When the Saint comes, she does not collect food

In the vast territory of the Holy Eyre Empire, nominally, the king always governed the politics, and the Pope governed the religious affairs.

Except for the Kingdom of France, which completed central centralization through war and had a preliminary civil service system, in the other two major kingdoms within the empire, the Kingdom of Leia and the Kingdom of Norn, priests were the civil servants, and monks were the eunuchs.

The clergy were led by the Holy See, the monks were led by the monastic orders, and the combination of the Holy See and the monastic orders was the Church.

The leader of the Church was the Archbishop of Holy See City.

The Archbishop of Holy See City was originally just one of the five major patriarchal regions, but because this was where Messilah ascended to heaven and Saint Bere was martyred, the Archbishop of Holy See City gained a transcendent status.

In the centuries-long struggle between the Empire and the Church, the power and status of the Pope were gradually achieved.

In essence, according to the 《Book of Gospel》 and the ancient church tradition, anyone who believes in the religion can become the Pope.

However, the masters would never really let the common people master such important power. They are servants of God, not servants of the common people.

Therefore, after a series of institutional evolutions, the Pope was elected by the believers and became elected by the cardinals from among the bishops.

As for the nominal identities of the cardinals, they are the Pope's secretaries, and the Pope must also be selected from among the cardinals.

So, the papal election law, in a sense, can also be called the Imperial Guard Secretary Succession Law.

From this perspective, this Pope, Horne, is neither in Holy See City, nor has a cardinal election, and is not even a bishop. Basically, he is three times zero legitimate.

Horne trembled and turned his head to look at Tomley, who was now prostrating himself on the ground, as if he were more devout and loyal than everyone else.

Looking at the leading figures, Chirvis, Grampwen...

Although they all looked downcast and obedient, Horne felt that their eyes were full of malice and disdain no matter how he looked at them.

You damned traitors, if I get a chance, I'll have Jeanna electrocute you one by one!

Standing on the wall, Horne looked down at the crowd below.

On the vast green grass, under the square stone brick wall, heads crowded together, rising and falling like waves.

They were the nearby villagers, who had gathered at the Gulag Monastery just to survive.

Most of them were dressed in tattered clothes, wearing hooded cloaks, and aprons, and most of them were barefoot on the ground, their skinny ankles like withered shrub branches.

These people were butchers, carpenters, miners, brewers, weavers, tanners, boatmen, and most of all, farmers.

When they looked up, Horne only saw ignorance, fanaticism, and deep confusion in their turbid eyes.

Horne sighed, closed his eyes, and when he opened them again, the original pity had disappeared.

Okay, you want to play this game with me? I'll play with you. Everyone will die together. I'll make you all be buried with me.

"Everyone, I am your new Pope, Horne!" Although the villagers did not understand why the new Pope of Qianhe Valley spoke with such gritted teeth, they still listened in silence.

As for Tomley and others behind him, they were a little strange why Horne suddenly became obedient.

"Sinner Horne, although I am the Pope according to ancient law, we must still abide by the rules and laws. Without laws, where would order come from!"

Horne heavily slammed the cane in his hand, so hard that the 屮-shaped cross at the top of the cane, or rather, the scepter, was crooked.

"So, in order to emphasize the law, I still have to be elected by the cardinals. I want to exercise my power as Pope and appoint Tomley, Chirvis, Grampwen, and Madelaine as cardinal archbishops!"

"What!" Tomley, who was originally prostrating himself on the ground, jumped up like a toad and almost fell into the brazier.

"In the name of the Father, in the name of the Pope, I appoint Tomley as the Archbishop of Qianhe Valley, Chirvis as the Archbishop of Windmill Land, Grampwen as the Archbishop of Golden Fleece Beach, and Madelaine as the Archbishop of White Sand Land!"

The gnashing of teeth on Horne's face turned into a smile, and the previous gnashing of teeth had been transferred to the faces of these four people.

"As for everyone present, you are blessed. Although you are not priests, I grant you all the same origin as priests. Although you are only lay believers, your status is equal to that of priests!"

Thanks to the previous 《Legend of the Rose of Lumm》, Horne's geographical knowledge of the empire was much stronger than before.

Although he didn't know where these places were, judging from the poems and interpretations in the book,

Windmill Land is the most developed area for agriculture and animal husbandry, Golden Fleece Beach is the most prosperous territory for the empire's textile industry, and White Sand Land is famous for its exquisite glass products.

These three places are definitely heavyweight political and economic bombs within the empire. As for Qianhe Valley, there is no need to say more. Everyone understands the principle that a county official is not as good as a current manager.

Judging from the fact that the faces of the people behind him turned greener with each place name that Horne announced, the probability of error was low.

Tomley's beard was almost dyed green by his face. They really didn't expect Horne to have such a trick up his sleeve.

Damn it, if I had known, I would have pushed him to be the archbishop. What's the point of making him the Pope?

Standing on the courtyard wall, Horne raised the scepter in his hand high: "Believers, cheer, these cardinals are all people from Qianhe Valley. I have dismissed the original four bishops, and the four people standing in front of you are the real bishops..."

"Cough cough cough cough cough!"

A violent cough interrupted Horne's words. He glanced sideways and saw that it was Tomley.

He coughed while looking at Horne with an incredulous look. Aren't you a member of the Secret Party? We are on the same side.

After this is over, you can fake your death and pass the position to the unlucky Madelaine, and you will successfully get rid of the blame, right? The Secret Party will protect you!

Don't you, an old member of the Secret Party, know about this? What are you trying to do by dragging us all down?

You must know that according to Horne's words, Constance, the Archbishop of Qianhe Valley, is an illegitimate bishop, and Tomley is the legitimate bishop!

Then, as the Archbishop of High Fort under the jurisdiction of Archbishop Constance, he would probably be very happy to catch Tomley and offer him as a gift to Constance.

If the Bishop of High Fort were here, he would probably be so happy that he would pee his pants.

The difference in merit between catching a foolish commoner who falsely claims to be the Pope and catching a group of heretics who intentionally falsely claim to be the Church is huge!

Especially since it is also related to Huannuo, the Bishop of High Fort can't wait to kneel on the ground and beg Horne to do more.

He has been in this poor High Fort for so many years, this is the blessing he deserves.

Tomley bent over and supported Horne's arm, his smile extremely reluctant: "Your Holiness, this, this is not right, right? People are doing well, how can you just dismiss them?"

"That's true."

Tomley quickly breathed a sigh of relief.

"Then let's reassign him to another diocese. You are helping me to be the Pope, this is what you deserve, and it is what I should do."

"But, but..."

"But what?" Horne turned his head to the villagers below, "Believers, my power as Pope is unlimited, you say, am I right?"

"Of course!"

"Your Holiness, we love you!"

"Your Holiness is heaven!"

With the status of being from the same origin as priests, no matter what, most uneducated people were overjoyed.

They didn't know the intricacies within the Church, they only knew that they were similar to priests.

This was all thanks to the new Pope, so naturally they had to support the new Pope.

As expected of the Pope of Qianhe Valley, he is seeking benefits for his family as soon as he takes office.

Seeing that Horne was still approaching the wall, seemingly wanting to speak further, Tomley was frightened. He winked at Grampwen next to him, and the two of them supported Horne together.

"Okay, okay, let's disperse, His Holiness is tired!"

Without waiting for the villagers below to answer, the two quickly took Horne back to the backyard.

What would happen if he continued to speak?