Royal Gold Medal County Magistrate

Outside the Holy City.

Lai Gou'er and Father Solje were in a carriage, sitting in the open front compartment, looking at the scenery around them.

Behind them were several other carriages carrying their entourage and supplies.

Looking at the town in the distance that was gradually growing larger, Lai Gou'er sighed, "We've finally arrived. This trip was really not easy."

As early as a month ago, Father Solje had discussed with him the idea of going to the Holy City to personally receive baptism from the Pope.

Lai Gou'er took the opportunity to meet with the Pope to discuss trade matters.

After all, Da Jing's business would expand in the future, and if they wanted to expand to other countries, they would need to deal with the Holy See.

Therefore, it would be better to get everything done in one go, openly and honestly discuss matters, and preferably get some kind of contract to avoid a lot of trouble.

After all, the Pope's words carried much more weight than the Emperor's.

The journey was quite tortuous. From Fika to the Holy City, they needed to travel by boat through the Hamra Strait, and then through the Kingdom of Xiluo to reach the Holy City.

After seeing the prosperous towns in Xiluo and briefly making some deals there, the two of them hurried to the Holy City without stopping.

Father Solje also looked forward to it: "Yes, this is also my first time to the Holy City. I didn't expect to have the opportunity to personally meet the Pope. I heard that there are countless statues on the Holy Mountain, and golden light will shine when the sun rises. Now I finally have a chance to see it."

Lai Gou'er observed his surroundings, thought carefully, and asked, "I see that the Holy City doesn't seem to be too far from the sea. Is there no port? Why did we have to go such a big circle and go to the Holy City through the land route of Xiluo?"

Solje said, "There is a port, but it is only for the Pope's use. Other people must come to the Holy City by land. The Holy City is surrounded by other countries, and the sea area of the port is also the sea area of Xiluo, so we can't come by boat."

Lai Gou'er raised his eyebrows, noncommittal, and then asked, "After you meet the Pope, you, the Archbishop, will be completely settled. I can't call you Father anymore. The opportunity is rare, have you thought about what to say when you meet the Pope?"

Father Solje smiled: "Just call me Father, I'm used to it..." He paused for a moment, his expression suddenly becoming a little solemn, "When I see the Pope, I will naturally report the situation of the Fika Church to him in detail, and it would be best if the Holy See could reduce some of the 'donations' from the people. I hope there will be some changes in the future."

After saying that, Father Solje closed his eyes and began to meditate.

Since receiving his letter of appointment and becoming an Archbishop, he had to manage the church in Fika single-handedly.

The process was a bit dreamy, and he was not yet aware of being an Archbishop, but many affairs in the city still needed someone to be responsible for.

So on the one hand, he continued to walk among the people as usual and perform his duties as a Father, and on the other hand, he began to take over high-level affairs.

He didn't know until he saw it, and he was shocked when he saw it.

The church's income had reached an astonishing level... among which the 'donations' from the people accounted for a considerable part.

And the expenditure was even more astonishing. In addition to the part to be contributed to the Holy See, 70% of the remaining expenses were used for various matters in the church, and 30% was used for the expenses of the church personnel.

The huge gap between the income of the lower and upper levels was also staggering, reaching a difference of up to ten times, not to mention that the upper levels also had reimbursement and many privileges in life.

After a long period of research, he determined that about half of the expenses were waste or unnecessary.

He saw the plight of the lower-level people, so he immediately decided to cut the expenditure on affairs and the personnel expenses of the upper-level people, and take it out to return it to the poor believers.

The lower level naturally cheered and supported it.

But after making the decision, he unexpectedly encountered strong opposition from the upper level of the church...

However, he had always been lucky. The two high-level people who took the lead in opposing were hacked to death on the street the next day. The two people were turned into more than twenty pieces and thrown on the city square. Later, no one dared to stand up again... things went surprisingly smoothly!

But it's not a solution to continue like this. The Brotherhood is becoming more and more rampant now, and it's hard to say when the knife will fall on him.

What's even more excessive is that now some people in the church think that he is in collusion with the Brotherhood, which is unacceptable!

He was upright and allowed people to investigate at will, which cleared his suspicion.

The Brotherhood is quite capable... he has to ask the Pope to send a few capable people to Fika to get rid of them.

Lai Gou'er saw that he had his eyes closed and asked, "Father, what are you thinking about?"

Father Solje opened his eyes and sighed: "I'm thinking about the Brotherhood. This time I plan to ask for a few helpers from the Holy City to go to Fika to find out the people of the Brotherhood... After investigating for so long, the people of the Brotherhood have still not been found out. In fact, I have always suspected... that there is an insider in the church!"

Lai Gou'er shrugged his shoulders, pursed his lips, and stared straight ahead.

Good fellow, you suspect yourself. If you didn't honestly tell me every time you had a capture operation, how could the Brotherhood be so smooth.

Poor honest Father, I don't know if his spirit will collapse the day he discovers the truth...

The carriage drove for more than twenty minutes and finally arrived at the foot of the Holy City.

The majestic city stood tall, magnificent!

Lai Gou'er squinted his eyes and looked towards the archway, constantly calculating in his heart.

The Holy City is really well built... Just looking at this city wall, it must be nearly six zhang thick, which can definitely be regarded as impregnable!

In Da Jing, it is also difficult to find a city wall of this specification.

Moreover, people were constantly entering and leaving the city gate, and their clothes were unusually gorgeous.

He had been in Fika for quite a while, and although the West has its own customs in each country, generally speaking, the bordering countries have similar clothing aesthetics.

He could tell at a glance what class a person's clothing represented.

Based on the initial impression, I'm afraid the financial strength of the Holy City is far beyond imagination!

Father Solje didn't think much, his chest heaving slightly, looking up at the city wall, his eyes full of hope.

Holy City! Hometown in my dreams, I've finally arrived!

The two got off their horses and led the carriage to the bottom of the city gate.

The people around frequently looked at Lai Gou'er, a strange oriental face.

Until the carriage was about to enter the city.

Two guards in silver armor, holding spears, blocked the two's path.

Before the guard could speak, Father Solje quickly explained: "We are from Fika. I am the newly appointed Archbishop by the Pope. I am here to be baptized in the Holy City."

After speaking, he immediately took out the letter of appointment and handed it over.

The guard took the letter of appointment and took a look, then raised his chin towards Lai Gou'er.

Father Solje hurriedly said: "This is a guest from a distant eastern country, also my friend, who has come to visit the Pope."

The guard looked Lai Gou'er up and down, and nodded.

There are many people coming and going in the Holy City. Although this person is of a different race and has a somewhat rare appearance, there is nothing strange about it.

One of the guards stretched out his hand and said, "Entrance fee, one silver coin per person. Pay as much as there are people in your team."

Father Solje was stunned for a moment and questioned: "This is the Holy City, how can you charge money? Would a faithful believer be blocked outside the city because he has no money?"

The two guards looked at each other and laughed.

"This is the rule! You can't enter without money. Are you going to pay or not?"

Looking at the frivolous expressions of the two, Father Solje was furious: "That's outrageous! You are simply taking the opportunity to make money! I am an Archbishop, and I will definitely report you to the Pope when I meet him!"

The corners of the two guards' mouths opened even wider: "Okay! Go complain to the Pope, but you still can't enter without money. Are you going to pay or not?"

"I won't pay, and I want to enter this city. What can you do to me?" Solje was furious.

He came to the Holy City happily, but as a result, this happened before he even entered the gate, which was really disappointing.

The beauty of the first impression was destroyed by seventy-seven-eighty-eight percent.

Hearing this, the two guards straightened their bodies, poked their spears on the ground, and said unkindly: "Then don't enter, go stay aside, don't get in the way here."

"How dare you!"

Seeing Father Solje's angry look, one of the guards bent down, leaned in front of Father Solje, with a look of mockery.

"What's wrong, are you not convinced?"