In this magical medieval world, knowledge is a valuable asset.
Not to mention slaves, even commoners generally do not have the opportunity to touch such wealth.
Naturally, the nobles don't have to worry about this. There are a large collection of books in their castles, and there are also special tutors who are responsible for the education of noble children.
But for civilians, it is very difficult to learn.
There are two main ways in which they want to acquire knowledge.
The first way is the church.
Churches around the world will set up schools for the children of common people to study, but here, what the children learn is basically theological knowledge. In addition to being instilled with a lot of truths about how to serve the gods and why they serve the gods, knowledge useful for daily life It is basically impossible to learn much.
The second route is the nobility.
That's right, the nobles will also recruit some commoner children as their children's accompanying students.
But such quotas are very rare, and generally they will only be reserved for the descendants of their own retainers. After these descendants of retainers have mastered the knowledge, they will be able to better serve their lords.
In fact, there is a third way, and that is the Imperial White Tower Academy.
But let alone civilians, this route is difficult for even nobles to access.
Because the conditions for admission to Baita College are very simple and very strict. It doesn't look at status, only talent.
Only children with outstanding talents, no matter they are nobles or commoners, can enter the White Tower Academy to study for free.
But there is only one White Tower Academy in the entire Glorious Empire, and the number of students enrolled each year is only double digits, and those who can graduate smoothly are even rarer.
So the vast majority of civilians may be illiterate all their lives, let alone those lowly slaves.
However, this may be what the rulers want to see.
The first pope of the Glorious Empire, Peter Michel, once said a famous saying—
"A foolish mind is more easily filled with loyalty and faith."
Only civilians and slaves who have been ignorant for a lifetime can facilitate the church and nobles to rule.
"Bishop emeritus, do you think I shouldn't let people teach these slave children knowledge?" Colin was not worried that his behavior would cause dissatisfaction from the church, after all, the church did not explicitly prohibit this.
Of course, this is because generally no lord would teach knowledge to slave children.
"No, my lord, I have no right to interfere with how you govern the people in your territory." The emeritus bishop saluted Colin and said with a smile.
Then he saluted Vera again, obviously recognizing her identity.
Colin's eyes flickered slightly. He was not too surprised that the emeritus bishop recognized him. After all, he had dealt with the other party many times, and his current disguise was not too tight.
But how did the emeritus bishop recognize Vera
How did he know that Vera had come to Ice Rock City
I'm afraid that someone among the attendants in the Red Castle disclosed the news of Vera's arrival to the church!
Although Ke Lin didn't deliberately hide the news of Vera in Ice Rock City, the feeling of being penetrated into a sieve by others still made Ke Lin feel extremely uncomfortable.
However, at present, he has no good way to deal with the church.
Faith, for people in this world, is an extremely serious matter.
If you have to choose between the lord and the gods, most of the people will still choose the gods.
The nobles had no choice but to accept this.
Back in Silvermoon City, Colin deliberately planted the seeds of hatred for the church in Prince Harrison's heart. Apart from wanting to cause some trouble for the San Lorenzo family as a counterattack, he also wanted to test how powerful the church really is. .
Seeing this, Vera had no choice but to lift the hem of her skirt, bent down to return the salute, and then asked crisply: "Bishop Emeritus, why did you say that knowledge can also be a curse?"
"Miss Vera, for you, of course, knowledge will not be a curse. But for these humble slaves, knowledge can make them understand their own situation more clearly, and thus fall into the abyss of despair from which they cannot extricate themselves. pain, what is it but a curse?"
Vera was silent.
Colin sneered in his heart.
It was obviously a trick to fool the people, but in the words of the bishop, it seemed to be compassionate humanistic care, as if preventing slaves from having access to knowledge could save them from suffering.
Although he was slandering in his heart, on the surface Colin made a look of sudden realization: "Ah, bishop, you are so right! Thank you for reminding me, otherwise I might really have done something bad with good intentions!"
"Master Viscount, you are serious." Seeing the young lord take the initiative to admit his mistake, the emeritus bishop showed a childish look on his face, "In fact, there is nothing wrong with what you did, and it is not wrong to let these slave children learn to read. No, but please don't forget to spread the glory of the Lord to them!"
Only then did Colin understand the real intention of the emeritus bishop—he wanted to brainwash these slave children.
In fact, when Colin arranged for teachers to literacy for these slave children, he deliberately omitted the related content of theology, and replaced it with more content about who gave them food, who gave them the opportunity to learn, etc. , I just want to instill in these slave children the concept of loyalty to the lord.
Unexpectedly, it was still noticed by the church.
"Of course! It is right for these slaves to bathe in the glory of the Lord." Colin smiled as usual.
"Well, I will arrange for some priests to come and assist you in teaching these slave children."
"Thank you Bishop for your helping hand!" Colin could only nod in response.
Although he is afraid of the church, Colin will not take the initiative to provoke at this time.
He even hoped that Prince Harrison of the San Lorenzo family could become a hero who charged at the front line against the church, and he himself would just wave the flag behind and shout.
Seeing that the goal was achieved, the emeritus bishop nodded in satisfaction, and then said: "My lord, there is something else I want to tell you."
"Please speak."
"Next month, I will be transferred from Ice Rock City, but don't worry, a new bishop will come to take my place."
"Oh? I don't know where you will be transferred?"
"Winter City." There was a wave of turmoil in the eyes of the emeritus bishop.
"Congratulations!" Colin said with a smile.
Compared with the Bishop of Ice Rock City, the Bishop of Cold Winter City is obviously promoted.
The emeritus bishop also smiled and said a few words of humility, but he couldn't hide the joy on his face.
The bishop of Winter City is generally also a popular candidate for the archbishop of the northern diocese, so this emeritus bishop is only one step away from stepping into the real core of the church.
"I don't know where Bishop Jean has been transferred now?" Vera asked suddenly.
The Jean she was talking about was the former bishop of Cold Winter City.
The emeritus bishop looked sad and sighed: "Bishop Jin has returned to the embrace of the Lord."
Vera was taken aback, and hastily expressed her apologies and condolences.
However, Colin keenly saw a trace of unnaturalness on the face of the emeritus bishop, so he asked:
"May I ask, why did Bishop Jean die?"
"As far as I know, Bishop Jean passed away due to illness."
He died of illness
at this time
Colin was sure that there must be something strange about the death of Bishop Jean.
Thinking about it carefully, the Duke of St. Hilde was injured in the duel with the troll paladin, and the one who treated him was most likely the Bishop Jean.
But he passed away at this time
What secret is hidden here
How is the situation in the cold winter city
Questions emerged in Colin's mind, causing him to be in a daze unconsciously.
(end of this chapter)