his few close friends." Cardinal Odoses stood up to say goodbye as he spoke, nodding to the Emperor's envoy before walking slowly out of the hall.

What do you mean? I was skeptical about why His Holiness would show favor to me, as unpredictable as when he suddenly sent a priest to assassinate me, and thought that I could rebuild my trust in him by just relying on rhetoric and empty promises?

It's impossible to come up with such a strange whimsy, and that Supreme Being of the Vatican will definitely not make a low-level mistake, so what is the truth of the facts?

I watched the door slam shut by the attendants, and turned my head to glance at Leonardo, who was standing behind me, the old man standing without squinting, with a stylized and hypocritical smile on his face, so cheap that he could squeeze out water, without the slightest hint to me.

False seriousness! I cursed viciously in my heart, and refocused my gaze on the Emperor's envoy who was still sitting in front of me.

"Now we are the only ones left, Baron Lewandowski, and when I fought side by side in Italy, I had already made you a confidant in life, a brave and loyal gentleman."

I raised the glass in front of me and said to the bearded young baron, who looked like a man at dusk: "How can our Emperor His Majesty, who is busy building his new empire in Rome, suddenly become concerned that Nijmegen, far away in the middle of nowhere, has sent his cousin all the way to convey his blessings?" ”

"It's an honor for the sharpest sword in the empire, and still remember a little man like me, who would despise the existence of the Count of Nijmegen with your sassy and heroic posture galloping through thousands of troops, conquering every knight who admired the strong, and who would defy the existence of the Count of Nijmegen after several times of turning the tide of defeat into victory in the Italian campaign?"

Baron Lewandowski took a shallow sip of wine, and the sour taste made him frown and put his glass aside.

"Your Majesty's marriage to Flender was indeed unexpected, Your Majesty thought that you would marry a Swabian princess as a way to strengthen your alliance, but I did not expect you to step out of the traditional circle of choice and unite with a strong serpent, which will undoubtedly strengthen your power in the Lower Rhine."

"But Your Majesty wants me to remind you not to get too deep into the feud between Flender and the Capetian royal family, after all, you are a direct vassal of the Saxon royal family, and getting involved in it will not be conducive to the handling of relations between the two countries, and ......"

(End of chapter)