Of course, I won't give them an answer, the current scene is developing in an orderly manner, do they think that their choice will have a result? How naïve!

When power becomes a goal that everyone can compete with, even if the process is given endless time and sufficient operational norms, it will still end up with nothing.

It's like untying the chains around the neck of a vicious dog and throwing it into a bone, the dog-eat-dog fight will only continue, and in the end it will end up losing both sides, and no one will have a chance to get close to the bone, and the characters who appear today are all such vicious dogs, self-righteous and happy, biting and biting a mouthful of hair, tired of internal friction, and have to come to me after internal friction, and must be more humble than now.

Bendinik's black robes stand out in a sea of red and white, and since the decline of relations between the Vatican and Constantinople decades ago, not only in the interpretation of the scriptures, but also in other differences, the Eastern Church has been influenced by more Greece, and the ways of worship, language, and dress have gradually moved towards the East, all of which have further widened the rift between the two sides.

"It stands to reason that as faithful servants of God, we are no different, but for well-known reasons, I am standing here as an outsider after all."

He is right, the Eastern and Western churches have not had high-level contact for decades, from the coronation of the Pope to the appointment of priests, each side has gone its own way and ignores each other, the Vatican is angry at Constantinople's division, and Constantinople is not used to the Vatican's fingers.

"As an outsider, I would like to say that since the election of the Pope is a serious matter, it should be carried out according to the sacred rules."

He paused and stood up, and said to everyone in a gentle but irresistible tone: "We outsiders, we still have to find our own position, this is a family affair of others, and it is not appropriate to let everyone sit together and watch after all, so ......"

The meaning of Bendenik's words could not be more clear, and he almost wrote a few words on his face that the idlers would retreat quickly, and some people suddenly got up, and as soon as their buttocks left their seats, they were dragged by their companions next to them, and the latter glanced at the former who was puzzled, and everyone turned their eyes to me, and Nijmegen did not make a clear statement from beginning to end, as the de facto ruler of Rome, my attitude decided everything.

The matter has come to this point, so why not let them make a fuss and sort out their relationship in this matter by the way?

I straightened my belt, and my palms habitually searched for the hilt of the long sword, but I forgot that swords were not allowed in St. Peter's Church, and that the long sword had already been handed over to Bills, who was waiting outside the door.

"You have fulfilled your duty as a devout believer, and it is time to return the Holy Land to cleansing."

I took a step and walked out: "Until the rebels are cleared, the curfew in Rome continues, and to God what is God's, and Caesar's to Caesar's." ”

The nobles who had come to the ceremony dispersed, except for a few believers who had sincerely prayed for the Pope, and the people who had stood guard outside slowly left, and Bendenik boarded my carriage, the coachman waving his whip, the wheels rattling against the uneven stone pavements of Rome, and the back of the knight in charge of the guard could be faintly seen through the thin gauze curtain of the window.

I withdrew my gaze, and Bendenik poured himself a glass of wine and drank it unceremoniously: "You are not afraid of gossip, and you go straight to my carriage." He continued to drink.

"Afraid of what?"

Bendenik wiped the corners of his mouth with a square towel, and the red wine soaked into the fibers, instantly fainting: "Do you think there is anyone who doesn't understand our relationship?" There is no need to kid yourself. ”

"Today's drama is far from being as exciting as imagined, the protagonists are unwilling to do their best, and the expected scene has not happened at all."

I shrugged my shoulders unhappily and filled the cups of the two people: "The only amazing thing is that you completely steal the demeanor of the main master, which is impressive." ”

Bendenik pulled the corners of his mouth with a smirk, his short black hair tinged with a healthy color, and I really wanted to ask what kind of hair care secret he used.

"Isn't that the role you want me to play? Why pretend to be surprised. ”

He scratched his nails across the gilded walls of the cup, making an obscure grinding sound, and many of the clergy of Constantinople followed the custom of the Oriental aristocracy to continue to grow their nails as a way to show that they were not manual laborers, and the construction of sharp nails always reminded me of the old eunuchs who pinched their orchid fingers in Qing court dramas.

"This is praise from the bottom of my heart, not a hypocrisy and a pretense."

I tried my best to shield the unpleasant nail rubbing, and forcibly endured the sourness at all: "Since you and I have the same purpose, come!" Celebrate the success of the first collaboration together, and we put on a good show together! ”

He gently touched me with his wine glass, took a sip and said disdainfully: "I have been in Italy for so long, I thought I was already surprised by the stupidity and short-sightedness of the Vatican, but I didn't expect ......"

He sneered and shook his head: "No wonder those fools can't get rid of the fate of being at the mercy of the powerful, it turns out that each one of them is a complete fool and a straw bag, and their vision is only as narrow as their toes, why do they think they can say anything about Constantinople?" Descendants of St. Peter? Vatican legitimacy? Amusing! ”

"If I'm not mistaken, shouldn't you and the Archbishop of Constantinople be in a hostile relationship?"

I pretended to be surprised and reminded him that the mutual attack between the Eastern and Western Churches did not start with me and could not end with me, and that it was irrelevant to me that the two were bloody, and that now I was only concerned with the problems of the Vatican, which was the key to paving the way for the future.

"Let's talk about the rest of the story, Lord Bishop."

"Hehe......"

He put down his wine glass and leaned over, his pampered pink face filling all corners of my vision: "You are so smart, you still need me to come up with some bad ideas?" Let me guess, you're already up there, aren't you? Tomorrow...... Oh no, tonight! Tonight they will come to you, like homeless pugs wagging their tails and licking your toes, begging Nijmegen to stand by their side and show their attitudes, you say? ”

Having such a smart genius as my partner can be said to be twice the result with half the effort, but precautions are also essential, and I squeezed out a wry smile with my nerve:

"The conversation between us is suddenly so straightforward, I will be a little unacceptable for a while, Lord Bishop, you are so smart!"

Outsmart oneself! I swallowed the second half of the sentence back into my stomach, the two wine glasses clashed, and the carriage turned into the alley leading to the mansion, and it was dark.

Before dinner was served, I welcomed the first visitors, Bills was bringing the freshly brewed wine from the cellar, and Rollo stood at the door announcing the names of the visitors.

"Embides?"

I tried to remember the appearance of the owner of this name, and poured myself a glass of mellow wine in my hand:

"No impression, I don't remember knowing this person, who sent him?" I smacked the syrup and let the aroma echo between my lips and teeth.

Luo Luo spread his hands: "He didn't say who it was, he just said that he hoped to see you, and there were a few people who came with him, judging from their clothes and age, they should not be of high rank." ”

Is it a centrist? No, I shook my head to dispel this idea, they should have come to show their allegiance a long time ago, there was no need to wait until Liangshan was forced to surrender, it could only be a representative of Michelangelo or Gaiullius.

"Let them in."

I instructed Bills to clean up the mess of papers on the table, and after thinking about it, I called Rollo, who had already walked out the door: "If someone comes again, find some excuse to prevaricate, the meeting time must be interspersed, don't let these people meet each other, understand?" ”

"yes, got it."

Rollo walked in and closed the door, his eyes swept over the busy Bills, and asked tentatively, "I think it's best to let them see them, so that they know what to do, and we can get the most out of it, as you have done before." ”

Very smart, that is, the head will not turn, I have always liked to stimulate the independent thinking ability of the people around me, rather than cultivating obedient slaves, of course the subordinates are obedient, but you must use a brain to command dozens of hands and feet, unless I am an integrated central processing unit, otherwise sooner or later the explosion of the machine, a smart leader can not do anything must bow down, every trustworthy henchman uses his own brain to do things.

As long as the power cord is in your hand, whoever is disobedient will be cut off directly!

"At this point in time, we are now the lifeline on which they have high hopes, and of course the only arbiter who has the ability to change the final outcome, and it is too obvious to provoke them to unite with each other, and I said that Nijmegen will only play the role of staying out of the situation until the situation is clear, understand?"

Rollo nodded, the guests outside the door had waited too long, he hurried out, Bills rolled up the papers, the messy table was immediately in order, and when I began to take the second sip of wine, Rollo led the visitor in, and five black shadows wrapped in burqas instantly filled the corner.

"Thank you for taking the time out of your busy schedule, Lord Duke, and may God bless you!"

The head priest took off his hood to reveal the head of St. Peter, and several other people also showed their true faces, and I stared at his slightly older appearance, I guess it was Father Embides.

"I welcome friends, but I don't like uninvited daredevils, priest." I replied softly or hard, and the other party's expression was obviously sluggish, but it quickly recovered.

"Please forgive us for our rude visit to you at this time."

He put his hands together and bent his back like a prawn: "We are all devout believers who voluntarily dedicate ourselves to the cause of God, and we are by no means speculators and villains who see the wind and steer the rudder. ”

Embiids bent his waist even lower, and like the other brothers in his teaching, he knew how to be deferential and humble, and so far he has been relatively good at what he said.

"I'll listen, Father, but you don't have much time left, and I'll have a guest later." I noticed fine beads of sweat on the priest's forehead.

"Your time is precious, and I'll cut it short, that's ......"

He rubbed his hands nervously, and several people who came with him were also nervous: "Your deep understanding of righteousness is obvious to all, and you did not force us to accept any unequal mercy by force, everyone is grateful for your honesty, but unfortunately things have not developed in a good direction, and those sanctimonious villains have lived up to everyone's expectations......"

Guess it, I know the so-called pious face better than you, and when everyone thinks that power is at their fingertips, the calm gentlemanly demeanor becomes a kind of hypocrisy, at least they still maintain the most primitive animal nature, dare to show the sharp minions of civilization.

"Go on."

Embidez's composure disappointed him, and he wanted to use the explosive news as a groundwork for the rest of the conversation.

"At the beginning, the scene was reasonable, chanting sutras and masses, but as soon as they entered the process of selecting candidates, they all went crazy like demons, full of foul language, and finally fought each other! It's in the Holy Church! It's ...... It's blasphemy! ”

The more the priest spoke, the more agitated he became, his fists clenched tightly, his face full of righteous indignation, and his waist was not so stiff.

I raised an eyebrow: "I think I know pretty much what it was like, Father, and it's scary how you looked. ”

“………………”

Only then did he come back to his senses, and lowered his shoulders with a wry smile: "I am not only sad about the declining world in the Vatican, but also worried about the changes in my brothers...... God, what did I say......"

He trembled and drew a cross on his chest: "If this continues, the Vatican will be divided, and the undesirable villain may take the opportunity to ascend to the throne, which will be a terrible catastrophe!" Woe to all the faithful, woe to the whole Christian world! ”

What should I do? Is it to angrily shoot the case and denounce it, or to calmly listen to him finish his words and bargain over the interests of both parties? The sun disappeared completely below the horizon, and Bills lit the torches on the wall in turn, brightening up the room, which was lit by only a candle on the table.

Sunset also marks the beginning of the curfew, and all residents must return to their homes before the bell of the church rings for the evening prayers to wait for the Nijmegen soldiers to go from house to house, and if anyone remains unruly on the street, the patrolling soldiers will be arrested and punished as collaborators.

With less than an hour and a half to go before the bell rang, and the noise of people hurrying outside the window, interspersed with the neighing of horses and the barking of dogs, Rome was chaotic, but out of chaos peace was born - no robbery, no vendettas, no arson, everyone had stability under bondage, but unfortunately some people yearned for unfettered freedom.

"Do you hear that? The unique sound of Rome. ”

I turned my head to look out the window, and the lights of Rome were gradually lit up at night, and the rush of the Tiber could not hide the noise of the streets.

Embiides took two steps toward me, Bills' wary gaze discouraged him, and Rollo stood in the doorway.

"This shouldn't be the voice of Rome, my lord."

The priest stood at a safe distance from Bills, who would not be nervous: "I remember Rome as a beautiful and peaceful holy city, and her voices include the shouting of the market, the shouting of horses, the unloading of goods at the docks, the evening bell of the church, and even the laughter of the flea street leather and flesh girls, but none of them will be so frightened as now, Lord Duke, this is not Rome, it is a cage." ”