It's like a dream, Chapter 9, looking into the distance

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As Robesy said, since learning that the official members of the Holy Church could be exempted from war-related taxes, the commoners of the Dro Empire flocked to the Dro Empire, demanding to join the Holy Church and become devout followers of the goddess. At this time, www.biquge.info the Holy Church had only established three temples in the Dro Empire, and every day, believers who wanted to join the Holy Church would surround these three temples. They used various means to demonstrate their piety in order to become a full-fledged member of the Holy Church, through the increasingly stringent requirements for membership.

The Holy Church has grown at a rate that even Rog himself has taken as a surprise.

In just one month, the number of regular members of the Holy Church has increased by more than 300,000. Recently, Mora's power has increased dramatically, and so has the speed of discerning whether a believer has a faith. And now she has five magicians to help, all of whom can individually determine whether the cult has faith in the goddess, and although it is much slower than Mora, it can also share a lot of responsibility for Mora.

But despite this, the number of believers waiting to join the Holy Church still exceeds one million and continues to increase by tens of thousands every day. On the one hand, this can be said to be a great success of the Holy Church and Pope Rogge, and on the other hand, it can be said to be more or less effective in exploiting and oppressing the common people by the bureaucracy of the Droz Empire.

Under Rogge's direction, the Holy Church assigned bishops and cardinals to various locations in charge of recruiting believers, slowing down the registration of believers. This is somewhat of a way to take care of the taxes of the Droz Empire, and Rogge also hopes that those believers who are not yet determined will will see how much practical benefit it can be to become a member of the Holy Church.

The current tax system of the Droz Empire has already been analyzed for Rogge. An ordinary civilian family needs to pay 22 taxes in peacetime, while the war tax alone has as many as 67 items, and the total tax amount far exceeds the amount of taxes in peacetime.

During this month, the Holy Church suddenly added more than twenty large and small churches and shrines throughout the Dro Empire. This was the result of an edict from Emperor Droz, which confiscated all the temples that originally belonged to the Church of Light into the Imperial Household and then transferred them to the Holy Church. All of a sudden, there was a shortage of qualified clergy in the Holy Church, and even an assistant bishop could preside over a cathedral in a city of 100,000 people.

The rapid expansion of the Holy Church inevitably produces some noise. Driven by the huge interest of exempting from war taxes, countless people who want to join the Holy Church are desperately trying to open a breakthrough from these powerful bishops. For a time, the rich donated gold coins, and the poor gave their wives and daughters, and in the face of this surging onslaught, some bishops could not resist the temptation, and went into the water, and after a short period of god-like life.

But their happy time was only a dozen days. St. Mora and the sorcerers who traveled from place to place to inspect the faithful had sincere faith and bright eyes, and they would not be deceived by illusions. Those who do not possess the faith are always singled out, and when there are too many impostors in a parish, the bishop and the main clergy of the presiding diocese are recalled by Rogge.

The bishops, who were still somewhat lucky, soon discovered that they could not keep any secrets before the eyes of the Pope.

Over the course of a month, Rogge hanged seventeen bishops, four cardinals and fifty-five clergy in three batches. The corpse fluttering in the wind in Osinia Square finally woke up the bishops, who were still immersed in the soft light of the gold coins and the seductive scent of women.

They finally understood that they should never joke with the Pope about their faith.

Almost overnight, the atmosphere of the Holy Church was cleared. Not only did the bishops everywhere become conscientious and conscientious in recruiting believers, but they also eliminated as many unqualified believers as they had previously admitted, and returned the gold coins they had received. It's just that the benefits of possessing other people's wives and daughters can't be returned, so these believers can only think that they are unlucky.

Rog was not interested in the battle situation in the slightest, and all his energy was spent on expanding the Followers. And the recent war situation has fallen into a temporary stalemate, and there is really nothing worth paying attention to.

At this time, the Asrofik Empire had 50,000 forward troops to the south of the Dro Empire to officially fight against the Duchy of Bavaria, while the main army of 300,000 was stationed in the city of Solo, less than 100 kilometers away from Osinia, and remained still.

The Great Army of the First Northland Empire was far from being comparable to the army of the Dro Empire. General Zoellik, who commanded the Empire's Forward Corps of Asrofik, served as Pompey's adjutant for many years, and could be said to be inconspicuous among the imperial generals. However, as soon as they reached the southern front of the Droz Empire, the forward corps encountered the Northern Bavarian Corps led by Marshal Rocherio. Flanked by Rocherio's Legion of Guards, the Knights of the Human-Faced Spider, and the Legion of Wolves under the Moon, Zoellick's command was watertight, repelling the attacks of his opponents one after another, and finally forcing Marshal Rocherio to withdraw from the battlefield.

This battle was regarded as a great victory by the entire Dro Empire. Because in the past, when the two sides were equal in strength, the Dro Empire had never won a battle. This battle also made Emperor Dro truly realize the horror of the Asrofik Empire. With the military system of the Dro Empire, the standing army is nearly 500,000, and the reserve force urgently called up to 2 million in wartime. Although it was repeatedly defeated in the battle against the Duchy of Bavaria, the Duchy of Bavaria never dared to fight a decisive battle with the main army of the Drothe Empire. Therefore, the Dro Empire still thinks highly of itself, and feels that the national strength is not much different from the Asrofic Empire, if it is not for the war with the Duchy of Bavaria and the Church of Light, it is really powerless to fight on two fronts, the Dro Emperor will never be so accommodating to the Asrofik Empire, and even the Pope of the Holy Church dares to interfere in the tax affairs of the Dro Empire!

After this battle, the Dro Emperor finally understood that the 300,000 troops that had been stationed in the hinterland of the empire were fully capable of destroying the entire Droz Empire. Moreover, searching for domestic generals, it is difficult for the Dro Empire to find famous generals who can match Alexander and Pompey.

People always have two faces.

In front of the wolf-like Asrofik Empire, the irascible and arrogant Emperor Dro changed his domineering style and was as docile as a weak lamb. Although he was extremely dissatisfied with Rogge's brutal interference in Droz's tax administration and forced the Empire to abandon the war tax on the Holy Church, he still had to follow the edict. The most he could do was to send someone to complain to Alexander, the current supreme commander of the Asrofik Empire in Dro, about what Rogge had done, and wanted to ask him to appeal to Feuerbach the Great on his behalf.

After reading the letter forwarded by the envoy, Alexander directly threw back the letter from Emperor Dro, and then said coldly: "The Great has long had an edict, and the Holy Church has become the state religion of the empire. As the agent of the Great Goddess in the mortal world, Lord Rogge has a transcendent status, second only to the Great Emperor in the Empire. So how to deal with this matter, please let Your Majesty decide for yourself!"

With that, Alexander blasted the messenger out.

After receiving Alexander's reply, Emperor Dro had a new understanding of Rogge's position in the Asrofik Empire, and never again spoke irritably about the expansion of the Holy Church. After all, the 300,000 imperial army was stationed at a distance of Osinia, and Alexander could wipe out the Droz Empire at any time if he turned his face. At this time, Emperor Dro couldn't help but deeply regret that he shouldn't have led the wolf into the house, and as a result, he ended up in today's embarrassing situation. And every time he thought about the war tax that should have been collected from the members of the Holy Church, the old emperor felt very painful.

After the battle between the Northern Corps and the Asrofik Advance Corps, the Duchy of Bavaria became apparently cautious in its use of troops. The two armies of the northern and southern armies of the principality slowly retreated, ceding large swathes of land in the southern part of the Dro Empire. Concerned about the Holy Knights of the Church of Light, who had always stood still, Alexander also caused the vanguard legion that had won the first battle to shrink in order to stabilize the existing front.

The main forces of the two sides, with mutual scruples, left a large blank space in the southern region of the Dro Empire. This area gradually became the main battlefield for the cavalry of both sides to intersperse with assaults.

The two sides of the war are not overly cautious, but the situation has changed.

Since the news that the Asrofik Empire and the Dro Empire had concluded the Holy Entente and officially sent troops to the war, several countries around the Droe Empire and some principalities close to the Duchy of Bavaria have expressed their intention to join the Holy Entente and fight against the Duchy of Bavaria. For these countries, the Asrofik Empire is terrifying, but after all, there is the Dro Empire standing in the way of its southward journey. In comparison, the Duchy of Bavaria, which was still militaristic, was an imminent threat.

For these helps, of course, the two empires will take it all as they are. It's just that it takes a long time to unify the armies of these countries, and most of the countries in the south are currently leaning towards the side of the Dro Empire, and the longer it drags on, the more advantageous it will be for the countries of the Holy Entente.

As for the Bavarian side, it is rumored that the emissaries of the Church of Light have visited many countries that believe in the supreme god, especially rumored that the Pope's personal envoy has arrived in Austria-Hungary and is lobbying the Austro-Hungarian Emperor to form an alliance with the Duchy of Bavaria and send troops to war.

The situation is like snow on a peak, and a small jolt can trigger a huge avalanche.

Few people expected that as soon as the prelude to this great war began, almost all the major powers on the continent would be swept in. And this is only the beginning, as the war progresses, I am afraid that except for a very few countries in remote locations, the rest of the countries will be affected by the war.

It has been less than ten years since the miracle of the Heavenly Realm descended on the Grand Duke's Mansion. Every miracle will trigger a series of large-scale wars on the mainland, and the lucky family that will endure the miracle will build a huge empire after the war. It's just that this miracle will obviously cause a war on a larger scale than all previous miracles. Moreover, the main families on both sides of the war had suffered celestial miracles, which was the first time in the history of the continent.

"Could it be...... Isn't the main god who has sent down miracles the same?If the Heavenly Realm is also like this plane, is this another form of infighting?" After closing the general history of the continent, Rogge suddenly thought of this question.

But the fat man then shook his head, knowing that his idea was too unrealistic. To this day, he still knows almost nothing about the heavenly realm, and this kind of conjecture is naturally absurd.

Rogge stood up and walked to the large conference room. As he passed the window, he stood still, looked at the puffs of smoke rising in the distance, and looked at them for a moment before leaving the room.

He knew that those burning houses must be the homes of the believers of the Church of Light. He also knew that many of the people who were struggling in the fire and smoke were no longer believers in the Church of Light, and they were willing to change their faith, but they had lost the opportunity. And there are many people who were not believers in the Church of Light in the first place, they are just innocent people who have been affected.

Faith is not something that can be given up at will. From the beginning of the war, many followers of the Most High God understood the Church of Light's abandonment of the Dro Empire as a covert act of blasphemy against the High God. Although the Church of Light has been expelled from the Dro Empire, and despite the fact that the Church of God is exempt from war taxes, they still refuse to convert their faith, and they go around persuading those they know not to turn their backs on the glory of the Most High God.

Rogge had expected this situation, and he had prepared a countermeasure.

The fat man didn't wait long, just waited for the opportunity. In a poor family that was oppressed by the war taxes and could no longer survive, the father did almost everything he could to get his son to join the Holy Church, but he still couldn't do it. In order to show his piety to the Holy Church so that his only son could have a bright future, the desperate father rushed into the home of a believer of the Church of Light and slaughtered the believer's family!

This bloody case is not a big deal in the eyes of the city defense of Dro. They took the murderer into custody and prepared to act according to the law, and sent the murderer to the guillotine after the procedure was completed. But they didn't expect that this matter somehow reached Rog's ears. The Pope actually sent an envoy to forcibly take the murderer away, and personally gave the father and son the status of members of the Holy Church!

Although Rogge has since explained to the believers that this is the only case and there will never be a next time. However, the believers who wanted to join the Holy Church but could not enter the door seemed to see a ray of light in the dark night, and they were immediately so enthusiastic that they had long forgotten Rogge's words.

So on the fertile soil of the Dro Empire, Rogge lit a fire that burned to the believers of the Church of Light.

In just a few days, I don't know how many True or False Church of Light believers have fallen under the butcher's knife of the already red-eyed Holy Church believers. In the blink of an eye, religious persecution turned into a great upheaval that spread throughout the Dro Empire. The generals of the Dro Empire knew that such a large-scale upheaval at such a moment would inevitably have a very negative impact on the future war situation, so on the one hand, they tried their best to stabilize the situation, and on the other hand, they urged the Dro Emperor to protest to the Asrofic Empire against the misdeeds of the Holy Church in the Dro Empire.

During this turbulent period, the armies of these generals also had several skirmishes with the Holy Church of Rogg, but to the discouragement of the generals, their soldiers were beaten to the ground every time they clashed with the Ice Temple warriors who came to support the followers of the Holy Church, even if it was ten to one.

Emperor Dro was forced by the generals to protest to Alexander several times, but Alexander either pushed him back directly, or was told that everything would be said when Feuerbach the Great entered the Dro Empire.

Rogge withdrew his gaze from the columns of smoke in the distance and walked into the large conference room of the Sophiran Palace. Today's events are very important, and it can even be said that they have a decisive impact on the situation of the war.

Rogge stood at the door of the conference room for a moment, then reached out and pushed the two closed doors and stepped into the conference room.

There were already several people in the conference room waiting for him to arrive, but they were all different shapes, and they didn't look like they were going to have an important meeting.

The Grim Reaper stood in front of the window, stroking the thin sword in his hand incessantly, looking full of preoccupation. Miró placed the hammer in the corner of the room, leaning on the head of the hammer with his arms folded, whispering to Adlene, who was sitting on the handle of the hammer. Konstantin sat at the conference table, looking like he was most on business. It's just that he didn't know when he got himself a new pair of shackles, cuffed his hands, and looked nondescript. The other sat in a dashing manner, but he had a small stove at the conference table, and was engrossed in boiling water.

Rogge's purpose in summoning these strong men is to solve the problem that the strong have always been unable to listen to commands. He decided to have an open and honest conversation with these people. If these people can be coordinated, how can the enhancement of their combat effectiveness be more than just Taoism?

Rogge looked around the room and suddenly asked, "What about Androni, why didn't she come?"

"I'm here!"

Rog turned around just in time to see a frosty-looking Androni pushing the door open, holding a little girl with a scorched face in her arms. Everyone in the conference room was very skilled, and it was already clear at a glance that the little girl had already lost her life.

Androni gently placed the little girl's body on the conference table, looked up at Rogge, gritted her teeth, and said, "Did you see that? This is what you did! Her family died at the hands of your disciples! And I've seen too much of this along the way! Is this what you're doing religious persecution?"

Rog looked at the little girl, her immature face frozen with unspeakable pain.

"You should know that I purge the believers of the Church of Light in order to increase the number of believers in the Holy Church. As for this little girl, I regret it, but it is unavoidable. Rogge said lightly.

Androni said angrily: "If you know it is inevitable, then why don't you stop the religious purge! I am not a saint, but do you know how many people have died in this purge? How many of these dead are completely innocent?"

Rogge looked at Androny, sighed, and said, "As long as I can increase the number of believers in the Holy Church and decrease the number of believers in the Church of Light, I will do anything, so the religious cleansing will never stop." But don't worry, I'll keep this purge within a certain range and don't let it get out of hand. ”

"So, how many more people are you going to kill?" asked Androni coldly.

Rogge frowned and said, "Annie, you don't understand the nature of this war. This is not a war between nations for land and resources, nor is it a race war between the South and the North, it is a war between faiths! And in any war, death and injury are inevitable. Think about it, how many pigs and sheep have been killed in order to get food? Who would think that these pigs and sheep are pitiful? No! And in the eyes of the gods, in fact, the so-called believers are essentially no different from pigs and sheep! So as long as they can win the battle of faith, no matter how many people die, the gods will not care. I don't care!"

Androni looked at Rogge for a moment, then looked at the familiar powerhouses in the conference room. Whether it was Constantine, Theseus, Miró, or Adriane, they all had calm faces, not at all surprised by what Rogge said.

Androni suddenly laughed and said, "What's wrong with you? Don't you think what he said is strange, or am I actually a strange person myself? Constantine, aren't you a devout disciple of the Most High God? Why would you watch Rogge persecute the believers of the Church of Light without stopping it?"

Konstantin's face changed, his mouth moved, but in the end he didn't say anything.

"Annie!" Rogge snorted, then held back his anger and said, "The world is not strange, and neither are you. It's like mountaineering, when you climb a mountain, you see different scenery and have a different understanding of the world. Now you just haven't reached the real peak yet, and you don't know enough about the nature of the matter! ”

Androni gritted her teeth and said, "I only know that I can kill people for you, but I can't do anything to such a young child, and I can't let them be slaughtered like this! I'm leaving!"

The door to the conference room slammed shut behind Androni. Rogge's face turned pale, and after a long while, he turned around and said to the strong men: "Leave her alone, let's start!"

(To be continued)