Fox of France

After returning to the place of residence, Bishop Torres knelt down in front of the small shrine placed in his bedroom, and piously confessed to the icon of Christ:

"Lord, I have sinned, and I repent to You..."

After sincerely repenting his crimes, Bishop Torres went to bed with peace of mind, still thinking about how much he had earned in the transaction just now. But he was indeed too tired, so not long after, he fell asleep deeply.

Because he had been forgiven by God during his confession, Bishop Torres slept very soundly and did not wake up until noon the next day.

In the afternoon, Bishop Torres and Victor went to meet the slaves who had been confirmed as Christians. Most of these slaves have lived here for several generations. Apart from still retaining their religious beliefs, most of them can no longer use the language of their ancestors. Most of them can only speak Arabic or Turkish too.

However, this does not diminish their gratitude to the French and the Holy See who have now liberated them. Especially when Victor and Bishop Torres reassured them that not only would they be free from now on, but they would also get a piece of land that was completely their own, these former slaves wanted to kneel down and lick their toes.

"My children," Bishop Torres said in Turkish, "I have heard that not all Christians left Egypt, and some of our brothers were hidden by pagans who did not want our These brothers are released from slavery and toil.

Almighty God has heard the prayers of our brothers, and He has also seen the suffering you have endured and your devotion to God all these years. Then, just as He appeared to Moses, and commanded him to deliver the Jews from slavery to the Egyptians, and lead them to the land flowing with milk and honey, so He appeared to His most devout servant, the Pope. Your Majesty, before the most loyal warriors—the king of the world, the anointed of God, the great Roman Emperor Napoleon Bonaparte, issued to them the highest order that cannot be ignored or disobeyed:

'Go, go to Barbary, go and save my Lamb from the hands of the heathen. I will not only set them free, but I will make the heathen cede their land and give them compensation. I will exalt them far above the heathen who formerly enslaved them. '

My children, this is God's will and it will be done. Now I have negotiated with the Consul Treville, sent by His Majesty Bonaparte, the Emperor of the Romans, the anointed of God, by the order of the Pope and the Emperor, to negotiate with the chieftains of the heathen, accusing them of breaking their promises and sending our Some brothers hid. With the help of God, the leaders of the pagans could not deny it, so they agreed that we should check all the slaves in their hands to see if there were any brothers among them.

Brothers, those who have been hidden by the heathen are just like you the Lamb of God, brothers of all of us. You and them have lived together for a long time, and you will witness the glory of God together in the future. So, at this time, I beg you, join us in the screening and rescue those brothers who are hidden by the heathen. Will you help us, help your brothers? "

"We are willing." The people below shouted.

"Very good, very good, God has seen your piety, and you will be rewarded in heaven in the future." Bishop Torres said, "If you were in a manor before, you will nominate the most reliable and smartest person out." , assist us..."

Looking at the boiling crowd below, Victor couldn't help but feel a heavy burden on his shoulders—these people's religious enthusiasm was a little too high. It is really not an easy task to compete with the Holy See for their influence.

Early the next morning, Ben Harden Pasha sent personnel to the residence of Victor and Bishop Torres, inviting them to go to the screening activities.

To say that after the issue of conflict of interest was resolved, Ben Harden Pasha really no longer set up obstacles for the screening, and even offered some convenience on his own initiative. Let's be honest, this greedy heretic still has a lot of business ethics. Under such circumstances, the entire selection process went very smoothly. Basically, as long as they could be Christian slaves, they were all selected.

In fact, for those Christian slaves, it was not particularly beneficial for them to have more "brothers" rescued. Because according to the agreement, the land allocated to Christians for cultivation is fixed, which actually means that the more Christian slaves are rescued, the less land they can be allocated.

But those simple slaves can't think of this for the time being, and they are inspired by religious enthusiasm, and they won't think about this kind of problem at all.

But when the screening is over, a more realistic question arises, that is how to allocate the land.

If before, relying on its religious appeal, the Holy See took the lead, then in this matter, Victor, who has administrative power, must work hard to win back.

Victor gathered the emancipated Christians for a meeting and introduced land-related policies to them.

"Gentlemen," because he wanted to compete with the church for leadership, Victor deliberately did not use the title of "brothers" full of church colors, "First of all, congratulations for gaining freedom. But obtaining personal freedom is only a starting point, and obtaining financial Freedom, a happy life, there are still many things to do. Some of you, if you still have property and relatives in Europe, you can choose to sell a piece of land that should belong to you here for francs , Return to Europe. If you are willing to stay here, then you will get a piece of land that belongs to you. Just cultivate it according to the rules and pay taxes. "

Having said that, Victor paused for a while, so that the liberated Christians could digest the news. In fact, the liberated Christians have known this news for a long time. But that was all known through various gossip. Getting the authoritative official news from Victor at this time still made those Christians very excited. They shouted, "Thank God!"

Their statement made Victor very unhappy, because what he needed was for those people to thank France and shout "Long live the Emperor", not for them to thank God.

Although in theory, "thank God" is not wrong. Because in theory, His Majesty the Emperor also came to rescue them according to the will of God. So in theory they should really thank God. But they thanked God first, which only increased the influence of the church, which obviously dissatisfied Victor.

It's just that Victor couldn't lower his face and say, "Don't thank God, but thank the emperor." So he could only wait for these people to finish speaking before continuing:

"If you continue to stay here as yeomen, then you will face a problem, that is, your nationality. To put it more clearly, which country do you belong to now. According to the general rules, you should be Ottoman People of the Turkish Empire. But the land allocated to you belongs to the French Republic. This involves the issue of how to pay taxes.

Since you cultivate the land of the French Republic, you should naturally pay taxes to the French Republic. But you are from the Ottoman Empire, so you also have to pay the poll tax to the Ottoman Empire and serve corvee like other subjects of the Ottoman Empire. In addition, as believers, you also need to pay the tithe tax. In general, although you can get a piece of land, your life will not be easy in the future.

However, the first ruler of the great French Republic, Roman Emperor, His Majesty Napoleon Bonaparte is very concerned about your well-being. So he specially provided you with such favorable conditions. First of all, he proposed to the French State Council to exempt you from taxes for three years. That is, for three years, you pay one less tax - which should get you through the initial rough times more easily. "

"My merciful majesty!" Someone shouted hastily.

"Praise benevolent Majesty, may God bless him, Amen!" Then someone followed suit.

"Long live His Majesty the Emperor!" Someone even shouted.

This reaction pleased Victor, and he continued to throw more baits.

"In addition, the first ruler of the great French Republic, Roman Emperor, His Majesty Napoleon Bonaparte also granted you the same treatment as European Christians, that is, if you are willing to swear allegiance to the French Republic and pass the French test, you You are eligible to obtain French overseas citizenship. Once you obtain this status, you are no longer subjects of Ottoman Turkey, and you no longer need to pay various taxes including poll tax to the Ottoman Turkish Empire and undertake other errands .

And if you are bullied by any other country or force, we, the French Republic, can stand up for you. Please remember that no matter where you are in the world, the powerful French Republic and the invincible French army are your strong backing at all times. Please remember that once you pass the exam, you are a French citizen. You will have the asylum of the French Republic. Even if you kill someone here, the Ottoman Empire has no right to judge you, only the French court can convict you. "

"Huh?..." Obviously, what Victor said surprised and envied these Christians who had just been liberated.

"Monsieur Consul, Monsieur Consul, are you saying that we can become citizens of France as long as we pass the French exam?" asked one of the emancipated Christians.

"Yes, they are French overseas citizens. Compared with ordinary citizens, there are still some differences, for example, in terms of voting rights." Victor said.

Emancipated Christians don't understand and don't care about suffrage or anything like that. But you don't have to pay taxes, and you don't have to be on errands, which are real benefits.

"But who will teach us French?" asked another young emancipated Christian. Judging from his complexion, he has obvious black blood.

"That's a very good question." Victor said, "Young man, what's your name?"

"My name is Django," the man replied, "Django Floyd."

"Okay, young man." Victor said, "What you are worried about, the first ruler of the great French Republic, the emperor of Rome, His Majesty Napoleon Bonaparte has already considered it - that's how he is considerate of the difficulties of the poor. Good Majesty. He will send a special teacher to teach you French for free. The teacher will arrive soon, and after he arrives, we will also arrange a special place in the evening as a classroom for you to learn French. Now young people, Do you have any more questions?"

"Yes, Mr. Consul." Django hesitated suddenly, and then said, "You can see that I have black blood. But my grandpa is really white. But they say, a person, as long as there is a black drop on his body blood, that is black people. I would like to ask...can a black person like me...can become a French overseas citizen?"

"Of course this is not a problem." Victor replied immediately, "Django, let me ask you, will God's heaven reject you because of your skin color? No. Our God is merciful, and he treats every believer equally. .Then God's anointed, shouldn't it be the same? I can even tell you that in the overseas territory of the great French Republic, Santo Domingo, a black man without any white blood even became its governor. .So what do you have to worry about?

My friends, do you know what kind of country the French Republic is? "

"Mr. Consul, you just said that the French Republic is the most powerful country in the world, with an invincible army." Django replied.

"Yes, the French Republic is the most powerful country in the world." Victor laughed, "but the French Republic is not only the most powerful country in the world. My friends, let me tell you with pride, the French Republic It is a free country and a democratic country. The creed of the French Republic is: 'Liberty, Equality, Fraternity.' France believes that it is a self-evident truth that all men are created equal; Birth, wealth, skin color and so on determine the value of a person. The only thing that can determine the value of a person is to be free, that is his piety to God and his virtue. What is France? France is a paradise on earth, the light The lighthouse is the city on the hill. Now, do you have any questions?"

"Long live France!"

"Long live France!"

Everyone shouted.