"If it were the Earl, what would you do at this time?"

"Such a large sum of money, agree, why not.

If I were him, I would go back and persuade the Roman Emperor well. ”

Otto immediately expressed his thoughts when he heard Bishop Valence tell him the story.

"This is a good thing, anyway, the Western Roman Empire has been in ruin for so long, and the king who canonized Italy as Augustus doesn't mean that the Roman Empire can re-expand its influence to the whole of Italy?

The last time the influence of the Roman Empire returned to Italy, or when?

It's a win-win, the King of Italy has won the title of Emperor of his heart, and the Roman Empire has regained its influence over Italy, and maybe it will be able to rule Italy again.

The general and the Roman emperor of Constantinople should have agreed. ”

"No, there isn't." Bishop Valence shook his head and looked at Otto with a complicated expression, and he realized that in Otto's eyes, there was no fear of law and authority, only the exchange of interests of the red fruit.

It was the emperor of Rome, a title that even Charlemagne coveted, and in Otto's eyes, it seemed to be a bargaining chip.

The general did not make the same choice as the Count, and as the Roman Emperor's most trusted general, he felt insulted and was on the verge of war with the King of Italy on the spot.

If it weren't for the dissuasion of many nobles, maybe the two sides would really start fighting. ”

"And what about the Roman Emperor? Angry enough to go to war directly with the Kingdom of Italy? Otto asked.

"It is rumored that His Majesty the Emperor, looking at the gift of the King of Italy, really intended to recognize him as Augustus, but was opposed by many nobles and important ministers of Rome.

Eventually, under pressure, the Roman emperor severed his alliance with the Kingdom of Italy, saying that he would sever trade between the two sides and forbid all merchants from transporting their goods to the Kingdom of Italy.

When the news reached Milan, it was said that the King of Italy was so angry that he almost declared war on Constantinople, which was a farce. Bishop Valens spoke.

"The Bishop must have come to Eagle Castle himself, not just to tell me the news, right? I can't get involved in this level of fighting. Otto continued to press.

"Hahaha, I really can't hide anything from Lord Earl." Bishop Valence was not embarrassed, but laughed.

"This time, I came here to prepare for the baptism of the soon-to-be-born child of Lord Earl, and second, the news just now is also related to Lord Earl."

"Relevant?" Otto squinted slightly, he was a little puzzled, he could not interfere in this kind of matter between the king and the emperor, he could only listen to it for fun.

Bishop Valence smiled and drank his tea, smiling without saying a word.

Otto thought about it and remembered the emperors of the Holy Roman Empire in history, didn't they just run to the church to be crowned because they couldn't get the recognition of the Eastern Roman Emperor.

Could it be that this Italian king wants to do the old things of the gods hundreds of years in advance?

"The King of Italy Seeks the Coronation of the Church?" Otto's tentative taste.

"Huh?" Bishop Valence looked surprised, he really didn't expect Otto to guess.

"The Earl is really intelligent, and it is really admirable that he can rely on himself to think of this." Bishop Valence praised from the bottom of his heart.

It's not that I'm too smart, it's that I know this kind of thing, and the clues are so obvious, it's easy to guess. If you are a member of the church, what else can you do when you come to my house but the affairs of the church, and I can't guess that, then am I not a fool?

"So, what does this have to do with me?" Otto asked, pouting.

Seeing Otto like this, Bishop Valence began to explain.

Otto also followed Bishop Valence to review the subtle historical changes in the world.

For example, since the fall of the Western Roman Empire, the masters of Constantinople in the Eastern Roman Empire have not been stingy in rewarding some official positions of those barbarians, especially when they can't be defeated.

Among them, the highest honor is undoubtedly the guardian of the Roman people.

This is almost the highest honor that the emperor of Constantinople can give other than Caesar and Augustus.

In the collapse of the Western Roman Empire, many barbarians had a certain reverence for the church because they converted to Roman polytheism, so the power of the church that had helped the Roman Empire to rule the grassroots was not only not attacked, but increased.

At the same time, because the Eastern Rome once tried to restore the territory of the Roman Empire under the leadership of several brave emperors, it deterred the barbarians in the west with its strong strength and proud achievements, and maintained good relations with the Church in Rome, and the two sides cooperated a lot.

For example, the archbishops of Constantinople and Thrace are often prerequisites for becoming purple archbishops, and these two bishops need the approval of the emperor to serve as them.

Of course, although the emperor could nominally appoint and dismiss bishops, he basically did not interfere much in the church's self-election. But the church is also very sensible, and in the land of Eastern Rome, the church safely acts as a subordinate to the administrative officials, and does a good job of playing the role of a green leaf.

It is precisely because the church in Rome and the emperor of Constantinople have a good relationship that there is a certain tacit understanding between the two sides. Therefore, even if the Western Roman Empire fell, Rome and the Holy See still had a lot of influence over the barbarians in many cases, and even sometimes even commanded them.

Even now, when the Eastern Roman Empire began to decline, the barbarians still respected the Roman emperor and the church.

It is better than Charlemagne who created an unprecedentedly powerful Frankish kingdom, and wanted to be cheeky to ask for the title of Augustus, but after the emperor refused, he could only acquiesce to the title of guardian of the Roman people, and still did not dare to challenge the authority and order that Rome and the Church had jointly established over the years.

But now, as factionalism within the Church grows and the Roman Empire weakens, there is a disagreement within the Holy See as to whether or not to maintain the semi-subordinate relationship with the Emperor.

Although since the foundation of the Roman Empire, the church has relied on the protection and support of the emperor to get to where it is today.

In particular, the rise of a monotheistic religion once threatened the dominance of the Roman polytheistic religion, and it was under the strong strangulation of several emperors and the internal reform of the church that the monotheistic religion was suppressed.

But now, the emperor of Constantinople is becoming less and less useful to the current church, and the order of the emperor of Constantinople cannot even enter the city of Rome.

Roman emperors without Rome, it's really like a joke.

In addition, the nominal emperor can still lead the entire church and has the qualifications to abolish the purple archbishop, how can the church not worry?

Even if in history, the emperor has used this power only a handful of times, but these purple-clothed archbishops don't want anyone to really threaten their position.

For a long time, there have been voices within the church calling for the abolition of the emperor's power to remove the purple archbishop, but the Holy See has not formed a mainstream considering the emperor's strength and the tacit cooperation between the two sides.

Today, the King of Italy is seeking the coronation of the Church, which undoubtedly gives these people an opportunity and sees the light of day to free themselves from the influence of the Emperor.

Within the Church, many people wanted to take this opportunity to change the status of the Holy See to the same as that of the Emperor, and no longer be controlled by the Emperor.