The Rise of the European Emperor

Remember [New] in a second! Martin Luther admired the scheme of "Professor Calvin" very much, and decided to follow Calvin's idea, first to discredit the indulgences, and then post his theses.

However, after Frederick III, Elector of Saxony, frowned and thought for a while, he suggested:

"I think it's better for you to post the thesis first. In this way, after the reputation of indulgences is damaged, it will appear that you are looking forward. This is more conducive to the improvement of your reputation..."

James Bond immediately objected:

"But, Lord Elector, is this too dangerous?"

It is easy to be "shot out of the head" when the indulgences are hardened in advance. And after the indulgences are questioned by the public, they will be more inconspicuous after they are tough, and they are fishing in troubled waters, and it is not easy to be targeted.

Frederick III waved his hand and said:

"I'm not asking him to post the "Ninety-Five Theses" now, which is indeed a bit of a dead end. I mean, let him first follow your statement, use the mildest statement, and first question the role of indulgences. Questioning whether the indulgences are just a means of making money. When the indulgences are questioned, I will work secretly to promote Martin's original 'wisdom', which will greatly improve his reputation."

The passionate youth Martin Luther raised his hands against:

"But Lord Frederick, I don't care about fame, I only pursue the truth..."

Frederick III interrupted him:

"No, Martin, you need fame. That way, the next time you post the Ninety-Five Theses, people will believe you. Otherwise, you have no reputation, so why should people believe you?"

Martin Luther was silent, obviously agreeing with what Frederick III said.

Then Frederick III said:

"In addition, Martin, your "Ninety-five Theses" needs to be changed. Just like Calvin said, you must support the nobles to dominate the collection of tithes. Only in this way can you get most of the lords There are many princes and lords who support you and protect you, even the Holy See cannot kill you at will. Under the turbulence of the crowd, and the nobles have troops to protect you, even the Pope can at most excommunicate you, and cannot You are arrested and sent to Rome, where you are burned at the stake."

Frederick III was an old politician, and he knew very well that the church was also bullying. Moreover, the pope is only a spiritual leader, not a secular ruler, and cannot take violent measures against someone. Unless, that person has no background and is at the mercy of others. Simple scholars cannot fight against the Holy See, but there are big nobles standing behind them, and they are a group of big nobles, and the church cannot use violence.

Frederick III was right. In the original history, except for Leo X who was busy seizing power when he came to power,

Frederick III, the Elector, protected Martin Luther, which was also an important reason why Martin Luther avoided being killed.

Another great scientist, Bruno, was burned to death because there was no one to protect him. But Galileo, another super-scientist who also supported the heliocentric theory, was not burned to death, but imprisoned. why? Because Pope Urban VIII had been a friend and admirer of Galileo. Although the two later parted ways due to their positions, as a former friend and fan, Urban VIII still gave Galileo a way to live and did not burn him to death.

Fortunately, Martin Luther had the blessing of Frederick III, Elector of Saxony. Therefore, he will not die, at most he will be excommunicated. And if he clearly supports the collection of tithes by the monarch, princes and lords instead of the church, I am afraid that most nobles will be friendly to him. Worst of all, there will be no opposition to him. Because it is about personal interests. Especially Maximilian I, the poor emperor, must be looking forward to taking over the collection of the church's tithes. Because the Habsburg family is too short of money...

...

However, after thinking about it for a few days, Frederick III changed his mind again - he felt that Calvin's idea of ​​letting the monarchs, princes and lords replace the church to collect tithes was too radical and might cause a violent rebound from the church. Right now the church has not gone through religious wars, and its influence is still strong. The consequences of directly competing with the church for tithes may be more serious than opposing the sale of indulgences. Because tithes are the main source of income for the church, much more important than indulgences.

"How about this? When you propagate in the future, you will say that the nobles, the local church and the Holy See will share the tithes equally. The reason is to criticize the local church for being corrupt and unable to pay enough tithes to the Holy See. If If the nobles get involved, they can help supervise the local church. Even if one-third of the tithe is paid to the Holy See, it will be far more than it is now." Frederick III suggested.

"Give one-third to the nobles? Will they think it's too little?" Calvin frowned.

Frederick III waved his hand and said:

"It's quite a lot. My Saxony Elector leads a year's tithes to hundreds of thousands of gold coins. One-third, there are two to three hundred thousand gold coins. And, we can't rush. As long as there is a beginning, nobles Once you can intervene in the tithe, you will be able to gradually lift up the church in the future, and finally get all the tithe. The most difficult thing now is to get your hands into the tithe. As long as you open your mouth, everything will be easy later. "

Frederick III was indeed an old fox. He knew that if he wanted to fight for all the tithes at once, it would definitely trigger a violent rebound from the church. So, he didn't ask for it all at once. Moreover, he is also familiar with the contradictions between the Holy See and the local church. That is, the proportion of tithes handed over to the Holy See is very small.

Because Frederick III used to be a priest, but because of his younger brother's incompetence, he returned home to inherit the position of elector. He knew that the church was a mess right now. Many local churches withhold most tithes. Then, bribe the cardinal in charge of the diocese of the Holy See. In this way, many tithes can be exempted. The reason is easy to find - natural disasters... The Holy See is not the FBI, and will not send people to investigate...

And the cardinals only care about making money for themselves, and don't care how much tax the Holy See can receive. Originally, 100,000 gold coins should be handed over to the Holy See. As long as 10,000 gold coins are given to the responsible cardinal, he can collect money to do things, help find excuses, and exempt most of the tithes, or even all of them, as long as they give enough... …

Frederick III proposed a three-point tithe for the nobles, the Holy See and the local church, and the collection of tithes would be supervised and implemented by the nobles, which would greatly increase the tithe revenue of the Holy See. Because, now the Holy See can get tithes from all over the world, which is far less than one-third of the level. If all dioceses had honestly handed over one-third of the tithe to the Holy See, the Holy See would have paid it earlier.

Therefore, Frederick III, who was familiar with the church, proposed a three-point tithe plan for the nobility, the Holy See, and the local church. The local church and the cardinals of the Roman College of Cardinals might object, but the Pope would never. Because, this will greatly increase the tax revenue of the Holy See. This is much more than the indulgence peddling by Bishop Giovanni, and it is long-term stable. After all, selling indulgences comes and goes, and the sales volume is uncertain, after all, it depends on the mood of the buyers, right? It cannot be sold by force. The tithe tax is compulsory, and unless there is a natural disaster, the annual income is very stable, and there is not much difference between the top and bottom.

As long as it is a smart pope, it is easy to calculate the gains and losses. Today's Pope Julius II is not only smart, but also strong with an iron fist. As long as it is beneficial to the Holy See, I am afraid that His Majesty the Pope will not care about the opposition of the local church, and the opposition of the cardinals is useless. Because the pope is lifelong, and he is not worried about being impeached by the cardinals. There may not be such an exception for a relatively weak pope, but Julius II is obviously an exception...

In this way, the pope is willing, the nobles are willing, the three parties agree with both, and the combination is no worse than the local church, and there is still a chance to succeed.

For example, in the German region, despite the fact that there are many bishops, the bishops bought their positions by bribery. After taking the position, they know how to make money desperately, and they are not willing to spend a lot of money to maintain a strong army. The nobles are different, they often pay more attention to the military than the bishops who only care about making money, and they have more troops. Therefore, despite the fact that there are many bishops in the German region, the combined military strength is definitely not as strong as the secular vassal states.

The pope has a righteous name, and the nobles have soldiers in their hands. When the two add up, the local church has to weigh it...

And those nobles who are generally poor in finances must dare to fight for the one-third of the tithe. After all, the money is stable and abundant, who wouldn't be jealous?