I Became A Black Merchant In Another World-Chapter 401: Money can even summon ghosts (5)

A month after Fabio and the Emperor had their secret meeting, the Cardinals, Archbishops, and Bishops of the Toscani Empire gathered at the Florence Cathedral.

While everyone silently sipped their coffee and sighed, the Cardinal cautiously spoke up.

"How do you all feel about the imperial decree, where His Majesty intends to exercise the power of appointing clergy? Speak honestly, without holding back."

At those words, Archbishop Apia suddenly jumped to his feet and protested.

"Even though the Deous Church's position is no longer what it once was due to the war in the Holy Empire, this is a disgrace! Did not Deous leave the worldly affairs to the secular, and entrust the service to Him to us, the descendants of the apostles?"

Had they truly adhered to these words, Fabio would not have needed to challenge the Deous Church.

However, they had continuously interfered in secular matters, always adding that “Deous desires this” or “Deous disapproves of that.”

They never once adhered to the principle that worldly matters should be left to the secular and that the service of Deous should be left to those who serve Him.

But, as is often the nature of humans, they interpreted everything to their advantage.

They thought they had done nothing wrong.

"What's wrong with clergy marrying, having concubines, and enjoying wealth and power?"

Other clergymen agreed with this statement.

"I also agree with Archbishop Apia. The Emperor is trying to make us his puppets by taking advantage of the weakened authority of the Holy See."

"If we don't strongly oppose this, the Toscani Empire will become like the Protestant Union, where heretical Protestants have taken root."

"We must protest to Duke Sforza! He started this problem, so he must finish it!"

That’s how power struggles work.

Once you grasp a hold of it, you fight with everything, even risking your life, but once you lose it, it slips away like water through your fingers.

The second sons and third sons of noble families, or those from wealthy merchant families who were not nobles, had entered theological colleges and climbed their way up through fierce competition, often resorting to deceitful tactics to eliminate their rivals.

They had risked their lives to gain this power, but now they were expected to let it go?

"Rather, I’d rather die."

With the support of other clergymen, Archbishop Apia pushed forward his argument even more forcefully.

"We cannot just sit idly by! Let’s submit a declaration opposing the decree here and now, and have all the bishops, including His Eminence the Cardinal, sign it. Then, let’s spread it throughout the country using the printing press created by Count Rothschild."

"Isn’t that a bit too extreme?"

"The Emperor is the one who has crossed the line, not us! Just as we have sworn loyalty to His Majesty, His Majesty must ensure that our authority and autonomy are also protected. And frankly speaking, has our Deous Church done anything truly wrong?"

The wrongs they had committed were too numerous to count, even with all fingers and toes.

They had sold indulgences, ruining the lives of unsuspecting commoners, and placed a huge financial burden on the cities.

The clergy, who should have been providing emotional stability and social welfare through religion, were indulging only in pleasures.

Yet they still did not believe they had done anything wrong.

"Clergy have been doing the same thing for ages, haven’t they?"

If others hadn’t done such things, they might have considered it, but they had always done so in the past, so why would it be wrong now?

The Cardinal understood his words but had no intention of agreeing to them.

"Still, our position is different now."

"That may be true, but as Deous’s clergy, don’t we have to fight against injustice?"

"If the Holy See was # Nоvеlight # backing us, that might be a different story, but not now. So, compromise. Surely the Emperor doesn’t truly want to control the appointments of all clergy in the empire?"

"Are you saying that the Emperor used the strategy of initially coming on strong to get what he wants?"

"Yes. Think about it—no matter how strong the imperial power is, do you really think the Emperor could just expel us?"

Logically speaking, it seemed impossible.

Deous Church controlled the thoughts of the entire population; if anyone tried to uproot it, no one would remain silent.

"Regarding indulgences, we might have sold a bit too many. Let’s reduce that. Let’s compromise on that."

Archbishop Apia and the others agreed with that suggestion.

"Then we’ll submit a declaration firmly opposing the Emperor's involvement in appointments, and have all of us sign it. Your Eminence, please present a reasonable compromise at an appropriate time."

"Do you covet my position, Archbishop Apia?"

At those words, Archbishop Apia grinned and left with the others.

Seeing that reaction, the Cardinal realized that, as a moderate, he had become a half puppet in this situation...

"I should probably send a letter to Count Rothschild. I have a feeling he might cause some trouble."

The Cardinal had known Fabio ever since he was a second son from the Medici family.

The skill with which he had buried a theological doctorate holder during the heresy trial...

And the wicked deeds and business tactics he used to create something from nothing, which no one else could imagine.

"I’m sure he’s involved in this."

"Unexpected things always happen in life."

The Cardinal, preparing for the worst, sent Fabio a letter reporting the current situation. freēwēbηovel.c૦m

**

"When you were the Archbishop of Florence, you had a close relationship with Duke Visconti. I never thought you’d share something like this with me."

Wherever you go in this world, whistleblowers are never welcomed.

To be more precise, they are completely ostracized from society.

It's as if someone who has committed murder or a serious crime.

"What they’ve done is all for the greater good, but the reality is that it’s a mess."

At the company, they pressure you to leave in front of your face, and if you try to apply for a job elsewhere, rumors spread, making it almost impossible to even get a job in a different industry.

So, banks offer up to 2 billion, and large corporations offer over 20 billion in one-time payments for whistleblowers.

By the way, in Rothschild’s company and family, internal whistleblowers never know when they might become deep-sea residents without their knowledge...

They give huge sums of money to those who expose serious corruption and completely wash away their identities.

They clean you up so thoroughly that you can’t even find a trace, ensuring there’s no retaliation.

Of course, they do make sure to let it slip that the friend who did something good received gold coins, around 3,000, and left to find happiness.

So, the Cardinal never thought he would end up being a whistleblower.

"These guys think they’ve transcended. They’re acting like politicians trying to ruin their own wealth and status. Truly, they’re something else."

What these guys were doing was laughable.

They were using a printing press to spread sermons criticizing the Emperor’s actions nationwide, and they wanted to make sure that both the Emperor and the peasants would hear it.

It was a good thing that the imperial power was so strong.

If this happened in Lyon or another country, the Emperor would be attacked by the nobles and politically cornered.

"They’d be cornered and become nothing more than a stamp machine for five years."

"I need to catch these guys and restore order. That way, when the time comes for war with the Holy Empire, we can unite the people. This is also a good opportunity to clean up the corrupt."

If he could clear out just the bishops and manage them, the quality of the religion would drastically improve.

When the top is clean, the bottom will naturally follow suit.

So, how should I deal with these guys now?

After thinking carefully, I rang the bell for my butler.

The moment the bell rang, a butler hurriedly entered from outside.

"Bring Sebastian."

"Yes, sir."

While the butler went to fetch Sebastian, I muttered a magical incantation that makes difficult tasks possible.

"When things aren’t going well, let’s think about whether money is lacking. And if we put in more money, things usually get solved."

The corruption committed by the clergy could probably be exposed by paying a huge sum and turning them into whistleblowers, one by one.