Chapter 832 The King and the Holy See Are Here to Grab Money! Do You Want to Rebel?

Count Ostend stared at the letter in front of him and sighed deeply.

On the seal of the letter, on the deep red paint, there is a sun that emits light in all directions... seven evenly distributed rays, plus two rays carved in the middle that are very unevenly distributed.

There is no doubt that these seven rays of light mean the seven colors of sunlight, as well as the newly discovered infrared rays and ultraviolet rays. According to the latest revised teachings, this pattern symbolizes the nine divine powers of the Lord of Radiance. Up to the sky, down to the underworld.

I don’t know what the Vatican wants to do if another type of ray is discovered in the parliament...

This fire seal is made by the archbishop's seal and rings, and represents the majesty and power of the archbishop of the diocese. There are only 17 archdioceses in the entire Brolin Kingdom. Each seal ring is a high-level magical item and has been enshrined in the Holy Cathedral for more than a hundred years.

I don't know what kind of master can do it without damaging the magical circuit itself. However, if you carve another one on it, will it collapse?

"My dear, aren't you going to open the letter?"

The Countess's smiling voice sounded softly. Count Ostend raised his head and smiled bitterly at his wife:

"I really don't want to demolish it. ... Either it's asking for food, it's asking for taxes, or it's ordering the arrest of heretics or ordering the port to be strictly sealed. It's all annoying..."

"You have to do the troublesome things." The countess turned behind her husband and rubbed her husband's temples with her slender fingers, speaking in a gentle voice:

"At the very least, we can't withstand the power of the Holy See right now. If we can, we don't have to worry about the child, we can just send him to the other side..."

During this period, the opposite party published two papers in succession. One article is the first real-life case of scoliosis correction, which was performed on a 12-year-old boy. The postoperative recovery was satisfactory;

The other article is a batch case, which was done on level 3-4 warriors. A total of ten cases were done. After the operation, the God of War Temple evaluated the recipients' muscle strength, agility, balance and other items one by one, and recognized their potential for continued improvement.

The paper also mentioned that in the future, Master Nordmark will perform operations on more than ten serious patients with congenital scoliosis and complications such as pectus carinatum, spina bifida, syringomyelia, and abnormal cardiopulmonary function.

Count Ostend knew that this sentence was written for the couple. If these serious patients can be cured, then their son, their eldest son, the only son currently left, should, too, be cured?

"Let's take a look at what the archbishop wrote..."

He sighed. From Ostend to the Kingdom of Kent, there is an endless flow of ships traveling daily. Even the Holy See acquiesces to these merchant ships:

A large amount of wool was imported from the Kingdom of Kent and processed into woolen textiles in the Netherlands and in cities surrounding the Holy See;

Export the red wine and leather products from the Kingdom of Brolin, especially the exquisite leather carving crafts, as well as the light and gorgeous woolen and silk fabrics produced around the Glorious Holy See to the Kingdom of Kent;

There are also spices brought from the East, exquisite glassware, pottery with blue, white and yellow glazes, armor and ordnance...

These merchant ships, or smuggling ships, bring tens of millions of gold coins in tax revenue to the kingdom and the Holy See every year. The purchase and sale license is a sum of money, which is almost equal to 1/4 of the price of the goods;

Tariff is another amount of money. If you go by land, almost every city and every lord's territory will have to pay additional duties;

In addition, if you don’t open up all the joints and make it clear to the Holy See, the Lord’s Palace and the officials handling it, do you want your goods to be shipped out, or do you want to ship them in and sell them?

Innocent!

With a license, in theory it can only be sold in cities along the mainland. Although in theory, the warships of the Kingdom and the Holy See will turn a blind eye to smugglers, but if they offend them, will they increase the intensity of patrols...

"Another ship was discovered yesterday. The ship was confiscated and the people were jailed. The boss behind the ship owner has been crying here for two days..."

"We need to send our son there and bring him back safely. Now, we can't offend the Holy See..."

Count Ostend sighed. He twisted his seal ring and pressed lightly on the paint. A piece of divine magic light scattered in all directions, and the fire paint seal made a "pop" sound and cracked into eleven pieces along the lines cut by the light:

There are ten pieces on the outside and a circle on the inside. Shake it again to shake off the fragments. At this time, the letter can be opened normally instead of being burned by the power of the divine seal or suddenly exploding.

Count Ostend opened the envelope and read line by line. Read one line and frown a little. Read another line and frown a little more. The countess lay on her husband's shoulder, reading silently with him, and suddenly lost her voice:

"The Holy See is so strict this time? - Is this a complete war with the other side?!"

There are not many words on the letter, but each one is shocking. In the name of the Glorious Holy See and King Charles II of Brolin, a series of new edicts were issued:

1. It is prohibited to discuss and debate the holy scriptures, doctrines and other classics of the Glorious God Religion, and any violation will be regarded as heresy;

2. It is prohibited to communicate with pagans and heretics, and to collect products of pagans and heretics;

3. It is prohibited to secretly or publicly promote, support, repeat or spread heretical doctrines;

4. Those who commit the above acts will be regarded as apostates and traitors, and will be punished by beheading, buried alive, burned at the stake, etc., and their property will be confiscated;

5. Those who intercede for apostates and traitors and ask for pardon shall be guilty of the same crime;

6. The religious inquisitions in various regions are responsible for the execution, and the lords of various regions are obliged to cooperate unconditionally...

The handwriting on the letter was neat, every stroke was neat and elegant, and there was a faint golden light flashing in the strokes. It seemed that it should be written with ink mixed with gold powder. The countess looked at it, but she only saw a rich red color——

If this edict is passed on, I don’t know how many families will be broken up and killed, and how many families will suffer heavy losses. The entire Ostend area is engaged in maritime trade, sailors, manufacturers of sails, ropes, linen for plugging leaks, and various goods...

If someone catches someone who is implicated and shouts to kill someone, at least one out of 10 people will die!

Count Ostend held the lady's palm with his backhand, patted it gently, and stroked it gently. His body was extremely tense, but his voice was gentle, trying his best to comfort his wife:

"We will be fine. Don't worry, we will be fine. The status of a lord comes from strength. Neither the king nor the Holy See will break up with us for no reason..."

"Where are the little lords? Where are the knights? Where are the merchants? Where are the fishermen?"

The countess's hands trembled slightly. Unknowingly, her fists had been clenched tightly, her nails dug deeply into her palms, and she dug out several deep blood marks:

"Why is this - why, suddenly this is happening -"

"I guess the king has no money." Count Ostend stared at the edict in the letter and suddenly sneered:

"Our venerable Charles II, blessed by the Lord of Glory, the Holy One who rules the earth under the light of the Lord, the Great, the Invincible, the protector of the radiant believers in the Kingdom of Brolin..."

He mentioned dozens of titles before he stopped and let out a cold snort from his nose:

"The previous wedding cost a lot of money. Weddings, receptions, balls, performances, jewelry and costumes for the new queen, and tributes to the Holy See... I estimate that if there were no big businessmen to lend him money, the royal family would have gone bankrupt long ago. Alright?"

"So you use this kind of edict to steal money?"

The Countess was stunned. In the eyes of magicians who admire wisdom, the feasibility of this kind of edict is second to none, and it is really stupid:

If you are short of money, just raise taxes. Why do you have such an attitude of shouting and killing, killing people and ransacking homes?

By forcing people who had nothing to do with it to a dead end, are you trying to force people to rebel?

"Of course we must use this kind of edict." The earl's sneer became more obvious:

"It is the royal family that is not justified in raising taxes for no reason and making trouble. Holding the big stick of faith and joining forces with the Glorious Holy See has a righteous name - discussing the holy scriptures, questioning the holy scriptures, and colluding with heretics It’s tantamount to treason and treason!”

"Under the banner held high, killing people and ransacking homes is all justified. Although the Holy See has to give a share of what is stolen, but they also have a reputation and have to work hard..."

The countess' face became more and more ugly. She lowered her head in silence, read the text on the letter again, and whispered:

"But you won't be able to rob much this way... The big ones don't dare to rob, and the small ones won't rob much... Our Majesty, the King, might have other tricks up his sleeve?"

"I think so." Count Ostend nodded solemnly. Before he finished speaking, footsteps hurriedly approached outside the door, and the clerk of the Earl's Palace raised his voice at the door:

"Your Excellency! There is an urgent message from the capital!"

"Send it up!"

replied the count loudly. The carved oak door opened on the left and right, and the clerk held a silver tray and delivered the urgent letter with two feathers attached to the count's desk. The count quickly opened it and browsed through it hastily, his face getting darker:

"Our King... Our King! Hey!"

Refusal to pay the national debt! The entire Netherlands has refused to pay approximately 9 million gold coins in maturing national debt! It’s not about negotiating an extension, it’s not about asking for a mortgage and interest payment, it’s about simply refusing to pay!

Increase export tariffs on wool exported from the Kingdom of Brolin to the Netherlands! In the wool textile industry of the entire Netherlands, two-thirds of the wool comes from the hinterland of the Brolin Kingdom. With this improvement, I don't know how many workshops will go bankrupt!

Restrict Dutch merchants from entering the kingdom's ports!

Forbid Dutch merchants to trade with the kingdom's overseas colonies! If you want to buy something, you can buy it at a high price from the kingdom's big merchants and endure the price increase of more than 100%...

"Sure enough, all the money lent must be repaid... The Brolin merchants borrowed the bulk, and the Glorious Holy See borrowed the bulk, and they are squeezing us like this!"

Want not to be squeezed? Want to resist? Want to find another way out?

Hehe, the edict against heretics is waiting for you...

His Excellency waved his hand, motioning for the clerk to go down and close the door. The heavy study door closed tightly. The count raised his head and held the lady's hand, speaking softly:

"Madam, we should...send the child to the other side, right?"

If chaos really breaks out, this hidden child may not be able to be saved... or should it be safer to send him to the other side?

"Don't worry yet." The Countess shook her head slightly:

"Don't rush it yet. This edict is for the entire Netherlands... Let's go visit the Duke first and hear what he means?"

****

Please subscribe, ask for monthly tickets, ask for recommendation votes, ask for book reviews, ask for all kinds of...

Thanks to x-on:War Economist for the 500 starting coin reward

Thanks to x-on:book friend 20180401172450150 for the reward of 400 starting coins

Thanks to x-on:logicjoke for the 100 starting coins