It's the cyber age now, and you're still playing traditional villains?

The answer given by Cheng Gujian was also reminding him whether he was overstepping his authority.

In this situation, Butler Chen naturally didn't dare to say anything more, but he couldn't help but wonder in his heart. He had clearly given the reminder out of concern, so why did he cause the Master's displeasure?

He has always been careful in what he said and did over the years, but this time he was really confused.

"...If you really have the time, go and pay attention to the movements of the Holy See."

Cheng Gujian didn't give him time to think. He stood up and ordered, "If they keep suppressing us, who knows what those bastards will do... Tell me if there is any situation."

"Yes."

Butler Chen felt as if he had been pardoned. He bowed deeply and left in a hurry.

Looking at his back, Duke Gu Jian just shook his head, then unconsciously tapped the table with his fingers, muttering Xu Shi's name softly.

"Brother Xu... heh."

……

Cheng Gujian was absolutely right. The situation within the Holy See was truly in chaos.

"Damn it, we got tricked!"

The burly Ji Bochang was filled with anger. "This despicable foreigner is so bold. How dare he?!"

"No wonder he treated us so strangely that day... It seems like he was already planning to break up with us at that time?"

Park Guk-chang echoed, his expression even more gloomy than usual, "Not to mention that the royal family actually expressed support... What exactly are they planning?"

These two people are not friendly people to begin with, so naturally they can't remain calm when faced with such a situation.

In other words, even if they really were the pro-friendly faction, they would not be able to side with Xu Shi after being teased like this - as Xu Shi himself said, this was a matter that threatened their status and even their living space, and there was naturally no room for negotiation on this irreconcilable bottom line issue.

Not to mention that the Holy See is huge and influential, the fact is that until now they have never obtained the status of "state religion", at least not officially conferred. Now that the Holy Flame Cat Cult has taken over, in name only, they have become a non-governmental organization.

It’s broken. I’m a substitute?

If their status remained the same as before, no one would actually care whether it was official or not - people coming out of the Vatican would be superior to others there, and whether it was official or not did not need to be recognized by the royal family at all.

And the royal family has indeed never done this... Now that I think about it, maybe this is the backdoor that the successive monarchs have tacitly left for themselves? If a situation like this really happens, many things will become much more convenient.

The only official one is the Knights Templar, an organization personally appointed by the royal family as a link to "establish connections with the Holy See."

But unfortunately, the Knights themselves don’t seem to have such awareness, and their butts have gone astray long ago.

At this moment, they just felt that they could not bear it anymore, they could not bear it at all, and their fists became hard.

Of course, there are still relatively rational voices, such as Lu Baiyan with squinty eyes.

"Perhaps that's why he didn't agree to our cooperation request?"

He also had a bitter smile on his face. "So it seems that he is actually quite honest? At least he is not being hypocritical, otherwise we would be even more uncomfortable..."

"Fuck you, Lu Baiyan, which side are you from?"

Ji Bochang roared, "You are always full of bad intentions, what do you mean by saying this now?"

"Could it be that you had other plans when you picked him up? Did you find a way out for yourself?"

"I am just discussing the matter..."

Lu Baiyan spread his hands and said, "If you really doubt me, then I have nothing to say."

"Okay, stop arguing."

Qin Yiyan stopped their quarrel with a cold face, "What's the point of just making a mess? You might as well think about what to do next."

As the leader of this group, she was also extremely annoyed now - she had been loyal to the Holy See since she was a child, and she certainly would not feel good facing such a situation.

Who would have thought that in just a few months, a stranger could turn this place upside down? Unfortunately, she herself was not good at making plans, and she couldn't think of any good solution for a while.

She had originally planned to call other people over to brainstorm, but who would have thought that they would start fighting among themselves first. This gave her a headache, and refraining from hitting anyone was already her limit.

Her words were effective, and everyone present immediately quieted down.

"In my opinion, we can't go on like this."

Park Guochang frowned, "The facts prove that if we keep giving in, it will only make the foreign barbarians more arrogant... It's better to be straightforward."

"That's right. Kill those guys and the matter will be over!"

This time it was Ji Bochang's turn to agree with him, "Their leader Xu Shi is just a smart guy, he's no match for anyone if a fight breaks out...why don't I go?"

"As for the remaining people...if all of us Templars go out, will we still be afraid of them?"

"That's not the problem, okay?"

Lu Baiyan held his forehead helplessly, worrying about the IQ of these two funny guys, "The problem is that the royal family has chosen them now, and our status in the hearts of the people has been declining."

In his opinion, Xu Shi's success was due to the right time, right place and right people. Not only did he have more advanced technology, but more importantly, he seized the opportunity.

After returning from the expedition against Poseidon, there were actually some voices saying that "the Holy See was taking credit for the success". In addition, they were also involved in the Poseidon Stone incident later on. With all these combined punches, it would be a lie to say that they were not affected.

Ultimately, there must be some problems with the previous handling methods. Otherwise, with so many years of operation by the Holy See, how could the people switch to the opposite side so quickly... He couldn't help but think so with his narrow eyes, but of course he would not say this out loud, otherwise he would be attacked by everyone again.

He would never have the bad luck of doing this.

Moreover, he knew very well in his heart that it was Xu Shi who was behind all these things, and who put them in this embarrassing position step by step.

But there is no point in worrying about this now. If there was no response before, what can I do now?

As for the royal family, they obviously also smelled this sensitive atmosphere, so they decided to burn their boats, changed their previous attitude, and directly hooked up with Xu Shi, joining hands to suppress them.

This is a fundamental change - in the past, the royal family turned a blind eye to some extraordinary behaviors of the Vatican, such as cracking down on illegal gatherings, and let them do it, but now they are taking the lead. In this case, let alone whether Xu Shi can be eliminated, even if he is really eliminated, who can guarantee that the royal family will not follow suit?

Anyway, the routine is already here. In comparison, the royal family is the crux. What's the point of them doing this? To put it bluntly, it would probably be useful to solve Dongfang Xiao or directly overthrow the royal family.

But how could this be an easy task? Not to mention the heavyweight Cheng Gujian in front of them, the royal family itself was also very strong. If it really came to that, I'm afraid there would be bloodshed...

Thinking of this, Lu Baiyan felt more and more bitter. From his own point of view, he really wanted to have an in-depth discussion with Xu Shi. After all, until now, he was still very interested in the new things that the other party brought.

But he happened to be a member of the Vatican, and the feeling of being caught in the middle was really uncomfortable.

In a trance, Xu Shi's words rang in his ears again.

"Since you are so interested in our city-state, why not come to my side...you can also be one of them."

Make a change...?

(End of this chapter)

Chapter 272 Is this the gift you gave me? ! (Angry)

2023-09-23

To be honest, Lu Baiyan felt that he was a man with a firm stance. When facing Xu Shi's recruitment, he also said, "I am a Knight Templar first, and an ordinary person who is interested in your city-state secondly."

But he didn't know why, when he saw the current situation, he really couldn't control his mind and some very dangerous thoughts popped up.

Maybe it's because the influence of these outsiders is growing? The gap with the Holy See is also gradually widening - Squinting Eyes actually considers a wide range of things. At least in the current situation, we really can't continue to be arrogant just because the Holy See has a deep foundation.

His disappointment with his colleagues around him was genuine. Just listening to those speeches made him feel a little overwhelmed... Of course, not all of the eleven Knights Templar were as stupid as Ji Bochang and Pu Guochang, but it was a pity that they did not come to this meeting, but were carrying out missions throughout the empire.

As for Qin Yiyan, the nominal leader, in Lu Baiyan's opinion, she is a good person and her martial arts skills are impeccable. Apart from the Pope, she is the most powerful person in the Holy See...but her shortcomings are also obvious. She is not good at planning.

Therefore, in this situation, there was nothing she could do except shouting for quiet down to calm the situation. She still had to live in Bengbu.

"Bai Yan, your analysis does make sense."

When he was still living in Bengbu, the red-haired elder sister asked, "Analysis alone is not enough. Do you have any solution? Or even suggestions will do."

"There are still ways."

Lu Baiyan glanced at the other two funny guys, thought about it and spoke, "Now that Xu Shi's party has won the hearts of the people, what we have to do is naturally to take it back first."

"As for how to take it, it's not difficult... The Church already has a tradition of giving alms, but the amount is far behind that of the Cat Church. So we have to make up for it or even exceed the treatment they give. This is the most basic thing."

Qin Yiyan nodded. Not to mention comparing with others, the level of the Vatican's relief station has been visibly declining in recent years.

She vaguely remembered that when she was a nun as a child, the relief station was open only every three days, and the supplies distributed were milk and white bread, and sometimes even meat and vegetables.

Now there is only porridge and black bread, and the interval has been changed to once a week... As for what changes have taken place inside, it is difficult to say.

In the past, people had no choice, and poorer families certainly wouldn't be picky. But now there's the Holy Flame Cat Cult, and all kinds of supplies are sent out every day for free. In this case, who would come to the Vatican's relief station?

This is probably the reason why it is difficult to go from luxury to frugality. Now it really becomes a question of why eat bread when you can have cake...

And this happens to be the most effective means to rally the hearts of the people. The Holy See may not need to compensate the people for the loss of Poseidon Stones like the royal family and Xu Shi did, but this is originally a time-limited matter. It is impossible to give out money every day for ten years, right?

But giving alms is acceptable, as long as both parties maintain the same level, it will never go wrong.

"Secondly, we have to start from the perspective of the senior members of the royal family."

Lu Baiyan continued, "No matter what, after so many years, it's impossible for everyone to abandon us overnight. Most people are still hesitant."

"So we can try to make some moves on the princes and nobles, especially those who have believed in the Holy See for generations... We don't ask them to stand up and help us, but at least we won't let the royal family become united. If we can achieve this, it will be a good result."

I have to say that the squinting eyes were very sharp, and he pointed out the flaws in Xu Shi's plan very accurately.

The Holy Flame Cat Cult was able to spread so quickly because it took a grassroots approach, but the effect might not be so good in upper-level circles.

On the one hand, the upper echelons of the empire were not greatly affected by the Poseidon Stone transaction. Apart from the few special cases mentioned before, who really invested all their fortunes in the Poseidon Stone transaction, most people would not lose even their pants. Even if they had to compensate these people, it would certainly not be through the Holy Fire Cat Cult. The royal family naturally had other ways of dealing with it.

Secondly, as he said, the relationship between these people, or many families, and the Holy See is complicated.

The best example is his own Lu family, a hereditary marquisate. Although there is a Grand Duke Cheng Gujian to keep the family in check, the power of the family should not be underestimated. As for its inclination, it is definitely towards the Holy See, otherwise he would not have become this year's Knight Templar.

Deep-rooted ideas passed down from generation to generation will not disappear so quickly, so these people are the best targets to win over. Even if the royal family takes the lead in establishing the Holy Flame Cat Religion as the state religion, everyone may have to follow suit, but what everyone thinks in their hearts is not so absolute.

Just as when Dongfang Xiao read out the imperial edict, there were many voices of opposition in the court. Although they can no longer be heard now, it does not mean that the ministers have really changed their minds 100%. The biggest reason is that they do not want to be the first to stand out, or they are afraid of Cheng Gujian.

Winning them over is also a way of preparing for possible bad situations in the future.

However, this is something that the Holy Fire Cat Cult cannot do, for no other reason than that they have only appeared for too short a time.

Although the Holy See should not continue to be arrogant by relying on its profound foundation, it is undeniable that this is indeed one of their advantages.

"Makes sense."

Qin Yiyan agreed with this very much and secretly breathed a sigh of relief. He finally heard some reliable opinions.

She has always been optimistic about Lu Baiyan. The fact is that before Xu Shi appeared, he was the one giving advice on many matters in the Holy See. It is no exaggeration to call him a think tank.

"That sounds good, but if we do that, the expenses will be..."

Park Guk-chang's voice also became much softer, but he still kept muttering.