The Rise of the European Emperor

After a long wait and the reason for the long distance back and forth, there was finally an echo from the Holy See. Julius II agreed to canonize Bishop Conrad's nephew John as assistant bishop, and wrote a letter to comfort Bishop Conrad, saying that he would cover Bishop Conrad and prevent him from being impeached.

However, at the same time, Julius II also wrote to Marin, scolding Marin as a dog. Because the Pope himself promotes priests, it will also attract attention. This, the impact is not very good. Julius II was a man who cherished his reputation and wished to be praised after his death, rather than everyone applauding after the death of Alexander VI. Therefore, he warned Marin in the letter that if it is not a last resort, he will never allow such things to promise others indiscriminately in the future.

After all, the assistant bishop is not a cat or a dog. This is a preparatory boss who is qualified to directly run for the bishop's bishop. If some big families with financial resources get it, he can almost surely obtain the bishop's seat of a bishop's country.

For example, Bishop Conrad's Rietberg family, now John has become an assistant bishop, as long as he has a few more years of qualifications, and when there is a chance, he will use the several years of income from the land that Bishop Conrad helped Marin to obtain this time. Part of this will ensure the election of a bishop of a bishopric.

According to the plan of the Rietberg family, it was planned for John to run for the position of bishop of the Paderborn Bishopric. Because the Bishopric of Paderborn is on the edge of the Country of Rietberg. If John becomes Bishop of Paderborn, the Counties of Rietberg and Paderborn will form an alliance. If the country of Rietberg is in danger, the Bishopric of Paderborn will surely come to the rescue. At the same time, John, who will then become the bishop of Paderborn, can also allow the Rietberg family to obtain a lot of benefits and privileges in the Bishop of Paderborn.

However, the biggest problem is that the current Bishop of Paderborn is held concurrently by Hermann IV, Archbishop of Cologne. Therefore, John needs to wait until Hermann IV, the archbishop of Cologne, to run for election.

After receiving a letter of encouragement from Pope Julius II, Bishop Conrad finally made up his mind...

At the end of May, Bishop Conrad convened the All-Münster Synod to discuss the transfer of power from Marin. This time, the meeting was very special, and its target was actually mainly those local abbeys who owned a large area of ​​land.

And those high-level priests and priests with official positions, who belonged to Bishop Conrad's faction, had already agreed with Bishop Conrad.

For those priests with official positions, their interests are mainly in the interests of the 50,000 Eugrams. It is the abbots in those places who have the main interest in those church lands. Even the official priests were jealous of the local abbots.

In other words, the local abbot of the Bishopric of Münster is more like a big landowner than a priest. Even the upper echelons of the Bishopric of Münster,

Not necessarily those abbots who have a lot of arable land.

After all, the land of the church, though nominally, belongs to the church. However, to be specific, the specific controllers of those lands are the abbeys of various places.

Even the upper echelons of the Bishopric of Münster could only collect tithes from those monasteries. At most, those abbots who possessed large amounts of arable land no longer withhold tithes, but pay them in full.

But even if the tithing is paid in full, it is only one-tenth of the total harvest. The remaining nine-tenths of the harvest, except for the cost and feeding the serfs, was swallowed up by the local monastery.

Therefore, in a country like the Bishopric of Münster, the abbots who own the land are not the same as the other priests. Even Bishop Conrad's favored clergy, holding office, were not so much better off than those abbots.

In order to protect their own interests and at the same time because they are jealous of those abbots who control the benefits, Bishop Conrad and his cronies decided to unite this time and slap those abbots...

The conference was held in the middle courtyard of Münster Cathedral in Münster City, because more than 300 people attended the conference this time, and the church hall could not be crowded, so it had to be held in the church courtyard. Fortunately, the weather was sunny and there was no rain, otherwise, the participants would be out of luck.

However, what surprised the abbots who came from unexpected places in Münster was that there were many low-level priests in black robes standing around in the courtyard. However, what surprised the abbots was that the black-robed priests seemed to be very eye-catching... Moreover, on a hot day, they even put on their hoods...

In fact, what kind of priest are these people, they are clearly the soldiers arranged by Marin. As for the religious meeting, if you let the soldiers make trouble at the meeting, the problem is very big, and you may be labeled as "blasphemous". So Marin picked out a group of white-faced soldiers who looked like pampered priests, dressed in black robes and holding Bibles, and blocked several exits in the yard...

At that time, even if these "low-level priests" make trouble, it will be an "internal conflict" in the church. Even if it is verified afterwards, it is basically "no such person". why? Because they are clearly false priests...

To find these "false priests", you have to go to Marin's barracks. But do the abbots of the Bishopric of Münster dare? Marin's army is so fierce...

...

Sure enough, when Bishop Conrad announced that he would transfer another 80,000 Ugram's arable land in the South Munster area to Marin, it caused a strong backlash from the abbots.

For a while, the venue was full of shouts and curses. Bishop Conrad was basically scolded as a dog. If it wasn't for a group of guards beside him, it is estimated that those abbots could rush to the stage to beat him...

Bishop Conrad repeatedly told those abbots that the Bishopric of Munster was no longer a church state, but a secular state. It is not normal for a secular monarch to have far less land than the church. Moreover, according to the custom, when the territory is handed over, the former lord should also hand over most of the fields in the territory to the next lord.

It's a pity that those abbots just didn't listen, thinking that an inch of the church's land should not be given up. As for Marin, the secular lord, there is little land? It's about them...

The abbots were cursing, and they didn't see Bishop Conrad getting angry. When it was almost noon, Bishop Conrad saw that it was almost time, and decided to let everyone vote...

As a result, Bishop Conrad and his subordinates who had interests in the fields naturally voted in favor. And those abbots who were present voted against...

The final result was because the sum of the positive and vice presidents of the abbots was more than half, and the vote was naturally lost. However, Bishop Conrad did not lift his eyes, and conducted a new round of voting, and the result was the same...

Just when those smug abbots thought they had won and could go back to eat, something happened...

Those "low-level monks in black robes" who were blocking the exits boldly blocked those noble abbots back, and kept saying, "Priests should be pure-hearted, why do they need so much land?"

Some "black priests" also said that "greed is the original sin." According to the scene rehearsed by Marin, those "lower priests" also opened the "Bible" and turned the sentence to the abbots. Then, "advised" the abbots, saying, "As a monk, occupying so much land is definitely because of the original sin of 'greed'..."

Where can those abbots listen? So I want to get rid of these "low-level priests in black robes" to go out to eat, and some want to go to the toilet...

However, these "low-level priests in black robes" are not real priests, but sturdy soldiers. Those abbots are all middle-aged and elderly people. How can they be moved? Then, the two sides were so deadlocked...

The abbots wanted to push hard, but they were all weak middle-aged and elderly people, who were the opponents of these young soldiers. These young soldiers, lined up in dense formations, kept saying "greed is the original sin", "priests should be pure in heart and desires", "priests should not occupy all the land"... Repeatedly, with chanting scriptures It's the same... Of course, these soldiers who haven't read the book only know these few sentences, and Marin forced them to memorize them...

The abbots were going crazy and wanted to go out, but there was nothing they could do. On the side of Bishop Conrad, the cronies who wanted to go to the toilet quietly passed from behind under the cover of a large group of guards behind Bishop Conrad.

Then, the sharp-eyed abbot tried to find his way through the door behind Bishop Conrad, but was stopped by the soldiers. Bishop Conrad told them that it is the inner holy place of Münster Cathedral, and it is not allowed to enter without permission... Moreover, it is not an exit...

In this way, a large group of abbots were blocked in the courtyard by a group of "low priests in black robes", and they were constantly taught by these daring "low priests in black robes" that "greed is the original sin" and "priests should be Situation with few desires", "Clergy should not occupy all the land"...

After more than two hours of stalemate, many monastery elders were already very hungry. There are also abbots who can hardly hold back their urine...

It’s a very shameful thing to pee in public. In the end, those abbots who were hungry were fine, while those abbots who couldn’t hold back their urine chose to give in, begged Conrad for mercy, and promised to vote in favor. , was sent to the back to go to the toilet...

However, when they return from the toilet, they will not be allowed to return to the abbot's queue, but will stand beside Bishop Conrad and distance themselves from the original gang...

Then, Bishop Conrad organized the vote again...

Unexpectedly, the abbot who finished using the toilet repented and still voted against...

Conrad noticed those people and wrote down their names with pen and paper:

"Hmph, this transfer of land will be dominated by the monasteries of your capricious fellows, depriving you of most of your land, leaving only a certain ration of land for you..." Conrad thought angrily.

The vote still did not pass, and it did not reach half, mainly because the capricious abbots went back on their feet.

Bishop Conrad became impatient, and took his cronies and the abbots who voted in favor to dinner through the back door. And those who voted against were blocked by soldiers.

In this way, after eating and drinking, Bishop Conrad, with his cronies and the abbots who voted in favor, entered the courtyard again, and many people were still burping...

The abbots were furious, but there was nothing they could do. After all, they are only weak priests, not military generals.

As time passed, another abbot couldn't hold back and wanted to go to the toilet, so he chose to give in. But after going to the toilet, several people chose to go back on it...

Bishop Conrad did not say anything, but took down the names of the abbots who had repented and the names of the monasteries. When waiting to divide the land, I will mainly use them to cut...

In the end, the two sides were deadlocked into the night. With most of the elderly abbots hungry and wanting to go to the toilet, the vote finally passed, and the "absolute pass standard" of more than three-quarters...