The power of the public is above the power of the church..."

It took some time for Mr. Cogiro to recover from Lawrence's decision, and if Lawrence had said it in the Middle Ages, he would have received an excommunication from the Holy See the next morning.

Although the Holy See at the end of the eighteenth century no longer had this power of life and death, the clergy, as a fairly influential class, could not be slaughtered by Lawrence like fish on a chopping block.

This is why Mr. Cogiro always tried to dissuade Lawrence first, and as the compiler of this sketch, Cogiro can be said to be tightly tied to Lawrence's reforms.

He did not want to be antagonized by the clergy and the landowners because of Lawrence's radical actions.

It's just that when Cojero saw Lawrence's non-deniable expression, he had to reluctantly give up the idea of persuading Lawrence, gritted his teeth and put himself and Lawrence on the same ship.

"I see, Lord Governor..."

Mr. Cogiro sighed and expertly arranged:

"Originally, there was a tax in April, but because your... As a result of the succession, this levy can only be delayed until early May, and I think we can experiment with a new tax system in this levy."

Lawrence nodded slightly, there was still half a month left until the beginning of May, enough to introduce a new tax system to the clergy and the landlords on the eastern outskirts of Ajaccio.

"Okay, I'll make arrangements as soon as possible, and I think you need to do a feasibility study in the Ministry of Finance before I report back to you about the land measurement and population inventory you mentioned."

Having accepted his full participation in Lawrence's reform, Mr. Cogello immediately became able and wrote down in his memo as fast as he said to Lawrence:

"Do you have any other comments?"

Lawrence looked down and pondered for a moment, considering the flaws in the process.

If there was one more concern for Lawrence, it was the administrative efficiency of Treasury officials in carrying out their orders.

While Mr. Cogiero, as Minister, will undoubtedly obey him wholeheartedly, his men, his men, will inevitably have a policy distortion in carrying out these orders.

Even when dealing with the landlords and clergy, these grassroots tax collectors and public officials are very likely to be threatened or bribed by them, resulting in Lawrence's reforms becoming a dead letter at the implementation level, and even becoming a tool for the grassroots officials to make profits.

"Real practical reform is not like a click of the mouse like in a game."

Lawrence smiled bitterly to himself, and then said to Cojero:

"Mr. Cojero, please tell your men that this levy will be accompanied by soldiers from the patrol, and ask them to be ready."

"Patrol soldiers?"

Cojero reacted as soon as his mind turned, which Ajaccio didn't know that the current patrol could be said to be the private army of the Governor of Bonaparte, so it was naturally self-evident that Lawrence sent the patrol to accompany him.

"Of course, I'll tell them to make sure this tax is safe."

Corjero wiped a few drops of cold sweat from his forehead, and then reassured Lawrence, determined that when he returned to the Ministry, he would have the tax collectors clean their hands.

After all, in the previous ten years of taxation, the hands of those officials in charge of tax collection were stained with oil and water.

After Mr. Cogiero left, Lawrence sat in the empty study and thought for a long time.

His sudden attack on the clergy was not a whim, but a decision made after taking into account the current situation of the clergy and the landlords.

More importantly, Lawrence had anticipated this outcome long before the Duke of Choiseul appointed Bishop of Ekobair to crown Louis XV.

Bishop Ekobair must have been eager for this coronation opportunity, and in his eyes, Lawrence's tax reform was undoubtedly nothing compared to this precious opportunity.

As long as he, the Archbishop of Corsica, was on Lawrence's side, the rest of the clergy were not to complain.

"Anna!"

Lawrence shouted at his secretary:

"Let the guards bring Bishop Aikor to me."

......

"Oh, hehe... Governor Bonaparte."

A few minutes later, Bishop Ekobair sat down in front of Lawrence with a smile on his face, thinking that he was finally free from house arrest.

Since he had not left the Governor's Palace since April 1, he even wore the purple robe that symbolized his bishopric status, but the expression on his face was no longer as solemn as that of the parliament at that time, but a flattering smile.

Lawrence also smiled and glanced at Bishop Aikobair, and without talking nonsense with him, he directly handed him the summary of the tax reform on the table.

Bishop Ekor took the summary with some confusion, took his glasses from his pocket, put them on his nose, and looked at them carefully.

"Oh... Oh my God."

Bishop Aikor inhaled the cold air and nodded repeatedly:

"This is really a bold reform plan."

In this day and age, bishops may not have much theological knowledge, but they must have good economic acumen and political sense, after all, they are practically no different from running a diocese.

This is the same reason as in Lawrence's previous life, when some monasteries became commercial groups.

Bishop Ekobair was thus quick to see what the purpose of Lawrence's reform was.

However, he was very puzzled as to why Lawrence would show himself this summary, after all, no matter how much the tax system changes, it will not be able to collect the heads of these faithful servants of God.

Lawrence took the summary back from Bishop Aikor and said, smiling:

"This reform will be implemented on a trial basis in an area where I have decided to make it a suburb of Ajaccio East."

"East Suburbs?"

Bishop Ekor was stunned for a moment, the smile on his face stiffened a little, and he suddenly had a bad premonition in his heart, but on the surface he still maintained a smile and said:

"Governor Bonaparte, most of the fields there are monastery, not many are peasants, and if you try it there, I am afraid that you will not get any results."

"Oh? Why can't it be effective?" Lawrence asked knowingly, staring at Bishop Aikor and smiling constantly.

"Hehehe... There is very little land for the peasants and landlords."

Bishop Ekor said firmly:

"As for the fields of the monastery, the harvest above them is to be offered to God. You know, God brings us the seed of the crop, let our crop sprout, and let our crop harvest. Those harvests are but a pitiful reward that we offer our Lord as servants, as has been the case for thousands of years."

"Is it an offering to God?"

"That's right." Bishop Akor swallowed a little nervously and nodded.

"Then I want to ask you a question."

Lawrence gradually restrained his smile, leaned back in his chair and looked at Bishop Ekobair, and said slowly:

"Which is more important, the God of heaven or the kingdom of the earth?"

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Chapter 139: Which is more important, the God of Heaven or the Kingdom of Earth? Free to read.