readx;

(I won't mention how the Holy City would react after receiving the fax from Archbishop Yarlin of Southridge.) Pen × fun × Pavilion www. ｂｉｑｕｇｅ。 ｉｎｆｏ

Time went back to the other side, and after Ban Burner was gone, Evan Ian couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief after he was left in the hall.

"This old slippery head...... Let them have a headache. He muttered softly and stood up, "High priest Elsa, who is here on behalf of the conservatives, is she still waiting in the living room?"

Iophta nodded, "Yes, the elder nun has been there for almost an hour. ”

"Sister, ......" Evanian sighed with some nostalgia, time is fair to everyone, except for a very few people, as long as you work hard, you will inevitably grow. At the time of their first encounter, Sister Elsa was just an ordinary priest, but now she is the presiding priest of the Cheka Cathedral.

Before, under the orders of Iofita, the maids and ladies had already cleaned up the living room, compared to the devastation of the front hall, the Duke's palace had actually been cleaned up in three days, and the tables, chairs, and teacups in the living room were also readily available, and even the wall that had been smashed out of a hole was temporarily covered with a tapestry, and when the mages and adults from the Military Department of Engineering and Construction came in the afternoon, it could be repaired immediately.

With Iophta, Evan Ian pushed open the door of the meeting room, "Elsa-sama, it's been a long time. ”

Dressed in pure white priestly robes and a blindfolded nun headscarf, Elsa gently stood up from her chair, smiled gently, and bowed her head to Evanian, the years did not leave too many signs on the gentle nun lady, but added a touch of grace and elegance to her.

"Sir Evan, I haven't seen you for three weeks. With an apologetic look on her face, Elsa owed to Evangel, "I am very sorry for the damage suffered by the Duke's Palace due to the attack of the radical wing of the church. ”

Evan Ian didn't scold Elsa as hard as he did with Banburner: "It doesn't have to be this way, Elsa-sama. You have already given me the information of the Sunnah in advance, and as for the Sunnah House, which only gathered such a small number of men, it dared to directly attack the Duke's Palace, which no one could have imagined.

Hearing Evan Ian's answer, Elsa nodded sympathetically: "Yes." The Duke of Sephora is relatively neutral in his position, neither a member of our didactic sect, nor is he optimistic about the radical approach. So we thought it would be more ideal to be led by Father Andrewson, who was directly to her, than by the radical Miles, but we didn't expect this to happen. ”

Although the true identity of the "hermit" is a mystery to ordinary people, this mystery is only an open secret between the upper echelons of the church and their henchmen.

"Andrewson. Evan Ian recalls meeting Father Priest, "Not an easy ...... to deal with."

Although Evan Ian only had a brief conversation with Andrewson that night, and neither of them really exerted their full strength, he had a feeling that Andrewson was not a person who could be manipulated.

Andrewson is a lot like Evan Ian: he uses everything he can to achieve his own goals or beliefs.

"Then that's my condition. Evan Ian raised his hand and snapped his fingers, and Iofita immediately placed a piece of parchment in front of Elsa, "The first three are non-negotiable—this money is nothing to your church, and you know why for the other two. ”

Yes, Elsa and the church conservatives of Knetting, whom she represents, have a good relationship with Evangel, but this does not affect the interests of both sides - rather, Evangel and the church conservatives have joined forces to suppress the interests of the radicals.

Evan Ian got the benefit, the enemies of the conservatives, the radicals were weakened, so both sides were happy. As for what kind of loss the church will suffer in this process, it is deliberately ignored by both sides.

"There's probably nothing wrong with the first three. Picking up the parchment and looking at it slightly, Elsa estimated it in her heart, and then replied in the affirmative, "Even if there is a problem, it will be covered up by the fourth and fifth articles." ”

Evan Ian couldn't help laughing, should it be said that he is worthy of being an old opponent who has been dealing with him for many years, and he suddenly saw through the essence of his sky-high asking price and sitting on the ground to pay back the money, but the next big pie, can you see through it?

"Don't say that. Evan Ian's eyes were full of smiles, and he nodded, "I admit that performing military service and hard labor is a bit excessive, but isn't the fifth article what Mentor Knetting has always wanted?"

The corners of Elsa's mouth twitched slightly: "What does Archbishop Kneitin want? Do you mean the position of Archbishop of Southridge? You want to control the appointment and dismissal of Bishop Southridge? But all you want is the right to recall, right?"

"It is enough to have the right to recall. Without hesitation, Evan Ian replied, "On this issue, a veto is equivalent to dominance." ”

Elsa thought for a moment and also reflected, there are many clergy in the church, but it is not to the extent that dozens of candidates can be found casually, let alone at the level of the archbishop, looking at the entire empire, there will be no more than ten suitable candidates.

Conservatives and radicals are factional, and the only veto is likely to be decisive.

However, after understanding Evan Ian's thoughts, she felt worried: "The appointment and dismissal of clergy above the bishop level......?" Got a big appetite, right?"

Evan Ian shook his head noncommittally, "Let the big guys do it themselves." ”

Elsa nodded, and didn't say much, like Banburna and Arrin, such a level of negotiation was beyond the reach of her, a little nun and megaphone.

Finally, she turned her attention to the sixth: "This last one ......"

"It's a bit of a joke. Just at a glance, Elsa instantly saw that between the words, full of evil taste, "Except for disgusting people, it is completely meaningless." ”

"There are also many heretics in the Sunnah that have official religious membership, inhumans, monsters, test creatures that violate the Code, all kinds of hereticals, only what you can't think of, nothing that is not in the Sunnah. Your treaty probably doesn't make much sense. Elsa had studied in the Holy City for two years before becoming the presiding priest of the Cheka Cathedral in Wenning District, so she had heard a lot of "rumors" about the Sunnah. She knew very well about Evan Ian, and this was also something that Evan Ian used to ask for a sky-high price.

However, Evan Ian has his own judgment on this: "Those heretics in the Sunnah may be stronger than me, or they may be more terrifying than me, but they are definitely not as famous as me. ”

"As the most famous black-blooded person in the empire, the disagreement between our Silver Rose family and the church is seen by the entire empire. The church can't pass my membership, and since it's absolutely impossible, you can bargain with it. ”

"Chips...... Such a large number of conditions, if only for the hostages of 80 high-ranking clergymen, may not be enough. Elsa thought and said subconsciously.

"Eighty?" Evanian took a sip of tea from the table, "It's not just 80......"

"Hundreds of churches and hundreds of monasteries throughout the South Ridge, and the clergy of the churches in them, these are my hostages......

Putting down the teacup, Evanian raised eight fingers: "These 80 people are the chips on the surface, in addition to the number of people who are four hundred times this, as well as the foundation of the church in Nanling for nearly a hundred years, all of them can be taken out to talk to you when necessary-"

"Actually, even you, Miss Elsa. Evan Ian smiled a little flirtatiously, "It's also a hostage in my hands......"

"Evan, you...... Are you just kidding?" Elsa was stunned, Evan Ian's statement seemed to be a little too sensational, although she knew that he was just joking, but because the content of this joke seemed to be true and false was too terrifying, she couldn't help but think about how many possibilities there were, "Since the founding of the country, there have been no imperial nobles who have expelled the church from their territory......"

"That's because they're religious, and so are their people. Retracting his smile, Evan Ian looked at Elsa quietly.

Compared with the Christianity of Evanian's previous life, because the unique geographical location of the empire is relatively closed, the Empire's Church of the Gods is also very conservative in its development, and has never seen sectarian divisions, nor has it encountered Puritan independence, nor has it blossomed like the Protestant Reformation, let alone encountered the "Celestial Empire-based Marxist religious view". Therefore, in terms of its religious corrosiveness, it cannot be compared with the original Christianity that has been tempered for thousands of years. The Church of the Gods relies on nothing more than a system of divine arts that ranks with arcane and elemental magic.

"Nanling is not an empire, and Silver Rose is not an ordinary imperial nobleman. With simple words, Evanian showed the hole cards in his hand to Elsa and the church behind her, "A century ago, the people of Southridge did not know what the Church of the Gods was, and even now, there are no more than three-fifths of the people of Southridge who have turned their backs on the dragon god and converted to the gods, and nearly half of them are pan-believers who believe in both gods and dragon gods-"

"Do I dare, you say?" said Evan Ian to Elsa in a slightly provocative tone.

That's right, in order to secure the rule in the Southridge, the Empire and the Silver Rose, the presence of the Church is needed to domesticate the populace.

For the ignorant people, there is no more effective means of domestication than religion.

However, the Church of the Gods, which was revered and feared by the nobles and emperors of the empire, was nothing more than something that would inevitably fade away with the changes of history.

However, Evan Ian was hesitant before, after all, there are supernatural things in this world, such as magic, divine magic, and so on. Then it is only natural that there is such a thing as "God".

And uprooting the church from the land of Nanling, whether the gods will give themselves a divine punishment or something has become a very serious matter.

So Evan Ian only thought about such a possibility, and did not put this idea into action.

However, until a few days ago, the words that Andrewson left before leaving, while making Evan Ian feel confused, also made him feel a little uneasy-

Because he was sure that this uneasiness was not an illusion, but a real presence in the hearts of the church's higher-ups, he dared to use such a threat as a bargaining chip......

It's a threat, and it's gambling at the same time.

Evanian gently wiped the hole cards in his hand.

I've put my chips on the table, the Pope's Chamber, are you following the stud?"