Outside the modest carriage, apart from a white gilt cross, there is hardly a trace of extravagant ornamentation, no gilding, no tassels, not even bells. Pen | fun | pavilion www. ｂｉｑｕｇｅ。 The info carriage is not large, it can only accommodate three or four people sitting together at the same time, or one or two people lying in it, there is a coarse cloth curtain hanging behind the narrow window, and the horses pulling the carriage are not good horses, they are all very common things. If it weren't for the only gilded cross that could be used, the carriage would not be much different from all the carriages owned by middle- and high-class families.

But it was this gilded cross that showed the extraordinary identity of the owner of the carriage - he came from the church.

The Church of Light is a religious organization with a long history, and it is said that the church existed in antiquity when the gods were all over the starry sky. The God of Light could not bear to see human beings struggling to survive among the nations, so he descended into an incarnation and walked on the earth, promoting good and eliminating evil, and sprinkling the light and gospel of God on the earth. Among the many incarnations of the God of Light, the most famous, but also the least known to outsiders, is called "Saint Rossi". In some ancient codexes and liturgies, the church was originally founded by this incarnation, and gradually expanded and flourished.

The church has had its glory and its troughs, and every time there is a change of political power and clerical power, it is a long-lasting disaster.

Fortunately, after the "millennium war", religion finally stepped down from the altar.

This is the official version of the Empire, and the Church has never admitted that it has ever stepped down from the altar, but has always been on the altar.

The carriage drove into the city lord's mansion without a wave, the carriage slowly stopped, and the cardinal, dressed in a red-bottomed gold-rimmed robe, was named the cold winter sun, and the old man named Lyon rushed out of the carriage. He stretched his waist, and a warm smile spread across his kind face, "I'm very sorry, I'm too old, and sitting in such a carriage is definitely not a pleasure for an old man like me." ”

He hammered his waist, without the slightest arrogance as a top clergyman of the church, nor the imaginary "divinity", like an ordinary old man, but everyone present would not really regard him as an ordinary old man. As one of the members of the Round Table, Leon's authority in the church is unimaginable, and every word he utters can be defined as an oracle, and any action he makes can be interpreted by the apostles as some kind of revelation.

Egger was waiting here early for Leon, a young junior whom Lyon was very optimistic about, and Leon was also the proposer of Egger to become the cardinal's candidate apostle. At this moment, Egger looked a little excited, he muttered a few words of prayer in his mouth, drew a cross on his chest, and bowed, "May the light of God shine on you forever, Cardinal." ”

Leon raised his hand and drew a cross, he kissed the second joint of his index finger, reached out and touched Egger's head, "May God's eyes be on you, child." ”

Iger suppressed his passion and moved out of the way slightly, revealing Wren who had just come out of the City Lord's Mansion, and he introduced: "This is the supreme ruler of Ortlenburg, the Viscount of Wren, the golden nobleman of the Empire. At the same time, he also introduced the old man to Wren, "This is one of the twenty cardinals, the first seat of the sea of divine grace, a member of the round table, and the title of Winter Sun, Lyon!"

The two powerful men did not move a single step, separated by a distance of more than ten meters from each other, and the eyes of the two sides gradually converged, and finally looked at each other. Wren's gaze was calm and diluted, and there was not the slightest emotion in his magnificent amber eyes, and his gaze was cold and tight, and he could not see the slightest fluctuation in his heart. Leon's gaze gives people a feeling like a spring breeze, warm as jade, full of kindness and kindness.

Two completely different attitudes, completely different positions, the eyes of both seem to want to express some special meaning, but outsiders know nothing about it.

A moment later, the moment Leon lifted his footsteps, a smile began to appear on Wren's calm face, and he stepped out at the same time, and the two walked towards each other, narrowing the distance until they were close.

Wren stretched out his hand, holding it with Leon's old but very warm hand, "On behalf of Ortlenburg and Alcania, I welcome you, Mr. Leon. ”

Leon smiled very easy-going, very casually, not flattered, nor bowed his eyebrows, as if he were an ordinary person, holding Wren's hand tightly. His strength is just right, he will not give people a feeling of excessive pride because he holds it too loosely, nor does he hold it too tightly to make himself look humble, this is an old man full of life experience and wisdom, "I am also very happy to meet you, I was looking forward to this meeting before I came, I hope we can leave a satisfactory memory for each other." ”

Wren smiled, let go of his hand reservedly, his right hand was slightly raised on his waist, and his left hand reached out to invite, "Please, I have prepared lunch, fill my stomach first." ”

Leon reached out and gently grabbed Wren's arm, although it may be a little rude, but an old man of his age really can't be blamed for anything, he smiled innocently, "Let's go together." ”

After entering the dining room, the two sides sat down separately, Leon is not the kind of cardinal who engages in academic research every day, he has seen the life of many nobles, and some aristocratic believers who believe in the Cult of Light are proud to invite the big people of the church to a meal. But here, Leon saw a very different style of cooking, something he had never seen in the entire empire, not even in the Full Moon royal family. The strange dishes were bright in color and fragrant, and the only thing that made him hesitate a little was the thick layer of oily soup.

When you are older, your digestion is not very good, and Lyon tends to stay away from particularly greasy things.

Probably expecting that the old man would not eat those meat dishes, Wren also asked the chef to prepare a little vegetarian food, and the most satisfying thing for Leon was a very special ...... , he didn't know how to express it. It's not like wheat kernel porridge, because it's much thicker than wheat kernel porridge and thinner than steamed wheat kernels. The slightly yellowish kernels have some chopped green leaves, some minced meat, and a small pinch of minced ham in the middle. He picked up the spoon and scooped it into his mouth, immediately showing satisfaction and amazement.

Putting down the spoon, he couldn't help but praise: "This is a unique delicacy, please forgive me for my presumptuousness, can you tell me what this dish is called?"

"Vegetable hot rice!", Wren said in Chinese, and then explained: "It's a staple dish cooked with meat and wheat kernels, and it's not very complicated, but it's just a little olive oil and minced ham, from a codex that has been passed down from mythological times." ”。 He lied, this thing is one of the most common breakfasts in another world, and the biggest purpose of making this breakfast is not to fill people's stomachs, but to avoid wasting leftovers that they can't eat the night before, and some dishes that they can't afford to throw away.

Leon was also somewhat moved, and he had to admit it to the thought of taking care of his appetite as an old man.

Under the continuous promotion of the food reform of the City Lord's Mansion by Rennes, the dishes are full of exotic styles, which makes all the entourages who dine have an appetite and an eye-opener.

After dinner, Wren invited Leon into the study with him.

After closing the door, the two sat down.

"I don't know what you're coming to Ortlenburg for? Egger won't tell me in detail, I can't guess. Wren made a cup of tea for Leon himself, and the church was an indispensable part of his plan, and showing considerable respect was also a necessary means of communication.

Leon bowed slightly, he sniffed the special fragrance of green tea and showed a curious look, but he didn't delve too much into this thing, "Ortlenburg is a very special place, the church has tried to put down roots here several times, but you should know that in the end, it all failed. Leon's voice was not fast, and his tone was very sincere, "You are a golden nobleman, and you must know more about the situation of the Orlando Empire than I am an old man, and the church has developed to a bottleneck. We consulted several times with the upper echelons of the Empire, and finally came to an agreement on the position that we were going to expand the scope of our mission. ”

"But at the same time, Orlando VI didn't want the church to interfere too much in local affairs, and he didn't want us to interfere with local development, so we couldn't interfere in the situation and development of Ortlenburg from a higher level. Until now, you have come here, and we have seen the light of day. Prior to my visit, His Holiness the Pope had expressed his desire for a stronger partnership between us in order to achieve a win-win situation. ”

"We intend to build a larger church outside Ortrenburg, near the Weimar corridor, or as a town, or as an advance base, to facilitate our missionary work to the Byronic Empire, and to provide a certain amount of force for missionary action. Speaking of this, the old man smiled, "Of course, all our actions will be legal and can be supervised by the personnel you appointed." ”

The empire has always dared not take the church lightly, this group of people who play with people's hearts is indeed unsurpassed in some aspects, in order to avoid the opportunity for the development of the church again, the emperors of the Orlando Empire have carried out very strict monitoring of the church to avoid the possibility of the church becoming bigger. In the case of Ortlenburg, the emperors of the empire showed excellent political skills. They allowed the church to establish an advance base in Ortlenburg, but only with the approval of the Ortlenburg rulers.

In this way, the position and determination of the supreme ruling class were constantly demonstrated, the market of the Church was suppressed, and the authority of the orthodox ruler was established. At the same time, the bait was sown and the pit was dug up, and once the church was hard-lined, despite the opposition of the authorities, it directly established a base for advancement, and the empire had an excuse to attack the church. The leadership of the church was clearly aware of this problem, and after several failures, they had to give up on other means to break the game, and firmly enforced the rules of the game, not giving Orlando VI any chance or excuse.

It is clear that the destruction of the prestige of the Church on a deeper level is more important to the ruling class of the Orlando Empire than for the Church, which has no interest in the state.

If it weren't for the sudden turn of events for the appearance of Wren, a cardinal with such a high status as Leon would not have come here to meet Wren in person. Although the Church of Light is said to be a religion, to a certain extent, it is actually indistinguishable from politicians.

After hearing this, Wren smiled faintly, picked up the teacup, and said without any aesthetics: "What can I get?"

Simple and crude, but it also goes straight to the heart of political behavior -- the exchange of interests.