Rebirth of the Viking King

Chapter 659 83

The Byzantine Empire, which was born out of Rome, was very different from all the Western Continental countries of the same era. Google search reading

In this country, there is an openness and tolerance that is unheard of in other countries.

Holy Bishop Pope Gregory and the King of Byzantium lived in the same city. It was difficult to say who had more powerful ability to rule the Roman citizens.

The 220 senators in the Senate, all of whom have equal power, jointly decide the kingdom's policies through voting resolutions.

The Viking princess Mehlantine can openly open a business in Constantinople, and she can even enter the Senate as a foreigner and use her status as a senator to fight for the interests of the Kingdom of Normandy.

This was incredible in the eyes of other emperors.

However, it was precisely by taking advantage of this unprecedented tolerant attitude towards business that the Byzantine Empire accumulated huge wealth with only a very small land.

The Senate responded to the Illuminati in the same way.

They have long known about the existence of the Illuminati, and they also understand that under that layer of human skin, they are a group of species that are completely different from humans.

But it is undeniable that the Illuminati is extremely wealthy.

Not only do they possess gold and silver unimaginable to ordinary people, but they also hold many ancient relics that do not belong to this era. Even the well-informed Roman nobles would still have great greed for the rare treasures in the hands of Illuminati members.

What's more, they also know ancient secrets that ordinary mortal bachelors can't even imagine.

They have money, huge resources that can be mobilized at any time, and a bottomless network of relationships. For the Roman aristocrats who make a living in business, the Illuminati is simply the friend they most hope to make.

Many established nobles in the kingdom acquiesced to the existence of the lizard people, and even the younger brother of the King of Byzantium, Prince Dorantel, joined the Illuminati in a public capacity.

All of this is naturally not an incomprehensible secret to the Legalists.

The merchant's guards do not care about fairness and justice.

They always protect the party who pays.

Before the operation began, Gu Huaian had already anticipated that when the fighting in the city escalated, the Roman Sheriff would most likely become the protective umbrella of the Illuminati. The reinforcements of Ge Lao expected the sudden appearance of the Roman magistrate.

But he never expected that they had already guessed the reinforcement route of the Legalist hidden stakes.

Rapid-fire ballistas were even deployed around the area in advance.

The entire defense line was so exquisitely constructed that even if huge rocks fell from the sky and smashed the houses, it would not affect the launch of the ballistae from all directions.

(Could it be that they had already expected that Wang Ergulei would destroy the arena and escape into the city, and had even planned their escape route?

Beng Beng Beng

The rapid-fire ballistae fired out rapid-fire arrows continuously, and the legal hidden stakes that were suddenly attacked had no time to dodge. More than a dozen ballistae fired simultaneously, quickly weaving an airtight rain of arrows in front of everyone.

In this flash of lightning, Mr. Ge suddenly understood the entire action plan of the Illuminati.

Secretly infiltrating Chencang and attacking in the east and west were all Donglu's strategies, but I didn't expect that the "Lord of Disaster" Bertug mastered them quite well.

His goal was not to please the king by sending the strongest thugs around him into the Colosseum, nor was it to get rid of Loki's two men.

After failing to use the "Heresy Trial" to expel Gu Huaian from the city, this was the second strategy they came up with - to use the big fish Wang Ergulei to catch all the legalist hidden stakes.

Today, he will make all the Legalists who rush to help die in the narrow streets of this city!

Including He Lao.

Also included was Concubine Xue who rushed to help from the other side.

**

Before entering Constantinople, Gu Huaian had already prepared two lurking plans.

A group of people, led by Mr. Ge, wandered the streets as low-level citizens, doing some underground work of assassinating, eavesdropping, and transporting intelligence.

The other faction is led by Concubine Xue, whose pseudonym is "Li Xueyi". Their external identities are that they are from the nobility of the Eastern Continent or the bosses and treasurers of large business houses. They hang out in the upper class society of Constantinople every day, making friends with the Roman aristocrats and at the same time spying on information that is beneficial to the Eastern Tang Dynasty.

Getting rid of the Illuminati leader is one of Gu Huaian's jobs, but it is by no means all of it.

At this time, the Tang Dynasty was in a state of desperate need. Obtaining sufficient investment and building a more stable trade ecosystem was equally important for a diplomat.

And all of this cannot be accomplished by wielding a sword.

Quite a few of Gu Huai'an's subordinates are businessmen with no strength. They are unable to cause killings and expand territory for the empire. But personal value is much more noble than that of warriors.

Concubine Xue's main job after entering the court was to learn the etiquette of the nobility, think about deeper issues with a diplomat's way of thinking, and only use force to protect Tang merchants when necessary.

When Wang Ergulei stepped into the arena, Concubine Xue's men did not lurk outside the gate with Elder Ge, but were inside the arena.

When the giant dragon fell from the sky and was cut ruthlessly by the flying silk blade. The Roman crowd had never seen such a bloody and exciting performance. The fanatical crowd shouted excitedly, but Concubine Xue was the only one who felt the cold killing intent.

This murderous intention did not come from inside the field, but from behind her.

The actions of Concubine Xue and a group of distinguished guests from the Eastern Continent are on the right side of the viewing platform. Behind them are the actions of the Mikhail family specially revealed for the Holy Bishop Church. Among the monks wearing plain white robes, Concubine Xue could see them getting up and leaving quickly.

While exiting, he secretly drew out the sword weapon hidden under his robe.

The Holy Bishop's Church was fundamentally different from the Buddhist monks active in the Tang Dynasty.

The monks devoted themselves to the Buddha, took in homeless people to be ordained and became monks, built temples and sold incense in good years, and distributed porridge to the poor in bad years.

They have no clear criteria for membership, and do not force their disciples to propagate doctrines. Most of the time, they will even give questions to test the disciples who want to become monks to see if they can win the favor of the Buddha.

Most monks are dedicated practitioners.

The Holy Episcopal Church pursues much more than this.

Under the leadership of the Pope, all the patriarchs were attached to the management of the cardinals. This was not so much a religious belief as they were actually an imperial authority over all kingdoms.

All the Catholics all over the Western Continent take missionary missions as their mission all day long, and any decree of the Pope can cover all countries in the Western Continent within three days.

The church has its own laws, its own army, and assumes the kingdom’s jurisdiction over criminals

They had already penetrated into every aspect of the Byzantine Empire.

Even the king, compared with the pope, had to lower his head on many occasions.

The final step in a king's succession is to kneel before the pope and allow him to complete the coronation ceremony.

After sitting on the throne, the king is still unable to avoid the control of the Pope. Whether it is marrying the queen or appointing the crown prince, all major life events require the pope to stand by his side and bless him.

Without the Pope's blessing, the king would be taken away by torture acolytes within three days to see if he was bewitched by evil spirits.

This is by no means a pleasant experience for mere mortals.