"No, Cardinal, I understand that. What I mean is, it would be best if someone I know and am familiar with were to serve as the Archbishop of one of the districts," Fang Zhen said. "Father Matthew, for example, would be a good fit. I would prefer him for the position."

"What!" Hearing Fang Zhen’s request, Connor was so stunned he couldn’t hide his astonishment.

It took a long moment for Connor to recover.

"My Lord, perhaps you have some misunderstanding about our Holy See?"

"We have a strict promotion system based on our clerical hierarchy. I don’t know much about this priest, Matthew. After all, he’s just a Parish Priest. While he may have potential, he hasn’t yet caught the eye of the Holy See’s upper echelons."

"For you to ask him to become an Archbishop in your district is simply not allowed by our rules. Such a thing might only be considered in twenty or even thirty years."

"Furthermore, this is an internal personnel matter for the Holy See. Is your request not a bit unreasonable?" Connor said.

"No, no, no." Fang Zhen shook his head.

"I believe my proposal is quite reasonable. As you’re likely aware, I’m a man who wants his domain to be as stable as possible. A religious power is a significant force. I cannot allow someone I don’t trust to hold a position like Archbishop in my lands, especially not in the region where I spend most of my time."

"Moreover, anyone you send will require a period of adjustment with me, and some friction during that time is unavoidable."

"I can only accept one of the Archbishops being a stranger; the other must be someone I’m familiar with."

"I believe any other arrangement would only lead to unpleasantness for both of us."

"But Matthew is someone whose character I trust. He would be an excellent bridge between us. It should be him," Fang Zhen said.

Connor was even more flustered after hearing this. "No, My Lord, that is completely against the rules."

On this point, Fang Zhen and Cardinal Connor went back and forth for some time, debating the selection of the Archbishops for the two new archdioceses.

After several rounds of haggling, Connor still held to his original position: Matthew could not serve as one of the two Archbishops in the district. His attitude, however, had softened somewhat.

"Very well," Fang Zhen said after their lengthy back-and-forth. "If that’s how it must be... *sigh*... then I will take a step back. Even if Matthew doesn’t serve as one of the Archbishops for my new districts, he must be given an extremely important position and be groomed to be the next in line."

"I believe he’s suited to act as a bridge for communication between myself and the Tade Church, and as a buffer to reduce friction. Wouldn’t you agree?"

Cardinal Connor’s expression relaxed slightly.

’The Lord has finally stopped insisting on making that Parish Priest an Archbishop,’ Connor thought. ’What a relief.’

But Connor also began to take Matthew more seriously.

Earning the esteem of a great Lord meant that even though Matthew had only been a Parish Priest before, his standing within the Holy See was now greatly elevated.

The request Fang Zhen was now making was still unreasonable, but it was much better than his previous one.

"If we’re no longer talking about making him one of the two district Archbishops, then this is something we can discuss. We do indeed need a liaison and a buffer," Connor said.

Fang Zhen watched Connor’s attitude shift and heard the concession in his tone, smiling to himself.

He had employed a classic tactic of the Xia Country People, as a certain wise man once said: if you want to open a window in a room, you can’t just ask to open a window. You have to demand to tear the whole roof off.

After you cause a commotion, when you later bring up the request to just open a window, the results are much better. In most cases, you’ll get what you wanted.

Fang Zhen and Connor’s negotiations were rather efficient. 𝒻𝑟𝘦𝘦𝘸ℯ𝒷𝑛𝘰𝓋ℯ𝘭.𝘤𝘰𝘮

In less than half an hour, they had ironed out the various terms of their cooperation.

The final result of the negotiation was that the Tade Church obtained the right to proselytize within Fang Zhen’s domain, the right for its followers to tithe one-tenth of their property to the church, and the preservation of the legal status of their existing churches.

The price the Holy See paid was to dispatch an Order Army, not to exceed three thousand soldiers, to be garrisoned within Fang Zhen’s territory. This Order Army would be under Fang Zhen’s jurisdiction rather than operating as an independent military force. Except in cases where they could refuse to carry out an illegal military order from Fang Zhen, they were to coordinate with his legions at all other times.

It was a situation akin to answering his operational command but not his sovereign decree.

As for the selection of the Archbishops for the Tade District, Fang Zhen also gave his convenient brother-in-law, Matthew, a leg up.

In the end, after further discussion, Connor agreed to have Matthew’s clerical rank fast-tracked for a two-grade promotion within the Holy See’s hierarchy. Under the guise of special meritorious service, he would be elevated to Bishop-elect within the next few months—the probationary period before becoming an Official Bishop.

Furthermore, Matthew would become the assistant to one of the two new district Archbishops.

Connor himself would serve as Cardinal for the region, though he would not necessarily be permanently stationed in Fang Zhen’s territory and would likely spend most of his time at the Holy See.

Connor also stated that the Tade Church would dispatch a soon-to-retire Archbishop to act as the nominal head of operations in Fang Zhen’s new districts.

This Archbishop was ready to take a step back and enjoy his twilight years. While his seniority made him more than qualified to be the administrator of the districts, he wouldn’t actually be managing day-to-day affairs. The real work would be left to Matthew. The Archbishop would merely be a transitional figure, there to provide experience and support.

At the same time, the Tade Church would dispatch four or five capable deputies to serve as Matthew’s colleagues. In reality, these assistants were all competent individuals with no powerful backing, there simply to do the grunt work.